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This story appears in ESPN The Magazines October 17 Great Debates Issue. Subscribe today!IF YOU WATCH sports, you cant escape Pitbull.There he was during last seasons NBA playoffs, his Bad Man carrying viewers to nearly every TNT commercial break. All June long, Pitbull occupied the Copa América after recording the official song of the tournament, Superstar, this coming after he recorded We Are One, the official song of the 2014 World Cup. And there he was at the Final Four, doing his signature rapid-fire fist-pumping while shouting the occasional word at the crowd during the Capital One JamFest.The world, as it is right now, is often overwhelming in the worst ways. Sports are an escape. And sometimes that escape is a bald rapper from Miami, sweating through a soft linen shirt while breathing heavily, pumping his fist and, along with it, pumping up the hopes of the crowd. It seems like an easy thing to show up sweaty, loud and overexcited to a roomful of eager fans. Yet if you or I did this, the room wouldnt shift for us, beyond perhaps an incredulous side-eye.Theres no debate: Pitbull is the new king of the stadium-shaking anthem despite being, for all intents and purposes, not particularly skilled as a musician. He is, in many ways, the musical equivalent of a bucket of popcorn: unsurprising and unexciting but somehow essential to an otherwise thrilling night. Because of his ability to latch on to any sporting event with 15,000 people and a budget, Pitbull comes off less as a fan of the games and more as an opportunist gaming the fans.What Pitbull lacks in musical skill, he makes up for with marketing savvy, in making a song so overwhelmingly infectious that it ends up being the sports anthem of the moment. But there is, perhaps, even greater skill in making the moment last. Most bands and artists can do this only once. Macklemores Cant Hold Us had its time in 2013, then it faded. If artists are lucky, like the White Stripes with Seven Nation Army, your sole anthem might have a life in arenas that spans decades. But Pitbull takes it further. He channels the energy of the experience, becoming the living embodiment of the moment before the moment. Hes transcendent: a performance artist who becomes the sports anthem himself.Despite his hypervisibility, Pitbull hasnt had a gold album in his past four outings, the closest being 2012s Global Warming, which peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard 200. In October, Pitbull is slated to release a new album, Climate Change. Its teeming with big-name guests: Drake, Meghan Trainor, Bruno Mars, Jennifer Lopez. Even with all of this, the buzz is still hushed. It seems, then, that Pitbull, at only 35, has made his bed. The anthem artist, not the album artist. We look to him when we need a reason to get pumped up and for little else.When the Cavs were down 3-1 to the Warriors in last seasons NBA Finals, it was hard to remember that LeBron James had a face other than the crying Jordan, endlessly affixed as his internet avatar. And then LeBron did what we knew he could do, because LeBron knew who he was: a player capable of leading a team to an NBA title.Pitbull is not LeBron James. One is a world-class athlete, and one is a somewhat failed rapper-turned-endless-party-starter. On top of their shared meme-ability, though, the lessons of LeBron and Pitbull are chapters of the same book. At his core, Pitbull knows who he is too. He takes the punches and the punchlines and hes still there, his comically large aviator sunglasses catching the stadium lights and shining.I dont know if Pitbull even likes sports. But in his own way, Pitbull is perfect for the world of sports. Hes everything we encourage our heroes to be. Thick-skinned, resilient, self-aware but not so self-aware that it becomes self-pitying. Despite enough of us throwing up our hands, exasperated, sighing, How did this guy get here again? Pitbull gets the last laugh. Your friends probably cant name more than two Pitbull songs, if any. But hes found a way in, playing his own brand of frantic, repetitive pop-rap to stadiums full of screaming fans. Are they his fans? Not entirely, but when the screams are that loud, does it matter?Emotions dont always simply surface from within us; sometimes someone has to carry us to them. Pitbull has it figured out. In his world, the quality of the music is a footnote to what the music can do. Its a place where people are already at the brink of excitement, just looking for someone to push them off the cliff.Like your friends, I could not sing a verse from a Pitbull song either. But Ive been in a stadium when the lights go down and a Pitbull song comes on, and I knew something good was coming, and I threw up my hands along with my neighbors.Pitbulls most notable ad lib is ?Dale! -- a Spanish word with multiple translations that all reach for the same sentiment: Lets?go ... Lets do this ... Go ahead! Its a word that, more than anything, gives permission to exhale and be free. We need more of that in sports. We need more of that everywhere. Kevin Durant Shoes Free Shipping . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. Kevin Durant Shoes From China . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. https://www.kevindurantshoescheap.com/ . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Kevin Durant Shoes For Sale . Once again, DeLaet finished tied for second at a PGA Tour stop on the weekend, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pride of Weyburn, Sask. Clearance Kevin Durant Shoes . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. WASHINGTON -- -- Max Scherzer was asked last year about impending free agent pitchers that his team could sign during the annual Washington Nationals WinterFest event.It is all about winning, Scherzer said. When you get to the park and you come into the clubhouse, your only thought is about winning and what it takes to do that. There are times, off the field, you are making decisions ... that has to subside when you walk through the clubhouse.Scherzer has been all about winning since he signed a seven-year contract with the Nationals prior to the 2015 season.The right-hander from St. Louis will have a chance to elevate Washington to new heights on Thursday night when he takes the mound at home in the fifth and deciding game of the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.This will probably be the biggest start of my career, Scherzer told reporters in Los Angeles. Ive said that a few times in my life, but I think this will be it. Youre going to get the absolute best out of everybody on both teams.The Nationals have a chance to win their first postseason series Thursday.Washington lost Game 5 at home to the St. Louis Cardinals of the NLDS in 2012 and fell in four games to the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS two years later.The last time a baseball team in Washington won a postseason series was when the Senators beat the New York Giants in Game 7 of the 1924 World Series in the nations capital.Scherzer was the starter and loser in Game 1 on Friday at Nationals Park. He gave up four runs in six innings with five strikeouts as the Dodgers won 4-3 in a game started by Clayton Kershaw.The Washington ace allowed a solo homer in the first inning to Corey Seager and a two-run shot to Justin Turner in the third. Scherzer allowed 31 homers during regular-season play, and several times it was unlikely players who went deep.Scherzer is 4-4 with a 3.93 ERA in 13 postseason games, with 11 starts. He has 85 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings in his playoff career.Rich Hill, who will get the nod for the DDodgers, lost in Game 2 on Sunday at Nationals Park after his start was rained out Saturday.dddddddddddd Hill pitched in 25 games out of the bullpen in 2015 with Triple-A Syracuse, the top farm club of the Nationals.The lefty surrendered a three-run homer to Jose Lobaton in the fourth inning of Game 2 that gave Washington a 3-2 lead. Hill allowed six hits and four runs in 4 1/3 innings and was tagged with the loss.The Nationals could also see rookie right-hander Julio Urias, who has not pitched in the series.Hill took the blame for the Game 2 loss.I believe were tied in this series because I didnt execute, he said after Game 2. Im really disappointed. I thought that game was going to play well for me personally to put us in a good position to win and I didnt execute. Its all solely on me.Acquired in a trade with the Oakland As in August, Hill is now 0-2 with an 8.59 ERA in two postseason starts. His other playoff start came when he played for the Chicago Cubs in 2007 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, when he went just three innings. That was one year after he pitched for manager Dusty Baker with the Cubs in 2006.The Dodgers forced a Game 5 with a 6-5 win at home on Tuesday in Game 4. Kershaw started on short rest and did not figure in the decision. He was lifted with two outs in the seventh.I felt really good about it until the last four minutes, Kershaw told reporters. Its a weird feeling. But youve just got to swallow your pride a little bit and realize we won the game and be excited about it and get ready to go back to D.C.Said Baker about Game 5: I know Kershaw aint pitchin. Thank God.Scherzer won his 20th game of the season in the regular-season finale at home against the Miami Marlins on Oct. 2 in a playoff tuneup.On Thursday he will try to send the Nationals to their first postseason series win.Going to be a heck of a ballgame, Scherzer said. Those are two great teams. ' ' '