Friday’s Hot Clicks: Good Thing Joel Embiid Had a Backup Mask
Joel Embiid waited for this moment
Joel Embiid was a monster in his playoff debut, scoring a team-high 23 points in a 128–108 win over the Heat to take a 2–1 lead in the series. But enough about his stats; let’s talk about his badass mask.
Everyone knew that Embiid would be wearing a mask in the game to protect a fractured orbital bone, but the young center, ever the showman, tried his best to keep the design a secret. He warmed up without it on, heightening the anticipation when he emerged for the game looking like MF Doom.
Our Jake Fischer spoke to the scientist who designed the mask, who said it’s nearly indestructible. That’s a good thing, because Justise Winslow did his best to break it.
Was he hoping to break it and force Embiid to come out of the game? Did he think the Sixers didn’t have backups?
Embiid has always been a good trash talker, but the mask just makes him sound like a supervillain now. It’s fantastic.
I can’t recommend this highly enough
Greg Bishop’s new profile of Jake Locker is one of the best pieces I’ve read in months. Greg has a way of getting his subjects to open up in a way that few writers can, and it shows in this piece. You come away knowing not only knowing exactly why Locker walked away from the NFL, but also fully understanding the decision.
This is some Little League nonsense
What’s worse than grounding into a double play with two on and nobody out in a tie game? Literally just forgetting how many outs there are and waltzing right into a triple play. Perhaps the only play more boneheaded than this is an outfielder tossing the ball into the stands with two outs.
Luckily for Evan Gattis, the Astros wound up winning 9–2.
Bits & Pieces
WWE has obtained a restraining order against a guy who smeared poop on the walls of its training center in 2015 ... A thief in Iceland broke out of prison and no one realized he was gone until his plane out of the country had already taken off ... Remember that train full of poop I mentioned yesterday? It finally pulled out of town ... A candidate for mayor in South Dakota promises to name a day in honor of an ESPN radio host if she wins ... Legendary Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is leaving the club after 22 years.
A brief fashion show
Let’s just take a minute to appreciate two really cool uniforms.
First, the Phillies wore these awesome throwbacks for their game last night.
The Jags are also revamping their crappy uniforms to make them actually look good.
Pretty clever
Book spine design, from r/pics
KG is even squatting!
What are thoooooooose???
A humble recommendation
Mostly because I can’t find another video to put in this space—but also because I figure you may be looking for something to binge-watch this weekend—I figured I’d give a shoutout to AMC’s The Terror, a supernatural thriller series set north of the Arctic Circle. It’s pretty solid.
Take it easy this weekend
Don’t let this be you.
A good song
Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or ping me on Twitter. Click here for previous editions of Hot Clicks. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.
