— Every kid in America who plays high school basketball should be watching some of the NBA Summer League this week; watch it for a while, then turn the TV off and go outside and practice.
A lot.
It is REALLY HARD to make an NBA roster; Isaiah Wong was ACC Player of the Year in 2023, a third-team All-American at Miami; you have any idea how hard it is to be ACC Player of the Year?
Isaiah Wong got into one NBA game last season; he played four minutes.
This week, Wong is on the Phoenix Suns’ summer team; he scored 7 points in 12:00 off the bench in Tuesday’s 98-94 loss to Indiana, Wong’s former team.
Go outside and practice, kids…….
— One thing about playing in Summer League; you’re not just trying out for your team, you’re trying out for the other 29 teams, who all have their eyes out for prospects.
Philadelphia 76ers have only two spots open on their regular season roster, so most of the guys on their summer team are trying to impress another club, to get an invite to training camp.
— Washington Wizards’ rookie Alex Sarr, the #2 pick in last month’s NBA Draft, went 0-15 from the floor in the Wizards’ 82-80 loss to Portland. In the scheme of things, this might not be such a big deal, but it has to be at least a little bit of a red flag.
— They’ve been calling some sketchy technical fouls in the Summer League; you could hear what was said before the technicals were called- no cursing, not even that many theatrics.
— Team USA 98, Australia 92
Anthony Davis scored 17 points, grabbed 14 rebounds in 18:00.
Americans were 12-29 on the arc
Game drew 12,217 fans at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Team USA 105, Serbia 79
Stephen Curry scored 24 points.
Game was 40-40; Americans ended first half on a 19-5 run.
Team USA is now 3-0 in its pre-Olympic games.
— Famous birthdays, July 18
Joe Torre, 84
James Brolin, 84
Audrey Landers, 68
Jeff Lageman, 57
Anfernee Hardaway, 53
Torii Hunter, 49
Eugenio Suarez, 33
Bam Abedayo, 27
Kyle Manzardo, 24
— Episode 3 of Hard Knocks, where Saquon Barkley bolts the Giants for the division rival Eagles; two quick impressions.
Giants’ owner John Mara made it clear he wouldn’t be happy if Barkley went to the Giants’ rivals in Philadelphia, which is exactly what happened. Whoops.
Giants’ GM Joe Schoen asked Barkley if he would be willing to take $1M or so less from the Giants than the Eagles, with the inference that if he did, he’d eventually be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor. Was surprised to hear him say that.
— Fresno State football coach Jeff Tedford stepped down due to health issues; he went 45-22 in two stints at his alma mater, but he’s had recurring health problems. Fresno will have an interim coach this season.
Tedford was Aaron Rodgers’ coach at Cal; he was also a head coach in the CFL. We wish him a speedy recovery.
— Edmonton Elks fired coach/GM Chris Jones after an 0-5 start; Edmonton was 8-33 in Jones’ tenure running the club.
— Movie of the Day– Absence of Malice (1981)- A prosecutor leaks to a news reporter that a liquor wholesaler is suspected in the murder of local longshoreman, the wholesaler’s life begins to unravel, until he fights back.
Paul Newman, Sally Field; two of our greatest actors, with an appearance by Wilford Brimley in the key scene at the end of the movie. Movie was made 43 years ago, but it still holds up- I was glad to find it the other night.
Baseball thoughts…….
— The All-Star uniforms were horrendous, to be kind; they need to go back to when the players wore their teams’ uniforms.
— Teoscar Hernandez is the first LA Dodger to win the Home Run Derby.
— Cincinnati rookie Rece Hinds won Player of the Week in his first week as a major leaguer, which is pretty impressive.
— One of the most surprising things this baseball season is how Cubs P Shota Imanaga has been a much better pitcher Dodgers’ free agent P Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
During spring training, NO ONE, not one person, thought that was going to happen.
— P Domingo German exercised an opt-out clause in his contract, was released by Pittsburgh. He was 4-4, 5.35 in ten starts for the Pirates’ AAA team.
— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Card: Braves, Cardinals, Mets
AL: Orioles, Guardians, Mariners. Wild Card: Bronx, Twins, Red Sox