Sports Banter

  (Picture is owned by wallpaper.dog, we do not own the rights) You either feel one or two ways about Notre Dame football... you either hate it or love it and that's just how it is. For me, I love it and have always been a huge fan of the school's history and team. Much like the rest of Mr. Peanuts sports allegiances, I did not have a choice in the matter. I was indoctrinated to a preexisting Downing belief system that had been in place for generations. The thing about it is.... If your heritage is of Irish descent and you are a practicing catholic, odds are high that you're going to root for Notre Dame. So that's how it happened for me. It certainly wasn't because I saw the football team experience success after success growing up. Literally the opposite of that, they are another team that I root for that seems like they can never put it all together or be consistent. And this year it's more of the same. After escaping Navy with a 35-32 win, ND's record sta...

  Picture owned by Buffalo Rumblings, we do not own the rights)      At the beginning of the 2022 football season, I finally took the step into being a 100% Buffalo Bills football fan. I have called myself a bastardized Bills fan for a couple seasons priors and could no commit to following them 100%. It was as if I was dating, I had given my heart to the San Diego Chargers growing up and they dumped me and their fans like a hot potato. I was cautious to commit due to the harm that the Chargers caused when they left San Diego. They left San Diego and transitioned so quickly into the Los Angeles Chargers, as if San Diego didn't mean anything to them. What stung the most was that the Chargers (Spanos Assholes) organization didn't even recognize or care about how they affected the Charger Faithful or San Diego. That hit me hard as a football fan, it was as if my life long support and love did not mean a thing to them. We were just the ex-boyfriend that they wanted to for...

  (Photo is owned by the San Diego Union Tribune, we do not own the rights)   8/3/2022- Juan Soto’s debut as a San Diego Padre was the greatest moment I’ve ever had as a Padres fan. I can’t explain what it felt like to be in attendance with all of my fellow San Diegans in the pregame awaiting Soto’s inevitable entrance. I’m not talking about his first AB, I’m talking running out of the dugout to stretch. The place was absolutely ELECTRIC. I have no idea why or if this will even make sense but as I was sitting there in my seat in section 121 row 34 endlessly staring at the dugout, I was legitimately nervous with anticipation. Basically, I can’t believe that this happened to the Padres. To my city. We have never ever made such an aggressive leap to contend for the World Series in the history of the franchise and you could feel that in the crowd yesterday. It was unbelievable. People were standing and damn near in full capacity 30 minutes before gametime. Literally doesn’t happe...

  (Image is owned by @chicagobears on Twiiter)     Daniel Greenberg ⁦‪@ChiSportUpdates‬⁩ “If you work hard for this team, I swear to you this city will love you. This is a Bears town first. This city bleeds blue and orange for the Chicago Bears." - Former Bears CB Charles Tillman told the players that are participating in Bears rookie minicamp (Via ⁦‪@LarryMayer‬⁩ )   5/6/22, 12:42 PM     THIS. Matt Eberflus is the new head coach of the Chicago Bears and it's clear to me that he gets it. He understands the heartbeat of the Bears faithful and how important the players who have been a part of this franchise's history are to the organization's identity and the connection they have to the city. THIS is the culture you build. Okay let me take a step back b/c you're probably reading going hey relax man it's a former player talking to the team, doesn't everyone do that? The answer is the great teams do. For too long the business side of the Bears organization and...

  (Image Owned By Sports Illustrated)     The image above is exactly how I feel about pitchers being inspected (checked) after every inning. This is just another intrusive way for the MLB to throw its weight around and make dumb rules. The introduction of pitcher checks began two seasons ago and now it is common practice. These checks were introduced to the game as a result of pitchers being so dominant. As a result of the dominance, batting averages were down and so were runs. The MLB sees runs the same way the NFL sees long passing touchdowns, high scores will bring in the fans. Let's look at the "steroid era" of baseball, to many this was when MLB was at an all time high. This is because there were homers left and right and scores were high and fans were soaking it up. As long as runs are being scored in baseball, the MLB is making money. When scores are not being made, MLB is losing money and at risk. Look I get it, we as fans want runs a...

(Image is owned by Tenor, we do not own the rights) Damn. I thought we had turned the corner when we signed LeBron James and traded the future away for Anthony Davis and won the 2020 NBA Championship. That team was awesome and played basketball how it's supposed to be played. Since then, injuries, roster turnover, and the obvious lack in chemistry on the court have led the Lakers to what they are today....pathetic. Last night in a "must win game" versus the New Orleans Pelicans they again ended up taking the L at Crypto.com arena, 114-111. They just flat out can't beat anyone. My original blog on Russell Westbrook was so completely incorrect it's hard to digest. He does nothing to make this team better and add to LeBron's greatness and instead is a turnover ridden point guard who can't shoot anymore.  Anthony Davis has been a disaster health wise the past 2 seasons. However you want to carve it, he's not out there playing and what's incredible is t...

  (Image is owned by ballislife.com, we do not own the rights) In the 2nd round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs, the #8 seed "We Believe" Warriors were taking on the Utah Jazz. If you remember correctly, this Warriors team stunned the #1 seed Dallas Mavericks led by a Dirk Nowitski in his prime and thus became the easy underdog to root for. This dunk was unbelievable. Let me throw the video down below for you cats: Announcer Mike Tirico's excitement on this slam is everything. It's exactly how I felt watching this moment unfold. I wanted to highlight this Baron Davis play because it was a moment for me that turned Baron Davis into one of my favorite basketball players of all-time. I remember coming to school the next day and going over the play with one of my best friends repeatedly. For a guard at his size to go up for the dunk that fearlessly on a big man like Kirilenko and flush it, unbelievable. Then I went down the rabbit hole on YouTube and started going through Davis...