The Starting Five - April 19, 2024
I humbly submit to you 5 things to kick off your weekend:
The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology
Taylor Swift released her highly anticipated album at midnight Thursday, and…surprise…it’s a double album. Have listened to it twice already and it’s a banger. My two favorites so far are Down Bad and The Alchemy. Link here.
Who Killed the Video Star: The Story of MTV
This podcast seeks to explain how MTV came to be, why it was a juggernaut, and why it became extinct. I started listening this week and so far it is great. Link here.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets: NBA Playoffs Round 1, Game 1, Saturday, 8:30 ET on ABC
The Nuggets are the reigning, defending NBA Champions. They got there by sweeping the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals last year. But, the Lakers only lost those 4 games by a total of 24 points, so there’s confidence in LA that this series will be tighter. It starts Saturday night. Link to ESPN article about the matchup, with this quote from LeBron:
"It shouldn't be personal at all," James said when asked about the motivation for payback. "I think you allow yourself to get away from the game plan when you make it too personal. We have a game plan. You go out there and execute it and you live with the results. I'm kind of the last person you should [ask that] -- I just stay even-keeled. I've been in the postseason way too long in my career to know that you don't get too high off of Game 1 or get too high over whoever the matchup is. You got to just stay even-keeled."
Article from The Athletic about John Sterling
John Sterling, the voice of the New York Yankees, is retiring. He’s famous for his epic celebrations (“The Yankees win. Theeeeee Yankeeeeees WIN!”) and the fact that he called 5,060 consecutive Yankees games from 1989 to 2019. The Athletic shared favorite memories of Sterling from his colleagues.
There’s a Twitter account dedicated to Sterling’s best calls. Check it out, too.
Virginia’s NIL bill will allow universities to pay students directly.
Yup. You read that correctly. Wild times.