This is wouldn’t be a concern if not for the fact less than 10% of Japan has been fully vaccinated against the Corona Virus AND there’s been massive public pressure in Japan to cancel or postpone the 2021 Olympics for at least the last three months.
As of now, international spectators are barred from coming to Japan for the Olympics due to the Pandemic. In addition, all international athletes must present either proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. Athletes who are unvaccinated will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival.
If you’re in the U.S., do yourself a favor and either get the NHK Japan app on your phone/Roku/tablet/etc. or go to the website for updates on the situation in Japan. The country has seen a surge in positive cases since late April that they are trying to get under control. The Japanese government is racing to vaccinate as much of Tokyo (Japan’s official Capital) and Osaka (Japan’s historic capital) as possible right now. They recently started ramping up vaccination efforts but the obvious problem is time is not on their side.
For those are wondering why the Olympics were not postponed or cancelled yet, the reasons are two simple ones: Corporate Sponsors and Corporate Media. The decision to cancel or postpone an event held every four years is not to be made lightly. While common sense dictates the Olympics should’ve been postponed or cancelled by now, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has given no indication they are even considering it.
We will have to wait and see how many athletes decide to pass on going to the Tokyo Olympics this year vaccinated or not. No one wants to be responsible for bringing COVID-19 to or from the Olympics. More importantly, many athletes might not feel comfortable going knowing there will not be international spectators in attendance. Time will tell.
Earlier this week, Kemba Walker found out a rumor the Celtics were looking to trade him to the Spurs for LeMarcus Aldridge before the trade deadline were actually true. Commenting on the bombshell revelation, the All Star point guard was understandably very upset and more so given he was sidelined throughout the season with injuries.
The Celtics beat the Wizards during the Play-In Tournament to secure the #7 Seed but lost 4-1 to the Nets in the first round of the playoffs. The Celtics also lost new All Star Jaylen Brown, who had season-ending wrist surgery just before the Play-In Tournament.
For the third season in a row, the Celtics will be parting with another free agent All Star during the upcoming offseason. Last year, Gordon Hayward left for the Hornets. The year before, Al Horford left for the 76ers (now with the Thunder). Brad Stevens is not Danny Ainge but he will be looking to at least get equal value for Kemba. The fact that he’s not Danny Ainge means he shouldn’t have to wait too long for other teams to approach him with trade offers.
…When I say “equal value” I naturally mean another All Star. There’s quite a few who could be available from across the NBA including Damian Lillard (talked of quite a bit lately), CJ McCollum, Bradley Beal, Kevin Love (Boston wanted him several years back), DeMar DeRozan and (wait for it) Isaiah Thomas. The return of IT4 to Boston could be an inevitability at this point. We will see in the months to come.
The Lakers may have been eliminated but you will still see LeBron James this summer…on the big screen. For those who missed the news, there is going to be a new Space Jam movie starring LeBron James. The basic plot for the movie is a dimensional villain kidnaps LeBron’s family and the only way to get them back is to win a basketball game so he recruits the Looney Tunes.
The original 1996 movie starred Michael Jordan teaming up with the Looney Tunes to face The Monstars, who stole the basketball skills of several then legendary NBA players (most now Hall of Famers): Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkey, Tyrone “Mugsy” Bogues, Shawn Bradley and Larry Johnson.
This movie’s Goon Squad will feature NBA and WNBA Players:
- Damian Lillard is Chronos
- Diana Taurasi is White Mamba
- Klay Thompson is Wet-Fire
- Nneka Ogwumike is Arachnneka
- Anthony Davis is The Brow
LeBron James’ hopes of recruitng more high profile players like of Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, Carmello Anthony, Giannis Antetokumpo, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid were dashed due to a combination of players saying they’d rather focus on preparing for the next season and players who wanted to be in the movie being barred because of sneakers.
Like Michael Jordan, LeBron has a deal with Nike. Some players have a deal with Addidas or some other sneaker company. Steph Curry explained he was told he would be considered in breach of contract if he signed on for the Space Jam movie. Crazy, I know. These two reasons as well as the Pandemic are why LeBron probably had trouble finding players for this movie.
The movie hits theaters and HBO Max next month.
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