Good morning!
Let’s Cheat Sheet.
DeMar DeRozan ALMOST puts down an all-timer
There’s something about international basketball that brings out great dunks. Maybe it’s national pride, as our best players want to make America great again by dunking all over every other nation on earth. More likely, it’s that a collection of the NBA’s best gets to play loose against teams with lesser talent. In any case, Tuesday night saw an attempt at a dunk that’s going to be memorable despite it not being completed.
Here’s DeMar DeRozan going for a 360-posterization:
DeMar DeRozan attempts a 360 poster dunk.https://t.co/x85BHr2J8Y
— ✶ Ⓜ️𝕒𝕣𝕔𝕦𝕤 ▶️ ✶ (@_MarcusD_) July 27, 2016
Man do I wish he’d put that down and gotten the and-1 too. That would have been sweet. In any case, it joins the ranks of other famous near-miss dunks. One of my personal choices for this particularly category actually comes from the college game, albeit from a player now in the league:
But this section also gives me an excuse to throw in one of the best dunks of all time, which WAS completed and also took place in international competition. The 2000 Olympics, to be specific. I think you know where we’re going here:
My goodness, that’s still awesome.
Everything’s better with puppies
For one NFL player, training camp meant it was time to bring the full squad. And that includes puppies.
https://vine.co/v/5KmrwPUIE6P
That’s corner Bashaud Breeland, who plays for Washington’s NFL franchise whose nickname I won’t write. And my goodness that’s adorable. Here’s another adorable thing that reminds me of:
And plenty more! Fun fact: Dan Snyder will likely be spending training camp kicking those puppies in an attempt to stay sharp. (Obviously not true. Dan Snyder, as far as I know, does not kick puppies. Though we can’t rule it out, either. That’s the way of the world.)
Quick hits
-I don’t know for how much longer these Chris Sale-inspired jokes will be funny, but for now, they are.
-Here’s the douchiest way to finish off the Warped Wall of an American Ninja Warrior course:
Way to go, bro. Can’t just climb it the NORMAL way. Also, whenever I watch American Ninja Warrior, I try to figure out how many of the obstacles I could complete just jumping off my couch and trying. I’m pretty sure the answer is one. Maybe two, if I get that log roller thing. (In reality, it’s probably zero.)
-Sean looks at ten podcasts that will make you sound smarter, and it’s a solid list. I also enjoy Stuff You Missed in History Class, especially any of the creepy historical mystery episodes, or the shipwrecks. If you want to get sports smarter, I’d throw in Effectively Wild, a near-daily baseball podcast. And SB Nation’s Shutdown Fullcast is also excellent, even if you don’t like college football, because it’s funny.
-Miss Cleo passed away at 53. Man. Really should have see-(editor’s note: rest of joke deleted.)
-MLS news! The Seattle Sounders have decided to move on from manager Sigi Schmid. Schmid, in charge since the team entered the league, was in his eighth season at the helm. He’s a skilled tactician, as Seattle has had a few great seasons under his leadership, and indeed when the whole Jurgen Klinsmann might get fired bandwagon was occurring in June, Sigi was often mentioned as a possible successor. But the Sounders are flailing a bit this year, and were just taken to school by Sporting KC over the weekend.
-Amar’e Stoudemire is retiring from the NBA at 33, but he might still play overseas.
-Here’s a random kid spinning around on a stool via leaf blower. Stick with it:
http://i.imgur.com/akNgpu5.gifv
Let’s guess where that is. First assumption, the south. Rolling hills, open space, etc. Could also be the midwest. I’m going to say…Virginia? Seems like Virginia is a solid play here.
-Gary Bettman doesn’t think C.T.E. is related to concussions. He’s also still not exactly sure where he comes down on the whole “earth is round” debate. If it were round, he’s probably thinking, why do some places look flat?
-Zach Lowe, America’s best sports writer, has re-signed with ESPN instead of leaving for Bleacher Report. This makes sense. Lowe was one of the main attractions at Grantland, and once that site shuttered, he finished out his contract under the ESPN.com umbrella. But his columns and style remained fairly consistent, meaning ESPN saw the talent and left it alone.
-The Big Ten Network is going to offer new original programming. Whatever it is, it will be better than whatever the Longhorn Network is doing right now. (As of press time, it’s Cactus Cafe: Burgess Meredith.)
-Matt Damon weighed in on the Tom Brady suspension, because eventually everyone with the tiniest connection to Boston will have been interviewed as to their opinion on the matter.
-Here’s Buzz Aldrin’s reimbursement paperwork for his trip. To the dang moon.
47 years ago I submitted my travel voucher reimbursement for my trip to the moon. #Apollo11 pic.twitter.com/DHAXEYVTHi
— Dr. Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) July 27, 2016
A fake news headline I wish was real
George W. Bush Regrets Not Asking About Aliens
One last glorious bit of procrastination
Normally I put a fun animal gif in here, or a funny human fail gif, but we have those above. So today, you get to learn something! Here’s an electrical current working its way through a piece of wood to find the path of least resistance to complete a circuit. Wood is a poor conductor, so we can actually see the progress!
Science!
