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This season was supposed to be massive for the Boston Celtics, who boast the talents of a plethora of great players. Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brown, Marcus Smart, and Kemba Walker are all wonderful players to have on your roster and with this in mind, the expectations were high. While the team started off well, they are now 15-15 on the season, which has led to speculation about whether or not this team is poised to make a run.

While hosting his new ESPN+ show on Monday, Smith was asked by a young woman about her Celtics, and whether or not he sees a clear problem with the team. Smith sensed that the woman was sad, which left the sportscaster feeling a tad emotional. He then went on to explain the issue with the Celtics, noting that Walker needs to start playing at a higher level.

“Kemba Walker, that’s the question mark,” Smith said. “Don’t get too mad at him okay, he’s got knee issues. He’s only shooting 34 percent from the field, that’s not Kemba Walker. That’s not what he does. He’s clearly not 100 percent. And Marcus Smart has been out. But I’m still going to look at coach Brad Stevens because guess what you have two studs as the cornerstone of your franchise, Kemba’s still averaging 17, you got decent pieces up in there. It’s about you being able to peel out the greatness in other people.”

The Eastern Conference has been looking pretty strong as of late, and the Celtics will have to start getting back in the win column if they want any chance at keeping up. Perhaps once their injury woes pass, they’ll be back in the driver’s seat.

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Lupe Fiasco is widely regarded as one of the greatest lyricists to ever do it, though his challenging and sometimes inaccessible catalog has kept him from becoming a recurring presence in GOAT conversation. Still, he has remained one of the more compelling emcees, and one who happens to boast a vast wealth of stories and intriguing anecdotes. He happened to share a few during a recent conversation with Andrew Barber on The Coda Collection, where he opened up about his long-running — and sometimes contentious — relationship with Kanye West.

Lupe & Kanye West in 2006. Kevin Mazur Archive 1/WireImage/Getty Images 

“I been knowing Ye for a long-ass time,” explains Lupe, after Barber inquires about their history. “I remember first meeting Ye when he first did The Truth for Beans. We did a symposium together, some little speaking thing at Columbia college. N***a had a fro’ and some other shit, it was weird. I was working with Ye for years. I got Ye joints. I remember Ye used to come to the crib, like ‘what do you think about this verse?’ He’d spit verses and shit.”

“I remember we brought Ye into Arista to showcase for L.A. Reid,” reveals Lupe. “Before Roc-a-Fella. Stack Bundles was sitting there. It was me, Stack, Kanye, and LA Reid in the office.” Lupe laughs. “When Kanye stopped, LA was like ‘you should stick to making beats.’ Real shit! That’s why I always honor Ye no matter how fuckin’ crazy he goes. I’ve seen that man struggle. Him just working through it.”

Though Kanye has since taken on the qualities of a larger-than-life figure, it’s certainly humbling to hear one of the low points in his origin story detailed by a first-hand witness. Clearly, Lupe will forever hold Kanye in high esteem following that fateful meeting with L.A. Ried, leaving us all wondering what might have been had Yeezy actually taken the music mogul’s blunt advice. Check out the story for yourself below. 

One of the most affected industries when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic is sports and entertainment. Numerous leagues like the NBA, NHL, and NFL have had to deal with a brand new reality that, at times, has made it incredibly difficult to function. The NFL was particularly hit hard by the pandemic in the early stages of their season, although by the time the playoffs rolled around, they were able to get things under control.

Throughout the offseason, the NFL has started to see cases pop back up again, as it was reported by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network that Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was recently diagnosed with the virus.

For the time being, Tomlin has taken some time away from the team, and will not be heading back to the facility in the near future. It was revealed by the team that other members of the coaching staff have also tested positive, although those names have not been released. For the time being, some staff members have been told to stay home until some of the positive tests have gone back to negative.

This is never a fun situation for anyone to be in, and we wish Mike Tomlin a speedy recovery from the virus.

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