Jaylen called analytics “AI hoops” 😂

Jokic or bust.

NEW: At 26 years old, Ron Harper Jr had never secured a long-term NBA contract. That changed today. It was a long, long journey: www.celticsblog.com/boston-celti...

This has always been my beef with offsides. If you're trying to be onside, you should be ruled onside.

My biggest question with a Duren trade would be just what exactly are the Pistons doing? If they were worried they were losing Duren, why did they salary dump Stewart? I mean, I'd love for them to have just Paul Reed in their frontcourt, but that doesn't make a ton of sense to me...

it definitely feels like not enough because JB is so accomplished. But Duren was an All-Star and All-NBA at 22 years old. JB wasn't an All-Star until 24, and wasn't All-NBA until 26. it's a *little* different with the new 65-game rule, but Duren is really good, and did carry them when Cade got hurt.

Duren isn't enough IMO, but I was ironically thinking about Duren + Holland + picks this morning. Guess I was on the right track. I still REALLY don't want to trade JB, but I do love Duren. www.masslive.com/celtics/2026...

Türkiye blatantly pushes down two USA players in the box, which ironically left Berhalter enough room to sneak that shot through. Ball don't lie.

Oh, noes, centrist Democrats are mad. More white suits? Fundraising texts? Stern tweets? Centrist Democrats are the Mets, man.

Germany losing is one of my absolute favorite things. It doesn't really matter at what, but it's especially great when they lose at soccer. A very hollow group win for them, and they'll be ripe for another loss in the knockout rounds.

MLB insist it’s doing all this for the fans. That‘s a lie, but on its face, have we checked in on what fans of the Dodgers, Yankees, Cubs, et al think? Or do the largest fan bases just not count?

Let's not forget Shams and Windy. They're trying their hardest, too. Or at the very least, carrying water for the agents and rival execs. The cute little line from Shams about how the Celtics are showing "intention" behind listening to offers is such bullshit. It means nothing, but sounds good.

Three seconds is all the Pistons could get for Stewart? I find this super hard to believe. He doesn't make enough to be a salary dump...?

Tuned into the Draft, and instead of talking about the Draft, they're talking about JB. I realize it's going to now be all summer with this bullshit, but you could at least pretend about the event that's about to unfold.

Alt headline: Hickenlooper, facing a strong primary challenge from @senadorajulie.bsky.social, came up with a clever way to get headlines days before polls close. While writing this Strongly Worded Letter, Hickenlooper voted to confirm another Trump nominee.

Swap out "realistic" for "thrifty" and you are a lot closer to the truth.

$46.25M for Reaves, an offense-first player who plays no defense whatsoever and doesn't shoot at an elite level, is absolutely fucking bonkers. I would have been uncomfortable paying him $35M per season, nevermind $46.25M. Good to know that we can continue to not take the Lakers seriously.

Not only is the last sentence here completely without evidence, it's not even something argued by the piece! Talk about begging the question. And, to be clear, the radical position these folks have taken is that they're working so that everyone has health care, housing, and food. The horror!

10 years just flew by…

For the afternoon crowd, I wrote about the Giannis trade, and why I'm so happy the Celtics didn't make it.

love this for them. good job, portland

Also, he's perpetually been in trade rumors, going all the way back to the Anthony Davis rumors before he was truly established as the star he is now. He was booed on draft night. I truly find it hard to believe Jaylen Brown is moved by any of this.

The Boston Celtics just avoided what would have been their biggest mistake since hiring Rick Pitino. I wrote about how Brad Stevens, in choosing to do nothing, played Jon Horst and Pat Riley like fiddles. green-tint.ghost.io/brad-stevens...

Told ya. Also, great job, Brad!!!! Got Miami to take Portis and give up Jakucionis, too. Hallelujah.

Overheard Britts in the pressbox talking about the hydration breaks: “Abomination, innit?” “Changes the game massively”

The good news for everybody is that I have to go to bed in like an hour because I have to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the airport, so there's a 100% certainty that the Giannis trade happens while I'm sleeping.

wow i thought that he would end up getting less money and instead he got more. that really worked out for him.

AI companies hoist by their own petard.

My biggest fears with a 2-team JB/Giannis trade is: 1) What if JB has to play for a 60-loss Bucks team? I don't want JB exiled like that. 2) What if Milwaukee then re-routes him somewhere the C's wouldn't want him to go, trying to return the favor from the Jrue Holiday trade. I hate all of this.

It sounds like Jaylen's time in Boston might be coming to an end. I appreciate that, within his context for understanding the world, which is for many reasons going to be different from yours or mine, I think he has always tried to be a good person doing good things for the community.

So far at this World Cup, 32 teams have played two games, and Team USA is the only one of the 32 to win both of their games by multiple goals.

storytime. when @beehiiv.com interviewed me to join its media incubator, the manager for the program told me that sports is a tough sell but he wanted to hear me out. my closing argument was simple: "did you see the Washington Post gutted its sports desk?"

Valkyries Beat is reader funded and I can provide road coverage because it’s what yall want and make happen. excited to deliver for you today!

tired of the "#1 dad" nonsense. if you're a dad, stop treating it like a joke and post your actual national dad ranking. i'm # 492,018, which is actually really high up there, but more importantly it lets me enter ranked dad lobbies where i can get matched up for fistfights with dads of my caliber

It looks like Spain is wearing pinnies. What a dramatic fail of a jersey.

I really liked "Silver Fox Stranger Things," I mean "The Boroughs."

I’m not too embarrassed that we are losing to Iran. It’s a big boy country with missiles and drones and so forth ran by stone cold killers. That’s NFL ball for you. I am a little embarrassed we are also losing to algae.

Brutal result for Ivory Coast, who played a really great game today.

You’re gonna be alright son.

Folks, @valkyriesbeat.bsky.social is *so close* to 1,000 subscribers. Would love to get there by the end of Pride month if you haven't subbed yet. Getting that number after 3 months as an indy women's basketball site is HUGE www.valkyriesbeat.com/upgrade

Shout out @silverunicornbooks.bsky.social @mishkafrances.bsky.social

I'm so surprised that a game vs. Australia is devolving into hooliganism.

A Black man with the surname Freeman scored for the USA on Juneteenth in a home World Cup match.

U-S-A!!! U-S-A!!! U-S-A!!! We've scored twice in a half where the opposing team is FLOODING defenders in the box, playing in a way that *should* make it impossible to score. And yet! Now, Australia is going to have to open it up a little, and that could lead to even more goals. Amazing.

Brutal community note

I've spent the last two months putting together this exhaustive analysis of the New York Times coverage of trans people. It covers 3,242 articles over 12 years. In 2022, the NYT shifted towards a hostile stance towards trans people in their framing. www.thedissident.news/exclusive-ho...

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I know it's not exactly a novel thought, but the thing I keep coming back to that makes this — and most of his stuff — sound different is that a lot of politicians sound like they're trying to make you believe they love the place. He just honestly can't wait to tell you how much he loves the place.