Here are some of the key match-ups going down today:
19 Baylor vs. 15 West Virginia
10 Notre Dame vs. 4 Duke
24 Georgetown vs. 7 Villanova
9 Louisville vs. 3 Virginia
1 Kentucky vs. Florida
Upset Alert
8 Kansas vs. Oklahoma State
25 Texas vs. Kansas State
The NBA has fined Chris Paul $25,000 for comments he made about referee Lauren Holtkamp in reference to a technical foul he received in the game. Because Holtkamp is obviously a woman, a lot of people have suggested that Chris Paul’s comments towards her may be a little sexist. Paul assures that it’s not.
“It was about a bad call,” Paul said. Several times actually.
According to Paul the technical foul came after he tried to inbounds the ball early after a made basket. This is something a lot of teams do, especially ones like the Clippers who do well in an uptempo style of play. Some refs don’t mind you doing it, as it speeds up the game and makes for a more exciting product. Holtkamp I guess isn’t a fan of it.
“The tech that I get right there was ridiculous. I don’t care what nobody says, I don’t care what she says; that’s terrible. There’s no way that can be a tech. We try to get the ball out fast every time down the court, and when we did that, she said, ‘Uh-uh.’ I said, ‘Why, uh-uh?’ And she gave me a tech.”
Before I get into what I think about the situation, let me make it clear that I don’t think Holtkamp is a bad referee. I actually think she’s pretty qualified considering she’s been a ref in FIBA, WNBA, and NBADL games for a number of years. She obviously isn’t afraid or star struck by making calls on the biggest stage. But, the other part of me knows that she’s a rookie ref for NBA games, and that she’s obviously a woman.
Now I’m not saying she’s sensitive, or emotional, or any of those things. I don’t know her personally, so I wouldn’t know. What I do think is that when a woman is put into a position like her, where she is asked to monitor and control grown men who are much larger and stronger than her, you might get a bitch. I know times have changed where women are looked at more equal than ever, but there definitely is still this mindset in place that when it comes to pro sports, men are the rulers. My guess is Holtkamp wanted to flex a little bit just to show she’s not to be disrespected. That’s probably what she was thinking, but her reaction would have been better suited for something a little bit more vulgar or offensive in my opinion.
In her defense, I don’t know Chris Paul. What I do know is that he might be one of the most competitive people in the NBA inside those lines. But he’s also the President of the NBA Players Association. I mean, this is the best guy out of all the guys in the NBA and we’re saying he might be sexist? 
Considering Chris Paul has never had any off the court incidents, problems in college, or high school, I have trouble believing he’s sexist. When you see photos of Chris he’s usually with his wife and son. To the public, he looks like a really nice guy. Except on the court. That’s where he looks like he’s a jerk, but not just to women. Players, fans, referees, hell if the ball boy said something I bet Chris Paul would say something back. He’s competitive.
Overall I’m sure Lauren Holtkamp’s tone was, “I don’t care who you are, this is my game, we’re playing by my rules. #NoFlexZone.”
Chris Paul’s tone probably sounded like “I’m the President of the NBAPA, do you know who you’re talking to right now rookie?”
Then the technical foul. I don’t think this will hurt Chris Paul’s marketing ability at all, but luckily Adam Silver is the Commissioner otherwise David Stern probably would have gave a $35,000 fine.
What do you think of the new Yeezy 3 “750” design? Rumor has it the MSRP for these is somewhere around $300, but I’ve also heard that Adidas wants to make this shoe available for more people than previous Yeezy signatures.
Thank you Yeezus.
Steph Curry with the shot boy! 26 in the third boy! Last night the other Splash Brother Stephan Curry went off, for 51 points and a win against the Dallas Mavericks. The Warriors were down as much as 20 in the first quarter, but came back riding Curry’s wave to the win.
As the honorable Mark Jackson would say, “Look mama, there goes that man.” Highlights
Want to win a pair of these? Of course you do. Draftkings is running a raffle for them.
To win, simply head to DraftKings, draft your team in this exclusive Nice Kicks contest, and watch the games live on Thursday. It costs only $10 to enter, and remember, the contest will be capped at 225 entries. Drafting a team can be quick and easy – check out the screenshot below. DraftKingsgives you a salary cap, and you try to pick the best team available for that night’s games. Enter the contest HERE. If you are the 1st place finisher in the contest, you get the Just Don x Air Jordan 2. The 2nd place finisher will win $125, the 3rd through 5th place finishers will win $75, the 6th through 10th place finishers will win $50 and the 11th through 20th place finishers will win $25. Best of luck!
Coach John Calipari is one of the move loved and hated coaches in America, and it’s easy to see why. Every year the Kentucky Wildcats don’t start over, they simply reload. Example, the 2012 National Championship team loaded with talents Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Marquis Teague for freshman and Terrence Jones lost all of them to the NBA draft. No sweat. Kentucky added Julius Randle, the Harrison Twins, Dakari Johson, James Young, and Marcus Lee. 
As fate would have it, last year’s Kentucky team lost a number of starters to the NBA, but what Calipari and his staff did this summer is something never seen in college basketball. Tyler Ulis, Devon Booker, Karl Anthony-Townes, and Trey Lyles all five star ranked players signed to go to Lexington. Not to mention the Harrison twins, Dakari Johnson, Willie Cauley-Stein, Marcus Lee, and Alex Poythress all decided to stay back.
Calipari could create his all galaxy with all the ranked stars on this year’s roster. It’s unfair, and some truly feel this way. What is it about Coach Cal and Kentucky that draws players there every single year? The answer is simple: N-B-A.
That’s part of what rubs people the wrong way about Cal, is that he uses his schools as farm houses for top star talents to come for a year, then bounce. University of Memphis got the same heat when a young freshman named Derrick Rose decided to turn up all the way to the National Championship game. But imagine that, knowing every year you possibly have to bring in an entire new starting five, because your top three guys decided to pursue their dreams. You feel bad asking them to come back, especially if you know their family needs the money. But how do you sell education when kids see dollar signs?
When you’re winning every season, it’s easy to land the top guys. Exclusive Nike gear and shoes, nationally televised games every week, Drake is showing up to your Midnight Madness, shooting airballs in layup lines. Who wouldn’t want to play there? But with great power comes great responsibility. Coach Cal is under a microscope at Kentucky, and best believe his every move that comes with recruiting is checked on. When you have the kind of talent to rotate a new five every ten minutes without losing any talent with your second group; you’re doing something right.
Right now Kentucky is ranked #1 in the country and the only undefeated team left in the country. A lot of people are saying they’ll go undefeated and win the National Championship. As Coach Cal always says, it’s not what you do in February that matters, it’s what you do in March. We’ll see how Kentucky handles the rest of the regular season before getting their likely 1 seed in the tournament.
And for those of you wondering about what’s going to happen next year, don’t trip. Kentucky again has the #1 ranked recruiting class, already getting letters of intent from three of the Top 50 recruits in the country. Rumor has it Kentucky may land another player in this year’s Top 10 ranking. Wouldn’t be surprised; that’s what Coach Cal does.
More recruits, more problems.
Mache does it again with these custom Columbia 11’s. These are fire!
Fly Fundamentals 