COVID19

More Like Cam NewTown, Amirite?

Chris Cook, , , Leave a comment
Photo: Know Your Meme

Cam Newton has made his last fashion statement in New England.

The quarterback, one of the best dressed in football, was released by the Patriots Tuesday. The move coincides with rookie first rounder Mac Jones impressing during training camp, on top of the seemingly-unvaccinated Newton recently missing time due to NFL COVID protocol’s rules on leaving team facilities and needing to quarantine.

The 2015 NFL MVP is now a free agent and clear to sign wherever he pleases, and the market is seemingly unknown. Is he still a starter? Does he think he’s still a starter? How many years does he have left after looking dreadful most of last year?

All is well in Camland, however. Shortly after his release was announced, Newton went to Instagram to assure us he’s all good:


In case you’re worried the device you’re reading this on has a virus; yes that font is correct. As confident as Newton is in his style, he’s as confident in using Wingdings on social media. You honestly have to appreciate the fearless font usage.

NFL team’s love a self-assured quarterback, and Newton’s brave clothing and font selections may just help him land his next gig.

Sunday State of Mind: August 2nd-August 8th

Chris Cook, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Photo: Condé Nast Traveler

We’ve reached the end of another week of sports. We recap in the latest edition of SSM.

Many people doubting, and the takes were bold
But the theme of the weekend, US basketball gold
Men took first on Friday, women shortly after
Should’ve known all along, more banners in the rafters

Hall of Fame weekend, in the NFL
Induction of a group of guys, who played way more than well
Peyton Manning, Jimmy Johnson, and Edgerrin James
Many more guys on the list, all greats of the game

JD Martinez and Anthony Rizzo
Both put on the COVID List, major AL East blow
Both big boppers will now miss time while in quarantine
Another shitty part of what’s now normal routine

Sunday State of Mind: July 12th-June 18th

Chris Cook, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Photo: The Conversation

Reports of SSM’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Our weekly review of the past seven days in sports is back.

Collin Morikawa, The Open is all yours
Second win in eight majors, on his way to more
Jordan Spieth gave it a go, but came up just too short
Two young guns with bright ass futures, so great for the sport

Bucks are up three games to two, Suns are on their heels
The Finals will be over soon, we’ll all be in our feels
Devin Booker’s scoring in droves, Chris Paul is up and down
Giannis is one win away from dawning his first crown

If it is not one thing, it’s always another
Lindor and deGrom, why do the Mets even bother?
To say they have bad luck, would be and understatement at the least
Even with all the injuries, Mets first in the NL East

Speaking of New York, Yankees what the hell?
COVID outbreak last week, six positive players fell
Aaron Judge the biggest name, will be out at least 10 days
Will miss some time against the Phillies, Red Sox, and the Rays

Sunday State of Mind: December 1-December 6th

Chris Cook, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Photo: Chris Lejarazu on Unsplash

Sunday is here, and so is another week of SSM.

Baker Mayfield had himself a day
Four touchdowns, 334 yards, to the Titans’ dismay
The Browns moved to 9-3 on the year
Once in a blue moon the Dawg Pound can cheer

A few big name changes, on Chicago’s North Side
Kyle Schwarber is gone, and Len Kasper has gone for a ride
To The White Sox radio both, Cubs fans were surprised
What’s going on with the Cubs? It’s hard to surmise

A big name trade in the NBA
John Wall for Russell Westbrook, what the hey?!
A few bad contracts, who both wanted to change teams
This trade will only change things in Wizards & Rockets fan’s dreams

Alabama football rolled their rival LSU
The Crimson Tide won by 38, Tigers didn’t have a clue
In this weird COVID season, one thing remains the same
Alabama is good, and they’ll probably win every game

The NBA Dropped the 2020-2021 “City Edition” Jerseys Today and We are Now Fashion Critics

Chris Cook, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

The NBA is the the best in the big four sports at a lot of things. They by far and away have the best commissioner in Adam Silver, they lead the charge in the “bubble” phenomenon while getting their sport back on track during the pandemic, and have been for the most part the league least afraid to take stands on both social and political issues.

They also are not afraid to get weird with it when it comes to uniforms, which I respect. Don’t get me wrong, I love the traditional uniforms of Alabama football, Yankee baseball, etc. But getting out of your comfort zone is always a good thing, both in uniforms and in life. In recent years, the NBA has begun creating new uniforms for teams, calling them “City Edition” jerseys that are meant to show “team history and unique city stories.” The 2021 versions were fully released today, and boy are they something.

Atlanta Hawks – while the MLK tribute is awesome, this looks like a jersey from a low budget, late 90’s Disney movie about a team full of scrubs who pulled out all of the right tricks, and had juuuust the right amount of luck to upset the far superiorly talented rivals from across town.
Boston Celtics – an ode to the 17 championship banners hanging in TD Garden, this jersey is the aforementioned far superiorly talented rivals from across town that the Atlanta Hawks beat in the low budget late 90’s Disney movie.
Brooklyn Nets – this jersey has the “Friends” font; and we all know how we feel about Friends around here.
Charlotte Hornets – this jersey looks like mint chocolate ice cream, and it makes me mad because I don’t have any right now.
Chicago Bulls – the Bulls slogan is “Touch the Clouds,” which is ironic because they haven’t touched anywhere higher than eighth place in the Eastern Conference in the past five years.
Cleveland Cavaliers – the font on the Cavs jerseys is as unbalanced and messy as the organization itself.
Dallas Mavericks – hard to find much wrong with these, besides the fact that one of the NBA’s best players, Luka Dončić, wears number 77. Get the hell out of here and give the man a real number.
Denver Nuggets – bold move by the Nuggets here to trot themselves out there wearing the Russian National Team’s uniforms.
Detroit Pistons – very fitting slogan here, “Tough Together,” Pistons fans have had to watch some tough looking basketball together for the last decade or so.
Golden State Warriors – hard to argue with this one, paying tribute to Oakland after moving into their new arena in San Francisco. Like most things The Warriors have done since they drafted Steph Curry, this was done right.
Houston Rockets – so we’re just copy and pasting the alternate Thunder jerseys here? Cool, cool.
Indiana Pacers – a nice throwback here that reminds me of one of my favorite players of all time, Rik Smits.
Los Angeles Clippers – these are pretty much identical to the Clippers 2019-2020 “City Edition” jerseys, so bonus points for fresh creativity. Bonus points for making me want to play Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas when I see the font.
Los Angeles Lakers – a throwback to the old Minneapolis Laker uniforms. Nice mix of old current uniforms with the updated Lakers font up top.
Memphis Grizzlies – these are solid, but I wish they would’ve just went for it with the old Vancouver Grizzlies uniforms, which are just gorgeous and remind me of another one of my favorite old players, Bryant “Big Country” Reeves.
Miami Heat – this is the perfect city/team for something like “City Edition” jerseys. Miami can do anything with any neon pink, blue, orange, etc. and make it look great. A very solid, wavy effort here.
Milwaukee Bucks – does anyone really associate Milwaukee with the Great Lakes? I don’t, but can only assume this is what Giannis Antetokounmpo wanted, and The Bucks continue to do whatever they can to keep him happy and in Milwaukee.
Minnesota Timberwolves – this is just generally boring. Also the slogan “The North Star That Guides & Unites” is pretty great for a organization that has seemingly no direction at this point.
New Orleans Pelicans – an ambitious stab here, although I think it came out looking more like what I would have came up with for uniforms of my “Create A Team” in NBA Live 2002. You know, the one with Steve Francis on the cover.
Oklahoma City Thunder – there is A LOT going on here. But the Love’s Truck Stop patch is always good for a chuckle.
Orlando Magic – Orlando has messed around with incorporating orange into their uniforms in last years “City Edition,” and I just don’t get it. They have a great color scheme, and should use it here.
Philadelphia 76ers – a lot of horizontal action happening here. This jersey looks like it belongs on an AAU team from Philly.
Phoenix Suns – these I can get into. The mountain formation of the classic Suns colors. Great look for Devin Booker and his new BFF Chris Paul.
Portland Trailblazers – fun fact: these jerseys are a tribute to a never-before released alternate jersey of the Flint Tropics.
Sacramento Kings – I can see thousands of bros at Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza rocking these bad boys solely because is has “sac” on it, which is approval enough for me.
San Antonio Spurs – very smooth. Slick font, crisp lines across the chest. I’m all in here.
Toronto Raptors – from a team that’s going to be playing in Tampa Bay next year, missed opportunity to double up on your sales by throwing “Tampa Bay” and “Toronto” across the chest. Those friendly Canadians are too nice to make people pay twice though, eh?
Utah Jazz – cool idea, but why stop the color scheme at the top of “Utah?” Let those warm colors keep rolling in cold ass Salt Lake City.
Washington Wizards – ending our recap here with a banger. These are great, from the throwback logo to the flag pattern moving down the sides. This is the best thing the Wizards franchise has done in a while.

Even though it seems like the NBA season ended last week, it will be back on Christmas Day. Bring on The Association and all of the great, and not so great, “City Edition” jerseys that come with it.

Sunday State of Mind: November 23rd-November 29th

Chris Cook, , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Photo: Jairo Gonzalez on Unsplash

We took some time to give thanks this week, and ignored the blog while doing so. But we’re back, and ready to review what we missed in the past seven days in this week’s Sunday State of Mind.

The Match 3 went down, teeing off on Friday
Phil, Chuck, Peyton, and Steph were excited to play
In a big upset, Charles Barkley played well
Chuck and Phil won 4 & 3, Peyton and Steph fell

Some more random sports, Mike Tyson is back!
He fought Roy Jones Jr., but the excitement lacked
It wasn’t a full match, only an exhibition spar
The “fight” was a draw, and was as slow as tar

Moving on to real sports, college basketball
A little behind schedule, still started in late fall
It’s great to see action back on the hardwood
A small step towards things feeling more like they should

Hate to beat a dead horse, but COVID’s still here
Ravished the Ravens, a realized fear
The MVP Lamar Jackson had a positive test
Ravens/Steelers delayed six days, not the best

Sunday State of Mind: November 2nd-November 8th

Chris Cook, , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Photo: Matthew Smith on Unsplash

It’s Sunday. The weekend is slipping away from us. Let’s enjoy this week’s SSM while we still can.

Dalvin Cook just keeps going and going
Last week and this week, after his injured groin
He’s topped 200 yards two games in a row
What a gift for the Vikings, wrap that man in a bow

Notre Dame bested Clemson in a top five battle
The Golden Domers now sit in college football’s saddle
Students rushed the field, said “we can’t stop” like Miley Cyrus
Here’s hoping this scene doesn’t lead to a spread of the Coronavirus

Not a sports topic, but what the heck
We want to pay tribute to Alex Trebek
The GOAT game show host, his memory won’t cease
All the best to his loves ones, may he rest in peace

Sunday State of Mind: October 26th-November 1st

Chris Cook, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Photo: Annie Nyle on Unsplash

Fall is here, friends. The leaves have changed, the sweaters have been donned, and the clocks have moved back. Let’s all get comfortable and enjoy this week’s SSM.

Tua Time in Miami, the rookie made his debut
A surprise win over the Rams, the Dolphins feel anew
Tua didn’t have a big game, or put up many stats
But if the Dolphins keep winning, they’ll no longer be AFC East cellar rats

We crowned a new World Series champ this week, the Dodgers from LA
Emerged victorious over the Rays of Tampa Bay
A lot of talk on the internet on the decisions of Kevin Cash
If he kept Blake Snell in longer, it could be the Rays throwing the championship bash

Trevor Lawrence, Clemson’s long-haired quarterback
Tested positive for COVID, by the disease he’s been sacked
The best QB in the NCAA missed this week’s game
It was also announced he’ll miss Clemson’s next contest against Notre Dame

This week the Chicago Cubs declined Jon Lester’s option for 2021
Unless he’s brought back on a cheaper deal, his time with the Cubs is done
Big Jon did something very cool this weekend, something very dear
He’s buying the entire city of Chicago their first rounds of beer

Sunday State of Mind: October 19th-October 25th

Chris Cook, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Photo: Frank McKenna on Unsplash

We took a bit of a break from SSM last week. We couldn’t be more excited to return, please enjoy.

Dodgers and Rays, not even here
To talk about tonight’s game, because Saturday was so weird
Game Four ended with two errors and a slip
It was so insane, an absolute trip

A sentence I thought I would never say
Things aren’t going great with the Patriot Way
Three picks for Cam, and a loss to San Francisco
After all their success, hard to feel bad for New England Massholes

Big 10 Football is back, and we had a wild one
Indiana beat Penn State on a last second run
The call was so close, and was impossible to call
How can you not love college football?

On the flip side of college football, Jaylen Waddle
Sadly fractured his ankle while going full throttle
Another week one star, Badger QB Graham Mertz
Tested positive for COVID, both injuries must hurt

Sunday State of Mind: September 28th-October 4th

Chris Cook, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment
Photo: David Kovalenko on Unsplash

Sunday evening: a time to sit back, reflect on your weekend, and read this week’s SSM.

The NBA Finals is in full swing
The Heat are decimated, The Lakers are getting the ring
It probably was always going to end this way
With only Jimmy Butler for Miami, and LeBron and AD for LA

The MLB playoffs have advanced a round
Only half of the playoff teams are left and still taking the mound
It is a bit sad, that we won’t have a chance
For a Cubs/White Sox World Series, since neither advanced

Russell Wilson continues to be
In this blogger’s opinion, NFL MVP
He balled out again today, carved Miami with a knife and fork
Don’t think we forgot though, he’s still a dork

The big NFL story, another COVID outbreak
Cam Newton tested positive, a sad truth to take
The cases are clearly rising in the NFL
I think we all wish this virus would just go to hell