Yesterday Kyle Lowry scored 35 points and DeMar DeRozan added 28, (both game SEVEN point totals are divisible by SEVEN, as if that is important), as the Toronto Raptors cruised to victory in game 7 of their quarterfinal series vs the Miami Heat. The series victory puts the Raptors, in their 21st season, into their first NBA semi-final series.
Next the Raptors will be heavy underdogs vs the LeBron James led Cleveland Cavaliers. James is bidding to make his 6th straight finals appearance, the first four coming with the Heat. Miami dropped to (5-3) in quarterfinal series.
The Raptors are giving Toronto major North American sports league teams just their 5th semi-final appearance in 64 combined seasons since the Blue Jays won the World Series in 1993.
Now the Raptors have the seemingly daunting task of giving Toronto their first finals appearance in those combined 64 seasons for the NHL Maple Leafs, Major League baseball Blue Jays and themselves.
The NHL Western Conference final/NHL semi-final series between the St. Louis Blues and San Jose sharks begins tonight in St. Louis.
St. Louis is roughly a 7 to 5 favorite in both tonight’s opening game and the series. They are in the “semis” for the first time since 2001 and just the third time (the other was 1986) since riding the obviously far weaker expansion NHL West to finals berth in each of their first three season (1968-1970), the only three in which that was possible.
Meanwhile the Sharks are (0-3) in semis, having appeared in them in 2006, 2010 and 2011. Typically, the ESPN.com preview of game 1 got those facts incorrect. See below:
“Both teams are strangers in recent years to deep playoff runs, and neither has won a Cup. San Jose, in the Western Conference final for the first time since 2005, took two of three during the season. ”
There was no NHL season in 2005 and “Jose’ made two semi-final appearances as I stated above after 2005.
Today in a game beginning at three thirty Eastern Time, the Toronto Raptors host the Miami Heat in the seventh and deciding game of their NBA quarterfinal series.
The Raptors are 4 point favorites in a bid to reach their first ever NBA semi-final series in this their 21st season. They lost in their only other quarterfinal series, in 7 games to the Philadelphia 76ers, the finale at Philadelphia on a Sunday afternoon in 2001.
Miami has won 5 straight quarterfinal series and the team has a (5-2) record in their quarterfinal series history. They split in 2 Sunday, 7th games/quarterfinal tilts, each in Miami vs the New York Knicks, rolling to victory in 1997 and losing a hard fought game in 2000.
Toronto is seeking just its third playoff series win. Since the Blue Jays repeated as World Series champions in 1993, the three major North American sports league teams from Toronto have made just 4 semi-final appearances in their sport in a combined 63 completed seasons, three by the NHL Maple Leafs and last year’s ALCS loss by the Blue Jays.
No Toronto team has made its league’s final series in those 66 combined completed seasons since Joe Carter’s incredibly dramatic, 3 run homer gave the Jays their repeat title in October of 1993.
Both Miami, with the Marlins and Toronto with the Blue Jays are (2-0) in World Series play, leaving them tied for the best World Series win percentage, however with just two W.S. appearances, it pales in comparison to some other team’s World Series records, most notably the New York Yankees’ (27-13) mark in the Fall Classic.
Last night Antenna T.V. aired a phenomenal Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, who was back from a vacation that took him to among other events, the great Bjorn Borg 5 set victory vs John McEnroe in the 1980 Wimbledon Men’s (Tennis) Final.
Rodney Dangerfield was one of the guests and using his famed gyrations and incredible non stop, “bang bang” arsenal of jokes, often regarding his “getting no respect,” showed why all these years later, he is more than “respected,” as he ranks in the pantheon of great comedians.
After his stand up routine, Mr. Dangerfield sat with Johnny and Ed McMahon (watching again I have gained great respect, there is that word again, for Mr. McMahon’s contribution to the great show) and with Johnny setting him up, barely took a breath, with more non stop comedy.
I believe Rodney finally went down a notch in tone from his frenetic pace, saying “Caddyshack” as a clip from the 1980 movie was shown. It is great seeing the Carson Tonight Shows particularly so with Rodney Dangerfield, in one that aired last night.
On the 1980 Carson Tonight Show, that aired last night on Antenna T.V, Mr. Dangerfield pictured above, talked about his then new comedy album, “No Respect.”
Rather than rage at the all powerful commissioners of the 4 major North American Sports leagues, especially Roger Goodell of Bronxville, New York, I choose to write about a baseball player named Ollie Brown and recall the great announcer, Harry Kalas’ call of “Downtown’s” game winning home run in 1975.
Once, I would listen to the out of town sports on great radio stations such as WCAU in Philadelphia. They aired a wrap up show that included play by play highlights, one of the first programs to do so.
In 1975, the NHL Flyers were on their way to their second straight Stanley Cup crown and last to date. The show aired highlights of their game 2 finals win vs the Buffalo Sabres.
Next they aired highlights of the Phillies’ doubleheader win vs the great Cincinnati Reds, who would soon get very hot and win 108 games en route to the title.
Kalas’ call of Ollie “Downtown” Brown’s game winning homer in the opening game of that doubleheader was awesome. It is not sacrilege for me to say Kalas was far better doing game play by play than Vin Scully, something few if any in the “Scully is G-d” media would dare say. Scully is great,however.
Not so baseball czar, Rob Manfred, as Pete Rose is still not in the Baseball Hall. What brings that up, other than it is an injustice that haunts me as a once baseball lover?
That aforementioned Reds’ hot streak began when unselfish Pete Rose moved from left field to third base enabling the great slugger George Foster to get into the Reds’ lineup.
The Tampa Bay Lightning scored the game’s first three goals and defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in their NHL semi-final opener.
Tampa Bay (2-1) in previous semi-final series, advanced to the NHL finals last season but lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in 6 games.
Last year the Lightning, who have opened 3 of their 4 “semis” on the road lost game 1 but won the series in 7 games vs the New York Rangers.
The previous 3 Lightning semi-final series went the maximum 7 games. The Lightning with home ice advantage won in 7 vs the Philadelphia Flyers in 2004 and then beat the Calgary Flames at home in game 7 to win the Stanley Cup.
In 2011, the Boston Bruins won game 7 of the “semis” at home vs the Lighning before winning game 7 of the finals at Vancouver, vs the Canucks to win their first Stanley Cup in 39 years.
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.
Andy B Sports 