BASKETBALL

In the NBA, it was Game 4 between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers.  The Knicks desperately needed to steal a win on the road if they wanted to stay alive in this series.  Plus, everybody was expecting a New York/Miami showdown, but with the way the Knicks have played lately, that is looking less and less likely.  Interesting enough, even though the Pacers are playing fantastic right now, their attendance in the playoffs has been lackluster.  There were plenty of tickets left at face value on all levels.  That’s a big problem in sports right now — nobody wants to be bothered to go to the games.  But in the game, the Pacers kept on cruising, and crushed the Knicks to take a 3-1 lead in the series.  The Pacers are the only team left in the playoffs who hasn’t lost a home game.  Indiana 93, NY Knicks 82.

Then, it was the much anticipated game between the Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs.  The series moved back to San Antonio, where the Spurs definitely needed to grab the win.  The pressure was on them.  But if they wanted to win, they would need to contain Warriors star guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.  Problem is that when you live and die by your jump shot, it can be a rough night when you’re not shooting well.  The Warriors kept it close, but the Spurs defense was too strong in the 4th quarter, and they were able to contain Curry.  Tim Duncan had his 143rd career double-double as the Spurs took a 3-2 lead in the series.  Now it heads back to the Bay Area for Game 6.  San Antonio 109, Golden State 91.

FOOTBALL

Finally, in some controversy in college football, the long-time rivalry between Notre Dame and Michigan might be coming to an end.  With the college football 4-team playoff upon us (something very new in college football), every team is doing what  they can to have the best chance of making that playoffs, which means taking off their schedule certain games that could cause a loss.  Notre Dame doesn’t belong to a conference, so they usually have a pretty difficult schedule with some national powerhouses (e.g. Michigan, USC, Michigan State), that normally doesn’t affect their playoff standings.  Now, it looks like they plan to end their games against Michigan.  Michigan is now climbing back to national prominence, and Notre Dame knows that losing against them could seriously harm their agenda to always be in the Final 4.  Michigan coach Brady Hoke has called the Fighting Irish ‘chicken‘ for not playing.

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the Miami Heat were back in action against the Bulls.  But this time, the Heat were wearing a different hat.  They no longer looked like the team that was intimidated by Chicago’s ferocity.  This is the Heat team we know — the team that treats opponents like they are nobodies.  Miami came out and steamrolled the Bulls, maintaining practically a 20-point lead for the entire game.  LeBron posted 27 points, but got a lot of help from his teammates.  The series now heads back to Miami where the Heat have a chance to close out the Bulls.  But.. the Bulls definitely won’t go quietly.  Miami 88, Chicago 65.
Next up, it was Game 4 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies.  Memphis seems to have the advantage in this series since the Thunder lost Russell Westbrook to an injury.  They led 2-1 coming into this game, but you can’t count out any team that has Kevin Durant.  It was a hard fought battle that needed an overtime to decide everything.  But in OT, Memphis’ bigs Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol took over for the Grizz and helped them grab a Game 4 victory to give them a 3-1 lead in the series.  Gasol is playing fantastic right now, yet even though he was awarded the Defensive Player of the Year by the league, he was still left off the NBA All Defensive 1st team.  That’s odd.  Bottom line though is that the Grizz look like they may be headed to the Western Conference Finals.  Memphis 103, OKC 97.

FOOTBALL

Finally, in the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles have begun a new era under new head coach Chip Kelly (the hottest name in the coaching world).  Kelly has come into the Eagles organization and revamped things from the get-go.  It’s his administration now.  First, Kelly started making players customized protein shakes.  And yesterday, it was revealed that Kelly has completely altered the cafeteria menu.  He has done away with “Taco Tuesdays”, and also eliminated all red meat from the menu.  It’s no secret that a healthy diet is paramount to supreme athletic performance, but Kelly is the first coach to truly enforce this on his players.  Monday, Michael Vick beat running back LeSean McCoy in a sprint, and credited his extra boost to Kelly’s new diet.  It will be very interesting to see how the Eagles perform this season.

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, we saw a wild weekend of action.  Since the Oklahoma Thunder are now completely reliant on Kevin Durant, the Memphis Grizzlies were able to overpower them in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the series.  Some of the NBA experts are saying that now Durant is finally getting a taste of what LeBron had to deal with in Cleveland: a superstar playing along a group of players WITHOUT another all-star.  Durant actually has it better than LeBron because he still has Serge Ibaka and Kevin Martin.  LeBron didn’t have much besides Mo Williams, who clearly was able to put the all-star moniker next to his name ONLY because LeBron made him look so good.  If the Thunder don’t grab at least one game in Memphis, they may be down for the count.   Memphis 87, OKC 81.

And in Indiana, the Pacers are slowly figuring out the key to beating the Knicks.  New York relies heavily on their 3-point shot.  Between Anthony Carmelo, Ray Felton, J.R. Smith, and Jason Kidd, they can put up points in bunches.  But the Pacers did an excellent job of defending the three in Game 3, and pulled out to a commanding lead that would eventually guide them to a victory.  The Pacers are gelling right now behind the solid play of Paul George and Roy Hibbert, but the Knicks are still a tenacious bunch, and won’t go down easy.   But, like OKC, they definitely need to grab Game 4 if they want to survive.  Indiana 82, New York 71.

And in Golden State, the Warriors were looking to even up the series on Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs. This has been a strange series for the Warriors.  They actually should be up 2 games to 1, but since they blew that lead in Game 1 (letting the Spurs come back from 16 points), they now find themselves down 2-1, even though they are seemingly playing better basketball.  They needed to win Game 4 if they still wanted a chance to win this series.  Fortunately, Stephen Curry had another awesome game, even hitting some clutch shots that helped send the game to overtime.  And in OT, the Warriors simply smashed the Spurs — almost shutting them out even.  With the win, the series is even and heads back to San Antonio.  Golden State 97, San Antonio 87.

GOLF

Even though Tiger Woods couldn’t grab the extra strokes he needed to take the Masters in April, he still is playing at a super high level, and headed into the Players Championship on Sunday hoping to grab the win.  It came down to a duel between him and Sergio Garcia, and that is not a place any golfer wants to be.  Tiger is at his best when the tournament becomes practically a one-on-one challenge. Sergio Garcia couldn’t hold on, and Tiger won his 4th title of the year.

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the New York Knicks have evened the series with the Indiana Pacers, and now it looks like they will be getting a new addition for Game 3. The Knicks had a phenomenal season thanks to the play of Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith, and Tyson Chandler. But after all this time has passed, people forget that Amar’e Stoudemire is also on the team. It was actually Stoudemire’s team before Carmelo came along. After a long recovery from knee surgery, Stoudemire will make a reappearance with the Knicks in Game 3. They don’t expect much from Amar’e, and will limit his minutes to around 15 in the game, but if he’s back in true form, this could be truly significant for the Knicks. If they manage to get past the Pacers, they’re going to need Amare’s presence in a likely conference finals match-up with the Heat.

FOOTBALL

And in the NFL, there has been a ton of controversy around the Redskins lately. They are being hounded to change their name. This is an issue that dates back almost 30 years, as American Indians (and many others) feel that the name Redskins is simply too offensive and should be changed. Other names like the Blackhawks and Orangemen were also under attack, and Syracuse actually made the switch to just “Orange”. But Thursday, Redskins owner Dan Snyder said that the Redskins name will never change. He told the press that the name “Redskins” is deep in the fabric of the city, that it represents the spirit of the area.  Back in the early 90s, former Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke said that the Redskins would change their mascot to a potato before they changed the name Redskins.

SOCCER

Finally, in the soccer world, after long-time Manchester United head coach Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down, Manchester was up in arms trying to find a replacement for him. Alex Ferguson is widely considered one of the greatest coaches of all time. He is the Phil Jackson/Red Auerbach/Vince Lombardi of the soccer world. Regardless of his retirement, Manchester had to move quickly and found their man. They signed Everton head coach David Moyes to a six-year deal. Fortunately for Moyes, Manchester has the budget to be completely loaded on the talent level year after year. It will be a nice advantage coming in, and make replacing a legend that much easier.

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, it was Game 2 between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks.  The Pacers stole a game from the Knicks in Game 1, but Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks came out to play in Game 2.  Carmelo had 32 points as the Knicks overwhelmed the Pacers.  This series could potentially go to the wire.  We haven’t seen many close games from either teams in both this series and their first round match-ups.  The series now shifts back to Indiana for Game 3.  Knicks 105, Pacers 79.

Next up, it was Game 2 between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder.  The Grizz had complete control over Game 1, but choked in the final minutes, giving the game back to the Thunder.  But they hoped to make up for that in Game 2.  Plus, without Russell Westbrook (and James Harden) the Thunder are a completely different team.  The game was still close for most of the way, and the Thunder led it heading into the 4th quarter.  But down the stretch, the Grizzlies defense thwarted the Thunder and pulled away for a Game 2 win.  Now the series heads back to Memphis, where it will be extremely tough for the Thunder to win.  Memphis 99, OKC 93.

FOOTBALL

Finally, in the NFL, there was a lot of controversy surrounding the New York Jets selection of quarterback Geno Smith in the 2nd round.  They already had 4 quarterbacks on their roster and they added a 5th in Smith.  But soon after the draft, they dropped Tim Tebow, and have publicly declared that this is going to be a 4-way competition for the starting quarterback job.  And Tuesday, Jets owner Woody Johnson said he was “extremely happy” that the Jets drafted Smith, saying he’s looking forward to this competition. The main problem with the Jets… they don’t have a lot of offensive receiving weapons.  Their lead guys are Santonio Holmes and second-year receiver Stephen Hill.   With so many solid wide receivers in the draft, it’s shocking that the Jets didn’t snag a big name.  But apparently they had too many other needs to fill.

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, we got our first look at the other two semi-final playoff games.  First up, it was this season’s MVP LeBron James hosting the Chicago Bulls.  The Bulls are red-hot right now, and playing just fine without their superstar Derrick Rose.  However, they’re also in sync without one of their other all stars Luol Deng.  The Heat have been off for a week after beating the Bucks, and they were definitely rusty coming into this game.  LeBron had a 24-point game, but the Bulls played solid defense and seemed to have the Heat’s number.  Remember, this is the team that ended the Heat’s 27-game winning streak.  We kept waiting for LeBron to pull it out in the end, but it was the Bulls that were triumphant in Game 1.  Oh, and the Bulls’ Nate Robinson is playing some of the most exciting basketball of the season.  Chicago 93, Miami 86.
Next up, it was the San Antonio Spurs hosting the scorching hot Stephan Curry and the Golden State Warriors.  This game was the epitome of old school vs. new school.  The Spurs are the old guard full of savvy veterans, and the Warriors are full of sharp shooters and the future of the NBA.  The Warriors had command for most of the game, but the Spurs were relentless and had one of the best comebacks in post-season history.  They came back from a 16-point deficit to force a double overtime.  And in the end, Manu Ginobili found himself wide open and sunk it for the win.  Mark Jackson said that the Warriors broke down on defense, but he should be happy about just how hard the Warriors played the Spurs.  This series is going to be a doozy of a good time.  San Antonio 129, Golden State 127.

And now that the Brooklyn Nets have been eliminated from the playoffs, they are already making coaching changes.  They  immediately released interim coach P.J. Carlesimo from his duites.  P.J. said he wasn’t shocked by the move, saying the only thing that could have saved his job was winning an NBA Championship.  According to reports, the Nets have already reached out to Phil Jackson to fill the head coaching job.  The Nets are actually a good candidate for Jackson’s services.  They have a solid foundation of stars (Williams, Wallace, Johnson, and Lopez) and their young talent is only getting better.  With the right leadership, this team could turn into a serious contender next year.  Jackson should consider this one.

What a great weekend in the sports world.

HORSE RACING

The main event was the 139th Kentucky Derby.  This was a much anticipated year because female jockey Rosie Napravnik rode this race on MyLute.  Rosie was often doubted during her ascent as a jockey, but she has been racking up the wins en route to the Derby.  She was hoping to get the sweet taste of victory by taking the whole race.  When it was Derby time, it was raining, making for a very muddy course and tough course to pick a winner.  But that doesn’t stop the race.  When it was all over, the odds on favorite Orb (ridden by Joel Rosario)  took the prize. This was actually the first time in several years where the favorite won the whole thing.  Rosie still finished 5th in the race — marking the highest finish ever for a female jockey.  Next up on the horse racing circuit… The Preakness, May 18th.

BASKETBALL

And in the NBA, only one of the first round series got to a Game 7, and it sure was a blood bath the entire way.  Chicago and Brooklyn played a hotly contested first round, each team seeming to win games nobody thought they could. The resilient Nets got the series back to Brooklyn for a Game 7.  The Bulls Joakim Noah, who played the whole series with injured feet, guaranteed a win in Game 7… on the road.  To his credit, he carried the Bulls on his back in this series and got them out to a commanding lead.  But, in the second half, Gerald Wallace pulled the Nets to within 5 points.  The Bulls, however, would hang on for the win.  Their prize:  A second round date with MVP LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

And in the second round, the Oklahoma City Thunder were hoping to keep up their quality play without their all-star Russell Westbrook.  In his place, second year man Reggie Jackson has been playing extremely well.  But the Memphis Grizzlies would be a much tougher test than the Houston Rockets in Round 1.  The Grizzlies controlled most of the game, but some 4th quarter heroics from Kevin Durant tied the game and gave them a chance to win.  Another late shot by Durant gave them the lead, and they narrowly pulled out a victory in Game 1.  The Grizzlies had this one, but they blew it.   OKC 93, Memphis 91.

Finally, in Game 1 between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks, the Knicks were hoping to use their positive steam to grab Game 1 in Madison Square Garden.  Remember, the Knicks/Pacers were one of the biggest rivalries in 90s sports.  But the Pacers are on a mission and playing extremely well right now, and they had every intention of “handing it” to the Knicks.  They came into New York’s home turf and played their hearts out.  A solid defensive night from Roy Hibbert led to a Pacers Game 1 victory.  Can they steal two games in Big Apple?  Indiana 102, NY 95.

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the Chicago Bulls had a chance to close out their series against the Brooklyn Nets in Chicago.  They’re the lower seed in this series, so that is a big deal.  The Nets are an interesting team, however.  When there are no stakes on the line, the Nets tend to cruise.  But since their back has been against the wall, their raw athleticism and talent has really shown.  It’s like they sometimes forget just how loaded they are (Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace, Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez).  Thursday night, they came to play again, refusing to have their season end on the road.  It was a close battle, but the Nets snuck out of Chicago with the win, and force a Game 7 back in Brooklyn.  Now the Bulls better be afraid.  Brooklyn 95, Chicago 92

Next up, it was Golden State’s turn to try and close out the series on THEIR home floor against the Denver Nuggets.  The Nuggets are another team that knows if they can just get back home for Game 7, their crowd would give them the extra boost they need to win this thing.  But the Warriors are red hot this post season behind Stephan Curry.  He is simply playing out of his mind.  It’s reminiscent of his dominant performance in the 2008 NCAA Tournament where he came out of nowhere and absolutely nobody could stop him.  Thursday night he had 22 points and 8 assists as the Warriors got the win they needed and the confetti fell.  They will take on the San Antonio Spurs in Round 2.  Golden State 92, Denver 88.

Finally, in Minnesota, the Timberwolves had high hopes for the playoffs this season boasting a loaded roster of up-and-coming talent (Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, Nikola Peckovic), but injuries plagued them and they simply didn’t go anywhere.  This would be ok if it didn’t happen almost each and every season.  Now, their president David Kahn has been excused of his duties with the team.  After all, this is the guy who passed on Stephan Curry in favor of Johnny Flynn (who is no longer in the league).  He also traded away Ty Lawson as a draft pick for practically nothing.  They could have a dominant team right now.  Instead, they sit home every post season.  Kahn is out.  His replacement… Flip Saunders, who coached the team from 1996 to 2005 when they had some relatively good seasons while Kevin Garnett was their star.  Flip will hopefully turn that team around and get turn them into a playoff caliber team.

BASKETBALL

The big/anticipated award in the NBA is for  rookie of the year.  Going into the season, many thought the winner would be the #1 overall pick (as it usually is) Anthony Davis from Kentucky.  While Davis did have a good season, injuries derailed him from being in contention for the award.  The #2 overall pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist still has a lot of potential, but his rookie season in Charlotte was lackluster at best.  So this year, the winner of the award was actually the #6 overall pick, showing that there are diamonds beyond the Top 3.   Yep, Damian Lillard took the award after a fantastic season playing point guard for the Portland Trail Blazers.  Despite his efforts, the Blazers missed the playoffs, but they are a young team with a lot of talent and should be in the playoff hunt next year.

FOOTBALL

In the NFL, second year star wide receiver Justin Blackmon was caught during the off-season on a DUI charge.  The NFL has a NO substance abuse policy, and yesterday the NFL suspended Blackmon for the first 4 games of the season.  This stuff happens occasionally in the NFL, but… this one will have a serious financial concern on Blackmon.  As part of his contract, Blackmon deferred his guaranteed money for a more lucrative bonus offer based on performance; incentives more or less.  This means that if he hits certain season-long milestones (e.g. receptions, receiving yards, etc…), he would be entitled to more money than he made up front.  With the suspension, it said in his contract that some of these incentives are null and void.  So basically by driving drunk, he not only was a danger on the road, but he cost himself a ton of money.

And in college football, Texas A&M’s move to the SEC has been a tremendous success.  Among other things, last year, they realized they had a Heisman winner in quarterback Johnny Manzie,.  Now they’re taking steps to try and battle the University of Texas as the flag ship team in the state.  They believe that they can ascend to one of the top athletic programs, and that’s why they just approved plans to expand their stadium to hold 102,500 people.  That would make it the largest stadium in the SEC, surpassing the University of Tennessee.  Next year, they’re projected as a National Championship contender, and it will be exciting to see if they can live up to the hype.