Dear Diary,

It’s been 5 days since our 12-game winning streak was busted. Since then, we’ve lost 4 straight games in a row. I mean it was bound to happen at some point, but we did manage to tie for the second-best winning streak in franchise history. The only other times that happened were in 1939 and 1957.

There are a lot of positives that can be taken away from the winning streak. Rookie Elly De La Cruz really broke out of his shell. He currently has a batting average of .315 and three home runs this season. Also, getting Joey Votto back in the lineup has been a game changer. Votto has only been back for six games and has already hit 3 home runs and has a batting average of .278. Other players stepping up their game are Jonathan India recording 79 hits, Spencer Steer with 12 home runs, and Jake Fraley who’s tied for 21^st in the league with 47 RBI’s. Fraley has also hit 11 home runs this season for the Reds.

Even though the streak may be over there are a lot of good things that have come out of it. It will be interesting to see where we place for the first half of the season. If we can string together a couple more wins, we could potentially get past the Brewers in the NL Central to get that first place slot. That means I need to be on my A-game when hydrating these guys as the weather gets even warmer.

Dear Diary,

We finally did it! The Denver Nuggets are NBA Champions and I feel like Leonardo DiCaprio in the Titanic saying, “I’m king of the world!” This post season has been one wild ride with only losing a total of 4 games across each series and then sweeping a LeBron lead Lakers team to punch our ticket to the Finals. Once we took them down, I had a feeling the Heat didn’t stand a chance against us.

The player of the hour of course is Nikola Jokic, a guy who’s been with the team through thick and thin and who is finally a champion. He’s also the NBA Finals MVP, but he should have been the NBA’s MVP of the year instead of Joel Embiid. Jokic is the first player to lead all players in points, rebounds, and assists in a single postseason, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. On top of that, Jokic and Jamal Murray were the first pair of teammates in NBA history to average 25 points, 5 rebounds, and five assists in a single postseason, according to ESPN. Based off these postseason numbers, it is insane that he wasn’t picked to be the league’s MVP this season. Maybe next year they’ll make the right decision.

I know that Jokic is the focus for the team’s success, but you do have to give props to the Nuggets front office to piece together a championship team. Denver joined the league in 1976 and couldn’t find success with players like Dikembe Mutombo, Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson, and Chauncey Billups. It took the addition of Jokic with Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Michael Porter Jr. to get the pay off in the end. This is a team that could potentially see more championships in its future. For right now, I want to party until next season starts. I just need to make sure I’m well hydrated.

Dear Diary,

I’ve been hearing the news around the facility that Kyrie Irving wants to team up with LeBron James again. Now, I don’t know if this will happen, but I’m just surprised that Irving wants to play with James again. I know that they supposedly made amends after Irving talked about his issues with James when playing for the Cavaliers.

Irving will be a free agent this offseason and that could make it possibility for him to head over to the Lakers. If this does happen, that means you would have James, Irving, and Davis on one team. That would create quite a stir in the Western Conference. There’s no doubt that if this does happen LeBron would come back to play another season, but it seems like he is set to come back to the Lakers anyways with one more year on his contract.

To add more fuel to the fire Irving is also asking James to join the Mavericks. This offseason is piping up to be a spicy one, but it will all depend on if the Lakers will be able to sign Irving. The CBA might not allow it based on the new guidelines regarding luxury contracts. I know the team will do everything in their power to try and make this a possibility and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone took a pay cut. I’ll just have to wait and see while rehydrating during these long hot summer days.