It's been so much going on in sports lately so it's an appropriate time to bring the wave back after a 2 month hiatus that felt like forever. For those of you who are new to The Sky Box Suite, Tidal Wave Wednesdays is essentially a spin-off of a segment I used to do on my old sports blog titled Mon Wave Mondays. This series was designed to be a weekly press release of the most recent sports news articles that stood out to me. As a one-woman-army here, it's proven to be difficult to write a post on every single thing that occurs in the sports world, but this was just a good way for me and my audience to keep up with the headlines as much as possible and now I'm finally at a place where I'm able to be a little more consistent than I have been.

Without further ado, let's get into this week's wave...

NFL's {Gentrification of} #TakeAKnee Protest

The big controversy in current sports news is the #TakeaKnee trend that's happening in the NFL. As many of you may know, all teams "united" by kneeling during the anthem this past weekend and I can't say I'm thrilled by any of it, mainly because I don't think the intentions are in alignment with what Kaepernick's original protest was about, which was racial injustices happening in the United States. So many of the owners and coaches opted to join the kneeling as a shield for the NFL after #45 made his remarks, however, the initial protest wasn't about this country, the flag, the military, nor the president.

Unfortunately, that's what the narrative so conveniently switched to and I can't say it's not mildly irritating. While I understand that politics are relative to sports in America, I don't necessarily prefer political debates bombarding sports commentary before and after games, in interviews, press conferences, etc. The shock factor of all this was Dallas Cowboys collectively taking a knee prior to the National Anthem during Monday Night Football, simply because Jerry Jones is a huge Trump supporter, who donated millions of dollars to his presidential campaign and he was essentially just protecting his investment. It's all a little overwhelming, but I am optimistic that people are finally taking a stand for something. I can only hope that what they do stand for is for the greater good of this nation. Hats off to Mike Tomlin though.

NFL Rookie Update

Photo credit: Patrick Gorshi, USA TODAY Sports

Tarik Cohen, Chicago Bears: Two weeks into regular season football, Cohen's first week as a pro-athlete has been nothing less than explosive and definitely living up to his Human Joystick title. It's easy to tell he's completely in his element on the field: close to 80 rushing yards to set off his debut game against the Steelers, 157 rushing yards, and 126 receiving yards. From the looks of it, he also handles setbacks well, because it's hard not to overlook that moment in time where he attempted to pick up a punt return, but fumbled the ball and returned it back to the Bucs. I do anticipate seeing how consistent he is and how his momentum builds throughout the season.

Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs: One of the leading stars of NFL Kickoff was by far Mr. Kareem Hunt. That 53 yd touchdown, a deep pass from Alex Smith, stole the show. Totaling out at 401 rushing, 9 receiving yards, and 2 touchdowns, the kid is a beast and certainly won't be slept on too much longer.
Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans: On and off the field, Deshaun Watson is another rookie who had a phenomenal debut, finishing his debut game with 125 passing yards, 67 rushing, and a 49 yard rushed touchdown. And his hard work didn't go in vein, because he donated his first NFL paycheck to three women who were especially affected by the flooding of Hurricane Harvey. These same women worked in the cafeteria at NPR Stadium and that was such a thoughtful act that spoke volumes of the kind of athlete he's destined to be.

NBA Trades

Moving along to NBA off-season...what the heck is going on? First, there was this out of the blue trade from the Celtics with Isaiah Thomas along with Boston's hidden ammunition, Jae Crowder for Kyrie Irving. Next thing I know, D. Wade will be joining forces in Cleveland this season with his baller bestie, Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony is headed to OKC. I don't know if this all happened under the radar or I just was not paying attention, but geez...Cavaliers are about to be even more of a power house with James and Wade running the show, for sure. As far as Carmelo goes, do I think he's the key to reviving Thunder's elite status, as this article will suggest? I do not know. However, I do think he deserves to play for a better team than the Knicks.

How can you not love the James-Wade bromance?? They're everything I wanted Westbrook-Durant to be. (smh)

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