Rain Man Rants: MLB In Portland, Mets Below .500 And NBA Playoffs

EL BARRIO, EL FALLS – I am not gonna lie, this week was tough. A lot of crazy stuff happening in my personal life and pulling together this piece was brutal. However, I was able to decide on the Song of the Week with ease because I listened to a helluva lot of music this week so finding the right track wasn’t easy but I did find it. The Song of the Week, will be followed by: MLB In Portland, Mets Below .500 And NBA Playoffs.

Song of the Week: Apparently listening to so much Matt Kearney, I discovered that his style of music is called Folk hop. Folk music mixed with hip hop since he does a lot of rhyming and rapping in his own way. Apparently he is not unique and there is a whole genre of folk hop and in Nashville where Kearney lives, there is group that are the leaders of it. So much so that the lead singer co-wrote a song with Kearney on Kearney’s album. The group is called Judah & The Lion and features a banjo player and another guy who plays the mandolin. Their second album is named after the genre and it is called Folk Hop & Roll. This is the lead song from that album and the group’s most popular song. This week’s Song of the Week is Take it all back 2.0 by Judah & The Lion.

MLB in Portland: The idea of pro baseball in Portland has long been a pipe dream. I can’t remember the piece but I know Cheesy or Ward wrote about an independent baseball team lead by actor Kurt Russell’s dad trying to get one to work and when it didn’t the team became an independent minor league team and managed to stay afloat longer than any one thought they would. I remember there was a documentary or something were they were called the Battered Bastards of Baseball.  Well now Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson and his wife Singer/Dancer Ciara have joined the ownership group trying to bring a pro team to Portland. I am not sure why Wilson cares so much, Since Portland is not Seattle where he plays, though his love of Baseball is well known. But Portland is desperate for sports, the Trailblazers get great attendance and so do their soccer team. Yup, the fans are so desperate for sport they support the soccer team so the city is more than ready for baseball team.

Russell Wilson and Ciara with their kid

Mets Below .500: All Mets fans knew that 11-1 to start the season was never gonna last but it was great while it did. The team still looked capable of making the playoffs. All of this was before the wheels fell off and the team went 17-28 the last few months. The Mets are now a game under .500 and I am not sure they will be able to get their heads above water. I want to believe they will and they will claim one of those one game wildcard spots but the bullpen is terrible and no one knows where the runs will constantly come from. Mets will likely be sellers by the trading deadline.

NBA Playoffs:  So once again it is Warriors vs Cavaliers. Game one just finished and everyone is surprised how close the game was and that it may really be a series. What made me sad is in a game that his team scored like  114, 51 points of that was LeBron James. The guys is gonna need double shoulders surgery and to relieve pressure of a herniated disc if he has to carry a team every game. Cav’s coach Tyronn Lue says the game gave the a blueprint to beat Golden State. I assume LeBron being responsible for 45% of the offense is part of that blueprint. You might want to tell the others guys to do something but that is just my opinion.

Leave your thoughts below and come back tomorrow for another gem by Cheesy Bruin. You can also find us on Twitter – @JunoirBlaber, @MeetTheMatts & @Matt_McCarthy00, Instagram – @MeetTheMatts – and Facebook Meet The Matts

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About Junoir Blaber 571 Articles
Junoir Blaber is from Ghana but was transplanted to the Bronx as a young lion chaser. Blaber is the Sports Rain Man, and is a featured contributor on MTM's global partner, Rugby Wrap Up. The name "Junoir" [June-noire] is his cool African name. (Or is that a possible prevarication?) He is Manute Bol's [alleged] nephew and his teams are the Mets, Jets, Knicks & NY Rangers... oh, and Manchester United. Yes, he knows soccer. [Vomit sounds]. P.s... He has webbed toes and can be followed on Twitter here: @JunoirBlaber