‘Offs Notes

The dust, however, not the disappointment of the recently completed, “hot, same calendar shoe but not you/Andy,” NHL and NBA ‘offs, has cleared. Some predominantly “nowhere else’ notes will follow.

I forgot the great “Roy’s” birthday and also I believe late, is the Taco Bell prize (a free taco) afforded by “Suns led at half/Bucks win,” which also paid 5 to1, in the Milwaukee title clincher, on “Human on the Moon” Day.

This is the first time in 74 possibilities (1947-2021 with no NHL season in ’05 that the NHL final ended in 5 games, the NBA such entity in 6 games, with both titles being clinched by the home team.

Five previous times, the NHL final ended in 5 and the NBA in 6, however, not with both titles being clinched by home teams.

For the record it last happened in “same calendar/Suns also lose the final in 6 ’93” (sadly, a difference from that year is that the Canadiens won the final then and of course were 5’d by repeat champion Tampa Bay (Lightning) this time) when the Habs won at home in 5 but it was the road Bulls, riding Mr. Jordan’s “push off?/certainly ought to have been “sign off and out” shot, prevailing in 6 at Phoenix.

Before that it was in ’86 when the still glory teams, the Canadiens in a road 5th and a great, 1 loss at home all year “reg” and none in the ‘offs, Celtics teams won, to this point, their penultimate titles. Boston did so in a home 6th game.

The year before and also in ’81 and ’63, respectively, while the Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders and yes the Toronto Maple Leafs (thinking 54 years would be, as it was for the New York Rangers in ’94, their magic and also that their last Cup winning team captain, George Armstrong had died. Also Alex Trebek, better known by an exponential margin, for something else, the Cup film narrator in that ’67 season also had died, all led to “too much” on Toronto and no Habs as a playoffs winning “appetizer” and eventually a “bitter meal’) each won their second straight NHL crown in a home 5th, however the ’85 Lakers, and ’81 and ’63 Celtics won their titles in road 6th games.

Finally, at least for now, this was the first time since 2013 when both the Chicago Blackhawks and Miami Heat also went (16-7) to title, that both the NHL and NBA champion had the same ‘offs records. (Both the Lightning and Bucks went (16-7).