While the Carolina Hurricanes, at least a conference finalist in each of their last four ‘offs appearances (’02,’06, ’09 and ’19), won 4 straight vs the New York Islanders in one NHL “quarter,” at least one other will have a 7th game.
In their 14th playoffs clash, (each team’s first season was 1967-1968), the St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars will play in that aforementioned #7 Tuesday night in St. Louis, the fifth time a series between the teams has gone to a game 7.
This is the twelfth best of 7 clash between the two teams and one of their two best of 5 series went the distance.
Elsewhere, tonight, both the Columbus Blue Jackets and Colorado Avalanche are slight favorites to make NBC, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and their fans happy, by winning #6 and forcing a/two game 7’s on Wednesday.
In those series, higher seeded, Boston (Bruins) (vs Columbus) and San Jose (Sharks) (vs Colorado) won one goal games two nights ago, to take (3-2) series leads.
In today’s NBA quarterfinal playoff round action, (the 1977 NBA finalists) both the Portland Trail Blazers after an historic 4 overtime, game 3, win and Philadelphia 76ers are seeking home wins vs Denver (Nuggets) and Toronto (Raptors) respectively, that would give them a (3-1) series lead, albeit sans home advantage.
While the Trail Blazers and 76ers have won previous NBA crowns and have a number of final round appearances, neither the Nuggets in now in their 43rd or the Raptors in their 24th NBA season, has ever reached the final round.
Portland has won one title, that in ’77, (the Nuggets’ first NBA season), beating them in the quarterfinal round, en route to that Bill Walton/Maurice Lucas led crown.
Portland lost in their other two final round appearances to repeat NBA champions, Detroit (Pistons) in ’90 and Chicago (Bulls) in ’92.
The 76ers franchise has 3 titles, two as the 76ers (’67 and ’83) and one as the Syracuse Nationals, led by Dolph Schayes, in 1955.
They are (3-6) in the final round, which includes a (1-5) record vs the Lakers both Minneapolis and Los Angeles.
George Mikan and “Minne” beat the Nationals in ’50 and ’54 while L.A. beat the Sixers in ’80, ’82 and ’01.
The Sixers lost in the NBA final round to Portland in ’77 and as cited to the Los Angeles Lakers in ’80 and ’82. Earvin “Magic” Johnson earned ‘offs MVP honors in both ’80 and ’82.
Speaking of the Nationals, they were involved in the only other 4 overtime game in NBA playoffs annals. On March 21, 1953 the Celtics clinched a best of 3 NBA “quarter” with a (111-105), 4 overtime, home win vs Syracuse. The great Bob Cousy scored 50 points, making 30 of 32 free throw attempts in that game.
Another day, another true sports great, Leonard “Red” Kelly, age 91, has died, however this is a celebration if you will, of his great life.
Mr. Kelly almost surely is the only major North American major sports league figure to play on as many as 4 title winning teams (Red played on the Red Wings’ Stanley Cup winners in ’50,’52, ’54 and ’55 as a defenseman and then on 4 Leafs Cup winners (’62-’64) and the last Toronto Maple Leafs crown in 1967, as a center. Truly incredible!) with two different franchises.
He won the first Norris Trophy, an award given to the (voted) top defenseman, in a given NHL season, among many great individual honors.
As a center with Toronto, he helped develop the great career of winger, Frank Mahovlich, who like Kelly served in the Canadian Government and played on more than one title winner with two different franchises. (the same 4 as Kelly with Toronto and two with the Montreal Canadiens).
Red was married to Andra McLaughlin a skating great, who survives him.
I have included her performance on an NBC show in 1955 and the retirement ceremony in Detroit this year of Kelly’s #4. What took so long I ask, however, this is a celebration of Red Kelly’s great life. Enjoy!
Click below to view Andra McLaughlin’s performance on the NBC show, “Your Hit Parade,” which originally aired on Christmas Eve (December 24th) 1955.
Tonight, on the same day, date, with the same series standing and in the same city in which they met 45 years ago, in the NBA final, the Milwaukee Bucks visit the Boston Celtics for game 3 of their quarterfinal series.
As was the case 45 years ago, the Celtics won game 1 of this “quarter,” on a Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee, each game played on April 28th.
Then and this year, the Bucks squared the series with a Tuesday April 30th victory. The victory 3 days back was on the 48 year anniversary of the Bucks’ lone NBA crown, clinched on Friday night April 30th. Imagine basketball ending in April!
The 4th, 5th and potential 7th games of this Celts/Bucks “quarter” will/would be played 45 years and a day after their 1974 final series “equivalents.”
However, should a game 6 be necessary, which is likely, it would be played 45 years after the classic, 2 overtime Milwaukee win in #6/’74 final.
The memory of that Friday night May 10, 1974 game, featuring greats Kareem Abdul Jabbar of “Milw” and the recently deceased John Havlicek of the Celts, exchanging late baskets is a great one.
Kareem won game 6 with a made “sky,” however series MVP, Havlicek and Dave Cowens led the Celtics to their 12th crown (first post dynasty, in which they won 11 titles in 13 seasons–you would think Durant, Klay Thompson or Gretzky before them would stick around and try to “approach” –let’s hope but…) with a game 7 win in Milwaukee.
The play by play announcer is the great Pat Summerall. Enjoy these moments from game 6 of the ’74 final.
The Carolina Hurricanes, nee Hartford Whalers, are on the precipice of just their fourth semi-final/conference final appearance, after an easy, home win vs the New York Islanders, gave them a (3-0) series lead.
Rod Brind’Amour has done a great job coaching the ‘Canes, who overcame a pair of two goal deficits to defeat defending champion, Washington (Capitals) in a thrilling two overtime, game 7, in the United States capital.
This is the second time (an upstart one, as in both years they made the ‘offs, after failing to qualify the year before) the Islanders have followed 4 straight wins to eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins, with losses in the first three games of their next series.
This season the Islanders swept the Penguins in 4 straight games, in the NHL first round.
In 1975, the Islanders overcame a (3-0) quarterfinal series deficit, winning the last 4 games vs the Penguins.
Next, they lost the first three games to the defending champion Philadelphia Flyers, before winning the next three.
“Philly” brought their “good luck charm,” Kate Smith in to sing “God Bless America” and it “worked” again, as the Flyers won game 7 and the subsequent final series vs the Buffalo Sabres.
Carolina coach, Rod Brind’Amour, the captain on the Hurricanes/Whalers lone NHL title team in ’06, is pictured below.
Another sports great, Gino Marchetti, has died. He was 93.
In addition to being an all-time great defensive lineman, Marchetti was in World War 2 and in a more peaceful endeavor, was among the founders of the hamburger chain, “Gino’s,” has died.
Gino participated in the game that made pro football, more than any other, the 1958 NFL title tilt, in which Marchetti’s Baltimore Colts won in overtime vs the New York Giants.
He also played on the 1959 Colts’ title team and the 1964 team that lost to the Browns in that year’s title tilt, the Browns’ last crown.
On a crucial play late in the ’58 title game, the Giants’ superb player, Frank Gifford was stopped, or at least ruled to be, short of a title clinching first down.
“Fearless,” (Gifford) went to his grave insisting he made the first down. Marchetti broke his leg on the play. The Colts still needed great John Unitas/Ray Berry/Alan Ameche led drive(s) to tie and eventually win the late NFL commissioner, Bert Bell’s “dream”/ overtime game.
Computers and modern science have tried to determine if Gifford made the first down. We still do not really know.
Perhaps now, Gino, Frank, John Unitas and others get to hear from the infallible (hope that entity starts helping here, but alas you know about his/her/its “strange ways”) one, on that determination and others, far more important.
Click above to view many of the big plays in the ’58 title game, however not the disputed Gifford run, a play on which Gino Marchetti broke his leg.
While the 1951 remake of “M” shown last Sunday morning on the Eddie Muller hosted, “Noir Alley” on TCM, is not as brilliant as the Fritz Lang directed 1931 classic, in which the magnificent Peter Lorre exploded onto the scene, it was quite good.
Director Josef Losey and a fine cast headed by David Wayne (two fine actors with surnames beginning with “W’s,” the inverse of “M,” played “Digger Barnes” on “Dallas”–Wayne and Keenan Wynn) made this remake a very good one.
I note the fine performance by Martin Gabel in “M,” additionally noting he was an original member of The Mercury Theatre repertory company, formed by the legendary, Orson Welles.
Mr. Gabel was married to Arlene Francis, and at times was a panelist on “What’s My Line,” a great show on which Ms. Francis was a regular.
David Wayne in “M” pictured above, next to a machine that dispenses “Chiclets,” once a popular gum.
Last Sunday, during the NBC telecast of the Boston Bruins’ game 6 win at Toronto (Maple Leafs) in an eventual series win, lead announcer Mike Emrick commented/”bragged” a bit about his favorite baseball team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, leading their division.
At that point, the S.F. Giants led Pittsburgh in that day’s game and won. After that loss, both Arizona in Pittsburgh and the Dodgers, as fairly big home favorites, each swept the “Buccos,”–Arizona winning 4 and L.A. 3.
However, Mr. Emrick’s “shot” at the world champion Red Sox that day continues to hold up. That day, (Sunday April 21st), Boston completed a sweep of Tampa Bay (Rays) however, a subsequent (2-4) home stand, including 2 losses to “T.B,” leaves the Red Sox (11-17).
Alas, do not look now, but the New York Yankees have the opposite (17-11) record, having won nine of their last 10 games.
In the bigger picture, Emrick made a good point about smaller market/lower payroll teams (citing Pittsburgh and “knocking” Boston) however, 40 years in “the desert” of no titles for the Pirates, in my opinion, warranted a “pass over” regarding Pirates’ exploits, not a second day of Passover, “Buccos brag.”
Alas karma, if not another force erupted, I did not do near enough and looking to the future, as it is so early in the baseball season, I surely feel the Red Sox are “plagued” and who knows regarding Pittsburgh?
Meanwhile what a “hunch!” Emrick “boasts,” the Pirates lose. Since he does much else so effectively, Jeopardy phenom and “professional sports bettor,” James Holzhauer would have/maybe was “all in,” regarding what is now an 8 game Pirates’ loss skein.
Jose Pagan, pictured above, drove in Willie Stargell with what proved to be the World Series run, as the Pirates won it all in 1971.
The NBA Western Conference semi-finals begin today as the two time defending champion Golden State Warriors (in the classic film, “On The Waterfront,” a less ominous version but a “gang” none the less is the “Golden Warriors”) face the Houston Rockets.
Last season “G.S.” sans home advantage, won a 7 game semi final from the Rockets, who were without Chris Paul when Golden State won both games 6 and 7 to win the series.
This year a round earlier, “G.S.” with home advantage, is about a two and a half to one series favorite.
In the other West semi, 42 years later there is a “2” seed Denver Nuggets vs “3” seed Portland Trail Blazers redux. Portland won that series in 6 games, en route to their lone NBA crown.
Denver, which before 7’ing the San Antonio Spurs, had lost 10 of 11 first round series, since shocking the league, top ranked Seattle SuperSonics (note the Portland and Seattle spellings and of course note the SuperSonics are now the Oklahoma City Thunder. Portland 5’d the Thunder in the first round of this year’s ‘offs) in 1994, last made the NBA semis/Western Conference final in ’09. Portland’s last appearance in that round was in 2000.
Both teams lost to the eventual league champion Los Angeles Lakers in those aforementioned, most recent semis appearance.
Thoughts and concepts regarding time and especially movement, (always moving) resonate, as I recall the great basketball player, John Havlicek, who died days back, at the age of 79.
Known as “Hondo,” Mr. Havlicek played on 8 Boston Celtics’ title teams (only Bill Russell (11) and he commented on the pain, as another great teammate and friend passed away and Sam Jones (10) played on more) making two “almost must–called by Most'” (Johnny, the gravel voiced, legendary Celts’ broadcaster) plays en route.
Coincidental, eery and perhaps a way to say, John Havlicek will be fine from now on, as his battle with the horror of Parkinson’s disease is over, is that the Celtics open their quarterfinal series, playing their first game after Havlicek’s death, at Milwaukee, in an early Sunday afternoon, start tomorrow.
John Havlicek played in 3 winner take all 7th games of the NBA Final, his Celtics winning all 3, the last of which was the “Hondo” led, series MVP performance, at Milwaukee on a Mother’s Day afternoon in 1974.
One of his great, “must?” plays, was when he tipped Hal Greer’s inbound pass intended for Chet Walker (oh the names, oh the memories, though re John Havlicek–I was so often on the “wrong” rooting side) in effect “stealing the ball” yielding a (110-109) “hold on” win by Boston, vs the/”my” Wilt Chamberlain led, Philly 76ers in #7,Eastern final in 1965. I was too young to stay up and watch it, as I believe “New York 9” telecast it (still) here.
Regarding that tilt, we will never know if the Sixers would have scored, there were 5 seconds left and I say probably not, making the “Havlicek stole the ball” play a tad over rated, however, clearly great!
The other one, John’s running, bank shot that preceded even more incredible drama in the second overtime of game 5 of the ’76 NBA final vs the upstart Phoenix Suns (recently their coach John MacLeod passed away), WAS a “MUST,” certainly in the game and likely the series.
Oh the movement, John always did. His effort and determination were his hallmark. Speaking of which, he likely kept the “cards” coming, as he stayed married to the lovely Beth, all these years.
Time moves even more fervently than John Havlicek, creating among other things, memories. Enjoy some involving John Havlicek, as they follow in this nice tribute.
John Havlicek, pictured above.
The tribute commences with the play to end #7, ’65 East Final “Havlicek stole the ball,” and includes roughly 35 seconds in, John’s shot to put Boston ahead in #5, 1976 NBA final.
Andy B Sports 