“Would anyone like to smoke some pot?”

The Cast

By The Fillerbuster

June 28, 2024

Barely edited, forgive grammatical errors, as most is a stream of consciousness…

IN MEMORIAM:

• Jerry West
  • Imagine living your life being able to start out conversations with “the NBA logo is me.”  Now imagine being humble and classy enough to never need to say that.  Jerry was phenomenal.  He would have more titles if it wasn’t for his supporting cast and those pesky Celtics.  He backed up his stellar playing career with a more than respectable run as an executive (EIGHT titles).   He also was a sounding board for the making of Kobe Bryant.  You will be missed on all levels, Jerry.
• Bill Walton
  • If you can find one person in sports or music or has one bad thing to say about this guy, then let me know.  It is impossible.  You had to love him as one of the top three college basketball players of all time.  And, the greatest title game performance ever.  You had to respect his NBA career, even with injuries, and that career immediately started with a title after just a few years in the league (and the addition of Maurice Lucas).  After his playing career was done, you had to love his honest, sometimes too honest, and funny and biased and slanted announcing of basketball games.  And, you had to love him as the tallest Grateful Dead fan ever.  The person behind him at any concert was blessed with his personality even if they couldn’t see Jerry Garcia.  Conference of Champions, my man.  You will be missed, Bill.
• Willie Mays
  • When we talk about most accomplished baseball players, the list is long.  When we talk about complete baseball players, the list is filtered somewhat.  Willie Mays was one of those players, in the words of MJ, who had “it.”  On any given night, he could boggle your mind with a play that no one else could make in the league at that time, or ever.  The Say Hey Kid is most revered for his World Series catch, but did monumental things on a nightly basis.  Twenty-four All Star games sounds like a fake stat.  And, he lived his life classy, humble, and respectful.  You will be missed, Willie.

NFL:

• Mark my words (no pun intended).  Russell Wilson and the Steelers will win the AFC North.  You read it here.  He looks sharp in camp thus far, is the word, and I wanted him on my team the MOMENT that Sean Payton sat him late last season.  He is boxing too, meaning he is going back to his Seattle days workouts.  I manifested this situation, and they will be contenders and he will be an MVP candidate.  The weapons are at his disposal, and the defense…is the usual awesome defense.

NBA:

• I have said since Luka was drafted that he was my new favorite player in the NBA.  VERY respectable how he ran through the tough Western Conference.  Actually, amazing.  Then, in the spotlight, he laid an egg.  He didn’t even seem to understand what he did wrong (not in shape, weak defense, complaining to refs, too much ball dominance, etc…).  But, he will learn.  Just as MJ did.  Kyrie has a couple of years left in him (no show in the state of Massachusetts), and they need a scoring wing.  Sad to see my boy go down, but it was well deserved.  First of all, he needs to understand that if the best player on the team is the most in shape player, the rest will fall into that work ethic like dominoes.
• Monty Williams is the luckiest fired person alive.  He still is respected in his field by owners, coaches, and players, he gets out of the second worst run organization in the NBA (the Bulls are first, more on that in a second), and he is still owed $65 million.  Brilliant.  JJ Redick should hire him and pay him nothing, similar to what the Steelers are doing with Russell Wilson.
• If Coach K says Redick was the smartest player he ever coached (over Shane????), then I am personally sold.  The Lakers have whiffed for years.  I think JJ is brilliant as a basketball mind, can monitor LeBron because of their relationship, and will get Tre Young on the team immediately to get another shooter…like he was.  I think this works, even if I don’t want it too, and even if I think that Duke sucks, as a UVA grad.  When JJ is on TV, you can tell that he probably is a jerk off the camera, and that will play nicely with being a coach.  He already is dropping cuss words oddly in interviews, so he has the necessary fire and anger immediately for the dumpster fire that is the Lakers.
• So, the OKC Thunder have a million draft picks.  A million.  And the Bulls traded Alex Caruso (established shooter, leader, defender, etc.) for Josh Giddey (not a shooter, barely not a sexual predator, etc.) with NO draft picks?  That is why they are more horribly run than the Pistons.
• NBA Draft:
  • Who will win this summer?  Well, if the NBA Draft is any signal, we might as well called the lottery the French Lottery.
  • Terrence Shannon was mistaken for an assaulter in a bar, and I think now he will excel in the NBA.  He landed with the Timberwolves, and definitely just adds to the winning equation as opposed to going through years of any rebuild.
  • Bronny James to Lakers will definitely make JJ Redick more grumpy.  Now, LeBron has ALL of his family and podcast buddies ruining the future of the Lakers thankfully.  BUT, if I have to step outside of my sarcasm, I WILL say this.  It is beyond cool that a father played a career in the NBA as one of the best ever, and his son got drafted to the same team.  Shade out the hater aspects of this story and the saturation of coverage and buildup, and it is pretty cool.

MLB:

• The Phillies have cooled off, but will still be there at the end.  Two studs at the head of the rotation, hitting throughout the lineup, and a star to complete the equation.  They got a little unlucky with the DBacks last year, and now they just have to hope they won’t have to go through the Dodgers AND the Braves in the playoffs.
• Dammit, the league would be so much better if Mike Trout played for a freaking winning team that will make the playoffs…AND if he stayed healthy.

GOLF:

• First of all, you would be hard pressed to find someone near the top of their sport who was SO hated, and then became SO loved.  Bryson, I respect you and your PR team.  But, it looks genuine.  You even took your talents to LIV (LeBron joke as he was loved, hated, loved, hated, and now…whatever), and still stole our hearts at the US Open while Rory did things that indicate to me he is in therapy right now.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL:

• OU football extended Derek Venables, and I think that is a good call.  He has settled in, recruiting is solid, he is a good guy, and they can’t have another coach run across the state border.  They need to pay the man, as he is about to hit the buzzsaw that is the SEC.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

• We just heard that cancer is once again after Dick Vitale.  Get better, sir.  College basketball, and this grand Earth, is much better with you doing your thing.
• I can’t hate Duke TOO much.  They gifted TJ Power to the Wahoos this offseason, and the UVA team is looking very dangerous after a little bit of uncertainty.
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TENNIS:

• I am not saying that Iga Swiatek can be beat on clay.  BUT, can someone at least make her sweat a little?  She steamrolled everyone, and everyone needs to take a hard look at their style of game, their practice schedule, and their effort.
• Alcaraz IS the next coming folks.  We know that.  But, Sinner, Zverev, and Ruud should ALL be kicking themselves for NOT having to go through Djokovic (injury) and not winning.  Weak.  You can be a very good player and let the legends win in the end, or you can take that additional step when chance is fortuitous.

HOCKEY:

• The Oilers looked tired in Game 7.  McDavid looked like he had used up his magic, and I saw him fall at least three times when he usually wouldn’t have.  Sometimes the comeback itself saps all of your energy.  Some mental breakdowns also occurred, especially on the winning goal.  But, it was fun to watch, and even many Americans were choosing to root for Canada, because who cares about hockey in Florida outside of Tampa Bay?  No one.  Fun ending to a fun series, and that is why the Stanley Cup is the hardest and most accomplished team title to win in the world.
• Congratulations, Utah hockey team.  I read your entire list of possible nicknames from the beginning, and you ended up with a soccer-like name.  I don’t hate Utah Hockey Club.  Sort of silly, sort of regal, sort of indecisive as to what your state offers.  And you couldn’t really be the Blizzard if Colorado is the Avalanche.  I WILL say that I am sort of sad that you didn’t pick Ice.  I couldn’t wait to hear “and it is icing on the ice,” and “the ice are now taking the ice.”  In reality though, I wish that Yeti would have won.  We needed another team in sports that doesn’t end in “s” for that ageless trivia question.

WNBA:

• The WNBA has to realize this NOW.  The WNBA is NOT the NBA, but it has a peak right now.  Push Reese vs. Clark MORE on us, like Magic and Bird.  You need viewers, including me, and opportunity is presently knocking at your door.  You have a hero, you have a villain, and both have skills and are just getting better in the league.

COLLEGE BASEBALL:

• I was about to make a bet on UVA winning the College World Series, but luckily they got eliminated before my browser loaded.
• After seeing the A&M coach go join his buddy at rival Texas, I think a new sports traitor term should be “Schlossnagled.”

OLYMPICS:

• The Olympic trials remind us what I assume we ALL know.  Swimming and track and field suddenly become really, really cool at this time every few years.  And, Gretchen Walsh (new World record) was a UVA grad.  I wish I would have swam at UVA during my undergrad years (they sucked at the time and I was pretty fast), because that history would look like a BADGE right about now.  Wahoowa.

SOCCER:  I am country not club.  Love these tournaments.  The closest I come to following Premier League and all of those other club leagues is Ted Lasso.

• EURO
  • The warmup is done, as group play is now complete.  Now, tomorrow, it gets fun.  Germany is going to be tough to beat as hosts, but I still like Spain to take this down like most people.  The three teams that have intrigued me the most in group play that I will be rooting for are, in order, Switzerland, Austria, and Netherlands.  All can win it if the dominoes fall optimally.  If you haven’t bought into the excitement, you need to check out the remaining minutes of Croatia-Germany in the group stage.  Both teams were seconds from going home, one the hosts, and it literally came down to the last kick for who would have the heartbreak and who moved on.  Epic.
  • Georgia is easily the story of the tournament thus far.  Sure, Portugal didn’t care about winning.  But, Georgia EARNED that victory to advance.
  • France-Belgium is the most intriguing first game in the knockout round.  On that side of the bracket, Germany, Belgium, and Portugal all are heavyweights who better have another gear to win this thing.  All looked listless in the group stage.  Give me Spain over France on this side.
  • On the other side, my hot take is that Switzerland will take out Italy AND England.  I think Netherlands will be too much for them though.  Then, I will take Netherlands over Spain in the final.
• COPA
  • The USMNT NEEDS to show us something in this tournament.  It is one thing to beat teams that you are supposed to beat, but now they must take that next step.  They need to beat one of the heavyweights.  In this tournament, Pulisic and the crew need to take down an Argentina, Columbia, Uruguay, etc. in the knockout round.
  • So, I wrote the paragraph above BEFORE the Panama match.  Now, the above HAS to come true, as the USMNT was stupid, got a red card, played with 10 players, and lost (not even pulled a draw) with the one team they HAD to beat in their group.  Now, they HAVE to be historic.  They have more talent than the early 2000’s teams, but not the grit.  They need to summon that right NOW.

MISCELLANEOUS:

• Rolling Stones:  I finally saw them, although I went more for Widespread Panic than them.  But, I will say this.  You couldn’t tell by movement, voice, or effort that the Stones are old.  And seeing Sympathy for the Devil live was an experience I won’t soon forget.  I get why some put them near the top of the all-time band rankings.  I will still stick with Led Zeppelin…but I get it now more.
• Widespread Panic Sunday:  There is the saying “Never Miss A Sunday Show.”  I used to do all of the nights when I was younger, but now I stick to Sunday only for the Red Rocks shows (plus, I am no good at getting any other nights for a reasonable price on tickets).  The show was amazing this weekend.  Not all of ‘my” songs, but the way they performed the chosen songs had even more energy than normal.  You could tell they were getting a month off of shows, as they blew it out.  When JB comes out with a backwards hat, you know it is on.
• My boys in Panic are getting old though, and know my next chosen band is Goose.  Check them out.
• Donald Sutherland:  He passed away last week.  I met him once.  I was a set dresser for the movie Virus, and we also sometimes drove the actors around.  I picked him up, and was told to not talk to him unless he spoke to me.  He said one thing during the 15 minute drive to the set.  He asked me “Are your parents alive or dead?”  I answered him, and that was the whole conversation.  As Mike Greenberg said the day he died, for people our age, he will ALWAYS be the pot-smoking professor in Animal House.  Rest in Peace, Mr. Sutherland.
• I watched the Presidential debate last night.  First, they don’t need SNL to do spoofs on it.  Just play it as is.  It is hilarious…and depressing.  Second, I can’t believe BOTH were bragging about their golf games and handicap.  I don’t mind a President being good at golf, but I don’t need to HEAR about all of the hours they are not working on foreign policy.  Third, I think I passed 10 people on the street or talked to at work who I would rather be President than these two fools.
• I went and saw Horizon:  An American Sage tonight…opening night.  I give it a B.  It was extremely rushed with no character development or setup.  I don’t understand why it was rushed in the first one with like three more coming behind it.  Oh, and kind of hard to rush character development during a 3 hour movie. Kevin Costner just randomly APPEARED after some setup scenes with other characters.  No build up, and I actually thought one of the kids in the early scenes was him.  It had a couple awesome “western” scenes, but the rest I wish would have slowed down a bit.  I noticed one total missed scene too.  They had buildup of him going into town, and then suddenly he just appeared in town, already in his quarters. I am now invested in the future ones, but could have been more thought out.

That’s all, folks.  As one shepherd said to the other, I am going to get the flock out of here.  Remember, if you can’t spot the sucker in the first 30 minutes at the table, then you ARE the sucker.  Peace.