Wisconsin GOP Chairman Voices Concerns About Convention Amid Trump Derangement Syndrome
Leftists 'are happy to do anything to disrupt ... the possibility of Donald Trump becoming president,' Brian Schimming said.Leftists 'are happy to do anything to disrupt ... the possibility of Donald Trump becoming president,' Brian Schimming said.The NBA's pathetic suspension of Patrick Beverley proves once again that fans come last
When the Indiana Pacers finished off their first-round upset of the Milwaukee Bucks last week, all of the analysis of what had been a pretty entertaining basketball series was lost in the furor over the late-game antics of mercurial Bucks guard Patrick Beverley, who was caught on camera throwing a ball at a fan. Twice.
"Furor," I suppose, is perhaps not the right word. Beverley's actions were so egregious that the default assumption from around the league was that Beverley was inevitably facing an extremely lengthy suspension for having crossed the sacrosanct line between athlete and fan. Not only did Beverley chuck a ball at a fan's head, but he apparently missed the fan he was aiming for the first time (striking an innocent bystander in the process), so he got the ball back from a different fan, then chucked the ball at the fan again.
Apparently, the only people who do not agree that Beverley screwed up big-time are all working in the NBA league office.
Watching replay of the incident in the TNT postgame show, Charles Barkley spoke for most of America when he watched the tape: "Oh. He gone. He's gonna get suspended. He hit that lady in the head. ... You can't hit a lady, ever. ... Listen, I've done stupid stuff, and I got criticized. That's just wrong. He's gonna get suspended for that, and that's gonna be a good one, too. 'Cause he didn't do it once; he did it twice."
Chuck Reacts to Patrick Beverley Throwing Ball at Pacers Fan | Inside the NBA www.youtube.com
In at least one particular, Sir Charles was woefully wrong, because the suspension for Beverley, announced by the league yesterday, was a measly four games. For those keeping track at home, that is less than 5% of Beverley's next regular season. It is also less than one-sixth of the length of the suspension handed down to Memphis superstar Ja Morant for the offense of having a boneheaded friend who posted a video to social media of Morant carrying a gun that he legally owned.
Beverley's actions were so egregious that, unlike Morant, he faces a criminal investigation for the incident that got him suspended. Beverley himself, who has long been one of the most self-assured and defiant interviews in all of sports, acknowledged that his actions were "inexcusable."
Apparently, the only people who do not agree that Beverley screwed up big-time are all working in the NBA league office.
Gone are the days when the league came down like a ton of bricks on the principal participants in the infamous 2004 "Malice at the Palace" incident in Detroit. Even Jermaine O'Neal, who was arguably defending a teammate against a fan who inexcusably ran onto the court, ended up serving 15 games, and Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson got far worse.
It wasn't that long ago that even in the NBA, it was considered inexcusable behavior to physically assault your paying customers. But over the last 20 years, the power center of the NBA has shifted away from owners and general managers to the players, with the end result being that the paying customers of the NBA (the fans) fall down another rung on the priority ladder.
The shift has led to a number of trends that have steadily degraded the viewing experience for fans of the league. Most notably, the league has been woefully slow to respond to the trend started by Gregg Popovich's Spurs teams of regularly resting star players for as much as a quarter of the regular season for "maintenance" reasons. As for the fans who might have spent good money to buy tickets to a specific game in order to see star players, they do not count as much as the players' desires to have more days off, apparently.
Nor do teams apparently have any ability to respond to players who sign a four-year contract with a team only to "demand" a trade halfway through, thus destroying all of the roster continuity that breeds long-term relationships between teams and fans.
Nor, apparently, are teams or the league capable of or interested in even appearing to take seriously the problem of players who are increasingly physically confrontational with fans. Over the last couple years, Clippers guard Russell Westbrook has had at least two heated incidents with fans that very easily could have turned into physical altercations due to Westbrook's clear provocations, and the league did nothing.
Having now done essentially nothing to Beverley, who actually physically assaulted two fans (at least one of whom appears to have been nothing more than a bystander), the league can probably expect more similar behavior in the future. I don't want to sit in judgment of what it's like to be an NBA player because I've never lived that life, but I've attended plenty of sporting events (including NBA games) in my life, and I'm well aware that many athletes take abuse from fans that sometimes crosses the line.
That also is an issue that the league and its teams should address. I don't know what the right way is to address that, but I do know for sure that allowing the players to settle it by chucking basketballs at fans until they hit the one they were aiming for is the wrong way.
I have no idea what happened in this particular case between Beverley and the fan. Beverley alleges that the fan called him an offensive name. I have no idea whether that's true or not, and it does not matter. It particularly does not matter to the woman who got beaned in the head with a basketball for the offense of sitting next to someone who may or may not have said something offensive to Beverley.
The league needed to send a clear message to Beverley and the rest of its players that the proper way to deal with hecklers who cross the line is not to start a physical fight with them. And a paltry four-game suspension is certainly not going to get that message across.
It will, however, get another message across, loud and clear: If you are a paying customer of the NBA, you are the last person the league cares about.
'Your eyes are slightly too big': Indiana Pacers fan going viral for extremely friendly heckling
The Indiana Pacers may have won their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks, but it isn't the series victory that is dominating headlines, rather an overly polite fan.
In their own right, the Bucks have been part of waves of stories in the 2024 NBA season because of some rather polarizing activities. The team popularized their post-game prayer circle and encouraged other players to take part. In January, they even had a half-time drag queen performance.
This time in the playoffs, it again wasn't the team's play that made headlines despite losing the first-round series 4-2. The viral posts have come because of an Indiana Pacers fan who has been categorized as the world's friendliest heckler.
During the series-deciding 120-98 Game 6, the Pacers fan wasn't shy about rubbing it in. The heckler was captured in TV broadcasts on multiple occasions delivering his slightly off-color remarks.
"Gallinari, you need a haircut!" the fan yelled at Bucks forward Danilo Gallinari:
This Pacers fan won\u2019t stop screaming \u201cGALLINARI YOU NEED A HAIRCUT\u201d \ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d— (@)
Star Damian Lillard was able to fend off comments from the fan and hit a perfect 10 free throws in 10 attempts, despite vicious heckles such as "Lillard, your tattoos are only decent!" and "Lillard, your mom's watching!"
— (@)
Bobby Portis may have been a little affected. Despite scoring 20 points, he sunk just three of his seven free throw attempts.
It goes without saying that heckles like "Portis! Your eyes are slightly too big for your head!" being screamed at a player over and over while he is trying to shoot may have a psychological effect on him.
Das beste an der Pacers-Bucks Serie war dieser Pacers Fan mit seinen unfassbar pers\u00f6nlichen, aber kinderfreundlichen Heckles. \ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\n\n"PORTIS, YOUR EYES ARE SLIGHTLY TOO BIG FOR YOUR HEAD!"\n\n"LILLARD, YOUR TATTOOS ARE ONLY DECENT!"\n\n\ud83d\udc10— (@)
Forward Khris Middleton was also on the receiving end in a video that has since been removed from X but is still watchable on Bounding into Sports.
"Middleton, I respect your game, but I hope you miss!" the fan said.
It is unknown if the same heckler sarcastically yelled, "Khris Middleton is Michael Jordan! It's official!" during the game, although it's likely.
Some viewers believe the heckler to be the same fan seated behind the announcers' table who was heard in the 2014 NBA playoffs asking Pacers player Paul George if he was "ready to go home in the first round."
"You ready to go home in the first round against Atlanta? You're supposed to be an All-Star. Start playing ball, and stop traveling!" the fan screamed.
The Pacers moved on to the second round to play the New York Knicks.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
NBA Star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greatest Gift Was Family, Not Athleticism
In the new documentary 'Giannis: The Marvelous Journey,' the NBA star is refreshingly likable, grounded, and humble.Former US senator and Milwaukee Bucks owner Herb Kohl dies
Former U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) has passed away at the age of 88 years old.
Kohl served in the Senate for more than two decades, from early 1989 until early 2013.
"I am a person who does not believe in invective," he had noted, according to the Associated Press. "I never go out and look to grab the mike or go in front of the TV camera. When I go to work everyday, I check my ego at the door."
As a senator, he never accepted a pay increase, according to the outlet, which reported that he simply took the same yearly $89,500 salary he received when taking office in 1989 and returned the remainder to the Treasury Department.
For a period of time, he had owned the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team, but he sold it in 2014.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, who filled Kohl's seat when he left office, issued a statement praising the former lawmaker. She called Kohl her role model, saying that he "was a true public servant, leading with compassion and humility, and uncompromising in putting Wisconsin first."
Hillary Clinton, who served as a U.S. senator from New York from early 2001 until early 2009 when she left the Senate to serve as secretary of State, said that it had been "an honor and delight to serve with Herbert Kohl in the Senate." She described him as as "a good man whose legacy includes expanded access to health care, better nutrition for kids, concern for the elderly, and a commitment to decency and civility while representing his constituents."
— (@)
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
‘Zuckbucks 2.0’: Democrat Operatives Are Helping Milwaukee Rig Its 2022 Elections
The Milwaukee mayor asked a Democrat Party operative for help spinning the city's privately funded get-out-the-vote campaign.Greg Couch: Giannis Antetokounmpo slaps LeBron James' legacy down a notch by winning a title the Michael Jordan way
No South Beach. No Hollywood. No Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh. No Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love or Anthony Davis.
No Space Jam. No corporate social justice. No super team. No, not even Bugs Bunny.
We had come to accept that there was just one way to win an NBA championship. Hijacking it. There was just one model and it had nothing to do with having your feet on the ground. The message was that the mountaintop was a playground for the rich and privileged, and not, well, for you and me.
Now we have Giannis Antetokounmpo, new NBA champion. It doesn't take a cartoon superhero after all.
It doesn't take LeBron James.
Giannis did what LeBron could never do. As a result, Giannis built his own legacy while knocking down LeBron's.
How perfect, too, that he did it with the little Milwaukee Bucks, a town known only for German beer, white picket fences or, if you're old enough, "Laverne & Shirley" ("Schlemiel schlimazel?'' Don't ask).
Giannis and the Bucks won the NBA championship Tuesday night, beating the Phoenix Suns 105-98 to take the series 4-2 and pull the football away from Chris "Charlie Brown" Paul one more heartbreaking time.
It is 16 years and running now that Paul has not won the NBA championship. Everyone had already anointed him a little over a week ago when the Suns had taken a 2-0 series lead. The injuries and bad luck had piled up on the point guard for so long, and he had waited patiently and with class, that many of us rooted for him. He was finally going to get his championship.
The whole series was becoming a referendum on him. It turned into something else Tuesday night.
It turned into a referendum on bootstrapping and patience, on staying in place to get the job done.
It also became a referendum on James, who had to cut and run to win a championship. Giannis is the anti-James. He was picked 15th in the draft eight years ago after having grown up in a family without expectation, wondering where his next meal might come from ("My mom was selling stuff in the street,'' he said). He didn't have enough muscle and was a project.
And he developed, and won two MVP awards, with LeBron openly unhappy about the second one, not understanding why the MVP debate left his control.
Giannis easily could have Lebroned to a big and glitzy city, premade to win a championship. Instead he signed the supermax deal to stay for the fight in a small market while he continued to improve himself and the Bucks built slowly around him.
"I couldn't leave,'' he told reporters after the game Tuesday. "There was a job that had to be finished. Coming back, I said, 'This was my city; they trust me; they believe in me; they believe in us.' Even when we lose, the city was still on our side and obviously I wanted to get the job done.
"It is easy to go somewhere and win a championship with somebody else. It's easy. I could go to a super team, do my part and win a championship. But I did it the hard way.''
Named the series MVP, Giannis scored 50 points in the clinching game, and even fixed his one negative: free throw shooting, making 17 of 19. And really it was his defense and blocked shots, including five last night, that made for the greatest WOWs throughout the series.
Today, you'll hear the praise for Giannis for staying in Milwaukee and the nobility of sticking by a team and a process. It will be couched as a praise for Giannis, when it's actually putting down the opposite.
It puts down LeBron. If LeBron didn't create the super team, he certainly made it popular. If LeBron had stuck with Cleveland in the first place, stuck by the fans and ownership and process to win a championship, then he would have a moment like Giannis is having now.
He perfected the cut-and-run approach, an approach that says, "There is a hard job to do here, so I think I'll go over there, gather a bunch of superstars and buy a championship.''
It's not really that villainous. LeBron is still amazing. He still put in the work to make himself one of the greatest players of all time.
We tend to measure legacies in championships, though, and Giannis made us realize that all championships aren't created equal. Instead of just counting championships, we should look, too, at how they are won.
This was supposed to be Brooklyn's year, or maybe LeBron's again. And look how Brooklyn did it: James Harden sabotaged his team in Houston, not bothering to get in shape and even trying to make his team lose. He made himself so intolerable and insufferable that he forced a trade to the Nets where he could be on a super team with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
That doesn't quite have the Giannis ring to it. The Bucks built around Giannis slowly, bringing in Khris Middleton, a former second-round pick, as a complement, and then making the trade for Jrue Holiday. They built a foundation first and then built on top of it.
Meanwhile, we saw LeBron at Game 5 sitting in the stands, clearly recruiting Paul for next year's version of the super team Lakers.
Let's never hear the comparison between LeBron and Michael Jordan ever again. As a self-built superhero made it clear Tuesday night when he was crowned, you can reach the mountaintop without the glitz and without stacking the deck.
Giannis did it the hard way.
Greg Couch: Chris Paul can’t lose tonight, even if his Phoenix Suns fall to the Milwaukee Bucks
In one week, Chris Paul has gone from the anointed one to a tragic charity case with his legacy on the line. ESPN basketball savant Stephen A. Smith called it "sad" and underscored his point by making a long, pensive face.
Boo-hoo.
Look: After blowing a 2-0 series lead, Paul and the Phoenix Suns face NBA Finals elimination tonight in their best-of-seven series with the Milwaukee Bucks. If the Bucks win, then Paul will reach his 16th straight year without a championship. The reaction from an adoring media is already funeral-like. That just means they don't really know what a champion is and that they never believed in the first place that Paul is among the all-time great point guards.
Are we really supposed to feel sorry for him now? Are we really at the tragedy phase? This is the moment for Paul. This is it. No one has the right to a championship. It is not a lifetime achievement award. You actually have to take it. You have to be at your best at the hardest possible times. Paul has the chance to prove himself now.
These NBA Finals have been a referendum on Paul. At least, they have been since we got past the episode of Real Housewives of ESPN starring Rachel Nichols and Maria Taylor: Two strong women squabble for power, turf, and a bigger contract.
We talk about Paul's legacy as if his years as a star will never have happened without a championship on top. The truth is that we think too much about legacies. You play to win a championship, not to win history. And while sports writers seem to think it'll be tragic for Paul to lose tonight, he actually has a safety net. You saw it in Game 5, sitting courtside.
LeBron James. A blatant attempt to try to get his good friend Paul to join him with the Lakers next year. He looked like a college coach sitting in the stands admiring a star high school player.
"I'm proud as hell for CP," James told ESPN. "I'm here for CP. He came to my first Finals appearance, and this is me giving it back to him. We support each other. We've been a brotherhood since we came into the league."
So Paul has two NBA championships just sitting there waiting for him to take. This year's with Phoenix and next year's with LeBron.
In a world of concocted superteams, all titles are not created equal. Paul's possible titles come with different meanings and values. They tell separate stories about Paul and leave opposite legacies.
How would you feel if Paul joined the Lakers to win a title? I would not blame him one bit.
Paul was supposed to have been traded years ago to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he would've set up shop with Kobe Bryant. It's true that Paul would have won championships with Kobe had NBA commissioner David Stern not canceled the trade when other team owners complained that the Lakers would be too good.
The fear was that the Lakers would also get Dwight Howard and form a superteam.
It seems so unfair now, as the league is built on superteams, with star players recruiting other ones. It comes across as different, contrived, fake. You think of the legends as being around while a team grows around them. It seems more natural that way. A champion seems more invested that way, rather than joining someone else's party.
I'm not sure that matters any more. Paul is already playing for his fifth team. He goes down as the first superstar journeyman. He won't be the last.
He is 36 years old, and this is probably his last real shot to win a title on what will be seen as his team. Winning one on LeBron's team is not the ideal, but when you've played a long career with less than the competition, it's only natural to want to see what would happen if you changed sides.
Paul hasn't chased the superteam for 16 years, instead working tirelessly, patiently, with class and drive. He brought this Phoenix team together. Still, in his career he has lost three series after taking a 2-0 lead.
There have always been reasons. At some point, you do have to prove it. Paul was excellent in Games 1 and 2 of this series, then had an inexplicable turnover late in Game 4 and a crushing mistake with a foul in the final seconds of Game 5.
Paul's wrist hurts; he wears a compression sleeve on his leg, maybe something with his hamstring. Those aren't temporary excuses. That's called being 36, with 16 years running NBA offenses on your body.
He still has something to prove.
If you want to feel sorry for him, please don't. Give the man the respect to let his legacy live or die based on his fight. If he never wins a title, then he can go down as Patrick Ewing or Charles Barkley. There is nothing wrong with that.
No pity here. No charity case.
This is Paul's chance to figure it out. That's what champions do.Today's top stories
www.theblaze.com
freebeacon.com