Zach Lee

My latest work. It's the thrill of a lifetime to work with the folks at NFL Films.

brooooooo. bro. it's honestly as sad a story as i can ever remember.

1. Lose 10 games off the schedule. 2. Eliminate block/charge reviews 3. Reduce team timeouts to 4 per game. 4. Replace draft with auction, wherein wins after the trade deadline add dollars to team budgets. 5. IDK man i just know this ain't it.

@BrendanPorath @samstein "Inside everyone there is a frog and a scorpion..."

@samstein "snake bit"

not again. jesus. snake bit. praying for the guy

@damanr agree totally. I had major qualms with the iron first of Stern but the last decade has felt increasingly like a substitute teacher losing control of the room. It was a relief for a few years and now I just want it back the way it was. The pendulum has swung WAY too far.

Zooming out, just some stray meta observations of the NBA's latest proposal leak to Shams re: lottery: Beyond the specifics, the "let's just throw things out there and gauge reaction" stuff is weak as hell. Hiding behind being collaborative also means you don't want to own your decisions. This isn't a democracy, take control, sell it to the owners and announce the change. It may work, it may not work, but take control. Secondly, the overwhelming negative reaction has very little to do with the specifics and more to do with a total lack of confidence in NBA leadership, and the way this is being orchestrated is validation of that lack of confidence. You can't talk a big game about serious changes coming and then dip your toes in the water because the water might be too cold and scary for you. It's very possible that this is all an overreaction to a great draft class and these things come in cycles. But it's another problem that has festered and spiraled out of control and has dominated the narrative. I don't have a lot of energy to debate this stuff, rooting for the NBA sometimes feels like getting homework assignments

Fucking hilarious that the feedback loop has circled back to Shams already and now he's trying to better float this morning's balloon of crapola so it works better this time.

lol the NBA floated its anti-tanking proposal balloon this morning and lol no balloon has been shot at more universally in recent memory

@NateDuncanNBA Improvement, sure. I think Adam set up an expectation that the system would be dramatically altered and thus have a chance to truly fix the issues at hand. Personally I feel like it is nowhere near the set of holistic solutions needed to get the product back where it needs to be.

The reaction I've seen to NBA's tanking proposals hasn't been positive. Personally I think the proposal with the flattened lottery odds would be a substantial improvement from the current system.

Sure I'm glad they're doing something, but the NBA is steering eerily close to our broken halls of government these days. All of these solutions fall short of fixing the problem and completely ignore the other issues of rot, specifically because they would cost owners money.

@BigWos @TimBontemps

@TimBontemps “Consider this not done. At all.”

Adam Silver on tanking: “We are going to fix this — full stop.”

@james_maguirk @BrettKollmann Great answer. I'd add the late 80's "gotta roll 10 police cars in a chase" requirement, a somehow completely believable and heartwrenching ex-wife / estranged daughter scene, and some of the cafe/bar scenes that would otherwise hit the cutting room floor in 2026.

@rightfieldsucks @BrettKollmann De Niro and Grodin and the rest of the cast giving their absolute best, the audacity and complexity of the stunt work (the helicopter scene in particular), the expertly written dialogue combined with beautiful shot composition (the train car scene), the twist at the very end.

STOP SHOOTING EVERYTHING IN THE VOLUME I AM BEGGING YOU

Cubs have been a good news factory since they made the playoffs last year. I am deeply, fully, ready to get hurt again. PCA!!!!

@james_maguirk @BrettKollmann okay agreed but tell me why you think so... what is it that's so perfect for you?

@rightfieldsucks @BrettKollmann Midnight Run is perfect

@BrettKollmann Watched Midnight Run last night. They must have gone to 30 locations. Destroyed 15 police cars. Shot on New York, LA, Las Vegas streets among countless other lesser spots. Countless one-liner roles, dozens of extras, driven by great writing and better performances. A total joy.

In 20 years, we've gone backwards. Use real sets! Stop being afraid of shadows! Stop hiding behind depth of field!

@CFCBears You are infinitely higher on ML than I. I've got him with a 3rd round grade. Heck of a first step but can't bend at the top to capitalize on it, lacks counters and the run D just isn't there. Respect the take, just totally different eval. Probably why this is all so fun.

Lawrence EMW Woods Young Faulk Parker If you wanted to flip the top 2 I could be convinced but preference to the guy that directly affects the passer

Today’s super sick thing on the Everything App: just shoehorning in accounts you don’t follow and aren’t labeled as ads into your Follow feeds. Why have any rules at all!

@BrettKollmann Hard to disagree. It’s why I thought we’d see a new DL coach this season. I’d point to minor wins in the Pace era (Nichols, Robertson-Harris) but the reality is the bears have failed at the two critical points of talent development: QB and DL. Fun!

I implore you all to go back and look at every pass rushers the Bears have drafted since 2004.

Sure as the world, Ben Johnson has one of the Bears 7th rounders burning a hole in his pocket for a useful tight end that will take over for Durham Smythe this year and challenge Cole Kmet’s roster value in ‘27.

@DJPie I gotchu

All I've ever wanted is a longform look at dudes breaking down shots and then hitting them

@BrettKollmann I live here. Have for 8 years. Here's your menu today: Cafe Olli for lunch, no matter what direction you take it you will be pleased. Waits possible. Dinner: Kachka, Yalla, or Jeju are all unique home runs. DM me if you want to get specific.

To the Portlanders (Portlandonians?) on the timeline, I have been tasked with funding us lunch and dinner today. What’s your spot. Any and all type of food is welcome.

@Rahll Let them eat shit.

Two years ago, Amazon forced ads on you unless you wanted to pay another $36 a year. Now, they're also locking 4K video behind the plan and raising the price to an additional $60 a year on top of already paying them $139 annually. Enshittification to a T.