It’s Okay to be Happy about the Roy Hibbert Trade

I’ve been an Indiana Pacers fan as long as I can remember. It was great during the Reggie Miller years, but after the ‘Malice at the Palace’, it became really difficult. Not only is your favorite team look at as ‘thugs’, but the years after it was just a mess.

After years of drafting ‘high character’ guys and signing ‘safe’ players, things finally turned around for the Pacers when they were lucky enough to draft Roy Hibbert, Paul George and Lance Stephenson. Things didn’t work out with Lance in the long-term, but there was hope for George and Hibbert to be a part of the team for a long time.

Well, everything went bad in a hurry.

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What Makes the St. Louis Cardinals So Good?

The San Francisco Giants have won three of the last five World Series Championships. If not for that, the St. Louis Cardinals would likely be considered a dynasty in this era. St. Louis won the Series in 2006 and in 2011. They appeared in the World Series in 2004 and again in 2013. It seems they are always in contention for the championship and have been for about as long as anyone can recall. So how do they stay on top?

The cynical among us can say they’ve been cheating based on information that their front office has been hacking into other team’s computers. But this has nothing to do with the players on the field. It seems like putting on that red uniform turns ordinary players into super heroes. The Cards lose one of the game’s great hitters after their World Championship run in 2011 in Albert Pujols, but the team keeps rolling while Pujols has a couple of down years in Los Angeles Angels red.

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Sweetbob’s Hipster Music Playlist: July 2015

I went on a rant in last month’s Hipster Music Playlist post. I explained how much I dislike bands using low-fi recording/mixing tricks. It just feels disingenuous, especially when many of today’s bands want to make something ‘real’.

Well, I just want to clear up something. I don’t expect every recording to be as clean as a pop record, but you can just tell when a band is trying to ‘manufacture’ grime on a record. Be honest who you are and your sound will always be authentic.

I always keep an ear out for new music. I love discovering new bands/songs, it’s a habit from my days as a music journalist. Even though this is mostly a sports blog, I still add quite a bit of music and pop culture content. Keep sending me tracks via email or Twitter.

I feel like this month’s list is fantastic. We super-sized the list once again with 20 tracks for your ears to drool over (also, don’t forget to check out our Spotify playlist).

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2015 Orlando NBA Summer League Rosters

The Orlando portion of the NBA Summer League started today and runs through the next week. The Summer League concludes after that in Las Vegas.

Many of the top NBA draft picks are in Orlando and will be in action.

The teams are often filled with players in their first three seasons in the NBA and rounded out with players wanting to showcase their skills in hopes of landing in the NBA next season.

Some of the top draft picks in Orlando are Frank Kaminsky, Myles Turner, Stanley Johnson, Justise Winslow and Mario Hezonja.

Which undrafted rookies, veterans and overseas players fill out the remaining Orlando Summer League roster spots?

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Are the Lakers Planning a Big Move this Offseason?

The Los Angeles Lakers were an embarrassment last season. After major injuries to Julius Randle and Kobe Bryant, the roster was full of D-League talent and aging veterans. If you pay close attention to sports betting odds, the current outlook for next season doesn’t look great either.

The Lakers are not used to being in this position. They always just restock instead of doing a long-term rebuild. Kobe doesn’t have much time left, so he is certainly in management’s ear in hopes of winning one more title to tie Michael Jordan’s ring count.

They are now trying to free up enough cap space to make a run at some of this offseason’s top free agents. They gained $9 million more by declining Jordan Hill’s team option.

Which free agents are the Lakers targeting this Summer?

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2015 NBA Draft: Best Undrafted Players

The NBA Draft is only 60 picks, so many players fall through the cracks…especially in a year in which a draft is deep.

The 2015 NBA Draft wasn’t the deepest draft in recent memory, but that doesn’t mean every potential NBA player was all drafted. It’s not the end of the road for these players. They will just need to work a little harder to attain their dream.

Many of these guys will be signed to play in the NBA Summer League. They can showcase their skills in hopes of earning a invite to training camp. Unfortunately for most, they will end up playing overseas or in the NBA Development League. There are still a few every year that surprise everybody and beat the odds to earn an NBA contract.

Here are the best college and international players who went undrafted during the 2015 NBA Draft.

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Rob Gronkowski Hasn’t Spent a Dime of NFL Salary

We love writing about Rob Gronkowski. We usually cover his offseason exploits more than his actual NFL career. We also like posting pictures of him with cats.

The New England Patriots tight end has an upcoming book about his life (we doubt he wrote it), and an interesting fact came out before it was released…he hasn’t spent any of his NFL salary. He claims he lives off the marketing money he’s earned. Two of his biggest endorsement checks come from BodyArmor SuperDrink and Dunkin’ Donuts.

He earned $1.8 million in his first two NFL seasons and then signed a six-year/$54 million contract (with an $8 million signing bonus).

How has he not spent a dime of his NFL salary?

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The Top 10 Coolest ‘Monster Jam’ Monster Trucks

When I was a kid, all monster trucks looked like Bigfoot. It was an awesome truck (I even owned a little Hot Wheels Bigfoot as a kid), but there was a huge need for something new.

Grave Digger’s redesign back in the mid-80’s was revolutionary. Its concept started the current trend of outrageous monster truck designs. Trucks like Bigfoot will always be in demand, but Grave Digger proved that you can have an outside-of-the-box design and still be competitive.

We compiled a list of the ten coolest monster trucks currently on the ‘Monster Jam’ circuit. We think you’ll enjoy all the outrageous and odd designs that are currently attempting to crush every car in its way.

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Johnny Manziel Retiring ‘Money Sign’ Celebration

It looks like Johnny Football has officially grown up.

Johnny Manziel announced this week that he will retire the money sign celebration he made famous in college at Texas A&M. If you’re not familiar with it, you can see it here.

Manziel spent much of the offseason going through a rehab program and counseling. He even left his downtown bachelor pad in lieu of the suburbs.

His rookie season was a disaster and there was even talk during the recent draft that the Cleveland Browns could draft another quarterback.

Could we soon see the emergence of ‘John Football’?

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Cleveland Early Favorite to Win 2016 NBA Finals

The Golden State Warriors just won the 2015 NBA Finals and top sports betting sites already released future odds on which NBA team will win the 2016 NBA Finals.

LeBron James nearly single-handedly forced a Game 7 in a series in which the Cavs didn’t have anyone left but LeBron from their opening night starting lineup.

Cleveland (3/1) is the early favorite to win next year’s NBA Finals, but a lot can happen in a year. The Cavs have nearly everyone coming back and maybe next time around they will all be healthy.

Some of the other teams near the top are Golden State (5/1), Oklahoma City (7/1), Chicago (10/1), San Antonio (10/1) and Los Angeles Clippers (10/1).

Are there any dark horse teams that could contend for the 2016 NBA Finals?

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Should Rams Sign Nick Foles to Long-Term Contract?

The St. Louis Rams currently have a big decision to make. Do they let their newly-acquired quarterback Nick Foles play out his contract year or do they sign him to a long-term contract?

St. Louis acquired Foles from Philadelphia for often-injured quarterback Sam Bradford and a swap of draft picks.

Bradford wore out his welcome in St. Louis after being drafted #1 overall in the 2010 NFL Draft. He couldn’t stay healthy and clearly needed a change of scenery.

Foles has also dealt with his fair share of injuries in his first three years in the NFL. He’s coming off a broken collarbone injury that ended his season early in 2014.

Should the Rams see what they have with Foles before backing up the money truck?

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Lance Stephenson traded to Clippers

As a long-time Lance Stephenson fan, I hated to see his playing time cut in his first season in Charlotte. He left the Indiana Pacers and signed a 3-year/$27 million contract with them last Summer.

Well, his stay in Charlotte was a brief one. The Hornets traded Stephenson to the Los Angeles Clippers for Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes.

The eccentric guard lead the league in triple-doubles in 2013-14 with Indiana, but only started 25 games in Charlotte last season. He fell into coach Steve Clifford’s doghouse for his selfish play (and random tomfoolery).

The Clippers are a perennial contender in the Western Conference. What does the addition of Stephenson mean for the Clippers this offseason?

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