The Daily Friday: Friday 1/17

1. New $5B hoops league to rival NBA pitched by Maverick Carter, Lebron’s business partner, to investors. Could explain the timing of these Bron cheating rumors. Nasty work, Adam Silver. Savannah if you need to talk, I’m here.

2. Nintendo announces the launch of Switch 2 to come in 2025, likely in the spring or summer. Perfect timing. There’s no better way to celebrate beautiful weather than staying indoors and hammering hours of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

3. Bob Uecker, beloved Milwaukee Brewers announcer, passes away at the age of 90. We’ll never forget your iconic performance in ‘Major League.’ RIP 🫡

4. Zyn officially authorized by FDA, and we are officially back. Somehow, that’s still not the coolest news in the nicotine pouch universe. That goes to Lucy, who’s hand-delivering free cans to LA firefighters (one of their top requests.)

5. Supreme Court officially rules against Tik Tok, effectively banning the app as early as Sunday in the US. Might be time to join the rest of the country on Duolingo and brush up on your Chinese for RedNote. Just saying.

Team: one last reminder that we’ll be donating all merch proceeds to the LAFD, ending at midnight tonight. Help us support if you can. (PS: this design is sick)

GREATEST SPORTS DADS OF ALL TIME

Earlier this week, LiAngelo Ball, brother to LaMelo and Lonzo and son to Lavar, signed a $13M contract with Def Jam Records after his viral song ‘Tweaker.’

It got me thinking: where exactly does Lavar Ball rank in the pantheon of greatest sports dads ever? LET’S BREAK IT DOWN.

10- Will Ferrell, Kicking and Screaming: he did lead the Gladiators to a town championship, but that had nothing to do with his parenting. Phil leaned heavily on the Italians, Ambrose and Coach Ditka. Plus, when his son did score a goal, it was from a move that he practiced after Phil benched him. Time to switch to decaf, Mr. Weston.

9- Doc Rivers: the first man to ever coach his son on an NBA team and then trade him. Coached his daughter’s ex-boyfriend Paul George the next year. Helped her meet her current husband Seth Curry the next year. Definitely one of the dads of all time.

8- Lebron James: at least Austin Rivers is decent. Lebron had his work cut out for him with Bronny and still dragged him to an NBA contract. Still, every parent wants their child to be better than them and not matter how good Bryce is; he’ll never be Bron.

7- Richard Williams (Serena and Venus’ dad): he built not one, but two, championship tennis players. Tough to do. He was so intense that portraying him led Will Smith to slap Chris Rock at the Oscars. Can’t decide if that’s good or bad.

6- Deion Sanders: Sheduer will be a top 5 pick, Shilo is a legit D-1 starter and his daughter Shelomi (sick name) plays basketball for Colorado. That’s what happened when you rank children on Instagram. It drives them to greatness.

5- Troy Bolton’s Dad: Troy was 5’8, a defensive liability and lacked the handle to realistically compete at a D1 level. It’s only through his dad’s coaching that he landed a scholarship to Cal (spoilers, sorry.) Plus, he was pretty cool about the musical theater thing. Tough needle to thread, but he pulled it off.

4- Earl Woods: Tiger is awesome. Earl is even cooler.

3- Todd Marinovich’s Dad: controversial, but he built Todd into a pro QB. Sure, it ruined Todd’s life in the process but this is a ranking of sports dads not dad dads.

2- Air Bud: had 5 puppies who went on to achieve incredible sports success and develop the ability to speak English. That’s how you raise multi-faceted children. Their college essays would be incredible.

1- Lavar Ball: Made LaMelo play in Lithiunia when he was 16, which built him into a franchise player. Turned Lonzo into a lottery pick even though he couldn’t shoot. Developed LiAngelo into a multi-million dollar rapper when he showed that he sucked at basketball. What more can you ask for?

THE DOC’S LOCKS

Let’s check in with the good doctor, Dr. Locks MD, for this week’s batch of picks. As always, we’ll be partnering with BetMGM, so make sure you sign up today using FBDAILY for up to $1500 in free bets.

SEASON RECORD: 31-20

3 LEG PARLAY: Eagles ML, Lions ML, Chiefs ML (-108)

Let’s keep it simple this week, shall we? While the Bills-Ravens matchup could be an all time classic, you gotta steer clear of it when it comes to betting. Philly, Detroit and KC have been the class of the league all season long. Don’t overthink it. Hammer the chalk.

Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (Available in the US) Call 1-800-327-5050 (MA)

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WHAT ELSE IS GOOD

What has this world come to where you can’t even post pictures of your prosthetic penis online while expressing admiration for Mussolini without getting fired as a falconer for an Italian soccer club? Welcome to Biden’s America.

Isaiah Stewart just made my shit list after “taunting” Myles Turner and telling him he ‘plays with Legos.’ That’s not an insult at all, Mr. Stewart. Clearly you need to buckle in for a Rusty live-stream to learn that value of Legos and start showing some respect.

Big news in the scamming community this week, as a woman gave $800k+ to an AI Brad Pitt who convinced her he was in the hospital, in love with her, and needed money because Angelina Jolie had frozen his assets. Love can blind. Don’t blame her at all.

Big Fella of the Week has gotta go to this distinguished gentleman. That’s gotta be the fastest I’ve ever seen a slide collapse. Well done.

TRYING TO EAT $60 OF PIZZA HUT CHICKEN ALFREDO

The LA Try Guy sits down with William D to chat about the great city of Los Angeles, growing up in Arkansas and sing some songs. A beautiful time was had by all.

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STUFF TO CLICK WHEN YOU’RE BORED TODAY

• Due to popular demand, we’re bringing back our Monthly Mailbag (check out our latest one). Submit your questions here to get yours answered next.

• Read this on your lunch break: Men go to Andrew Tate not to alleviate loneliness, but to intensify it.

• When Bill Burr speaks, I listen. Modern day George Carlin (complimentary)

• Ok so AI is now not only taking our jobs, but our wives as well?? Good for them. May the best man/robot win.

• Loved this article on the latest conflict in the modern movie theater experience: when people laugh at serious moments in films. I blame memes. Impossible to rewatch Breaking Bad and take any moments seriously.

• It’s Friday. In honor of this Ja Morant dunk on Wemby that got blown off, enjoy a thread of the best NBA plays that didn’t count.