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You Could See That Pierre Did Truly Love The Mademoisellea

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I’m going to take a break from chest thumping, burping, and making inappropriate jokes  about your relatives for one second because I want to get in touch with my emotions.

That’s right, I want to talk about love. The big L.  The first time I took the plunge.  (Cue rainbows and unicorns)

You remember your first love? Simmer down Romeo because I’m not talking about the first time you copped a feel in the back of science class. I’m talking about the team or maybe the schoolyard where you started your love affair with sports.

The family Craven hails from Rip City (Portland, Oregon), and from the time I was small I grew up living and breathing basketball and watching the Blazers. Portland has only one pro sports team so in a way its a larger version of Green Bay and the Packers. I would shoot on our crooked hoop in the front driveway, compensating for the slope at one end by perfecting my imitation (or so I thought) of MJ’s fall away jumper or practicing my finger roll so I could be like Clyde in the ’92 Finals.

I’d also set up arbitrary rules for myself like having to make a free throw, a layup, and then a 3 pointer all in succession before I could go back inside for dinner.  All minor OCD mental games that I eventually brought over to lacrosse practices once I picked it up later down the line.

Moving time zones to NYC makes staying in touch with the West Coast hard but recently I’ve been reconnecting to my first love through the magic of the NBA League Pass.

With the LP you can not only watch every game, but you can pick which team’s homer announcing crew you want to listen to. Portland announcer Mike “Wild” Rice tends to call games like he just woke up from a vodka induced nap and he’s still nowhere near the worst I’ve heard.  The Oklahoma City Thunder announcers sound like they are doing a bad John Wayne impression. It’s fascinating and pretty distracting.

Bethleham Shoals (from the NBA blog Free Darko) also shares my love for all things League Pass in a recent article from The Sporting News:

The Home Team Factor: I don’t have one; instead, I’ve got a few teams I would happily watch on any given night. Some of these may never sniff the networks, and if they’re lucky, get two weekend games on NBA-TV. With League Pass, hey, all of a sudden you don’t have to spend the season in a long-distance relationship with your team of choice. They’re in your living room, every night. Like you moved in with them, minus the complications that arise with that.

The Responsible Fan Angle: Last night, I was over at the house of friends who took the plunge for the first time this year. We were watching Kings/Grizz for Iverson, but instead ended up getting treated to Kevin Martin dropping 48 in all his graceful, angular weirdness. At least twice, one friend said to me “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Martin play this much.” So a star was born for one fortunate couple. Honestly, everyone who loves the NBA should have the option of watching Kevin Martin regularly. It’s fun, and their duty.

The Tourist: At one point last fall, when the preview was still going, I got several emails from a colleague of mine just basically giggling out loud about JaVale McGee. Guess what? There are dozens of players like that around the league: weird, intriguing, strangely compelling figures who are like your own private fan favorites. That’s probably not reason alone to subscribe. But it’s fun, and who in life doesn’t need more of that?

–  In Praise of League Pass | The Sporting News

Was lacrosse your first love or did you grow up playing hockey, football, or dare I even say it…baseball? Tell your tale in the comments.

[fvplayer src=”https://youtube.com/watch?v=OmAWUxw5PQE” splash=”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OmAWUxw5PQE/hqdefault.jpg” caption=”Pulp Fiction – You Never Can Tell”]

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About the author: When not trying to “put points on your face” a’la Spanish sensation Rudy Fernandez, Co-Founder Crave is mixing it up and working to keep the S.S. Lax All Stars sailing smoothly. He is known for lax’ing from West Linn, to Eugene, Manhattan, Tahoe and back again. Favorite motto? Enjoy every sandwich.