In the NBA, it was Game 3 between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers.  The Heat were without Chris Bosh for the second game in a row, and that puts them at a serious disadvantage in the front court against Indiana’s big men.  But, the Heat still had Dwayne Wade and LeBron James.  Would that be enough to compete with a red-hot Pacers team riding high off a win in Miami?  The first half stayed close, with the Heat getting a strong night from point-guard Mario Chalmers (25 points).  In the second half, however, the Pacers just caught fire — especially their center Roy Hibbert, an emerging top player in the league. Hibbert had 19 points and 18 rebounds, and 5 BLOCKS as the Pacers absolutely crushed the Heat.  The Heat better steal the next game from the Pacers or they’re in serious trouble.  Indiana 94, Miami 75.

Then, it was Game 2 between the Los Angeles Clippers and the San Antonio Spurs.  The Spurs beat up the Clippers in Game 1, but the Clips had some time to adjust to the Spurs schemes, and would look to even up the series.  The Spurs had no interest in that happening.  They came out and basically informed the Clippers that they have no right to go any further in the playoffs. Tony Parker had another fantastic night with 22 points, and the Spurs were scorching from 3-point range, connecting on 10 treys.  The Spurs don’t show any signs of slowing down.  We might be headed towards a Spurs/Thunder exciting Western Conference Final.  San Antonio 105, LA Clippers 88.

And finally, after the Lakers meltdown on Wednesday in which they blew a 7 point lead with just 2 minutes to go, the news only gets a little worse.  They were left scratching their heads how they gave up an easy win which could have made everyone forget about how they were trounced in Game 1.  At the end of Game 2, the Lakers went to Steve Blake for the game winning shot, but he bricked it, and the Lakers lost.  Now, it appears that Steve Blake and his wife Kristen have been receiving death threats on Twitter of all places.  Kristen had to block 500 people from viewing her profile for her own safety.  It’s a shame that fans react this way, but that’s the sad truth about sports — people are passionate to a dangerous fault.

In the NBA, it was Game 2 between the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat.  But, the Heat would have to win this one without Chris Bosh.  That would present a difficult challenge for them, as the Pacers have a very big presence down low in Roy Hibbert and Paul George.  The game started out with the Heat doing their thing and getting out to a sizable lead.  It didn’t hurt that LeBron scored 28 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.  They looked to be on their way again.  But, in the second half, the Indiana Pacers… came alive.  David West had a spectacular night for the Pacers with 16 points and 10 rebounds.  The game was quite close with just a few minutes to play, and everybody thought the Heat would take it.  Except… they couldn’t hit their free throws, and that includes LeBron.  And somehow, the Pacers found themselves up 3 points with just under 10 seconds to go.  Who would take the shot for the Heat?  Um… Mario Chalmers.  He took it, and missed it, and the Pacers stole a game from the Heat IN Miami.  Wow!  Indiana 78, Miami 75.

Next up, it was Game 1 between the Los Angeles Clippers and the San Antonio Spurs.  And you better believe that that the Spurs were hungry to play.  The Spurs came out hard from the beginning, but it took them a bit to pull away.  In the meantime, the Clippers saw an emerging hero step up in young second-year point guard Eric Bledsoe.  He had 23 points and 4 assists.  But, once the Spurs pulled away, there was no looking back.  Tim Duncan looked like his young self, posting a double-double on the night with 26 points and 10 rebounds.  This game could have been a lesson for the Clippers.  They might switch up their play to get an edge on the Spurs.  Remember, the Clippers are an up and coming team, but they are loaded with stars.  If they get hot, the Spurs better watch out.   San Antonio 108, LA Clippers 92.

And finally, in some disturbing NBA news, it looks like Derrick Rose’s ACL injury is more serious than people thought.  He went down in Game 1 in their first round series against the Sixers, and people thought he would be out for the playoffs.  But now, according to doctors, it appears that Rose might have to be out 8 – 12 months.  So, best case scenario, Rose doesn’t come back until after the all-star break NEXT SEASON.  And, at worst, the Bulls will have to make the playoffs without Rose next year, then hope that Rose can join them in the post season.  This is very bad news for the Bulls organization who were hoping they had a Hall of Fame player at full strength for at least the next 8 years.

In the NBA, it was Game 2 in the series between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics.  The Sixers trailed 1-0 in the series, and were lucky to have a seat in the 2nd round thanks to the injury that sidelined the Bulls Derrick Rose in Round 1.  That essentially gave the Sixers a ticket to the 2nd round.  But, in Game 1, the Sixers got beat up by the Celtics and found themselves instantly in a hole.  And, in Game 2, the Celtics looked to build on that momentum.  In the first half, it was all Celtics, as thanks to Rajon Rondo’s 13 assists, the Celtics had their way with the Sixers.  It was set to be a route, BUT the Sixers came surging back late in the 4th quarter.  Kevin Garnett was the star for Boston with 15 points and 12 rebounds, but in the end, he had made a horrible offensive foul which allowed the Sixers to hold on to the lead and grab Game 2 on the road.  Philadelphia 82, Boston 81.

And, in the second game of the double-header, it was Game 1 of the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder.  The Thunder have been dormant for a week, awaiting the winner of the Nuggets/Lakers series.  Now, on short rest, Kobe and the Lakers had to travel to OKC to take on a very hungry Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.  Well… this game wasn’t pretty.  From the very beginning it was a slaughter.  The Lakers simply had no answer for the Thunder.  Westbrook had 27 points and 9 assists on the night, which definitely helped the Thunder maintain essentially a 30-point lead throughout most of the game.  The Lakers are going to have to make adjustments for Game 2 if they hope to have any semblance of a chance in this series.  OKC 119, LA Lakers 90.

And finally, some scary news out of Miami.  This is the year where the Heat think they have a fantastic chance to win the NBA title.  They have 3 amazing stars and a road to the championship that isn’t that difficult (relatively speaking).  But, in Game 1 of their series against the Pacers, their star power forward Chris Bosh went up for a dunk and pulled an abdominal muscle.  The only cure to this is a prolonged period of rest.  Essentially lying on your back for 4 to 6 weeks.  That would basically put Bosh out for the rest of the playoffs.  However, there is another option, which is to take a medical shot that alleviates the pain, but would make Bosh more susceptible to a more serious injury.  If they do in fact lose Bosh, they are in serious trouble, as they need his low-post presence to defend Indiana’s big men.  This just goes to show you how difficult it is to win an NBA Championship.  We’ll see what happens here, but he is definitely out for Game 2.

Saturday night was a big night for the Lakers in Staples Center.  They blew a 3-1 series lead, allowing the Nuggets to climb back to a 3-3 tie.  Not only that, but the Nuggets have discovered how to gel on all cylinders.  They’re playing as a perfect cohesive unit, and suddenly look very hard to beat.  But, as everybody knows, Kobe is very difficult to take down on his home court — especially in a deciding game.  The game started off close, but soon the Lakers would climb higher.  Pau Gasol got his game into gear, putting up 23 points and 17 rebounds as the Lakers big-men established their dominance.  In the second half, the Nuggets actually were able to climb back into the game behind stellar play from their speedy point-guard, Ty Lawson (24 points).  But, in the end, with the Lakers pulling away, Kobe hit a clutch-three to seal the deal.  He even got a pat on the rear from Lakers fan Justin Timberlake.  The Lakers will now take on Durant and the Thunder in Round 2.  LA Lakers 96, Denver 87.
And on Sunday, it was Game 7 between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Memphis Grizzlies.  Memphis has had a resilient run rebounding from a 3-1 series deficit to tie it up at 3 a piece and bring the series back to Memphis.  The Clippers were also pretty banged up as both their stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin weren’t at 100%.  All things pointed towards the Grizzlies stealing the series back from the Clippers, but the Clippers had no intention of leaving early.  The first half was neck and neck, with Chris Paul getting it done for the Clips and big man Marc Gasol excelling for the Grizz.  But, in the second half, the Grizzlies weren’t playing their best basketball, and allowed for the Clippers to stay in the game.  You can’t do that against Clips, because… in the 4th quarter, the Clippers outside shooters got hot and suddenly the Clippers found themselves up 10, and there was no looking back.  Los Angeles takes the game, and will move on to play the Spurs in the second round.  LA Clippers 82, Memphis 72.

Next up, it was Game 1 of the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers.  Miami is on a mission this year.  Anything short of hoisting up the championship trophy at the end of the season will be considered a failure.  This game was also on the heels of LeBron winning his 3rd MVP award.  That puts him in an elite class of players that have won 3 MVPs.  Abdul-Jabar has the record with 6 MVP awards (not exactly easy).  Surprisingly, the Pacers kept this one close the entire way, but, in the end, you have to remember that the Heat have Bosh, Wade, and LeBron, and it’s very tough to shut them down.  The Heat did their ‘fast-break’ thing, and suddenly found themselves up by a decent margin in the closing minutes.  LeBron had 32 points on the night to take the game.  But, make no mistake, this series will be a battle.  Miami 95, Indiana 86.

In the NBA, it was Game 6 between the #1 Chicago Bulls and the #8 Philadelphia 76ers.  Coming into this series, nobody expected the Sixers to have a chance, that there was no chance they could stop Derrick Rose.  That all subsided when Derrick Rose went down with a season-ending injury at the end of Game 1.  From that point, Chicago tried to stay competitive, but the Sixers, on a red-hot streak right now, would not go down.  And last night the Sixers were going to try and wrap up the series on their home court.  Andre Iguodala had 20 points and 7 assists on the night to give the Sixers a comfortable lead.  But, the Bulls would come back to jump ahead late in the 4th.  Then, with just 2 seconds on the clock, the Bulls would foul Iguodala and send him to the line.  Andre nailed both free throws, and that’s all they would need to knock the #1 seed Chicago Bulls out of the playoffs.  Philadelphia 79, Chicago 78.
Then, it was the Boston Celtics playing host to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 6 of their series.  Atlanta started off this series with a vengeful fury.  They were tired of being afterthoughts in the Eastern Conference, and this would be the year where they rise up and show that they are a force to be reckoned with. Only problem is that the Celtics are just too smart, too strong, and too experienced to drop a series deciding home playoffs game.  The Celtics got a spectacular night from Kevin Garnett with 28 points and 14 rebounds.  He even hit the shot that gave the Celtics the go-ahead lead.  The Hawks had one more chance, but Paul Pierce blocked a shot to secure the victory.  Now the Celtics will take on the Sixers in the second round.  Boston 83, Atlanta 80.

Finally, out west, the Lakers were looking to wrap up their series in Denver.  But Kobe was forced to play ill.  He’s done this before, but it’s definitely not easy to close out a hungry team when you’re playing sick.  Denver, however, knew that the Lakers were weak, and they were going to take advantage.  Remember, the Nuggets have been extremely hot the last 2 games.  The Nuggets came out with a fury and didn’t look back… ever.  They got a phenomenal night from their lightning quick point-guard Ty Lawson who had 32 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists.  Sure, the Lakers will get Game 7 on their home court (which they usually protect), but anything can happen in one game.  Will the Lakers prevail?  Are the Nuggets experienced enough to maintain their cool under pressure?  We shall see.  Denver 113, LA Lakers 96.

In the NHL, the Washington Capitals were hoping to stay alive in the playoffs in a Game 6 match against the #1 NY Rangers.  The Capitals are having somewhat of a magical post-season, driving many of their games to overtime (although they have lost every OT game), but also winning in miraculous fashion.  So, in Washington, it was a must-win for the Caps.  Their superstar Alex Ovechkin got things started right away with a goal in the first period.  Then, in the second period, Jason Chimera put in another goal to give the Caps a 2-0 lead.  But, the real hero for Washington has been their 3rd string goalie Braden Holtby.  He’s had a remarkable post-season, and they’ll definitely need a strong game from him as they head back to New York for a thrilling Game 7.  Washington 2, NY Rangers 1.

BASKETBALL

And in the NBA, the Miami Heat were looking to close out the Knicks in Miami.  The Knicks anticipated making a run in the playoffs, but the Heat have been just too mighty.  Plus, the Knicks have been plagued with injuries to Jeremy Lin, Amare Stoudemire, and up-and-coming rookie Iman Shumpert.  And no team in NBA History has come out of a 3-0 hole in a 7-game playoff series.  They did eek out a win in Game 4, but Game 5 in South Beach would be another story.  Carmelo Anthony did his best to keep the Knicks in the game, putting up 35 points on the night, but Wade and LeBron were just too much for the undermanned Knicks.  LeBron had 29 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists as the Heat cruised into the second round to play the pesky Indiana Pacers.  Miami 106, NY Knicks 94.

Finally, in the evening game, it was the Memphis Grizzlies looking to stay in the playoffs in a Memphis home game against the Clippers.  The Clips find themselves in a beneficial 3-1 series lead.  Everybody expected Memphis to take this game, and that’s why it was no surprise that they came out with a force.  Marc Gasol had 23 points and 7 rebounds in a night where the Grizzlies held their own.  However, the Clippers tried to make a comeback in the second half.  Chris Paul had 19 points, but it wasn’t enough, as the Clips handed the Grizzlies the win.  The Clippers didn’t have their whole heart in the game, and would also suffer minor injuries to their two stars Blake Griffin and Chris Paul.  They’re headed back to LA on Friday night, where the Clippers will get a chance to close-out the series on their home court.  But, if they mess up, the series heads back to Memphis.  Memphis 92, LA Clippers 80.

In the NHL, there has been a hard fought battle between the #1 NY Rangers and the surging #7 Washington Capitals.  The series was tied at 2 games a piece, so Game 5 was extremely pivotal.  The Rangers struck first, getting a goal from Anton Stralman, but then the Caps evened it up with a goal from Brooks Laich in the second period.  Then, in the 3rd period, John Carlson gave the Caps a 2-1 lead and it looked like they were en route to stealing New York’s home-ice advantage.  But, in a miracle, with just 6.6 seconds left in the game, Brad Richards got a close range goal for the Rangers to tie it up.  Amazing!  That gave the Rangers all the momentum they needed in overtime, as they immediately got a goal from Marc Staal to nab the win and take a 3-2 lead in the series.  The Caps will try to square it up in Game 6, to hopefully give us a thrilling Game 7.  NY Rangers 3, Washington 2.

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs were hoping to sweep the Jazz out of the playoffs, and get some rest before their difficult Round 2 match-up against either the Memphis Grizzlies or the Los Angeles Clippers.  Could they do it?  The Spurs got off to a hot start — and Manu Ginobili finally got out of his shooting slump.  He had 17 points on the night.  But, don’t think the Jazz would go quietly into the night.  Nope, not on a home court that used to host some of the best teams of the 90s.  These fans love when their team plays hard, which is why the Jazz came soaring back in the 4th quarter behind a solid 26 point, 10 rebound night from Al Jefferson.  But, in the end, the Spurs were just too smart, too skilled, and too well-coached, and they held of the Jazz’ late surge to sweep the series.  This San Antonio team is on a mission:  Win an NBA Championship before their players are too old to compete.  San Antonio 87, Utah 81.

BASEBALL
Finally, in baseball, star Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, who has been fantastic for them ever since helping them win the their first World Series this decade just showed amazingly poor judgement, and is now going to pay.  In a game against the rising Washington Nationals, who have the premium product in the league right now — 19-year slugging phenom Bryce Harper, Hamels wanted to “welcome Harper to the league”.  So how did he do that?  Did he shake his hand?  Give him some career advice?  Give Harper his autograph?  Nope, none of the above.  Hamels decided he would intentionally throw a fastball at his head.  Harper turned at the last second, and it hit his back, but that is incredibly dangerous.  Then, to add a cherry to this, after the game, Hamels said he INTENTIONALLY did it.  Admitting guilt is a good way to get suspended, and that’s exactly what happened to Hamels:  A 5-game suspension.  But, the Nats coach thought it should have been a much more severe punishment.  Really bad move by Hamels.

In the  NBA, the New York Knicks were hoping to turn their luck around when they took on LeBron and the Miami Heat in Madison Square Garden.  The Knicks would need a big night from star Carmelo Anthony, as they were without their other star Amare Stoudemire (who was out because he decided to punch the glass encasing of a fire extinguisher — hmmm).  The Knicks did get a 22 point, 8 rebound night from Carmelo, but the Heat are absolutely surging right now and can’t be stopped.  LeBron went off with 32 points, as the Heat simply manhandled the Knicks.  They had no problem with them.  Prior to the playoffs, a lot of people were picking the Knicks to possibly upset the Heat in the first round, but now the Knicks are just 1 game away from being swept, and ousted from the playoffs.  There are rumors that the Knicks are ready to pay coach Phil Jackson a fortune to take over, and next year might be their year… not this year.  Miami 87, NY Knicks 70.

Elsewhere in the NBA, it was Dallas’ first home playoff game since they won the NBA Championship last year.  They were trailing the Oklahoma City Thunder 2-0 in the series, but a veteran team like the Mavs playing in front of their home crowd are a very difficult bunch to defeat.  Dirk Nowitzki had a decent 17 point night for the Mavs, and were trailing by only a modest margin at halftime. They were expecting to really heat up in the second half in front of an enthusiastic crowd.  But, the Thunder came out with a vengeance in the second half and absolutely destroyed the Mavs in the 3rd quarter.  Kevin Durant had 31 points on the evening, as the Thunder sent Mavs fans home early.  The place was lifeless, and the Thunder take a 3-0 lead in the series, priming themselves for a likely second round battle against the Lakers.  OKC 95, Dallas 79.

BASEBALL

Finally, in baseball, some potentially very scary news for Yankees fans.  In a road game against the Royals, the Yankees were practicing their standard pop fly drill.  Very simple:  a batting coach hits pop flys, and the players chase them to warm up.  Sometimes pitchers participate in these drills, pitchers such as Yankees Hall Of Fame closer Mariano Rivera — who’s been doing this for years.  Yesterday, Rivera was chasing a ball when he collided with the wall and his leg buckled, causing him to tear his ACL.  Yes, that hurts.  But more importantly, that’s a very serious injury for an athlete, and it’s likely that Rivera will not only be out for the season, but this injury might end his career.  It would be one thing if Rivera was 25 and needed to just recover.  But for a 42-year old pitcher just looking to hang on to his closing spot and prolong his career, this could be the end.  We’ll see what the medical reports say, but certainly a huge disappointment for all.

In the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs are simply red-hot right now.  They’re a veteran team with rested superstars in Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker, and a young supporting staff that all have the same mission:  Win the championship.  Last night was Game 2 of their series against a very young Utah Jazz team.  The Jazz may have a bright future, but they were simply no match for the polished Spurs.  Tony Parker had 18 points and 9 assists in the rout of the Jazz.  If there was any upside for Utah, it’s that their rookie, #3 draft pick overall Enes Kanter, had a solid rebounding night, and showed real promise as an up-and-comer.  The Spurs now lead 2-0.  San Antonio 114, Utah 83.

 
Elsewhere in the NBA, it was Game 2 between the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies.  On Sunday, the Grizzlies were killing the Clippers, up by as many as 27, and then blew the lead to give up home court advantage in the series.  So, come Game 2, the Grizzlies were ready to play and defend their home court against a determined Clippers team.  You can bet that Chris Paul was ready.  He had 29 points on the night, and the Grizzlies didn’t have an answer for him.  But, the Grizz had a guy named Rudy Gay.  He had 21 points himself, and helped the Grizzlies pull away in the 4th quarter.  The Clippers got close, but couldn’t catch the Grizz, and Memphis evened up the series at a game a piece as it heads back to Los Angeles.  Memphis 105, LA Clippers 98.

FOOTBALL

Finally, some very sad news out of the NFL.  Former San Diego Chargers superstar Junior Seau was found dead in his home yesterday, reportedly of a self-inflicted gun shot wound to the chest.  Seau was practically a God to the people of San Diego.  Before the NFL, he was a celebrity in Southern California as a standout at USC.  Then, when he was drafted to Chargers, he became a gift to that franchise on the decline, and turned them around during the 90s — even helped lead them to a Super Bowl.  In San Diego, he had a restaurant and was a local hero to the community.  His death comes as a shocking surprise to both his family and his friends, who said that Seau never showed any ‘cries for help’.  They said Seau was more than just a great player — he was a wonderful person, who did a heavy amount of philanthropic work.  This is a very sad day for the people of San Diego, and the football community in general.