NBA Finals

It is officially back to the good old days where the two best teams in the NBA are from Los Angeles and Boston. 2008 saw both the Celtics and Lakers in the NBA Finals with Boston’s “Big Three” in Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce win their first NBA title. The only knock was coming Lakers fans saying that the outcome would’ve been different had Andrew Bynum been healthy at the time. Boston, however, was the better team. Sure Bynum could have helped protect the paint from the undersized lineup the Lakers had put out there. That is purely speculation though. What we do know is that the Lakers were branded a soft team that still resonates in the back of their minds today.

2009 could have easily been another Lakers vs. Celtics matchup. Boston was bounced in the semifinals by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic. The Lakers had a healthy, but mostly ineffective Andrew Bynum last year. It wouldn’t matter much as Kobe Bryant was his usual self and Pau Gasol put to rest the “soft” label by almost everyone, including Lakers fans, with his brilliant play throughout the playoffs. The Lakers easily beat the Magic in 5 games to win number 15 only two behind Boston as a franchise.

The point being made about Boston was that they were finally healthy (no KG in 2009) going into 2010. There were rumblings that if Garnett had been healthy, the Celtics would have made it to the 2009 Finals. Maybe so, but you can’t dwell on the past. The Celtics breezed by the Miami Heat in 5 games in the first round. Cleveland was taken out of their game early and lost in 6 games to the Celtics in the semifinals. Orlando had the same problem losing in 6 to a resurgent Celtic squad.

The Lakers were the unanimous selection to repeat as Western Conference champs before the playoffs and still were going in. The youngest team in the league in Oklahoma City took the Lakers to 6 games and thanks to a game winning tip in by Pau Gasol finished the series in Oklahoma. Los Angeles wasted no time in sweeping the Utah Jazz in the semifinals. Phoenix, however, was not going down without a fight as they nearly stole a game in LA, but Ron Artest’s buzzer beating bank shot in Game 5 gave the Lakers the momentum to finish the Suns in 6 games.

Both teams have new identities now. The Lakers are seen now as the better team. Boston is seen as the underdog. Boston doesn’t have James Posey or Leon Powe on their bench anymore. Two important pieces to their title run in 2008. The Lakers have Andrew Bynum healthy, sort of. And Ron Artest as a defensive stopper to try and disrupt Paul Pierce. Also it pits two of the games best coaches in Phil Jackson, who will be after his 11th title as a coach and Doc Rivers who is one of the best at making on the fly adjustments during a series.

There’s no doubt it will be a tough, hard fought series. As predicted in this post back in October, “NBA Preview 2009-10” the Lakers would meet the Celtics in the NBA Finals. Sure I had my doubts going into the playoffs. I figured Cleveland and Orlando would meet in the Conference Finals, but what I didn’t figure is that the Celtics would prove myself and everyone else wrong about who they were. A championship caliber team that might well be trying to win their third title in a row. It was quite possible, but it isn’t 2008. It’s 2010. Different time and the Celtics are playing a different team. Lakers to win in 6 games.

Stanley Cup Final

This is the kind of Stanley Cup Final the NHL has wanted for a long time. Two cities with a lot of hockey tradition between them. Chicago has been without a winning NHL team since 1961. Philadelphia has waited just as long 1975. Both of these teams have had different routes to achieving their ultimate goal of hoisting the greatest trophy in professional sports.

The Underdog

The Philadelphia Flyers were the last team to clinch a playoff spot. Of all the ways to get in they had to beat a rival, New York Rangers, in a shootout in Game number 82. Riding that momentum, they blew threw the number 2 seeded New Jersey Devils in 5 games. Another rival, the Boston Bruins, had a 3-0 series lead on the Flyers. Only 3 other times had a NHL team come from behind down 3-0 to win the series. Philadelphia made themselves the fourth. The Montreal Canadiens had a great run too. They knocked out the Washington Capitals and defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins before meeting up with the Flyers. Philadelphia didn’t let up by finishing the Canadiens quickly in 5 games.

The Flyers have talent. They have grit. They have the hot goaltender. Daniel Briere, Mike Richards, Simon Gagne and Jeff Carter provide enough offense for a team that really doesn’t rely a whole lot on it. Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn and Scott Hartnell are reminding those fans who were witnesses to the Bobby Clarke, Andre Dupont and Dave Schultz days of the 1970s. Michael Leighton after filling in for the veteran Brian Boucher against Boston has been nothing short of spectacular. Was not on the roster at the beginning of the season, but he sure will be going into next year whether the Flyers win or not.

The Favorite

The Chicago Blackhawks have been near the top of every ones list to win the Stanley Cup. Their road to the Cup hasn’t been as rocky as Philadelphia’s, but it has been an impressive run. Chicago was given a bit of a scare when Nashville took them to 6 games, but Chicago finally got on track against Vancouver when the Canucks were considered to be title contenders as well. The Blackhawks finally showed how great they can be against the number 1 seeded San Jose Sharks by sweeping them in 4 games in the Western Conference Finals.

Chicago is one of the best scoring teams in the NHL. Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg are a hard bunch to slow down. Dustin Byfuglien, Tomas Kopecky and John Madden provide the toughness that most teams in their stature don’t have. Just look at the Washington Capitals and what happened to them. Chicago has built itself a great offensive unit, but they do need defense and it’s provided with Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Brian Campbell. Goalie Antti Niemi was considered a liability going into the playoffs, but has turned into a strength getting Chicago to this point.

All in all you have to like the fact that there is one team that is the true underdog and one that is the clear favorite. Both have great history and both haven’t won in a long time. My original pick in the Stanley Cup was Chicago vs. Pittsburgh. I now have only Chicago to pick and I’m sticking with that pick. However, Philadelphia would be a great championship team that has a great story with it. You can’t go wrong with either one.

There’s No Slacking-Off in Baseball

Just like the saying “there’s no crying in baseball” the same can be said for what Hanley Ramirez was benched for this past Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Going after a blooper in shallow left that could have been caught, he preceded to kick the ball into the side wall in left field at Sun Life Stadium (thank you Jimmy Buffet). With that soccer like kick, the Diamondbacks scored two runs in the third inning that would eventually help them beat Florida 5-1.

After the top of the third, manager Fredi Gonzalez went over to Hanley. They were seen talking to which Fredi was none too pleased and it resulted in Hanley sitting the rest of the game. One would imagine that a player of Hanley’s caliber would be pretty upset about being benched, but would understand where the manager was coming from and wouldn’t take this any further. Wrong answer.

“It’s his team. He can do whatever he bleeping wants. There’s nothing I can do about it. That’s OK. He doesn’t understand that. He never played in the big leagues.” – Hanley Ramirez

With that manager Fredi Gonzalez shot back with this great come back.

“He’s right, but I know how to play the game. I played six years in the minor leagues and I know what it takes to play this game and I know the effort it takes to play this game.” – Fredi Gonzalez

Now Hanley should realize that he’s in a lose-lose situation. Public persona sees that you dogged that play. Especially the way you were going after the ball after kicking it to left field. However, to put in proper perspective. In the previous inning, Hanley did foul a ball of his left shin. To which one would understand why he couldn’t run down the blooper in the air.

“I wasn’t trying to give up. That was the hardest I could go after the ball.” – Hanley Ramirez

But, why were you still in the game then? I can understand you not diving for it like it’s Game 7 of the World Series, but when the ball hits the ground you don’t react to it by kicking it. If you see anything other than a baseball, by all means kick it. Mr. Ramirez still doesn’t get it though. A cry by the media and fans for an apology resulted in this last gem.

“We got a lot of people dogging it after ground balls. They don’t apologize.” – Hanley Ramirez

Not only have you alienated your manager. Now your teammates have been thrown under the bus. It’s not the first time he’s gotten into hot water with his teammates. Last September Hanley and All-Star second baseman Dan Uggla got into a verbal confrontation when Hanley had left a game early due to a hamstring injury. Now this could be connected to that. Hanley not wanting to be seen as soft and deciding to play through injuries. It also seems to me that Uggla is willing to give Hanley another chance.

“I think Skip needed to do what he needed to do, which was take Hanley out of the game at that time. Does that mean we love Hanley any less? No, we have all made mistakes. We’ve all done things like, ‘Oh, maybe I shouldn’t have done that.’ But you move on, you move forward you get past it.”

Now hopefully this dies down quickly for this young, but very talented team. Hanley is in the second year of a six year 70 million dollar deal. He has to live up to it and the expectations of being a 30-30 hitter and gold glove defender at short. The Marlins shutout the Diamondbacks today 8-0 without Ramirez in the lineup. That’s a good start with Florida only 4 games back of the Philadelphia Phillies for first place. Hanley doesn’t have to apologize publicly, but he still needs to in private to his team. Whether he likes it or not, he is considered a team leader and it must show if he is to be successful in this game.

Perfect In Everyway

27 up and 27 down. That is the definition of perfection in baseball. You go through the entire game getting every batter out in their 3 at-bats. It’s rare that you get someone who has a story that is perfect for this kind of achievement and was being chastised by everyone for his “unwritten rule” blast on one of the games best players. Dallas Braden (pictured above) pitched a gem against the best team in baseball the Tampa Bay Rays on a day in which he doesn’t look forward too very much.

Just a junior at Amos Alonzo Stagg High School in Stockton, California, Dallas was sent to live with his grandmother Peggy Lindsey. His mother Jodie Atwood was diagnosed with skin cancer at the time. Just a year later, Jodi succumbed to the disease and Dallas has since been playing with a heavy heart. His grandmother Peggy has been the motherly figure for him ever since and it showed in the aftermath of him pitching only the 19th perfect game in MLB history.

What cinches this story for me is what lead up to May 9, 2010. In a game played on April 22, Oakland was hosting the New York Yankees. During the game on a foul ball hit by Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez was running on the pitch going for third base. When it was ruled foul, A-Rod took the quickest route back to first by cutting across the infield. What he didn’t know was that Dallas Braden doesn’t take too kindly to someone stepping on the mound. Braden was adamant in letting A-Rod know how he felt when the inning was over, but A-Rod wanted none of it simply waving Braden off.

I love the fact that a pitcher won’t take anything from hitters nowadays. That’s old school baseball. The kind I wish were still around. However, Braden’s claim that there is an “unwritten rule” about stepping on the mound is a stretch. A-Rod has done some stupid things i.e; screaming “HA” while running to third base on a pop fly to get someone to drop the ball, slapping the ball out of then Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo at Yankee Stadium, oh and testing positive for PEDs. This isn’t even on the radar for me. What I really loved was the back and forth between the two afterwards.

“He just told me to get off his mound. I was a little surprised. I’d never quite heard that. Especially from a guy that has a handful of wins in his career … I thought it was pretty funny actually.” – Alex Rodriguez

“He should probably take a note from his captain over there and realize you don’t cross the pitcher’s mound in between an inning or during the game. I was just dumbfounded that he would let that slip his mind — being someone of such status. I don’t care if I’m Cy Young or the 25th man on the roster, if I’ve got the ball in my hand and I’m on that mound, that’s my mound … He ran across the pitcher’s mound foot on my rubber. No, not happening. We’re not the door mat anymore.” – Dallas Braden

I could understand if Braden was still on the mound when A-Rod stepped on the rubber, but in A-Rod’s defense (can’t believe I just said that) he didn’t do that. Braden actually had people sympathizing with A-Rod for once. Rightfully both sides cooled off and were willing to let this blow away. That is until Mothers Day.

Grandma Peggy Lindsey was quoted after the game saying “stick it A-Rod.” Beautifully said. Now it never erupted to what it was, but you gotta love that. She’s sticking up for her grandson of course, but it just added another sub-plot to the whole saga.

Regardless of what happened before or what is yet to come, you have to love a good story when you see it. Dallas Braden pitched a perfect game near his hometown of Stockton, California. He got to share the moment with his grandmother and in the process stuck his tongue out at A-Rod and said, “this is my mound punk.” Not quoted of course, but you can bet that it did cross his mind. Well done.

Idiocy Reigns Supreme

I like most fans will cheer or egg on a fan who has run onto the baseball field because I know I won’t be the one going to the slammer right after his 15 seconds of fame. Most of the time the fan is tackled rather poorly by the rent-a-cops who are out of shape. Rarely will you get to see a guy get pummeled or even slammed by a mascot. Those are the best. I now have a new favorite. Tasered.

The genius pictured above, who shall remain nameless because he has gotten enough publicity, has caused a stir with him being tased by the police officer also pictured above. I love it. Simply from a fans and safety perspective. If you’re not drunk or just plain stupid, you will now think twice about jumping the fence and running onto the field. I could watch that video over and over again on youtube. I only wish the idiot had a funnier fall when he was zapped.

Unfortunately in this politically correct society right now, we have to worry about the idiots safety. My question is why? I’m not for beating the crap out of the guy, but those who cried brutality acted like he was shot or beaten with a night stick. That would be an extreme, but getting an electric shock is the same thing. Please. It is the safest thing for both the runner and the ones chasing. Who could argue against that?

Enter the everyone should have a right to do whatever they want whenever they want crowd. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell is part of that crowd. For him to question the officer’s action is an insult. He’s protecting your fellow citizens Governor. The ball players. Why should we have fences? As a matter of fact why should we even have nets behind home plate? That’s as much sense as this makes to me.

Let me remind those who don’t want quick action to remove these rule breakers of a few incidents that definitely warranted at least a taser. Tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed on the court by a fan in 1993. Kansas City Royals first base coach at the time Tom Gamboa being beaten by a drunken father and son at Cellular Field in 2002. The Pacers-Pistons brawl at the Palace in 2004.

Every single one of those incidents warranted that kind of action seen in Philadelphia. Would tasing those people have stopped or even slowed them down? Probably not. All I’m saying is don’t yell and scream that it was wrong and don’t you dare say that he’s just a 17 year old learning a lesson. So what. If my son (don’t have one) calls and says I’m gonna go onto the baseball field. My response, “prepare to be tased and you can bail yourself out.” Harsh sure, but my son would know better. I hope this kid does. Too bad he learned it the hard way.