Giannis and the Bucks

There are so many ways to start a discussion around what Giannis and the Bucks just did. The incredible story of a team exercising playoff demons by leaning right into them and forcing them into tough situations (twice down 0-2 in series). The all encompassing brilliance that is Giannis, couple that with the story of him staying, violently refusing the "easy way" and signing up to stay in Milwaukee long term. Then there's the fact that effing Milwaukee won a title in a sport dominated by big markets and flashy locales. All of it is great. But at the end we have to start with Giannis.

Giannis Antetokoumpo was long one of the best players in the world. He won the MVP two seasons ago and did so easily, leading the Bucks to 60 wins. Then his team flamed out after leading 2-0 in the Conference Finals, against what was the 2nd best team in the NBA that season and the eventual Champions. Someone this, and more than that their flameout in the bubble, defined them. But to say Giannis is now crowned is wrong. He is a once-in-a-generation story, someone growing up in poverty in Greece raising his whole family out of it with his singular brilliance. We could have written that story two years ago. It was as true then as now. What's different is what he did once he became one of the best: he kept trying.

It's so annoying how often we had to hear about both Giannis's and the Bucks' shortcomings the last two seasons. His inability to shoot jump shots - and more worryingly his propensity to still shoot them. The team's unwillingness to change, to adjust. We were so easily making declarative statements about a team that did nothing but win a whole lot of games and struggle in a bubble environment. It was stupid. The team then did tweak a few things (even if many weren't willing to give them any credit for that), but mostly they just kept going, and like the Raptors themseles, or the Mavericks way before them (or the Capitals or Lightning from the NHL), eventually talent won out.

And talent being what Giannis is. Let's stop focusing on his inability to shoot - I mean if he could shoot threes you may as well hand him the next five titles. He's a singular talent who is way more creative and talented than someone who just uses brute force. His spinning, whirling, drives and attacks to the rim only work because he's brilliant at layups from any angle. He's worked to have a great hook and short jump shot game. He's become a better passer. He's willing to put himself out there and head to the line. He's about as good as he can be which is an MVP level player who put up 40+ three times in the finals.

He also is one of the most genuine stars - someone who is assured of himself but still humble. Gregarious and caring. The best part of his celebration, aside from a truly heartening "sit down and take it all in moment" was him so excited to say "We fucking did it Khris" when asked about how it felt to win a title with Middleton. He was happy to win, but he was happier to win in Milwaukee - something he very much directly said in the postgame press conference.

For the team as a whole, a lot of what you can right about the Bucks you could've easily written about the Suns - this was a win-win series in terms of a neutral fan wanting to see great players get paid off with a ring. From Middleton, always dinged for his few off-nights shooting, coming up huge both to close out the Nets, to taking control when Giannis was out, to hitting what was probably the clinching shot late in Game 6. From Jrue Holliday not backing down when he struggled, and playing just brilliant defense throughout. From Brook Lopez transitioning back and forth from stretch-5 to post-up madman late in teh Hawks series. And of course from Bobby Portis rediscovering his game to provide great bench scoring late.

The Bucks were a well constructed team - they always were. This time though they didn't tighten up. Or more accurately they tightened up slightly less than before. They still nearly blew some games. They still shot poorly given how good they were at threes in the regular season. They still sometimes got too tight and operated too slowly late in games. In many ways they weren't too different, they just won enough games. 

And really that's the lesson here - we're so quick to write narratives. Even in this series, so many people were hammering the Bucks after they dropped the first two games in Phoenix, saying how they didn't belong how broken they were. Missing the fact that they just missed makeable shots at the rim and the Suns went 20-40 from three in Game 2, a game the Bucks were very much in. It even switched to the Suns who people were criticizing on offense - especially Devin Booker for looking for his shot too much - despite them hitting a ridiculous offensive efficiency. We're too quick to react; but now we don't have to.

The Bucks were never a bad team, just one waiting for its moment. They didn't get those moments in the past - they were 2-0 up on Toronto, in OT in game 3 before Kawhi had his moment. Now it was Giannis, with teh push shot in Game 7 OT against the Nets, and of course the two incredible moments of Giannis's block on Ayton and then the alley-oop in game 5. Those were the moments that defines a champion, it's just great the Bucks stuck it out to get there.

These stories in the NBA are so rare because it is so dominated by stars, and superteams and dynasties. But every now and then you get a team that sticks it out like the Mavs or Raptors, but weirdly the Bucks may be just getting started. Their just in Year 3 of their run, way before we really started saying the Mavs or Raptors were chokers. Giannis is just 26, Jrue and Khris still in their primes. Their young guys may get better - let's remember the last three rounds were all without starting guard Dante Divicenzo. The Bucks are here to stay, but in reality they were always here. 

Repost: Nostalgia Diaries, Pt. 23: The 2020 Summer Olympics

I wrote this last year during teh time period where we would be just closing the 2020 games. A year later, the Games are about to take place, but still we're somehow in a world with no fans, covid raging (in the unvaccinated - it should be noted), and where the fact we're holding the Olympics seems like a disaster instead of a relief. Anyway, as is the point of The Nostalgia Diaries, by its very name, let's remember better times:

Yesterday should have been the closing ceremony for the 2020 Tokyo Games. Instead they will, at least we hope, take place next year. I'm not the biggest Olympics nut, and the lack of Olympics in 2020 was more than negated by the surprising presence of teh NBA and NHL in July/August. I'll take that trade (of course, stripping away the 'you know why, right?' of it all.

That said, not having the Olympics does remind me how much I enjoyed it in 2016, when the Games were in Rio, a time zone that was perfect. It was a nice combining of a few elements as well, with me in the throes of a horribly sedate project that was in my own town, allowing me to come home each night with a few hours to kill. What did I do to fill the time? Watch the damn Olympics.

My enjoyment of the 2016 games wasn't about watching sports I didn't know existed - though seeing people shoot skeet and jog around on horses still has some charm. It was about finding a new appreciation, if not outright love, for sports that were there all along.

The sport that best defined 2016 to me was Volleyball - something Brazil apparently sees as second only to football/soccer as the National past-time. The volleyball played inside the Maracanazinho was incredible - mostly because the fans were bonkers. They would play EDM and techno in between points. They would thrown on random songs of the day, like 'This Girl' (Kung vs. Cooking), or 'I Just Came to Say Hello!'. There was this weird 'Monster-Smash' chant that broke out anytime someone just hammered a smash proper. It was bananas, it was amazing.

It took a while to really understand it, but that time it takes to learn and study a sport through is part of the fun. The athletic exploits of volleyballers is insane as well, just people diving around left and right and somehow, someway, getting the ball back up nearly every time. Women's Volleyball, equally popular in Brazil largely because of how good the Brazilian women's team was, became a favored pastime. It was amazing seeing these athletic godesses - almost all ridicuously tall - display their brilliance.

Outside of volleyball, I enjoyed some of the other middle-tier sports, like the velodrome stuff on the track, the fencing, water-polo, diving - all the hits. It was endless fun to sit back at the end of the day and flip through the dozens of Comcast/NBC channels that showed Olympics and go back and forth between them all. It's hard to say I was invested in outcomes, but moreso in curiosity and imbibing the feeling that was present enough in those arenas, gyms and fields that it shook through the screen.

Brazil had a lot of problems leading into the Games, as the period that went through them getting awarded the Olympics and actually hosting it was filled with unsettling times locally. It still is seen locally from what I can tell, as a horrible boondoggle. Don't care. The attendees, be them locals or tourists, created a great atmosphere at nearly every setting.

At the end of the day, Olympics are centered around gymnastics, swimming and track & field - maybe so because the US generally at worst does well and at best dominates at all three. 2016 was a prime example of just how good these sports can be and just how much drama and intrigue can be created by just showcasing on awesomeness. 

2016 saw pinnacle performances in each area. First, you had the US Women's Gymnastics team, headlined by Simone Biles, dominate at a level never seen. Gymnastics calculus-level scoring system essentially assured that no one could match Biles if she just did what she planned to do - because what she plans to do is just technically better than anyone else. And she did just that. The whole team finished miles ahead of anyone else. Country limits may have been the only reason the US didn't go gold-silver-bronze in individuals.

Swimming and Track was about the same people that lighted up 2008 and 2012 - Phelps and Bolt, but not in the same way. 2008 was Phelp's coronation. His dominance was the story. His 2012 was similar - even if Phelps personally was in a low point as he would later reveal. Well, 2016 was a goodbye, but no one expected just that level of dominance in his final showing. More medals, more records, more amazing performances. Watching Phelps swim is one of the great viewing experiences of my life. It was insane in 2004 when he was 17, and it was still insane twelve years later.

Bolt showed up in 2008 and set world records. In 2012, he did the same. In 2016, much like Phelps, he wasn't assured of victory. Dominance wasn't the expectation - it just happened again. Much like watching Phelps swim, watching Bolt run is amazing, but more for its sheer audacity. The way his gait slowly just takes over. The way it looks like he is just playing a different game in teh second half of some of his races. The way he always is able to almost celebrate while running, that giant, infectious smile of his just beaming while everyone else is thrashing around to finish those last few steps.

I remember I was at a crowded bar in New York, The Blind Tiger (RIP bars), with a few friends the night of Bolt's 200m win. They had a small tv in the corner that was broadcasting NBC. No one really paid too much attention. That was until Bolt was about to run. Suddenly, this packed bar became a sports bar, everyone turning their eyes towards the small TV in the corner. We all unleashed in equal parts celebration and absolute amazement - seeing people n various levels of drunkenness try to understand how it is possible for someone to run like that.

2016 had stars, it had moments, but what it also had that prior Olympics lacked, was tennis played at a ridiculous level. Tennis has always been part of the Olympics, but was never really seen as too important. Certainly nowhere near the slams or even maybe secondary tournaments like Indian Wells. That all changed in 2016, largely because the players got really invested. 

In 2016, Djokovic was the clear best player in the world, but had his Nole-slam ended in Wimbledon a few weeks prior - the start of a two year malaise (for him). Nadal was down in the dumps, relatively. Federer was playing well but not great. Murray had just won Wimbledon. Those four men were expected to be key parts of the 2016 story, but the fifth Beatle in this case was the one that changed everything: Juan Martin del Potro.

Del Potro had a cursed career, one that started with so much promise when he mashed his way to the 2009 US Open title. Various wrist injuries cost him pretty much all of 2010-2011 and 2014-15. In the brief periods he did play, mostly 2012-13, he returned quickly to being a Top-10 player. By 2016, he was far from that, but he came to the Olympics in his home continent, and was unleashed. 

An interesting part of this cadre of Tennis stars is how nationalistic and prideful they are of where they came from. We saw it with Murray at Wimbledon - especially when he won Olympic Gold at Wimbledon in 2012. We see it all the time with Nadal and Spain, and of course with Djokovic and Serbia (especially pointed given how he grew up at the height of the unrest/war). And here we saw it with Del Potro.

The matches in that tournament were legendary. Del Potro's 7-6 7-6 win over Djokovic was probably the most memorable. Djokovic couldn't touch Del Potro's serve and epic forehand. It was a battle that should have happened so many times over the years. At the end, both players were crying, Del Potro with the emotion of the crowd and his own injury demons. For Djokovic, it was losing while representing his country - the Olympic Gold being the only real missing piece in his cabinet. 

The Semifinal played between Del Potro and Nadal was similar, again with Del Potro prevailing. Once again there were so many 'Ole's' and chants. It was a world cup soccer match crowd, a high intensity we would have only expected in tennis in Ashe or Laver. It was beautiful, an unexpected glory of the 2016 Olympics.

The 2016 Olympics had it all. It had the personal stories and stars that you can easily get behind - I was able to get a newfound appreciation for the brilliance of Phelps and Bolt. It had the sport I love but never cared about at the Olympics become one of the best shows in the games, with legendary tennis players staging epic battles for a tournament that earned them no money or even ranking points (something that was there in prior Olympics). And it had those other sports you latch onto and ride for two weeks, with volleyball being the central star. For the next 200 weeks after it ended, I didn't miss it. But when teh Olympics didn't return on that 201st week, it became apparent to me again how special it is, and how much we do need it.

Updated: Ranking my Client Locations

The idea  for this came to my when I had planned a trip to Houston, or more namely Spring. It's nominally (and realistically) to visit my cousin who lives there, and spend time with him and his three adorable kids. But Spring, and its neighboring suburb The Woodlands, happens to be the location of a client project I did in the fall 2018. It was the last project I did as something of a nomad, which in totaly was a mostly 18 month stretch where I was mostly isolated week to week. It was sometimes boring, but I made it work by trying to maximize my enjoyment of the areas. It was in this period I discovered Hop Scholar Ale House in Spring. It soon became a 2x/week after work spot to just unwind, meet some locals, drink a truly fabulous collection of brews (seriously, it might have one of the better draft collections for a suburban bar). When I planned the trip, I could only get a flight in on Thursday late enough where I didn't want to bother my cousin and his family, but early enough to visit some of my old haunts - both Hop Scholar, more embarrassingly, Buffalo Wild Wings, and then EAD Vietnamese the next day. What this also prompted me to do is re-write a list I did at the tail end of that project, it was a list of my favorite client locations. My project changed significantly in 2019, as it lasted right up until the pandemic. There were many cities, larger teams, a different way of experiencing towns, but if anything the restaurants got fancier and more varied. Anyway, here we go. Actually, before we go, quick list of what's not ranked (due to it being just one-off or two-off site visits)

- Lamanon, France (I mean, this might be #1, but I made it into more of a tourist trip anyway)

- Winnipeg, Canada (very cool city, would love to go back)

- Sault Ste. Marie, Canada (not a cool city, don't want to go back, but somewhat glad I went)

- Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (I have no real thoughts here)

- Leiden, Netherlands (ironically, I went here as a tourist way back in 1999, very cool little Dutch town, plus apparently the namesake town of my neighbor and good friend Chris Leyden)

- Bangalore, India (honestly, I have the strangest luck in site visits....)

- Vancouver, Canada (in reality, some town near Vancouver, nowhere near as fun as the actual city)

- Wilmington, North Carolina (only cool think was the connection to Cape Fear!)

- Atlanta, Georgia (no real thoughts)

- Nashville, Tennessee (all the thoughts, but going for work and not as a tourist sucked)

- Norfolk, Virginia (literally no thoughts, I arrived at 12:15, went to the shadiest sports bar for some wings....)

On to the real show!:

11.) Meriden/Wallingford (May 2017 - February 2018)

Local Restaurants: J. Christian's, The Library, Ola!, Gianni's
Bars: Wood-n-Tap; Knucklehead's

Meriden is a nothing town. The neighboring town of Wallingford is at least a place that had a main street, a few nice restaurants, and a really nice, if a it dingy, beer bar. It is staggering how much my appreciation of each place I went to depeded on if it had a workable, usable, weekly bar I could go to on days that work got too busy. Meriden's place was called Knuckleheads, normally patronized with people that would normally look like, well, knuckleheads. It took about a month before they remembered me each Wednesday night, when the pain of three straight days started to get to me. Meriden is also probably hurt because I had to drive there, a painful three hours every Monday morning, where I definutely came close to falling asleep on the road multiple times.

10.) Battle Creek (November 2013 - March 2014)

Restaurants: Acadia Brewing Company (now closed), Pastrami Joe's, Maru Sushi, La Cocina Mexicana
Bars: Griffin's Pub, Arcadia Brewing Company (now closed)

Battle Creek was the location of my first project as a consultant. It was a truly Michigan outpost, a place I learned how to deal with negative temperatures, as I was there in the middle of the polar vortex in the winter of 2013-14. My go-to place was Arcadia Brewing Company, which I know have learned has since closed - a development that really burns me. That place was great for its food in isolation, and when you add to it pure Michigan craft-beer, you get something special.  Honestly, this news really depressed me. They truly had great food. Anyway, outside of Arcadia, they had a great sandwhich place for lunch, some nice ethnic food, a casino in driving distance, and the city of Kalamazoo, which had some nice food to match its great namem about 30 minutes away. It was the most remote place I went to, which by itself lent some mystery. ALso, they had those giant midwest-sized beers.

9.) Southfield/Detroit (January 2019 - December 2019)

Restaurants: Selden Standard, Chartreuse Kitchen, Beau's Grillery, 

Bars: One-Eyed Betty's, Craft Breww City

The first new city in my list, this was one of many locations in the project I was running from the start of 2019 through April 2020. They had a lot of locations, but I restricted it to ones I went to at least four times. Anyway, the problem here is not so much Detroit, but the random suburb the waste management client was in, Southfield, was just blah. The options close by were extremely limited. We would venture closer to Detroit proper a few times and genuinely have good food. Selden Standard is a fantastic restaurant that could be easily placed in many metros. But it's also the place I had maybe the worst sushi of my life (to be fair, it was a last minute spot after my flight got cancelled). One-Eyed Betty's was a fantastic little beer bar, reminding me a lot of those in Battle Creek that it was a nice hit of nostalgia.

8.) Horsham (March 2018 - August 2018)

Restaurants: The Farm + Fisherman, Nara Thai, Tony's Place, Ooka Sushi
Bars; Magerk's Pub, Miller's Ale HouseIron Abbey Gastropub

Horsham was the only other driving client I had, but unlike Meriden, which was three hours away, this was 45 minutes away, and was close enough that I somewhat felt like I was at home. Horsham was a blue-collar town, one that the local pizza bar was open during multiple blizzards in the winter of 2018, which allowed me to get some sustenance while hte rest of hte town was snowed under. my nightly bar became Magerk's, which is actually a Western Pennsylvania chain, but the one in Horsham had a really good seelction of rotating taps - some that used to switch in and out each week, and had a couple nice bartenders I got to know. For actual restaurants, my favorite palce actually closed down when I was there, a lunch place that served really good Mexican food. But in its place, was multiple asian restaurants and a few nice upscale gastropubs. Itwas close to home, but since I like home it wasn't that bad.

7.) San Ramon (August 2017 - March 2018)

Restaurants: Beer Baron Bar, Blue Agave, Walnut Creek Yacht Club, Sauced BBQ, Vanessa;s Bistro
Bars; Beer Baron Bar, Mr. Lucky's, OL Beercafe

San Ramon, located in the East Bay in the Valley, itself has nothing, other than rapidly becoming unaffordable housing. However, it was 15-20 minutes away from Pleasantville and Walnut Creek, two great suburban towns with great restaurants (everything from top-market Asian, to Barbecue, to gastropubs), great bars, a micro-brewery or two, and the cool air of the inner valley, a palce that rarely experienced anyhthing other than 70 degrees in winter. If you were to venture at all towards SF or Oakland, the traffic did become nightmarish, but therer was enough locally to ensure that it wasn't needed to go to the big city.

6.) The Woodlands (October 2018 - December 2018)

Restaurants: TRIS, Fieldings Local, Del Frisco's, EAD Vietnamise, Roberto's Cocina
Bars: Hop Scholar Ale House, Bar Louie, Buffalo Wild Wings (sadly)

Unlike one unfair ranking to come, I'm not going to include Houston in this ranking. Given the disaster that is Houston traffic, downtown or the Galeria area is just too far away for me to go to enough. Anyway, Spring and The Woodlands, is a nice little posh suburb of Houston, that has a little slice of Houston, without the irascible traffic, namely great ehtnic food, great modern restaurants, and nice bar spots. The one downside which hurts it is that everything closes early. The only bar that was open after midnight was Buffalo Wild Wings (seriously). The restaurants are really nice though, if a tad expensive being a suburb - but I guess that's what posh gets you in one of the silently richest parts of the country. The one upside is their best local tap-house was really great. Hop Scholar Ale House was so good at rotating taps, and putting up a lot of stouts - a place after my heart.

5.) Queretaro, Mexico (April, 2014 - July, 2014)

Restaurants: Pampas, La Casa Verde, Chucho el Roto, Tikua Sereste
Bars: Hotel Real de Minas Bar, Brewer Pub, Odric's Beer House

In a way, Queretaro is cheating, as it is a city, with a good city center (which doubles as a UNESCO World Heritage Site) right there. It houses a top university in Mexico, and has many US companies that have set up shop (including my client). But given it was in Mexico, and not in Mexico City, I feel like it deserves its spot. Queretaro was lovely, my first experience in Mexico outside of tourist traps. The city center was amazing. THe restaurants were all great, going from street tacos, to Mexican takes on Brazilian Stakehouses, to upmarket fare (that still generally landed within my expense budget). Queretaro also had a nice bull ring which I got to watch one concert (bull fighting is more or less dead un Mexico). Being the home to many US company's operations, it is largely middle class, which helps as well. It was just a great place to get lost in for three months.

4.) Vaughan/Toronto (December 2016 - March 2017 & January 2019 - March 2020)

Restaurants: The Keg, Bellwood's Brewery Gastropub, Di Manno's (lunch), Locale, Belsito's Trattoria
Bars: Moose & Firkin, Bar Hop Brew Co (Toronto), C'est What (Toronto),

Ok, this is an interesting one. It was included in my list last time because I did a project in Vuaghan Dec'16 - Mar'17, the last project with my first company. Well, I went to Vaughan roughly 20x more times with a different client that somehow was in the exact same "desolate" suburb of Toronto. Back then, I included Toronto int the ranking. I'm taking Toronto away, at least for restaurants, because in the year plus that we went to Vaughan we had some fantastic meals in Toronto that would put the rest ot shame - oh what a 10-12 person budget gets you! Anway, I kept my favorite beer spots, two of which are in Toronto proper. One is Bar Hop Brew Co, which while having the most frustrating wifi was a genuinely great spot, and Bellwood's being truly my favorite gastropub in North America. What really opened my eyes this second sojourn in Vaughan. We went to Locale in King roughly ten times, each was great. The place is fabulous. The Italian food in the area is peerless. Di Manno's is an unmatched lunch spot from a consulting team's perspective, walking distance with incredible food. I really grew to love Vaughan. Somewhat helped by its place as the last client location I ever went to....

3.) Raleigh (January 2019 - March 2020)

 

Restaurants: Poole's Diner, Beasley's Chicken, Seoul 116, Vidrio, Garland, Rye

Bars: The Raleigh Times, Isaac Hunter's Tavern, Foundation

Now we're talking. This is probably the closest I've ever come to actually having a long-term urban client - though Raleigh is about as pleasant an "urban" environment as you can think of. We stayed at the Marriott which was right in the heart of Raleigh, with the State House on one end of the street, and the Arts Center on the other. Raleigh is a fascinating little town with an amazing food scene. All of the restaurants I've listed are great. The first two are classic Southern fare, with Poole's being maybe my favorite restaurant at a clietn location to date. Garland is somehow an Indian restaurant, though the chef is American, and its fantastic. Seoul 116 is a great Korean spot. Beasley's great fried chicken. In 2021 America, most cities have great food, but Raleigh has particularly great food. Oh, and The Raleigh Times bar is about as good a beer bar as I've found for the food it had, and the atmosphere. Raleigh is just a great town man, and the worst part is I'm really struggling to think of a reason I would return. But when I do, I can't wait.

2.) Denver (August 2019 - January 2020)

Restaurants: The Bindery, Annette, Beast & Bottle

Bars: Falling Rock Tap House (closed)

Denver barely makes the cut in my arbitrary "you had to go here four times" rule. I went there exactly four times on this same godforsaken (read: amazing) waste management client. I had been to Denver once as a tourist with friends in 2015, but this was a realy experiencing of the city and all its glory. Denver is a great place, eminently drivable despite how sprawling it is as a town. The city has some great restaurants. In full openness, I'm going back as a tourist in a months time so I'll have a better sense of its true glory then. The Bindery is a fantastic downtown restaurant. Annette apparently is a James Beard winning restaurant but was in the Stanley district that is well outside the city center. For a moment, I need to talk about Falling Rock. I discovered it on a whim as a place to go after me and two colleagues went to a Rockies game. Little did I know it was an institution in Denver, credited with really bringing the craft beer movement there. It closed very recently after a rent issue. Honestly, that by itself was almost enough for me to reconsider my trip. It was an excellent place. Denver was and is an excellent town.

1.) Montreal (January 2019 - January 2020)

Restaurants: Robin Square, Bouillon Bilk, St. Hubert's Chicken

Bars: NYKS, Dieu du Ciel, Santos

Ok, I admit this is such cheating. I've been to Montreal countless times before I ever went for work. That said, man was it great for work as well! I did go about five times on that last project (god bless those days, I used every damn dime of my expense budget), and to be fair I'm only considering things we went to during the project, so no Schwartz, or Juliete and Chocolat, or many other places that would just make it a more formidable #1 than it already is. There are a couple spots I did discover courtesy of me doing a project there. Robin Square probably topping that list, though I believe they've closed during the pandemic. It was a truly mom & pop shop where the whole family worked. The bars are great, NYKS being my go to during the Jazz Fest as well, and a beautiful little oasis the couple times I arrived really late and needed dinner among Hoth-like conditions. The only one downside of the whole Montreal work experience was how far away our actual client's operation was, so the lunch food there was really average. It did allow us to discover St. Hubert's, which is Montreal's answer to Nando's, and was great by itself. Of course we ate it a night after partying on a Wednesday at Santos, a random Cuban bar in Montreal Old Town, so maybe that helped everything greasy and fatty taste better...

Lightning Striking Twice - or Seven Times

**Before I extol the Lightning, I do want to first talk about the stupid "they gamed the cap!" noise that has overtaken the NHL world online. Out of all the ridiculous assertions of cheating and '-gate's and all the rest, this one has to be the stupidest. Anyway, let's lay it out:

(1) What the Lightning did - have Kucherov be on LTIR all season which removes his cap hit - is 100% legal, and has direct precedence, when the Blackhawks put Kane on LTIR midway through the 2015 season, which allowed them to clear enough salary to trade for three players at the deadline. The NHL could've closed the loophole then. They didn't.

(2) The 2015 Blackhawks then won the cup, beating Tampa 4-2 in a very closely played final. The Lightning were one of the few, if not only, teams to at the time raise noise that the NHL should close that loophole by implementing a salary cap maximum for the playoffs, but basically no one went along. If anything, there's some poeticism that the team on the losing end of this rule last time were the ones using it now.

(3) Other teams fans complaining is ridiculous, since any fan would be 110% ok if their team did the exact same thing. If anything, that's who they should be made about - all teams should be doing this when possible. Its the fact the owners don't want to spend the money that stops it from happening. The Tampa owner was cool spending it.

(4) The most ridiculous notion is the one that its only because of this loophole that Kucherov was playing in the playoffs, which is nonsense. If the loophole didn't exist, the Lightning aren't cutting bait on Kucherov. No, what happens is they buyout Tyler Johnson when they couldn't find a taker for him, and aren't able to trade for Denis Savard. Yeah, I'm pretty sure the Lightning can still win the Cup without a 4th line player and a D-Man who many felt wasn't as good as the guy they often scratched in his place: Luke Schenn

(5) and finally.... the one part that so often gets left out of this is this "loophole" meant the Lightning dind't have Kucherov all year. If you think this is some pandora's box, well most teams can't afford to just put their best offensive player on the side for the entire season and still feel confident enough that they'll make the playoffs. The Lightning should be applauded for that type of depth. Anyway, no more mention of this...**

The Lightning rose to prominence in 2015. That year they made a spirited run to the Stanley Cup Finals. They were the top scoring team in the league (265 goals - the NHL was still quite different offensively six years ago). They had 108 points. They beat the President's Trophy winning Rangers in a classic 7-game Conference Final, their playoff run spearheaded by "The Triplets" line of Nikita Kucherov (21 at the time), Ondrej Palat (23) and Tyler Johnson (24). At the head was their sniping captain in Steven Stamkos (24) and young blue-liner getting better year by year in Victor Hedman (24). They were the future of the league. 

They still are - with those exact five players still contributing, in many ways still the mainstays of the team, adding to that core Andriy Vasilevsky, who was just 20 years old and the backup at the time, and Brayden Point who came on board a few years later. The current Lightning run started then - we can call it back to back championships, and that is most certainly true, but in reality this is the culmination of a seven year run that is ludicrous for the modern NHL.

Over the past seven seasons, the Lightning won two Stanley Cups, lost one other Stanley Cup Final (2015), twice lost in Game 7 of the Conference Finals (2016, 2018), and in the two remaining years had one legitimate "down" season mostly due to injuries (2017) and one year where they got unceremoniously swept after ceremoniously having the best regular season in a generation (2019). This is a 7-yaer run of extended success with more or less the same core. That's the story - the back to back Cups just let us tell it as so.

It's not fair to reduce the Lightning's brilliance to just these two years winning Cups. Certainly though there are myriad plaudits for doing that. From those core guys who were incredible two straight years. Nikita Kucherov becoming the first player not named Gretzky or Liemieux to score 30+ points in back-to-back playoff years. Brayden Point becoming one of the rare players to lead the NHL in playoff goals back to back seasons. Vasilevsky having five straight series clinchers be shutouts. Hedman being truly great in two straight postseasons.

We can write how they learned to win, how they buttressed these great stars with better depth the past two seasons - and people will rightly point to players like Barclay Goodrow and Brandon Coleman who they acquired in the 2020 deadline and played big roles each of the past two years alongside more established Lightning Yanni Gourde for a dominant 3rd line. That all is true, but so is the fact hte Lightning had something special all along and finally got hte bounces and got the results to show it.

Hidden in that 2015-2019 run of great success but playoff disappointments weren't even that many disappointments. For years people would point to those and mock the Lightning, another offense/skill-first team that "couldn't get it done when it mattered." Let alone the fact that during that five year stretch the only team that won more playoff rounds than the Lightning's seven were the Penguins who won back to back Cups (9 rounds total).

Before we get back to the teams these past two years, let's quickly extol the Lightning from 2015-2019, who did all of this while keeping their forward group remarkably consistent (aside from Point and Gourde), and turning over the whole D-Core minus Hedman through trades (McDonagh, Sergachev, Cernak, Savard, Schenn - all trade acquisitions).

From 2015-2019, these disappointments did the following:

= They led the league in goals three times (2015, 2018, 2019 - the last two with 296 and 325 goals)

= They won a President's Trophy (2019), and led the Eastern Conference in points another time (2018)

= They beat teams in the playoffs that had 113 points (Rangers, 2015), 112 points (Bruins, 2018, beat them 4-1) and 110 points (Canadiens, 2015)

= They won a Game 7 on the road to win a Conference Title (Rangers, 2015)

= Made more conference finals than any other team (2015, 2016, 2018)

= Had a player win the Hart Trophy (Kucherov, 2019)

= Had a player win a Vezina Trophy (Vasilevsky, 2019)

= Had a player in a Norris Trophy (Hedman, 2018)

They were the 2nd best franchise in the NHL from 2015-2019, with Pittsburgh ahead of them only because of the playoff success. Maybe 3rd behind Washington who had great regular seasons in 2016 and 2017 prior to their Cup win. They were a great team. Now we can appreciate it because they followed that five year stretch with two Cup runs. Finally we can look beyond the "chokes" of losing 7-game series in the Conference Finals to eventual cup winners - the only real ignominy is the fact they led both series 3-2.

We can look past them because the Lightning didn't get better, they just got better results, these last two years. They also didn't panic, didn't burn it down, didn't think the core was fatally flawed. They just reshaped and retooled, and starting with a 5OT win in Game 1 in the bubble, through their 5-game submission of the Canadiens never stopped. 

The Lightning in 2020 and 2021 weren't as good as the teams in 2018 and 2019; though the 2020 wasn't far off - leading the NHL in goals for a 3rd straight time. But they got the results the others couldn't. Two straight playoffs, only one elinimation game faced (the Islanders series this year). They dismantled great teams in five games both years in the quarterfinals (Bruins in 2020, Hurricanes in 2021). They didn't lose back to back games, which is an absurd statistic to do once (last team to do it was the 2007 Ducks) let alone two straight years. If not for a blown lead in Game 6 against the Islanders they would've gone back to back without facing elinimation.

The Lightning are the NHL's model franchise, but its not because of what they did in the ten month stretch from the bubble last year through to these playoffs. It's because of everything they've done really since Steve Yzerman took over before the 2010 season. The only remnants of the franchise before that was drafting Stamkos #1 in 2008 and Hedman #'2 in 2009 - both decisions anyone would've made those years. Everything else starts from Yzerman and required more skill - selecting guys like Kucherov, Point, Palat in later rounds. Taking a risk on Vasilevskiy in the 1st round. Building that team without being afraid to take risks - like trading a 1st-liner in Vladislav Namestnikov for Ryan McDonagh, or trading a former #3 overall pick in Jonathan Druin for Mikhail Sergachev - both deals paying off handsomely. The Lightning always resisted hte urge to tear it down, but never resisted the urge to do something.

It may not be over. The Lightning will have to make decisions this offseason, be it buying out Tyler Johnson, and letting Goodrow and Coleman walk. Who knows who replaces them, but the Lightning are deep enough to sustain those losses, and have clearly shown an unmistakable ability to develop younger players. The Lightning will still be very good next year, as they embark on a journey to do something no NHL team has done since the Islanders early-80s dynasty: win back-to-back-to-back Cups. Just know if they do, while we'll remember the threepeat, don't forget the brilliance of 2015-2019 that built that foundation as well.

The Joy of Just A Normal NBA Finals

So many thinkpieces have been written about these NBA Finals not being so sexy on paper. Hell a lot were written the same about the last round, or even the round before that after the Lakers got kicked out in the first round. Hell, you can go back to the play-in making us lose Steph Curry, and its been a theme from the start about how "different" these playoffs were set to be. And they are. And they are, and they were, and these finals are going to be great in how normal they are. Because in teh NBA it is almost never normal.

The NBA is defined by its dynasties, its great teams and legendary players, in a way more so than the other American sports. From the Russell Celtics, to the Lakers and Celtics in the 80s, to the Bulls to the Spurs and Lakers in the Duncan/Kobe/Shaq era, to the LeBrons and the Warriors. There's a big gap in that history though, if you picked it up. The whole decade of the 70s was wild, with random teams winning, random finals matchups. In fact, our two teams in these finals both made the finals in the 70s. The Bucks are remembered because of a gentleman named Lou Alcindor, but the Suns prior Finals appearance in teh 70s is fairly nameless. That whole decade is. There I guess is some fear this is a very 1970's esque finals, but again, I love that fact.

The last NBA Finals that was this devoid of history and weight was probably the 2006 Finals, though even there you had Shaq trying to win a 4th. Maybe you need to go back to the 1999 Finals, when the Spurs hadn't yet become a dynasty, or I guess then the 2000 one where the same could be said of the Lakers (though that still featured Phil Jackson going for a 7th). Not only are there not these guys trying to add to already huge ring collections, literally no player on these two teams have won a Finals. 

But that doesn't mean they aren't interesting and can't be great. The hunger to win a ring is palpable. There is some legacy and weight, with Chris Paul a ring away from a whole different conversation aroudn him. And maybe underrated, Giannis a ring away from having a championship, along with two MVPs before he turns 27 for a franchise he re-upped with for four more years. Maybe this matchup will be the little odd mark amongst a sea of LeBrons and Durants and superteams, but it is so nice to not have that at all.

Both teams are also been built in such interesting ways. Not to say there isn't some big name free agent signings or, in this case trades, but Jrue Holliday is a one-time all star, and Chris Paul was all seen as something of a pitiable mercenary. No, these teams are built with homegrown stars, two each per side (Booker and Ayton, Giannis and Middleton). These teams are built to actually paly defense, they matchup well with each other in that they have different strengths - the Suns love of the mid-range, the Bucks love of just pushing to the paint. 

The NBA should be able to market the hell out of this series, with a two time MVP, a legendary palyer in Paul, some great young stars, two markets itching for a first title or a first in about 50 years. There is so much to love here. We may yet return next year to Lakers vs. Nets, the series we all that was inevitable a few months back. These come up so rarely for the NBA, let's treasure the weirdness of Bucks vs Suns for everything its worth.

Maybe the greatest Knockout Day in Soccer History

Over the weekend I was thinking to myself that when asked to name the best soccer game I have ever seen, I didn't know what the answer was. The game is played at a pace that when even played beautifully it always ins't the best in sum. It's a lot like hockey (but slower, admittedly), where the sport is brilliant in clip and highlight form, but probably not in a 'let's sit down and watch 90 minutes' way. Certainly, there have been some epic Champions League ties over the years, and some great World Cup and/or Euro games, but so few that featured just extended periods of awesomeness.

Well, after the events of Monday, June 28th, 2020, I can say that is no longer the case. We just wrapped up maybe the most insane day of Knockout soccer in a long, long time. Later on I'll go through some contenders and while there have certainly been days that matched the intensity, nothing matched the absurdity and the brilliance of a 5-3 (ET) game followed by a 3-3 game.

You had two teams coming back from 3-1 down in the last fifteen minutes. A 3-1 lead with in the 70+ min is generally locked in, well - we saw again that lead blown twice in one day. You had in one of the games, the team blowing the lead scoring twice in extra time, and in the other it going down to the 10th and final penalty kick. You had the first major upset of the tournament, ended when one of the best players in the world had a penalty kick denied. You had maybe the rebirth of Spain, twice in one game. You had it all.

If for whatever reason this is not yet to be believed, you had the following in the games as well. A once-in-a-decade blunder of an own goal to put Spain down early. A missed penalty that would've put a team up 2-0 just to see that team then go down 1-2 in about five minutes. Multiple point blank shots saved. 9 incredible penalty kicks. And so much more.

So many times both games seemed to change, from of course the ridiculous own goal that preceded Croatia running play for about 10 min. From Pogba's incredible goal to make it 3-1, seemingly absolutely ending the game. To the start of extra time in the first game where Croatia was very much on the front foot, right before the point blank shot was saved. It was madness.

The games as a whole were excellent from storylines as well, from Croatia's final stand against a Spain team trying to make a name for themselves after a dry spell in 2014 - 2018. You had France trying to do the World Cup & Euro double against a Swiss team that has always been decent but looking for a signature win in its history. You had so many key players make big contributions, from Modric's calm brilliance, to Morata's wonder-strike to win it. You had Pogba continuing to be a monster when playing for France, to Benzema's insane touch.

Of course you had the moments from the 'others', such as most of the other goal scorers for Spain and Switzerland. In the end, there was nothing I've seen like this. I remember right at the end of the Spain v Croatia game one of the announcers on ESPN said something to the effect of "France and Switzerland will have a very tough act to follow." They did, but they arguably exceeded it. We all were the better for it.

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If you want some days that could start to compare, I went back to 2002 (have little memory of knockout stages before this), and there's some that at least had great drama (I only looked at specific days that had multiple games). Nothing will compare in terms of goals. You're lucky to get one knockout-stage game with six goals, let alone two in one day.

2002 World Cup, Round of 16, June 16th

Senegal beats Sweden 2-1  &  Spain beats Ireland 1-1 = only maybe is deserving of mention because Senegal won on a Golden Goal, this being the last tournament with that rule.

2008 Euro, Quarterfinal, June 19th

Germany beats Portugal 3-2  &  Turkey beats Croatia 1-1 = Obviously doesn't match in goals, but it was one round later. On the plus side, Turkey's win was absolutely as bananas, them being the ultimate late goal team. Croatia scored their goal in the 119th minute, but Turkey answered in the 121nd. Anyway, the Germany game had them up 3-1, not as close as the score, but entertaining nonetheless.

2010 World Cup, Quarterfinal, July 2nd

Netherlands beats Brazil 2-1  &  Uruguay beats Ghana 1-1 = The Dutch scored their winning goal way too early to give thsi serious consideration. However, the Ghana game featured the memorable intentional handball by Suarez, the subsequent penalty miss by Gyan, and all the drama that the handball created, ending the run of the last African team in the African world cup.

2014 World Cup, Round of 16, June 29th

Netherlands beats Mexico 2-1  &  Costa Rica beats Greece 1-1 = Ok, now we're talking. Again, way less, goals, but the late drama was incredible. Netherlands goals came in the 88th minute by Sneijder and then the 94th min. The Greece game featured a 91st minute equalizer.

2018 World Cup, Round of 16, July 1st

Russia beats Spain 1-1  &  Croatia beat Denmark 1-1 = Ok, neither of these games were that exciting other than the fact both went to penalties. From what I can tell, this is the only time both knockout games on a specific day go to penalties.

Re-Reading Harry Potter, thoughts through Book 5

Over the past month or so, I decided to take on the task of re-reading the Harry Potter books - though admittedly starting with Prisoner of Azkaban. I may have read bits and pieces of one book or the other, particularly the two I haven't yet reached in this journey, since originally reading them but I am sure this is my first time reading most of these cover to cover since at least 2011 or so. It could be well before that but I have some vague memory of re-reading each of them ahead of hte final Harry Potter movie.

It's been long enough my memory of the plots are more driven by the movies at this point. That's a problem, since the books are almost 100% excellent, and the movies are insanely up and down. The goal here was to better understand the material, reading it not as a pre-teen then teen (in reality, pretty sure I read The Sorcerers Stone when I was 8 or something), but as an adult with a good mix of nostalgia and skepticism.

Anyway, I chose to not re-read the first two as I fully believe that was a more HP 1.0 type time period; the books were short, were far more geared towards kids, had fairly little actual connection to the rest of hte plot (you can argue everything up to the reveal of Sirius being good at the end of the 3rd book is fairly meaningless in teh large scheme). Maybe one day I'll go back and read these two as well.

Anyway, the first thing that jumps out is just how damn detailed the books are with interesting minutiae. Over the years, and again because of the movies, my view of Harry Potter is so heavily plot based with the big points leading up to the ultimate showdown. Because of that you forget how much of these books, particularly Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix are 'moment in time' for such long stretches. There's whole brilliant side-plots I completely forgot about, such as the various allusions to Fred & George testing out and ultimatley setting up their Joke Shop, Hermoine's long crusade for justice for House Elves (fit with great acronyms like S.P.E.W). 

Also lost on / forgotten by me was how much incredible foreshadowing was there - the amount of hints towards Lupin being a werewolf, the allusions to Barty Crouch being the imposter Moody, the never-ending omnipresence of the Department of Mysteries. Maybe my biggest miss, and something I'm sure I just overlooked at the time as a likely half-interested 11 year old, was the whole running Crookshanks vs. Scabbers side-plot in Prisoner of Azkaban is a long foreshadow to how dog-form Sirius communicated with teh cat to bring him scabbers/Pettigrew. Just amazing stuff.

At the time I know I was annoyed by how long Goblet of Fire was and them some angsty combination of annoyed and impressed by the fact Order of the Phoenix was somehow even longer, but the reason they were is so much more clear to me now. This was a long mystery, thriller, but more than that is was the story of so much more. Of children growing up with pain, with anxiety, with successes and failures, with trauma. It was like watching the best high school show of all time, with one of the great fantasy mysteries layered on top.

The way she could make you feel Harry's isolation throughout Order of the Phoenix, the way she could make Umbridge so (admittedly comically) evil. The way she could make the Goblet of Fire into one big puberty story. Rowling had a knack of writing teenage dynamics, but doing it in a captivating enough way for me, the reader now double the age of the kids in the books.

Going back to what I missed the first time, there's really a litany of just incredible moments and subplots that were amazing. Anything to do with Rita Skeeter in book four. The few allusions to Ginny starting to be something new and different in Harry's eyes in book five. The dark tone that surrounded book three - something admirably recreated in the movie as well. The whole Ludo Bagman being a unabashed gambling addict flew hilairously over my head on my first reading. Even though book three was only 300 or so pages, even there the aspects to do with Buckbeak was so much richer in the text.

In a way, I'm somewhat worried about what is to come. I'm fairly sure I've skimmed through books 6-7 more recently, and while I'm sure there will be some great school angst throughout Half Blood Prince (which I'm pretty sure was my favorite book at the time), I also know we get closer to the plot taking over the story. Not always a bad thing, but to compare Harry Potter for some reason to Breaking Bad, that's my one tiny little issue (not really a criticism) with the last couple seasons. The endgame took over.

These middle three were not endgame. Hell, even in my enjoyment when rereading Order of the Phoenix, I got a bit impatient wading through page after entertaining page of school stories wanting them to get to the good stuff. But in this rereading I've changed my mind on what the good stuff is. In fact, Order is the perfect example. Seeing Rowling describe in words the great battle in the Department of Mysteries, frankly isn't as good as seeing the screen depiction. However seeing her write about the day to day happenings of Hogwarts in flux and taken over by the evil Dolores Umbridge is way better in print.

Overall, I'm glad I went back and did this. It was over a decade since I've read these books cover to cover, and even in 2011 probably not with the attention to detail as I have now - again the idea that Dog Sirius was communicating to Crookshanks was complete new to me! What this also taught me is how much better Harry Potter on screen would've been as a Game of Thrones type HBO show where each of these great little subplots got room to breath. Maybe someday in 2040 we decide to remake them as shows. Until then, I can just thank JK Rowling for making this world as rich and complex as it was.

Ramblings on the NBA Playoffs

- First off, loose me on all the talk about how bad this is for the league, how low the ratings will be, the whole "think of the children!" and "woe is the NBA" lines. You do realize one of the following has been in every NBA finals since 1990 (Pistons over Blazers): MJ, Hakeem, Timmy, Shaq, Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Steph, Durant. Many of the series featured multiple of these guys. The NBA for once has a season where really we don't know who'll win, and I can't wait to see how it transpires

- There are four great, competing stories at the moment. Let's start with the most, on its face, NBA-esque, the Clippers. It's so easy to remember this is supposed to be a Superteam. Until they quite memorable fell on their face last year after going up 3-1, they were many experts pick as the champions in waiting, due to their superior wing play, great depth, and the like. Well, 3-1 jokes and Playoff P jokes aside, they still have all those things, and are now finally in the Conference Finals after maybe the greatest single half barrage of offense the league has ever seen. Let's just celebrate the fact they didn't crumble after last offseason, didn't crumble after going down 2-0 to the Mavs, or down 3-2, or 2-0 to the Jazz

- Speaking of not crumbling, my word the Bucks last series was a roller coaster. It was the opposite of their 2019 loss to the Raptors, this time getting rolled twice, squeaking out a game 3 they had little business winning, and then just hanging in there. We can say that those Raptors swept the last four, while these Bucks needed OT in Game 7, but if not for a truly legendary KD performance in Game 5 they win four straight. Yes, we can point out the obvious fact the Nets were less than their best, but its fine accepting the Nets at full strength are probably the best team in the league while also crediting the Bucks.

- On to the Bucks, let's not lose sight of while Durant was putting together something of his masterpiece, Giannis averaged 36 or something over those last five games, all efficiently as well. Yes, the FT issues are stark, but he shot a respectable 60% on them over that stretch. In game 7, KD was truly peerless with 48 points and that bonkers shot to tie the game, but Giannis quietly, I guess, had 40-13-8. He's every bit the monster we always thought.

- I don't really know what to say about the Hawks other than this being one of the coolest most unexpected runs in a long time, something like the 2013 Warriors maybe, the one that was Steph's real breakout, except this one is somehow going. Their play in Game 4-5 coming back from huge deficits, was insane. Trae Young is not Steph, no one is, but he isn't far off. The team is deep, is fun, has an insane swagger that was at first unearned but now very much so. I can't wait to see how they try to combat a Bucks team they match up pretty terribly with.

- For the Suns, it is unexpected if you go a year back, right before the bubble started where they went 8-0. It's not unexpected when you take a look at the season, the 2nd  best record in the league, the brilliant play of most of their team, and the fact that despite Chris Paul's first injury and now COVID absence they're the healthiest team left. They are incredible, play beautiful basketball, and are led by one of the best, and super well fit, tandems in the league in Ayton and of course Booker. To me, they're the favorite in teh West.

- This will go into a few of the teams eliminated (some long so) but the best part of this playoffs has been seeing these young supernovas just be blazing hot day after day. A few of them in Trae Young and Devin Booker (and no one has more swagger than either one of those two) are still playing, but let's pour one out for Donovan Mitchell, for Ja Morant, for Damian Lillard (who's Game 5 against Denver is still my favorite performance), for Luka Doncic and of course for our MVP Nikola Jokic.

- But you know who certainly was not such a player, good ol Ben Simmons. I mean what the fuck? I know he's a lot better than the shell we saw in this series offensively, but him passing up an easy dunk late in the loss to Atlanta is a stunning moment. It probably is the last moment of him in Philadelphia. I have no idea what type of package he gets, lets alone deserves, but he can't return after that

- Similarly the Jazz are in a tough spot. They're a great team that got exposed for not being able to adjust to the Clippers going small. The loss in Game 5 was inexcusable, at home against a team missing its best player. That was when they lost the series. I'm still not sure what happened in Game 6, that comeback happening deep in the throes of me and a buddy at a bar, but they did have a 75-50 lead before one of the more insane stretches of shooting this league has ever seen. They have little choice but to run it back, but you have to feel they lost their best chance at a title

- A few months back I wrote how great the NBA season was but how I was afraid that the league's overall propensity for threes could lead to a lot of blowouts. I'm very happy to say that has not been the case, with if anything the great number of threes allowing for more huge comebacks, like of course the Clippers one. We've had a few blowouts sure, but most have been because one team got too cold.

- Finally, I'm so happy how damn tense these last few games have been, how tense most of the playoffs have been. The games have been slower, better, more caring defense has been played. From the start of the playoffs with the Lakers/Warriors play-in game, the level of intensity has been ridiculous, only helped by fans back in teh building. We really are in the best of times in the NBA, made even better with more care on defense. Long live these crazy, unexpected, incredible playoffs.

Europe's Return with The Euros

We've seen America return in full from Covid; Now, you can criticize it was too soon - I mean even today the case counts in America would be record setting in like half the world. But we've done well to vaccinate half the country, far higher than that in many urban areas - the ones that have had their stadiums open their doors in full. We failed the world in the response but have rallied the world in vaccinations. Europe, well, they didn't. They were struggling. It still isn't at the level the US is - but they've finally got their moment to show the world where they've come to: Euro 2020.

Now, most of the stadiums so far are at most half full and generally close to 25%-35% full, but still after watching a full year or more of empty stadiums, something that was far more stark and noticeable for me than the empty stadia in the MLB or NFL, we finally get the noise, the chants, the vibrancy. And more than even that, we get it all across the continent due to some really nice accidental planning.

UEFA Euro 2020 (Euro 2020 from here on out) was always supposed to be spread all across the continent in a celebration of this being the 60th Anniversary of the competition (no idea why 60 was so important). Even after the postponement, UEFA surprisingly kept the idea around of staging it across Europe. It seemed stupid at the time, from everything we knew of the pandemic, the idea of choosing to play games in eleven different cities, basically do the opposite of a bubble, seemed absurd. In retrospect, its been such a blessing.

We've been able to see Europe's recovery all across the country, from the fans in England, to Italy, to Romania and Russia. All the host cities have been great so far, of course cheering fully for their home teams (particular shout to the fans in Amsterdam in that thrilling Dutch 3-2 win over Ukraine). But the cheers and the atmosphere in teh neutral games like the scenes in Bucharest for Macedonia vs. Austria, have been excellent. The scenes inside a World Cup or Euros is always fantastic. After watching US playoff games in the NHL and NBA for a month with fans it would've been depressing to go back to sterile empty stadiums, but thankfully we've avoided it.

I'll have more to say about the actual tournament later in the week once each team has played its first game, but so far the quality has met the moment. I write this right before Spain plays Sweden, and through nine games we've not had a goalless draw, only one draw period, and only two 1-0 scores. This has been excellent to date, no team seeming completely out of place (even Russia, who gifted Belgium two goals in the 3-0 loss) and many smaller nations seeming very competitive. This has been a lot of fun to date.

There's still time for things to change, but seeing International Competition with fans, with chants, with songs, with passion, has been such a welcome relief. Given the mess we're about to see in Tokyo, this might be the only truly international competition for a while, the world's first test case - albeit in one Continent. The stands may not be completely full, but the brilliance, the emotions, the vibrancy very much is.

Ranking the Weirdest potential 17-game records

The "God damn that looks horrible" new records

18.) 12-5

17.) 5-12

16.) 8-9

15.) 9-8

So, here's my thinking of why these are the worst of the new records. There were a few useful indicative records in the old sixteen game format. A team that went 12-4 or better was generally really good. A team 4-12 or worse was generally really bad. Very few teams lucked their way (or unlucked) into those records. Well, now I have literally no idea what to think of a 12-5 team. 12-4 is great, 11-5 is just very good. 12-5 means nothing. Same about a 5-win team. There was such a difference between an 11-loss and 12-loss team. Winning three of four or losing three of four was important. 

Now for the 9-8 and 8-9.... well that should be obvious. Not having a .500 option aside from a 8-8-1 (honestly, I hope we get one of those a year) is brutal. Just terrible. No other sport has an odd number of games for precisely that reason. We need that equilibrium and the NFL rudely took it away from us.

The "yeah... that's gonna take some getting used to" new records

14.) 16-1

13.) 1-16

12.) 10-7

11.) 7-10

So my issues with 10-7 and 7-10 are similar to the 12-5/5-12 awfulness. 10 wins was meaningful, but so was 7 losses in the opposite direction (and vice-versa for the 7-10 recrds). 10-6 was so much different than 9-7 and for whatever reason 10-7 really seems to devalue a 10-win season in my mind. Seven losses just seems bad. On the other hand, a 7-10 record seems to way overstate a 10-loss season. These are +/- 1 records that anyway indicated something pretty middling (10-6/6-10) so ultimatley not the worst change but it really makes a "10-win" season far more meaningless. 

For the 16-1/1-16, its mostly the fact that it resets a "16-win" and "16-loss" season away from being something historic. It will be annoying when the first time a team goes 16-1 there's a weird debate how the 2007 Pats 16-wins are more pure or whatever. Similar for the first 1-16 team not being seen, righfully so, as being as ignominous.

The "Honestly, who cares" new records

10.) 11-6

9.) 2-15

8.) 3-14
7.) 6-11

These are all fine to me. Honestly, I kind of like the weirdness of these - even the 11-6 which I find even more hilariously indicative of a good but not great team than either 10-6 or 11-5. Same for its opposite at 6-11. For the poor 2-15 and 3-14, their positive counterparts are way further up. To me all of these are fairly inoffensive and other than just all of these seeming somewhat weird, I feel like I'll get used to these pretty quickly.

The "actually, this looks fine" new records

6.) 13-4

5.) 4-13

4.) 0-17

3.) 17-0

I honestly have no idea why I like the 13-4/4-13 set so much. I figure it's because you're making a traditional benchmark (4-win, 4-loss) but making it better on the good side (13-4 vs. 12-4) and worse on the bad side (4-12 vs 4-13). Hidden in this aside from the undefeated and win-less records is the fact these are all combinations of numbers sports fans will be very much used to as they're seeding matchups in March Madness.

Now to the two that very much are not seeding matchups. I actually don't mind 17-0 and 0-17 one bit. For one, the number isn't meaningful at all, its the '0'. Undefeated and Winless remain 'undefeated' and 'winless' though if anything they're more polarizing now. I can't wait for the first 17-0 team (if it ever happens) to argue if that team is better than the 16-0 Patriots (I guarantee you people in Boston will not take this well at all). Similarly the first 0-17 team will be a damn hoot. 

The "you know what, this is better!" new records

2.) 14-3

1.) 15-2

Yeah, these are just great. 13-3 was cool, 14-2 is cool. The record in between is still really cool. There's no ambiguity in the record. A team that is 14-3 is so good they can win fourteen games and fallible enouhg to lose three and those are both very meaningful statements. 

For the coup-de-grace, the 15-2 is just a massive improvement, honestly, on both 14-2 and 15-1. I always found 15-1 a bit strange. I would rather go 14-2 than 15-1 (assuming no seeding impact). 15-1 is so close to perfect. 14-2 is human enough that you lost twice, but still awesome enough that you won 14 games. Well, now 15-2 is the same thing but a whole extra win! 15-2 to me is the new gold standard record.