Friday’s Hot Clicks: Mike Bibby Looks Like Vin Diesel

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Mike Bibby must live in the gym now

How do you remember Mike Bibby? It’s probably as a slick, creative and athletic point guard with no real defining physical characteristics.

Getty Images

Well now he looks like he’s preparing to play Vin Diesel’s long lost brother in the next Fast & Furious movie. 

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A post shared by Mike Bibby (@mike_bibby_10)

The photo elicited reactions from around the NBA world, none of which was better than Dwyane Wade reconsidering how his 2012 run-in with Bibby would have gone if Bibby was the same muscle-bound monster he is now. 

But this isn’t even my favorite recent Mike Bibby development. That honor definitely goes to the time he played 1-on-2 against some random guys in a park and lied about who he was. 

Russia is living up to every stereotype so far

If you asked Americans (before the 2016 election) what they knew about Russia, they’d probably tell you that people drink a lot of vodka, they wear those big fur hats and they have very docile bears all over the place. Well, it’s summer so I doubt we’ll see the big fur hats. But there definitely will be plenty of drinking during the tournament, and there’s a bear somewhere on the streets of Moscow riding in a Jeep and playing a vuvuzela. 

The other well-known thing about Russia is that the people can be insanely racist. Sure enough, some people believe the gesture the bear makes at the end of the video is the anti-Semitic “quenelle.” 

I can’t get over how cool this is

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A post shared by Steve Butcher (@stevebutchertattoos)

Honestly, when I first saw this tattoo I thought it had to be fake. It’s just so perfectly realistic. But no, it’s very, very real. Toronto tattoo artist Steve Butcher said it took him 21 hours to complete. The piece even got a shoutout from Dwyane Wade himself. 

I think it’s an amazing piece of artwork to wear on your body but maybe Toronto isn’t the right place for it. LeBron isn’t too popular there after what he did to the Raptors this season. 

Bits & Pieces

The New York Times had a reporter watch Russia’s World Cup opener from the front lines of the war against Ukraine. ... A Texas man found a snake in his toilet so he called the cops and the officer who responded pulled it out with her bare hands. ... The wife of the late legendary comedian Mitch Hedberg says she has boxes of old unreleased material that could be made into a documentary. ... I had no idea port-a-potties could fly this high. ... An Arkansas highway was flooded with Fireball cinnamon whiskey after a truck crash. 

Which olive is Robert Lewandowski? 

While we’re on the topic, I really loved this photo gallery of the most unique soccer fields around the world. 

You really thought real teeth were a good idea? 

You couldn’t pay me to sit here

This is the World Cup stadium in Yekaterinburg, where organizers were forced to build a temporary grandstand outside the walls of the stadium so that it would meet the 35,000-seat minimum required of World Cup hosts. I linked to Andrew Keh’s story in the New York Times in yesterday’s clicks but I missed this video he posted. It’s enough to make your palms sweat. 

I’m very angry about this

Remember that story about the Cheeto that looked like the NBA logo? It was planted by an advertising agency.

Holy moly, what a fight

Look at the fans throwing beers on the brawling players!

A lost piece of history

Zach Galafianakis still has his fastball

A good song

(NSFW language.)

I can’t believe Fox Sports actually hired Meyhem Lauren to do the voiceovers for its World Cup ads. 

Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or ping me on Twitter. Click here for previous editions of Hot Clicks. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.