Grind City Media

Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal (2007)

Weekend Guide 🎬 Friday, July 17

It’s a cool summer

Summer Breeze

Let’s assume that you, like me, have been locked in on the NBA Summer Leagues over the last week or so, as the Grizzlies have provided some fun moments from Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. Yet for all the highlights and flash points, it has been one moment from early on that has stuck with me the most.

Pretty early on in the Grizzlies’ first summer league game against Oklahoma City, there was a play where vaunted new draft pick Cameron Boozer caught the ball in the low post. Boozer leaned into the defender, bumped him with his shoulder, then seemed to consider his options as the Thunder’s help defense arrived. Eventually, Boozer shuffled a pass across the lane to an open teammate, but that player was also quickly overwhelmed, and he tossed it back to Boozer for a contested layup.

I don’t think the Grizzlies even scored on the play. But that wasn’t the point: What resonated with me were a few things: Boozer’s poise, his processing, his decision-making, his fundamentals, his maturity. He handled the entire play perfectly, and it provided a glimpse into what Boozer might already be and what he could become.

That glimpse was important because expectations matter. If you’re hoping for a guy who might dunk over someone in traffic or might make crazy threes from halfcourt, Cameron Boozer isn’t your guy. But if you want someone whois impactful, have I got a player for you. During the first half of the Grizzlies game on Tuesday against Golden State, Boozer couldn’t really find an open shot, drawing multiple defenders each time he touched the ball. But he made the right plays. He did what was correct. And while Boozer had zero points at the half, the Grizzlies were 11 points better when he was on the court. The Grizzlies ended up winning by 21, and Boozer (who got to 12 points and 7 boards) finished with a +35 rating.

That’s impact. And that affects winning, which is something of which we could always use more.

Summer League ending is always a bit underwhelming—teams start shutting down players, and generally the teams that are left are the teams that just have the most healthy dudes standing. To be honest, wins and losses at Summer League shouldn’t be the most important metrics. It’s all about those glimpses and moments where players show us what they’re made of. And at least where Cam Boozer is concerned, I’ve seen more than enough.

⚽️🇪🇸 World Party 🇦🇷⚽️

And then there were two. After weeks and weeks of soccer, from sea to shining sea, the World Cup has reached its final countdown, as Argentina and Spain will face off for the title on Sunday.

While the World Cup expanded this season to a record 48 teams, we still ended up with a final four of futbol powerhouses: Spain; France; Argentina; England. Sure, there were flirtations with plucky up-and-comers (you are seen, Cape Verde!), but after weeks of reductive matchups, we find ourselves with two heavyweights. And I honestly feel like we ended up with the four best teams in the final four.

GRIND CITY MEDIA’S 2026 WORLD CUP COVERAGE

These days, we don’t want anyone to feel left out. The Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament has gone from 64 teams to 68, and will soon swell to 76. The NBA has gone from 16 playoff teams to a play-in tournament that makes it 20 teams. The NCAA football playoffs have gone from four teams to 12 teams, and they’re talking about a possible 24 teams. After this World Cup, FIFA boss Gianni Infantino says they will consider expanding the 2030 Cup to 64 teams.

In all of these tournaments, inclusion changes the stakes, right? Ostensibly. More teams are involved, which means more fans are involved, which means (in a general sense) more money is involved. And yet, for the most part, the best teams still don’t get left behind. It’s a win-win. More teams just means a bit of a longer road, for everyone involved.

Thanks, Dad

The last email my Dad sent me came just a few weeks ago, when he shot me a note asking when the new Grind City Media e-newsletter would arrive in his inbox. It was just after the NBA Draft, so those of us at the GCM e-news HQ had decided to push the release by a few hours on that day. Not that anyone would really notice, or so I thought. 

But I thought wrong, because my Dad noticed. He may have been a biased reader, for sure, but that’s because he was a great Dad. 

My Dad passed away two weeks ago, after a mercifully short battle with illness. I will miss him for the rest of my life. 

Our parents hand down many things, not only instructions regarding how to get things done, but how not to do things, as well. One thing I got early on from my Dad was a genuine love for sports. When I was a kid, we only had one TV, but it was tuned to the NFL on Sundays, to Atlanta Braves games every weeknight, to college basketball and NBA games the rest of the time. We loved hearing Dick Vitale call games on Big Mondays, and would sit together and complain about the way Bobby Cox managed the Braves’ bullpen. 

I ended up working in sports, and I’ve always told people I think my Dad enjoyed my career as much or more than I have. Over the years, I was able to bring him along to NBA All-Star Games, NBA Summer Leagues, and I even got him to Memphis for a handful of Grizzlies games. 

Sports was a language we both spoke, one that my Dad taught me, a vernacular that allowed us to communicate in ways that we sometimes couldn’t with conventional words. We never had one of those relationships where we could talk breezily about everyday problems, like dating or financial planning. Maybe it was a Baptist thing, or a Southern thing, or a Southern Baptist thing, but in our house delicate issues tended to be gently skirted rather than confronted head-on. Yet I loved my Dad and my Dad loved me; I knew this and he knew this. We just didn’t always say it out loud.

When my Dad’s mother died a few decades ago, we weren’t really sure what to do in the immediate aftermath, so my Dad and I ended up going to a Braves game. Just sitting there in silence during most of the game, not being forced to ponder death and instead being allowed to question Bobby Cox’s most recent managerial moves distracted us and, in the end, made us feel better. Together. Dad and I never discussed this, but we both knew it was true. 

Last week, I gave the eulogy at my Dad’s funeral, which was one of the more difficult things I’ve ever done. When my Dad died, I found myself consumed by an initial wave of extraordinary sadness. But sooner than I expected, that sadness evolved into different feelings, feelings such as gratitude and appreciation. The more I considered it, the more I kept coming back to just feeling fortunate. How lucky was I, how lucky were all of us, to have had my Dad in our lives for all of these years? 

Despite the pain of losing him, I wouldn’t trade having had the experience of loving him, and of him loving me, for the world. I believe the best thing you can receive from your parent is unconditional love and support. And for my entire life, my Dad gave me that blessing. 

What a gift it was.

Odds and Ends…

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