-
Jeremy WillisESPN.com
Here’s what you might have missed over the weekend …
Things are happening. NBA players are in the bubble. Baseball players are in Spring Training 2.0. There are 17 days until the first NBA games and 10 days until MLB’s Opening Day. We’re close. Let’s not jinx anything. We’re so close now.
But first, we’ve come to bury the Palace at Auburn Hills, not to praise it.
Watch: The Palace of Auburn Hills imposion
The former home of the Pistons stands no more pic.twitter.com/aWuaKkEBqG
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) July 11, 2020
The former home of the Detroit Pistons and the Detroit Shock was imploded Saturday after closing nearly three years ago. Don’t feel sad, however; the place really lived. Besides three championships for both the Pistons and the Shock, it became Cher/Madonna/Prince-famous in 2004 thanks to the “Malice at the Palace” — a legendary brawl between the Pacers and Pistons.
Oh, and someone tried to kill Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page there.
On Monday, the Kansas City Chiefs‘ MVP QB signed a contract extension that could be worth $503 million, if it hits all the guarantees and bonuses.
Then, by the weekend, Mahomes was in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, to play in the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship.
He had some good moments:
👀 OK Mahomes 👀 pic.twitter.com/N7ffUseyxI
— Dani Welniak (@KCTVDani) July 12, 2020
Too easy ⛳️@PatrickMahomes | @SNFonNBC
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) July 11, 2020
He threw a pine cone, then got a Wet Willy.
If you’re wondering how the @ACChampionship is going…@PatrickMahomes just threw a pine cone at @tkelce 😂#ACCGolf | @Chiefs pic.twitter.com/QLc87r9gOr
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) July 11, 2020
Most Valuable Wet Willy! 👉👂😂 @tkelce @PatrickMahomes pic.twitter.com/j5CZchDMxM
— Rob Collins (@RCFOX4KC) July 12, 2020
All this comes just a week after the biggest news for Mahomes: He’s getting a Whataburger in Kansas City.
Meanwhile in the NBA bubble
We’re all missing friends and colleagues we haven’t been able to see since the coronavirus sent most people into quarantine. NBA players like Tobias Harris and Boban Marjanovic feel the same.
That’s right. Bobi and Tobi are back together.
The summer’s best reunion. @tobias31 @BobanMarjanovic (h/t @NBABubbleLife) pic.twitter.com/BTcOTfkKiE
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) July 10, 2020
At New Orleans Pelicans camp, it’s been 14 years since JJ Redick was in college at Duke. Don’t worry, though, he can still shotgun a beer.
Though Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard might want all that smoke from Redick.
👑 King of the Bubble. Accepting all challengers 👑 @NBABubbleLife @CoorsLight pic.twitter.com/S0GtHmlAK3
— Meyers Leonard (@MeyersLeonard) July 12, 2020
Last week, a Jacksonville Jaguars player caught a 400-pound grouper. The fish tales happening with NBA players around Walt Disney World are less exciting.
0:44
Thunder forward Darius Bazley is excited after reeling in a fish while in the NBA bubble.
Except maybe this further verifying Ben Simmons’ shooting struggles.
.@BenSimmons25 really catching fish at Disney.
(via @J_Rich1) pic.twitter.com/vRL834J4qM
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 11, 2020
Civic news in Baton Rouge
Win a Heisman. Win a title. Get a street. Easy.
Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow, the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, got a street named after him. The road is just south of LSU’s campus.
CHECK THIS OUT!! Louisiana officially has a road named after Joe Burrow (@JoeyB) … it’s off Highland Road near the @LSU campus. @WAFB pic.twitter.com/wJnEKy1uay
— Scottie Hunter WAFB (@ScottieWAFB) July 11, 2020
This week in high fashion
This is just former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson running 22 mph on a treadmill in $1,500 Gucci pants.
And finally … why was that person trending?
It happens all the time. Maybe every day. At some point, someone is trending on social media and there isn’t a very clear reason why. This weekend, that person was former New York Yankees great, and current Miami Marlins manager, Don Mattingly.
Don’t worry. Donny Baseball is fine. However, as one tweeter pointed out, it was a good time to remember his greatest performance.
Don Mattingly is trending so here is one of my favorite memories of him pic.twitter.com/jz4i12GjEd
— Ezra (@greenyad81) July 11, 2020