BASKETBALL

In the NBA, it was time for more basketball action.  Last night, we got to see Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks (who would have thought both the #1 and #2 seeds would be out — Spurs and Lakers). The Thunder were only coming off one day of rest, while the Mavericks have been taking it easy for a week after sweeping the Lakers.  However, the Thunder got out to a hot start behind Kevin Durant, who had the Mavericks up by 7 at one point.  But, unfortunately for OKC, Dirk Nowitzki caught FIRE!  He just kept shooting and kept draining buckets.  And when he didn’t get a shot off, he was fouled and sent to the line.  The Thunder simply had no answer for him.  Dirk finished the night with a whopping 48 points as the Mavs take Game 1 of the series.

Also, in the NBA, last night was the much anticipated draft lottery.  However, this year, there isn’t a clear cut #1 guy (i.e. no Blake Griffin or Derrick Rose type player).  It’s just sort of a bunch of good players, but no clear superstars.  So who would win?  The Utah Jazz got the #3 pick, but that was due to their trade of Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets.  The Minnesota Timberwolves locked up the #2 spot, and the #1 went to the city that most deserved it… Cleveland.  Yep, the Cavaliers will be picking #1 on draft night AND #4 (on account of a trade), giving them some serious rebuilding chips, assuming that they play it right.  Many think that Duke’s Kyrie Irving will be the #1 overall, but there’s no guarantee.  There’s always UConn star Kemba Walker, Arizona power forward Derick Williams or a host of big, strong, and fast European players.  We shall see how it all pans out.

BASEBALL

Finally, in baseball, the New York Yankees were trying to put an end to their losing streak, but they would have to do it against the top team in the AL East — the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  Fortunately for the Yanks, Alex Rodriguez came to life.  He had 2 home runs to help the Yankees get a 2-1 lead.  However, at the beginning of the season, the Yankees were putting runners on base, and those homers brought in a lot more runs.  Either way, the Yankees got just enough clutch hits and RBIs towards the end to give them the insurance they needed to win the game and end their losing skid.  And they better keep drinking this coffee, because the Red Sox are hot on their tail.  NY Yankees 6, Tampa Bay 2