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What Had Happened Was: 6/29/16

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    Stanford Cardinal v Tennessee Lady Volunteers
    TAMPA, FL – APRIL 08: Candace Parker #3 and head coach Pat Summitt of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers celebrate their 64-48 win against the Stanford Cardinal during the National Championsip Game of the 2008 NCAA Women’s Final Four at St. Pete Times Forum April 8, 2008 in Tampa, Florida. Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images
    By Rhiannon Walker Ryan Cortes

    GAME. BLOUSES.

    Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan walked onto the hardwood, collected the basketball and held onto it for dear life as he collapsed on the court at the conclusion of Game 6 in the 1996 NBA Finals. It was his fourth championship, but most importantly, it was Father’s Day and the first title he had won since his father’s murder.

    Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre lost his father the night before his Green Bay Packers took on the Oakland Raiders in a 2003 Monday Night Football showdown. He finished his night with 399 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-7 victory.

    You can now put Los Angeles Sparks star Candace Parker’s performance among the herculean efforts of an athlete in mourning. No, she didn’t lose a parent, but instead what she probably considers family in her University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt.

    Before Parker and the Sparks met Skylar Diggins and the Dallas Wings on Tuesday, Summitt, the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history, succumbed to early onset dementia after a five-year bout with the disease.

    Parker posted on Twitter the letter Summitt wrote to her when she was recruiting her to the Lady Vols. The former All-American also wore orange shoes with the word “rebound” written on them for the game.

    The Sparks overcame the largest deficit in team history, per ESPN Stats & Information, and rallied from a 22-point deficit to beat the Wings, 89-84. Parker, who wasn’t selected for the Olympic team for reasons beyond us, finished with 31 points — 25 in the second half — a season-high 13 rebounds and seven assists to lead the team to victory. Los Angeles is only the second team in WNBA history to start the season 14-1.

    After the game, she gave an emotional speech reflecting on her coach.

    https://twitter.com/CauldronICYMI/status/748007284203196417

    SOCIAL STATUS

    So ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported on Tuesday that Dwyane Wade’s initial contract discussions with the Miami Heat haven’t gone as smoothly as the three-time champion had hoped. Windhorst reported that Wade’s representatives have even been telling multiple teams that Wade will be available on the market.

    Wade pinballed back and forth during last year’s free agency in a similar manner, disgruntled with the Heat’s offer(s), until he signed a one-year $20 million deal. Tough talk from his representatives aside, don’t expect anything but a return to Miami when it’s all said and done this time around, too.

    BLESSINGS!

    On Tuesday, rapper/producer Birdman joined the fellas on Highly Questionable to talk about that time he played rapper Lil Wayne in Madden for $10,000 a game (!) and, get this, he revealed he sleeps on cold, hard cash — a cool million, that is. Blessings, indeed.

     

    FOR THE CULTURE

    The Islamic State group is suspected in the attack at Istanbul Airport in Turkey, which killed at least 41 and injured more than 140 people, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. While attacks like these are used to perpetuate prejudice against Islam in the mainstream media, one user pointed out a major contradiction.

    Nigerians consume approximately 5 million metric tons of rice a year, and the owner of the second-largest rice plantation is 35-year-old Rotimi Williams.

    Google celebrated Australian aboriginal activist Eddie Koiki Mabo’s birthday by using him as the banner on Tuesday.

    Retired NBA star Kobe Bryant was in Beijing having dinner with actor Jackie Chan.

    Musical artist Frank Ocean is apparently trying out a new profession these days while neglecting this second studio album we’ve been waiting on for almost three years now.

    TOP THREE TWEETS

    Every morning we’ll hit you here with the best of what we saw on social media the previous night. Why? Why not?

    1. SHAKE OUR HEADS

    2. LIAR, LIAR

    3. LET’S GET THIS OVER WITH

    #ICYMI

    Our brother Marc J. Spears told the story of prep basketball star Josh Jackson — a man who just might be the first pick in next year’s NBA draft:

    The Southfield, Michigan, native was co-MVP of the 2016 McDonald’s All-American Game. Bill Self, the coach at Kansas, where Jackson will play this fall, has compared him to Minnesota Timberwolves guard and former Jayhawk star Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NBA draft. With all due respect to Wiggins, Jackson’s motor and competitive fire is viewed as much higher than Wiggins had at the same stage. “He could have been a Top 3 pick if he was in the NBA draft this year,” said one longtime Western Conference NBA scout who asked to remain anonymous.

    PICTURE PERFECT

    Rhiannon Walker is an associate editor at The Undefeated. She is a drinker of Sassy Cow Creamery chocolate milk, an owner of an extensive Disney VHS collection, and she might have a heart attack if Frank Ocean doesn't drop his second album.

    Ryan Cortes is a staff writer for The Undefeated. Lemon pepper his wings.

    This Story Tagged: What Had Happened Was Dwyane Wade Birdman Pat Summitt