Bench Points By Joshua S. Cobb

Giannis poses with family after winning 2019 Kia NBA MVP Award. Credit: USA Today Kia NBA Most Valuable Player   Giannis' tears up during emotional MVP acceptance speech. Credit: Florida News Winner: Giannis  Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks Giannis  Antetokounmpo snagged this year's MVP vote with 78 first place votes which came as a shocker given that the Giannis vs. Harden debate was very divided during the waning days of the regular season. I agree with the outcome but I am not sure it should have been a runaway nod for the Greek Freak.  Ultimately, I think the media got this one right because Giannis was elite on both ends of the court and put up 27 PPG, 12 RPG and nearly 6 APG while leading the  Milwaukee Bucks to a 60 win season. Giannis was also 1st in the league in offensive win shares per 48 minutes and 1st in player efficiency rating while also placing 3rd in the league in both offensive and defensive win shares.  From opening day Giannis brought do

Lynx guard Danielle Robinson attacks the rim. Credit: Josh Cobb We are just two years removed from a Minnesota Lynx WNBA Championship that ended with a thrilling game five win over the Los Angeles Sparks. That 2017 Lynx team won their fourth title in a seven year stretch which also included six championship appearances.  With a nucleus of Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen, Sylvia Fowles and Rebekkah Brunson, the Lynx entered every season heavy favorite to compete for a title. However, this season looks different with Moore, Augustus, Whalen and Brunson all not playing due to their respective reasons.  In Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Aces, the starting lineup consisted of Odyssey Sims, Danielle Robinson, Naphessa Collier, Damiris Dantas and Sylvia Fowles.  It is a new look for the 8,300 fans that came to support on Father’s Day as they have grown accustomed to a dominant team in years past.  The game seamlessly gave viewers a metaphor for the curr

Credit: The Undefeated Please allow me to step outside of my usual focus of NBA transactions, story lines and rumors to focus on what seems to not matter as much as it should-the livelihood of people that belong to the African Diaspora.  By now everyone should be well aware of Colin Kaepernick's activism but for the ones who do not know or need a refresher we can briefly take some time to catch you up.  Colin Kaepernick, a former Nevada University quarterback who won the Western Conference Player of the Year twice during his collegiate career, was a NFL quarterback that played for the San Francisco 49ers after being drafted in the year of 2011. Kaepernick would soon take over the starting job in his second year over Alex Smith and would become a key factor in deep playoff runs in 2012 and 2013, one of which included a Super Bowl appearance.  He caused a ripple-effect in the NFL with his use of the read-option and dual threat capabilities that kept every NFL defense on its