Everyone Thinks They Have A Shot With Giannis

…So the creators are trying to deliver a little snack to tide them over. The cast and crew are exploring whether a special bonus episode between seasons one and two is feasible. I say just watch the season 1000 times over and over, as God intended. 

Grateful Dead member Bob Weir didn’t only write songs — he also wrote plays…for his Marin County flag football team. Football played a huge role in the music legend’s life, so much so that he somehow ended up with the 2003 San Francisco 49ers playbook.

There’s going to be a lot of talk about NFL Honors in the coming days, but let’s get real about what the most prestigious award of all is: The title of GQ Best-Dressed NFL Player, obviously. Justin Jefferson, Joe Burrow, Caleb Williams, Myles Garrett, who you got? It’s kind of a vote or die situation.

An athlete’s pre-game (match, contest, competition) ritual says a lot about them. It’s one of my favorite things to ask athletes about when I interview them. Shout out to Women’s Health for doing that for all of these Olympians. And shout out to Alli Macuga for doing what the clouds tell her; we should be doing that more. 

Super Bowl prop bets are always a funny little cultural moment. This year’s prop bets include questions like: “Will the first scenic be the Golden Gate or Alcatraz?” and “Will there be a streaker?”

Remember when Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde broke up and all of his scary fans were like “Finally, my time has come!” That’s kind of how the Giannis situation is shaking out. Let me back up. 

Shams broke the news that Giannis “was maybe sorta ready to start perhaps looking for a new place to call home, but he definitely isn’t demanding a trade, by the way, and the Bucks are probably willing to listen to possible conversations surrounding a new home for Giannis, and, by the way, we alllll mutually agreed to this…” and everyone started losing their minds. Now, looking past the borderline pet adoption (“won’t you give him a new home??”) verbiage, this is sort of a unifying moment.

I have to admit, there is something so beautiful about this universal delusion. We have all convinced ourselves our team has a shot at Giannis. If you ask Atlanta fans, Giannis is going to the Hawks. Miami fans swear he’s joining the Heat. The Bay insists the Warriors are getting him (in my opinion, this one could work out). Portland thinks Giannis is chomping at the bit to reunite with Jrue Holiday (no mention of Dame, though). 

Whether or not any of these is true really isn’t the point. The point is, no matter how hardened or down and out we may be, no matter how many times good fortune hasn’t fallen into our laps, no matter how many times we’ve lost the faith, we find it again. 

That’s a beautiful thing. And even if you don’t personally find beauty in the naivety, you can certainly find humor in it. 

Because everyone’s got something to say about the Greek Freak. 

May the best man/woman/non-binary person win. 

Bill Belichick missed out on becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer, sending the sports world into a spiral. This isn’t usually the type of newsletter to discuss HOFers, but I feel like this is a special exception, because the collective personalities, athletes, and fans are equally confused.

GOATs recognize GOATS. That’s why LeBron and TB12 are so mad. 

Even Bill/The Patriots’ biggest haters agree, something about this ordeal isn’t right. 

I do tend to agree, for what it’s worth (nothing). Justice for Bill, I guess!