It does not make up for losing games 6 and 7 and thus the 2011 World Series there, not even close but after the Texas Rangers completed a 3 game sweep at St. Louis vs the Cardinals, they have an 8 and a half game lead in the A.L. West.
Some comparisons with the only team that has a better record than the Rangers, the Chicago Cubs follow.
Only the Cubs, who enter tonight’s home tilt vs the Pittsburgh Pirates with an incredible 12 game lead, have a bigger divisional lead than the Rangers.
Chicago (Cubs) are the only team in baseball with a better record than the Texas Rangers.
The most important comparison is that while no current baseball team has gone longer without ever winning a World Series (Texas came so close in game 6 of the 2011 World Series at St. Louis) than the Rangers formed as the Washington Senators in 1961, those Cubs last won it all in 1908.
No matter which team prevails in tonight’s “winner take all,” NBA Finals 7th game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, this will be the fourth time since at least 1966, both the NHL and NBA titles were clinched in Sunday games.
2016 will join 1974 as the only years, again since at least 1966, that the titles were clinched on Sundays one week apart.
In each case, the NHL champion won the title first.
In 1974, the Boston Celtics won the NBA Finals in 7, a week later the Philadelphia Flyers won the Stanley Cup Finals in six games. Last Sunday, the Pittsburgh Penguins also won a 6 game NHL Final to claim the “top prize.” (Neither Ed McMahon nor his ghost appeared in the Pens’ locker room as far as anyone knows.” Tonight a week later, the NBA champion will be determined.
In 1987, the NHL champion won the title 2 weeks before the NBA champion. By the way those champions were the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL and Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA, one of 3 times the two teams “titled” in the same season.
I believe only the dynastic Montreal Canadiens and Boston Celtics (9 times), won more NHL/NBA titles in the same season.
One of those seasons was 1976 when 3 weeks apart each on a Sunday, first the Montreal Canadiens swept the NHL Finals in 4 straight games and the Boston Celtics won the title in 6 finals games.
This year is the first of the 4 “both on Sundays NHL/NBA clinchers,” not involving the Philadelphia Flyers, who lost in both 1976 and 1987 and neither the Boston Celtics nor Los Angeles. Lakers.
Tonight’s seventh game of the NBA Finals to be contested between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, will be the first played on a Sunday since 1974, when the Boston Celtics won the title at Milwaukee vs the Bucks, with a third road win the series. That game was played in the afternoon, imagine that!
“Bucks” of a different kind are relevant tonight as this game, of course in prime television time, will be a big ratings bonanza for the NBA and one of its television partners Disney/ABC.
No game in this series has been decided by less than 11 points. Tonight I sense ABC will get at least a close game and maybe a true down to the wire classic.
Considering the circumstances involved in them getting a 7th game, taking a little but still giving LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and the Cavaliers credit–ABC and as has been my opinion all year, the Cavaliers do not deserve it.
However, they will play the game and if the Cavaliers hand the Warriors a 9th playoff loss, matching their regular season total, (think about that!!), it will be the Cavaliers remembered and the record breaking Warriors largely forgotten.
It would have been worth the time just being in the marvelous Radio City Music Hall and seeing and hearing the orchestra.
The show, New York Spectacular starring The Radio City Rockettes, a great cast of actors and a cute yet compelling story made seeing this event a tremendous, fun experience.
Distinguished choreographer, Mia Michaels is the show’s creator and the story fuses the emotions of family, imagination all surrounded by fantastic numbers, with incredible facsimiles of famous New York City attractions.
Click below for ticket information.
New York Spectacular 2016 – Rockettes.com
It had to be difficult for the many New York Yankees’ prospects during or just prior to the team’s truly lean years (1965-1969), as some were touted to be great, “the next Mickey Mantle,” for example, and of course, there was just one Mickey Mantle.
One such player, Roger Repoz actually had a better career than perceived, playing 9 seasons in the big leagues with 3 different teams. Subsequently, he played baseball in Japan.
While as is the case with Bob Costas, I feel sabermetric statistics are talked about way too often and like Costas, knew about Bill James and this “measure,” long before he gained fame, I will note one sabermetric regarding Roger Repoz.
He is the only player in baseball history to have an OPS (slugging average added to on-base percentage) over .700, while having a batting average under .200, with at least 100 plate appearances.
On a day I saw Rachel Nichols say a Cavaliers win tomorrow night is “against perhaps the greatest odds imaginable,” when they are less than 2 to 1 underdogs, the thought of Repoz and better sports days, without the intrusion of Nichols and so many like her (I do not cite her because she is a woman, oh no, it is the incredible number of sportscasters,, be they a man, woman, green or robot, who just do not get it, nor research it before opening their mouths) is truly refreshing.
No matter which team, the record breaking, defending NBA champion, 73 win Golden State Warriors or the 57 win Cleveland Cavaliers win the NBA title, tomorrow night, it will have been decided on a Sunday in a 7 game finals entity.
Of course the Super Bowl is contested on a Sunday and one has to go back to 1960, when Christmas fell on a Sunday so the NFL champion was determined on a Monday (the Philadelphia Eagles, in to date their last NFL title, handed Vince Lombardi and his Green Bay Packers their only post season loss) to find the last time the NFL champion was not determined on a Sunday.
However, the 2015-2016 major North American sports league champions will all be determined on a Sunday in an increasing number of games.
The Kansas City Royals clinched the World Series title in 5 games, winning the finale, at New York vs the Mets, in a Sunday night game that did go into Monday local time.
Just last week, the Pittsburgh Penguins clinched the Stanley Cup with a Sunday night win in game 6 at San Jose, vs the Sharks.
There are 3 inter league baseball series this weekend, one a redux of a World Series that as with this year’s NBA Finals went to a seventh and deciding game.
That series is Texas (Rangers) visiting the St. Louis Cardinals, the venue at which the Cards won an epic 6th game and then the crown in the seventh game of the 2011 World Series vs Texas.
Elsewhere, two teams with 3 consecutive World Series wins face and host teams that lost in their only W.S. appearance.
The Giants, winners of the last 3 “even year” titles host the Tampa Rays, who lost in their only World Series appearance (I refuse to type/write “app” leave that for the phones) under Joe Maddon in 2008.
Meanwhile the Cincinnati Reds, winners in their last 3 World Series, the last 2 in sweeps (1976 and 1990, the former vs player Lou Piniella and the Yankees, the latter with him as Reds’ manager) combining with the #7 win in 1975, to have a 9 game W.S. win skein, host the Houston Astros.
From 1969-2011, the teams were housed in the N.L. West and in the same entity since the Astros commenced play in what was a great National League, as the Colt 45’s in 1962.
Houston was swept by the Chicago White Sox in their lone W.S. appearance.
Lou Piniella, “in the day” pictured above.
The NBA Finals are going to a 7th game for the 5th time with the calendar of this year (1966, 1988, 1994, 2005, and now 2016).
The 1966 title series deciding game was not televised nationally, while the four 7th games mentioned above had or will have a different lead television announcer.
In 1988 the lead announcer was Dick Stockton on CBS, in 1994 the great Marv Albert on NBC, Al Michaels (ABC) was on in 2005 and now Mike Breen, who will be working his third NBA “winner take all” (cue ABBA), one more than Stockton and Chris Schenkel and the most ever on a major network telecast.
Chris Schenkel (ABC) worked the first in 1969, and again in 1970 with the game relegated to delayed tape in the home city (New York City and surrounding areas), Pat Summerall, the lead announcer on 11 Super Bowls got the lone afternoon such tilt in 1974 and Brent Musburger had one in 1978. As with Summerall and “Horse” (Musburger), Stockton’s other game 7 of the NBA finals was on CBS, played in 1984.
ABBA – The Winner Takes It All (1980) HD 0815007
Click above to view this great song by ABBA
The Cleveland Cavaliers sprinted to a 20 point lead after the first quarter and eased to another double digit win to force a game 7 at Golden State (Warriors) on Sunday night.
Once the television show “Bonanza” was a ratings bonanza for NBC on Sunday nights, now this is a ratings bonanza for ABC/ESPN/Disney this Sunday.
The great player, LeBron James scored over 40 points for the second straight game, with his team facing elimination.
Before this finals series, the Warriors franchise had never failed to clinch a title when it was possible in a given game (4-0). Now that record is (4-2).
Conversely, the Cavs were (0-2) facing elimination in the finals, and are now (2-2).
The Cavaliers will play in a game in which a victory means a title for the first time in the 46 year history of the franchise. This will be the third time a Cleveland team (the old Browns, Indians and Cavaliers once each) have a chance with a win in a game, to win its league’s title since the last Cleveland sports crown.
The Browns, who failed in that 1965 title game on a Sunday at Green Bay vs the Packers, won the last Cleveland title the year before on Sunday, December 27,1964.
The Indians lost game 7 of the 1997 World Series on a Sunday night, at Florida vs the Marlins.
Now a third different team plays a road 7th, Sunday game for “all the marbles” (cue Peter Falk) on a third different major over the air network. The Browns lost on CBS, the Indians on NBC and the Cavaliers get their shot on ABC.
Who but me?!!
Wasn’t Silver a if not the key to Nevada money? Wasn’t one of the Cartwright sons named Adam?!!
With the Cleveland Cavaliers’ win in game 6 that forces a winner take all game 7 Sunday night at Golden State, there was no exact match in the same year’s NBA and NHL finals for the 68th time in 69 possibilities.
Only in 1995 when the teams sans home advantage, the NBA Houston Rockets and NHL New Jersey Devils each swept their finals opponents, winning the first two games on the road before returning home to claim the title with 2 wins has there ever been that exact configuration in both the NBA and NHL finals in the same year.
Golden State, stunned by the suspension of Draymond Green lost game 5 at home and did not even show up last night in Cleveland where a win by G.S. would have both finals the same with each going 6 games.
Speaking of “6” the last 4 NBA finals in years ending in 6 had gone 6 games. Additionally the 1956 final won by the Philadelphia Warriors in 5 and the 1966 final won by the Boston Celtics in 7 games averaged 6, but alas the Warriors were not only out of 3’s, and the game, but also 6’s.
Someone at the back of the table yelled NO six. He looked like Adam Silver.
