Friday Faves 7/24: NBA's Bubble, Grilled Peaches, Night Shift, some singer named Benee

Golfing has offered an escape since I started playing as a kid. A bit of fun, a bit of social time, and some competition. Walking a golf course for a handful of hours feels therapeutic, albeit there’s typically a dose of humble pie mixed in. Over the last six weeks while venturing out to various golf courses, the feeling of escapism is even more profound. Hours outside, seeing other people without masks on. It’s almost like stepping into a different dimension. I know the feeling is different because after each round the pull I feel through my chest back to reality is physically shocking.

Even when I go for a run, there reminders are always there. People in masks, giving each other a wide birth. Light traffic on the roads. It feels apocalyptic on the Charles River, but not on the golf course. I hope you all have little things that give you a “normal” feeling. A sense of control or just a few hours a week to forget about what’s going on in our country (it’s not “the world” anymore, it’s “our country.” Everyone else seems to have figured out some better system.).

Best Read

Inside the NBA’s Disney Bubble - Chris Haynes has been in the Disney bubble since the end of June. This piece is about his experience in quarantine. Ryen Russillo had ESPN reporter Mikela Anderson his podcast ( skip ahead to the 20 min mark) and she had some interesting thing to say about her bubble experience in Disney, too. Here’s the link.

Best Watch

Welcome to the Bubble - Matisse Thybulle is a rookie on the Philadelphia 76ers. He’s a really smart kid who decided to film his experience in the bubble. He’s released four episodes. The second episode passed the “Tiff living room test.” She stopped walking through the living room and watched the whole episode (an Al Horford appearance helped… he’s her favorite.). It’s worth a watch…

Best Listen

Get a Grip Podcast - I’ve shared this podcast here before. This week’s was really interesting. Max Homa is a PGA Tour golfer, he’s missed a bunch of cuts in the last month. He talks through his struggles on the golf course, but he also discusses his experience on twitter and the hatred he receives on the internet. It’s honest and thoughtful and it’s a worthwhile listen even if you don’t like golf.

Supalonely by Benee - I listened to the radio for the first time in months this week while driving in the grocery store. Sports talk radio makes my ears bleed at this point (I didn’t need Mookie Betts contract talk). My presets are a mess, so I picked Kiss 108 and “Supalonely” came on. I thought it was pretty good! A summer song to be sure.

Best Eat

Grilled Peaches - My sister made a dish with grilled peaches, pesto, and prosciutto this week. Yes, it seems like a mess of ingredients, but it was dynamite. Just grill the peaches and add the pesto and prosciutto when you’re ready to eat.

Best Drink

Night Shift’s Shimmer - A friend of ours has been raving about this beer in the last couple weeks. Finally tried it this week and it’s delicious. It’s an excellent summer beer, the kind of tall boy you hold while standing at the grill or playing lawn games. Sadly, as I look through Night Shift’s website, I think it might be gone already. If it’s not, pick it up if you find it.

Best Plugs

Teacher’s Are People, Too - It’s been interesting listening to the rhetoric around reopening schools this week. It’s so incredibly clear that schools in this country have reached the point where they are holding families together and giving kids a lot of what they might not be getting at home. When our children’s mental well-being is on the line because they can’t go to school and they also don’t get enough food because they can’t go to school, we’ve put a whole lot of eggs in the school basket. Teachers are asked to provide more and more to kids (and families) and I wrote about my thoughts here.

The Imperfect Game - The oldest continuous sports tournament exists in England. It’s called the FA Cup, and last weekend Both’s favorite team Arsenal, and my favorite team, Manchester United, played in the semi-finals. If they had both won, they would have played each other in the final. We hopped on a podcast and talked through the results and then also discussed the landscape of soccer in Europe as leagues wrap-up and the Europa and Champions League start-up. Soccer never sleeps. iTunes.