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The Lakers came out, unsurprisingly, looking to set the tone in Game 2 of their series with the Rockets after being outplayed and outworked in the opener. They ran out to a 21-point lead and, much like their first round series, it looked as though they might’ve just rope-a-doped the Rockets out of the gates and were set to take control of not just the game but the series.

The Rockets had a response, though, in the form of a third quarter run in which they caught fire from three-point range and stormed back to take a two-point lead going into the fourth quarter. However, it was there that LeBron James took over and helped push the Lakers to a 117-109 win and even the series at a game apiece going into Tuesday. It was a highly entertaining game, falling firmly into the “game of runs” category, and hopefully is indicative of what the rest of this series has to offer. Here are our takeaways from Game 2 as we now look ahead to the rest of this series.

Russ giveth and Russ taketh

Game 1 was a really good Russell Westbrook game. He didn’t shoot it great from the perimeter, but he did all the other things you want to see from him in terms of attacking downhill but staying in control and wreaking havoc on defense. In Game 2, he was the polar opposite and the Rockets got absolutely hammered in the minutes he was on the floor. Russ picked up five fouls in three quarters, which led to him playing matador defense in the fourth trying his best not to pick up a sixth. On offense, he exhibited all of his worst habits: committing turnovers, playing out of control, and generally taking the Rockets out of their rhythm on the way to 10 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, and seven turnovers.

It’s hard to overstate just how detrimental Westbrook was to the Rockets on Sunday night, as just about everyone else was spectacular in Game 2. They had five players hit at least three three-pointers, including six from Eric Gordon who was the scoring catalyst for their third quarter run that let them erase a 21-point deficit to regain the lead — James Harden’s playmaking was also sensational in that quarter.

However, when Westbrook was in the game, everything became a grind, with L.A. happily helping off of him to send extra defenders at Harden and then simply rotating back to cut off his drive rather than trying to close out on him beyond the arc. If Russ isn’t able to get to the rim under control, he makes life so much easier for the Lakers defense because it collapses the spacing for Houston — particularly when Harden’s on the floor and they’re sending doubles at him with Russ’ defender. Westbrook can still have a positive impact on this team, we saw that in Game 1, but when he’s playing as he did in Game 2, Mike D’Antoni might have to be quicker with the hook for Russ, because it was painful to watch.

LeBron and Anthony Davis showed up and showed out

The first game wasn’t a bad performance from LeBron and AD, but it wasn’t the impact those two have to have for this Lakers team to succeed. They both stepped it up in Game 2, with LeBron posting 28 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists (including the dagger turnaround jumper) and Davis coming out aggressive early for 34 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.

The Lakers got better contributions from the bench unit on Sunday as well, with Markieff Morris (16 points), Kyle Kuzma (13 points), and Rajon Rondo (10 points, nine assists) all chipping in some much needed help, but it seemed as though James and Davis recognized that to get through this series they can’t merely be good, they have to be great. Sunday night that was the case, with Davis opening the game strong and James shutting the door in the fourth with his play on both ends.

As the series wears on, it seems clear that the Lakers are going to do their best to combat the Rockets small-ball with their own small lineups, as Dwight Howard was a healthy scratch on Sunday and JaVale McGee played just eight minutes. That means a lot rides on Davis playing big and playing smart, which he did successfully in Game 2. There were some sloppy offensive possessions down the stretch that helped Houston stay in the game and the Lakers have to clean some things up with late game execution, but Game 2 saw their leaders step up in a big way and it seemed the rest followed.

How does each team settle in now?

In Game 1, the Rockets came out with an energy that the Lakers couldn’t match. L.A. turned the tables in Game 2 and were the ones that hit Houston first with an unbelievable opening run. The Rockets made a furious comeback in the third quarter but the effort just to claw back into a narrow two-point lead seemed to gas them out going to the fourth. Now that we’ve seen both teams throw big punches, this series figures to settle into a bit of a rhythm. For the Rockets, the question is twofold. First, it’s how do they stay intact when their three-point shooting is in a lull?

They’re a team that almost always has a run in them, but as we saw in Game 1, if they have to come back from 21 down, then even a ridiculous shooting performance like they had in the third is only enough to get ahead by a few for when the Lakers inevitably counter. We saw this play out in the OKC series as well, where the Thunder would just stay attached during the Rockets hot streak and then were able to grind out wins in close games. Houston’s going to have to win a game or two like that in this series, because LeBron almost always has a counter-run in him as he did to open the fourth.

The second for Houston is whether Russell Westbrook can avoid repeating his Game 2 performance. They already run a shortened rotation and when Russ minutes are as bad as they were on Sunday, they don’t have a lot of great options for replacing him on the floor. Eric Gordon seems to be in a great rhythm in this series and that bodes well for Houston and, theoretically, should take some of the pressure of of Westbrook. However, he still has to be a net positive when he’s on the floor even if he’s not sensational, because if not they just don’t have the bodies to make up for it.

For the Lakers, LeBron and Davis have to continue being great but that’s more than doable. It simply comes down to whether their “others” can help them weather the storm when Houston gets hot. The Rockets are capable of runs like they had in the third quarter every game, and if the Lakers don’t hit threes like they did in Game 2, Houston can really separate themselves. Kuzma, Morris, Green, and Caldwell-Pope have to be able to shoot it, and getting positive Rondo minutes is a huge boost (but Vogel has to be careful about leaning too much on him because, like Westbrook, he sinks the Lakers spacing when off the ball). It’s going to be interesting to see what adjustments come now, but I expect both teams to be settled in for Game 3 and a competitive series to be on our hands.

A number of celebrities have caught and survived COVID-19, starting with Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson back in March and continuing through Dwayne Johnson, who broke the news of his own ailment last week. You can add another familiar face to the list: Michael Rooker, longtime character actor and MCU scene-stealer, who has declared victory over the virus after what he called an “epic battle.”

In a Facebook post on Friday, Rooker — who played baddie-turned-goodie Yondu Udonta in the two Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and will have a plum role in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad — detailed his illness with the hindsight of beating it. “If y’all aint figured it out by now why I’ve been isolating in this crazy awesome Airstream of mine, let me help y’all out by saying I’ve been fighting off COVID-19,” Rooker wrote. He continued:

Rooker said he didn’t take any extra medication (not the least being the infamous hydroxychloroquine, which has been recklessly pimped by our president). “I was either feeling like crap, or pretty dang good, semi human in fact. So, just so y’all know the end result of all those daily battles has come to an end,” Rooker wrote. “My body has won the WAR! Covid put up a pretty good fight… but bottom line, it ended up getting its ass knocked out! buy my immune system.”

He described it as a “1,2, punch to the head, 2 body shots and a left hook right upper-cut combination.”

Before getting minted by Marvel, Rooker has made untold appearances in film and TV, from a three-year stint on The Walking Dead to Days of Thunder, JFK, Cliffhanger, Tombstone, Mallrats, and many, many more. He first rose to prominence with his screen debut, as the titular ice-cold psycho in 1986’s Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Once this virus goes away, we’ll get to see him pop up in Fast & Furious 9. Till then, this is great news!

(Via EW)

The Houston Rockets were impressive in Game 1 of their second round series with the Lakers, giving L.A. problems on both ends of the floor on their way to a 112-97 win. It’s the second straight series that the Lakers have opened with a disappointing loss in their opening game, but this is a Rockets team with significantly more firepower than the Blazers and this Game 1 loss felt a bit more concerning.

That’s not so say the Lakers can’t turn things around and do so in a hurry, but it will be incumbent on them to make the proper adjustments to what the Rockets do. A big reason for that is that you can’t take the Rockets out of what they do and force them to adapt to you, because there isn’t a team in the NBA with a greater confidence or commitment to a system and identity than this Houston team.

What makes adjusting to Houston, particularly what they do defensively, difficult is that some of it runs counterintuitive to your initial expectations. As such, your first instinct in a gameplan can lead to some confounding results, which means adjustments are needed. Some of it for L.A. falls into the category of “play better,” most notably hitting more shots from the perimeter, but there are more tangible adjustments to be made we’ll outline a few things here that could turn the tide and help them even the series.

Don’t Try Out-Small Balling The Rockets

As I mentioned above, no one is as committed to their system and style more than Houston. As such, you’re going to have a very difficult time beating them at their game. Playing big is still the way to attack this Rockets team, particularly given the personnel the Lakers have, it’s just being smart about how you use your big lineups.

The Thunder showed in the first round that having your perimeter players attack the Rockets off the bounce in isolation when they get a favorable matchup can get good looks inside or collapse the defense to open up shooters. As Tim of the B-Ball Index points out in an excellent thread here, holding someone in the dunker’s spot against this Houston team is an effective way to force the Rockets not to help at the rim, as their way of preventing lobs is to keep a body on a big to keep them from being at the rim.

The Lakers have a deep frontcourt and they should use that more than they did in Game 1, when JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard combined for just under 24 minutes on the court. It can help open things up for LeBron James going to the basket as well as keeping Anthony Davis in 1-on-1 situations. When the Rockets aren’t helping, the Lakers are at the advantage. When you go small and allow them to switch and collapse and chase, even though it looks frantic that’s where they’re at their best on defense.

Playing big is important, but you have to be smart about how you try and take advantage of those perceived mismatches. The Rockets love to bait teams into falling in love with post-ups. Going to the post is the first thing people think about when they see the small-ball lineup with no one taller that 6’7 on the floor. Davis is great at a lot of things, but post play is not his strongest attribute. On the regular season, he averaged 0.9 points per possession on post ups, shooting 44.6 percent from the floor, per NBA Stats, and while he’s seen that jump to 1.07 points per possession in the playoffs, it’s still playing into the hands of this Houston defense. To take advantage of Houston’s size disadvantage, the answer isn’t more physicality. It’s more verticality.

The Rockets may be short, but they’re still strong. They play with incredible energy and effort, so trying to back them down doesn’t often yield an opportunity right at the rim where your advantage is at its greatest. The Lakers would be wise to use Davis as a roll-man more, where he excelled this season at 1.28 PPP, hitting 59.1 percent of his field goal attempts as the roll-man, per NBA Stats. Getting Davis — and McGee/Howard — rolling to the rim for lobs and catches deeper in the paint as a roller rather than posting up would produce far superior opportunities for him. You can even take advantage of getting Davis moving downhill with one of Howard or McGee in the weakside dunker spot, forcing Houston into quite the compromising position of not helping on Davis catching the ball off the roll towards the rim or risking leaving a lob for the other big.

Less Rajon Rondo

This isn’t the series to have non-shooters on the perimeter, even accounting for the Lakers’ dire need for more play-making. Rondo’s minutes should almost exclusively come with LeBron off of the court to serve as the primary facilitator for bench units, as he just causes problems for James and the Lakers’ spacing when they share the floor. LeBron is going to see extra bodies just about every time he puts the ball on the floor, and if Rondo is out there, it makes for a very easy decision for Houston who to leave open when they send help at James.

Now, their shooters (or, at least, the ones who are shooters in theory) have to be better and knock down shots — [stares in Danny Green and KCP] — but Rondo is such a non-threat that leaving him is a no-brainer for the Rockets defense. If you want to avoid a packed paint for James and Anthony Davis, Rondo can’t be one of your floor spacers. With a bench unit that could desperately use some creativity with James not on the court, I can more than understand shoveling Rondo minutes because, as I mentioned earlier, ball-handling and play-making is not a strength of this team. However, his minutes need to be limited, particularly as he works off some rust, and there’s no reason for him to have the sixth-most minutes on the team.

Don’t Let Eric Gordon Be A Factor

Defensively, the Lakers have to pick up their energy level a lot to match what Houston does. James Harden is going to do what he does, while Russell Westbrook was really good going downhill in Game 1 and made some big plays. However, this offense becomes an entirely different beast when Gordon is cooking because of his threat as a perimeter shooter. Gordon had 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting and that made a big difference in the opener for this Houston offense.

Sometimes Gordon can struggle to stay engaged with Harden and Westbrook as the two lead ball-handlers, but when they get him involved early and defenses allow him to get in rhythm, this becomes a nearly impossible offense to stop. Knowing who to help off of and who not to is the greatest test of defensive discipline in the modern NBA, because the best players in the world command help on the ball. Houston’s entire offense is predicated on making defenses struggle with that decision.

The easiest answer on the Rockets is Westbrook, because if he’s shooting threes, the defense is happy, and you don’t have to worry about hard closeouts, instead focusing on cutting off a driving lane with your rotation. The last guy that should be getting left is Gordon, because he’s the most capable three-point shooter and a quality ball-handler who can initiate offense immediately off the dribble if a closeout comes too hard. Everyone else on the floor is either merely a spot up shooter who you want to run off the line if able.

The Lakers gave Gordon too much opportunity in the opener, and needs to give him more focus to try and put more pressure offensively on Harden and Westbrook to be the sole creators on offense.

The Milwaukee Bucks entered Game 4 of their second round series with the Miami Heat needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, after the Heat won the first three games of the series, including a gutting fourth quarter of Game 3 that saw the Bucks meltdown after having a double-digit lead.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was a gametime decision for Game 4 with a right ankle injury, but was activated before tipoff and came out firing, with 19 points in the first 11 minutes before disaster struck and he aggravated the injury, spraining his right ankle and being forced out for the remainder of the game. As such, the onus fell on Khris Middleton to be the lead star on offense and the rest of the Bucks to step up around him, and that they did with a pretty incredible performance in Antetokounmpo’s absence to win it 118-115 in overtime.

Game 5 is now set for Tuesday night, with plenty of uncertainty about the Bucks’ top star, but for a team that was really lacking confidence in their ability to close, Sunday gave them some hope. Here are three takeaways from Game 4.

Khris Middleton Is Really Good

With Antetokounmpo out, Khris Middleton, who played 47 minutes (a season high), had to be the primary creator and he responded with 36 points, including 21 points in the third quarter to keep the Bucks within range of the Heat entering the fourth quarter.

While Middleton didn’t hit a shot in the fourth quarter, he came alive in overtime with some huge buckets, including the game-winner to put Milwaukee up four (and hit a pair of clutch free throws after a Miami three brought them back within one with three seconds to play).

Whether Giannis is able to play Tuesday or not, this is the kind of effort they’ll need from Middleton, who was aggressive and assertive on the offensive end, while playing excellent defense on the other. The Bucks found some success in attacking switches whenever they could to get Tyler Herro or Goran Dragic matched up with Middleton and shake free of the Jae Crowder or Jimmy Butler defense, so expect Miami to possibly adjust their coverage of the All-Star next game. Whatever the case, this was a Bucks team that had folded down the stretch a few times and to gut this win out without Giannis showed a lot from Middleton and the rest.

Miami’s Late Offense Struggled For The First Time

The fourth quarter has been where the Heat have looked the best in this series, erasing deficits or running away with wins. Jimmy Butler has been the catalyst for many of those fourth quarter runs, taking over and being the best player on the court, but in Game 4 both he and the Heat offense stagnated late. Tyler Herro hit three huge threes down the stretch to force overtime and keep Miami close in the extra period, but aside from that they really struggled to create much of anything as Milwaukee did a great job bottling up Butler and keeping Miami out of the paint.

For all the talk of Miami’s three-point shooting being their biggest advantage against this Bucks team, it’s been how well the Heat have attacked downhill, led by Butler and Dragic, that has really hurt Milwaukee. This game, the Bucks went back to protecting the paint above all, and while it yielded some runs from Duncan Robinson, Jae Crowder, and Herro from deep, it kept Butler and Dragic from taking over as each had 17 points. As the Heat fell in love with the threes, particularly from Crowder as he cooled off, things turned in Milwaukee’s favor and Miami’s offense fell out of rhythm and became a lot of standing around.

It’s possible this was simply a letdown performance for Miami, as it was a closeout Game 4 going against a Milwaukee team down an MVP. Still, I would bet the focus for Erik Spoelstra in film study on Monday will be that late game offense which shut down and allowed a tired Bucks team to not just stay in the game, but escape with a win and suddenly gain some confidence.

Bam Adebayo Holds The Key

Giannis’ status is critical for Milwaukee’s chances of winning three more games in a row here, but for the Heat, even with the late-game offensive woes, they have to feel pretty good about where they’re at. Herro saw some shots go in during crunch time, Robinson finally got loose, but maybe most importantly this was a monster performance from Adebayo. He led the Heat in every category, with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists and, honestly, the biggest mistake in the fourth was probably going away from initiating the offense with him.

He played spectacular defense on Khris Middleton at times in the fourth, and the dribble-handoff game with Duncan Robinson got on track in the middle quarters. He’s been a big reason why they’ve been able to slow down Giannis, as he’s always lurking as help behind Crowder and others if he’s not serving as the primary defender, but as Miami moves forward it’s his capabilities on offense as a threat both scoring at the rim and facilitating that gives them a real chance.

The Heat are able to hurt you in so many ways on the perimeter with two elite shooters in Herro and Robinson and a pair of great drivers in Dragic and Butler. However, as we saw in the fourth quarter, a really good defense can take away those driving lanes and smother Robinson to keep him away from the ball. The Heat were at their best in this game when things ran through Bam at the high post or in pick-and-roll, and I think that’s something for them to consider more for crunchtime, particularly when teams start throwing more aggressive ball-pressure as Milwaukee did.

It turns out the boat parade disaster some Donald Trump supporters endured on a Texas lake on Saturday was a mishap of their own making. Word that several boats had sank and needed assistance during a Trump boat parade quickly lit up social media, as images of crafts on rough-looking waters or sinking to a watery grave made the event national news.

As some parts of social media celebrated the disaster with the hashtag #Dumbkirk, others wondered what actually happened to cause several boats to sink. Some conservatives actually wondered if foul play was involved, which only led to more jokes. But on Sunday, as the total number of confirmed boats sank was confirmed to be five, officials also made it clear that the cause of the boat parade disaster was… the boat parade itself.

According to Axios, the Travis County Sheriff Department said Sunday that it responded to 15 “distress calls” related to the boat parade, giving full details about not only the nature of those calls but also revealing that they came soon after the parade got underway.

Almost immediately upon the parade going into motion, TCSO began receiving distress calls from boaters. The first call came in at 12:15 pm, and the last distress call associated with the parade came in a 1:53 pm. The distress calls varied and included: boats taking on water, stalled engines, capsized boats and boats sinking. TCSO responded to 15 distress calls and received three additional reports of boats taking on water from a local towing company.

According to the department, three of the boats that sank were towed out of the water, but as of Sunday, another two apparently remained below the depths. There were also other boats that were able to be saved. And despite some speculation that Antifa had somehow caused the accidents, the report indicated that not only was the weather fine, there were no outside agitators involved.

Weather conditions on Lake Travis were calm. When the large number of boats began moving together, the wakes generated large waves in areas where participating boats were dense. TCSO has found no evidence of foul play associated with any of the incidents.

In other words, the Trump boaters did this to themselves, almost right away and in what appears to be as embarrassing a fashion as it initially sounded when reports first circulated on Saturday. Perhaps this wasn’t the best way to spend a holiday weekend , but at least it gave the rest of us a good laugh.

John Oliver has made many enemies over his career, but none have responded to his criticism the way the mayor of Danbury, Connecticut did a few weeks back. After the Last Week Tonight host repeatedly (and randomly) mocked his town, one of the most diverse and thriving in America, mayor Mark Boughton decided to respond in kind: He threatened to name the local sewage plant after him, because, in his words, both are “full of crap.” Alas, it was just a joke, and when Oliver discovered that, he was devastated. So he made one more volley, promising to donate a large sum in local charities should Boughton actually go through with the plan. And it appears to have worked — with one minor stipulation.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Boughton agreed with Oliver’s demands, but to seal the deal he demanded Oliver do one more thing: show up in person to the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Of course, given how ecstatic Oliver was to hear he’d have a crap factory named after him, it’s hard to imagine he’ll skip.

Boughton made the announcement in a jokey video, in which he continued to heap abuse on the man who’d heaped abuse on his city. While he appreciated Oliver’s promise to donate money, he took a little umbrage with the amount: $55,000 total. “That’s a little light for someone in the 1 percent,” Boughton said. “But a deal is a deal.”

There was one more thing. Boughton said that if Oliver welched, he’d still name something after him: a port-a-potty, which would be dubbed “The John Oliver ****house,” the meaning of the asterisks not hard to divine. “Come up to Danbury and sit on your throne,” Boughton told Oliver. Surely he’d like to have both.

(Via THR)

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was the prohibitive favorite to win the U.S. Open, having cruised to Sunday’s Round of 16 match with No. 20 Pablo Carreno Busta having dropped just one set in his first three matches.

However, the tennis world was stunned when Djokovic was disqualified from the tournament in the first set of that match after he hit at a lineswoman in apparent frustration, striking her in the neck and injuring her. Djokovic was given a default and Carreno Busta advanced to the quarterfinals in stunning fashion.

Whether intentional or not, the decision by the top player in the world sees him tossed from the tournament. Djokovic is not exactly the most beloved figure in tennis and his antics earlier during the pandemic certainly only soured that image further, but this appeared to be a mistake, as an alternate angle shows his reaction in real time.

He was, unsurprisingly, not happy with the decision to default him, complaining to the head official that she wasn’t seriously injured.

It is as bizarre a moment as you’ll see on the tennis court, particularly given it happened to the tournament favorite, but now the men’s draw in New York seems as wide open as ever and Djokovic only furthering his status as the sport’s most polarizing figure.

Taylor Swift has spent the last month and a half sitting atop the Billboard album charts and it doesn’t look like the singer will be leaving the top spot any time soon as Folklore goes No. 1 once again for the sixth straight week. After pulling in 846,000 equivalent album units for its first week on the Billboard albums chart, Taylor has consistently tallied enough sales week after week to keep the No. 1 position while reaching a number of milestones along the way.

Tallying 90,000 equivalent album units for her sixth week at No. 1, Taylor ties Whitney Houston for the most weeks spent atop the charts among female artists in a career with 46. Folklore has also notched the most weeks at No. 1 in 2020, passing Lil Baby’s My Turn which previously had the record with five. Other milestones for the album include the most consecutive weeks at No. 1 since Drake’s 2016 album, Views, and the most weeks at No. 1 by any non-R&B/hip-hop album or an album by a woman since Adele’s 2015 album, 25.

Looking further down the charts, Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon comes in at No. 2, Juice WRLD’s Legends Never Die stays put at No. 3, Metallica grabs their 11th top-10 album with S&M2 coming in at No. 4, and Katy Perry’s new album, Smile, debuts at No. 5.

(via Billboard)

Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a right ankle injury early in Game 3 of the Bucks second round series with the Miami Heat, but was able to play the entire game as Milwaukee saw Miami erase a fourth-quarter deficit to win and take a 3-0 lead. Entering Game 4, Giannis was listed as questionable, but after going through warmups, he was upgraded to active and started as usual.

In a game the Bucks had to have to keep their season alive, Giannis came out on a mission, scoring 19 points in his first 11 minutes on the floor, hitting 8-of-10 shots from the field. However, on a drive early in the second quarter, Giannis stepped awkwardly on that right foot and appeared to aggravate his ankle injury, collapsing to the floor and holding his ankle in serious pain.

Antetokounmpo would be helped to the Milwaukee bench but would come back onto the floor to shoot his free throws to allow him the chance to return to the game later if able, splitting them and then immediately checking out of the game to go get treatment in the back. The Bucks chances of winning the game (and any hopes of an historic comeback in the series) rest heavily on Antetokounmpo’s shoulders as he is their (and the league’s) MVP and DPOY.

At halftime, the team announced Antetokounmpo was done for the rest of the game with a sprained right ankle.

The classrooms were empty.

Never did I expect to see my former high school, in Delaware, as the site of the Democratic National Convention on TV, but there it was. There was my study hall and my study hall teacher, who also happens to be the former second lady.

When I graduated college in Delaware, I hightailed it out of there, like most people my age. I had big dreams in New York. I wanted to be a writer.

That summer, my father was killed by a distracted driver. She’d gotten lost and pulled off a highway, picking up her phone at a red light to call for directions. She zoomed right through the next red and plowed into my dad, who was turning left. He died instantly. Or so I was told. I was 25, and decided to keep going. I inherited a small insurance settlement. I used it to stay in New York. It was how my dad would have wanted it, I thought.

Now, seventeen years later, those dreams had come true. I’d been published in national magazines and newspapers in addition to copyediting national magazines. But I still wasn’t fulfilled. No amount of career success could erase what had happened. I was still working on making it right.

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“After our son Beau died of cancer, I wondered if I would ever smile or feel joy again,” the blond woman in the green shirtdress, Dr. Jill Biden, said on television. “It was summer, but there was no warmth left for me. Four days after Beau’s funeral, I watched Joe shave and put on his suit. I saw him steel himself in the mirror, take a breath, put his shoulders back and walk out into a world empty of our son. He went back to work. That’s just who he is. There are times when I couldn’t even imagine how he did it. How he put one foot in front of the other and kept going. But I’ve always understood why he did it…he does it for you. Joe’s purpose has always driven him forward. His strength of will is unstoppable, and his faith is unshakable. Because it’s not in politicians or political parties or even in himself — it’s in the providence of God.”

Biggest Super Tuesday takeaway: Do not mess with Jill Biden or Symone Sanders

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A week after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, my life took an unexpected turn, too.

My brother had just moved into his first condo. My husband and I drove the four hours up to Salem, Massachusetts, to see him. Once there, my brother and future sister-in-law revealed a treasure they’d discovered in their move: our father’s bucket list.

“Talk with the President.” “Correspond with the Pope.” “Surf in the Pacific.” It was the kind of thing you find and chuckle over. His indecipherable handwriting, the wild things this man from Delaware wanted to do. But I didn’t just laugh. I felt a pull to action. My husband felt it too.

“You have to finish this list,” he said. “And then write a book about it.”

I’d been an activist for three years, twisting my work as a journalist into a platform. But I hadn’t found the right medium. And the numbers of car fatalities kept going up.

“The burdens we carry are heavy, and we need someone with strong shoulders,” Dr. Biden continued. “I know that if we entrust this nation to Joe, he will do for your family what he did for ours. Bring us together and make us whole, carry us forward in our time of need, keep the promise of America for all of us.”

It’s not easy. Moving on, trying to make sense of unimaginable tragedy.

I’ve understood what families have gone through the past six months. I know the pain of getting a phone call to learn your father has died. There is a helplessness. An anger.

My dad never would have wanted me to talk about his death my whole life. My dad was hopeful, joyful, a storyteller. He would have wanted a better story.

“Be invited to a political convention” was item 53 on my dad’s bucket list. After “talk with the President,” it struck me as the least feasible. But in August 2019, I gave it a go. By then I’d checked off 27 of my dad’s dreams.

First I wrote to every Democratic candidate. Then I wrote to every college alum who worked for the press, to every TV show who’d interviewed me. Finally, I tried a University of Delaware alum who worked at the local paper. He said he had no connection to Biden, but could put me in touch with the Delaware Democratic state party.

The Delaware Democratic chairman was kind. He said if I was a registered Democrat, I could attend their next convention.

That sounded like an invitation to me.

I walked out of the New York skyscraper where I worked and just before I reached the subway stopped and cried. Of all the conventions I could have ended up going to, I’d never imagined one in my home state. The place I’d wanted nothing to do with 20 years ago. But it was exactly where my dad would have gone, had he checked this off himself.

A few months later, a story about my mission to finish my dad’s list was published in my college’s alumni magazine. It was to come out that spring.

Photo courtesy Laura Carney

But by then, the whole world had fallen apart.

My husband came home from work early on a Wednesday in March. “I’m not going back,” he said. “We have to work from home indefinitely.”

We jumped in the car and drove to Whole Foods to stock up. I texted everyone I knew, asking them how they were handling this craziness. I got no response.

The pandemic hadn’t hit them yet.

“We just need leadership worthy of our nation,” Dr. Biden said. “Worthy of you. Honest leadership to bring us back together, to recover from this pandemic and prepare for whatever else is next. Leadership to reimagine what our nation will be.”

In the next few weeks, I decided I wanted more than just an invite to a state convention. And so as the country shut down, I collected signatures to become a national delegate. I had to do it digitally because my state was sheltering in place. I attached a photo of myself in a tuxedo (another list item, “own a black tux”). I asked my neighbors to put down whatever they were doing and please sign my list. But then the governor waived the need for signatures.

A councilwoman in my town emailed me. She said she could get me in. She shared my story with a friend who shared it with another friend and next thing I knew, the Joe Biden campaign was hearing about me.

Weeks went by. My University of Delaware magazine article came out. They’d put me on the cover. People said my story gave them hope during an uncertain time. But I felt lost. Yes, my story was one of hope, but hope in a more simple time. Not hope during a time of 170,000 deaths, 5 million Americans ill and millions out of work in only five months!

My husband and I couldn’t even leave our house. I couldn’t see anyone I loved. How on earth could my words still make a difference?

“How do you make a broken family whole?” Dr. Biden said. “The same way you make a nation whole: with love and understanding and with small acts of kindness. With bravery, with unwavering faith. We show up for each other in big ways and small ones again and again.”

The sacrifices I’ve seen people make for my dad’s bucket list have been countless. It has changed my marriage for the better, thanks to my husband’s contributions. Every sibling, cousin, aunt and uncle has chipped in, as have my mom and stepdad and every friend. Every person I know has somehow turned out to be an expert on some list item. They’ve given me their time for free. Even strangers.

I’m richer in love because of this project, I have friends I never would have known. And they tell me they’re richer too.

In June I learned Biden had chosen his NJ delegates for the national convention, and I wasn’t one of them.

But by July I felt better about not receiving an invite. Because now, thanks to the pandemic, nobody would. The convention would be virtual, in an effort to protect people’s lives.

Then it was announced that even Biden wouldn’t travel to Milwaukee. He’d accept the nomination right there in Delaware.

The same state I’d already been invited to for the Delaware state convention. My mom texted me an hour before the second night of the DNC.

“Jill Biden is speaking from her classroom at Brandywine High School, Room 232.”

“What?” I said. “I’ve been in that room!”

How is it possible? I thought. I’ve been denied an invitation back to my own high school!

But then I suddenly knew. It was because I was too busy trying to be important to remember who I really am.

“Now, Joe is not perfect,” former First Lady Michelle Obama said in her DNC speech. “And he’d be the first to tell you that. But there is no perfect candidate, no perfect president. And his ability to learn and grow—we find in that the kind of humility and maturity that so many of us yearn for right now. Because Joe Biden has served this nation his entire life without ever losing sight of who he is; but more than that, he has never lost sight of who we are, all of us.

Here she was, Dr. Jill Biden, this beautiful stateswoman, addressing our nation in a hopeless time, during the most important election of our lifetimes—from my high school. From little Delaware.

From a place that maybe wasn’t so little after all.

Maybe I didn’t have to make my voice seem big to be heard. Instead of spending the evening in a crowded arena, I spent it on my couch at home, cheering with my mom over the phone when we saw my old stomping grounds on TV.

And hers were the only ears I needed. The only invitation I could want.

A night with my mom at the national convention. And I know my dad was there, too.

Probably laughing at me.

Laura Carney is a writer and magazine and book copy editor in New York and is writing a book about finishing the bucket list of her late father, who was killed by a distracted driver