Advocacy Project

I love when I don’t even have to try to find a good story for my passion blog. The Minnesota Timberwolves came in clutch for me on Sunday, the last day of the regular season. Fighting for the 8th seed in the West to secure 2 chances in the play-in tournament this week instead of just one, the Wolves had tensions high facing the New Orleans Pelicans, the team they were battling for the 8th slot. Unfortunately, the Wolves decided to release those tensions on each other, resulting in a broken hand, teammate punch (in a separate incident), and, miraculously, a win. On this final post for Real Housewives of the NBA, we discuss the total collapse of Minnesota in Game 82.

Let’s go chronologically. Jaden McDaniels, a lockdown defender for Minnesota, picked up a second foul in the first quarter, and proceeded to punch a wall in the locker room tunnel. That was a mistake, as it was announced shortly later that McDaniels had fractured his hand. It’s reasonable for tensions to be high in the playoff race, but punching a wall and rendering yourself inactive for the rest of the season is nary a good idea. McDaniels isn’t a superstar, but good defenders are a rare commodity and the Wolves will be playing LeBron James and (if they lose to LA) Brandon Ingram in a Pelicans rematch. It won’t be the first season-altering punch ever, and it definitely wasn’t the last one in this same game.

Rudy Gobert is not a popular man in the NBA. He was ridiculed for making light of COVID-19 (a day or two prior to it becoming big in the US) by touching microphones, and then promptly was the NBA’s first case shortly after. He was likely the source of trouble in Utah, which led to the Jazz blowing things up by dealing Gobert to Minnesota and Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland. He gets ragged on by other players for having one of the worst offensive skillsets in the league, and for winning perhaps undeserved Defensive Player of the Year Awards.

Gobert and teammate Kyle Anderson were arguing in the second quarter of this game, and things escalated quickly. I have to give a brief summary because otherwise I would have to censor every other word, but Anderson told Gobert to “please be quiet”, and Gobert reached out and punched Anderson in the chest. Teammate Taurean Prince rose from his seat and shoved Gobert back, and after some more words thrown around, Gobert was escorted to the locker room and sent home for the day. He later apologized on Twitter for his actions:

Emotions got the best of me today. I should not have reacted the way i did regardless of what was said. I wanna apologize to the fans, the organisation and particularly to Kyle, who is someone that i truly love and respect as a teammate.

— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) April 10, 2023

On Monday, it was announced he was suspended for Minnesota’s first playoff game on Tuesday. If Minnesota loses to the Lakers, they will play another game Wednesday in their last shot at making the playoffs. Gobert might be kind of trash, but he’s being paid $40 million and would ideally be on the floor for this game. I’m honestly shocked the Wolves were willing to suspend him given the circumstances.

This concludes Real Housewives of the NBA for the year. There were some weeks I didn’t always want to write an entry, but I chose a great topic that lasted the entirety of the academic year and gave me new, juicy headlines every week. I hope you’ve had fun reading and maybe learned something new this semester or year.

I always enjoy seeing underdog stories, and this year’s Sacramento Kings were certainly one of them. The Kings have not been in the playoffs since 2006 and have not won a playoff series since 2004. Though nobody predicted that streak to change this year, Sacramento came out of nowhere to win the Pacific Division for the first time since that 2002-03 season and will be a top 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. On this episode of Real Housewives of the NBA, we explore what turned Sacramento around.

Though divisions don’t matter for standings anymore, it is still a mark of achievement for Sacramento to finally be back on top of the Pacific Division, which includes four (mostly) quality teams in the Suns, Warriors, Clippers, and Lakers. With 3 games left in the season at the time of this writing, Sacramento is 4 games ahead of Phoenix, who is fourth in the West, and secured the top 3 seed. They still have a chance to steal the #2 seed, as they are 2 games back of Memphis, but no one will be disappointed with #3.

The Kings have become popular this year for lighting a purple beam after every home win.

Last season, the Kings made a trade with the Indiana Pacers that brought much criticism. They sent guard Tyrese Haliburton for forward/center Domantas Sabonis, who had been a good but not truly great player for multiple seasons. Haliburton had a great first two seasons and made it known he was sad to leave Sacramento (the first person in 20 years to feel that way) and Sacramento caught heat from all sides. However, it worked out well considering their offseason moves.

The Kings, who have made absolutely garbage draft picks like Marvin Bagley, did well this past year with the selection of forward Keegan Murray. Though not a superstar as one may expect from a #4 pick, Murray has slid in perfectly to the Kings’ starting lineup and delivered 12 points per game with steady shooting. Veteran Harrison Barnes filled out the front court, and sharpshooter Kevin “Red Velvet” Huerter shot the lights out as Haliburton’s replacement. The Kings struggle on defense, but are gifted offensively, led by their star point guard De’Aaron Fox.

Now finishing up his sixth season, Fox is averaging 25 points per game with 6 assists and is the clear star of the team. He is one of the quickest players in the league and has come a long way from a raw prospect that had limited shot-making ability. In a game mostly centered around the rim, he is shooting over 50% from the field and is the frontrunner for the new Clutch Player of the Year Award.

Sabonis and Fox have become one of the league’s most dynamic duos.

Also of particular importance to all of you: I drafted (without thinking about it) 4 of the Kings’ starters for my fantasy basketball team. I had the best record in the regular season, in no small part due to Fox and Sabonis, and finished 2nd in the playoffs (sadly). I would not be disappointed if I ended up with the same players next year.

I’m wishing Sacramento the best in the playoffs, and will be rooting hard for them to finally exorcise their demons by winning a series. Coach Mike Brown deserves Coach of the Year consideration, and I expect that won’t be the only award heading to Sacramento this year.

Unfortunately, this isn’t about the movie, but for anyone interested in things going up in flames, you can take a good look at the current Dallas Mavericks. Who could have predicted this? Definitely not me less than 2 months ago. Dallas has gone from sneaky contender to embarrassing dumpster fire, and it isn’t pretty.

Most thought the addition of Kyrie Irving would bring a much-needed infusion of star power and take some weight off of Luka Doncic’s shoulders. While not wrong on paper, the experiment has gone poorly in practice. As of Saturday, Dallas is 3-7 when the two play together and have fallen out of play-in position in the Western conference. The tandem isn’t working out, and that isn’t unthinkable when you consider combining the league’s whiniest player with its most controversial.

Doncic has been a superstar since he entered the league, and was EuroLeague MVP as a teenager. He is undeniably an incredible player and can carry a team when he’s on. With that said, when he isn’t making his shots he takes out his anger on referees and the idea of defense. Instead of getting back on defense after a shot he felt he was fouled on, Doncic will routinely follow a ref and yell at them until the other team scores or he gets a technical foul. Luka has been among the league leaders in technical fouls since his sophomore season, and currently sits at 15 this year. When (not if) he sits 16, he will be suspended for one game and then every two techs will also yield a single-game suspension. Doncic has been criticized by himself, his coach, and the media for these issues but still struggles keeping his temper under control. Though not a technical, Doncic was fined $35,000 last week for making a “money gesture” at referees, suggesting they had money on the line against the Mavs.

That incident stemmed from a complete abomination of communication between referees and the Mavericks, though given this post is dumping on Dallas, I will choose to ignore the fact that the refs could have gone about things better.

Doncic complains as much as anybody in the league.

In the video shown below, the Warriors inbound the ball on the Mavs’ end of the court, with no Dallas players in sight. Golden State gets the easiest two points they will ever see. The final score? 127-125. Referees and coaches seems to have slightly different accounts of what happened, but the gist is that the call of possession was not properly told to Dallas, and different refs may have had different ideas of who had the ball. Dallas thought they were inbounding from their end, and had not gotten everybody over (there would have only been 2 players there anyway). Mavs’ owner Mark Cuban has protested the game, and results should come this week.

The play itself goes from about 0:17 to 0:25, with some analysis before and after. (Source: ESPN)

Even without referee intervention, Dallas has fallen apart since the addition of Irving (though not really his fault this time). The bench is limited, coach Jason Kidd is incompetent, and they are at risk of missing the playoffs completely. Houston Dallas, we have a problem.

I’m not 100% sure on my topic yet, but here is what I currently have:

Millions of Americans struggle with diabetes and need to rely on buying insulin to keep themselves alive. As with many drugs, insulin prices have skyrocketed since its introduction into the market and have become too pricy for some. In 2023, Medicare and Eli Lilly both put a cap on insulin at $35. However, the job is not finished. Medicare only affects seniors, and Eli Lilly is just one supplier of insulin. With life and death quite literally on the line, insulin prices must be capped nationwide by a Congressional mandate. Americans have suffered for far too long trying to keep themselves, their children, and their relatives alive.

For my second extra credit blog, I chose to listen to the Democracy Works podcast titled “Where Do The Parties Go From Here?” The guest brought in for this podcast was Dave Karpf, an associate professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University according to DW. I was interested in listening due to how much each party is going through change and dealing with conflict between moderate and farther left/right factions.

I was slightly disappointed in the podcast for really only delving into Republican Party division, only lightly referencing AOC saying that her and, for example, Chuck Schumer may be in different parties if this were Europe. That said, the Republican division has been far more high-profile and intriguing given the upcoming battle for the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.

Karpf’s first major point was about the 2022 cycle, where the predicted “red wave” didn’t come true; rather it was a “red trickle” as Karpf put it. He mentioned that much of this may have been a result of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which drew Democrats to the polls in states where abortion measures and abortion-focused candidates were on the ballot. He stated that in states where this wasn’t as much of the case, Republicans did do well as is expected for the party not in the White House at the midterms. However, election deniers tended not to fare as well.

One of the hosts mentioned that 60% of election deniers won in 2022 (unclear on the source), but considering the predicted red wave that may be lower than many expected. Karpf pointed out that it was a generally unpopular opinion among voters, which contributed to the red trickle instead. He pointed out higher-profile election deniers that lost, mainly Kari Lake and Doug Mastriano, who both ran in states that typically are swings. Mastriano especially was blown out in PA, proving that strong anti-abortion and election-denying positions are unpopular in this state.

The hosts and Karpf also discuss the split between “Trumpism” and more moderate factions in the Republican Party. It wasn’t too delved into in the podcast, but Trump-backed candidates didn’t fare too well in swing states in 2022, and that’s a sign that his support may actually bring candidates down, depending on the state. Karpf talked about how eventually the Republican Party will need to choose what it becomes, going in either the Trump direction or swinging back to the Liz Cheney direction, a more moderate Republican he mentioned.

One piece of that discussion I found interesting was how Karpf said the Cheney-types won’t be relevant again until they can get more people on their side. A specific line he used was “There’s 20 of you, like, call us when they’re 200,000.” He makes a good point; it isn’t possible to adjust your party’s stances as the minority within that party. He specifically said the Republicans may need to lose in 2024 to have a shot at being brought back more towards the center, because they need to see that the current Trump-style strategies are no longer effective like they were in 2016.

Where do the parties go from here?

For this extra credit blog, I chose to listen to the Democracy Works podcast titled “Why Politics Makes Us Depressed — And What We Can Do About It”. This stood out to me because of the interesting title, but also because depression and mental health have become such an issue globally in recent years. Many people are open about their struggling, and politics has played a role.

The guest brought in for this podcast was Christopher Ojeda, who received his PhD from Penn State and is a political science professor at UC-Merced. I enjoyed Ojeda’s discussion of the relationship between politics and psychology and how different things can impact our mental state.

Before Ojeda is even introduced, the hosts mentioned a scary statistic: “Gen Z is about twice as likely as Americans over 25 to battled depression, and the number is 42%”. Though there are a variety of reasons for this, politics certainly are not helping. Students are taking a more active role in politics, and with that comes a much larger personal stake and larger effects when their preferred choices/laws do not succeed. Though politics is just one piece of the puzzle, it is sad to see how common depression has become among our generation.

One of my favorite points Ojeda brought up in the podcast was how increased media coverage and access has contributed to the depression surrounding politics. He mentions that very few people directly take part in political events (inaugurations, for example), but the media makes everything available to us to watch. While good for transparency, this can really hurt if someone gets sucked in to watching constant news coverage. Ojeda mentions that the news stories can cause complex emotions, and when we watch them over and over (or different stories with similar evoked emotions) it can cause depression. Media networks are looking for as many views/listens/reads as possible, and citizens taking in too much of this information (with their preferred party bias) can be deeply harmed.

Ojeda also brings up an interesting point related to mental health professionals. He discusses how they are generally trained to be neutral in discussions. This generally makes sense; doctors/therapists shouldn’t be bringing up their own non-medical opinions during a session.  But Ojeda says that he has talked to many of these professionals recently and they are seeing more and more people struggling due to politics. This makes neutrality more difficult, because patients are raising the issue and the professionals aren’t supposed to weigh in. He mentions that there isn’t any true rule for political discussion in the mental health area, so professionals are struggling with how to approach the issue.

One of the smaller points Ojeda makes is how politics have turned into a team sport. There is an “us vs. them” mentality that has overtaken any idea of cooperation and agreeing to disagree. In my own opinion, this is the biggest driver of division in the country. If that issue can be resolved (which seems unlikely anytime in the near future), hopefully some of the mental health issues can slowly resolve as individuals realize they aren’t so different from each other.

https://www.democracyworkspodcast.com/why-politics-makes-us-depressed-and-what-we-can-do-about-it/

I believe in the power of sports. 

Few experiences have meant as much to me as my trip to the World Series this past fall. I am an unabashed baseball fanatic, and unfortunately my Phillies haven’t been able to live up to expectations for most of my lifetime. That changed in 2022, when they finally got past their demons of bad contracts, aging and ineffective stars, and a carousel of hired and fired managers. The team made it to the World Series, and I was lucky enough to be able to attend their first home game, the first World Series game in Philadelphia since 2009. Few things I experience in life are likely to live up to the pure joy I had at Citizens Bank Park that night. 

A city united behind its sports teams is one of the most electric environments one can be a part of. Philadelphia is no exception, as can be seen by their Super Bowl parade in 2018 and the World Series this past year. The tailgating lots outside the stadium opened five hours before the first pitch, and they were mostly full within the first hour.  Cookouts, cornhole, and TVs filled the parking lots as pinstriped jerseys flooded Citizens Bank Way. I was able to find a program of events online, something I never imagined seeing for a baseball game. Football halftime shows are one thing, but an entire pregame concert next to a Ferris wheel was something new. To passerby, it may have looked like the entire city of Philadelphia was in attendance. To the fans, the spirit of the city was devoted to the team that night. Other issues became unimportant as the focus shifted to beating the Astros, nothing more. 

The stadium was lit up like I’ve never seen before. 45,000+ fans waved their rally towels, both to show on Fox and to show that we were one group that night, just Phillies fans. When a Phillies pitcher recorded a strikeout, it was impossible to hear the person next to you because the entire stadium was enveloped with joy. A home run? Might need to check the local seismographs for that one. Any type of good play for the Phillies drew raucous cheers from the crowd, and I truly felt as if I was a part of the game. I can’t honestly say that’s something I’ve felt before, and it gave me a new perspective on what sports can do for someone.  

Sports are one of the great unifiers of people. That night, nobody cared about your age, gender, political affiliation, or any other characteristic. If you were wearing a Phillies jersey, you had 45,000 other friends with you cheering for a common goal. The same can be said for most sporting events, especially as you go deeper into the playoffs with more on the line. I truly believe there is no one event that can bring a population of all backgrounds together like their favorite team competing for glory. 

For my Passion Blog, I’ve chosen to stick with my fall idea of “Real Housewives of the NBA”. For the uninitiated, each week I’ll dive into some juicy NBA drama from the players’ personal or on-court lives, whichever piece of news I find most interesting that week. You don’t need to know basketball to read about the best players to break up with a Kardashian/Jenner.

For my Civic Issues blog, I’m going to choose to discuss the new NIL landscape in college sports. The debate about college athletes being paid has gone on for years and only recently have players been allowed to receive money in exchange for use of their name, image, and likeness. I’d like to discuss arguments both for and against, including the idea that players are already “paid” with full scholarships. There have been some interesting deals based on name puns, and also a whole lot of alumni “funds” that definitely don’t bribe students to attend a certain school.

For my Passion Blog, I plan to stick with my fall blog of Real Housewives of the NBA. If I were to change it, my new idea would probably just be spouting off my somewhat informed opinions on sports.

For my Civic Issues blog, my first idea is the new landscape of name, image, and likeness rules in collegiate sports and their benefits and drawbacks. My second idea is the steady decline of religion in America and how that has affected the political landscape.

For my “This I Believe” podcast, my first idea is about the value of face-to-face communication compared to any online format (particularly in how it relates to argument and political discussion). My second idea is the value of a helping hand, because everyone struggles sometimes and a little help can go a long way. Another idea, which I heard in class, is about experiences from being a retail worker and how important it is to be nice to them.