Are you seriously mocking LeBron James for one lousy season, you ingrates?
Ted Berg writes the Morning Win newsletter for For The Win. Follow him on Twitter at @OGTedBerg or email him at AskTedBerg@gmail.com.
Are you serious with this? You're really going on Twitter to mock LeBron James, undoubtedly the best basketball player of his generation and arguably the best basketball player of all time, because he finally found a team he can't carry to the NBA Finals?
Now you're straight-up mocking LeBron James -- the LeBron James, the main basketball guy, the proud dad, the man who took the high road in a feud with the actual president -- over some apparent defensive lapses in a disappointing season?
You ingrates! Has social media melted your brains?
It's wild. It really is. Our hot-take culture craves novelty and immediacy, and when we all constantly jockey to put the newest and boldest and most outlandish spin on the latest in sports, we wind up standing at the edge of a great forest yelling, "Oh my goodness, look at this tree! This tree is horrible! See that pile of flaming garbage someone left by its roots? This tree is creating a toxic environment!"
Smart people who've followed this NBA season a lot more closely than I have argue that LeBron is hardly to blame for the Lakers' struggles. He can be a tough guy to play with because he expects so much of his teammates, and he is undoubtedly giving all of himself to the lousier-than-expected Los Angeles team that hasn't quite clicked yet.
But even if LeBron were genuinely having a bad year and providing poor effort, has he not earned enough of our respect and patience for us to lay off ripping the guy on Twitter after a few bad games? Dude is a 15-time All-Star and a four-time MVP with three rings.
At this age, Michael Jordan had already retired once to play minor league baseball and was about to retire again. LeBron still has us connecting free-agency dots to figure out how his Lakers put together a winner next season.
Subscribers to this newsletter were promised irreverence, and so I apologize for this very reverent take on LeBron James. But no other active athlete deserves nearly as much. The social-media sheep need to pay more respect to the GOAT.
Tuesday's big winner: Brandone Francis
Francis, a Texas Tech senior guard from the Dominican Republic, had not seen his mother in two years due to visa issues. The school worked to sort them out, then surprised him by bringing her to the arena for senior night. Part of me -- though not the part of me with a job -- wishes such moments were left off social media, but the video is lovely.
Quick hits: Harper, soccer failure, Thrones
- Bryce Harper committed some mild tampering by admitting what he and the rest of the world already know: If Mike Trout hits free agency in two years, the Phillies are going to push hard for the South Jersey native. MLB will probably warn Harper for this, but should not even bother. There's obviously a big difference between saying, "heck yeah, I want the best player in the world on my team" and being all, "psst, Mike Trout, get to free agency and we'll give you this specific offer with these specific terms." And if the league is invested in turning its stars into superstars, it shouldn't go around issuing gag orders on the rare occasion they say something mildly interesting.
- A soccer man made a tactical blunder by getting himself intentionally suspended for a game he assumed his team would dominate. His team, Real Madrid, is one of the soccer teams I've heard of, and it lost to Ajax, a dish soap and mythological warrior.
- The trailer for Season 8 of Game of Thrones dropped on Tuesday and our Charles Curtis has a full recap. I have watched the entire run of this show since its most recent season ended and can't wait for some of the content For The Win has planned upon its return in April. The trailer features a disappointing lack of Podrick, the best character.
Weird sport Wednesday: Shin-kicking
The sport of shin-kicking is exactly what it sounds like, but it's actually kind of boring to watch. Considered by some to be a British martial art -- which really lowers the bar for the term "art" -- the endeavor dates back to the 17th century. Competitors lock arms and try to kick each other in the shins until one of them falls down or submits by yelling, "sufficient!" Steel-toed boots have been outlawed.