It is still very early in the baseball season and no team in the American League East is running away, but let’s say this is the year the currently (8-16) New York Yankees truly falter, I say hold the criticism as they had a great run and many before.
True they have won but one World Series, since winning 4 in 5 seasons under manager Joe Torre from (1996-2000) but once made the playoffs 13 straight seasons (1995-2007), including all 12 under Torre from (1996-2007).
They followed a “miss the playoffs” season in 2008 with their 27th title (that alone excuses them from much criticism) in 2009.
They followed that with two ALCS appearances in 3 straight playoffs seasons, before missing the post season in both 2013 and 2014 and losing the American League wild card game last season. Joe Girardi is in his 9th season as Yankees’ manager.
I criticize their back and forth media and fans, too critical of the team when they lose and far too cocky when they win. More on that in my next post.
As the years go forward, the excellence of the New York Yankees under manager Joe Torre, pictured above, is to be appreciated as one of baseball’s best team periods.
Three NHL quarterfinal series continue with a trio of game 3’s tonight.
In one series, the San Jose Sharks a fine team, gaining from playing within the Pacific Division against a wild card team from the NHL Central, take a (2-0) series lead into Nashville vs the Predators for a 9 p.m. Eastern time tilt.
The teams with the top two records in the NHL West, the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues are tied at one game apiece with game 3 beginning at nine thirty Eastern time tonight in St. Louis.
By virtue of a tiebreaker, the Stars got the top seed and hence home advantage vs the Blues in this series. Now St. Louis has it and though I think they will lose one of the next two at home, I am sticking with my Blues to win the series prediction.
Also tonight, beginning at 7 Eastern time, the Tampa Bay Lightning visit the New York Islanders with that series knotted at one game apiece. I predict it will also be knotted at two games apiece after the next two games at the Islanders’ first year, Brooklyn home.
Something made me think about former basketball player, Ira Harge.
In doing research on Harge, a fine player at the University of New Mexico (5 time NBA champion, Michael Cooper’s college), I saw that Ira Harge played on the first two ABA championship teams.
More noteworthy is that they were different teams and I doubt but wonder if that has ever happened at any other time.
Harge played on the first ABA champions, the 1967-1968 Pittsburgh Pipers, a team led by Connie Hawkins. That season after playing in all 82 regular season games, Harge did not play in the playoffs
The next year Harge was with the Oakland Oaks, the team that won the second ABA crown in 1968-1969.
That team was led by Rick Barry and coached by Alex Hannum.
Ira Harge pictured above.
It took only to the first game of the second round/quarterfinals of the NHL playoffs for every playoff team to have lost a home game. 15 of the 16 teams lost at home in the first round.
Upsets are less likely in basketball but do not look now after Oklahoma City’s one point win at San Antonio last night (the Spurs won by 32 points, the Thunder by one but now “OKC” has home court advantage), only four of the 16 NBA playoff teams have not lost at home.
One of those teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers won and covered the Atlanta Hawks in their quarterfinal series opener last night.
The Hawks and the opponents in a Western Conference “semi”/NBA “quarter,” the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers are the other teams that have not yet lost a home game in the playoffs.
Of course last night’s ESPN Sunday Night Game was the Yankees vs the Red Sox.
Next week’s game is also the Yankees vs the Red Sox.
Why? You know why!
The Yankees probably will improve but even if they do not and ESPN can schedule Yankees/Red Sox, they will.
Apparently a female announcer is in their (ESPN), 3 person booth. In 10 years a robot named “Bristol,” (for the God forsaken city that houses ESPN), no relation to Palin, will be there, but it will still be Yankees/Red Sox on Sunday night.
Lee Leonard, pictured above was a fine broadcaster. Sadly the standards at ESPN are dismal. Lee is 87 and if I were him, I would not be proud that he was the first voice heard on ESPN, a true “Frankenstein,” sports nuts as I once was, created and helped along.
The NBA quarterfinal round is set after both the Miami Heat (they routed the Charlotte Hornets) and Toronto Raptors (they “no covered” the Indiana Pacers) won decisive first round 7th games yesterday.
Those two teams will begin their best of 7 quarterfinal series tomorrow night in Toronto.
Meanwhile the Eastern Conference top seed and prohibitive favorite, Cleveland Cavaliers begin their “quarter” vs the Atlanta Hawks tonight. Last year Cleveland swept the Hawks in the semi-final round.
This year, I predict the Cavaliers to be extended to a 6th game, before winning the quarterfinal series.
As the NHL quarterfinal round of the playoffs continues with the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the Washington Caitals in game 3 with the series tied at a game apiece, it is noteworthy that none of the 8 remaining teams has won the NHL title/Stanley Cup since 2009.
In fact half of the remaining teams have never won the title. The St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators are all looking for their first NHL crown.
The Penguins last won the title in 2009, Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004, the Dallas Stars (1999) and New York Islanders in 1983.
The most famous St.Louis vs Dallas post season match up was the Cardinals’ (St. Louis), 7 game 2011 World Series victory vs the Rangers (Texas/Dallas).
The current quarterfinal series between the cities’ hockey teams, the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues, is the twelfth post season series between the franchises and the 3rd since the Stars became the Dallas Stars having moved from Minnesota where they were the North Stars.
St. Louis and the Stars/North Stars franchise have split the twelve previous playoff series, each team winning six. As the Dallas Stars, the franchise is (2-1). In Minnesota as the North Stars they were (4-5) in series vs the Blues.
The aforementioned 2011 World Series was the only non hockey Dallas vs St. Louis post-season clash in the four major North american sports leagues. While in St. Louis the Rams never met the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL playoffs. The team is now back in Los Angeles (greed/greed) from whence they split 8 post season games vs the Cowboys. The St. Louis Cardinals also never met Dallas in post season football.
St. Louis now sans an NFL team has no basketball team, they once housed the St. Louis Hawks, long gone from St. Louis by the time Dallas got the NBA Mavericks. A common thread: both St. Louis and Dallas have one NBA title.
ST LOUIS, MO – OCTOBER 28: David Freese #23 of the St. Louis Cardinals hits a two-run double in the first inning during Game Seven of the MLB World Series against the Texas Rangers at Busch Stadium on October 28, 2011 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Freese was the World Series MVP.
There are two decisive 7th games in the NBA Eastern Conference on tap for today.
In one the second seed Toronto Raptors hope to avoid further playoffs embarrassment as they host the Indiana Pacers.
Meanwhile the Miami Heat face the Charlotte Hornets in Miami.
The winners of today’s games face each other in the quarterfinals, likely to begin this Tuesday.
Also today the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors host the Portland Trail Blazers in their quarterfinal series opening game.
Both NHL Western Conference semi-final series continue today with game 1 winners, the West top seed, Dallas Stars (vs the second seed St. Louis Blues and the San Jose Sharks, only 6th in points (vs the 7 seed Nashville Predators) in the NHL West, hosting game 2, as they also hosted game one.
The Stars, whose coach Lindy Ruff was the opposing and runner up coach (Buffalo Sabres) when the Stars’ franchise won its only Stanley Cup in 1999 under current Blues’ coach Ken Hitchcock,, won game 1 by a (2-1) score.
Meanwhile the Sharks fortunate that the NHL deems play within the division so important and thus they though 6th ranked in the West have home ice and vs a lesser (on paper for sure and likely in any case) opponent, won (5-2) vs Nashville last night.
I predict the Blues will bounce back and win this series in six games. The Sharks are both very fortunate and very good and I predict will win their series vs the Predators in five games.
Radek Faksa, pictured above, scored the game winning goal in both series opening wins for the Dallas Stars.
Andy B Sports 