Welcome! This is an unapologetic, agenda-free zone. Just commentaries on current events that’ll move you to think, laugh, rage, and even cry.
April used to be about the games. Now it is about the bets. From March Madness to the NBA, sports gambling is turning shared spectacle into private transactions. iPINIONS argues that when every play becomes a wager, the communal ritual that once defined sports begins to die… Read my full take on Substack: https://ipinionsdaily.substack.com/p/sports-are-the-last-public-rituals Read more.
Even Trump says the DOJ’s NBA gambling arrests were performative, and he’s right. iPINIONS exposes how America profits from the bets it punishes, while pretending to defend integrity. Because in this new economy, the only real sin is losing the house money. Read the full post on Substack: https://ipinionsdaily.substack.com/p/the-nba-profits-from-gambling-so Read more.
International sports may be thriving, but can they still deliver the unity global diplomacy keeps failing to achieve? From Trump’s World Cup meddling to Putin’s Olympic exile, iPINIONS explores how sports remain the world’s last honest broker — even as everything else burns. Read it now on Substack:https://ipinionsdaily.substack.com/p/the-last-diplomat-standing-can-sports Read more.
iPINIONS proposes treating all intentional fouls like flagrant ones: two free throws and possession to the other team. But any flagrant or intentional foul committed in the final two minutes should result in three free throws and possession. And, to paraphrase Justice Potter, we all know flagrant and intentional fouls when we see them. Read more.
Veteran Jokic schools rookie Wemby On Sunday night, the Denver Nuggets defeated the San Antonio Spurs 132-120. Nikola Jokic, the NBA’s two-time MVP, led the Nuggets with 39 points. But all eyes were on the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama. He, of course, is the league’s most-celebrated rookie since LeBron James. He played well, except that nobody was more… Read more.
Bill Russell, the NBA legend, is dead Bill Russell died on Sunday. Athletes in all sports are racing to pay tribute. And they’re all tweeting about the great example Russell set off the court. He took part in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and was seated in the front row of the crowd… Read more.
I knew LeBron James’s decision to “take my talents to Miami” would haunt his legacy. And I’m not just saying that today. Because here is how I expressed disappointment and cast judgement, in real time, in “LeBron Abandons Cleveland for Miami,” July 13, 2010. ________ It’s important to bear in mind that LeBron’s all-consuming ambition… Read more.
Trump and the Sleight of the Deal President Trump made quite a show last week of announcing a “partial” accord to end his trade war with China. Unfortunately, this was rather like British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain making quite a show in 1938 of announcing a “peace-for-our-time” accord to end German aggression. The U.S. and… Read more.
And Clyde the Glide takes my side. (That’s Frazier… with apologies to Drexler.) I caught a lot of flak for pooh-poohing LeBron James’s so-called greatness after he made that fateful decision to take his talents to Miami. But, as I argued in “LeBron Abandons Cleveland for Miami” (July 13, 2010),” winning championship rings by forming… Read more.
Becky Hammon continued to make history on Monday as she led the San Antonio Spurs to a NBA Las Vegas Summer League championship victory, becoming the first woman ever to do so… And that title [Summer League head coach] is just an extension of her day job – as an assistant coach on Gregg Popovich’s… Read more.
