Jumping right into Hoops and Puck, followed up with an Irish Rugby preview. You’ll have to scroll to the bottom to see why I picked the song “Hear You Me” by Jimmy Eat World if you’re here for that sorta thing.
Wanna Be A Baller
Locals Only NBA
At the moment, the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks would both make the NBA playoffs if the season ended today. It doesn’t so both the Nets and Knicks will need to right the ship after losing 4 of their last 10. Brooklyn has been without Kevin Durant who has an MCL sprain but should be back sometime in the near future after it was announced he should be good to go for the NBA All-Star Weekend on 2/19. The Knicks on the other hand have been pretty healthy and just last night came out victorious over the Miami Heat - the current 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Brooklyn’s Yuta Watanabe
Yuta Watanabe is a Nets role player who has seen more touches with KD Trey being out. He is currently shooting at a legendary 48% from 3-point range. Watanabe is already a legend in his own regard for becoming the first Japanese-born student-athlete to secure an NCAA Division I basketball scholarship back when he played for the George Washington Colonials. When all was said in done with his career in college, he finished 2nd in school history in blocked shots (147), 2nd in games played (134) and 15th in scoring (1,460) during his time at George Washington.
Manhattan’s RJ Barrett
RJ Barrett last night “cooked” Tyler Herro on a nasty spin drive and finish for an And-1. The lefty from Duke has had his ups and downs this year, but it is important to remember that he is still only 22 years old. His 30-point effort last night was the 6th time this season has hit the 30-point mark. The Knicks currently have 3 players averaging over 20+ points per game, which is an impressive team feat considering they are 53 games into the season. Julius Randle with 24.7, Jalen Brunson with 22.8, and RJ Barret with 20.3 are going for something that has only been done 5 times by NBA teams since 1990. (Source: KnicksMuse)
College Basketball Top 25
At 7’4”, Zach Edey is the focal point of Purdue’s success. Thus far he has averaged 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game.
K-State’s Markquis Nowell is averaging 17.1 points and 8 assists per game. At 5’8”, Harlem’s own is averaging the 2nd most assists per game in the country.
Byrce Hopkins’ sophomore leap should be credited for how the Friars are in the top 20. In his freshman year he only played 6 mins a game and averaged just 2 points per. This year, the Providence forward is averaging 16.1 points and 9.3 rebounds.
Entering the week, the UConn Huskies were losers of 6 of their last 8. This past Monday, Jordan Hawkins dropped his 3rd straight 20+ points per game and had a nice clap block against DePaul in the process.
Charles Barkley is definitely beside himself about his War Eagles. @YouTheReader keep him in your thoughts.
Local Ice Pond Talk
At the moment, the Devils and Rangers are in a solid position to make the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Islanders aren’t too far off either, as they trail the Penguins by only 2 points in securing the 2nd seed Wild Card (aka the 8th Seed). Of their last 10, NJ is 8-1-1, Manhattan is 6-2-2, and Out East is 3-5-2.
NJ’s Jack Hughes
Jack Hughes leads the Devils in points with 64. His 33 goals on the season have him tied for 5th in all of the NHL. What is also quite impressive with Hughes’ game is that he is 2nd on the Devils in terms of assists with 31. An example of his pass skills can be seen in the above GIF where Hughes set up Dougie Hamilton for the game-winner in OT a couple of weeks ago.
Manhattan’s Artemi Panarin
Artemi “Breadman” Panarin leads the Rangers in points with an even 50. His 38 assists on the season have him tied with teammate Adam Fox for 11th in all of the NHL. Panarin recently has also been lobbying for the Rangers to trade for one of his former teammates, Patrick Kane, who is on the Chicago Blackhawks trade block.
Out East’s Brock Nelson
Brock Nelson leads the Islanders in points with 46. He may not at the moment be too notable in terms of where he stands on the NHL leaderboard of goals&assists, BUT he is a hockey guy through&through. This was on display when just last week he got hit in the mouth with a stick. He sat down on the bench, felt his tooth was a bit loose so he ripped it out, handed it to the trainer, and then continued on with his next shift. Savage.
Irish Rugby
Ireland vs Wales | Sat. Feb. 4 at 9:15 AM ET
@YouTheReader in the City area, I’m sure the match will be at a plethora of pubs but I know for sure it’ll be at P. McDaid’s Irish Pub (837 7th Ave, New York, NY 10019). They have a great pint of Guinness too!
Ireland and Wales first started playing each other back in 1882. This will be the 134th match between the two countries, as Wales has come out on top 70 times, Ireland has won 56, and they kissed each other’s sisters 7 times. Since August ‘19, Ireland has won 5 of the last 6 meetings - which includes the ‘19 Rugby World Cup warm-up tests, ‘20 Autumn Championship, and ‘20-’22 Six Nations Championships.
For the Irish Captain, Johnny Sexton, this may be his final run at a Six Nations Championship. At 37 years old, Sexton recently stated to the Irish media, “The older you get as well, the more selfish you are. You want to make the most of every opportunity and it’s such a special tournament. It’s so hard to win. You talk about how many titles Ireland has won in the last 20 or 30 years, there are not too many. It’s a special thing that you can achieve something in the tournament and not talk about the World Cup at all. We won’t even be talking about France, we’ll be talking only about Wales and how we can get ourselves in the best shape possible. But 100 percent we’ll be doing all we can to win this tournament.” (Source: Irish Central) The last time Ireland took home the Six Nations Championship was in ‘18, so for the #1 Rugby team in the world, the focus now is one game at a time.
In terms of somebody to look for to score an Irish try, James Lowe would be a good bet. The Irish winger won the ‘22 Guinness Six Nations Player of Round 4 for his starring role in an Irish victory over England last go around. Born in New Zealand, the Green, White, and Gold are happy to have Lowe who established Irish residency in ‘17 and plays for the Irish province Leinster as his club team.
Half-ass Opposition Research
The Tudor dynasty became established in England in 1485, and its first monarch, Henry VII, chose white and green as his livery colors. His red dragon symbol was attributed to Welsh ancestors, and that dragon was recognized in 1801 as the official badge of Wales. It has appeared on a flag of white-over-green stripes since at least 1911 when the future King Edward VIII was invested with the title Prince of Wales. (Direct Source: Britannica)
YouTube Rabbithole
(Humor) Six Nations 2012 clip trailer banned on BBC Sport
Very clever, 10 of out 10.
Hear You Me by Jimmy Eat World
Alright, I’ll keep this one short and sweet. I picked this song for a few reasons. The main one is that it is my parents’ anniversary this coming Monday (2/6). My parents have an inside joke that I’m about to let out of the bag, my dad would say “believe you, me” and my mom thinks he just made it up and that it is not really nomenclature. Anyway, I completely forgot it was “believe you, me” and thought it was “Hear You Me”, thankfully my brother corrected me on this. That said, the song did have the target date of 2/3 ‘23 months ago and I can’t make changes once the Pen hits Paper. Also not going to lie, I for sure factored in how clickbaity the 15-second Reel to this would sound.
When I moved back to Pearl River, it really hit me like a ton of bricks that it is not so much the streets&places in your hometown that make it feel like home, it’s the names&faces. That is obvious but it felt so bizarre going into a local bar with friends where you used to know 25+ people as soon as you walk in and then just a few years later you enter the same pub that is packed to the brim and you only recognize a handful. It goes without saying, I obviously love catching up with the handful that I recognize but it just feels different. I’m not special, I know the majority of @YouTheReaders probably feel the same way about the passage of time wherever your hometown may be. I’m not going to really dive any further about this because I’ll be honest I’m nowhere near my 10,000 hours and only an expert could truly know how to handle PR.
So for all the @YouTheReaders who held pregames or were willing to get grounded by their parents so that a bunch of Village Idiots could have a few cold ones, I’m sure I’ll see you soon, but I just wanted it Noted that I’m thankful for you ladies&gentlemen.
When my hometown ever comes up now, there is no better feeling than when I talk to a stranger who knows where Rockland County is. Once I tell them I’m for Pearl River, their eyes almost always light up, they give a wink&smirk and say something like, “Ahhh Pearl River, I’ve had some good times there. I’m sure you know all about it.” Of course, I do.