Flint Township View

New NBA champs, a look ahead at the NFL and a Tigers update

Fat Guy Corner


 

 

The NBA Finals have crowned a champion and it’s the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks, down in the series 2-0 to the Phoenix Suns and seemingly looking dead in the water, reeled off four straight victories. Quite impressive by Milwaukee and not so much for the Phoenix team.

The difference was the big man for the Milwaukee Bucks — Giannis. He took over the series, honestly. The Suns had no answer on how to handle the big man. I also want to shout out to Jrue Holiday, who picked up his play offensively getting Milwaukee’s offense clicking on all cylinders. It was refreshing to watch new blood compete for a NBA Championship.

The Bucks, by the way, had not won a title since 1971. The Phoenix Suns are still a city without a NBA Championship.

The next step in the NBA will be the NBA Draft and, of course, the Pistons hold the No. 1 pick. I can tell you they will select Cade Cunningham from Oklahoma State, who only played one season in college. The 6-foot-7-inch, 220 pounder is the obvious choice for the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. How about Cunningham worked out for the Pistons and stated he’s not working out for any other teams? One can conclude he is about to be a Piston! I can’t say Cade is a can’t-miss prospect because you never really know about that to be honest. I will say, he is the best player in this year’s NBA Draft.

The NFL news is bubbling as the Packers hope to clear up the “Cry Baby” Aaron Rodgers situation. The Packers have no idea if Rodgers will report to training camp on time. I love to watch all this turmoil swirling around in Green Bay. My disdain for Rodgers and the Packers runs through my veins with no love, so I love watching the Green Bay saga!

The Houston Texans, who initially stated they would not trade Deshaun Watson, are now singing a different tune. The Texans are willing to part ways, but they want a huge ransom for him. I really don’t see any team giving the Texans fair trade value, mostly because of his legal situation. The rumor is the Texans want players and five high draft choices! I say good luck with that, Houston.

I will report on the Detroit Lions training camp next week with news and notes. I love the fact the Lions coaching staff has seven former NFL players. I feel as though the Lions players will give the respect to them and their play on the field should improve because of it. This is the best staff assembled in Detroit in decades in my opinion.

The Tokyo Olympic games’ first stunner to me was team USA basketball losing to France. France? Are you kidding me? The USA team lost for the first time since 2004, which snapped a 25-game winning streak. An absolute stunner was this 83-76 loss. I still can’t believe it to be honest. The scenario for the USA team is to win the next two games against Iran and the Czech Republic and they will advance to the medal round. I’ve hardly watched any of the summer Olympics so far. I hope those of you who are watching are enjoying the games.

The Tigers came out of the All-Star break playing excellent baseball. The Tigers swept the Minnesota Twins and the Texas Rangers a beautiful 7-0. But, hold the phone as the Tigers strutted into Kansas City and proceeded to lose three straight! Ugggghhh is my thoughts on that. I guess that’s Tiger baseball in 2021.

I can be reached at thefatguy@mihomepaper.com.