Bracketphilia with Sports Talk Light

By Waz

It’s almost bracket season, and at Sports Talk Light, we love brackets. We’re introducing brand new content to break down all things brackets. Welcome to Bracketphilia with Sports Talk Light, your premier destination for the love of brackets.

Yahoo Sports wrote an article exposing numerous college basketball players and teams for violating NCAA rules and accepting money, benefits, and gifts like it’s Christmas. Many big name schools and players were mentioned in federal documents obtained through an FBI investigation of ASM Sports. Photos of the balance sheets with the names of certain players make it seem like ASM was giving money to the players in what may be an even bigger conspiracy. Per NCAA rules, all money generated by the players has to go to who is responsible for their success: the coaches, presidents, and deans of their respective schools. Since it’s almost March, I’ve put together a bracket of the teams mentioned by Yahoo, organized by seed, to see who is the most corrupt team in college basketball in 2018. There will be upsets, chaos, turmoil, bedlam, pandemonium, and of course, Madness. Let’s see who is in.

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Obviously, the 2013 title-less Louisville Cardinals are the #1 seed. Although not mentioned in the Yahoo article, Louisville had their championship vacated this week. Pitino’s Cardinals are going to be tough to beat. Prostitutes, affairs, abortions, and not to mention, gifts, is a pretty big plate of scandal. #2 is NC State. Former college player Dennis Smith Jr. allegedly received $73,500 from ASM. Although #1 in the NCAA, Virginia is #23 on the scandal list. Former Cavalier Malcolm Brogdon reportedly had dinner with ASM, although it is unclear who paid for it.

The play-in games will be this week. Contact STL via Twitter (@SportsTalkLight) or email (SportsTalkLight@gmail.com) to voice your opinion on who should move on to the second round. The match-ups are:

#16 Michigan State vs #17 Alabama

#9 Texas vs #24 Iowa State

#13 Wichita State vs #20 Creighton

#12 Xavier vs #21 Notre Dame

#15 Kansas vs #18 Duke

#10 South Carolina vs #23 Virginia

#14 Clemson vs #19 North Carolina

#11 Utah vs #22 Vanderbilt

 

 

Russia Suspended from Olympics for “Doping” While Obama Poses In Front of Wall of Marijuana

By Waz

With football season over, meaning is hard to find. I’ve tried watching the NBA but I realized that just scrolling through Adrian Wojnarowski’s Twitter to see who the Cavs last traded off of their team is 10x more exciting than watching an entire game. I tried watching college basketball and turned on the #1 team in the country, hoping to get that exciting feeling that I once had during football season, but I fell asleep because of how slow Virginia played. I forgot hockey existed because there wasn’t a single highlight during my SportsCenter binge. I looked for ten minutes to find a live-stream of pitchers and catchers getting on a plane to fly to Florida to report, but no luck. Then I remembered that the Winter Olympics were going on. I flipped it on to NBC to watch some figure skating.

I watched a few countries skate. NBC was displaying the flags of the respective skaters in the top left corner. I saw some I recognized: Germany, The Netherlands, Canada. Then all of the sudden the next couple stepped on the ice and the flag was just the Olympic rings interlocking. I’m no geopolitical expert, but I was almost certain that no country had the Olympic logo as their flag. Seems like a conflict of interest. It turns out that these skaters were not from Olympicland or Olympicstan, but Russia, in fact. Bob Costas or Dan Patrick or someone explained that Russia is technically not allowed at this year’s Olympics, but some of their athletes are.

Why would the historically non-mischievous nation of Russia be banned from the Olympics? Well, I did some research and I uncovered that the reason was because some of their Olympic athletes were “doping.” I don’t condone this sinful act but it seems counter-intuitive to punish them. Recently there has been more of a pro-doping movement throughout our country, at least. The entire West Coast has now legalized doping, the kids all still watch those funny Seth Rogen movies probably, and the sounds of “Gangster Rap” music like that of Kendrick Lamar are sweeping the nation. I assumed that America, being the world leader it is, would have spread this movement across the globe and to the Olympic committee. It’s 2018, why would Russia be banned for such a frivolous crime? Well, I may have uncovered the answer.

The answer likely lies somewhere deep in the oval office, but thankfully there are documents available to the public that can lead you in the right direction. Just because I’m a journalist doesn’t mean I have access to secret information. I have access to the same things as you; I just look harder. Regardless of whether or not you think President Trump is working with Russia (as the liberal media would lead you to believe), he does have love for their country, culture, people, and specifically the women. I don’t know if the tapes are real, but he definitely has gotten peed on by Russian prostitutes at one time or another. My sex-positive readers know that travelling to a foreign land and getting covered in the piss of its people is enough to make you fall in love with it forever. The other world leaders aren’t stupid; they know this. And they don’t like when an outsider like President Trump invades their secret club of power. They have a vendetta against Trump and their way of seeking revenge is forcing him to watch the country and the people he loves most (Russian women with no shame) suffer.

Even more evidence can be found for this personal attack on the President by connecting some of the dots of the last president, President Obama. Many don’t know this, but Obama even admitted, in a book, that he used to smoke “dope.” Unlike Russia, Obama wasn’t suspended from office for this, and, as you may know, he even served a second term. Before he left office, he even pardoned a bunch of users of the substance known by scientists as “marijuana.” Obama was perhaps the most pro-dope president that has ever lived. Instead of waging war on drugs like the previous administration, he waged war on Christmas. Thankfully Christmas is back as Americans proved they didn’t have to get high to be jolly.

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Even more disturbing is his daughter. She has been caught multiple times on camera doing crimes, such as smoking pot. The Boston Bomber was also caught on camera doing crimes, yet there is a key distinction between him and Malia Obama: he is in jail while she is still enrolled in one of the premier universities in the world. It’s hard to blame her for her actions. She likely picked up this destructive behavior from her father, a self-proclaimed marijuana addict. It is time for Malia to grow up. While she should be expanding her brain and learning as much as possible in college, she is instead getting high, hallucinating, and going on weed-induced “trips.” Not only is she wasting her life, but she’s wasting our tax dollars. After all, we did pay for her daddy’s salary for eight years.

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Perhaps the biggest slap to Trump’s face after all of this was Obama’s portrait that was unveiled this week. Instead of a classic pose and setting, Obama posed for this portrait sitting down in front of a giant wall of marijuana. Take a look.

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I’ve never done weed, I know the risk, but I’ve lost a few dear friends who did. Those leaves you see are rolled up to look like a green cigarette by a drug-dealer and then smoked and inhaled by an addict. The smoke has a toxic chemical that gets the user “high,” temporarily transporting their mind to an alternate dimension. Obama’s marijuana wall is not the wall that Donald Trump wants. While Obama is praised, the Russians are punished. It’s a shame that they will be ineligible for a gold medal just because of a glass bong.

Brady Contemplates Adding Clean Coal to TB12 Method Diet After Super Bowl Loss

By Waz

Tom Brady and the Patriots couldn’t win their sixth Super Bowl after Nick Foles had perhaps the game of his life, bringing the Lombardi trophy to Philadelphia for the first time in history. Brady had an opportunity to win the game late in the fourth quarter but fumbled, causing the Eagles to run off more time and kick a field goal, making a comeback unfathomable. The fumble wasn’t Brady’s only miscue; he dropped a wide open pass, missed his receivers on crucial downs, and gave Nick Foles way too much time to operate on the deciding drive in the fourth quarter. Brady, 40 years old now, has always prided himself on his staunch diet and fitness routine, writing a book on the matter titled The TB12 Method. After a disappointing performance on the biggest sports stage in America, Brady is revisiting his lifestyle as he looks to gain even more of a competitive advantage.

It’s rumored that Brady is looking to add a new element to his current diet of electrolyte water and organic pomegranate seeds. Being a close friend of President Trump, Brady was inspired by the President’s State of the Union Address. When President Trump suggested increasing clean coal consumption Brady knew that it could be the substance he needs to stay elite at 41.

Many health professionals are skeptical of eating coal and there haven’t been many studies linking it to increased athletic performance. This will likely not stop Brady who is a big believer in pseudoscience already. Brady recognizes the difference between coal and clean coal. Clean coal is beautiful and fresh and pairs nicely with avocados or almonds. The negative health consequences may be overblown too. Sure, some coal miners suffered from Black Lung, but people forget that Secretariat, the famous racehorse, also had a cardiovascular issue in an enlarged heart. This cardiovascular condition was one of the main contributors to Secretariat winning the Triple Crown, so it’s impossible to way whether conditions like Black Lung are good or bad.

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Tom is somewhat familiar with the concept of eating coal too. Former teammate Vince Wilfork had a strict diet of only eating brisket cooked over charcoal for every meal. Although Wilfork likely never ate the charcoal directly, he did intake many of those great flavors and made it five Pro Bowls. If Brady switches the charcoal out for clean coal and mixes it with a smoothie or a bowl of acai, there’s no telling how many more Pro Bowl seasons he could be in for.   vince-cover

Teammate Rob Gronkowski is all for the dietary change. Gronk doesn’t have many objections to most diets, except for Tide Pods. He pretty much only eats Doritos and Monster Energy drinks but has taken a sworn oath for the folks at Proctor and Gamble to never eat a Tide Pod. If Brady is serious about the clean coal diet, he’ll need to consider that it might make his lips black and perhaps cause his son to stop giving him kisses on the mouth. Knowing the competitor that Tom is, I expect him to make whatever sacrifice is necessary to step his game up.

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Sports Talk Business: How to Fix the NFL Pro Bowl

By Bernard J. Stanley

Readers of this blog are probably more interested with LeBron James’s Instagram than stocks or bonds. I’m not saying that is a bad thing, but while you were watching SportsCenter in the morning while getting ready to go to your job, I was already in a room full of board members figuring out more ways to charge your bank account for “service fees.” That’s right, I am a businessman. You and me live in different worlds. You live in your modest home and work your nine-to-five job hoping that you can one day retire. I manage other people’s money by taking highly leveraged positions and don’t even outperform the S&P 500, but I am still able to sleep at night because I know that if I lose the money, the government will just repay me.

Despite our differences, there are times when our two worlds collide. This Sunday, the NFL Pro Bowl will be on TV. Fellow millionaire douchebag Roger Goodell has a problem on his hands, though. No one wants to watch his shitty product this weekend. I, business mogul and former executive at Lehman Brother, have discovered the solution to his problem. Mr. Goodell, do not read any further without paying me a hefty $1 million for consulting.

Step 1: People simply do not want to waste their time watching the Pro Bowl. Time is money, and in order to get people to watch the worst football game that has ever been played, we need to start paying them. According to my valuation, three hours of NFL players refusing to tackle each other on live television is worth about $10. Just as people buy pay-per-view to watch boxing or a Hollywood film, the NFL also needs to implement a pay-per-view system, but this time, the viewer is getting paid. You simply call your television provider and inform them that you would like to watch the Pro Bowl. Your provider then mails you a $10 check and gives you the channel to watch the Pro Bowl. There is a flaw to this system, however. Why can’t the viewer just inform their provider they are going to watch the game and then never even turn the game on. Well, to fix this there will be interactive pop-ups that the viewers are required to participate in via their television remotes. The interactive pop-ups could include playcalls, Antonio Brown celebrations, Travis Kelce asshole-ery, etc.. This viewer interaction would force everyone willing to earn $10 to watch the entire game and make sponsors willing to pay a lot in commercials. After ripping you poors off for years, I know there’s certainly a lot of you who would do this to earn just $10.

Step 2: Too many players don’t participate in the Pro Bowl due to their team being in the Super Bowl, an injury, or just simply not wanting to play 60 more minutes of a sport that takes years off of your life every time you step on the field. For example, Rob Gronkowski will not be participating in the Pro Bowl this year, since he is preparing for the Super Bowl. Fans don’t want to see some mediocre tight end playing in this game and frankly, they don’t want to see Gronk either. Gronkowski was suspended a game this year for an illegal shot to the head; he should be replaced with someone who would only deliver a shot to the head of an enemy combatant. He should be replaced with a troop. America loves troops. A movie about troops riding horses in Afghanistan is atop the box offices right now. Fans would love this. All the folks who stopped watching the NFL because of Kaepernick kneeling would have to watch this game or else they too would become traitors to this nation. While at it, the NFL should redesign the uniforms to look just like these Northwestern Wildcats alternate uniforms.

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Step 3: Getting the millennials involved is the key to all of this working.  They are the future viewers of this game and they need to have a positive image of the Pro Bowl if it has any hope of continuing. By changing the game a little to cater to their needs, everyone will be happy. Change starts at the foundation, and that foundation, for football, is the field. Replace the hash marks that run down the middle of the field to hashtags. Imagine the viral tweets when a team gets the ball in the redzone. “Le’Veon Bell is at the #15, the #10, the #5, touchdown!” Digital marketing is the future. Millennials are also against big business. They’re tired of Bud Light’s “Dilly Dilly” or those fucking Chevy commercials with the comically fake real people talking to that bearded man. They want commercials for microbrews and avocados. All of the beers are pretty much owned by Budweiser anyways so it doesn’t make a difference which one they advertise. The goal is to just keep them from complaining.

Well, there you have it, the Pro Bowl is fixed. Hope you learned some valuable skills about business so that you can one day work as a mid level manager at one of my company’s subsidiaries.

Rockets Clippers BRAWL: Do People Forget Chris Paul is an Asshole Because of His Beautiful Eyes?

By Waz

Last night Los Angeles, the city of angels, was filled with demons; the thrills were like they were taken from a page of a Dan Brown novel and the NBA Code of conduct seemed more broken than that of Da Vinci. Former teammates became enemies for a brief time in a city not known for violence, except for Watts in 1965, the Rodney King riots in 1992, the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, and numerous gang-related incident throughout the years. That’s right, the real threat to the West Coast is not rockets from North Korea, but Rockets from Houston, led by none-other than NBA point guard, Chris Paul.

After the game, former Clipper Paul led teammates James Harden and Trevor Ariza through a secret backdoor to the Clippers locker-room, in what is being reported as an attempt to beat the shit out of Austin Rivers. This is the biggest disgrace to the Paul name since that kid from youtube filmed the dead guy in the Japanese suicide forest. I’m not sure if I can forgive Chris Paul for this. The NBA is a league of integrity. There is no need for this kind of drama in the NBA. The drama we need is hour long television specials announcing where top free agents will sign or fathers of players criticizing coaches and having it be headline news.

This is not the first time Chris Paul is making news for being a dick, and frankly I am tired of him getting away with it untarnished. Chris Paul is so handsome that he is allowed to get away with whatever he wants. NBA teams knew that Paul had a violent past. When in college he punched NC State player Julius Hodge in the groin.

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Paul also serves as President of the NBA Players Association. After demonstrating such violent behavior Tuesday, can we trust this man to be president of such a powerful organization. I don’t want someone who has a history of compulsive acts to have his finger on “the button.” And we all know what “the button” is; a device created by David Stern that is capable of giving the Cleveland Cavaliers the first overall pick in the draft. Please President Paul, step-down immediately.

NFL Conference Championship Preview: Should NFL Stop Allowing Teams from Shithole Cities to Compete in Playoffs?

By Waz

The NFL Divisional Round was exciting from start to finish. The Eagles and Falcons competed until the very end to see which team was shittier. In a game that featured muffed punts off of legs, momentum killing fumbles, and failed fourth down conversions, it was everyone’s favorite alcoholic, Steve Sarkisian, who took home the cake for the worst fuck-up. Instead of having Matt Ryan look for his receivers in the pocket, Sark drew up a boot-leg play with only one real option to pass to which the Eagles stopped to win the game. It’s really not surprising that the Falcons lost after being so close to victory, which seems to be the trend. The good folks of Atlanta haven’t seen this many dumpster fires since Sherman’s March to the Sea in 1864. Football fans will get to see perhaps the most gangling quarterback to play the game, Nick Foles, on the big stage Sunday, one win away from a Super Bowl appearance.

The Patriots were down early to the Titans on Saturday night and for a minute that ESPN article about the turmoil inside New England seemed to be coming true. However, the threat from the Hawaiian, Mariota, turned out to be a false alarm. The Patriots turned on the rockets and won handily, reaching the AFC Championship, yet again.

It seemed like the Steelers were destined to meet the Patriots again. Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown are two of the most electric offensive threats in football. The Jaguars defense put a halt to that notion, though, reminding America that Ben Roethlisberger is a fat, clumsy, piece-of-shit. The early lead that the Jaguars got out to proved to be insurmountable, and the Steelers were eliminated, making the Patriots look like fools for signing James Harrison.

The most exciting game of the week was the Vikings vs Saints. The Vikings early lead was cut by veteran Drew Brees until the last 25 seconds when the Saints kicked a field goal to take the lead. The Vikings looked like they would have another Vikings finish to the season but Case Keenum’s last second pass to Stefon Diggs miraculously led to a huge touchdown score to send the Vikings to the next round. The Saint’s safety whiffed on a  tackle to win the game which may lead to a call to put the bounty system back in place.

The Eagles and Jaguars pulling off big upsets is problematic for the league. Even though the playoff games in the divisional round seem like a fair and agreeable way to decide which teams are most deserving of playing for the conference championship, we have to take into account where these teams are coming from. Based on size, cleanliness, crime, and many other factors, Jacksonville and Philadelphia are categorized as “shithole cities.” You might not agree but that is an official term that someone in the government probably used. I, for one, am not excited about either one of these cities having a shot at winning the Super Bowl. Even though they “earned it” by beating their opponents throughout the season, these shithole cities should no be represented. Both Jacksonville and Philadelphia are the underdogs for Sunday, so hopefully they will lose. There is simply no place in this country’s biggest game for teams like the Jaguars, Eagles, Ravens, Lions, Dolphins, Bills, Bengals, or Browns.

Jon Gruden to Raiders

By Waz

To all the loyal readers, apologies for the delay. The blog has been down due to financial reasons, forcing me to layoff the kid who types these up. The time has come for me to learn how to type and start unloading my takes back onto the internet before the FCC sends me to The Gulag. I probably never should have made that bet on Florida State to win the national championship but hopefully I will win it all back with my Philadelphia Eagles Superbowl bet.

Huge news came out of the NFL this weekend; even huger than the Chiefs losing in the first round for what seems like the 8th straight year. You’ve probably heard it already but Jon Gruden is leaving Monday Night Football to coach the Oakland Raiders. Gruden received a massive contract that will last for ten years, making him the first football coach in Las Vegas when the Raiders relocate in 2020. It is reported that he will make $100 million which is worth at least several bitcoins, making him the highest paid NFL coach in both bitcoins and U.S. dollars. Because of this large sum of money, Mark Davis might no longer be able to afford his signature haircut.

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I waited a few days to officially report the news. As we know, nothing is done until it’s done, especially when hiring a head coach. Earlier this year, Greg Schiano was reported to be hired by the University of Tennessee, but was not given the job because of his connection to Penn State during the same time period as the scandals. Although Gruden has no connection to Penn State, he was born in Sandusky, Ohio, which is the very reason I was uncertain that the hire would go through. Nevertheless, the Raiders did officially hire Gruden even if he was not properly vetted.

Gruden’s love for the spotlight makes him a great fit for the Raiders. Very few coaches win Super Bowls, and Gruden became one of them in 2003 when he beat the Raiders. This hiring could indeed signify a paradigm shift, as usually old, washed-up sports people with a very limited vocabulary usually end up coming to – not leaving – ESPN. I predict Gruden will be successful, even though he hasn’t coached in 10 years. He has been watching the game from the booth and isn’t completely removed from football. Besides, television success can make you good at any job. Television stars can do anything well. They can become movie stars, directors, the President, and maybe even a great football coach.

With Gordon Hayward Injured, Who is Best Small Forward in the East?

By Waz

CLEVELAND – The Boston Celtics’ newly acquired star Gordon Hayward left first NBA game of the season early with what appeared to be a gruesome bone fracture. It’s unclear if this was a freak injury or if he had a history of injuries like this. Unfortunately, there’s no way to tell; nobody has ever watched a Utah Jazz game so it would be impossible to go back and look at the tape when he played for them.

It’s a sad situation but as a journalist, it is my job to analyze the situation. This injury completely changes the NBA landscape. Everyone is thinking it: with Hayward out for what could be months, who is the best small forward in the East?

If it were last season, Paul George would be a candidate for the title of best SF. But the NBA has changed and George now plays in Oklahoma City. A true two-way player, Paul George has perhaps even better physical skills than Gordon Hayward. He may not have as high of a basketball IQ, but his ability to play defense and score made him one of the best at the position. There are other candidates to fill Hayward’s void, however.

Long-time New York Knick Carmelo Anthony came to mind. His scoring is unparalleled. He relies on his superb individual efforts, whereas Hayward loves to get his teammates involved and make sure everyone plays to their full potential. I did some research on the prolific scorer and found out that he was, in fact, traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder as well. Carmelo has been on the trading block forever that I assumed he would never move and would just die in Madison Square Garden. With him off the list, we have to start looking at deeper picks to fill the void.

The small forward who best wears Hayward’s crown is none-other than the king himself, who played for the team that the beat the Celtics the other day. That’s right folks, Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Jae Crowder. After he was traded to make room for Hayward’s max-contract, he has to play with a chip on his shoulder. He is a slightly undersized but plays with a lot of hustle and has worked on his three point shot. He does it all. He can defend, score, pass, and rebound. Even without Kyrie Irving, the Cavs could return to the NBA finals if Crowder plays his game. He has a lot to prove if he really wants to be as good as Gordon Hayward, but he has the heart. It should be an interesting season.

 

 

Season 2

The first episode of Season 2 of the Sports Talk Light podcast is set to release this week. It’s funny how time gets away but we are back just in time for the peak of fall. It should be a promising season filled with new guests, co-hosts, gambling, hot takes, females talking about routes, and much, much more. If you can’t wait, here’s the link to an all-time classic episode, S1E2. Listen to Waz and Black Liver discuss Steph Curry, Jabrill Peppers’ dick, and flat earth. Here’s to hoping season 2 can top that.

 

College Football Week 1 Gambling Picks

By Waz

College football is back! What a great time to start gambling again (legally, of course). As a football expert, I have decided to share my expertise with the readers and have prepared my predictions for five of the biggest games this weekend. Here they are:

#2 Ohio State -20.5 @ Indiana +20.5

Urban Meyer sure has had a lot of time to think about this one, after getting destroyed by Clemson in the Playoff last winter. However, it is a conference game and Indiana sure is getting a lot of disrespect by this line. Take Indiana with the over. Indiana.

#11 Michigan -5 vs #17 Florida +5

This is the premier game on Saturday afternoon, Florida has suspended one of their key players, and Harbaugh is one of the best in the business. It should be a defensive game, and even with losing several key players to graduation, the Wolverines should have this easily. Michigan

Appalachian State +14.5 @ #15 Georgia -14.5

Of course everyone has heard of Appalachian State from when they upset Michigan. This program is on the rise and could give Georgia a real fight. I like App State with this line but if it shifts to even more, go big on the underdog. Appalachian State

#3 Florida State +7 vs #1 Alabama -7

Nick Saban has never lost to a former assistant coach and Jimbo Fisher is one of them. Any line with Alabama favored by single digits sounds like a safe bet to me. Alabama

#22 West Virginia +4 vs #21 Virginia Tech -4

The Hokies have a new quarterback this year after Jerod Evans left, but West Virginia does to with eligible Florida transfer Will Grier. Fuente’s offense has proved to be just about as good as any and Virginia Tech will be able to put up as many points as WVU. They also bring the better defense to FedEx Field, which could prove to be the x-factor. Virginia Tech.