Tag Archives: Sports

trust the process: why you should love this sixers team

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The Sixers are back after the all-star break, and are set to face the Washington Wizards at the Center on Friday night. With the recent Boogie Cousins trade, the Sixers’ future is looking better than ever – there is no better time than the present to get swept up in the excitment surrounding this team. Instead of boring (some of you) with stats and metrics, I’m going to share the personal reasons why you should love this team.

tj-and-jojo-buzzer-beaterSource: USA Today. Photo taken by Alex Subers

Jerryd Bayless

Let’s get someone boring out of the way. Jerryd has played in 3 games, and then had season ending wrist surgery. I don’t think he’s even in the Philadelphia area for his rehab.

Chasson Randle

Chasson is the most recent Sixer to join the team, after being signed to two ten-day contracts, and then a three-year long-term deal. He may have a bit of a Cinderella story career, but his dad was trying to set him up for success with the ladies from birth. On this episode of the BroadCast, Chasson says:

“My dad had a bet with his friends, and the first one to have a boy, was to name him Chasson, and his middle name was supposed to be Dames – like chasin’ girls. So that was kind of a joke that he had between his friends, and my mom wasn’t having it. So I got Chasson, but I didn’t get Dames.”

Sergio Rodriguez

Sergio was the starting point guard before TJ McConnell began his rise to the best point guard in basketball (I mean, Lebron wanted him.) Not only that, but he looks so much like the captain of the Sixers Dunk Squad!

Richaun Holmes
Richaun has great braids all the time, courtesy of his wife. Sometimes, the braids have to come out and get redone, and sometimes you just wear your hair out to practice. And that is when your coach becomes fascinated with your hair.

TJ McConnell

My love for TJ has grown exponentially this season. I mean how can you not love the most clutch player in basketball?

He also has a tendency to sprint like he’s just seen a ghost after every game winner he hits. Around the court, into the tunnel, it doesn’t matter for TJ.

TJ Run.gif
source

Nik Stauskas

If you follow Sixers basketball at all, you might be aware of #RaiseTheCat, a bizarre, only in Sixers twitter movement in which fans post pictures of them raising their cats after a Sixers win. Not wanting to be left out of the fun, Nik’s cat Dribbles, who unfortunately resides with his parents in Canada, wanted to get in on the action.

Nerlens Noel

No longer the flat-topped big man we grew to love, Nerlens is now the braces-ed big man that we love. He’s tough (no mouth guard) and knows when to keep his mouth shut and keep that money in his pocket. After getting punched in the face by Serge Ibaka, and somehow getting a technical himself, he had this to say (at the 1:18 mark):

Robert Covington

I’ve always been a huge RoCo fan, even when he was having trouble hitting the broad side of a barn earlier this season. He seems like a great team player, who can get along with anyone. Last but certainly not least, he’s got moves (Nik does not).

Robert Covington Running Mansource

Jahlil Okafor

Okafor has really gotten a raw deal with all of this trade nonsense. He’s not terribly fun, but man are his hands huge.

jahlil-okafor-handssource

You don’t have to love him that much, he’ll hopefully be (having a great career, I only wish him the best) somewhere else soon.

Ersan Ilyasova

I had to get some input from my roommate about why we love Ersan. She likes to consider herself the biggest fan of eastern European Sixers players around. Her favorite thing about Ersan is that he is always in the background of sideline interviews. I haven’t noticed it, but she’s the expert so who am I to question her. I mean she came up with this gem of a hashtag #Ilyasogood.

Dario Saric

Dario’s personality is really starting to shine, but it is his friendship with TJ McConnell that brings it out the most. In the beginning of the season, the two seemed to share some tense words on the court and in the huddle, but ever since this water and profanity incident, the two have been thick as thieves. Heck, after a great game by Dario, he even gets a piggy back ride from TJ through the tunnel.

Dario Saric TJ McConnell Piggy Back Ride

Gerald Henderson

Gerald Henderson is the grizzled vet of this young team, but he still earns a “Great Job Gerald” from my seats everytime he hits a free throw. He may be a vet, but he’s not above letting the younger guys know when other teams are talking sh*t. From USA Today:

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers guard Gerald Henderson sent a text message to his teammates before Monday night’s game reminding them that Nic Batum had guaranteed a Charlotte Hornets victory.

The fired-up 76ers responded by beating the Hornets 105-99 behind 18 points and 11 rebounds from reserve Dario Saric for their third straight win.

“Everybody pays attention that stuff,” said Henderson, who previously played in Charlotte. “It’s not the first guarantee that has ever been issued, but I thought it was something some guys on our team would look at and use it in the game.”

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot

Before being drafted by the Sixers at #24 in the 2016 NBA draft, TLC played for Mega Leks in Serbia. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him so far this year, but nothing as much as this picture.

tlcsource

Ben Simmons

There is a lot to love about the Sixers’ number one draft pick, and I can’t wait to see what his talents can bring to this squad. Ben can be credited with really helping #RaiseTheCat blow up, but my favorite thing about him is his apparent deep love for Nik ‘Sauce Castillo’ Stauskas. Just check out some of this tweets:

https://twitter.com/BenSimmons25/status/801607593743577088 https://twitter.com/BenSimmons25/status/802960873132204032 https://twitter.com/BenSimmons25/status/800170343990251520

Joel Embiid

Obviously, I’m saving the best for last as Joel Embiid has more personality than any Philadelphia athlete in recent memory. He has ignited this city, and given us the superstar that we needed. I don’t even know if I can put into words how great he is, so I’ll let him do the talking.

Do you have other favorite Sixers moments? I’d LOVE to hear them. You can find me on Twitter @third_and_girl, where I’m constantly retweeting NBA things.

#TrustTheProcess

PHILA doesn’t quit – a rant

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joel_embiid_blocksource

As many of you know, I’m a die hard Philadelphia sports fan, and a shameless homer. In my mind, the refs always are making the bad call, my teams never foul, and they are always the best in the league.  I know this is not realistic, but I choose to throw my whole support behind my team, I feel like my guys need me. I’m not proud to say (or maybe I am a little) that I probably boo an official and/or the other team at least once a game. But I don’t boo my teams.

I’m also a Philadelphia Sixers season ticket member, a team that’s not known for their skill on the court, at least not yet. Last season, they had a historically bad record, but one that allowed them to get the number 1 pick in the NBA draft, and bring Ben Simmons to Philadelphia. It’s all part of The Process. Honestly, they’re sometimes a little bit hard to watch, with sloppy passing and missed shots but, I try to go to every game and get on my feet and cheer. And I don’t boo them.

The Sixers had a pretty bad showing last night, falling to the Utah Jazz 109-84.  This comes two days after taking the defending World Champion Cleveland Cavaliers down to the last play of the game before ultimately losing by 1. They only made about 40% of their field goals and had 18 turnovers, almost double what the Jazz had. But I didn’t boo them.

The stars that normally electrify the crowd weren’t on their game last night either. Joel “The Process” Embiid only shot 33% from the 3-point line, after going 4/4 against the Cavs.  Every time Embiid threw up a three on Saturday, the crowd knew it was going in. Last night, not so much. To add insult to injury, he went 6/9 from the line, leaving what should have been ‘gimme’ points off the board. But I didn’t boo him.

You love a team because they’re yours, and you shouldn’t put down the things that you love. Yes, sometimes the Sixers don’t protect the ball, and miss easy shots, and don’t play defense. Sooner or later, though, their going to start winning games. Joel Embiid is going to start putting in more and more shots that he learned from watching white people on the internet.  Ben Simmons is going to come back from injury and make no-look passes that get him compared to Magic Johnson. When they do, I’m going to be able to say I was behind them the whole way, not booing them from the top  of The Center.

This rant was brought on by listening to the guy behind me boo the Sixers for almost the entire game last night. I couldn’t help thinking how much energy he was putting into putting down a team he was supposedly a fan of.  The Center was pretty quiet due to the blow out and he would yell “(Insert Player Name), You Suck”. I don’t know if they could hear it, but if I was a player, having fans like that wouldn’t make me want to fight for them. Players and fans have a special relationship, just watch how Sixers great Allen Iverson talks about the Philadelphia fans:

I want to be apart of that group, not the group booing from the nosebleeds.

Love Yourself

Posted in Sports, Style, Television by

Hey there!  I hope everyone had a great weekend, and is fully charged for the upcoming week! I’m getting ready to bundle up, as we’re supposed to get some frigid weather this week, a big departure from the 60 (SIXTY, SIX-ZERO! It’s January people!) degree weather that we had yesterday.  I’m about to start cooking some game day snacks for the Clemson vs. Alabama game tonight. But first, a blog post!

Vines That Have Made Me Laugh This Week.

  1. I really enjoy LeBron. I think he’s a great athlete and he was my favorite part of Trainwreck. I love that he’s back in Cleveland, and really respect him.  That does not make this not funny.

2. I caught this sequence live.  Unfortunately, I could only relive it once as I was watching the Globes on a TV from the dark ages (aka no DVR).  Luckily Vine was there to save the day.

3. An oldie, but a goodie.

Sports Thoughts.

  1. I’m going to preface this by saying that I’m not a Steelers fan, which I’m sure is not surprising considering my extreme homer-ism for Philadelphia teams. However, as unbiasedly as I can, I think the end of the Steelers/Bengals game this weekend was atrocious. I’ll give the penalty for the Burfict hit, even though I think there was nothing he could do about it.  The real travesty of the last few minutes was the nail-in-the-coffin penalty from Adam Jones for hitting an official, which should have been offset by a penalty on Joey Porter from the Steelers.  There is absolutely no reason for a linebacker coach to be on the field when an offensive player is hurt.  Porter has been known to enjoy stirring things up, as evidenced by his inclusion on this list of top Super Bowl trash talkers.
  2. The Eagles should not hire Tom Coughlin.  I believe that he is a fantastic man and leader, as evidenced by his players’ reaction after his “resignation”, which is starting to feel more like a firing. However, the Eagles have been playing in a progressive system, and I think going from Chip Kelly’s kale smoothies and wearable technology to a more traditional system is a big change; one that might be a little too much for an already thin roster.
  3. Robert Griffin III cleaned out his locker at the Washington Redskins facility today.  He left this behind: rg3source

Best Dresses at the Golden Globes

  1. Alicia Vikander: Possibly the most critically acclaimed up-and-comer of this awards season, didn’t disappoint on the red carpet.

     

  2. Lily James: The star of one of my favorite movies of last year (Cinderella, no shame), looked gorgeous at the Golden Globes.

lilyjames

3. Jenna Dewan-Tatum: I like the more traditional ball gown cut of this dress, and a little sparkle never hurt anyone.

jdtimages

I hope everyone has a great week! And definitely check out the namesake of this post, my current jam “Love Yourself” by JBiebs.

xxEmily