OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 04: Stephen Curry #30 and Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors react to a play against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the 2017 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 4, 2017 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
The Cheat SheetBy David Lauterbach on

The NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals may be over, but that doesn’t mean the sports world has slowed down: the Warriors are unsurprisingly favorites to repeat, Nintendo took part in its first E3 with the Switch, Texas football was screwed over by LSU, and a Dock Ellis biopic is in production.

The Warriors are favorites to repeat to nobody’s surprise

OAKLAND, CA – JANUARY 12: Kevin Durant #35 and Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors smile as the run back down court during their game against the Detroit Pistons at ORACLE Arena on January 12, 2017 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Just hours after the Warriors held off the Cavs to win the 2017 NBA title, we’ve already got the odds for next season. Big shocker: the Warriors are the favorites. But what’s interesting here is the epic proportions by Vegas sports books are favoring them.

Golden State is listed with 1:2 odds while the Cavs are the only other team in single digits at 3:1. The Spurs (12:1) and the Celtics (15:1) are the only others with odds better than 30:1, so it’s pretty clear what that the bookies expect Cavs-Warriors Part IV next June.

Here’s what oddsmaker Jeff Sherman from Westgate Las Vegas Superbook told ESPN’s David Purdum:

“They’re going to be the highest favorite we’ve ever had going into a season, any team in any sport,” Jeff Sherman, NBA oddsmaker at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, told ESPN.

And that’s scary.

According to Sherman, there’s really only one thing the Cavs can do to narrow the gap between them and the Warriors, and that would be a trade for Pacers star Paul George:

“Adding [George] to the mix might be the closest thing we could see to another team challenging [Golden State] next year,” Sherman said, adding that the Warriors would still be the favorites if Cleveland added George.

Nintendo’s first E3 with the Switch hits all the right chords

Electronic Arts showed off a new story mode in Madden NFLon Saturday. Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One X on Sunday. On Monday, Sony had a lengthy yet somewhat unfulfilling press event. On Tuesday, all eyes shifted to Nintendo at E3 as the company looked to showcase the Nintendo Switch for the first time in the E3 spotlight. Though Nintendo does not put on a grand show the way Sony and Microsoft do, Nintendo went for quality over quantity during a nearly half-hour digital presentation.

Going into E3, Nintendo made it clear the large focus of their main digital presentation would be on games due to come out in 2017, which meant some new looks at Super Mario Odyssey and perhaps Splatoon 2. But Nintendo always has a few surprises in store for their fans and their first day showcasing upcoming titles has been no disappointment.

For example, I thought there was next to no chance Nintendo would do anything with their Metroid franchise, but Nintendo not only teased a long-awaited Metroid Prime title for the Nintendo Switch but also a complete re-imagination of Metroid II from the old Game Boy in the updated form of Metroid: Samus Returns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2mZS_p4A7Y

LSU is causing issues for Texas football

BATON ROUGE, LA – NOVEMBER 19: LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron comes out the tunnel with the team during the game between the Florida Gators and the LSU Tigers on November 19, 2016, at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA. (Photo by Stephen Lew/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

LSU and Texas are not in the same conference, but they’re big rivals and competitors when it comes to football recruiting. As of now, the two schools have the third and fourth-best football recruiting classes respectively in the country, according to ESPN.

But the Longhorns don’t want to be fourth and they definitely don’t want to be behind the Tigers. Texas was hoping to improve its recruiting by taking its show on the road this Thursday, just west of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The Longhorns were scheduled to work a camp in Hammond, Louisiana about 45 miles west of Baton Rouge that would have been hosted by Belhaven University, a Division III school in Mississippi.

Then, LSU happened.

The camp was nearly canceled earlier Tuesday as well. Before it was officially canceled, Belhaven had to move the camp to Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Hammond after BREC Memorial Stadium, which is actually in Baton Rouge, pulled out.

Dock Ellis biopic in development

PITTSBURGH, PA – CIRCA 1970: Dock Ellis #17 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during an Major League Baseball game circa 1970 at Three River Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ellis played for the Pirates from 1968-75. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Three years ago, a documentary about former major league pitcher Dock Ellis reminded us of what a compelling story, what a trip his 12-year baseball career was. Now, the hurler’s story has a chance to reach an even wider audience with a feature film. Dock is getting a biopic, with the announcement made on the 47th anniversary of him pitching a no-hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As reported by Deadline’s Anita Busch, the movie will be titled Dock and O’Shea Jackson (Straight Outta Compton) is attached to star as Ellis. Jackson is the son of rapper Ice Cube and played his father in the biopic about famed hip hop group N.W.A. The resemblance between son and father added a layer of authenticity and wonder to the performance. Obviously, that same emotional connection won’t be there for portraying Dock Ellis, but in looking at old photos, there is a physical resemblance between the actor and pitcher.

A script has already been written for the film and Ice Cube is among the producers of the film. According to Deadline, the project is currently being shopped around to potential directors. Ellis’s son, Dock Ellis III, is also a consultant on the movie.

Quick Hits

Stephen Curry and family

– Love them or hate them, Steph Curry’s family is adorable.

https://twitter.com/Mariaxayn/status/874480381906620416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fthecomeback.com%2Fnba%2Fsteph-curry-family-pose-championship-trophy-adorable-photos.html

– LaVar Ball said something ridiculous again.

– A woman in Maine was saved by firemen from a river where she was stranded. Moments later, she was arrested.

– LeBron apparently forgot about Miami when he said he didn’t believe he played for a super team.

– What’s next for the Cleveland Cavaliers? Only LeBron James truly knows.

– Notre Dame threw shade at Michigan in piece of recruiting mail.

– Former tight end Weslye Saunders received trespassing warning at Seahawks practice facility.

As you can imagine, the events unfolded differently than Saunders had hoped. Here’s what he told Seahawks Wire’s Liz Mathews about his visit:

“I brought my cleats to the facility today just in case coach Carroll wanted to tell me to get on the field and run some routes,” Saunders told me Friday on the phone. “I could show him I’m just as good as Jimmy [Graham] and any of those guys. That’s pretty much what I wanted to show.

“Of course, I failed miserably at the gate on the front end of things, but exposure and obviously shining a little light on what I’m trying to do here is never a bad thing.”

– ‘Flatliners’ looks like a flat remake and nostalgia grab, based on first trailer.

– Fan breaks into Lions minicamp, lobs verbal insults at players and media, promptly gets tossed.

– A new Senate bill aims to shut down federal taxpayer money being used for stadium costs.

– Vince Papale shows support for guy staking out Eagles practice in hopes of getting an opportunity.

“He didn’t know who I was at first,” Papale said CSNPhilly.com of his first encounter with the aspiring football player. “I said, ‘I know where you’re coming from, I’m Vince Papale.’ He almost passed out he was so appreciative. I liked his reaction right from the beginning. He’s got a great attitude.”

– Every coach should be like this Sam Houston State coach.

https://twitter.com/BearkatVid/status/874114867946549248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fthecomeback.com%2Fncaa%2Fevery-coach-like-sam-houston-states-baseball-coach-sports-world-better-place.html

– Young Penguins fan lost it as he showed off his signed Sidney Crosby shirt.

– How long after the Warriors lost to the Cavs in 2017 did Draymond Green wait to start recruiting Kevin Durant? Less than an hour.

– A former discus thrower chose the NFL over Oxford Law School. Guess who!

– The Washington Nationals have one of the best young players in the game named Trea Turner. They also just drafted Trey Turner.

– A UCF football player makes hilarious YouTube videos, but he may have to stop because of how he is profiting off them.

– And finally, Go Dubs.

A Random “The Office” Video:

Happy Almost Father’s Day!

One Last Glorious Moment of Procrastination:

An oldie but a goodie.

About David Lauterbach

David is a writer for The Comeback. He enjoyed two Men's Basketball Final Four trips for Syracuse before graduating in 2016. If The Office or Game of Thrones is on TV, David will be watching.

View all posts by David Lauterbach