#kobe 8 dodgers

[thinkazul]

Vanessa Bryant flexing some dope Kobe's

[theultimatefan]

Hall of Fame Pitcher Walter Johnson’s 104-Year-Old Photo-Matched Jersey Brings the Heat at Heritage Auctions in May

Countless offerings among the almost 3,200 available in Heritage’s May 16-18 Spring Sports Catalog Auction could serve as its centerpiece, its highlight — that one thing that belongs in a museum, if not a Hall of Fame. Like, say, the road New York Yankees jersey worn by Mickey Mantle during his final season in 1968, then signed and inscribed to a Yanks batboy. Or the photo-matched road Brooklyn Dodgers jersey Sandy Koufax wore during his rookie season in 1955 when he was not yet known as The Left Hand of God. Or the bat Ty Cobb used in 1922, his third — and final — season as a .400 hitter.

The list of must-sees and must-owns is seemingly endless, whether it’s a box of unopened Fleer basketball cards from 1961-62 or the pair of Adidas Crazy 8’s photo-matched to Kobe Bryant’s first All-Star Game in 1998. As has become tradition, the Spring Sports Catalog Event brims with the jerseys, sneakers, gloves, bats and helmets worn and used by some of sports’ most towering titans, from Willie Mays to Lionel Messi, Reggie Jackson to Gale Sayers, Warren Spahn to Tom Brady, Hank Aaron to Jim Plunkett, Carl Hubbell to Terry Bradshaw. The abundance of photo-matched jerseys in this auction alone qualifies it as historic, as do the cards featured throughout, among them a near-mint 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, a gem-mint Ty Cobb from the fabled Black Swamp find and the only known Elgin Baylor Topps card from 1969 graded a perfect 10.

But to begin, the relatively plain flannel jersey in this auction — gray, pinstriped, a small “W” stitched into each short sleeve — draws the eye first. It’s also a century-old jersey that still has tales to tell.

Collectors have always known who wore it: Walter Johnson, who spent all of his 21 seasons in the sun as the right-handed hurler for the Washington Senators. Johnson’s name is stitched into the collar in red cursive, just below the A.G. Spalding & Bros. label. We’ve always known, too, when Johnson wore it: during the 1919-1922 seasons, when the man sportswriter Grantland Rice called “The Big Train” was teammates with another right-handed pitcher, Eric “Swat” Erickson, to whom Johnson gifted the jersey upon Erickson’s retirement from the big leagues following his 1919-1922 stint with Washington.

Only days before this auction opened, Resolution Photomatching determined that the “one-time king of pitchers” — as Johnson was called in 1933’s Who’s Who in Baseball – wore this very jersey on April 29, 1920. That’s when the Nationals downed the New York Yankees 2-1 in front of 5,000 at the hallowed Polo Grounds.

Johnson recorded eight strikeouts that spring afternoon in New York, two coming against a newly minted Yankee right fielder named Babe Ruth, who recorded just a single hit (and RBI) against Johnson. The Big Train, who batted last in the Nats’ lineup, also got a hit that afternoon — a triple. In his 1920 book The Home-Run King, Ruth wrote that Johnson was “the best of them all.”

Earlier this month, Resolution photo-matched the jersey to a photo distributed by news agency Underwood & Underwood, whose caption heralds Johnson as “the unsurpassable speed twirler of the Nationals.” The photo also notes that Johnson’s “remarkable speed ball aroused all balldom several years ago” and that he pitched against the Yankees that April afternoon “with the same ‘pep’ that characterized his name.”

Two known Johnson jerseys have survived his storied career, during which The Big Train recorded 3,509 strikeouts (putting him at ninth on the all-time list), 417 wins (the most all-time behind only Cy Young’s 511 victories) and 110 shutout wins (still the record). One, from 1927, is on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The other is in this auction.

“We have had the opportunity at Heritage Auctions to offer some incredible and museum-worthy jerseys over the decades,” says Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Auctions at Heritage. “But this Walter Johnson example, photo-matched to his first dual with the great Babe Ruth in Yankees pinstripes, certainly qualifies it as a cream-of-the-crop rarity.”

[madi2112]

Is it time for a revisit?

Another whole lifetime ago I was a huge sports fan.

A regular, "pace around the room, yell at the television set during tense moments", type sports fan.

Being raised in the Southern California area that meant Dodgers, Lakers, Rams, Kings and Angels.

It's what was expected of me as I had been forced to Cosplay a male all those years.

I was actually a very talented Basketball player. Had a 40 inch vertical jump and won dunk contests often (not kidding!!)

After I finally took the initiative to be my authentic self that changed completely.

I stopped watching, or even caring about, almost all sports.

I still had an interest in golf, but as a player and not much as a spectator.

I did catch a few minutes of the Rams Superbowl victory a couple years ago. Even that was more of a "yeah, that's kinda cool, but whatever" reaction to things.

In fact, the last time I purposely watched Basketball was Kobe Bryant's last game 8 years ago.

Until last night.

Thanks to Caitlyn Clark I stopped by a local restaurant and sat in the bar area where multiple television screens were showing the Iowa vs. Uconn womens semifinal game.

I cheered and let the excitement of the game take hold.

I have to admit it felt pretty good.

Besides it's what women do, we support each other.

Maybe next I'll go to an Orlando Pride womens soccer game. Maybe find other women's sports to keep an eye on.

But first, tomorrow is the Final Game. Iowa vs. South Carolina

Go Caitlyn!

~Madison

[troidatoi]

Day 1 - 8/23/2023

Hi Tumblr!

I had one of you in high school but deleted it after college. I decided to make another just so I have a place to rant and vent about things that make me sad or angry or just things in general. I do journal but I'd like to use it for more positive things and manifestations or whatever. I turned on all the privacy settings so hopefully no one finds this. lmfao. I know all posts are public but I don't really know anyone in my life that has Tumblr anymore. I kind of just needed a place to fucking vent or rant. Today's Kobe's birthday so I'm trying not to be so angry today. (lol, sorry Kobe.) Okay so here goes. I just needed a way to let out my frustrations and so I was like why not Tumblr? I'd mainly be talking about my health and probably my frustrations with life in general.

Growing up, I've always been a big ass kid and you can tell and it showed in my pictures. Been bullied a lot for it from everybody including family. Had a kid threw a rock at me when I was little and said he hated fat people. My parents took me to a weight loss doctor where I cried my eyes out. I guess I always sought food out for comfort. I'm also an only child. I've always wanted to try and better my health but didn't know how, didn't really have the resources or money, and I was constantly surrounded by food. I kind of wish my parents had let me figure out how to do it on my own. I turned into this person with low self esteem, low confidence, hating what I looked like everyday, hanging out with my skinny friends back then was torture for me because I was constantly comparing myself to them (I know they loved me, wished I loved myself as much as they loved me). I hated that I fixated on the way I looked but hey that's what society has programmed us to do. It's easy to be like love yourself blah blah when you're not in the position of constant self hatred. I've tried calorie counting, diets, seeing a nutritionist (which helped a little only to later realized that it wasn't sustainable for me and I developed an eating disorder.) Although I'm pretty sure I've had an eating disorder ever since I was little and now I feel like shit every time I eat food or get scared to eat. I think the only person who I really saw results with and was sustainable was my personal trainer. (Shoutout Michael!) Hopefully, I can come back once I find a job again. (Can someone please fawking hire me already?)

So yeah going on a tangent, apologies! I started running when lockdown hit and I loved it but I also developed hammer toes and it hurt so much to walk and wear shoes. I went to a podiatrist and they were like get orthopedics and I was like okay but they were so expensive even with health insurance and I'm like okay well fuck this so I got surgery and I was so fucking miserable. lmao. I couldn't do anything and didn't leave my bad. It hurt so much to eat that I lost so much weight and I got so sad like crying for days. I realized I needed help if I didn't want k*ll myself so I called the hotline at midnight and it was nice actually. I've heard bad stories but thankfully the person I talked to listened to what I had to say and he brought up the Dodgers. lmao. And he was like maybe I'll see you at a Dodgers' game. I hit up a therapist the next day, a week later hit up a psychiatrist and was prescribed sertraline. (An antidepressant). The weight loss was crazy because I've never been that thin and I wasn't sure how to feel because it was deadass depression weight loss. I was happy with the weight loss but sad about how I lost it. I had so much loose skin that I also decided to do a tummy tuck, skin removal and thigh lift surgery and the recovery was such a pain in the ass but I felt so good and clothes actually fit. I should have probably waited till the next year because I took so much antibiotics that I found out I have leaky gut so I have to stay away from gluten, diary and processed sugar for the time being. (Hopefully cause my gawd I miss eating bread.) I have so much bloating, inflammation, joint pain, brain fog, acne breakouts, tingling sensations, pain on my sides and the list can go on. I went to my primary care doctors and a neurologist and they didn't really help much. Finally went to a holistic doctor and she figured out what was wrong with me and I know it's going to take awhile for everything to heal but I just want to stop feeling like this. (I also had surgery in 2013 to get an ovarian cyst removed and I didn't know I had it because everyone called me fat and they told me the cyst was making me bloated as shit.) I'm trying not to be resentful and look at the past but it's hard because there's so much trauma. Felt like my family didn't love me if I wasn't skinny.

My therapist said I should stop blaming myself but I can't help it. I know things are going to get better and I'm doing my part and putting in my best effort to heal and follow the treatment plan. I know I'm being impatient but for once in my life, I just want to be healthy again and enjoy food without being scared to eat it. Luckily, a healed gut is attainable so I need to keep fighting for it. I know it's going to be worth it in the end. I'm also paying so fucking much for this holistic doctor like I better have the strongest gut in the world and lose 100 pounds so that when I turn to the side no one can see me.

I am also in a lot of credit card debt and I know I'll pay it off once someone hires me but the job market is so fucking hard right now. Probably need to sell feet pics or find a sugar daddy to afford my lifestyle. (lmao jk, kind of) The way I applied to so many jobs the past week and a half is crazy. Just have to trust the Universe and believe and manifest.

Right now, I just really want to focus on healing my gut so I can eat yummy things again, getting a new full time job with higher pay and being surrounded by my loved ones. One of those things where I so badly want things to get better and it feels like no matter how hard I try, things seem to be moving slow. But they're moving, I guess? lmao.

I just want the best for me and it's going to happen because I deserve it and I said so and what I say goes. I hope you try your best to love yourself through this process and to know that things are going to be so amazing for you that you're going to wonder why you felt like this. The setback is stronger than the comeback. Remember that.

And one more time, Happy Birthday, Kobe. I miss and love you 24/8. <3

[lolaslocker]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: MLB Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Tee.

[jerseys4usa-blog]

Dodgers 8-24 Kobe Bryant Baseball Jerseys:

https://x.yupoo.com/photos/chinabestwholesale/albums

[runningaheadofourtime]

Never Forget ✊🏾 ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ #TodaysKicks @kobe @nike 8’s #TodaysFit @ericemanuel Shorts @hhegoods Kobe @dodgers Shirt #ijustlikeshoes #complexkicks #mood #kicksonfire #hskicks #fire #art #kickstagram #snkrskickcheck #soletoday #artoftheday #NicksCloset #lifeisgood #fypシ #wdywt #whatiwore #fyp #ladodgers #biloxi #fancy #baseball #jerseys #nikevintage #living #biloxiwadeins #kobebryant #biloxims (at Inez's Cafe) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfXDzFpJrm6/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thinkazul]

Throwback to when a real superstar supported the Dodgers.

Front row and decked out.

[bongaboi]

Beneath the bling: Lakers championship rings feature many special surprises

Beneath the bling: Lakers championship rings feature many special surprises

By DAVID WHARTON STAFF WRITER JAN. 15, 20215 AM

Coiled snakes and small etchings, like hieroglyphics. Jewels whose exact carat weight holds a secret meaning. You can spot all the clues, if you look closely enough.

The ring that each Lakers player received for winning the 2020 NBA championship is mostly gold and diamonds, glitz and audacity, but there is something subtle lurking beneath the gleam.

The jeweler responsible for the design wanted to document a basketball season unlike any other, a year marked by more than wins and losses. In the space of one — albeit very large — ring, Jason Arasheben has concealed visual references to the death of Kobe Bryant, a global pandemic and social unrest. He calls them his “Easter eggs.”

“We had a lot going on last year,” says Arasheben, who owns the tony Jason of Beverly Hills. “It’s not just how many diamonds you use, it’s how you tell a story.”

Professional sports bling has been a tradition since the early 1920s, when the New York Giants baseball team handed out rings as an alternative to the pocket watch chains, cuff links and engraved tie clips that previously had been given to players.

Simple and stylish was the rule for many years until the New York Yankees went big and brash in the 1970s, igniting an arms race that now has teams in various sports trying to outdo each other — more gold, more gemstones — season after season.

The Lakers will not disclose how much they spent on this latest salvo. With 180 grams of yellow gold and 804 jewels in each, the rings could be worth more than $20,000, setting a new benchmark in extravagance.

If this raises some eyebrows at a time of hardship, team executives believe the players deserve a special gift for persevering through the season. Arasheben wanted to give them a sort of time capsule, an effort not lost on star forward LeBron James.

“It was just a culmination of what we’ve been through,” James told reporters after getting his ring. “So many ups and downs, a lot of adversity.”

And a lot of story to tell.

The helicopter crash that killed Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others on Jan. 26, 2020 had the team reeling, struggling to comprehend the loss of an icon who had retired only a few seasons earlier. Before the shock wore off, the coronavirus shutdown brought the NBA to a lurching halt.

By the time games resumed and the Lakers defeated the Miami Heat to win it all in mid-October, there wasn’t much time to make rings for the start of a new season. Team executives called Arasheben. Though best known for such celebrity clients as Drake, Jennifer Lopez and the late Michael Jackson, the 44-year-old jeweler had worked with the Lakers before.

“It made sense because he gets the pulse of this team,” says Linda Rambis, executive director of special projects and confidante to co-owner Jeanie Buss.

A flurry of discussions ensued, ideas flying back and forth.

Some design elements were entirely conventional, starting with a purple-and-gold logo on the face, framed by block letters spelling “World Champions.” The right side, or shank, featured each player’s name and jersey number. The left shank listed the Lakers’ playoff opponents and results of each series. This boilerplate information out of the way, Arasheben set to work on smaller touches with larger meanings.

The purple “L” in the logo was fashioned from 17 amethysts, one for each of the 17 championships in franchise history. They weighed .95 carats, a nod to the 95 days that players had spent inside the “bubble,” a Florida complex where all NBA teams lived and competed when the season resumed. Yellow diamonds in the basketball-shaped background totaled .52 carats, equaling the number of regular-season victories.

“It was like a puzzle,” Arasheben says. “We had to be creative in how we built things in.”

There was room to coil two snakes — an homage to Bryant and his “Black Mamba” nickname — behind the jersey numbers. The shanks, shaped vaguely like basketball hoops, got a mesh background. With each addition, it seemed Arasheben or the team would think of something else.

“How do you recognize all of the challenges we went through last year, and then all the bright spots?” Rambis asks. “It was just us wanting to have all of those elements in the ring.”

The work suited Arasheben, a man with a backstory of his own.

The boy loved to draw, doodling portraits, copying the blueprints his architect father brought home. His parents had a different sort of future in mind, telling him: You’re a good talker. You should be a lawyer.

Pre-law classes at UCLA failed to satisfy Arasheben’s artistic bent; they also put him in debt. A friend told him about wholesale stores in the fashion district, so he pooled his money and drove downtown to buy silver trinkets and brightly colored, plastic butterfly hair clips, cheap stuff he could get for $8 a dozen. Back on campus, fellow students stopped by his table and paid well over cost.

“The very first day,” he recalls, “I did $100 in sales.”

These profits paid off tuition with enough left over to hang out at nightclubs where, as an avid NBA fan, Arasheben recognized players among the regulars. They all seemed to be wearing what he recalls as “over-the-top, monstrous” jewelry, which gave him another idea.

Despite an utter lack of experience in the business, he began sketching ornate chains and bracelets, incorporating names and personal details of certain players. Slipping into the club’s VIP section, he approached them, straining to speak over the pounding music: “I’d love to design jewelry for you. In fact, I happen to have a drawing right here.”

They almost always shooed him off, waving away the paper he held in their face. But in 2002, the late New York Knicks star Anthony Mason took a look and liked what he saw. It was both a defining moment and a problem because Arasheben had no idea what to do next.

Stalking the jewelry district, walking from shop to shop, asking questions, he found someone to make the monogrammed bracelet for $50,000. Not only was the profit margin healthy — he says Mason paid $60,000 — the work was creative. Arasheben networked at the NBA draft and All-Star game, meeting other players.

Forget law school, he thought. I want to get into jewelry.

Most teams rely on such established jewelers as Tiffany or Jostens for their rings, so there was no reason to think Arasheben could break into the business. But while selling custom pieces, he made friends with the Buss family that owned the Lakers. Wrangling a meeting with the late Jerry Buss, he told of starting from nothing, a story that seemed to click with Buss, who had built a fortune in real estate.

“I really had no business making their rings,” Arasheben says. “He gave me a chance.”

Things went smoothly at first; the team liked his design of 14 diamonds and white gold in 2009, evoking the white uniforms that players wore on Sundays to honor broadcaster Chick Hearn. Arasheben satisfied Bryant and guard Derek Fisher, who asked to have each player’s face etched on the shank.

But after years of making a few pieces at a time, it was tough producing a batch of 200 or so for players, staff and others. With sleeping bags strewn across the factory floor, Arasheben and his crew worked around the clock.

“We were taking shifts,” he says. “I think we delivered the last ring 30 minutes before the ceremony.”

The team rehired him in 2010, which led to orders from European soccer teams and the Dodgers when they won the 2017 National League pennant. Arasheben made rings for the Golden State Warriors as they captured three NBA titles in four seasons.

“We knew what we did like and we knew what we didn’t like,” Warriors forward Andre Iguodala says in a team video. “From there, we said ‘Use your imagination.’ ”

After the 2018 championship, some Warriors players wanted a blue face, some preferred white. Arasheben engineered a reversible face with diamonds on one side and sapphires on the other. At the team’s ring ceremony, video shows Iguodala demonstrating the switch to others on the bench, telling them to give the face a twist.

“You’re supposed to?” teammate David West asks.

Coach Steve Kerr tries it and blurts: “Oh my god.”

The 2020 Lakers ring posed a different problem as Arasheben kept adding features. Around the rim, he put tiny etchings of the Larry O’Brien Trophy and jersey numbers for every player on the roster that season, even those waived or assigned to the G League before the playoffs.

The left shank had room for a small NBA logo, featuring the silhouette of former Lakers great Jerry West. On the right, Arasheben fit the team’s mantra that season, “Leave A Legacy,” along with the player name and number and snakes.

Still, he needed more space.

The first championship rings, the ones handed out by the New York Giants in 1922, were relatively simple. Brushed gold, a single diamond, nothing to set the world on fire but the timing was right.

“Pocket watches were going out of fashion,” says John Odell, a curator at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. There was no need for jeweled fobs or watch chains because “no longer was it stylish to show off a little bling across your belly.”

The new trend began with relatively tame signet rings, then graduated to something in the neighborhood of a high school class ring. More size translated into more detail; legendary football coach Vince Lombardi took charge of the design for his Green Bay Packers in the late 1960s and made sure to include a crown from his family crest.

There have been a few small quirks in recent years. After a squirrel bounded across home plate during the 2011 playoffs, the champion St. Louis Cardinals included a tiny image of the rodent. Two years later, the Boston Red Sox — known for their unshaven appearance — stamped a beard on the inside of their rings.

But glitz and bulk have dominated since New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner splashed “NY” in diamonds across the face of a large ring in 1977 and an even bigger one in 1996. The Lakers noted the trend in 2000, engraving “Bling Bling” on their shank. Three years later, the Florida Marlins spent a reported $20,000 each for a design encrusted with hundreds of diamonds.

“Overtly ostentatious,” Odell calls it.

Team owners were spending far more than the modest allowances the NFL and Major League Baseball afforded its winning teams. As weights topped three ounces, the rings had become so large that Jostens suggested wearing them “on your middle finger may be more comfortable in terms of balance.”

Arasheben acknowledges the trend is “getting a little ridiculous. It’s getting to the point where you’re just going to give the players a diamond plate.” But that didn’t slow him down with the Lakers this winter.

“Other manufacturers have tried to outdo us,” he says. “This year, we tried to outdo them one more time.”

::

There were 71 days between the title-winning game against the Heat and the ceremony the Lakers wanted to hold at their season opener in December. Most of that time was spent on design.

When Arasheben finally ran out of space, he reached back to an old trick with the detachable face. Same solution for a different problem.

“This time,” he says, “we needed to create more real estate.”

A 45-degree twist reveals a secondary face underneath, bearing images of the 12 retired jerseys that hang in Staples Center, including the one with a microphone instead of a number for Hearn. Bryant’s two jerseys — he wore No. 8 and No. 24 during his career — are accentuated in a darker color. As further tribute, a snakeskin texture serves as the background.

This gimmick also left space to reference last spring, when Americans took to the streets, protesting the death of George Floyd.

Pro athletes in basketball, baseball and other sports staged walkouts. James helped form More Than a Vote, an organization that has fought voter suppression and drew more than 42,000 volunteers to work at polling stations for the November election. Arasheben used the underside of the face to etch the word “Unity.”

“We wanted something the players could show their grandchildren,” he says. “Something to remember.”

The rings were handed out at an unusual ceremony last month, the stands empty because of coronavirus restrictions. Players stepped up, one by one, to podiums at midcourt while family members spoke from the videoboard above. “I know this has been a very difficult year for everyone here,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said.

Still, James called it a “pretty cool feeling” to celebrate with teammates, a chance to look back on all they had been through. “So many story lines,” he said.

And only one ring to tell them.

===

David Wharton is a feature sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times.

[mrjlogic]

Repost:• @dodgers For Kobe and Gigi. . All hail King Mamba and Mamba-Cita! . . . . . #kobebryant #gigibryant #2 #24 #kobe #gigi #Mamba #MambaCita #BlackMamba #dodgers #ladodgers #LA #laallday #losangeles #losangelesdodgers #rip #gonebutneverforgotten #gonetoosoon #ripkobe #ripkobebryant #blackexcellence #cityofangels #8 (at Ceasar Chavez Ravine Dodger Stadium) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEQEn6egrap/?igshid=19pu4nc3j6ft7

[fgonz3]

Happy Birthday 🥳 Kobe aka Black Mamba • Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise. - Kobe Bryant • #happybirthday #kobebryant #kobe #nba #lakers #basketball #mambamentality #blackmamba #ripkobe #losangeles #life #mamba #losangeleslakers #ballislife #rip #mambaforever #ripkobebryant #lalakers #love #gonebutneverforgotten #8 #24 #dodgers #tribute #waspcrew #graffiti #art #mural #respect #chicagograffiti (at Chicago, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEPJTJdnyd7/?igshid=1lz2m0k0x7gcr

[soccerdrawings]

Here's What People Are Saying About Background Soccer Images | Background Soccer Images

Bob Rosato

8+ Soccer Backgrounds Stock Images, Photos & Vectors .. | background soccer images Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant celebrates after Game 7 after acceptable the championship adjoin the Boston Celtics in Los Angeles.Robert BeckBrigham Young's Bryan Kariya loses helmet during a accouterment by Washington's Talia Crichton (11) and Cort Dennison (31) with the Wasash Mountains in the accomplishments in Provo, Utah.Simon BrutySpain's apostle Carles Puyol all-overs for a attack over Netherlands' apostle John Heitinga (bottom) during the 2010 World Cup football final amid the Netherlands and Spain on July 11, 2010 at Soccer City amphitheater in Soweto, burghal Johannesburg. Spain defeated the Netherlands 1-0 to win the World Cup. Bob RosatoAlabama RB Trent Richardson (3) loses helmet on a accouterment by Texas assurance Blake Gideon (21) and LB Dustin Earnest (42) at the NCAA Football 2010 BCS National Championship Bold in Pasadena, Calif.Bob MartinCurtis Tomasevicz celebrates a gold badge with Steve Mesler, Justin Olsen, and Steven Holcomb. during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games Bobsleigh men's final antagonism at the Sliding Centre in Whistler, BC, Canada.Kohjiro KinnoDustin Johnson hits a attempt from No. 18 alembic during Sunday comedy at Straits Course of Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis. Johnson took a two-stroke amends for accomplishments his club in the sand. Simon BrutyLindsey Vonn skis during the Women's Downhill Final at Whistler Creekside in Whistler, Canada. Vonn won gold. Heinz KluetmeierNew Orleans Saints Tracy Porter allotment an interception for a touchdown adjoin the Indianapolis Colts during Super Bowl XLIV in Miami.Bob MartinRafeal Nadal competes in the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, France.Robert BeckEdgar Renteria reprised his October success with a home run in the 5th inning, and three RBIs later, as the Giants won bold two of the World Series 9-0. Renteria pulled an 0-1 angle at the belletrist bottomward the left-field line, area it landed about eight rows deep, abutting to an alleyway. Renteria had gone 53 beeline at-bats afterwards a home run. Aerial appearance of Los Angeles Clippers Blake Griffin adjoin the Charlotte Bobcats at Staples Center in Los Angeles.Peter Read MillerGreen Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) leaps into the air to abstain the canyon blitz of Pittsburgh Steelers defenders during their Super Bowl XLV antagonism in Irving, Texas. Al TielemansSt. Louis Cardinals Chris Carpenter dives head-first into aboriginal abject during Bold 1 of the World Series adjoin the Texas Rangers at Busch Amphitheater in St. Louis, Mo.Aerial appearance of Germany's Andrea Petkovic confined adjoin Italy's Roberta Vinci during Women's third Round of the U.S. Open at BJK National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.Simon BrutyClemson's DeAndre Hopkins (6) makes a bolt adjoin North Carolina at Memorial Amphitheater in Clemson, S.C.Greg NelsonKentucky Marquis Teague (25) dribbles adjoin Louisville with the student area abaft him at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. John BieverChicago Cubs Reed Johnson stands in the outfield as seagulls arrest the bold adjoin the New York Yankees at Wrigley Acreage in Chicago, Ill.John BieverAerial appearance of Milwaukee Brewers Ryan Braun at bat adjoin the Los Angeles Dodgers at Miller Esplanade in Milwaukee, Wis.John W. McDonoughNorth Carolina's James Michael McAdoo (43) plays aegis adjoin Michigan State Keith Appling (11) aboard the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier docked in Naval Air Station North Island on Veterans Day in San Diego.Fred VuichRory McIlroy at the 10th tee during the U.S. Open in Bethesda, Md.Greg NelsonMiami Heat's LeBron James dunks adjoin Oklahoma City Thunder's Serge Ibaka (9) during Bold 2 of the NBA Finals at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla.Damian StrohmeyerBoston Bruins Chris Kelly (23) is arrested by the Washington Capitals TD Garden in Boston, Mass.Simon BrutyBeach Volleyball Women's Bronze Badge Bout at the Horse Guards Parade in London during the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.Damian StrohmeyerPhoenix Suns Sebastian Telfair goes up adjoin Celtics Kevin Garnett during a bold at TD Garden in Boston, Mass.Erick W. RascoAndy Murray competes during the Mens Final at Wimbledon at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in London.

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Soccer Background Images, Stock Photos & Vectors | Shutterstock - background soccer images | background soccer images Simon BrutyNCAA Academy Football Championship: Ohio State vs. Oregon at AT&T Amphitheater in Arlington, Texas.Andrew HancockAmerican Pharoah (5), ridden by jockey Victor Espinoza, leads Materiality (8), Keen Ice (7), Frosted (6) and Madefromlucky (3) at the half-mile pole en avenue to acceptable the chase and the Triple Crown at the 2015 Belmont Stakes at Belmont Esplanade in Elmont, N.Y.Bob MartinSerena Williams and Garbine Muguruza airing off cloister captivation trophies at Wimbledon at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in London.Simon BrutyUSA players arrive with bays afterwards acceptable theFIFA Women's World Cup Final adjoin Japan at BC Place, Vancouver, Canada.Greg NelsonDraymond Green in the NBA Finals Cleveland Cavaliers adjoin Golden State Warriors during Bold 1 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.John IaconoTom Brady of the New England Patriots passes during Super Bowl XLIX adjoin the Seattle Seahawks at University of Phoenix Amphitheater in Phoenix, Ariz.John W. McDonoughKyle Wiltjer of Gonzaga during a bold adjoin Pepperdine at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash.Donald MiralleCharles Nelson (6) of Oregon flies through the air but avalanche abbreviate of the endzone on the one-yard band adjoin Nate Andrews (29) and Tyler Hunter (1) of Florida State during the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.Robert BeckFloyd Mayweather boxes adjoin Manny Pacquiao during the unified welterweight championship bender at MGM Grand/Las Vegas.Greg NelsonOklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook in activity adjoin the Golden State Warriors during Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla.Erick W. RascoFans acclamation from the stands during the 2016 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.Damian StrohmeyerClemson's Mike Williams makes a bolt for a 50-yard accession adjoin Boston College's Isaac Yiadom at Boston Academy Alumni Amphitheater in Newton, Mass.Erick W. RascoFans accumulate alfresco of Wrigley Acreage afore Bold 3 of the World Series area the Chicago Cubs played the Cleveland Indians.Donald MiralleMichael Phelps competes in the men's 200-meter butterfly final during the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Phelps took home a gold badge in this event.Simon Bruty (left); Kohjiro Kinno (right)Simone Biles holds her medals from the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games (left). Simone Biles trains arch up to the Olympic Games at her gym in Spring, Texas.Jordan Naholowa'a MurphBrazil's Neymar array the bold acceptable amends bang adjoin Germany goalie Timo Horn during the Men's Final Gold Badge bout at Maracana Stadium. Brazil wins in the amends bang shootout in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.David E. KluthoChicago Vocational School acceptance attending to their drillmaster afore a bold at Gately Esplanade in Chicago.Deanne FitzmauriceBroncos QB Peyton Manning jogs on the acreage during Super Bowl L. The Broncos defeated the Panthers 24-10.Duke's Luke Kennard agaisnt Devonte' Graham of Kansas at Madison Square Garden in New York during the State Farm Champions Classic.Erick W. RascoRunners accomplish their way through South Williamsburg during the the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon.Simon BrutyNew England Patriots Julian Edelman is abeyant midair adjoin the Atlanta Falcons at NRG Amphitheater during Super Bowl LI in Houston, TX. The Patriots defeated the Falcons 34-28.Greg NelsonGiannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks makes his way on the cloister adjoin the Oklahoma City Thunder during the approved season.Robert BeckFloyd Mayweather looks at his adversary Conor McGregor at the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.Winslow TownsonGeorge Springer of the Houston Astros dives into home during ALDS Bold 3 adjoin the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Esplanade in Boston.

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[xtruss]

RIP: Kobe Bryant, Daughter Gianna Die in Helicopter Crash in Calabasas

— By Richard Winton, Dan Woike, Sonali Kohli, Tania Ganguli

— January 26, 2020

Lakers star Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant, 41, the legendary basketball star who spent 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers, was killed when the helicopter he was traveling in crashed and burst into flames Sunday morning amid foggy conditions in the hills above Calabasas, sources told the Los Angeles Times.

His daughter Gianna, 13, was also on board and died along with three others.

Bryant’s death stunned Los Angeles and the sports world, which mourned one of basketball’s greatest players. Sources said the helicopter took off from Orange County, where Bryant lived.

The crash occurred shortly before 10 a.m. near Las Virgenes Road, south of Agoura Road, according to a watch commander for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Jerry Kocharian was standing outside the Church in the Canyon drinking coffee when he heard a helicopter unusually low struggling overhead. “It [didn’t] sound right and it was real low. I saw it falling and spluttering. But it was hard to make out as it was so foggy,” Kocharian said. The helicopter vanished into a cloud of fog and then there was a boom.

“There was a big fireball,” he said. “No one could survive that.”

The helicopter, a Sikorsky S-76B built in 1991, departed John Wayne Airport at 9:06 a.m. Sunday, according to publicly available flight records. The helicopter passed over Boyle Heights, near Dodger Stadium, and circled over Glendale during the flight.

The National Transportation Safety Board database does not show any prior incidents or accidents for this aircraft. The helicopter is registered to the Fillmore-based Island Express Holding Corp., according to the California Secretary of State business database.

Kobe Bryant Helicopter Crash

After taking off in Orange County, the helicopter flew northwest and then crashed shortly before 10 a.m. near Las Virgenes Road, south of the 101 Freeway, in Calabasas.

“We extend our sincerest condolences to all those affected by today’s Sikorsky S-76B accident in Calabasas, California,” the helicopter’s manufacturer, Sikorsky, said in a tweet. “We have been in contact with the NTSB and stand ready to provide assistance and support to the investigative authorities and our customer.”

“Kobe Bryant was a giant who inspired, amazed, and thrilled people everywhere with his incomparable skill on the court — and awed us with his intellect and humility as a father, husband, creative genius, and ambassador for the game he loved,” L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a news statement Sunday afternoon. “He will live forever in the heart of Los Angeles, and will be remembered through the ages as one of our greatest heroes.”

Across the country Sunday , public figures, former teammates and fans alike mourned the basketball star .

“Particularly when he was young, to be a part of his life and to watch his career grow, watch him grow, this is one of the most tragic days of my life,” said fellow Lakers legend Jerry West, 81. West was the general manager for the Lakers in 1996 and maneuvered Bryant’s immediate trade to the Lakers when he was drafted. “I know somewhere along the way I guess I’ll come to grips with it. But now I have all these different emotions regarding him. The things I watched him do on the basketball court, but more importantly he was going to make a difference off the court, and he was making a difference off the court. It’s so unexplainable. This is going to take a long time for me.”

“Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act,” former U.S. President Barack Obama tweeted. “To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. Michelle and I send love and prayers to Vanessa and the entire Bryant family on an unthinkable day.”

It was a sad and surreal scene inside Staples Center around noon Sunday, where Grammy Awards dress rehearsal was taking place as word of Bryant’s death swept through the arena. Crews worked quickly to move Bryant’s rafter jerseys side by side, and masked the other retired jerseys with curtains. By 1 p.m. the switch had been made. No. 8 and No. 24 were side by side, illuminated by flood lights.

News of the crash dominated the rehearsal. Ariana Grande had just finished a lavish performance, and Billie Eilish was about to perform an acoustic song with her brother. But all eyes were on the jerseys at the other end of the floor, as staff and observers watched in disbelief.

Within half an hour of the news breaking, a Barnes & Noble in Orange had sold out of all photo books featuring the former NBA star.

“It’s kind of morose but people just came in 10 or 15 minutes after we found out about it, “ said Armando Romero, a bookseller at the cash register. He said his general manager announced Bryant’s death to the booksellers over their wireless headsets.“We knew right away people would be coming.”

Minutes later, Romero said he received phone calls from customers, asking to put Bryant-related books on hold.

At the Fullerton Mexican restaurant El Camino Real in Fullerton, the staff was “really sad,” said manager Rodolfo Garcia. Bryant patronized the restaurant for 20 years with his wife, a Fullerton native. If he couldn’t come in person, Bryant would have friends get big orders to take back to his Newport Coast mansion.

“He liked the carnitas and flan,” Garcia said, over the thud of a butcher breaking down carne asada for tacos. “He loved this place because people treated him like a normal person. Kobe would just stand in line, like anyone else. He’d tell us, ‘Don’t treat me like a star; I’m just a customer here.”

Bryant was born in Philadelphia. His father, Joe, played eight NBA seasons in the 1970s and ‘80s for the Philadelphia 76ers, San Diego Clippers and, in his last stop, the Houston Rockets under then-coach Del Harris. A lighthearted, 6-foot-10 string bean who went by his Philadelphia playground nickname, Jellybean, Joe Bryant played college ball at La Salle and married Pam Cox, the sister of a starting guard at Villanova. They named their first son Kobe, after the city in Japan.

Bryant excelled at Lower Merion High in Ardmore, Pa., near Philadelphia, winning numerous national awards as a senior before announcing his intention to skip college and enter the NBA draft. He was selected 13th overall by Charlotte in 1996, but the Lakers had already worked out a deal with the Hornets to acquire Bryant before his selection. Bryant impressed Lakers General Manager Jerry West during a pre-draft workout session in Los Angeles. Less than three weeks later, the Lakers traded starting center Vlade Divac to the Hornets in exchange for Bryant’s rights. Bryant, whose favorite team growing up was the Lakers, had to have his parents co-sign his NBA contract because he was 17 years old.

The 6-foot-6 guard made his pro debut in the 1996-97 season opener against Minnesota; at the time he was the youngest player ever to appear in an NBA game. He started in only a handful of games during his rookie season, coming off the bench in support of Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones. However, coach Del Harris played him more as the season progressed, allowing Bryant to showcase the skills that made him a top candidate for rookie of the year. Those skills were also on display when Bryant won the 1997 NBA slam dunk competition.

Bryant continued to improve during his sophomore season in the league, averaging 15.4 points per game. However, his breakout came in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season when he started in all 50 games after the Lakers traded away Van Exel and Jones.

The crash site in Calabasas where Kobe Bryant and four others were killed on Sunday.

Bryant and leading scorer Shaquille O’Neal quickly morphed into one of the most lethal scoring and defensive combinations in the league. Together, with coach Phil Jackson guiding them, they led the Lakers to three consecutive championships (2000-02) as Bryant began to cement his place as the game’s top player.

“There’s no words to express the pain I’m going through with this tragedy of loosing my neice [sic] Gigi & my brother,” O’Neal tweeted Sunday. “I love u and u will be missed. My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. IM SICK RIGHT NOW.”

Despite coming together to win some of the most closely fought playoff series in Lakers history, friction started to develop between Bryant and O’Neal. Tension between the two stars continued to build during the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons as the Lakers failed to capitalize on their status as top contenders for the NBA title. Making matters worse, Bryant was arrested in July 2003 on allegations of sexual assault.

The charges were eventually dropped, but Bryant’s reputation took a hit and he settled a civil lawsuit with the accuser. In exchange for not testifying in the criminal case, the accuser negotiated an apology letter from Bryant that read, in part, “Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual ... I now understand how she sincerely feels that she did not consent.”

After the Lakers lost to Detroit in the NBA Finals with a star-studded team that included Karl Malone and Gary Payton, O’Neal was traded to Miami and Jackson’s coaching contract was not renewed. As the team’s undisputed leader, Bryant signed a seven-year contract to remain with the team.

Bryant summed up the tensions between him and O’Neal after the Lakers won the NBA title in 2009: “We’re great as individuals, but ... it’s probably the first dynamic duo that had two alpha males on one team. We managed to make it work for three championships.”

Bryant posted some of the best offensive numbers of his career over the next three seasons, but the team struggled, failing to make the playoffs in 2005 before suffering consecutive first-round defeats to Phoenix in 2006 and 2007. Jackson returned to the team for the 2005-06 season, and Bryant went on to lead the league in scoring that season with a career-best 35.4 average. He scored 40 points or more in 27 games and became the first player since Wilt Chamberlain in 1964 to finish with 45 points or more in four consecutive games.

His biggest single-game achievement came Jan. 22, 2006, against Toronto when he scored a career-high 81 points, the second most in NBA history. Earlier that season, on Dec. 20, 2005, he scored 62 points in 33 minutes through three quarters of a game against Dallas; he had outscored the entire Mavericks team, 62-61, entering the final quarter, in which Bryant did not play. Bryant continued to impress during the 2006-07 season, scoring 50 or more points in a team-record 10 games and averaging 31.6 points a game to capture his second NBA scoring title.

Laker legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was at that game, he said in a Twitter video Sunday. “It is something that I will always remember as one of the highlights of the things that I have learned and observed in sports.”

“He was an incredible athlete and a leader in a lot of ways. He inspired a whole generation of young athletes. He was one of the first ones to leave high school and come into the NBA and do so well, dominating the game and becoming one of the best scorers that the Los Angeles Lakers has ever seen,” Abdul-Jabbar said.

“He is the No. 1 player in the league, by far,” Washington guard Gilbert Arenas said in 2006. “With a player like him, he just wants that challenge. He’s just that fierce competitor. He doesn’t want to get out-showed. He’s the one who everybody’s afraid of.”

Bryant’s 2007-08 NBA MVP season got off to a tumultuous start after he reportedly demanded to be traded. He was reportedly unhappy with Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Jackson."I would like to be traded,” Bryant said during a radio interview. “Tough as it is to come to that conclusion, there’s no other alternative. It’s rough, man, but I don’t see how you can rebuild that trust. I just don’t know how you can move forward in that type of situation.”

Bryant eventually backtracked on his trade demands and posted perhaps his best all-around season, leading a team re-energized by Pau Gasol’s arrival from Memphis in February 2008 to a first-place finish in the Western Conference. The Lakers embarked on a memorable playoff run before losing to Boston in the Finals. Later that year Bryant went on to win a gold medal with the U.S. team at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

With Bryant pleased about the direction the team was heading, he guided the Lakers to back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. He was named the NBA Finals MVP both years as the team once again ascended to the top of the NBA.

Ongoing soreness in Bryant’s knee and ankle coupled with the team’s heavy reliance in him played a role in the Lakers’ championship run coming to an end in 2011. Bryant posted his lowest points per game totals since the 2003-04 season as he dealt with the aftereffects of offseason arthroscopic knee surgery. He went on to win his fourth NBA All-Star Game most-valuable-player award but fell short of his ultimate goal of winning a sixth NBA title. Bryant also became the youngest player in NBA history to amass 27,000 career points.

Bryant finished third in league scoring in 2011-12 despite dealing with ongoing knee and ankle issues. In January 2012, he scored at least 40 points in four consecutive games, which included a 48-point effort against the Phoenix Suns.

Following the team’s acquisition of Dwight Howard in August 2012, the Lakers were regarded as a favorite for the NBA title. However, friction between Bryant and Howard started to develop as the team struggled. Despite this, Bryant led the NBA in scoring for much of the first half of the season and surpassed NBA great Wilt Chamberlain for fourth all-time in league scoring. But Bryant’s season came to a disappointing end when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon against the Golden State Warriors on April 10. The injury and subsequent surgery prevented Bryant from playing in the early portion of the 2013-14 season.

Bryant, who signed a two-year, $48.5-million contract extension with the Lakers before the start of the 2013-14 season, did not return from injury until December. He played in only six games before suffering a lateral tibial plateau fracture in his left knee. The injury forced him to miss the remainder of the season as the Lakers limped to a 27-55 record, missing the playoffs for only the second time since Bryant joined the franchise.

He retired from the NBA but began a new career in Hollywood.

In 2018, he won an Oscar along with director Glen Keane for the animated short film “Dear Basketball.”

Just Saturday night, Laker LeBron James passed Bryant for third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

Allen Kenitzer, an FAA spokesman, said his agency and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the helicopter crash.

Times staff writers Nathan Fenno, Chris Erskine, Alex Wigglesworth, Broderick Turner, Cindy Carcamo, Gustavo Arellano and Sonali Kohli contributed to this report.

— Los Angeles Times

[thinkazul]

Kiké is coming in with the Mamba Mentality.

Hoping tonight is not his last night playing as a Dodger.

[cubswin103]

Remembering the 2016 Cubs (only through the victories, not the losses)

Hey everyone,

I’ll forgive you if you’ve already forgotten my post-game contributions during the Cubs 2016 regular season, with the Cubs winning the World Series and whatnot.  But just to remind you, every time the Cubs won a game, I crafted a dedicated writeup based on the number of victories the Cubs had reached (e.g. when the Cubs won their 44th game, I wrote a piece about the fantastic baseball player and person, Anthony Rizzo, #44).

These posts were all submitted as comments on the Enhanced Box Score threads over at BleacherNation.com.  I’ve been a reader/member in the community there for 4ish years now, and it’s a great collection of Cubs fans with a lot of intelligent discussion and questionable gifs happening.  

These Win# posts evolved over time, as the first fifteen or twenty were just gifs (many not even baseball-related), while some of the late season writeups could have been standalone articles.  The endeavor was all at once challenging, enjoyable, and addicting.  Some of the posts I was able to write weeks in advance; others, I was still brainstorming what I could write about with 1 out in the 9th!  All in all, I had a great deal of fun doing this, and I hope you all had fun reading them.  I’ve gone back and put together the full collection so that you can experience the incredible 2016 World Champion ride all over again.  Each link leads to the EBS page in which that win was achieved, so have fun reading what I had to say, as well as all the reactions from Brett and you guys to the games.

Here’s to back-to-back Cubs World Series championships and an even more fun 2017 season.  Without further ado, the 2016 Chicago Cubs regular season, in wins:

**It’s easiest to find my posts in the comment section if you sort by ‘Best’.  The good people at BN were kind enough to throw me some upvotes, and my comments usually floated near the top** ***Began this series at Win #5***

#5: 04/10/16 Cubs beat Diamondbacks 7-3 --- Dancing 5 gif #6: 04/11/16 Cubs beat Reds 5-3 --- Big Hero Six gif #7: 04/13/16 Cubs beat Reds 9-2 --- Bruce Almighty gif #8: 04/14/16 Cubs sweep Reds 8-1 --- BB8 gif #9: 04/16/16 Cubs beat Rockies 6-2 --- The Count #10: 04/18/16 Cubs beat Cardinals 5-0 --- Ron Santo heel click and Kobe gif #11: 04/19/16 Cubs beat Cardinals 2-1 --- This is Spinal Tap gif #12: 04/21/16 Cubs embarrass Reds 16-0 (Arrieta no-no) --- Barrett punches Pierzynski #13: 04/22/16 Cubs beat Reds 8-1 --- Lester glove toss gif #14: 04/24/16 Cubs beat Reds 9-0 --- Ernie Banks #15: 04/26/16 Cubs beat Brewers 4-3 --- Ronaldo 15 gif #16: 04/28/16 Cubs sweep Brewers 7-2 --- Wong picked off in World Series #17: 04/29/16 Cubs beat Braves 6-1 --- KB gifs #18: 05/02/16 Cubs beat Pirates 7-2 --- Zobrist gif #19: 05/03/16 Cubs beat Pirates 7-1 --- It’s Always Sunny gif #20: 05/04/16 Cubs sweep Pirates 6-2 --- Kerry Wood 20 K game #21: 05/05/16 Cubs beat Nationals 5-2 --- Sammy Sosa #22: 05/06/16 Cubs beat Nationals 8-6 --- TSwift 22 gif #23/24: 05/08/16 Cubs sweep Nationals 4-3 --- Ryne Sandberg, Dexter Fowler #25: 05/10/16 Cubs beat Padres 8-7 --- Polanco tripping gif #26: 05/13/16 Cubs beat Pirates 9-4 --- Billy Williams #27: 05/14/16 Cubs beat Pirates 8-2 --- Addison Russell #28: 05/18/16 Cubs beat Brewers 2-1 --- Kyle Hendricks #29: 05/20/16 Cubs beat Giants 8-1 --- Samardzija strikeout #30: 05/24/16 Cubs beat Cardinals 12-3 --- Jason Motte gif, Starlin Castro #31: 05/25/16 Cubs beat Cardinals 9-8 --- Greg Maddux, Fergie Jenkins #32: 05/27/16 Cubs beat Phillies 6-2 --- Jay Bruce fail gif #33: 05/28/16 Cubs beat Phillies 4-1 --- Pippen dunk on Ewing gif #34: 05/29/16 Cubs sweep Phillies 7-2 --- Jon Lester #35: 05/30/16 Cubs beat Dodgers 2-0 --- Cole Hamels no-no on Cubs #36: 06/01/16 Cubs beat Dodgers 2-1 --- Edwin Jackson #37: 06/02/16 Cubs beat Dodgers 7-2 --- Travis Wood #38: 06/03/16 Cubs beat Diamondbacks 6-0 --- Carlos Zambrano #39: 06/04/16 Cubs beat Diamondbacks 5-3 --- Jason Hammel #40: 06/06/16 Cubs beat Phillies 6-4 --- Farnsworth rackytacks Wilson #41: 06/08/16 Cubs beat Phillies 8-1 --- John Lackey #42: 06/11/16 Cubs beat Braves 8-2 --- Jackie Robinson #43: 06/12/16 Cubs beat Braves 13-2 --- Dennis Eckersley #44: 06/14/16 Cubs beat Nationals 4-3 --- Anthony Rizzo #45: 06/17/16 Cubs beat Pirates 6-0 --- Michael Jordan #46: 06/18/16 Cubs beat Pirates 4-3 --- Pedro Strop #47: 06/19/16 Cubs sweep Pirates 10-5 --- Miguel Montero #48: 06/24/16 Cubs beat Marlins 5-4 --- David Ross, Albert Almora, Willson Contreras #49: 06/27/16 Cubs beat Reds 11-8 (KB full house) --- Jake Arrieta #50: 06/28/16 Cubs beat Reds 7-2 (Wood in LF, Javy GS in 15th) --- Wainwright fail #51: 06/29/16 Cubs sweep Reds 9-2 --- Ichiro Suzuki #52: 07/04/16 Cubs beat Reds 10-4 --- Justin Grimm #53: 07/10/16 Cubs beat Pirates 6-5 --- Trevor Cahill #54: 07/15/16 Cubs beat Rangers 6-0 --- Urlacher (lame, sorry) #55: 07/16/16 Cubs beat Rangers 3-1 --- 1955 Cubs #56: 07/18/16 Cubs beat Mets 5-1 --- Hector Rondon #57: 07/20/16 Cubs beat Mets 6-2 --- Fernando Rodney, trade deadline #58: 07/22/16 Cubs beat Brewers 5-2 --- Eloy Jimenez, Eddie Martinez, Donnie Dewees #59: 07/24/16 Cubs beat Brewers 6-5 --- Carlos Carrasco, Kyle Hendricks #60: 07/27/16 Cubs beat White Sox 8-1 --- Ron Santo, 1960 Cubs #61: 07/28/16 Cubs beat White Sox 3-1 --- 61 wins, rebuild #62: 07/29/16 Cubs beat Mariners 12-1 --- Sosa, Mcgwire chase for 62 #63: 07/31/16 Cubs beat Mariners 7-6 (Matusz game) --- 2015 NLDS G2 #64: 08/01/16 Cubs beat Marlins 5-0 --- 2015 NLDS G4 #65: 08/02/16 Cubs beat Marlins 3-2 --- finding draft steals #66: 08/03/16 Cubs sweep Marlins 5-4 --- Munenori Kawasaki #67/68: 08/06/16 Cubs beat Athletics 7-2, 4-0 --- Lester 1-67, Jorge Soler #69: 08/07/16 Cubs sweep Athletics 3-1 --- lol 69 #70: 08/09/16 Cubs beat Angels 5-1 --- Joe Maddon #71: 08/10/16 Cubs beat Angels 3-1 --- 71-year WS appearance drought #72: 08/11/16 Cubs beat Cardinals 4-3 --- 1972 season #73: 08/12/16 Cubs embarrass Cardinals 13-2 --- DH Rule #74: 08/16/16 Cubs beat Brewers 4-0 --- Matt Szczur, Aroldis Chapman #75: 08/16/16 Cubs beat Brewers 4-1 --- 1975 WS, Carlton Fisk, big moments #76: 08/17/16 Cubs beat Brewers 6-1 --- Matusz game #77: 08/18/16 Cubs sweep Brewers 9-6 --- 1877 Cubs #78: 08/20/16 Cubs beat Rockies 9-2 --- Zagunis, Cubs’ farm system #79: 08/22/16 Cubs beat Padres 5-1 --- 79s in Cubs statistics (Addison Russell, Kyle Hendricks, Kris Bryant) #80: 08/23/16 Cubs beat Padres 5-3 --- Cubs 1980′s decade #81: 08/24/16 Cubs sweep Padres 6-3 --- Hateful Eighties Pt. 1 #82: 08/26/16 Cubs beat Dodgers 6-4 --- Hateful Eighties Pt. 2 #83: 08/29/16 Cubs beat Pirates 8-7 --- Hateful Eighties Pt. 3 #84: 08/30/16 Cubs beat Pirates 3-0 --- Hateful Eighties Pt. 4 #85: 08/31/16 Cubs sweep Pirates 6-5 --- Hateful Eighties Pt. 5 #86: 09/01/16 Cubs beat Giants 5-4 --- Hateful Eighties Pt. 6 #87: 09/02/16 Cubs beat Giants 2-1 --- Hateful Eighties Pt. 7 #88: 09/04/16 Cubs beat Giants 3-2 --- Hateful Eighties Pt. 8 #89: 09/05/16 Cubs beat Brewers 7-2 --- Hateful Eighties Pt. 9 #90: 09/09/16 Cubs beat Astros 2-0 --- Respect 90 #91: 09/11/16 Cubs beat Astros 9-5 --- 91st win in 2015 #92: 09/12/16 Cubs beat Cardinals 4-1 --- 1992 in Cubs history #93: 09/14/16 Cubs beat Cardinals 7-0 --- 93s in Cubs statistics (Javier Baez, Ben Zobrist, Kris Bryant) #94: 09/16/16 Cubs beat Brewers 5-4 --- Jason Heyward Game #95: 09/19/16 Cubs beat Reds 5-2 --- Soler cannon #96: 09/20/16 Cubs beat Reds 6-1 --- 96 wins #97: 09/21/16 Cubs sweep Reds 9-2 --- Harry Caray #98: 09/23/16 Cubs beat Cardinals 5-0 --- 2015 KB walkoff, 1998 Cubs #99: 09/25/16 Cubs beat Cardinals 3-1 --- Jorge 9-9 to start 2015 playoffs #100: 09/26/16 Cubs beat Pirates 12-2 --- 100 wins, KB 100 RBIs #101: 09/27/16 Cubs beat Pirates 6-4 --- 101 years at Wrigley #102: 09/30/16 Cubs beat Reds 7-3 --- 102-related stuff #103: 10/02/16 Cubs beat Reds 7-4 --- 103 wins, end of reg season

Until next season,

Mark L.