NBA Free Agency

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em.

What in the world? What just happened? In what has to be one of the wildest Free Agencies since "The Decision", we have missed quite a bit while being off for the Fourth of July. With so much to cover, let us hit the high points and discuss.

Kevin Durant to Golden State

Wow! In the biggest surprise, Kevin Durant leaves the only franchise that he has ever known. We all knew that Durant would be visiting teams, but I don't think that anyone would have imagined that he would have gone to Golden State: the team that his OKC Thunder took to the brink in the Western Conference Finals only to lose in Game 7 after having a 3-1 lead. Sure, we had heard early reports that Durant might consider going, but I cannot believe yet that he signed. Just because the bully on the playground beat the crap out of you does not mean that you should be his friend. Durant signed a two-year contract worth $54.3 million with a player option after the first year. Durant has since stated that he intends on staying with the Warriors throughout the rest of his career. A hard pill to swallow if you remember the last time Durant had a contract negotiation. While LeBron was having his decision on ESPN, Durant tweeted his extension with the Thunder out over Twitter. Best of luck to the young man, but we're still scratching our heads over this one.



Dwayne Wade Leaves Heat for Bulls

Dwayne Wade returns home as he signs a contract with the Chicago Bulls. For the first time in his long career, Wade will be the highest paid player on the team. Feeling unwanted and unappreciated in Miami, Wade goes to Chicago where it was rumored he might sign with the last time he was a free agent. Joining him will be Rajon Rondo who also signed with the Bulls to the tune of two-years $28 million. Wade will now make $47.5 million over the next two seasons when he could have stayed in Miami for about $7 million less. Wade is known for taking pay cuts to bring in talent. Now, he has decided that it is time for him to earn his due. Congratulations on returning home!




Next post, we will look at some of the more puzzling signings of this Free Agency Period. Tune in next time to see the busts!




-Dug
@chansm1th

Saturday Morning WakeUp

Good Saturday morning! I won't be posting anymore this weekend after this one due to husbandly duties, it is my wife's birthday weekend and I'll be busy as shit. Let's jump into what happened last night, then look forward to the high points of the weekend.

Heat Fight Off Elimination, Defeat Raptors 103-91

Miami forced a Game 7 last night after taking down the Raptors at home. Goran Dragic poured in 30 points while Dwyane Wade added another 22. After turning it up in Game 5, DeMar DeRozan scored 23 and Kyle Lowry had 36. The Raptors had a chance to clinch last night and they laid an egg. They will return north of the border to fight it out one more time in Game 7 on Sunday. Early Prediction: Heat win.

Welcome to the Show, Matt "F@cking" Bush

By now you should have read the article posted yesterday about troubled pitcher Matt Bush. Well at the ripe old age of 30, the former number one pick in the draft finally made his major league debut. Bush got thrown into the fire in the ninth inning with Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, and Edwin Encarnacion waiting for him. Bush would strike out Donaldson before retiring the next two in order for a scoreless and hitless inning. I am proud for him. Hopefully, he can stay clean and actually get to throw more.

Looking to the weekend, there are a few interesting things on the schedule, but nothing like last weekend. Game 7 between Miami and Toronto is on Sunday. The winner will face Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Sunday Night Baseball features St Louis headed to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers. Mike Leake (traitor) will take the hill against Alex Wood. Any time the Cardinals play, it's always a good chance to root against them. 

The NASCAR boys are in Dover for the weekend. Racing, to the normal fan, means nothing at the moment. We still have a few races before the Playoffs begin to take shape. Tomorrow in Dover, Kevin Harvick is on the pole. Blog Folk Hero, Dale Earnhardt Jr, will be his partner on the first row. In the last five races, Kyle Busch has finished first or second in four of them. He leads the standings with three wins and is starting third. 

That's all I have. Hopefully some of the other writers might keep you entertained this weekend. Hope you all have a great time!

-Dug

@chansm1th

Late Morning Wake Up

Get Out of Bed!!

Good Morning! Yes, it's almost afternoon, but we're getting a late start today. Lot of playoff action on the table, including a pair of intriguing baseball games today. Let's get started with what happened while you were asleep. 

Pittsburgh Finishes Off Washington

The Penguins beat the Caps in overtime last night to win the series 4-2, but it wasn't easy. Pittsburgh watched as their 3-0 squandered before the Caps forced overtime. With the win, they are now 8-1 all-time in the playoffs against Washington. Next up will be the Eastern Conference Finals where they will face a Tampa Bay team that they went 0-2-1 against during the regular season. 

OKC Takes 3-2 Over San Antonio

The Spurs had lost only one game at home through the entire regular season. They have now lost two straight in a single series to the Thunder. Last night was Russell Westbrook's night. Westbrook torched the Spurs for 35 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists. Game 6 sees the series return to OKC on Thursday where the Thunder will try to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2014. 

Looking to tonight, we have two Game 5's in the NBA. Miami heads back north of the border to take on Toronto while Portland limps on their last leg into Golden State. Game 7 of the NHL Western Conference second round match up between the St Louis Blues and Dallas Stars will also be on the slate. 

Looking to baseball, we have two intriguing match ups. In one, we have two undefeated pitchers facing off. In the other, opposing pitchers facing their former team. 

The Chicago White Sox and the Texas Rangers combined last night for 24 runs. Today, the two starters meeting are each undefeated and have a sub-3 ERA. Mat Latos (5-0, 2.62) takes the mound against Cole Hamels (4-0, 2.68) in what should be a great game. First pitch is at 2:05. 

In the night cap, we turn our eyes toward our nation's capital again for another match up between the Tigers and the Nationals. Jordan Zimmerman (5-1, 1.10) faces the team he spent the last six seasons with for the first time tonight. His opponent on the mound will be Max Scherzer (3-2, 4.60) will also be facing his former team in the Detroit Tigers. Both pitchers have recently signed huge off-season contracts with their current teams. Should you watch this game, you will be seeing a combined $320 million worth of pitching arms out of the two starters. 

That's all I have at the moment. Keep a lookout for posts throughout the day. As always, thanks for reading. 

-Dug

@chansm1th