Suss Sez
New York, New York. The big bad city that can ‘homer’ with the smallest town in Iowa…and then rip you to shreds when the expectations don’t meet the narrative. And no better example than this past week, when the Las Vegas Summer League was treated as the fifth game of the NBA Finals…forgetting that Sin City is very, very big on the glitz…and who cares about the substance!
I get it…Knick fans, and some Knick beats, are starved for success. Tired of watching all of the other teams dance in May and June, while the lottery (or as one former exec I worked for called it…The Loser’s Ball…but I digress) becomes the bane of your existence. And with the 9th pick…let’s go Calipari, let’s go Rupp Arena, let’s take Kevin (Fort) Knox. And then watch the the Penn Station version of the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius. A dunk. A monster dunk. A two-hand throwdown. A successful launch from downtown. Where’s Barbra and Kris? A Star is Born!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What…it’s not the real season?
Back in the day, a trip to summer league was an excursion to Beantown, where the games were played at UMass…not the main stage in Amherst, but the satellite campus Boston, sponsored by a supermarket chain. No glamour, no glitz, and for many, no game. (So at this point I must tell one of my two George stories, which took place during the summer league. In town to watch the Yankees, the man born on the Fourth of July ventured to watch his team play, since those were the halcyon days of Yankee/Nets. During a timeout, I ran scoresheets to the execs in the stands, which included the aforementioned George M…who proceeded to wave me off as if I was not carrying stats, but the frozen pieces of Ted Williams….The Boss).
George Steinbrenner Photo: ap.com
So even though the games are all slicked out, it’s still summer league, which has no relation to training camp, which has no relation to the regular season, which has no relation to the first round of the playoffs, etc. etc. But I will add this caveat. You don’t often see a player who flounders in the summer excel in the fall. And vice versa.
So it would appear that although Double K may or may not be the Messiah that the tabloids are yearning for, on first glance, there’s a lot of potential to if not walk on water…at least look good aboard a wave runner.
Oh…and he’s only 18!!
SEZ WHAT?
John Isner lost 26-24 in the fifth set in the Wimbledon semis. And signed autographs as he left the court. That, ladies and gentlemen, is class.
And since this is 2018, maybe the Lords of the Grass can go to a fifth set tiebreak. Of cry uncle at 12-12. Something. Anything. It’s time.
The Cash-Man will protect those young assets. And go for another reliever and a good starter. But remember…the Cubs did trade ‘Every Day is Gleyber Day.’
At some point, the deGrominator is going to just say…it’s time.
Crushed the entire ‘Comedians in Cars’ stream. If you are a Jerry Lewis fan, the final episode where Seinfeld talks comedy with his idol is special.
Featured Photo: usatoday.com
