Skip to main content

Sunday Sundown Rundown - 10/13/19


3 Up

1. Marathon Under 2 Hours - Eluid Kipchoge stunned the world this week with a sub-two hour marathon. While some of question the "legitimacy" of the accomplishment within the running world, the feat is still rather amazing. A 4:34 min/mile for 26 miles is rather ridiculous to wrap the mind around. Congrats to Kipchoge on probably one of the greatest athletic accomplishments in our lifetime.

2. Black Girls Rock - Black women athletes ruled the weekend. Simone Biles solidified herself as the greatest gymnast ever (as if there was any doubt) by earning the most gold medals ever. Coco Gauff won her first Tennis Title (becoming the youngest champion - ever). And, Brigid Kosgei shattered a world record at the Chicago Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 4 seconds. Such impressive stuff.

3. Tyler Perry Studios (and Shelter?) - If you, like me, saw the images and videos from Ava DuVernay's instagram of Tyler Perry's new studios, you were also in awe. The massive 330-acre lot is a testament to success, and is extremely powerful (and ironic) in that it's built upon an old slavery. However, now Perry plans to use part of the old plantation to develop a shelter for trafficked victims, homeless women, and youth within the LGBT community. Just amazing.

3 Down 

1. Atatiana Jefferson Death - There are no words for this. Even when called upon to help, somehow, our police ends up taking the life of people of color. Watch this story closely.

2. Laquan McDonald Investigation - Hundreds of documents were released this week showing that sixteen Chicago PD officers participated in an attempted cover-up after Laquan McDonald's death. While the murdered was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison (eye roll at the verdict), the idea that THIS is how precincts operate in the name of "justice" is abhorrent and sad. Then again, this is not a surprise to anyone that has been paying attention.

3. NBA - The NBA disgraced itself this week. In the face of the spotlight, it showed nothing but cowardice in the China/Hong-Kong/Darryl Morley situation. I get it - China is a significant chunk of your business. However, after encouraging free speech in your league on social values, you decide to not only adopt China's values in silencing your players, you coward your way through the entire ordeal, including the preseason trip to China. A HUGE L this week for the NBA.
Labels:

Recently Read

Would You Rather: Questions 121-130

This edition of "Would You Rather" is credited to the NBA Would You Rather NBA Account on Instagram ( See Here ). Adding to the fun, this edition (and possibly future ones) are all NBA basketball questions.  121. Who would you rather have on your favorite NBA team - Giannis Antetokounpo or James Harden?  Seeing how I'm a lifelong suffering Knicks fan, the thought of any of these guys in blue and orange is hard to believe. With that said, I'm taking the Greek Freak for this reason - I enjoy watching him play a bit more. Nothing against Harden who is amazing as well, but at times, the ball sticks and that isn't always fun. Plus, I feel like we haven't yet seen a finished Giannis. 122. Would you rather have Giannis Antetokounpo with no driving ability or James Harden with no Three-Point shooting ability?  This is definitely a weird and unique one, but I'll take Harden. Giannis without his strength doesn't offer much. However, if Harden's d...
Read more

Sunday Sundown Rundown - 2/15/26

Sunday Sundown Rundown returns! Going forward, I'll be sharing thoughts and ponderings in a format of three simple thoughts, opposed to the former "3 Up, 3 Down" of the past.   Mother of Savannah Guthrie I haven't been closely following the developments. I've checked in here and there, mostly hoping that this horrific story comes to an end. I simply continue to sympathize with concern, as not only are the emotions of having one's mother kidnapped for ransom more than enough to bear, but to have it played out publicly, before the nation, helplessly, is an unfathomable reality to understand. And of course, as all things in this culture, the story has been manipulated, pulled apart, and coerced into political representations that are not true, or at the very worst, worthy of discussion considering that someone's life - a person's mother - is at stake.  Winter Olympics It's not my favorite. Summer Olympics are my jam. Nonetheless, this Winter Olympics...
Read more

My Crazy Idea to Fix Tanking

There can be a lot of pointless discussion in sports today. I find the one spearheaded by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on the league's "tanking" issue intriguing.  Every league somewhat deals with "rebuilding" strategies of its teams, often, which can be drastic enough that it is obvious winning isn't a priority within said strategy.  This discussion isn't new.  This problem isn't new.  It certainly has evolved over the years. And in a time where each league and its overall product are competing with other entertainment entities and devices for engagement, in addition to the constant discourse, criticism, and oversight that is social media, sports discussion, and fandom, we've reached this point.  In the old days, it was just sort of an understanding among partners in terms of behavior. I think what we're seeing is modern analytics where it's so clear that the incentives are misaligned. Are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than ...
Read more