By Mardeio Cannon | OBSERVER Columnist
After the results of the 2024 presidential election, I am sure many of you are in a daze trying to put what happened out of your mind. Some strange and unusual things still are going on and I want to report on a few.
This marks my 40th season attending Sacramento Kings games, first as a season-ticket holder and next as a columnist for The OBSERVER. I have seen some remarkable performances over these decades. However, I had never seen 60 points scored in a game by a Kings player until Nov. 15, when De’Aaron Fox did it in a 130-126 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Since the Kings were without DeMar Derozan, their leading scorer so far this season, and the high-octane Malik Monk, Fox knew he had to carry most of the offensive load. His previous highest-scoring game had been 44. The next night against the Utah Jazz, who had won two straight games, Fox lit the scoreboard up for 49 points, this time in the absence of center Domantas Sabonis, DeRozan and Monk. He joins the late Kobe Bryant, the immortal Wilt Chamberlain, and the great Michael Jordan as the only NBA players to score at least 109 points across two consecutive games, placing him among the greatest.
Come on, admit it, you watched Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson last week on Netflix. Since nothing else is going on in the world of professional boxing, some marketing geniuses had an idea: Let’s get 58-year-old Tyson to fight former MMA-fighter-turned-heavyweight Paul, who is 27. They knew no one would pay for this farce, so cash-rich Netflix obliged and threw mad money at these two and after Tyson slapped Paul during the weigh-in, America was suckered in. Yes, I watched this excuse for a fight in which Paul appeared to take pity on Tyson, not wanting to hurt the old man. What’s next? Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird in the ring?
One thing we sports junkies could count on for Christmas was the NBA games on television. Over the years, the NBA put together the best matchups it could muster. It became a badge of honor for NBA superstars to play on Christmas. However, Roger Goodell and the NFL have decided to take on the NBA for the Christmas television audience, this time on Netflix. The first game features the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers and the second the Houston Texans vs. the Baltimore Ravens. Now this is where the NFL is not playing fair: the halftime entertainment for the second game is Beyoncé. NBA fans will likely be tuned in to Netflix instead for her performance.
