The Olympics Are Giving More Than We Knew Possible

…After the Raptors waived him. He posted this heartfelt message to Instagram as a goodbye to basketball. The comments section is like a melting pot of sports and culture (shout out Tabitha Brown), proving just how much he meant to sports. 

Speaking of Point Gawds, Adidas had a big weekend at NBA ASW. From Chelsea Gray, to VJ Edgecombe to Damian Lillard, Adidas athletes were undeniable. And if you were in LA for ASW, you saw Willy Chavarria everywhere you looked. 

A pretty good All-Star game was somewhat overshadowed by word that KD’s Twitter burner was discovered. The alleged messages are actually kind of dark, so go look if you dare, or just watch the many, many images of him pregame on his phone (and being generally uncomfortable). 

Before he was Mary Supreme, Timothée Chalamet had different big dreams. He wanted to play soccer professionally. Which is true for me too, but Timothée and I decided to do much cooler things with our lives…

Have you ever heard of two leagues merging? I haven’t either, but if someone’s gonna make history, it would be a couple of women’s leagues. Here’s why two volleyball leagues could join forces. 

tktkt

Thanks to all the stories of triumph, heartbreak, and love, the Olympics have been exactly as promised (actually, probably even better). Maybe it’s because we haven’t been pelted with sportsbetting ads, or maybe it’s because it just feels good to have something that unites us in this moment. We know the Olympians themselves are having a great time. For events that have nothing to do with a ball, I’m sure having one.

Love is in the air, and so are the skiers. 

Also, anyone traveling between Milan and Cortina might be in the air, because I recently learned they are five hour journey by train. Which seems too far if you ask me. 

Fans around the world have all fallen in love with curling. Like, everyone.

I’ve enjoyed skeleton in particular, but that may be because of the cool ass helmets. 

The games have been a little sad for figure skater Ilia Malinin, who had a rough go and ended up in 8th, but we’ll get to see a few more times. 

Simone Biles was there to watch him, to which we said, “um, girl, these aren’t those Olympics!” And then her husband almost got robbed. 

Most notably, though, is probably Team USA hockey, which has remained perfect in both men’s and women’s. The women are absolutely obliterating their opponents, and it seems unlikely we’ll be defeated. Shout out Laila Edwards (and everyone else, but I wanted to plug my Q&A with her, obviously). And then men are crushing too, but more importantly, they’re honoring the late Johnny Gaudreau. 

But for me, one of the best part of the Olympics has been former NFLer Le’Veon Bell’s posts on X.

We had some learnings from All-Star Weekend. And no, I don’t mean about the format of the game, or the dunk contest, although, people of the internet seem to agree those need some adjusting as well. Let the record show the game ended up being pretty decent, mostly thanks to Wemby, says All-Star MVP and reluctant-but-undeniable face of the league, Anthony Edwards.

Anyway, here’s what I learned, thanks to some of my favorite clips from the weekend.

Money is no object between friends. Right, Cade Cunningham? 

If you’re throwing a party, make sure you get the right permits. (Hard weekend for Jaylen Brown, who didn’t deserve this stray.) 

The best defense is no defense at all. Still. Some people blame LeBron for this, for not being enough of a sicko.

If you’re praying on someone’s downfall, it’ll work, just ask Dame. 

Words matter and language is important. Yang Hansen isn’t going to let you forget it. 

There’s nothing wrong with a little tanking, according to Stephen Curry. 

Performative male or not, Clairo slaps no matter who you are.

We may have run out of dunks. Critics of the dunk contest say we’re living in a post-dunk contest era. You be the judge. 

And Anthony Edwards was pretty humble about being one of the hottest hoopers of all time.