Here are some of the best Haboob Blogs from 2023

At the end of the day, sports are supposed to be fun.

So between not-so-fun moments, such as experiencing the misery of playoff exits or Tankathon frequenting, we like to point out the more fun, and often human side of sports.

At the conclusion of 2023, here’s a look back at some of the moments that made us smile in sports this year.

Rivalry between Suns’ Ishbia, Cavs’ Gilbert reportedly carries over to NBA

The mortgage industry can, apparently, be just as competitive as an NBA beef, as Mat Ishbia (United Wholesale Mortgage CEO) and Dan Gilbert (Rocket Mortgage co-founder) have shown us.

Since Ishbia took over, jokes have flown that maybe Phoenix and Cleveland won’t be making any trades with each other, but any on-court matchups between the two teams are yet to take place, though Ishbia is now more than 10 months into his ownership.

The first time the two mortgage figureheads will meet on the court (via their respective teams) is Mar. 11.

Devin Booker has had his fill of all the Super Bowl tourists

One of the best parts about Suns fans getting to root for Devin Booker so far in his career is without a doubt the ownership he feels in regards to the Valley.

That connection showed itself clearly as the area hosted the Super Bowl in February and Booker felt some type of way about the tourism it attracted.

“Can all y’all get out my city,” Booker posted. “I like it better quiet.”

Not again: Zac Gallen’s warmup toss for D-backs strikes bird

Certainly at this point, birds should know not to mess with snakes.

In this case, 22 years after Randy Johnson hit a bird with a pitch (albeit in spring training) ahead of making a World Series appearance in the same year, another D-backs ace hit a bird with a pitch (albeit in a practice session) ahead of making a World Series appearance in the same year.

Evan Longoria returns after re-injuring back getting off toilet: ‘Makes me sound really old’

Who among us has gone our entire lives without hurting ourselves in an embarrassing way?

To nobody’s surprise, Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo not retiring after Diamondbacks make World Series

What do you know, a hot take artist had a bad take and didn’t follow through on his corresponding promise.

Anyone who knows Mad Dog knows this isn’t out of the ordinary, and as people across the world ended up realizing, the D-backs were a connected, dangerous team that was more than capable of surprising all the doubters.

Chet Holmgren says Kevin Durant’s ’54 from treball is odee shooting hang pulls’

Read the line as many times as you like and you still might not be able to figure out what Holmgren meant without the translating skills found in the story.

‘One for the books:’ Jesse Luketa gets helping hand from family of Cardinals fans

Along the lines of Longoria story, sometimes we forget that pro athletes deal with normal people problems from time to time, maybe none more panic-inducing than a flat tire on your way to work.

Thankfully for Luketa, there were some fans on their way to his work ready to help him out.

DJ remixes Steve Kerr Footprint Center noise complaint during halftime of Suns-Kings game

Kerr was a good sport about this one, showing up with noise-canceling headphones to the Warriors’ next matchup at Footprint Center. Our own Dan Bickley even agreed with Kerr a little later on that the Footprint experience can be a little much.

Draymond Green flagrant 2 foul on Jusuf Nurkić recreated with Legos

Green still hasn’t seen the court since this physical outburst, but at least we can re-live it through the magic of Legos.

Edible Pop-Tart mascot devoured by Kansas State players and coaches after Pop-Tarts Bowl victory

Because nothing punctuates a bowl victory like a brand mascot being lowered into a toaster holding a sign that says “Dreams really do come true” before being eaten.

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