The Loop

5 things to talk about on the course: NFL off-season craziness, Apple Watch hysteria, and "The Jinx"

March 13, 2015

From sports to TV to politics (OK, so mostly the first two), we offer five hot topics that are sure to liven up your round of golf:

1. NFL moves: Free agency officially began Tuesday at 4 p.m. and all hell broke loose. There were big signings (Ndamukong Suh, Jeremy Maclin, Cary Williams, Julius Thomas, Frank Gore, etc.), big trades (Jimmy Graham, Brandon Marshall, Nick Foles for Sam Bradford, etc.), and even surprising retirements (a 26-year-old Jake Locker?). We'd like to think this is how Graham and his friends reacted to finding out he'd been dealt to Seattle:

Moves before the free agency began (LeSean McCoy traded to the Bills) and after (Darrelle Revis signing with the Jets) have made this the wildest NFL transaction week in recent memory. There's plenty to talk about no matter who you root for. Or you could just talk about the Philadelphia Eagles, who traded their QB and star RB and let their star WR go, then signed two other big-ticket RBs in Demarco Murray and Ryan Matthews. Between the 76ers and the Eagles, what is going on in Philly?!

2. Cavs vs. Spurs: If you stayed up for this classic tilt Thursday night like I did, you were probably pretty tired at work come Friday morning -- but it was totally worth it. Kyrie Irving was sensational, scoring 57 points on 7-of-7 three-point shooting, including one to tie the game at the buzzer of regulation. The Cavs won the instant classic 128-125 in overtime thanks to another Irving three and two bombs from LeBron. The Spurs, led by Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan were just as impressive. No one ever seems to talk about them, but the defending champs are just as good as they were last year. Don't be surprised if we see LeBron taking them on in the NBA Finals for a third straight year. Oh, and by the way, Irving is still 22! Me thinks that had a lot to do with LeBron coming home.

3. Chris Paul: Speaking of guys not getting talked about enough, how come Paul never comes up in MVP conversations? The fiery point guard hasn't missed a game, his Clippers haven't missed a beat since star power forward Blake Griffin went down with a staph infection more than a month ago and he just destroyed MVP-flavor-of-the-month Russell Westbrook on national TV Wednesday night. Show CP3 some love, people! (Is this where I disclose I went to Wake Forest with Paul?)

4. Apple Watch: We now know more about Apple's latest product and that it will be available to consumers April 24! OK, so I don't plan on buying one -- particularly, the gold one, which has a starting price tag of 17 Gs! -- but it seems pretty cool and could be a big help to golfers. On second thought, the Apple Watch looks awesome! (Is this where I disclose that I own shares of Apple stock?)

5. "The Jinx": If you haven't heard about this six-part documentary/series on HBO, you're in luck because you have plenty of time to get caught up before Sunday's finale. This true story involving the three mysterious deaths surrounding Robert Durst, the son of one of New York City's biggest real-estate tycoons, is spellbinding. Oh, and evidence that could finally solve one of those killings was discovered last week in the penultimate episode. Incredible! Anyway, there's one last episode and it's guaranteed to be great. Wait, I hope I didn't just "jinx" it. . . . Sorry, like I said, I was up late watching that Cavs-Spurs game.