Tag Archives: Michael Jordan

The 2026 Nova Knicks

The New York Knicks, my hometown basketball team, just won the NBA Finals for the first time in 53 years, led by three players from Villanova, my college alma mater. Dubbed the “Nova Knicks,” it felt surreal, like this team was specifically designed for me. As an adult, I don’t get as emotionally invested in sports as I used to, but I’ve never had this much fun rooting for a professional sports team. The only thing that compares is the two times Villanova won the NCAA championship (2016 and 2018), led by three of the same players: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart. Watching the Nova Knicks felt like being an early fan of a local indie rock band, who years later, break out into worldwide mainstream success. But unlike indie hipsters, I don’t resent the newcomers. I welcome any and all onto the Nova Knicks bandwagon. To explain why this team meant so much to me, let’s go back to the beginning.

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Best TV of 2020: Too Many Shows

The theme this year is that, due to the abundance of streaming services, there is simply too many good TV shows to keep up with. I don’t have time to watch shows that are merely “good”—they must be great. Perhaps it’s just me, and other people (especially during COVID lockdowns) have more free time to devote to television. I used to have lots of time to waste watching TV before I became a writer. These days, the vast majority of my time is spent writing and doing other writing-related business. The second-most amount of time is spent reading. Books, especially science fiction, are generally better than TV. Then there are the daily essentials like exercising, eating, and other errands, during which I listen to podcasts. That leaves me about two hours at night before bed to watch a TV show, movie, or documentary. I’ve cut down on my television watching this year, focusing more on movies and documentaries—again because I don’t have the time to watch multiple multi-season series. I can easily get through a mediocre movie when it’s only an hour or two, but watching a mediocre TV series can take dozens of hours, which is time I don’t have to spare. In the past, whenever I started watching a TV series I’d see it through to the end no matter what, but I’ve been cutting the cord early on TV shows more and more.  My patience for mediocrity evaporates over time. Having said that, there were at least ten shows I saw in 2020 that were worth my time. 

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