Stand up for YOU…Always

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Man, it has been a crazy roller coaster of a month for me.

One of my best friends recently told me to never feel bad for standing up for yourself. You did nothing wrong. In essence, he is absolutely right but (and their shouldn’t even be a but) lol I feel like maybe, I shouldn’t have used my voice but then again why have a mouth if I don’t use it. If anything these last few weeks have given me time to really evaluate and appreciate not only my voice but those around me pouring their lives into me.

You always know who your TRUE friends are when a situation arises and you are fighting for everything. I can count on one hand my true, genuine friends.

I woke up today feeling pretty good, the sun actually woke me up lol (super bright) and I decided to write. Kyle Lowry was on my brain, so I pulled out my laptop and here we go.

As you may recall, The Toronto Raptors are the new NBA Champions! Congrats to them and Canada! :)…but I wanted to shed a light on Kyle Lowry, not because of him turning on the heat to help his team but his act of resilience and using his voice to not tolerate disrespect from anyone (no matter who you are).

Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Kyle ends up falling out of bounds on to who we now know to be Warriors Investor Mark Stevens ( pictured above on the left in blue shirt). If you are sitting courtside, for one you are risking your body to be hit lol, if you don’t want that risk sit in box seats. Secondly, you have lots of money, we all know ticket prices sky rocket and for whatever reason people always feel entitled to NBA players and saying whatever they want to say. WRONG! and let me tell you why. When Lowry fell on Stevens, Stevens could have said a number of things or nothing at all but he chose then to say some obscene words to Kyle and be really rude and disrespectful to him.

Kyle who was in the middle of Finals game could have easily risked everything he had by laying a hand on Stevens, who could’ve been drinking etc. ( still no excuse for he said..NONE) but he chose not too and approach the referee who was standing there and let him know what happened.  Because Mr. Stevens is white, he tried to use his whiteness to get a rise out of Lowry which he didn’t. Lowry was very angry but was able to finish the game only to use his voice at the press conference calling for action. Many NBA players had Lowry’s back and spoke up as well. The NBA and commissioner Adam Silver had to do something to let everyone know this won’t be tolerated.

You may recall a similar incident in 2014 where Donald Sterling former owner of the LA Clippers was banned for life and fined 2.5 million dollars after recordings of him making racist comments were found and made public. I will never forget the feelings I had during that whole situation. It just made me think, what do people really think about me or say about me when I’m not around. People talk even when you aren’t present, my hope is that I carry myself in such that way that if I’m thousands of miles away, that it would be nothing but positive things.

So what did the NBA do…..

Commissioner Silver banned Stevens for a year from the NBA and fined him $500,000. Most don’t think that’s enough and think he should’ve got more. I think about it this way, I’m glad they did something, Stevens has most likely invested alot of money into the Chase Center (Warriors new arena), If his money is gone, do they still open? I say yes….but you just don’t know… This entire situation shows me that it is okay to say how you feel, stand up for yourself no matter what, don’t be afraid to risk losing everything. If you character stands tall that is everything you need. Believe me, something good always comes from standing up for yourself. It may not be instant, but there is always a blessing come from it.

Let me know your thoughts… Should the NBA or any sports organization make the consequences heavier for uncalled behavior? or should it be a case by case basis?

Thanks so much for reading!

As always leave your feedback or comments below or tweet me @bballmypassion 🙂

-Never be afraid to stand up for YOU…Always-

*Pics/Vids courtesy of Google*

 

Playoff Update :)

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nba33

The NBA Playoffs are in full swing as the final 4 teams have started their quest toward the NBA Finals.

In the east you have the Milwaukee Bucks and the Toronto Raptors; In the west you have the Golden State Warriors and the Portland Trailblazers.

The east series will be exciting to watch as Kawhi and Giannis battle back and forth. The Bucks won game 1 108-100.

In the west, Golden State , behind Steph Curry took down the Houston Rockets in 6 games unfortunately without Kevin Durant who suffered a right calf strain to move on to the West Finals. The cool part about this series against the Blazers is that Steph gets to battle his younger brother Seth. All brotherly love! Golden State took Game 1 116-94.

As both series progress it will be interesting for Golden State with the timetable of KD and Demarcus Cousins uncertain, how they settle in against Portland. I have no doubt in my mind they will prevail but one game at a time.

Game 2 for the Warriors/Blazers is tonight on ESPN.. 🙂

Let me know who you got winning both series, I would love to hear your thoughts!

I appreciate all my readers!

Leave feedback below or hit me on twitter @bballmypassion

*Pics/Videos courtesy of Google Images*

 

East vs West

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The NBA Playoffs are in full swing!!!

The Eastern Conference is as strong as it has ever been with no Lebron this year. It is quite interesting to see. The semi-finals are underway with the Celtics and Bucks &76rs and Raptors.

Paul Pierce made an interesting statement after the Bucks lost Game 1. He said the series was over and that Boston was going to sweep them. Paul first of all should’ve just kept that to himself lol. The Bucks came out in Game 2 and beat boston in team fashion. That game was good to watch. I am sure the Bucks are going to come out very strong in Game 3. Keep making Pierce eat his words!

The Philadelphia 76rs and Raptors series is real good too. Lots of grit, heart, passion in this one. This series is also tied 1-1. Jimmy Butler went off in Game 2 and helped his team tie the series heading back to Philly. I know the east teams will make me proud, my focus has been in the western conference.!

The Western Conference is always the conference to watch! To me it is the most entertaining. The surprise in the west this season is the Denver Nuggets. I love a good underdog, even though I am pulling for my Warriors to win it all. It will be fun.

The Portland Trailblazers and Denver Nuggets are tied 1-1, I would love the blazers to close this series so Seth and Steph can play each other in the Finals! That would be lots of fun 🙂 and I mean who wouldn’t want to see brothers battle it out on the court and push each other. Seth is an assassin on the court when he is in a rhythm. We shall see how this series plays out!

Now grab your popcorn because the real movie is now in session….HA…..

Rockets vs Warriors Round 2….

As you can remember last season the Rockets and Warriors played a gritty series, with Chris Paul missing the rest of the series due to injury. The rockets are now out for revenge and will do anything to beat Golden State or at least try too.

Game 1 was so chippy and fouls everywhere… Curry, Thompson, Iguodala combined for 14 fouls. CRAZY..right?!…Complaints from Diva James Harden and his side kick Paul regarding fouls and having a fair chance of play. The Rockets had more free throw attempts than the Warriors and it was Curry who closed it out for his team and protect home court.

Game 2…was called alil tighter but KD who has been having an amazing playoffs put his team on his back and went OFF!.. Klay is back in a rhythm, Curry dislocated his finger but was still able to pour in 22 points to go up 2-0 over the rockets. James Harden had 29 points as well after leaving with a eye injury that he said affected his scoring, but he had a pretty decent game, I will give him that. 🙂

I’m super excited for Game 3 and the rest of the games to come between the East and West Teams.

Let me know who you got winning it all!

Drop a comment below or hit me on twitter @bballmypassion.

As always I appreciate my readers!

*Pics courtesy of @nbaontnt instagram*