Shutdown Pair

Tag: NBA

  • Imagine It’s Us

    Imagine It’s Us

    The New York Knicks won last night, and predicably, NYC went nuts. Greg Pak has some great pics and videos from what was going on, and it’s been so much fun to see. Social media is flooded with images of a city partying and celebrating together – people from all walks of life, every age, making memories. This is a great addition to all of the fun that visitors to the US are having right now in the World Cup cities. It goes to show that sports at its best still brings people together.

    Imagine, for just a second, that it’s us. Obviously, the scale of the celebration will be smaller in Buffalo, but you can’t deny that this city is waiting for that party. You can see it, right? The city that dives through flaming tables on a regular-ass Sunday winning it all? Right now, the Bills have their best chance since the 90s of pulling it off – whatever you say about the coaching decisions, Josh Allen is still the quarterback. The Sabres just ended their season with a playoff run no one expected, breaking a drought and winning a series.

    The Knicks took 53 years to win again after their last championship. They had championship-caliber teams and players at various points during that time and couldn’t finish (doesn’t help that a lot of those teams had to go through Larry Bird, and Magic, and Michael Jordan, and Kobe, etc.). But eventually it DID happen, and what a time they are having with it now.

    These current teams might never get over the hump. Josh Allen may never get the right help and coaching at the right time. The Sabres may slip back down next season. What matters is enjoying the success while it’s happening. I keep coming back to it: “We can’t control the team on the ice or field, or what the media writes, but we are in charge of ourselves. Be happy. Have fun.” Show up, cheer until you lose your voice, high five a stranger. Chug beer from a plastic sabre, take a shot from a bowling ball. Most importantly, enjoy the ride. Maybe it ends before a trophy, but being in that mix is the best feeling a fan can have. Don’t lose sight of it.

    New Yorkers singing Empire State of Mind

    — Rav (@rvbdrm.com) 2026-06-14T04:43:11.612Z

  • A Response to GeekDad’s Open Letter to the NHL

    My worlds, they have collided.  I read GeekDad (via Wired) fairly often, as there’s often great gaming and science content there, and that’s of interest to me and my son/daughters.  I was quite surprised to see an article there about hockey, combining my two blog-lives in one place.  Unfortunately, it’s not a positive thing – it’s about the insane level of violence that marred the beginning of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

    Look, we’ve all talked it to death over the past week, and I’m not going to re-hash it.  Shanny got some of these suspensions wrong.  The jumping elbow-to-the-head isn’t a ‘hockey play’ and needs to be handled with severe penalties.  If you don’t like fighting, that’s fine, not everyone does, and there are plenty of folks who would like to see it reduced or eliminated from the game.

    Where I take issue, though, is this:

    There is a large group of people who attend games just to watch people fight and get hurt.

    No no NO.  This is exactly the same as saying “oh, those rednecks only go to the NASCAR races for the crashes!”, and it’s just as untrue.  Way to set yourself up on the high road.  Hockey, like football and even basketball to a lesser extent, is a contact sport.  Guys moving that fast, there’s going to be collisions and injuries.  As a long-time fan, I find a clean thundering hit just as entertaining as a breakaway goal snipe by a skill guy.  The same way I enjoy a receiver getting blasted over the middle but holding on to the ball, or a player driving the lane and delivering a powerful dunk while defenders go flying.  I do not like the staged fights, but I admit I enjoy some good fisticuffs when there’s a reason for them.

    Look, I’m all for removing the stupid hits from the game, the head-hunting, heck, toss in the slewfooting while you’re at it.  It’s a great thing to advocate for.  I watch the game with my kids sometimes, though in general my son has ignored the fights when they happen (even if I stand up to get a look at who’s dropped the gloves).  But your words lose some of their effectiveness with me when you want to me and every other hockey fan I know into a ‘large group’ that loves seeing people get hurt.  Just not true.