Can't Ban the Snowman: The Legend of Tony Snow

[chosenone58]

MKG knocking down triples in here

He gets on the corner....Bruce Bowen like precision

Forbes don't want that smoke

He don't want no problems with the big fella

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GAME QUOTES

Heat Starting Five: Antonio Snow, Mikal Bridges, Josh Richardson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Hassan Whiteside

Miami HC Erik Spoelstra on Miami’s bench contribution: We believe we have the best bench in the league. Everybody has stars, but this is really where our team shines. They managed to hold Atlanta to only 15 points in the second quarter. That takes some of the pressure off some of our lead guys.

Antonio Snow on Hassan Whiteside’s performance: That’s light work for him for real. He can do that night in and night out.

Miami HC Erik Spoelstra on Miami’s renewed focus tonight: The energy is always high when we face Atlanta. This series has probably become one of the most anticipated by each fan base throughout the season. We didn’t have much time to reflect on the loss to Chicago.

Mikal Bridges on Antonio Snow’s 38-point performance: We knew he was going to come out ready to work. We loss to Chicago and that was a close loss. We were not going to lose to Atlanta. We had to match his energy tonight.

Top Performers
Miami Heat
Antonio Snow – 38 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST
Hassan Whiteside – 20 PTS, 17 REB
Mikal Bridges – 12 PTS, 2 AST


Atlanta Hawks
Trae Young – 33 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST
Nickeil Alexander-Walker – 14 PTS
Kevin Huerter – 10 PTS, 2 AST

[Agent]

The Trae Young / Antonio Snow rivalry continues. Whiteside went off

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The Coldest Wynter

December 24, 2020

“Merry Christmas, Mrs. Gloria.”

“Merry Christmas, Tony.” She pulled me into a hug as we got ready to board a private jet headed to New York. “Merry Christmas to you too, Nico.”

“Where’s Mr. Walker?” Nico asked.

She pointed to the SUV they arrived in.

“Getting our bags out of the truck.”

“We have people for that.”

“I told him that, but you know how he can be.” She laughed.

The four of us decided to spend the holiday in New York with Eva and the baby. I told her parents that I would fly out the morning after our game against Houston and that they could join us. Mrs. Walker jumped at the chance. Eva said that I was spoiling her mom with all the first class flights she had been taking to New York, so I'm sure that this private jet was going to put it over the top.

Once Mr. Walker handed over the bags to be loaded onto the plane, he joined us.

“We could have just flown commercial.”

“Oh, Steven, cut it out. Tony offered. And I want to get back to my babies as soon as possible.”

“Flight would have cost the same if it were just and me and Nico anyway. Let’s get settled.”

Three hours later, we were at the front door of Eva’s apartment. Mrs. Walker used the key to let us in.

“Sweetie, I hope you’re decent. We have guests.”

Eva came around the corner, hair a bit disheveled, wearing an oversized Knicks sweatshirt. She stopped when she saw me.

“So, you are secretly a Knicks fan when I’m not around,” I joked.

“I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“I asked if it was cool to spend the holiday with you.”

“And I said you didn’t have to. My parents would be here, and you guys have a game the day after Christmas—”

“Which I will fly back for on Saturday morning.”

“Well, I hope you’re more enthused to see me than you are to see Tony.” Nico joked.

She gave him a hug. “I’m always excited to see you, Nico. How’s school?”

“Damn, kick a brother while he’s down. I’ll just head back to Jersey. Hopefully, the plane is still there.”

“Stop it, Antonio. I just really didn’t expect to see you. But I am glad you’re here.”

##############################

After checking into our hotel, I headed back to the apartment. Eva’s parents had decided to go out for lunch before the city shut down for the holiday. Nico managed to link up with some of his classmates that were from the area. That boy knows people everywhere. I was in the kitchen making lunch for us while she relaxed on the couch. Once I was done, I sat our food on the table before taking a seat on the couch. I pulled her feet into my lap and began giving her a massage.

“You are really, really good at that.”

“I aim to please. Especially since it seems like I wasn’t welcome here.”

She opened her eyes and looked at me. I was half smiling, so she knew that I was only joking. A little.

“Antonio, I’m sorry. I really was just caught off guard. We appreciate you wanting to spend Christmas with us.”

“And I appreciate you changing out of that sweatshirt.”

“Well, they don’t exactly sell Miami Heat merch out here like that.”

“You definitely could have ordered something from the NBA Store.”

“Well, it was a bit of an emergency, and I just ran into Target really quickly and this was what they had in my size.”

“Right.”

She looked over at the table and saw her lunch sitting there. Her eyes lit up.

“Is this Antonio’s Famous Smash Burger?”

“Yes, it is. I need my kid to get hooked on my burgers now. McDonald’s won’t stand a chance.”

“And sweet potato fries.”

“What’s a burger without fries, girl? Come on now.”

She picked up her burger and took a bite, her feet never leaving my lap.

“This is the life,” she sighed.

“This could always be your life, you know?” I saw an opening, so I decided to shoot my shot. “If you want it to be. I want us to be a family for real, Eva.”

“We will be, Antonio. Just not…. I’m just not ready for how you’re envisioning our family just yet.”

I nodded my head. I wasn’t going to press her about it. But I needed her to know that I was serious about this baby, about her, about us.

Present

“You good, Bro?” Nico asked before I went into the hospital room. I flew straight from Atlanta to New York and met them at the hospital this morning.

“Yeah, I mean, the baby is early, but these things just kind of happen at their own pace, right?”

“I guess. Mother Nature and all that.”

“I appreciate you for staying up here after Christmas, Nic.”

“Best Uncle Ever, boy. Good luck.”

I pushed open the door and was met with an exhausted looking Eva and her mom. Mrs. Walker and I shared a hug before she stepped out of the room to give us a minute. I noticed a pair of scrubs sitting on the end of the bed. Eva nodded to me, so I picked them up and went in the bathroom to change.

“What happened to the Toni Braxton?” I asked after I had changed.

“Braxton Hicks,” she laughed. “And that was last week. I guess once you stopped playing like shit, this kid wanted to see if their dad was the real deal. The game against Chicago notwithstanding.” She smiled back. “You got here pretty quick.”

“Nico got me out of Atlanta as soon as you guys got to the hospital, I guess. I have been burning up this NetJets deal. Glad I left first thing and managed to beat the snow.”

“I knew he was the smarter of the two of you.” She said through a grimace as another contraction hit.

“How much longer?”

Before she could answer, Dr. Webb came into the room. She smiled when she saw me.

“Glad you could make it, Dad.”

“Yeah, me too. I appreciate the kid for hanging in there until we finished our game last night.”

“At least one of us has gotten some rest today,” Eva said, right before another contraction hit.

“Looks like it’s go time.” Dr. Webb said as she checked to see how far she was dilated.

##############################

I’m sitting in a chair next to the bed, watching Eva feed our daughter. All 6 pounds, 11 ounces and 18 inches of her. That’s right. Your boy is a “Hashtag Girl Dad”. This feels better than any championship that I’ve ever won. It has been one hell of a day. But this is the best day of my life.

As if reading my thoughts, I heard Eva say, “Worth it.”

“No doubt.”

I was scrolling through my phone responding to texts from the guys as I only told a few people about the situation. There was a knock at the door before it cracked open to reveal three sets of eyes, Nico’s and Mr. and Mrs. Walker’s. I checked to make sure Eva was done feeding and covered before I invited everyone into the suite.

Her mom immediately washed her hands and Eva handed her the baby. Mr. Walker just stood by watching. It looked like he was on the verge of tears. He held out his hand for the baby to hold on to.

“I remember when you were this small, Baby Girl. So tiny. I felt like I was going to break you. She looks just like you, you know?”

Eva smiled at her dad. This giant of a man looked like he could definitely crush a baby with ease. But right now, he was a gentle giant.

“Have you guys picked a name yet,” her mom asked.

“Nope. Eva’s still thinking on it. If we would have found out the sex beforehand…” I joked.

“Hush. She’ll get her name soon enough.”

“As long as it ends in Snow.”

“Or Walker-Snow.”

“Oh, so you figured that part out?”

“Sure did.”

We have come quite a long way from her not even wanting to tell me about this pregnancy, to us joking about baby names.

“Speaking of snow, it’s really starting to come down out there, huh?” Nico said as he looked out of the window. It was definitely falling heavier than it was this morning.

“Yeah. Are you guys gonna be good to get to the apartment, Mr. Walker?”

“Yeah, it’s not far. We should be good. We could probably walk.”

I considered what he said and then turned to Eva’s mom.

“Mrs. Gloria, did you want to stay, so you don’t have to make the trek back in this weather? Me and the guys can hike back to the apartment.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind. I may be from Miami, but I can handle a little winter snow.” She placed the baby in her bassinet.

“Nah, you girls can bond tonight. I’ll be back first thing in the morning. The weather should be better by then.”

I walked over to the bassinet and rubbed my finger over my daughter’s forehead. Eva placed her hand on mine and said “Thank you.”

I picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. “No, thank you. Best gift ever.”

We both just watched her sleep for a while.

“Wynter.” Eva said not looking at me.

“Hmm?”

“Her name.”

“Wynter Snow?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah. I think it’s appropriate.”

“Wynter Walker-Snow?”

“Wynter Michaela,” she paused as she finally looked at me. It took a minute before I caught on. She wanted to honor my late father, Michael, in all of this. “Snow.”

I don’t think I’ve ever loved Eva more than I did in that moment. I almost said it, but I just nodded my head because I didn’t trust myself to speak and not say it. I turned to the rest of the room instead and said, “We’ve got a name, guys.”

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[Agent]

Getting fancy using the y in Wynter! The Snow legacy will continue. Hope he can lock Eva down. She doesn't seem as two-feet in like Tony.

[chosenone58]

Getting fancy using the y in Wynter! The Snow legacy will continue. Hope he can lock Eva down. She doesn't seem as two-feet in like Tony.

Maybe she'll change her mind after seeing Tony's top notch fathering skills.

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