The Oklahoma Thunder, whose Friday night past, #4 win was/is the key one, moved within 1 win of their first Oklahoma City based crown, riding Jalen Williams’ forty/40 (ode to Chet, who directed NBA games also on ABC, which to me anyway, were done so much better than now) to an 11 point(s) win over the Indiana Pacers, in game 5 and into a (3-2) final round lead.
Regular season and still likely final round MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whose great game in #4 was and barring the unforeseen, will be this series most important, added 31 points.
Now will it and to me, if “City” wants the high regard that would accompany a (68-14) title team, do it in 6 not 7 (they conceivably could lose #7 at home and even last night in a tilt which Ok City led throughout, the game Pacers, did cut a once 18 point lead to 2) be clinched Thursday night in Indy or will there be a 7th on Sunday night?
Sorry for the “chalk,” yet fully aware it could still be Indy, certainly in #6 and maybe even 7, though again I doubt it–thus in “Anticipation,” some notes follow.
The Thunder, as both the SuperSonics and based in “Ok City,” are (4-1) in NBA final round games 5, winning to go up (3-2) vs the Bullets in ’78, clinching the crown in ’79, staying alive from (0-3) to (2-3) vs Mr. Jordan and the Bulls in ’96 and being eliminated by the Heat in 2012 before last night’s win.
Eight times in 31 “such,” has the #5 winner in an NBA final round series that was tied 2 games apiece lost the series.
One of those 8 was the Bullets, whom “Sea” 5’d the next year, winning in 7, the last game at Seattle (Mitch Kupchak’s big “put back” play and I remember Mark Splaver, look him and the ’78 Bullets run up) doing it vs “Sea” in ’78.
The Florida Panthers are one win away from repeating as NHL champions, after a pretty easy (they led (2-0) as stars Brad Marchand “opened” and Sam Bennett notched his 5th goal of the Cup final, then (3-0) (3-1) (4-1) and (4-2)–after a (5-2) Saturday night win, at Edmonton, vs the Oilers.
Last season, the Panthers had a (3-0) final round lead vs the Oilers, before needing a 7th game (thus a home loss in #5) home (2-1) win (Sam Reinhart had the game winning goal, Evan Rodrigues “opened” and “Bob,” Serg Bobrovsky was stellar in goal) (2-1) win to claim their first title and hand the Oilers a second straight 7th game final round defeat, the other at the Carolina (Hurricanes-that area’s football team the Panthers are (0-2) in final rounds/Super Bowls), in 2006.
This is the first of the eleven combined Cup final rounds in which Florida or Edmonton appeared, that the series was (2-2) and not (3-1) or complete after 4 games. The last “such” was the eventual 2019 St. Louis Blues’ 7 game triumph, winning at Boston (Bruins), a big Panthers’ rival, yet they dealt the superb player, Marchand, to “Fla” at the trade deadline this year, after failing to title in a home 6th game.
While Edmonton, which had overcome a (3-0) deficit after one period in #4 (“Fla” has outscored “Edm” (7-0) in the last three first periods and scored first in 4 of the 5 tilts thus far) and won (5-4) on Leon Draisaitl’s second overtime goal of the series, but are now likely, but far from certain, to lose in a third straight final round, a la the NFL San Francisco 49ers, after winning in 5 consecutive such entities.
Paul Maurice’s Panthers failed to clinch at home up (3-2) vs Toronto in the “quarters” and ahead (3-1) vs Carolina in the semis plus the above cited 3 failures in games in which they did not face elimination, one at home in last year’s final round series vs Edmonton.
Sam Bennett, pictured above, with 15 goals in these ‘offs is I suppose the favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the entire ‘offs most valuable player if Florida does win a second straight crown.
Bereft of great musical acumen, however, with one of his many tunes blurting in fashion, I attempt a tribute to the great, gifted, troubled and one who leaves so much good, Brian Wilson, a co-founder and member of the iconic group, “The Beach Boys.”
“Mr. Wilson,” (a symbol of the ’60’s both the real and the fading innocent, perhaps Brian would appreciate an ode to Joseph Kearns and Gale Gordon as “Mr. Wilsons” on “Dennis The Menace”) died days back at the age of 82, adding kudos to those, who better analyze the music he brought, emphasizing the incredible album, “Pet Sounds,” placing it with eloquence, alongside “The Beatles’ ” “Sgt. Pepper” album.
Less aware, I still know the many, incredibly many, songs of “The Beach Boys,” so many via Brian Wilson a fondly recalling seeing them, both live and on television and cherish listening and hopefully always will.
The era, replete with visions, dreams, cars and girls so beautifully expressed via Brian Wilson and “The Beach Boys” flashes true “better place to be.”
Older, veritable once classics, “The O” chose “God Only Knows” (that absentee landlord has some “‘splaining” to do”) while the “Cheese” opted for “Good Vibrations,” as their most treasured “Beach Boys” songs.
Memories flow, dreams continue and that more than anything rationalizes the life, the angst, father/money/”Shrink” issues Brian and so many encounter in some form, during that most precious of all gifts, even greater than music, time.
Yet that thing/concept– time, (I believe father is often attached), so often is difficult to navigate, making the beauty of music, certainly that of Brian Wilson, such an important “chip” in the continual quest to well, continue.
Thank you Brian and perhaps watch over, in this time.
Later “covered” by the great B.J. Thomas and though it did not “turn out” the way I wanted, “Don’t Worry Baby” speaks to me in a profound way.
I am glad Mr. Wilson (one of two brothers, John the other who predeceased Brian and each an original “Beach Boy” along with cousin Mike Love and Al Jardine, a nice guy and the lone member of the group I encountered during “time,” was Dennis and ode to Jay North who also recently died and was “Dennis” calling as we do here in tribute to Brian, “Mr. Wilsonnnnn.”) truly loved this song.
Brian Wilson performing at Live 8 in Berlin at Siegessäule on the 2nd July, 2005. Organised by Sir Bob and The Band Aid Trust to raise money to fight poverty around the world, the event was viewed by around 2 billion people.
Yes, that spelling of organized and what a great combination, musical greatness to help others, less fortunate.
The incredible Indiana Pacers (14-5 in these ‘offs and (13-6) ATS–Ok City is (0-8) ATS in this year’s road tilts), who had lost their previous #3’s however up (2-0) in series they would win, went up (2-1) in the NBA final, winning (116-107) in game 3 as 5 plus point(s) u/dogs vs the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Bennedict Mathurin a reserve led all scorers with 27 points a big part of the Pacers’ (45-17) scoring advantage involving reserve players.
Tyrese Haliburton added 22 including another go ahead to stay, three point shot, when this much earlier (6 and change remaining), but Indy never ceased the lead that shot produced).
A.P. noted 33 of the 41 #3/NBA final round series game winners “titled” and added “advantage Pacers.”
Smarter than them regarding the perception anyway, those who make their lucrative living regarding such disagree as pre series 7 to 1 fave, (68-14) Oklahoma City is still over a 2 to 1 series “fave.”
The great Freddie Lewis, him I would like to see there as he was an integral part of all 3 Indy ABA title teams and is still “with us” as opposed to other Pacers’ greats, Roger Brown, coach Bob “Slick” Leonard, George McGinnis and Mel Daniels (sorry regarding others not named).
Alas Oscar (Robertson) was there, another joy, not so seeing the cited and hyped Cait Clark and the annoying (not as much as Lee), Reggie Miller
A 10th-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Royals in 1966, he (I add Lewis for the link) earned a spot as Oscar Robertson‘s backup, averaging 4.7 points and 1.3 assists per game. “Oscar taught me a lot,” Lewis is quoted on remembertheaba.com about the legend from Indianapolis. “(He) taught me how to be cool, how to handle situations instead of running all over the court helter-skelter.”
After two overtime games, the second of which went into a second, #3 was a Florida rout win, (6-1) at home vs the Edmonton Oilers, giving the defending champion Panthers, who 7’d Edmonton to be that, a (2-1) final round lead.
The great Brad Marchand, who “closed” #2, opened #3 just 56 (ode to Lawrence Taylor) seconds “in,” while “The “Sams,” Bennett (his final round leading 4th and ‘offs leading 13th, while the great, but at least a tad over rated, “Edm” duo of McDavid and Draisaitl had a rare no points ‘offs tilt) and Reinhart, he of the missed breakaway in #2, however, the Stanley Cup winning goal also on a Monday night (EDM is what, (0-6) in Monday final rd tilts, for whatever that means) had goals, while another great, Sergei Bobrovsky had an easy night in goal for the Panthers.
Florida is now (7-12) in final round tilts while “Edm” is (27-20), however, “Fla” is now over a 2 to 1 “fave” to repeat as Cup winners and in turn, hand the Oilers a third straight final round loss.
Sam Bennett, pictured above.
Two nights back, Brad Marchand, a tremendous player, acquired at the deadline from the Boston Bruins, scored his second breakaway type goal of the tilt, lifting the defending champion Florida Panthers (5-4) over (sure was, 2 straight), Edmonton (Oilers), to square their NHL final round series at a game apiece.
Marchand (ode to Nancy), had scored a shorthanded breakaway goal that seemingly gave the Panthers the lead to stay at 12:09 of the second period, when Fla tallied twice to take a (4-3) lead, which they held until Cor Perry’s goal tied the tilt, with just :18 remaining.
Some “one or the others”: Both the game 1 and game 2 winners in previous Edmonton or Florida NHL final round series are (9-1) in those previous ten entities, one vs each other last season.
Obviously now one of those will be (10-1), the other (9-2) after this eleventh such.
The Oilers are still a stellar (18-6) [Bob Shaw’s pitching record in 1959, a year in which, he also outdueled Sandy in #5 W.S. winning (1-0) with help, L.A. did win in 6 vs Shaw’s White Sox. Alas, Sandy Koufax did have better results in future World Series and the game 5/’59 is a positive in his great career] in home final round games, (18-4)– meaning (18-3) before the tough #2 home loss, since the New York Islanders won their 4th straight crown, sweeping Edmonton in 1983.
Brad Marchand, shown above, celebrating his lone title, that in his first ‘offs season, with the Boston Bruins in 2011.
He played more or less 15 seasons with the Bruins, born on the 16th anniversary of their ’72 crown on May 11th, winning once in 3 final round appearances.
Maybe, even likely, it will eventually be an aberration game of which I watched none (“City” is still a big series favorite, but only half what they were established as, when “it” began) yet one must credit and cite some of the incredible play and comeback wins registered by the Indiana Pacers (13-4 and 12-5 ATS in these upset riddled, 2025 NBA ‘Offs), including the (111-110) final round opening win (their unprecedented third series, road opening game win in these ‘Offs), capped by Tyrese Haliburton’s game winning, essentially ending 21 foot made shot with .3 seconds remaining. (The last 3 major sports league’s final round opening tilts ended “suddenly,” Freddie Freeman’s 2 outs, “G slam” lifting L.A. by 3 runs over the Yankees, Leon Draisaitl’s OT goal the night before and Haliburton last night).
Haliburton, who stepped forward in anticipation of getting the (“too many trophies” in this enabled world), semis round, MVP but was denied such, as it properly went to teammate Pascal Siakam, stepped up and hit the win or lose, game winning shot, giving “Indy” its lone lead and first ever lead in an NBA final round. (They lost games 1,2, 4 and 6 in a 2-3-2 format to the first of 3 L.A. crowns in their only other final round “app.”)
Good job by the no longer great, or even close, A.P. follows, detailing 4 exceptional Pacers’ comeback wins, with Mr. Tyrese hitting big, big shots in all.
— April 29, Indiana trailed Milwaukee 118-111 with 34.6 seconds left in overtime. Haliburton scored with 1.4 seconds remaining and the Pacers won 119-118.
— May 6, Indiana trailed Cleveland 119-112 with 48 seconds left and won 120-119. Haliburton got the game-winner with 1.1 seconds to play.
— May 21, Indiana trailed New York 121-112 with 51.1 seconds left in regulation. Haliburton sent it to overtime on a jumper with no time on the clock; Indiana won 138-135.
Now, this.
“Leap year kid,” Tyrese Haliburton born on Feb. 29, 2000 and pictured above, has almost as many incredible game winning type shots in these ‘offs as birthdays.
Leon Draisaitl scored in overtime, (he also “opened”), as the Edmonton Oilers, who trailed (3-1) at one point, won (4-3) in the NHL final round opening game vs the defending champion Florida Panthers, the team that 7’d “them in last year’s final.
The game 1 winner is (9-1) in previous Oilers or Panthers final round series, one contested between the teams last year.
Viktor Arvidsson and Mattias Ekholm had the goals that enabled Edmonton to tie the tilt before Draisaitl took a pass from Connor McDavid (assists on the tying and winning goals) to win the game in the last minute of the first overtime period.
Sam Bennett, who leads in 2025 ‘offs goal scoring, with 12 scored twice for “Fla,” while Brad Marchand, a key trade deadline acquisition from Boston (Bruins) had the other Panthers’ tally.
Edmonton lost game 1 at home and the final round series in 4 straight games, giving the New York Islanders a 4th straight title in ’83.
In both ’87 and ’88 the Oilers won the final round opener and the title.
Leon Draisaitl, pictured above.
There are notes in the “vast space,” indicating that 7 times the champion from the year before prevailed in an NHL final redux the next season. 4 times, including the last 2 such, the previous year’s runner-up prevailed.
With a 12th Cup Final rematch beginning tonight at Edmonton, with the home team, Oilers facing the defending champion Florida Panthers, here are the relatively difficult to research, details of the previous 11 NHL final rematches.
The first was in 1933, when the New York Rangers won the best of 5, final round series in 4 games, clinching the crown at hallowed Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, on an overtime goal by Bill Cook. It was the first time the NHL crown was clinched with an overtime goal.
In ’32 Toronto defeated the Rangers in 3 straight games, winning all 3 by (6-4) scores, thus that final round series is aka “The Tennis Series.”
Three other times, including the above referenced last two (the Pittsburgh Penguins won vs Detroit (Red Wings or “Vogues”) in ’09 after losing to them in ’08 and Edmonton won the first of what would be 4 titles in 5 seasons, 5 in 7 and none since, in ’84 defeating the 4 time champion Islanders after being swept by them in ’83) a team “avenged” the previous year’s defeat in a Cup final redux.
In ’56, the not so arguably, greatest of hockey dynasties began, as the Montreal Canadiens won the first of 5 straight titles, defeating the two time champion Detroit Red Wings, another great team, that had defeated the Habs (Montreal), in both ’54 and ’55.
Keeping score? (ode to Herb), that is one repeat win and four with different results in the redux.
Montreal (6), (winning both 4 times (’57/’58 vs Boston (Bruins) and again 20 years later vs them in ’77 and ’78, and once each vs Toronto ’59 and ’60 and St. Louis (Blues) in the latter’s first two seasons (’68 and ’69 under Scotty Bowman, who would “pilot” the Habs to 5 crowns in subsequent years, losing both in ’54 and ’55 to Detroit as cited and also as cited splitting the ’55 and ’56 final round series, vs those Red Wings), has been involved in the most Cup final rematches.
Detroit is next with 5 (the 2 wins and the win/loss vs Montreal as cited above, the cited split win then loss vs Pittsburgh in the most recent redux, ’08/’09 and 2 losses vs Toronto in both ’48/’49 (each a Maple Leafs sweep) and ’63/’64 (Johnny Bower’s shutout in #7 ’64 after Bob Baun, playing on what was a broken leg, OT goaled “Det” in #6 at Detroit).
I think that covers it. Let’s say the Oilers in 6, in what ought to be a fine NHL final.
Ted “Teeter” Kennedy, shown above, not only did not play on either incarnation of a “Senators” team, but played his entire career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, during which the franchise which has now gone 57 completed seasons with nary a Cup final appearance, won Five/5 NHL crowns.
The event, on paper at least, a stellar possibility, is still 2 nights away, but anticipation grows for the NHL final, to be contested between the defending champion Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers.
It is a rematch of last year’s final, in which Florida claimed their first crown, but only after losing 3 straight games, yielding a 7th game, in which they held on for a (2-1) win and that above cited first title.
Edmonton is a slight favorite (this time they have home advantage, but alas, each team has won all 3 series to become “Cup” finalists sans it, surely a first) in the series, as they bid to become the first Canada based team to win the NHL title, since the once great, Montreal Canadiens did so 32 years ago.
“El” Oilers (one day “re” same nicknames and titles, for now the Houston Oilers won the first two AFL titles but never won an NFL crown or made a Supe. They moved to Tennessee and as the Titans lost a truly tough one, vs the Rams in the ’99 season Supe, their lone final to date) are a little bit larger favorites in game 1, Wednesday night at home.
In previous Oilers or Panthers final round appearances (they total 10, as one was vs each other last season, the #1 winner is (9-1), the lone opener loser to still title being ’85 Edmonton vs Philadelphia. (For the record, in both ’84 and ’85 “Edm” more than seemingly benefitted from a 2-3-2 configuration also present then and not now in the NBA final, (it was the first 2-3-2 in what became many in the NBA), as both seasons they split on the road (in ’84 they won #1 at the 4 time defending champion Islanders, before getting the next 3 at home and winning them. Ditto save a game 1 loss at Philadelphia (Flyers) in ’85, as the Oilers again roared to home wins in games (3-5) to claim a second straight title.
That 2022 Cup Final marked the third straight Florida team appearance in the entity, all by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Now Florida (Panthers) in their third straight final round makes the Florida team in the NHL final streak 6.
Andy B Sports 