The sports world took a deep breath on Tuesday after a busy Memorial Day. Here at The Comeback we took a look at hegemony in the NBA Finals, a future Universal Studios Super Nintendo World, Wisconsinites’ bad at spelling, and a major new CTE study.
The 2017 NBA Finals is a perfect example of the NBA’s unprecedented hegemony
The NBA Finals are set to begin on Thursday meaning in the days leading up to the start of the Finals, people all over the Internet are writing about how crazy it is that the sports world gets another edition of the Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers.
Here at The Comeback, our own John Casillo wrote about how it really is crazy what we are witnessing happen in the NBA where the same two teams led by the same core group of players are facing off in the Finals for the third year in a row. Here’s a sneak peak:
It’s the first time in NBA history that two teams have met in the NBA Finals in three consecutive years.
This is unprecedented hegemony for the league, even in light of its own history dominated by a small collection of successful franchises. The Boston Celtics participated in 12 out of 13 Finals from 1957 through 1969. The Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers even played in seven of those matchups — but never three in a row. L.A. and Boston faced off in four of five from 1962-66, and 1965-69. They’d play three more times in the 1980s, then took a break until playing two out of three times from 2008-10.
You can read the rest right here.
Get ready for Super Nintendo World
The moment we learned of the plans to build a Nintendo-themed park, the first thing anybody probably wanted to do was some real-life Mario Kart. It appears those wishes may be granted, if some early details are any indication.
Nintendo and Universal are combining their efforts to build a collection of attractions for the Nintendo fan in Universal’s parks in Orlando, Hollywood and in Osaka, Japan. And now it looks as though we have a formal name for the park: Super Nintendo World. The likely name for the park was unearthed in a trademark filing by ComicBook.com.
It’s a solid name, no doubt. It was unlikely Nintendo and Universal would name the park after WiiU game Nintendo Land, but it would have also fit. But Super Nintendo World sounds like a good fit for the new section of the Universal parks.
Oh Wisconsin…
The National Spelling Bee—the one on ESPN every year—is this week, and in its honor, Google Trends posted the most misspelled words in each state by finding out which word is preceded most by “how to spell.”
Most of the words are fairly predictable. And then there’s people in Wisconsin not knowing how to spell… Wisconsin.
This isn’t Wisconsin’s first spelling mistake. One Badgers fan tried to troll NC State with a billboard in Raleigh by thanking Russell Wilson (Wilson started at NC State, then transferred to Wisconsin) but spelled Wilson’s name wrong.
On Capital Blvd in Raleigh. Unbelievable! I hate Badgers!! pic.twitter.com/rmOJjVxXm2
— Daniel Parks (@DanBParksJr) January 29, 2014
There’s a new CTE study and it tracks speech patterns for signs of the disease
Medical researchers have come a long way in researching CTE and athletes over the years, but the condition has always been discovered post-mortem. There is still no fail-proof way to detect CTE as it happens. Not yet, at least. A new study by researchers at Arizona State may be on to something and it has nothing to do with scanning the head.
Researchers at Arizona State found the speech patterns of 10 NFL players over a period of eight years declined in overall vocabulary. The patterns of their speech in press conferences and other interviews were compared to the vocabulary used by coaches and front office executives who have never played in the league and researchers noticed “a steeper decline in vocabulary size and other verbal skills” from the players studied.
It is important to note the sample size was admittedly small and no definitive conclusions can be drawn from the research at this time. It could, however, open the door to more similar testing that spans a wider range of players, even across sports, to see if there is anything that can be picked up just by listening to how players speak.
Quick Hits
– Scott Pelley is no longer at CBS Evening News reportedly thanks to some drama between him and a major executive at the network.
Update: Sources now say that while Pelley has moved out of CBS News, he will anchor show again / have chance to say goodbye. https://t.co/eOfYPjk5Uw
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) May 31, 2017
When Scott Pelley does leave, CBS News sr nat’l correspondent Anthony Mason is likely to host show until CBS names a permanent replacement. https://t.co/6kzbF0Yz6X
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) May 31, 2017
– The Washington Capitals aren’t planning on trading Alex Ovechkin.
“I think it’s a lot easier to make this team worse than it is better. If you make a major change, what’s it going to involve? Trading a franchise player, blowing the whole thing up? I don’t know that that makes sense,” Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said.
– Klay Thompson’s official playoff shoes are terrible.
In honor of @KlayThompson and the Warriors reaching the NBA Finals, @AntaAmerica unveils the KT2 "Chase" available now pic.twitter.com/alvDCnW6yn
— B/R Kicks (@brkicks) May 30, 2017
On the plus side, if they get all muddy, you don't have to clean them off, since no one will be able to tell!
— How bout those 29-8 Cyclones? (@ted_rood) May 31, 2017
– San Francisco Giants’ hitter Mike Morse went on the 7-day DL with a concussion after colliding with his teammate during that nasty brawl with the Washington Nationals.
https://twitter.com/12upSport/status/869554857237262337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fthecomeback.com%2Fmlb%2Fmichael-morse-on-7-day-dl-with-concussion-after-running-into-teammate-in-harper-fight.html
The slow motion version of the brawl is pure gold pic.twitter.com/LJF04B73CW
— Kent (@RealKentMurphy) May 29, 2017
– The MLB also handed out suspensions to Bryce Harper (4 games) and Hunter Strickland (6 games) for their roles.
– Channing Tatum and Adam Driver are starring in a crazy movie about robbing a NASCAR race.
– There is a very good dog who retrieves lost golf balls to raise money for sheltered animals. Meet Davos, a Bernese Mountain Dog who has a very special skill: finding and retrieving lost golf balls.
– A Florida man upstaged a bunch of other Florida men by wearing only a bucket when he was arrested for stealing a Ford F-150 with a large $25,000 swan statue in the back.
Footage shows him creeping around the business using a white, 5-gallon bucket to cover his front area. Deputies say he tried several doors around the business then stole a Ford F-150 King Ranch truck, which had the large swan statute in the back.
…
The swan was discovered Friday by a fisherman around a pond near Hibiscus Parkway West. It is being processed by crime-scene investigators then will be returned to its owners.
– Maxime Hamou has been rightfully banished from the French Open after he grabbed and kissed a reporter.
Hamou was already out of the tournament after losing 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in the first round to Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas, but Tuesday saw the French tennis federation announce that his accreditation for the rest of the event was revoked following his “reprehensible behavior.”
https://twitter.com/MikeMorgendorf1/status/869559990855577601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fawfulannouncing.com%2Ftennis%2Fmaxime-hamou-banished-french-open-grabbing-kissing-reporter-interviewing.html
– For two camels, any day can be hump day!
– The fan who threw the dead catfish on the ice during game one of the Stanley Cup Finals detailed how he accomplished the feat.
– Philadelphia closed the Rocky statue for two weeks and now tourists have to go see actual historical things like the Liberty Bell.
Rocky is going on vacation. The statue will be closed to the public for two weeks for improvements to the site. https://t.co/ddAOsDKdWx pic.twitter.com/rWtmYYPQ6U
— Philadelphia Parks & Recreation (@PhilaParkandRec) May 26, 2017
– Despite some fan’s wishes, Arsenal IS bringing back Arsene Wagner.
Arsenal fans go into meltdown after learning of Arsene Wenger signing a new deal. Best tweets: https://t.co/V4GFraIoDZ
— Ebo_ Caicedo ⭐⭐🏆 (@Ebo_Pedrito) May 30, 2017
– A great white shark jumped onto a fisherman’s boat. Seriously.
“He said, ‘I’m injured, I’ve broken my arm, I’ve got lacerations and there’s a shark in my boat,’” Coast Guard skipper Bill Bates said.
“Often a fisherman will bring a small shark on board — maybe 2 or 3 feet (up to 1 meter) — and they’re still ferocious. That’s what I was expecting, but I was totally wrong,” he added.
– For the first time since 1973, the University of Miami baseball team won’t be playing in the NCAA Tournament.
– Charlie Sheen is one of those people who wants to make another Major League movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Mi3KNEpbA4
A Random “The Office” Video:
Sensitive stuff here.
One Last Glorious Moment of Procrastination:
This is really cool and weird.