WATERCOOLER CHAT: LAKERS UP 3-2, BARCELONA’S DAY, RANDY JOHNSON ABOUT TO SET MILESTONE
NBA
A pivotal game in the Western Conference Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers. The teams have volleyed wins, and were tied at two a piece coming into the game. Even the expert analysts weren’t sure whom to predict as victor. And LA fans knew that if the Lakers didn’t win the game, it might be the last time they see the Lakeshow in Gold for the season. Well, the first half was absolutely riveting with the game neck and neck up until the break. It stayed close in the 3rd, but midway through the 4th the Lakers began to pull away. Carmelo Anthony had another superb night for the Nuggets with 31 points, and Denver even cut the lead to 4 with 5 minutes to play. But — the Lakers were just too much down the stretch. Kobe Bryant finished with an average 22 points, but that’s all the Lakers needed to secure the key victory, and go up 3-2. LA Lakers 103, Denver 94.
SOCCER
Elsewhere in sports, it was the Super Bowl of soccer yesterday, as the final game of the UEFA Champions league took place. For those that don’t know, the Champions League is comprised of the best soccer teams in all of the European Leagues from the previous season. And this year, the championship game came down to the best two teams in the world: Manchester United v. Barcelona. This is essentially like Yankees vs. Red Sox, except 10x more important on a world scale. These two teams have gigantic payrolls and employ the absolute best (celebrity) soccer players in the world (Messi, Ronaldo, Eto’o, Henry). Well, it was simply Barcelona’s day, as they got goals from Eto’o and Messi to beat Manchester United. Again, Americans might not care, but the rest of the world practically stops for this game.
MLB
Finally, in baseball, a milestone is about to be set. Wednesday, ace pitcher Randy Johnson won his 299th game against the Atlanta Braves. Some of you might know him better as “The Big Unit”, and he played his glory years in Seattle and Arizona — even winning a world series for the Diamondbacks. Johnson also has a perfect game to his credit (also against the Braves), and is now playing for the San Francisco Giants. Well, he is on the brink of 300 wins, which is a tremendous achievement for a pitcher. To have that kind of durability and baseball IQ to capture so many wins is truly remarkable.
