The Richard Show Has Staying Power

…For those of you who love naming (gender neutral) guys. These are the Most Powerful Women in Sports. And these are GQ’s 50 Most Stylish People Alive — featuring many familiar athlete faces. 

There’s an interesting trend happening among former NFLers—they’re becoming nurses. Except none of them knew the others were nurses. So is that really a trend? Hard to say, but fascinating nonetheless. A long read that’s well worth it. 

The NBA is so back, major publications are doing Buzzfeed-style interactive quizzes so you can test your ball-knowing-abilities. I consider myself a ball-knower, and it’s actually very hard. You can take it as many times as you want, though. The SGA method. 

Something I’m very into lately is how Landon Donovan has hair again. They get unnecessary hate for trying to hold onto their hair, but the stigma ends here. Let men care about their appearance, too! 

Another thing I can’t get enough of is hearing about the heist at the Louvre. So much so, I feel compelled to share this story of a once-promising Norwegian footballer who hatched a plan to steal The Scream — or as I call it, the Home Alone face painting. 

I just want to say, Richard Jefferson’s show is good. It’s not surprising, because RJ has always been a special basketball personality, funny and engaging, but it still bears mentioning, because lots of stuff isn’t that good these days. 

I talked to him about it over the phone this week (by the way, at one point, as he walked around NYC, it sounded like he singlehandedly prevented a stranger from being struck by a car, so, he may be a hero too — but perhaps I’ll dig deeper on that another time) after watching the latest episode featuring Tyrese Haliburton.

In some ways, it feels like a call back to Zack Galifianakis’ “Between Two Ferns.” There’s only one fern, but it’s almost as awkward, which is best personified when he shows a photo of Myles Turner during a game of “Overrated or Underrated” with Hali.  

“You get to see your favorite player laugh. And one of the greatest shows of all time is Seinfeld. And it's a show about nothing. What is this show about? It's about nothing. But you get to learn nothing about other people,” RJ told me.

At one point in the latest episode, RJ asks Hali straight up: “What was the most annoying thing I said during the finals?” And immediately follows it up by making fun of Hali’s logo. To which Tyrese asks if RJ ever even had a logo. 

Inspired by John Oliver, Colbert, and Chris Farley’s work on SNL, RJ really just wants to make everyone laugh. And when it comes to hosting, you’ve gotta let your guests shine while also chiming in and adding your own pizzazz. Something he’s undeniably proficient at.

He’s already had his dream guest (Tim Duncan) on, but future guests won’t be limited to the MNBA. He’s also going to be pulling in talent from the WNBA and Unrivaled. I personally hope to see Wemby on, because when I asked which player was the talk of every group chat he’s in, it was the towering Frenchman, without a doubt. “Amazing human. We couldn't have a better person as the future of an alternate space,” he made sure to insist about Wemby. Another unsurprising fact. Boy, do I love Wemby. Anyway. 

Everyone watch The Richard Show on his YouTube channel, or else. 

Women can be anything these days. Even baseball players. 

Mo’ne Davis kind of manifested this many years ago, so I’m going to give all credit to her for the amazing news. We’re officially getting the Women’s Pro Baseball League (thanks to co-founders Justine Siegal and Keith Stein) this spring. 

Four teams will play in the inaugural season: Des Moines, Portland (Maine), Saratoga, and Jackson. Just kidding, that would be hilarious and awesome. But no, it’ll be NYC, Boston, LA, and SF. Some cities get everything. But actually, they’re all playing in one neutral venue, as many new leagues choose to do at first. 

Six hundred people tried out, but only 15 were selected for each team. Those that made it include Mo’ne Davis, US National team pitcher Kelsie Whitmore, and Japanese phenom Ayami Sato. 

Take me out for some CrackHer Jack (Jill?), am I right? Who let me in here???