Today for the first time since the NBA and NHL playoffs began, there are no games in either league, certainly a big surprise on a Saturday.
During the regular season when the games meant next to nothing, ABC was televising Saturday night NBA games.
Meanwhile the NHL which once had Saturday and teams from Canada as its staple, has no games today and NBC is offering no over the air telecasts this weekend.
I am looking forward to seeing Athena Theatre’s playwriting group “Athena Writes” presentation of “An Unseen Visitor,” which will be a one night performance this Tuesday May 17th starting at 7 p.m. at Symphony Space 95th Street in Manhattan.
There is much more information in the link below but knowing some of these writers and the dedication in writing 10 different, 10 minute plays, this performance is one of my most eagerly anticipated in a long time.
Please click the link below for more information and how to purchase tickets.
Symphony Space – An Unseen Visitor – an evening of…
No matter who wins each series in the NHL semi-finals, the finals will match a team that has never won the Stanley vs one that has won the esteemed trophy.
Neither Western Conference final participant, the St. Louis Blues nor San Jose Sharks has ever won the Stanley Cup.
For that matter, neither franchise has ever won a Stanley Cup finals game and in a combined 67 seasons (1971-2015, with no NHL season having been played in 2005) since the expansion division was not given an automatic Cup finals berth, neither team has qualified for the Stanley Cup finals.
In what should be a fine series, the Blues and Sharks begin Sunday night in St. Louis. The winner will meet either the Pittsburgh penguins, who notched Cup victories in 1991, 1992 and 2009 or the Tampa Bay Lightning, the 2004 Stanley Cup winners.
Their Eastern Conference final begins tonight and my “advice ,” mediocre here of late, is to take nice odds with the Lightning at the start of the series, as I believe they will win one of the first two games which will be played in Pittsburgh. After that, I have no real opinion which is just as well.
My best advice, real advice is to enjoy what may well be two excellent NHL semi-final series.
Last night, dominant performances by the home team, San Jose Sharks and Oklahoma City Thunder gave the “winter sports,” NHL and NBA its sixth and seventh semi-final entrants. (Earlier the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers advanced in the NBA, while the St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning did so in the NHL)
Tonight that round begins in the NHL, (Tampa Bay is at Pittsburgh) while perhaps the final entrant to that round will be determined in the NBA.(The Toronto Raptors take a (3-2) series lead into Miami vs the Heat for game 6).
The Sharks advanced to their 4th NHL “semi” (they are 0-3 in previous semis), easily beating the upstart Nashville Predators (5-0) in game 7.
Meanwhile the Oklahoma City Thunder built a huge lead and won fairly easily, eliminating the (67-15), nearly 3 to 1 series favorite, San Antonio Spurs in six games, winning 4 of the last 5 games after being routed in the series opener.
Kevin Durant on the left hit for 37 points as the Thunder eliminated the Spurs and their classy, ONCE great player, Tim Duncan (on the right) in six games. Hail Mr. Duncan, whether or not he comes back for a 20th season in a bid for a 6th title.
Few players did more positive in the NBA than Duncan, one was Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who after winning a 6th title in his 19th season, played a 20th season, ending with his team losing in the NBA Finals in 1989.
It is hard to believe the WNBA is about to begin its 20th season. Last year the New York Liberty had the best regular season record. Below is a reminder from the classy Liberty organization that another season begins this Sunday.
May 15th Home Opener and Roster Finalized
The New York Liberty will tip off its historic 20th WNBA season on Sunday, May 15, with Opening Night presented by Kia Motors against the Dallas Wings at Madison Square Garden at 5 p.m. To celebrate cast members from the Broadway show Hamilton will sing the national anthem, Montell Jordan will perform at halftime and the first 5,000 fans will get a T-shirt.
Andy B Sports will have updates on the WNBA and New York Liberty as the 20th WNBA season progresses.
Tonight the San Jose Sharks, bidding for their fourth NHL semi-finals/conference final appearance (they are 0-3 in such series), are about 9 to 5 favorites vs the Nashville Predators, in game 7 of their quarterfinal series.
The Predators won game 7 at Anaheim to take their preliminary series vs the Ducks, giving Nashville just its third playoff series victory in this the 17th season of the franchise. Nashville has never been to the NHL semi-finals.
That series between the Preds and Ducks produced 5 victories by the road team, three by the Predators the final one, an incredible 4th straight home, game 7 loss for the Ducks in as many seasons (2013-2016).
This series vs the Sharks has been different, in that the home team has won all six games played.
The winner of tonight’s game will meet the St. Louis Blues, beginning Sunday in St. Louis, in the NHL semi-finals.
Only 2 of the 32 playoff teams in the NHL and NBA are still undefeated at home in the playoffs.
Both the record breaking, defending champion Golden State Warriors (8-2) overall, and the Cleveland Cavaliers (8-0) overall have not lost at home in these playoffs and each team has advanced to the NBA semi-finals for the second straight year.
The Cavaliers are overwhelming favorites to hold up their end toward a rematch of last year’s NBA finals, won by Golden State in six games.
Of course the much tougher NBA Western Conference is the reason that Golden State is not a prohibitive favorite to make the finals. They would be a bigger favorite (in the semis) vs the Oklahoma City Thunder, who take a surprising (3-2) series lead home tonight, than they would be vs the Thunder’s “quarter” opponent, the San Antonio Spurs.
With tonight’s 5th deciding game between the St. Louis Blues and the Dallas Stars’ franchises only hours away here is a look at Wikipedia getting the facts right and wrong regarding Kevin O’Shea’s series, winning overtime goal in the 7th game between the two franchises back in 1972. Speaking of 1972, on this date in 1972, the Boston Bruins clinched their 2nd Stanley Cup title in three seasons.
This is wrong as the goal was in game SEVEN—“Danny O’Shea congratulates his brother Kevin after scoring the game-winning goal overtime goal versus Minnesota in game six of the Quarterfinals which elevated St. Louis into the semifinals.”
Wikipedia gets it right in its text.
Kevin William O’Shea (May 28, 1947 in Toronto, Ontario – January 18, 2010 in Ontario) was a professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres and St. Louis Blues, as well as in theWorld Hockey Association with the Minnesota Fighting Saints. Prior to his professional career, O’Shea played two years for St. Lawrence University.[1]
In his NHL career, O’Shea appeared in 133 games, scoring thirteen goals and adding eighteen assists. He is best known for scoring an overtime goal in Game 7 of a playoff quarterfinal series in 1972, leading the Blues past the Minnesota North Stars and into the next round.[2]
Kevin O’Shea – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Above the picture, with the incorrect text, and link of Danny congratulating brother Kevin in what was game 7 of the Blues/North Stars NHL quarterfinal series won by the Blues on April 16,1972 a day Burt Hooton, then with the Cubs pitched a no hit game and Kareem Abdul Jabbar on his 25th birthday led the Milwaukee Bucks to a series squaring game 4 home win vs the eventual NBA champion, Los Angeles Lakers.
Do not look now, but on a night the top ranked team in the NHL, the Washington Capitals, by circumstance forced to play a truly tough quarterfinal opponent, were eliminated, the Oklahoma City Thunder, a truly tough quarterfinal round opponent, took a (3-2) series lead vs the (67-15) San Antonio Spurs, the team with the second best record in the NBA.
During the regular season, the Spurs did not lose a home game but now they have lost two home games to the Thunder after routing “OKC” in game 1 at home.
That rout and the subsequent over reaction is rarely good for the team doing the “routing” especially if the opponent or “routee” has talent which “OKC” led by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, most certainly do.
Russell Westbrook pictured above.
Nick Bonino scored in overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a (4-3) home win in game 6 and a (4-2) quarterfinal series victory over the top ranked Washington Capitals.
Phil Kessel, a member of the last team to dissipate a three goal lead in a potential series clinching game, (the 2013 Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston vs the Bruins in game 7 of the preliminary round) as the Pens did last night, had two goals and assisted on the series winner.
Pittsburgh has now won 8 of 9 playoff series vs Washington, the latter a franchise that now has gone 41 completed seasons (1975-2016), sans a game victory in the Stanley Cup finals. (Detroit (Red Wings) swept the Caps in the 1998 finals and there was no hockey season in 2005).
The Penguins will now be favored vs the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL Eastern Conference finals/NHL semi-finals and will have the home ice advantage.
25 years ago, when the Penguins won their first title vs the then Minnesota North Stars, was the only time in 44 possibile seasons, that two teams from the first NHL expansion met in the Stanley Cup finals.
The winner of tonight’s tilt between the now Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues, each a team from that first expansion, will have home ice and be favored in the NHL semis as is the case with the Penguins.
Andy B Sports 