EJ's Notepad: Kyrie Heading To Beantown

This week's Notepad focuses on the Kyrie Irving trade, Kevin Durant, ESPN looking insane and much more. 

​•Kyrie Irving finally got traded. But it was a shock that the Boston Celtics was his destination. Honestly I had no idea that the two teams who vied for positioning into the NBA Finals this past season and most likely next season as well would actually do business together for the betterment of their respective franchises. The Cleveland Cavaliers in return get Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and MOST IMPORTANTLY the Brooklyn Nets unprotected first round pick that the Celts have coveted holding onto in case of a rainy day. That rainy day was this past Tuesday night. In my opinion both teams won in this deal. Boston gets a All-Star guard who may propel the Celtics as the best team in the East for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile the Cavs do not get progressively worse in the short term and have the ultimate insurance policy with the Nets first round pick in the event LeBron James does decide to leave Cleveland once again. Everyone wins.

•I initially was going to write in long form on this but decided against in the end. Regardless of his understandable disdain for our Commander In Chief, should the Golden State Warriors be invited to the White House, Kevin Durant should also go. It's not a popular opinion I know and honestly I truly do not give a fuck about being popular. I care about being honest and authentic. Think of the opportunity he gets to address his concerns to Donald Trump. Also it makes him look like the bigger guy.

•ESPN lost its collective shit earlier this week. On Tuesday night, the network confirmed that its management moved an Asian-American announcer, Robert Lee, off an upcoming University of Virginia's home opening football game "simply because of the coincidence of his name" to the old Confederate leader of the South, Robert E. Lee. Everyone in this country on both sides is completely fucking bent. Some of it is definitely understandable. White Supremacists are trying to make a name for themselves as well as Nazi's in the age of Trump which is truly fucking vile and disgusting. This country fought wars ending that shit in the 1940's so I'll be damn if we see an insurgence of that rhetoric in 2017. But on the flip side ESPN can't be acting like a bunch of politically correct pussies over an issue that isn't even an issue till they made it one. No wonder I rarely watch ESPN any more. I was reminded of that this week. I know things have been rough lately with subscribers dropping left and right and a bunch of big number layoffs in the last few years but get your shit together.

•Really excited about watching a new documentary on Showtime chronicling the life of Whitney Houston.

•Is it me or has the hype for the Floyd Mayweather/Conor McGregor fight that takes place on Saturday night gotten stale already?

•Alabama coach Nick Saban is a jerk but damn if I don't respect the hell out of him. He's only the best coach in college football. Hopefully my Noles take them out next weekend. I'm so siked for college football this season.

• I've been on a Sevendust kick as of late. I lost count of how many times I've seen these guys live but the number is closer to 10 than 5. Word is they are in the midst of writing their next album slated for release in early 2018. The wife and I will definitely be seeing them on their next tour. It's been too long.

•Watched all eight episodes of The Defenders in pretty much one sitting. I plan on writing out a more elaborate review probably over the weekend. It will be a positive one.

•Preseason football is fake football. Deal with it. See you in September.

•Beyond proud of my four year old son Eli who passed his first ever karate test and received his first belt. My little man is now a Tae Kwon Do yellow stripe. Proud dad moments never gets old.

•Siked for the Game Of Thrones season finale this coming Sunday but for the love of God can everyone stop complaining and nitpicking on how some of the plots lines don't add up. This show has made people spoiled.

•PODCAST RECOMMENDATION: Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast. This pod is back on my feed regularly. Love the rants. It's raw and authentic. No intro or outro music. Just the material off the cuff.

-By the way I never knew Bill Burr was married to a black woman. Fucking awesome. Being that I myself am also in a interracial marriage, this is something I love seeing. Fuck norms. Date who you want. Marry who you want. The only thing that matters is the person you decide to be with is a good person who treats you right. Dating based on the color of your skin is absolute bullshit.

•I haven't watched a single minute of HBO Hard Knocks this season. Come to think of it, I haven't watched Hard Knocks in quite a few years. Probably since the Miami Dolphins were featured in 2013.

Ok. Enough ranting for the week. Have a great weekend ladies and gents. Looking forward to being back next week with more content. Check out both my podcasts. Business is picking up and I'm more than ok to pick up the challenge.

​Toodles!!