Monday Night Bites: Fortnite and Game Sevens

 Entertainment: Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 4

Fortnite hasn’t gained a lot of popularity recently, but that doesn’t mean it lost any of the fun. I can’t blame any former players for quitting the game, I myself did in Season 7. It isn’t the game’s fault that some quit, just that nothing gold can stay when it comes to trends, especially video games. (Yep, some guy in an unmarked van offered me candy if I tied The Outsiders into a conversation about Fortnite.) This season, perhaps the greatest thing was the battle pass, a collection of cosmetics like skins, pickaxes, and gliders accessible for a reasonable amount of money. Normally, it includes relatively generic skins like knights, scuba divers, or a cat in a mechanical suit and an overarching theme. This season, it was a Marvel promo. The decision may disappoint gamers who enjoyed the game’s original lore, but the items inside are nothing but a treat. It contains a Thor skin, but don’t get your hopes up, it’s best described by my cousin’s initial analysis of “Wal-Mart Thor.” Iron Man is cool as ever, (is my idolatry of a fictional character weird?) but Fortnite’s version of him makes him a bit less billionaire playboy and a little more office IT guy. I guess that makes sense for a game targeted at 9 year olds. The gameplay itself provides the same fun as always, with some new weapons and items. Having an item that is a cross between Groot and a hamster ball has been (insert adjective that sums up feelings on such a strange thing). Having a location called Pleasant Park turn into a lair for infamous Fantastic Four villain Doctor Doom entertains me, but has traumatized my sister, who enjoyed the location’s peace. So far, it’s been a fun season. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they can do with all of these iconic characters and how they’ll feature them in their world

Sports: Game Sevens

I do not dislike winner-take-all basketball games. If you do, you have a serious problem. No, actually. Go visit a YouTube video of Kawhi last year against the 76ers in Game 7 and you’re cured. This year, the Western Conference gave us 2 Game 7s. (For those of you keeping track of which is more fun, the Eastern Conference first round had 3 4 game series and 1 5 game series.) Let’s start with Murray/Mitchell. Utah vs Denver always delivers, but never more than when their young stars forgot how to miss. Calling the series Murray/Mitchell was sarcastic, but I fully expect this to come down to those two. Mitchell had a supreme Game 6 effort, but he happened to be playing against Jamal Murray, who just decided the Nuggets were going to win. For Game 7, I like Utah. I think Mitchell is skilled enough to keep up a similar pace for a while. Murray can’t do this forever. I couldn’t be more sure of Mitchell showing up tomorrow night. Murray could go for 60, but with him, you can’t eliminate the possibility of him not even grabbing double digits. The winner will play the Clippers. While I do favor the Jazz tomorrow night, the Nuggets have a far better chance in a round against the Clippers. Utah/LA will result in a second unit massacre for the Jazz, who have Jordan Clarkson and some other people who apparently play basketball. Behind the aforementioned Clippers, the Nuggets have arguably the best bench in the NBA and a great defense which is as well equipped as any to handle Kawhi and Co. Then, in Wednesday’s thriller, the Thunder and Rockets face off. The Thunder have this weird four guard thing with CP3, SGA, and Oklahoma City’s favorite German exchange students, Lugentz Dort (can we talk about how he almost fouled Harden to make a potential 4 point play at the end of tonight’s game?) and Dennis Schroeder. The only reason they got away with it was because they were playing the Houston Rockets, who are equally interested in playing small ball. The Rockets look like a good bet to steal the series, as OKC has had to work to close out every game they‘ve won. There’s also the Russell Westbrook factor, who can always double as Star-Lord in Infinity War. To avoid hurting people who enjoy basketball, let’s just not talk about his Game 6. Looking ahead to Round 2, both of these teams match up poorly against the Lakers. The Thunder are somehow both too small and too slow, with Adams and Gallinari being the only notable players who could match up with LeBron and AD, and Davis could completely outrun Adams. Not going to lie though, I want to see what Dort can do against James. The Rockets aren’t much better, with PJ Tucker and RoCo being the only size they can throw at the Laker bodies. However, their undisputed scoring punch with Harden must be considered. I’m really looking forward to two thrilling games of duels between professional scorers, plus variables like Joe Ingles’ shooting and Russell Westbrook’s ability to be a competent basketball player.