Marinated Sports

Fresh Ideas from a Marinated Mind.

Chandler Parsons hits ridiculous shot, Rockets still lose

The Rockets might have lost to the Lakers last night, ensuring first-round doom at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Playoffs, but Chandler Parsons can’t be blamed. He absolutely drained a thirty-footer at the buzzer to force OT, ensuring that the Rockets would at least have another five minutes added on to their regular season. Have you ever seen a shot this flat go in from so far out? Congratulations to the Lakers, however, for continuing to fight for the opportunity to play the Spurs in the first round.

Interesting note: a YouTube search for “Chandler Parsons buzzer beater” gets a LOT of results. I wonder if Skip Bayless thinks that Parsons has the clutch gene?

Vanderbilt Professional Athlete Power Rankings

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Vanderbilt University, the school that I call home, does not have the proudest sporting history, but recent years have seen a spike in high-profile athlete alumni, including three top-40 draft picks in last year’s NBA Draft. Obviously, this isn’t going to be a very long list, but it is a surprisingly competitive one.

Without much further ado, let’s get on to the First Annual Vanderbilt Professional Athlete Power Rankings!

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How Zack Greinke Broke His Collarbone

Carlos Quentin lost it last night after Zack Greinke hit him with an 89 mph fastball, and the Padres outfielder instantly decided to charge the mound like a linebacker. Greinke did his best to stand tough and lower his shoulder, but Quentin is a pretty big dude, and it turns out that the Dodgers ace came out of the scuffle with a broken collarbone that will have him sidelined for a while. The injury is on his non-pitching shoulder, but Greinke had looked great in his two starts this year and it can’t be good for his psyche to miss a month or two at this point.

Quentin doesn’t have any defense for his actions. The two have a history, and Greinke has beaned him before, but this pitch came on a 3-2 count. That isn’t a situation where you try to throw at somebody. And it isn’t like Carlos Quentin hasn’t been hit by a pitch before: he has led the majors in HBP’s for the last two seasons, and has been pegged a whopping 116 times over his eight year career. What’s most impressive is that he led the MLB in getting beaned last year even though he only played in 89 games!

Here are a few reactions that other Dodgers had, via Dylan Hernandez’s Twitter:

Who knew Matt Kemp was so hood? If you haven’t seen the full footage footage of the dugout-clearing brawl, click here. Such a weird and unfortunate sequence of events.

by Jack Kuhlenschmidt

McDonald’s All-American Slam Dunk Contest

Does anybody find it problematic that this HIGH SCHOOL dunk contest is far more competitive and exciting than the last two NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Contests have been?

by Jack Kuhlenschmidt

Clayton Kershaw goes yard, earns Opening Day victory the hard way

Clayton Kershaw put together an Opening Day performance for the ages this afternoon, throwing a complete game shutout against the San Francisco Giants and breaking a 0-0 tie in the bottom of the 8th inning with his first career homerun. It was the first Opening Day shutout for a Dodger pitcher since Fernando Valenzuela 1981. It was the first Opening Day homerun by a Dodger pitcher since Don Drysdale in 1965, and the first by any pitcher on Opening Day since Joe Magrane in 1988.

But the last guy to hit a homerun and throw a complete game shutout on Opening Day? Hall of Famer Bob Lemon in 1953 for the Cleveland Indians. That was a long time ago, in case you didn’t know.

Ladies and gentleman, it is time for baseball! Great start to the season for Dodger fans, who are finally starting to wipe that yucky Frank McCourt taste out of their mouths.

by Jack Kuhlenschmidt

Captain Jack Still Got It

Stephen Jackson, or Captain Jack, as he is affectionately known by his teammates, is still doing his thing in his 12th NBA season. He is putting up his worst statistics since 2002, but his decreased productivity is made less impactful by the emergence of Kawhi Leonard in his second NBA season.

So what is Stephen Jackson good for? Exactly what he is doing in the GIF displayed above: cheering on his teammates, providing veteran leadership, and lightening the mood in the locker room. This particular celebration came after Tim Duncan hit an and-1 game winner to down the Clippers with five seconds left in regulation. His skills may be declining, but as a locker room personality and post-game quote machine, Cap’n Jack still got it. He is 100% about dat life.

by Jack Kuhlenschmidt

Tyrone Garland or Chief Keef??

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Tyrone Garland had a BIG game tonight, scoring 17 points against La Salle’s 76-74 victory in the NCAA Tournament over Ole Miss to reach the Sweet 16. The biggest shot of all came with 2 seconds left, as Garland hit what he called in his post-game interview “the Southwest Philly Floater” to put the Explorers through to the next round.

But, in all seriousness, are we sure this guy isn’t Chief Keef?

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by Jack Kuhlenschmidt

DeMarcus Cousins obliterates Anthony Randolph

Why is this dunk not being talked about more? The reaction to DeAndre Jordan’s posterization of Brandon Knight basically broke Twitter, and LeBron’s dunk on Jason Terry got similar treatment. Why no love for DeMarcus Cousins? Brandon Knight is 6’3” tall, 189 pounds. Jason Terry is even tinier, standing in at just 6’2” and weighing just 176 lbs.

Anthony Randolph, Cousins’ victim in the above GIF, is 6’10” tall and weighs 205 pounds. And Boogie sends Randolph FLYING. In terms of sheer power and authority, Boogie Cousins has both DeAndre and LeBron beat.

by Jack Kuhlenschmidt