Last Friday, two days before the NFC divisional playoff game, I gave highly scientific, feelings-based reasons for why the Atlanta Falcons would defeat the Seattle Seahawks. These reasons included trusting the blind confidence of Mark Wahlberg and Big Boi, predicting that Nate "Sterling" Silver's luck had finally run out, and the fact that Seahawks fans were spending less time getting hyped up and more time discussing which franchise's bird was more ferocious.
And I was completely right.
Last week, the Falcons were favored, barely, but no one expected them to actually win. This week, these same Falcons, again playing at home, are not only expected to lose, but are actually underdogs.
Hey, it's Rembert Browne, Hawks fan. I'm writing to you today because you just got traded to Brooklyn, and that makes me slightly happy. Actually, let's be real, I'm grinning from ear to ear. Sports-fan me hasn't been this thrilled since we got Michael Vick, so that's saying something, Joe.
The Minnesota Lynx beat the Atlanta Dream on Friday to claim the organization’s first WNBA championship. The 15th WNBA season, in the books. So now what? While this assuredly isn't true for all of the players, I'm assuming some members of the Dream and Lynx will join the rest of us in what could be a long fall … and winter … and spring full of non-stop banter about the NBA lockout and the present and future condition of the fractured league.
Sounds miserable.
Fortunately for the players of the WNBA, there is another option. An option that not only keeps these talents on the hardwood, but also irreversibly transforms the league from something that is oft overlooked to to a profitable, wildly popular enterprise.
Editor's note: This post has been updated to clarify the time of T.I.'s release.
Late Wednesday night — Freddie Freeman grounds into a double play. Out no. 3. Phillies win. Braves blow an 8½-game wild-card lead and fail to make the playoffs. Season over.
The early hours of Thursday: Clifford "T.I." Harris is released from a halfway house. A free man. Again.
These events are oddly connected, but neither should surprise, and neither should make one overly emotional. We should, unfortunately, be used to this by now.
The Braves get our hopes up over the course of a few months, the comical thought of us sweeping the World Series and having a parade down every "Peach"-themed street begins to seep into our subconscious, and then they blow it and don't even make the playoffs.
T.I.'s freedom gets our hopes up because we think this is the time he stays out for good, but deep down we know that a free T.I. unfortunately starts the countdown clock for a jailed T.I.
We want to be sad about the Braves demise, but deep down, we knew it would happen. We also want to be excited about a free T.I., but (less) deep down (shallower, if you will) we know it probably won't last.
