As 2018 comes to a close, year-end lists appear everywhere. They also seem to start in early December which means they only capture eleven months, but that’s beside the point. These include best albums of the year, best TV shows of the year, best movies of the year, etc. In the sports world there are lists that give out awards for best team, best performance, best highlight, etc. I wanted to stray away from that and give out end of year awards for some categories that weren’t as common. With that said, we have the end of the year unconventional sports awards. Let’s begin.
Dumbest Trade – Jon Gruden
Travis Schlenk traded away a franchise star and future MVP of the NBA in Luka Doncic because he thought he could replicate the Golden State Warriors (an all-time great team that have two of the top five shooters ever) by drafting Trae Young. However, as dumb as that was, the award goes to Jon Gruden for trading Khalil Mack for two first-round draft picks (2019 and 2020), a third-round draft pick (2020), and a sixth-round draft pick (2019) while also giving Chicago a second-round pick (2020) and a conditional fifth-round pick (2020). Khalil Mack was already one of the top two defensive players in the NFL along with Aaron Donald. Why on Earth would you get rid of an unstoppable pass rusher like Mack who is a known talent? The return for Mack wasn’t even good given the fact that Gruden also gave the Bears a second-rounder. I know we have to wait and see whom the Raiders take with the picks they got for Mack, but Chicago is in the playoffs and with new head coach Matt Nagy along with Khalil Mack, they’re developing a winning culture (who would’ve thought adding Khalil Mack would make them better) which devalues the worth of those first-rounders. Hard time seeing Gruden selecting a better player than Mack with any of those late round picks. At least he won the Amari Cooper trade. Oh, wait……
Best Meme – LeBron James and JR Smith
This was an easy choice. By now, everyone has probably seen the image of LeBron James and JR Smith from game one of the 2018 NBA finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors when JR apparently didn’t know the score was tied after he got the rebound on a missed free throw. He dribbled out of the paint instead of putting the ball back up or kicking it out to LeBron for a potential game-winning shot. The Cavs went on to lose the game in overtime. LeBron James scored 51 points in the losing effort, and had a look of pure frustration on his face when JR dribbled the ball out. I can’t say I blame him. He just had one of the best performances of his storied career and was denied a chance at a win because of his teammate’s stupidity. I don’t even think there’s an analogy that can fully capture this situation. That image of LeBron and JR will go down in NBA history, and luckily, for George Hill his missed free throw won’t.
Most Entertaining Sports Media Member – Stephen A. Smith
Here’s a short list of things Stephen A. Smith did in 2018:
- Came into a live show in Dallas wearing a Cowboy hat and trolled the fans there
- Thought Hunter Henry was playing for the Chargers in 2018
- Had an intense shouting match with Will Cain that made me wonder if they we’re about to fight
- Continued his run as the biggest talent at ESPN which he has been since 2016
Stephen A. will always keep the public entertained.
Biggest Collapse – New Orleans Saints
The Rockets get a pass for biggest collapse due to the fact they were missing their second best player in Chris Paul against Golden State when they blew a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference Finals. The Patriots-Dolphins game in December 2018 was an enormous collapse, but circumstance has to matter and that was just a regular season game. New Orleans is the obvious choice here. The Saints were up 24-23 against the Vikings who were on their own 39-yard line in the NFC Divisional Round with ten seconds left in the game. Case Keenum threw a 27-yard pass to Stefon Diggs on the right sideline who avoided a tackle and completed a 61-yard receiving touchdown to win the game as the clock expired. Saints rookie safety Marcus Williams had a piss poor attempt to tackle Diggs as he dove at his legs on the sideline. When Williams lunged himself, he hit another Saints defender who could have possibly caught Diggs. That one play costed the Saints a shot at the Eagles in the NFC title game and who knows how the playoffs could’ve unfolded differently.
Biggest Draft Bust – Markelle Fultz
Since rookies from the 2017 NBA Draft qualify on the count of their rookie season took place in 2018, the only logical choice is Markelle Fultz. He was a surefire can’t miss prospect who can’t shoot a basketball well anymore. I don’t think anyone actually knows whether an injury, nerves, or a change in shooting form is to blame for Fultz’s shot. Fultz went from the number one pick in the draft to being mimicked by Amari Cooper in a touchdown celebration and having J. Cole mention how he prays for him in a verse. Fultz was supposed to be a star in this league instead he has become a pun. Maybe a new team and change of scenery could help Fultz return to the player the 76ers thought they were drafting, but for the moment he’s a bust and he might go down as a historically big one.
Best Late Night Appearance by an Athlete – Tom Brady
As a Patriots fan, I’ve watched my fair share of Tom Brady press conferences and interviews. He usually doesn’t say much. Most of the time he deflects all individual praise and instead focuses on the team. He’s pretty humble with the media compared to the fired up guy he is on the field. This year he showed more of his personal life with the Tom vs Time documentary. When he went on Colbert, he shocked the hell out of me when he chugged a beer in what I timed at 2.05 seconds (yes I timed it). He was a freaking vacuum cleaner. I’ve been watching him for over fifteen years, and I didn’t know he could do that. I think I read some piece that he was a great beer chugger a while ago that I had completely forgotten about. Regardless, it was completely unexpected and made me wonder what other secret talents Tom Brady has. For those of you mad that I gave Tom Brady an award and don’t want to hear me gush about him or the Patriots, (pretty much all my friends who aren’t Patriots fans) I had to represent the Patriots someway in this column as a consolation prize for losing the Super Bowl to a backup quarterback in 2018…….