‘White guys’ comment backtracked
UCLA star Lonzo Ball’s father, LaVar Ball, turned heads Thursday with comments suggesting the Bruins’ white players prevented them from winning a title. He walked those remarks back some Friday.
“I am not saying I don’t like the white guys and we lost because of them,” he said on ESPN 710 LA, per ESPN.com. “No — that’s how they twisted it up.”
On Thursday he said, “Realistically you can’t win no championship with three white guys because the foot speed is too slow,” per Clay Fowler of the
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. “I told Lonzo, ‘One of these games you might need to go for 30 or 40 points.’ It turned out that was the one game. Then once they get to the Elite Eight, they’re right there.”
UCLA’s season came to an end in the Sweet 16 when it lost to Kentucky 86-75. Bryce Alford, TJ Leaf and Thomas Welsh were all white starters for the team, and LaVar Ball praised the three of them Friday.
“I love Bryce because he’s Alford’s son, and he’s always been nice to me. TJ Leaf, Zo’s friend, always nice and respectful. Thomas Welsh, one of their most intelligent players, very nice, respectful.”
Lonzo scored 10 points on 4-of10 shooting from the field and a mere 1-of-6 shooting from threepoint range against Kentucky.
“I blame one person every time they lose, and it’s the same person all the time,” LaVar Ball said Friday. “It’s my son.”
Quickly making weight
The UFC 210 main event is on after a tumultuous few minutes surrounding light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier’s weigh-in.
Cormier and Anthony Johnson were both cutting it close to their allotted time to weigh in Friday. Cormier stepped on the scale and was announced at 206.2 pounds. For a title fight, there is no onepound allowance.
Cormier stepped off the scale and went to the back. It appeared the title would not be on the line, but in a moment of high drama, Cormier came back out and weighed in for a second time. He made weight at 205 flat.
Phil Murphy of ESPN tweeted his theories:
“1) Cormier found a way to flush 1.2 lbs in < 1 min (regurgitation, bowel movement, et al)
“2) DC pressed down on a tight towel, alleviating 1.2 lbs (0.6%) of force on the scale. Old-school trick …”
Photos of the two attempts show that during the first weighin, Cormier was not holding the towel, but the second appears to show force being applied downward.
Get your grasshoppers
Buy me some peanuts and … toasted grasshoppers?
Fans attending Seattle Mariners games at Safeco Field this season can do both.
The team — in partnership with its concessionaire, Centerplate — recently partnered with local Mexican restaurant Poquitos, which will serve toasted grasshoppers tossed in chili lime salt.
A cup filled with grasshoppers will sell for $4.
“They are a one-of-a-kind snack that the fans will really love — either on a taco or on their own,” said Steve Dominguez, Centerplate general manager at Safeco Field.
The Food and Drug Administration permits the sale of insects as long as those insects were intended to be used for human consumption.