Time Out for Sports Talk: Ongoing File Maintenance
Todd: You know it’s a busy time of year when you’re constantly cleaning your sports hard drive of files. So once again, I bring you another mishmash of musings.
If anyone had told me one year ago at this time that Cleveland and Golden State would meet in this year’s NBA Finals, I would have given that possibility the same odds as the air pressure of footballs dominating the sports pages for five straight months.
So the Warriors withstood a 44-point explosion from LeBron James to take Game 1 against the Cavaliers in the battle of two cities starving for a championship. Last night’s opener only confirmed what I thought going into the series, that one great player can’t win a title all by himself. LeBron might go nuts, but MVP Stephen Curry and his talented teammates should persevere.
On to the ice, where today’s factoid is that the team that wins the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals has gone on to raise the Cup 58 of 75 times since it became a best-of-7 series. For all of Chicago’s talented forwards, leave it to 20-year old Finnish rookie Teuvo Teravainen to bail out the Blackhawks in that third period against the Lightning. Something tells me Kane and Toews will be heard from soon enough, and this factoid will ring true once again.
Meanwhile, the team the Blackhawks beat to win the Cup just two years ago is ready to let their new GM announce to the public to meet the new coach, who happens to be the same as the old coach. Seems odd to me that it would take Don Sweeney this long to decide to bring back Claude Julien for a ninth season behind the Bruins’ bench. Even odder is that Sweeney seems to think that after eight years of coaching a certain style that Claude is suddenly going to drastically alter his methods.
In what might become an annual tradition in this space, last year at this time I told you how it was worth taking 2-3 minutes to watch horse racing’s Belmont Stakes with the opportunity to witness some history. So here we go again, as the horse with the spelling error (American Pharoah) tries to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978. Fool me thirteen times, shame on you…fool me fourteen times (the number of horses that have won the first two races since ’78). Seriously, there’s a greater chance the Red Sox win their next three games than AP triumphing at 12 furlongs!
I speak confidently of the Sox’ failures these days, as they haven’t won three in a row since the first week of the season, are a woeful 17-28 over their last 45 games and have the worst run differential (-50) in the American League.
While the starting pitching has finally started to look respectable, every other aspect of their game has failed. The offense has actually gotten worse since last year, and that’s with the addition of big-bucked, middle-of-the-order bats Ramirez and Sandoval, who are hitting a combined .251 and slugging a combined .413. For some perspective, Mike Napoli has struggled to get on base this year yet he’s still slugging .416.
Interesting that I’d bring up this trio of players, because despite their offensive ineptitude, it was their collective base running, glove skills and common sense that eluded them yesterday in one of the ugliest, yet most comical losses of what is quickly turning into a lost season. Too bad, because buried in that atrocity was Blake Swihart’s first major league home run, a no-doubter over the Green Monster. He may have been rushed up to the big leagues well ahead of schedule, but it appears this kid could be something special.
Finally, a sarcastic congratulations to the NFL for their genius decision of pushing back Tom Brady’s hearing to June 23 so the league can remain the lead story in what is normally a slow month for football (probably because there are no games scheduled).
While there’s a part of me that wants to see Brady really stick it to the league because of how poorly they’ve handled this entire inflated-footballs-thing, I am fearful that taking his case to the courts could result in a delayed decision which could potentially affect the Patriots on the field in a bigger way (like Brady having to sit out games in November or December). It pains me greatly to say the league should get their way, especially with Mr. Arbiter/Witness/Jury in charge, but what are the odds Brady’s suspension gets completely expunged?
By the way, I had planned to reference the NFL commissioner by name this week. But every time I tried typing it my spell-check kept changing it to ‘Sepp Blatter’.
Mike: LOL--Sepp Blatter jokes are always funny! And what a shock that he decided to resign before he could get indicted! Say what you want about Roger Goodell and the NFL, but at least the law hasn't got involved with arrests...yet.
I joke, I don't seriously think that there are indictments coming for the NFL office.
Anyway, I want to move on to some good news in the sports world, but right now, it's hard to find locally. I am so sick of deflated footballs and appeals and talk of court cases, just let me know when you make a decision and I'll be happy.
Then there's the Dead Sox...err, I mean the Red Sox. They are becoming the best in the league at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It's shaping up to be a long summer around here for Boston baseball fans. But, I think we just have to settle in and accept it because I don't think that it's worth trading away prospects to try and salvage a year that is increasingly looking lost.
Our next LIVE show is coming up on Monday night, June 22 from 8-9pm. You can post your questions via Twitter using the hashtag #TOSTjun22 or call in at (617) 484-2443.
More From 92 Moose
