This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Charles Curtis.
Winners! Hello! Happy Thursday! We’ve got drama in the NBA we need to talk about.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had himself quite a night on Wednesday. The superstar dropped 64 points — a Milwaukee Bucks franchise record, which is a huge achievement! — on the Indiana Pacers, and after a game in which things got chippy, things got, well, chippier!
Our Bryan Kalbrosky is here to catch you up on the drama involving Giannis, the Pacers and … a game ball?!
According to league insider Chris Haynes, the Pacers “took the game ball away” after the performance from the two-time MVP. Antetokounmpo then “took off” toward the Pacers locker room to try to retrieve the ball back from the franchise he had just defeated.
What unfolded was confusion over which game ball the Bucks ended up with and a heated Giannis seen in the tunnel trying to hunt down the ball to keep. And the photo snapped of that moment? IT’S ART:
Frame it, put it in the Louvre! But seriously, this was kind of the silliest drama we’ve seen this year and I’m here for it.
Bonus: Here’s leaked audio of what was said in the tunnel, which is NSFW for sure.
The NBA actually got it right on Draymond Green’s suspension
Yeah, that’s right. The NBA got it right here.
I called for Green to get at least 10 games not because of his arm smacking Jusuf Nurkic’s face — which he said was an accident — but because it was reckless and that’s the theme of Green’s behavior both as of late and historically.
But the league took it a step further, suspending him indefinitely, attaching “certain league and team conditions before he returns to play.” That will apparently including counseling for Green per ESPN. And honestly, that’s exactly it. Hopefully, that helps Green in the long run.
Bill Belichick would totally fire Bill Belichick, right?
Take a few minutes and read Christian D’Andrea’s column on how Bill Belichick should be judged by his own high standards in New England. Here’s a sampling:
None of this should be acceptable to Belichick. His resume, by his own standard, has no bearing on his current status — it merely serves as an asset while building a new era. This is a lesson fans have learned time and time again as the prickly world-beater shipped Pats heroes out of town, sometimes while he could still glean premium draft picks for them and sometimes just to create space for younger players. …
Quietly ending Belichick’s reign may seem harsh given his history. But if that’s the move New England is going to make, it’s one Bill Belichick can accept — and maybe even approve.
Couldn’t agree more.
Quick hits: Happy birthday, Taylor Swift! … Our Sydney Colson interview … and more
— Photographers sang Happy Birthday to Taylor Swift and snapped the perfect reaction photo.
— Meghan Hall spoke with the Aces’ Sydney Colson all about how she’s not changing for anyone.
— Our straight-up NFL picks for Week 1!
— Our weekly NFL QB rankings, and hey, Zach Wilson isn’t last!
