This episode is a bit of a throwback. In our premiere episode, we talked about the NBA All Star votes, the Warriors, alternate universes, the NFL playoffs, the future of the MLS and the USMNT and wrapped up an EPL Saturday. Check it out to see how we did.
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I know this was just posted, but it moved. Find it here: Episode 16: 5/23/2018 “NBA Playoffs, World Cup, & Rebooting”
After some demand for some jersey reviews, I decided to review some kits, training gear, and other products that may go overlooked in the wide world of boot reviews! So to start off, I am reviewing the Puma Italy 2018 Home Kit that the fine folks at Puma Football sent over with my name on the back. So without further ado, let’s get into the review. Continue reading Puma Italy 2018 Home Kit Review
It is 10 p.m. in the Eastern time zone of the United States and the U.S. Men’s National Team will not be in next year’s World Cup. This is the first World Cup that the United States has missed since 1986. This situation is truly depressing, disastrous, inexcusable, untimely, and, yet, entirely predictable. Continue reading WHO EVEN HAS BeIN?!?!?!
With the NBA Draft in the rear view mirror, the NBA offseason is now in full swing. We have already seen one major trade in the Butler/Levine blockbuster, but many more may be on the horizon. Combining that with some major players announcing their intentions of becoming free agents, i.e. Blake Griffin and CP3, tees up these next few months for major moves that could reshape the NBA landscape. Hunter and Zander had a quick take exchange in light of the most recent news.
Z: Now where is Blake trying to go?
H: Memphis. You heard it here first.
Honestly, I think the Cavs should K-Love trade for cap space and maybe a better SG and then sign Blake.
Z: CP3 is also going to opt out.
If the Cavs got CP3, Kyrie could go to the 2, which is closer to his true position.
H: That would be nuts. I think CP3 is set for Spurs though
Z: #rememberthebananaboat
H: Melo coming then? And Wade?
Z: Not Melo, but the Bulls would love to get rid of Wade’s contract and would probably do a trade for KLove. A straight up trade works in the trade machine, but I would expect some more going to Cleveland.
H: Lavine
Z: I do not know the rules on trading a player you just acquired via trade, but him being a defensive minus would make that addition a little less likely.
D-Wade would likely opt out of his contract if he was traded and sign a more friendly deal so that the Cavs have enough room for CP3.
H: Only rule is that you can’t be traded after PLAYING for 2 teams in same season. So he’s fine.
Z: Oh. Well, there is still the option that the Cavs trade KLove for PG13. If they got him and signed CP3. Warriors/Cavs IV would be an amazing series.
H: But if Pacers take that deal (assuming they don’t work a 3rd team on to get some more talent) they would be stupid. K Love stinks.
Z: The Cers would need more, but getting some for PG is better than nothing. Pritchard is getting thrown into the deep end for his tenure.
H: No kidding. Starting to think Bird just didn’t wanna deal with it.
Z: That is entirely possible. I would have gotten out of his position if I saw this coming.
H: There’s no winning here. Unless the Pacers just absolutely trade rob someone, fans won’t be happy.
Z: I think that KLove’s in Indy would be considerably better than in Cleveland. I think a lineup with him and Turner could have some really good spacing and shooting.
Looking at the Cers and there some really bad contracts on here.
H: Need to get a better SG. And someone to replace George’s scoring ability. Trade George for Greek Freak and whatever else they want.
Z: There is a zero percent chance the Greek Freak will be traded. He is still on his Rookie contract.
H: Turner, George, Leaf and bingo we have a deal.
Z: Crazy trade that will never happen, but works mathematically.
H: Would never happen, but honestly… think it would be great for all teams involved.
Z: I think the Pacers and Cavs would say yes, but it goes against the current mindset of the Bucks to do this trade.
I don’t get how every team gets significantly “worse”.
H: That part makes no sense to me either.
Z: I’ll just chalk it up to the ridiculous ESPN power rankings in general.
H: Those are so dumb.
Photo: NBA.com
Bottom of the 5th inning, one out, with a man on 2nd base in a 6-3 game, the Braves had exactly the man they wanted at the plate, Freddie Freeman. Even with the Braves up 3, it is always nice to grab some insurance runs, but just 2 pitches into the at bat, the Blue Jays’ pitcher, Aaron Loup, threw a 94 mph fastball in tight on Freeman, and, on a check swing, the ball ricocheted off Freeman’s left wrist. Almost immediately Freeman, who is as tough as they come, grimaced in pain and headed to the Braves dugout where the trainer was there to meet him. He was immediately taken out of the game and the whole of Braves nation held their collective breath to hear the word on his wrist. Continue reading Freddie Freeman’s Injury Is Devastating for the Braves
In today’s era of “All or Nothing” approaches at the plate, having a strong rotation is a must. The New York Mets could and should have so much more than a “strong” rotation. When you look at the talent they have, you would think they’d rarely ever give up more than one run. With talents such as Harvey, Syndergaard, and deGrom, they should cut through the league like a hot knife through butter. Unfortunately we have yet to see all of the talent on full display, due to a myriad of injuries. Below I will briefly go over the 5 pitchers that the Mets have, which in turn will show just how dominant this rotation could be if they were all healthy at the same time. Continue reading The New York Met’s Rotation: Imagine What Could Be
93:20. A time that may not mean much, but it means everything to Manchester City.
Early May of 2012 was a an odd time for me. I was preparing to graduate from high school and getting ready for my last summer before I went off to college. But another thing that was going on was the race for the Premier League title race. Going into the last Saturday of the season, the two clubs that could win the league were found in Manchester. Manchester City and Manchester United were level on points with City leading on goal difference and both were battling teams that on paper should be easy wins. United was taking on Sunderland away at the Stadium of Light and City was at home facing QPR in the Etihad Stadium. To keep things fair (and to add a lot more drama) the games would kick off at 11 AM Eastern time. If you are a soccer fan, you have surely seen the stories, the drama, the goals, and even the heartbreak from United fans who were hoping for their second title in a row. City was hoping to win their first title in 44 years. This is my experience, my story, and this is what 93:20 means to me. Continue reading Etihad Stadium. Manchester, England May 13th, 2012
In the days of tax reform and the talk of investing in the U.S. economy, another long term entanglement of the United States is looking less fruitful. President Trump has stated that he intends to make major cuts in the U.S. United Nations budget. This, like much of everything that he does, garnered the ire of his opponents. They leveled platitudes about the importance of the world body and the good it does against the proposal, claiming that the cuts would lessen the United States’ international reputation and could impede its personal diplomatic efforts. The administration pushed back by pointing at the U.N.’s cost overruns, relative inefficiency, and lack of return on investment. The Trump administration’s budget has not been fully released, established, or debated, but the qualms of the administration and of their opponents are both plainly visible.
Continue reading Poor Investments: Is the U.S. Getting Their Money’s Worth of the U.N.?
Another college basketball season has come and gone and sadly the month of March flew by way too fast. Coming into this 2016-17 season, the Duke Blue Devils had the #2 recruiting class in the nation with four McDonald’s All-Americans coming in: Harry Giles (PF), Jason Tatum (SF), Marquees Boldin (C), and Frank Jackson (PG). All four of whom were in the ESPN top 25 players for their grade. Duke also managed to land Javin DeLaurier (PF) who was in the ESPN top 100 as well. On top of landing five high school standouts, Duke had Luke Kennard returning, along with Grayson Allen, Amile Jefferson, and Matt Jones. Duke had everything it took this past season to make a good March Madness run and even a shot at the national title. They had a great recruiting class coming and they had upperclassmen leadership from players like Allen, Jefferson, and Jones. I have to say that before the start of the season I was very excited to see the potential of this team play out through the season. Continue reading Duke Basketball: Moving Past 2016
Standing in at 6’5 and listed at 220lbs, Freddie Freeman is an imposing figure at the plate. After finishing off last year as one of baseball’s hottest hitters, Freeman has carried that momentum into 2017, not skipping a beat. Yet even though he’s lighting up the ball, I feel that he is not mentioned enough in the NL MVP conversation, partly due to playing on a rebuilding Braves team. Continue reading Freddie Freeman: Baseball’s Least Talked About Superstar
Over the past decade, Liverpool Football Club has been mediocre at best compared to the Liverpool we think about from thirty years ago. Whether it has been not finishing in the top four, inconsistency in the boss’ chair, or just flat-out not performing, that is the Liverpool we all think of when it comes to recent years. As a person who bleeds Liverpool red, it broke my heart to see the state of the club over the past few seasons. Continue reading Liverpool On The Right Path Under Jurgen Klopp’s Leadership
For the last few years, prior to about 2013, the position of shortstop has lacked a true “superstar” and has left fans wanting more. Gone were the years of Alex Rodriguez dazzling with the bat and the glove, and Derek Jeter’s age had begun to catch up with him. Sure, there were a few bright spots here and there. Just look at Andrelton Simmons and his other-worldly defense, but he also left much to be desired at the plate. So, baseball fans began to wonder, “When will the next superstar shortstop arrive?” Within 2 years, their question was answered resoundingly. Continue reading The New Generation of Shortstops: Possibly the Best We’ve Ever Seen.
CONCACAF announced that there would be a joint bid for the 2026 World Cup by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Hunter and Zander have already made their feelings on the issue known in Episode Fifteen of the MMITM podcast, but there were some interesting developments that make it better. They had a back and forth on the news and developments. Continue reading Great Textversations: 4/10/17 – The 2026 Joint World Cup Bid
*Editor’s note: This article was largely written before reports that Russia had foreknowledge of the Syrian chemical attack.
After April 30th, Bashar al-Assad appeared to be safe in his position as President of Syria. Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., said that the United States was not focusing on his removal, and Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, stated that his future would be made by the people of Syria. Those statements made few waves, seeing as it was more or less in line with President Trump’s campaign stance of non-intervention in the Middle East, and it seemed that the Syrian Civil War would continue on without deviation, but Assad had been emboldened. Last Tuesday, Assad called for an chemical air strike on a rebel held town. Continue reading The Syrian Issues
Check out my unboxing of the PUMA Football evoSPEED SL-S DF Griezmann boot!
Continue reading Puma evoSPEED SL-S 17 DF Griezmann Unboxing
Check out the PUMA Football evoSPEED HE unboxing at the FBR YouTube channel! Subscribe while you are there!
Huge thanks to Puma for sending these out. One of only 200 pairs worldwide!
This episode has moved. Check it out here: Episode 15: 4/6/2017 “US Soccer & World Cup 2026”
This episode has moved. Find it here: Episode 14: 4/4/2017 “NCAA Men’s Basketball Final”
Ace 17+ PURECONTROL:
The Ace 17+ headlines the pack with a trio of versions. The Stadium is seen above and the Cage is largely the same. The Street version is considerably different beyond the obvious in that the color is almost entirely grey. There are no outright new techs, but the Purecut sock, full Primeknit upper, and Boost sole have all been updated and further refined. Continue reading New Release: Adidas Turbocharge Pack
Nike released a pleasant new color pack today for four of their most popular boots today. The Motion Blur Pack, released March 30th, includes new vibrant color ways for the Mercurial Superfly, Hypervenom Phantom 3, Magista Obra 2, and Tiempo Legend VI. Continue reading New Release: Nike Motion Blur Pack
Just before the US men’s national team took the field against Panama, Hunter and Zander had a back and forth about the lack of available broadcasting for important qualifiers and how to make American soccer better. Continue reading Great Textversations: 3/28/17 – USMNT & MLS
With March Madness in full swing, Hunter and Zander decide to talk about a team that is not even involved. Indiana University Basketball fired their head coach, Tom Crean, recently and the guys are quite far apart on the state of the program. Continue reading Meet Me in the Middle Special: IU Basketball
Thanks to Puma for sending out the new SL-S 17 in the Derby Fever Greizmann colorway!
While it is easy for Cowboys fans to hang their head in defeat and say, “I knew we would blow it” or “What a disappointing season”, Cowboys fans need to remember how impressive the season, as a whole, truly was. Even with the loss to the Packers on a last second field goal, the Cowboys lost only 4 games this season. To put that into perspective, the Cowboys had as many losses as San Francisco and Cleveland had wins, combined. The catch? Dallas did it with two rookies in the backfield all season long. Continue reading Keep Your Head Up Dallas, The Future is Bright
In lieu of a podcast, Hunter and I decided to write our bowl picks and, to make it interesting, we decided to put a night of Taco Bell on the line. Continue reading 2016/17 College Football Bowl Game Predictions
This episode has moved. Find it here: Episode 13: 11/13/2016 “College Football Playoff”
In what looked like a game destined to be dominated by Texas A&M, who came into the game ranked 8th in the country according to the College Football Playoff rankings, a deflated, bruised, and down for the count Ole Miss team wanted to make a statement that the Rebels were not done yet. Continue reading Taking Off The RedShirt: Shea Patterson Shines For Ole Miss
I thought that this page would be all about my thoughts, feelings, opinions, etc… about what is going on in the sports world this week or more than likely, the past few weeks. It is not a hard thing to find some sort of breaking news in a modern sports world that involves so many talk shows, blogs, and websites that constantly spew out information regarding some sport or news related to sport. That being said, I have complied a few takes from the sports news that I found interesting. Continue reading Hunter’s Quick Takes 7/21/16
This episode has moved. Check it out here: Episode 12: 6/28/2016 “Copa America, Euro 2016, & Baking”
This episode has moved. Find it here: Episode 11: 6/24/2016 “NBA Draft & Euro 2016”
This episode has moved. Find it here: Episode 10: 6/23/2016 “NBA Finals, Copa America, & News”
This episode has moved. Check it out here: Episode 9: 6/17/2016 “USMNT & NBA Finals”
This episode has moved. Check it out here: Episode 8: 6/16/2016 “Copa America & UEFA Euro 2016”
This episode has been relocated. Check it out here: Episode 7: 6/16/2016 “NBA Finals”
This episode has moved. Check it out here: Episode 3: 5/22/2016 “US Soccer, EPL, & NBA”
This episode has moved. Check it out here: Episode 2: 5/20/2016 “NBA Conference Finals & News”
This episode has moved. Check it out here: Episode 1: 1/23/2016
To be perfectly honest, this would not be my first choice on how to start Zander’s Movie Corner, ideally I would start this thread with a magnum opus by Kubrick, or PTA, or Wes, or an expansive theory about Forrest Gump and its allegorical connections to the American Dream and a lost generation; however, I just watched The Conjuring (2013), directed by James Wan, and felt compelled to share my thoughts. The movie is a highly fictionalized story from the vaults of world renowned ‘demonologists, paranormal investigators, ghost hunters, and wackos’ to paraphrase the movie versions of Ed and Lorraine Warren. Under normal rules, this movie is still under spoiler alert status, but I think that a sequel, which came out June 10th, negates the usual rules; so, I will continue unimpeded. Continue reading The Conjuring (2013)
Good news everyone! MMITM has been added to the catalog of the three of the major podcast streamers/providers. We are now available for subscription on iTunes, Stitcher, and TuneIn! Click on your favorite below and keep up-to-date without even trying.
Meet Me In The Middle on iTunes
Meet Me In The Middle on Stitcher
Meet Me In The Middle on TuneIn
This episode has moved. You can find it here: Episode 6: 6/2/2016 “NBA Playoffs, Copa America, & News”
This episode has moved. Find it here: Episode 5: 5/31/2016 “NBA Finals, Indy 500, & News”
This episode has moved. Check it out here: Episode 4: 5/26/2016 “NBA Playoffs & News”
Thanks to SoccerPro.com for the cleats!
Continue reading BHM Nike Magista Obra
Puma just released a new evoSPEED color way. Check it out!
In this new series, I will be sharing my personal opinions and thoughts on different subjects that revolve around well, you guessed it, cleats. Let’s start off with one of the most frustrating trends today for not only retailers (Soccer.com, SoccerPro.com, etc…), but the brands (Nike, adidas, Puma, etc…) themselves, replica cleats. Continue reading Cleat Talk: Stop buying Replica/Fake Cleats!
With how popular the Speed boot idea is, it’s easy for some to get lost among the crowd. That is really a shame. With that in mind, I thought I would bring you my picks of the Top 5 Speed Boots on the market (That I have or currently am testing). Continue reading My Top 5 Favorite Speed Boots
Boot: Ace 15.1
Maker: adidas
Size: 11.5
Stud Pattern: Firm Ground/Artificial Ground
Color Way: Black/Solar Yellow/White
First Impressions: The Ace 15.1 from adidas. Viewed by many as the boot that replaced the extremely loved Predator. I think that is giving off a vibe that this is going to be a direct replacement to the Pred. The Ace is its own boot and is a great new cleat that many are missing out on. The first pictures of the Ace surfaced over the summer and honestly, I was not a huge fan of the look. It looked heavy, strange, and disappointing. But after awhile, I decided to give these a shot after reviewing the X. Once I opened that adidas box to take a peek at was inside, I knew this boot was a winner. Continue reading adidas Ace 15.1 Review
