As graduation season comes to an end, a new crop of players was drafted into the NBA and NHL. In soccer, Euro 2016 advanced to the knockout stage and Copa America crowned its champion.
Awards season is also winding down, and the BET Awards aired on Sunday. Some of the big winners were Beyonce, Drake and Samuel L. Jackson. The #PrinceTribute continued from artists including Jennifer Hudson, Sheila E., and Stevie Wonder. Anthony Anderson and Tracey Ellis-Ross from “Blackish” did their best Hamilton impression.
We thought we’d bring you this week’s TINK with a tribute to moving on to bigger and better things.
National Basketball Association (NBA)
Graduation day…Thursday night the NBA Draft introduced us to the latest group of young, talented, tall and now wealthy basketball players. As expected LSU’s Ben Simmons (6’10”) went first to the Philadelphia 76ers and Duke’s Brandon Ingram (6’9”) was selected second by the Los Angeles Lakers.
As is the case every year, the 2016 Draft provided a fashion preview of the good, the bad and the ugly.
In a comic (or ironic) twist, current Laker D’Angelo Russell welcomes Simmons to the NBA with some sound advice: throw out your phone. (Russell became persona non grata in LA after he posted a video online about teammate Nick Young cheating on fiancée Iggy Azalia without Young’s consent). Tinder Update…the couple is now officially split up and in the breakup Young got the ’62 Impala and Iggy the ring.
NBA free agency, where teams court the player they most want to take to the prom, starts July 1. This year’s biggest prize is former MVP Kevin Durant. Maybe he’ll enjoy some Jolly Ranchers as he contemplates his decision.
Million Dollar Listing…Another former MVP, Derrick Rose, will be looking to resurrect his career (and find a place to live in New York) as he was traded to the struggling New York Knicks last week. Let’s see if the old D Rose can return.
National Hockey League (NHL)
Feeling patriotic as the 4th of July approaches? Patrick Kane, the Chicago Blackhawks forward, won the NHL MVP last week, becoming the first American to do so.
Extra blue cheese with those wings? Like the NBA, the NHL’s version of a graduation party was held in Buffalo with much less fanfare.
The Toronto Maple Leafs selected 18-year-old Auston Matthews with the first pick in the Draft. Matthews, from Scottsdale Arizona (amazingly, they play hockey in the desert), is the first American-born player to be chosen No. 1 overall since…you guessed it, Patrick Kane in 2007. Patrik Laine, an 18-year-old from Finland, was chosen by the Winnipeg Jets with the second pick. (If you are sensing a theme, most top hockey players are Canadian or European).
Soccer
Felicidades Chile! In the Copa America Finals, Chile defeated favorite Argentina for the second year in a row. The physical match was tied 0-0 but Chile prevailed on penalty kicks 4-2. Despite having the world’s best player, Lionel Messi, Argentina lost again to their neighbor from the West. Too much pressure? After the match, Messi announced he will no longer play for his country in international matches.
The United States squad finished fourth, losing Saturday (for a second time in the tournament) to Columbia, 1-0.
The world’s other major soccer tournament, the UEFA Euro 2016, has reached the quarterfinals. Need a break from the Brexit shakeup? The Wales team is providing just that led by the tournament’s leading scorer Gareth Bale. He, France’s Antoine Griezmann, and Spain‘s Álvaro Morata lead all Euro 2016 players with three goals. At the other end of the spectrum is England, who was shocked by Iceland 2-1 on Monday, leading their coach to pull a David Cameron and resign after the match.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo took out his early frustrations on a reporter throwing his microphone into a lake but improved his play in Saturday’s win over Croatia.
Good thing the 4th of July weekend is around the corner and your coworkers don’t have to do their best Ferris Buhler imitation to watch the matches.
- Quarterfinal #1: Poland Portugal – Thursday June 30, 3:00pm ET
- Quarterfinal #2: WalesBelgium – Friday July 1, 3:00pm ET
- Quarterfinal #3: GermanyItaly– Saturday July 2, 3:00pm ET
- Quarterfinal #4: FranceIceland – Sunday July 3, 3:00pm ET
Major League Baseball (MLB)
Remember me? Now that the NBA and NHL seasons are over and football is a couple months away, baseball is back in focus.
The Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians are the surprise teams in the American League but the Texas Rangers sport the best record in the league.
The Chicago Cubs were dominating MLB but have stumbled recently. They’re getting back on track sparked by Kris Bryant and Wilson Contreras, a pair of 24-year-olds from the US and Venezuela. Maybe Contreras can help save his home country from its mess, too?
Tennis
Wimbledon kicks off this week. Enjoy the matches and don’t worry if it seems like everyone is wearing the same outfit. They have an all-white dress code for the players.
Remember at TINK Sports we watch the games so you don’t have stumbled recently.
See you next time…
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