Sunday State of Mind: May 30th-June 5th

The weather has turned as we are past the unofficial opening of summer. The beautiful forecast calls for some beautiful sports poetry.

The NBA Finals, Boston and The Bay
Warriors and Celtics are here to play
Al Horford and the boys took game one on the road
If they win again tonight Draymond might explode

Capital One’s The Match, the QB edition
Four of our top quarterbacks in the competition
Brady, Rodgers, Patty, Josh, young guns verse the old
ARod and TB12 took it to them for the gold

Baseball staying relevant, thanks to the NFL
Tommy Pham’s a wildcard, we’re saying “what the hell?”
Who hasn’t wanted to slap a fellow league member
Fantasy football means a lot, Tommy’s got a temper

Avalanche and Rangers, not a lot of spoilers
Both looking for a sweep against the Lightning and the Oilers
Only a few shots left for Tampa and Edmonton
If they don’t get it in gear both squads will soon be done

Kevin Durant and Draymond Green Sat Down For an All Time Interview

Photo: YouTube

This was incredible.

Draymond Green dropped his latest episode of “Chips,” his interview series on Bleacher Report on Wednesday. This was a special one, as he sat down with former teammate and fellow chip-on-shoulder haver Kevin Durant. The best player in the NBA was open, introspective, and refreshing in the 24-minute video released on YouTube.

Off the jump, KD’s headgear selection was intriguing. You have to wonder if the selection of an Oakland A’s hat was a tip of the cap (bad joke) to Warriors fans for his time in the Bay. Even if it wasn’t on purpose, it was ironic.

Despite being teammates on back-to-back championship teams, in today’s environment, the pair are probably better known for their blowout argument (start’s at about 0:56 in the link) that went fully viral. It does appear the two got over the argument, and rather quickly. KD made an interesting comparison between their “conversation” and the infamous Scottie Pippen sitting out incident; saying it was better to “get all that shit out” in the moment instead of letting anything fester. Can’t say I disagree with him.

Another subject Green breached with The Slim Reaper was his apparent change in personality between his clean, “kid who wears the book bag” he was assigned while in Oklahoma City to what we’ve seen since then. In terms of the much maligned career move of leaving the Thunder to join the Warriors, KD said “[i]t was a basketball decision, but I knocked it down to not giving a fuck.”

When discussing how his attitude change towards the media, he also provided compelling openness in admitting he believed they knew more than he did. With age and experience, he was able to find more of himself; noting “the questions they ask me now don’t move me like they used to.” Another encouraging viewpoint of a person finding out more about who they are and not being afraid to be that person.

This interview included a man who seems to be at peace with the person he has become. When asked about his happiest professional moment, Durant expressed his dislike for the word “happy,” saying “it’s a fleeting feeling. I just want to enjoy every day being alive…I don’t want to chase happiness, I want to stay even.”

It was exceptional seeing a personable, accessible, and seemingly unburdened KD. I hope we get to see more of this in the future.

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

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