Category Archives: With A Jimmmitude

Skip Bayless is an asshole

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Just going to be blunt with this because there is no need to dance around this or even pretend to put some type of nuance behind this. Skip Bayless is an asshole. Bayless had this to say about Dak Prescott and his battle with depression earlier this year.

Bayless starts off by saying that if people want to condemn him if they choose as “cold-blooded and insensitive” and that he claims that he has “deep compassion for clinical depression”. Well I’m going to take this further than that, you are a complete asshole that has a platform that is used only for controversial takes, sometimes that are contrarian for contrarians sake and do not deserve it. Condemning enough?

Back to the issue at hand here. Skip Bayless is saying that because Dak Prescott was depressed and was public about it that he is somehow incapable of leading “America’s Team”. As if battling depression at any point in time and having it known makes it impossible to play quarterback in Dallas. Fuck that. This is the out of date mentality and way of thinking that needs to go away forever. Like it or not athletes are people too, capable of feeling things and having independent thoughts. They are not robots programmed only to play a game for our enjoyment. Athletes have to deal with same highs and lows of everyday life just like everyone else, their financial situation being different does not negate that fact.

It takes a lot of courage to make a battle with depression battle public. Mental health is something that has to be taken seriously and not be discarded as an inconvenience to us the fan. It is statements like those made by Skip Bayless which make athletes hesitant to come forward in regards to mental health issues. If the average person has difficulties dealing with depression and seeking help how can we expect a public figure to not feel the same when there is people like Bayless on television spouting nonsense?

What happened with Bayless is not part of a television show. This was not Skip playing the character he usually plays on Undisputed or his ridiculously awful twitter feed. It was someone showing their true colors and that they have absolutely no compassion for others. Skip can take this way of thinking and shove it right up his ass because there is no place for it in our society.

If anyone had any other perception or idea of just who Skip Bayless is, let today be a reminder that he is an asshole and nothing more.

Fernando Tatis Jr. triggers unwritten rules nonsense

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Padres shorstop Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a late grand slam on a 3-0 pitch in a lopsided win which triggered a discussion about unwritten rules.

The San Diego Padres defeated the Texas Rangers 14-4 Monday and it was capped off by a Fernando Tatis Jr. grand slam. Tatis swung away on a 3-0 pitch in the 8th inning to drive in the final four runs for the Padres.

Tatis connecting on this pitch and hitting a grand slam apparently made the Rangers mad and this triggered the whole nonsense conversation about unwritten rules.

Here’s the deal, you can take those unwritten rules and throw them right in the garbage. Don’t want to give up a grand slam on a 3-0 pitch? Don’t throw the fourth pitch in the strike zone. Better yet, don’t let the bases become loaded in the first place.

The batter has every right to swing with the bases loaded up by a ton of runs. Pour on the runs every chance you can to make it impossible for the other team to come back.

Also it is worth noting that for a team so concerned with unwritten rules and sportsmanship they had zero problem throwing behind Manny Machado in the next at-at.

Texas needs to figure out just what side they are on, because actions like this do not help their case. Acting like a child does not promote anything positive and that is what happened when Machado was thrown at.

Fernando Tatis Jr. needs to do one thing and one thing only. Swing away and do not concern yourself with archaic unwritten rules that are only championed by those who are completely out of touch with reality.

New Tune Squad jersey is absolutely terrible

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The new Tune Squad jersey for the upcoming movie Space Jam A New Legacy was revealed and it is a complete disappointment.

If you had high expectations for SpaceJam A New Legacy it is now time to lower them just a bit. The new Tune Squad jersey was revealed and it is completely awful.

LeBron James modeled the jersey in a clip posted on the Uninterrupted twitter account.

Why are there graphics that are off center? What is this weird font? This design is a complete failure and an embarrassment to the original movie. The Ringer posted both versions of the jersey side by side, asking which jersey was better.

The answer is obvious, the classic white jersey worn by Michael Jordan in the original film wins by a mile.

MLB needs to press pause on the season

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MLB needs to press pause on the 2020 season in order to figure out if they are acutally able to continue playing without a massive COVID-19 outbreak.

The situation with the Miami Marlins is a real eye-opener to those who thought the season would be played uninterrupted. A large amount of players on Miami have tested positive for COVID-19 and there could be more. Not only members of the Marlins, but the Phillies as well. MLB needs to realize the potential disaster they have on their hands and press pause on this season.

Miami has had four additional players test positive since the initial report per Ken Rosenthal.

It only took a handful of games for an outbreak to occur on one team and possibly a second. Pressing pause allows MLB to take a step back and evaluate the situation at hand.

How many players are positive?

Who have they been in contact with?

Are there members of the coaching staff that are now positive?

Have any umpires tested positive?

Right now two games on Tuesday have been postponed. Marlins-Orioles and Yankees-Phillies.

The reality of the situation is that nobody is quite sure how many players have been infected with COVID-19. It is irresponsible and reckless to continue playing with so many questions about the status and health of players and staff. Until answers are available about how widespread the outbreak is pressing pause is the only option. At that point MLB would be able to determine if there is an actual way to return to play safely, which unfortunately may not be possible.

NFL bans postgame jersey swaps

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Count this as a win for the “Old Man Yells at Cloud” group. The NFL has banned postgame jersey swaps in what is only a half measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

While the NFL does get some credit for trying to do something, this seems pointless. Players will spend the better part of three hours (possibly more) being in very close proximity to each other trying to block or tackle other players and yet this is the arbitrary line they drew in the sand. 

Here’s the deal. Sports are disgusting. Players are sweating, spitting, and who knows what else during a game. If exchanging a jersey with another player after the game is no longer safe, how is playing the game to begin with considered safe? It seems like they probably shouldn’t being playing in the first place and perhaps that is what the end result will be. 

Big Ten Conference announces conference only play

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The Big Ten Conference will only play inside their own conference for fall sports for this upcoming season. 

This comes after The Ivy League announced that they will not be playing any sports before January 1, 2021 at the absolute earliest. With The Ivy League and The Big Ten’s plans now in place it is only a matter of time before other conferences follow. Once those conferences do follow it will lead to one very important question. 

Why even play at all?

It is obvious that nobody is certain that the circumstances will be safe and limiting play to within the conference is a just the first step in what could result in a canceled season. Schools traveling to other states with difference mandates and protocols is just a disaster waiting to happen. What is not acceptable in one state is in another and that will create problems.

It is understandable that conferences would prefer to not go from planning to play to completely canceling everything. This is a process that is done in phases and this seems to be phase one of many. Although it does seem like the writing is on the wall and cancelation is inevitable. The possibly of playing any season this fall and making sure that it is safe is impossible. 

The sooner you prepare yourself mentally that the sports you’re missing will be delayed even further the better off you’ll be. 

NBA practice facilities continue to be shut down

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More and more NBA teams have shut down their practice facilities due to members of the organization testing positive for COVID-19.

This is something that seemed inevitable. NBA teams having to shut down their practice facilities before their restart set to take place in Orlando. Even with potential Bio-Domes in Orlando and possibly Chicago, nothing seems as safe as they may seem.

The Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, and Brooklyn Nets have shut down their practice facilities at one point or another. The fact that members of these organizations are testing positive now means that others could later, possibility infiltrating the Bio-Dome in Orlando or Chicago.

The problem is that no matter how careful they are no bubble is secure. There will always be issues with keeping everything contained. No matter how hard the NBA tries, the Bio-Dome is not the solution that everyone hoped it would be. Even Bud and Doyle found a way in and out and they were morons. (Yes, I know it was a movie, but you get the idea).

The closer the NBA gets to returning and more organizations are having positive COVID-19 tests they must ask themselves one thing. Should they even bother coming back? As time goes on it seems like that answer should be no.

NHL is returning, but there will be problems

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The NHL is getting ready to return, but they will experience some of the issues that other leagues such as the NFL, MLB, and NBA have.

There is some good news if you are a hockey fan. The NHL is getting ready to return. Now that the celebration is over it is time to talk about some issues. The NHL released their initial COVID-19 results Monday and this seems like a similar report that MLB had last week.

The initial testing results do not seem bad, but that will most likely change.

A twitter thread of protocols were tweeted yesterday by Bob McKenzie of TSN. (If you do not want to read the whole thing skip past it.)

Pretty lengthy right? It reads like the Declaration of Independence. The NHL is about to embark on a similar journey that the other leagues have. Players are going to test positive, that is a fact. Major League Baseball is doing a hell of a job of being completely terrible when it comes to testing and safety. The National Hockey League will somehow have to find a way to avoid the similar problems the other leagues have and it may not be possible. Like with all sports, hope for the best and expect the worst.

MLB is failing when it comes to testing and safety

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MLB is not having the best time with their COVID-19 testing process and some teams have not received all of the proper safety gear.

When the initial testing numbers came out MLB seemed to be in decent shape. The percentage of players was not high and it appeared that this was a situation that could be relatively controlled.

The problem is that not all the test results had come in at the time of this tweet from ESPN’s Buster Olney.

The San Francisco Giants had not even completed their testing when the numbers were reported. It seems like MLB was trying to get out ahead with an initial low number to make things look better than what they really are. San Francisco was not the only team with this issue, Oakland is also a team that has not received their results back. However this seems to be due to the July 4th holiday.

Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle provided two bits of information Sunday. The first being the fact he has not received his test results back.

The second being that safety equipment that was supposed to be in place for the team to use is not there.

If MLB is not able to ensure that testing is done properly and that the proper equipment is in place it will be quite difficult for the season to take place. That is assuming the season even starts to begin with. A possibility that only seems to be growing as each day passes.

Rob Manfred never intended on more than 60 games

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Well chalk this up as the least surprising news ever. Rob Manfred stated that that MLB was never going to play more than 60 games. (insert shocked face here). Manfred was on the Dan Patrick Show and said as much.

Rob Manfred used COVID-19 as the reason further stating that the “60 games is the outside of the envelope given the realities of the virus”.

Yes the virus is a real concern and it is not going away anytime soon, but it seems like it is being used as a reason for the terrible negotiations on their part. The offers from the owners side of the bargaining table seemed to be different, but in reality were the same turd in a new box. Using the virus seems like a bit of cop out for a side that absolutely zero intentions of giving in. Ultimately used his ability to a set a 60 game season, which is only marginally better than the 50 game possibility that could have occurred.

At this point Rob Manfred should just stop talking. Every time he opens up his mouth things just get worse. The next time he should talk is when he declares that the season is definitively happening/not happening. The latter becoming more of a possibility as each day passes.