The Bad Ash Blog

  The NFL awards, the NBA awards, the All-Star selection ... how much of it is really ... accurate? Devin Booker initially getting snubbed as an All-Star starter is proof enough for me to realize that the voting system is well, misleading. T.J. Watt missing the mark on NFL Defensive Player of the Year is well, just wrong.  And no, that is not me saying that I do not think Aaron Donald was not deserving of it. However, T.J. should have taken the crown on that. It's not bias, it's just numbers.  So do not come for me.  However, I would be lying if said that we all didn't love to find out who wins these things. It's the sports lover in us. And even though these awards appear to be a wash, they do still become a part of these players' legacies and accolades. This year's most intriguing NBA award is not the Most Valuable Player but the Rookie of the Year. It has been one of those races where the lead runner changes frequently.  It is LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton, a...

    One more game. One last attempt at the drawing board. One last matchup ... for all the marbles, to hoist the Lombardi trophy.  We made it. We made it to the Super Bowl of the weirdest, yet most rewarding, NFL season in history. Maybe our appreciation and enjoyment for the game grew a little deeper this year. And maybe that stems from the thought that there was a high possibility of it being taken away from us. There was truly a point when we did not know if we were going to have an NFL season. No matter the outcome, we get to witness history on Sunday.  Not only is this the first time a team will compete for a Super Bowl title in its home stadium, but it's the first time a player will appear in their 750th Super Bowl.  I had to get at least one joke in.  Much of the hype for this big game has been centered around the quarterback matchup, and rightfully so. Tom Brady could win his seventh ring, at the age of 43 might I add. Patrick Mahomes is the younges...

The era of the Superteams is still in full effect. Oh the joy.  It has been over a decade since LeBron James took his talents to South Beach to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. This is not the first ever Big Three, but the first time a free agency was used to forcibly assemble a Superteam. We all remember 'The Decision' and we all remember the information we received after the Superteam was formed regarding text messages and conversations between James, Wade and Bosh masterminding the whole plan. The Boston Celtics are the ones who assembled the original Big Three (yes, arguably). This Big Three was formed in a different way, a more natural way maybe? It didn't feel schemed on and it wasn't nationally televised. Boston traded away the fifth and 35th pick in the NBA Draft, and a couple of players for Ray Allen. Around a month later, the Celtics continued their momentum. In a trade that would cost the Celtics five players, two draft picks and some cash ... Kevin Garnett w...

  I do not plan on this being your typical, cliché publication of "Yay, 2020 is almost over. Let's get to it, 2021." We will see enough of that on our Twitter timelines and Instagram feeds over the next 72 hours. 2020 has had ups and it has had downs, maybe some more than others. You don't need my personal testimony. I am more for sharing sports stories and opinions anyway.  Speaking of ups and downs, what better way to describe the 2020 sports year than that? January alone had a few great ups, but also had one of the biggest downs we as sports lovers would experience all year. It started off with the LSU Tigers capping off an undefeated and incredible season with a National Championship over the Clemson Tigers. Heisman trophy winner Joe (or, JEUX) Burrow threw up an incredible stat line of 463 yards and five touchdowns. On January 14 the WNBA established a groundbreaking collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The new CBA included substantial salary increases, improve...

When you go three months without losing a single football game, it is much easier to look over mistakes or issues that may be going on. Your team is 11-0, what could possibly be the problem? If you ask a Pittsburgh Steeler fan you may hear a 20-minute ramble. If you ask Mike Tomlin you will get honesty, respectfully.  The Steelers started out 11-0 and are now suffering from back-to-back losses. They now have just a 5% chance for a first round playoff bye (according to FiveThirtyEight ). Pittsburgh is no team that feels as though they need a bye in order to play in Miami on February 7, 2021. They won the Super Bowl in 2006 with a Wild Card entry.  Let's dig a little deeper because this team is not the same team that has swept the Baltimore Ravens, beat the Houston Texans 28-21, beat the Tennessee Titans 27-24, and beat all other seven opponents.  During their first loss of the season to the Washington Football Team in Week 13, eight passes were dropped. That is the most a ...

  In a Quarterback-driven league, the MVP race is a Quarterback-driven award. It sounds like I am referencing the Heisman, but I promise you that it is much different.  One week it is Russell, then Hail Murray, and now all votes point in the direction of reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes. Two of those three extremely talented professionals are under the age of 25. Patrick Mahomes knows what it feels like to be one of the youngest to win league MVP, but Kyler Murray would be joining an elite group. Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Dan Marino were all under the age of 24. Russell Wilson seemed like a sure thing, then the Hail Murray to DeAndre Hopkins happened and we all began to understand and appreciate how impressive Kyler Murray has been, then the Week 11 KC Comeback occurred.  Let's recap (because it is worth recapping, no cap) ...  Buffalo is leading Arizona 30-26 with just 34 seconds left. With a touchback and two timeouts remaining, Arizona needed to co...

  I hope that you voted on Tuesday, or the day before that, or the week before that, or made sure your mailed-in ballot was counted for. I want to shed some love and light on your timeline today ... and what better way to do that than to talk some football? I know, many of Bad Ash's blog posts talk NFL football so consider yourself learning a fun fact about me.   We are heading into Week 9 of the NFL season and there have been some games postponed/rescheduled, but the season seems to be going smooth given the pandemic circumstances. We are fortunate enough to be watching games every week and that is a good sign.  Hopefully you all remember when I discussed the sad reality of no more postgame jersey swaps for the 2020 season. The latest on that is there is a new and improved (if you will) way to jersey swap. After much rebuttal, rightfully so, from players the NFL met halfway and came up with a way for players to carry on this beloved tradition. Jersey swaps are now c...