After almost three years, This Week In Hot Takes is coming to an end. Here's a look at our picks for the five hottest takes we've covered, plus the final standings and thoughts on the top five finishers there.
Bayless has been hating on Leonard since Leonard left the Spurs, but he took that to a new level Thursday night and Friday morning after Leonard was named Finals MVP.
"ESPN DOT COM decides to come out with a story ON THE DAY THAT MAGIC AND THE CREW ARE GOING TO BE HERE! Do I like the fact that I have to deal with it today? HELL NO!"
"IF YOU ARE A KNICK FAN, THIS IS THE EQUIVALENT OF BEING KIDNAPPED, STORED IN A BASEMENT, BEING TORTURED AND THEY LET YOU OUT WHEN YOU ARE NO USE TO ANYBODY! IF YOU ARE NOT A KNICKS FAN, YOU MAKE ME SICK! I DON'T LIKE ANY OF YOUS, ANY OF YOUS!"
"The heroes from the past broke social barriers and worked toward a more perfect justice by being the best they could be in their fields. They did it with courage and dignity — not with outrage, accusation, and obscene lyrics."
"So I said to Joseph Goebbels, “Burn any good books, lately?”" is a hell of a way to start a column about Long Beach State changing its mascot.
Rovell, a man who once gold-plated his shoes after finishing 21,463rd in a marathon, criticized a gymnastics team for celebrating finishing second nationally.
"BU has created a narrative. We don’t allow our kids to cheat and lie, but we’re allowing a university to cheat, lie, and abuse/suppress science. That’s harmful to people and it’s wrong."
"There are images of Cleveland Browns fans too, empty seats, bags on their head, and a bunch of guys from Lima, Ohio wearing masks and barking in the end zone, about nine Budweisers in."
"Harper hit .211 in 19 post-season games, striking out 23 times in 76 at-bats and compiling an .801 OPS. He was often on the DL, from which he tweet-praised a pitcher who was no-hitting Nats. His grotesque behavior on the field was worse than what goes on in the Capitol."
"Unless I missed it and someone died, there is no such thing as a 'tragic start' for LSU, or for any team." LSU forward Wayde Sims was fatally shot in September.
"If it was the 70s, everybody would be in jail. Everybody. Kids got beaten up, we got beaten up when we were kids like it was nothing. Nothing. No one even blinked an eye. ...I ain't getting in between nobody and their kids."
Barkley's claim that no woman could beat him at any sport topped the March 8-14 hot takes.
"When Snoop Dogg, at 47 a pornographer with a long arrest record, does such he’s indulged?"
Clark's flaming of Machado was the hottest take for Feb. 22-28.
Sporting News columnist DeCourcy's argument that Zion Williamson would be unknown without playing for Duke topped the hot takes this week.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was drafted in 2013, and Phil Jackson was hired in 2014. The only way to blame Jackson is if you think he has a time machine.
"Combine middle-school humor with plenty of bitterness and what do you get? Monday’s front page of the Times-Picayune."
"As I told the nation on @ryenarussillo before the draft “Bad eyes..if you draft him you will regret it and never get out of the lottery “.. most didn’t understand “bad eyes” so they ripped me BUT as ALWAYS when it comes to hoops and players I was 100% accurate."
"I still believe that when it's all said and done, and that disgruntled person who wasn't taken care of comes out and writes that book and lays it all out on the table, that Tom Brady will be looked at the same light as Lance Armstrong. He'll be Lance Armstrong without the bicycle."
The author of "23 ways NOT to be a CUCK in 2019" obviously has a lot of insight into genetics and the NBA.
"You’re celebrating, 3 days after losing to the Colts as the starting quarterback? The pain of a loss in the playoffs can’t go away that quickly. There’s something wrong with this picture."
Yes, Greg, teams were brilliant to draft players like Taylor Price (80 career regular-season yards) instead of Brown (11,207 so far).
Lots of good sports stories happened this year, so let's take a week off from takes to celebrate them.