Archive for May 5th, 2014

WATERCOOLER CHAT: 2ND ROUND NBA SET, CALIF CHROME WINS KENTUCKY DERBY

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the 2nd round is set after a grueling weekend.

The Clippers had a Game 7 on their home court against the Golden State Warriors.  The Clips have become America’s team after the fiasco situation with Donald Sterling.  The players used the angry fuel triggered by Sterling’s racist comments to rally in this series.  Game 7 was no piece of cake, but, in the end, the Clippers did just enough to come out on top.  LA Clippers 126, Golden State 121.

And over in Oklahoma City, the Thunder had to play their Game 7 against a feisty Memphis Grizzlies team that they can’t seem to shake.  Fortunately for the Thunder, the NBA suspended the Grizzlies best player, Zach Randolph, for shoving OKC’s Steven Adams.  This was a controversial call, as his shove wasn’t that violent and it seems unfair to sideline a team’s best player in Game 7.  Well, it mattered as Kevin Durant and the Thunder went off and took advantage of the Grizzlies’ weakness.  The Thunder took the game and will now face the Clippers in the 2nd round.  OKC 120, Memphis 109.

San Antonio also dominated Dallas in Game 7 and will now take on the Portland TrailBlazers in Round 2. The Trailblazers ousted the Rockets on Friday night with a gutsy last second 3-point shot to win the game on their home floor.  This one will be a battle.  It’s the aging Spurs’ vets versus Portland’s young guns.

The Pacers knocked off the Hawks in Game 7, and they will take on a strong Washington Wizards team.  It remains to be seen which Pacers will show up for that series.  And in Toronto, the Raptors hoped to advance to the next round, but the experienced vets of the Nets were just to strong for them.  The Raptors had an amazing last minute comeback, and even had a chance to win the series with a last shot, but they couldn’t get a good look, and the Nets took the win.  The Nets now go on to face LeBron and the Heat, who have been resting up for a week.  Brooklyn 104, Toronto 103.

Kentucky Derby

Finally, this weekend was the Kentucky Derby, and this year it was a true underdog story.  The winner was California Chrome, a horse owned by blue-collar guys who just wanted to own a racehorse.  They scraped some money together to buy the $10,000 baby horse, then hired a veteran trainer to, well, make it a great race horse.  They never could have dreamed that their horse would win the Kentucky Derby, and put millions of dollars in their pocket.  Now that’s a great fairy tale story.

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