"My Name is EMoney" from Dec. 2018
BY DC CUEVA
■ @DC408Dxtr @ TW / IG / YT
The University of Maryland--Baltimore County, champions of the seldom-covered American East Conference, were tied with South #1 seed and ACC champions Virginia at 21 at halftime after a team who were 20-point favorites went up 3 earlier on and who led the NCAA in scoring defense limiting their opponents to a per-game average of roughly 53 points. But out of the locker room, the second half was a totally different game: UMBC's Jairus Lyles fought through cramps late in the affair in a 28-point night as the Retrievers outscored the Cavaliers 53-33 going home to finish off matters, 74-54 down in Charlotte, NC.
For a Virginia team who had a 31-2 record and were ranked #1 in the AP and Coaches polls, this 20-point loss was the largest defeat they had suffered all season and the first time that they had allowed 70 points -- all coming at the worst opportune time. For UMBC, they became the first #16 seed to defeat a #1 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and it became the biggest night in the school's 52-year history as students celebrated in the streets and brought back memories of the 2014 World Cup when they borrowed the "I Believe That We Will Win" chant that was everywhere that summer to the rite of spring for American sports fans.
Undoubtedly, UMBC's historic win over Virginia was the biggest upset in the history of an event whose beginnings date back to before World War II began when Oregon won the first national championship in 1939 well before Phil Knight and Nike came flying in to help. As we saw with another Cavaliers team who beat a powerhouse 73-9 Warriors team to win the 2016 NBA title, a Leicester City football team who were 5000-1 to win the EPL title and pulled off the trick that same season, and everything else we have seen the past two years, there has always been a love affair between sports fans and underdogs. That is certainly the case with what we call the MTV Trifecta.
Believe it or not, there is some symmetry between the feat of the Retrievers and two amazing feats of the show that fed six alumni to season 29 of The Challenge in Vendettas, and seven to the next show of huge interest here in next month's Ex On The Beach. Devin, Britni and Nelson were part of the cast of Are You The One? Season 3, when faced with potentially being the first cast to lose, Big D came up with the strategy that, with the help of a quarter and red solo cups, brought them from 2 matchup lights and a blackout to 10 lights and $750,000. And their cast also included 3-time Challenger and "Pop-Off Queen" Amanda, Cory's fellow baby mama Cheyenne, breakout star of Dirty 30 Hunter, and Tori's ex Mike -- who we then saw on Real World Bad Blood.
After Kam, Alicia and Eddie had to endure the stigma of being that AYTO cast who lost last year -- for which EOTB with fellow castmates Derrick H. & Taylor was revealed just last Wednesday, a year to the day of that heartbreak, the Season 6 cast came back from an even greater comeback than that of what went down in fall 2015. Like the Season 3 kids, they achieved little in the game through most of the season, only getting their only truth booth match late, and started their final matchup needing to get from one light to eleven in week 10 to win $1 million. They did just that in setting records in the process, and though there's been some bickering with that group who pulled out the biggest MTV underdog story in over a decade, them being able to pull off that win binds them all forever.
And that offers the bridge of this latest episode of Before They Were MTV Stars: last week, NBA megastar Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors celebrated his 30th birthday in the kind of grand style that fits a multiple MVP, NBA champion and one of American sports' biggest figures. With the defending champions nursing injuries, an uncharacteristic losing form of late and battling a tough Rockets team for top seed in the Western Conference, the Dubs took the early part of last week off to rest up and to fete the face of the franchise who's come a long way from being drafted by a team desperate for relevance in the Association a decade ago to now become basketball royalty.
And fit for a king, Steph's 30th birthday party -- which came two days before the Davidson alum actually turned the magic dirty number -- featured him and wife Ayesha Curry arriving to the party on a yacht like what we saw Alex did before that ill-fated birthday bash for Chloe on Siesta Key. That shindig was a surprise one... one they had no idea that the entire team was throwing for them, and so was Bay Area hip-hop icon and devoted NorCal sports fan E40. For the always coveted task of being the ones who would sing "Happy Birthday" to the guest of honor, it fell to Paramore to perform that track to the birthday boy. Fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson went on stage to dance and loved it so much, he took off his show and threw it into the crowd, while the rest of his Warriors teammates dressed up for a photo booth. And head coach Steve Kerr and lead assistant Mike Brown had reason to also get down on the dance floor and finally let loose amidst the seriousness of the playoff push.
Last December in the homestretch of his season, this site devoted an entire ExtraTime post to Ethan Cohen from AYTO Season 6, best known by his nickname, "EMoney." With a signature collection of baseball hats, he became a cult favorite in bringing his unique outlook on things to the mansion in New Orleans, and brought his brand of hip-hop to the house in the form of what became the biggest song on the hit parade in the Big Easy: the appropriately-titled "Perfect Match Song" with fellow roommate Tyler. That is only part of EMoney's musical resume that sees him being poised for big things to come, which even included a trip to hone his craft with Nick Cannon and co. on Wild 'N Out.
Ethan is Bay Area to the core, most especially to the East Bay side of the Bay Bridge as a fan of those who play in the Oakland Coliseum & Arena complex of the A's, the Raiders and the Dubs. The perks of being a college grad who had his ode to his A's get radio airplay on the team's radio flagship 95.7 The Game, as well as undertaking an internship at its regional broadcast partner NBC Sports Bay Area, gave Ethan a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: hang out with someone who was about to become the biggest superstar in basketball... at least to those west of the Mississippi.
And fit for a king, Steph's 30th birthday party -- which came two days before the Davidson alum actually turned the magic dirty number -- featured him and wife Ayesha Curry arriving to the party on a yacht like what we saw Alex did before that ill-fated birthday bash for Chloe on Siesta Key. That shindig was a surprise one... one they had no idea that the entire team was throwing for them, and so was Bay Area hip-hop icon and devoted NorCal sports fan E40. For the always coveted task of being the ones who would sing "Happy Birthday" to the guest of honor, it fell to Paramore to perform that track to the birthday boy. Fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson went on stage to dance and loved it so much, he took off his show and threw it into the crowd, while the rest of his Warriors teammates dressed up for a photo booth. And head coach Steve Kerr and lead assistant Mike Brown had reason to also get down on the dance floor and finally let loose amidst the seriousness of the playoff push.
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| Curry, wife Ayesha and Ethan meeting in Summer 2014 (IG @EmoneyMakesBabies) |
Ethan is Bay Area to the core, most especially to the East Bay side of the Bay Bridge as a fan of those who play in the Oakland Coliseum & Arena complex of the A's, the Raiders and the Dubs. The perks of being a college grad who had his ode to his A's get radio airplay on the team's radio flagship 95.7 The Game, as well as undertaking an internship at its regional broadcast partner NBC Sports Bay Area, gave Ethan a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: hang out with someone who was about to become the biggest superstar in basketball... at least to those west of the Mississippi.
The last time the Warriors fell short of the trip to play basketball in June, it was the summer of 2014. The Dubs reached out to Steve Kerr to turn him from a TNT analyst into becoming their head coach, and the Bulls legend and 3-point specialist enabled Steph to get more freedom to shoot from behind the arc. Of course, the rest is history: MVP honors in the following season including a record season of threes, blowout victories for a title contender, and to him becoming LeBron James' equal in the post-Kobe era. And in the first of what would become three epic NBA Finals tilts, Steph had his crowning night in Cleveland as the Warriors becoming King for the first of two times in three years.
In that summer of 2014 -- and two months removed from the Warriors losing a hard-fought Game 7 of their playoff series to the LA Clippers, Ethan was invited by Steph and Ayesha to spend a day in his Sonoma home turf -- or make that, home vineyards. And as this region is known to everyone as Wine Country, they and their friends did, of course, some wine tasting. When he posted his selfie with Steph on Twitter @EmoneySunset, Ethan captioned, "Steph Curry for MVP." And upon the Warriors' 2015 triumph and his campaign to let the man who he met become MVP he added, "Yo @wardell30 and @ayeshacurry I hope y'all ain't too famous now to come back up to Sonoma for round 2. This time bring Riley and we'll go to TrainTown."
One of them has become a 2-time NBA MVP, 2-time NBA champion, a 5-time All-Star, a scoring crown and a slew of other honors too many to mention on his way to world domination, and where he is now a face of the league and of the Bay Area. The other might not have that large list of honors, but being part of a cast that pulled out a colossal comeback and win $1 million is something worth celebrating, along with a budding hip-hop career that may see him become the next big star. Things have changed for both Stephen Curry and Ethan Cohen since they met there in Wine Country -- both on that positive parallel to greatness, and perhaps there is more for them ahead.
In that summer of 2014 -- and two months removed from the Warriors losing a hard-fought Game 7 of their playoff series to the LA Clippers, Ethan was invited by Steph and Ayesha to spend a day in his Sonoma home turf -- or make that, home vineyards. And as this region is known to everyone as Wine Country, they and their friends did, of course, some wine tasting. When he posted his selfie with Steph on Twitter @EmoneySunset, Ethan captioned, "Steph Curry for MVP." And upon the Warriors' 2015 triumph and his campaign to let the man who he met become MVP he added, "Yo @wardell30 and @ayeshacurry I hope y'all ain't too famous now to come back up to Sonoma for round 2. This time bring Riley and we'll go to TrainTown."
One of them has become a 2-time NBA MVP, 2-time NBA champion, a 5-time All-Star, a scoring crown and a slew of other honors too many to mention on his way to world domination, and where he is now a face of the league and of the Bay Area. The other might not have that large list of honors, but being part of a cast that pulled out a colossal comeback and win $1 million is something worth celebrating, along with a budding hip-hop career that may see him become the next big star. Things have changed for both Stephen Curry and Ethan Cohen since they met there in Wine Country -- both on that positive parallel to greatness, and perhaps there is more for them ahead.
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Last night saw The Challenge Vendettas begin its countdown to a rite of every season when the number of players are diminishing: a change of location and scenery but not before a challenging mission in the water and something synonymous with a summertime sporting tradition. We'll have that covered here coming up over the weekend, along with a trip into the Strategy Room to see where things stand before the game gets serious with a treasure chest of $500,000 awaiting.
But before that, as spring now officially begins there is still snow on the ground in some of the country... and it also means, the drama is just starting to heat up in the Catskills. We'll bring you our look at Week 2 of Winter Break Hunter Mountain coming up tomorrow, plus we'll have our annual trip down south for the madness that is Spring Break. Be sure to be with us then.
- I AM DC
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