5. New York Mets
You may have seen the Mets tweet of TJ Rivera wearing a crown after Friday night’s comeback win over Miami. It was a harmless victory tweet with a picture giving a sneak peek at how the Mets celebrate in the locker room, right? Wrong! The closer you look at the picture you quickly realize an object innocently sitting in someone’s locker that has caused quite a stir. The object in question was believed to be the reason behind Matt Harvey’s team induced suspension over the weekend, but the Mets have denied that the two incidents are related. Either way, this whole ordeal is a microcosm of the New York Mets’ season in 2017; it’s going to be long and hard.
Already out of jokes for Matt Harvey. Man this Mets team gets more comical by the day. pic.twitter.com/3fjJbn6zp3
— Alex Symoñds (@AlexASymonds) May 7, 2017
4. LeBron
We all have known that LeBron is the most gifted athlete to ever play in the NBA. When he first took the Cavs to the finals only to lose to San Antonio I knew he was an all time great. Now, after sweeping Toronto in this year’s playoffs, LeBron James has surpassed Michael Jordan on the all time playoff series wins list. Jordan won 30, James has won 31 with more to come. LeBron will forever be compared to Jordan and while Jordan has his 6 and Kobe has his 5, LeBron winning an NBA title this year cements him as the greatest of all time. Just one more series to go before he is put to that test against every teenager’s favorite team, the Golden State Warriors.
A young LeBron James greets Michael Jordan before a April 2003 Wizards-Cavs matchup.
Photo by David Liam Kyle pic.twitter.com/mIo9Y9BDul
— SI Vault (@si_vault) May 5, 2017
3. Baddest Man on the Planet
In the fight game, being the undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World, no only comes with a nice gold belt, but it also comes with another title; “the Baddest Man on the Planet.” Right now in Boxing, there is no undisputed singular champion at Heavyweight. In the UFC there is Stipe Miocic, the current “Baddest Man on the Planet.” Miocic puts his claim as “Earth’s baddest” on the line this Saturday against Junior Dos Santos who used to hold the title. The “big fight” is great at any weight, but Heavyweight is different. The punches are harder, the knockouts are louder, and the stakes are higher because there can be only one Baddest Man on the Planet!
2. Antoine Duplantis
LSU has two big series against SEC opponents right there with the Tigers in the SEC standings; Auburn and Mississippi State. This past weekend LSU had to take of South Carolina, a team having an off year. Winning the series you should win is crucial in a conference title race as close as it is in the SEC. Antoine Duplantis played like it was a must win and he took care of business when LSU was in a dog fight during the rubber match on Sunday. Five hits and the game winning RBI single gave LSU the 7-6 victory and the series.
The thrill of victory, starring Antoine Duplantis. pic.twitter.com/aHe6ZjOfwN
— Alex Hickey (@bigahickey) May 7, 2017
1. HBO Boxing
Saturday’s showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was billed as a fight between Mexican Warriors, when in reality it was an exhibition between a Mexican Warrior and the son of a Mexican Warrior. Even though the fight was a stinker, HBO was able to harness the hype we thought was lost with the blockbuster announcement that Gennady Golovkin would face Canelo September 16th in the super fight fans have been asking for going on two years. In complete WWE fashion, GGG made an entrance after Canelo dusted up JCC Jr. and they had a stare down and a handshake. You have to commend HBO for putting pride aside and doing what works, using the playbook of hype Vince McMahon created to build up what we all hope will be an instant classic.