Forty years ago the upstart Golden State Warriors shocked the then Washington Bullets in four straight games to win the NBA crown.
This year in the first round of the playoffs the Golden State Warriors will face the New Orleans Pelicans while the Washington Wizards (formerly the Bullets) face the Toronto Raptors.
This year the Warriors have come out of nowhere to grab the top record (67-15) in the league by a wide margin.
I predict the Warriors will dispatch the New Orleans Pelicans in five games.
Meanwhile the Washington Wizards will hand the Toronto Raptors another tough first round loss, winning the series in six games.
Anthony Davis scored 31 points leading the New Orleans Pelicans to a win over the San Antonio Spurs in last night’s regular season finale, earning them a spot in the playoffs as the “8” seed in the Western Conference.
The Pelicans finished their season with a record of 45-37 and will now they face the Golden State Warriors, who had a tremendous 67-15 season.
The defending champion Spurs fell to the “6” seed in the NBA West. They feature multi-time champions–including 5 time winners Tim Duncan and coach Greg Popovich–but have never repeated as NBA champions.
The Spurs will face the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. L.A. will have home advantage.
Anthony Davis
Tonight’s game in which the defending champion San Antonio Spurs play the New Orleans Pelicans is a big one on this last night of the NBA regular season.
The Pelicans control their own destiny as far as making the playoffs. If they win, they get in as the NBA West “8” seed and would go on to face the top ranked Golden State Warriors.
If San Antonio wins, the Pelicans must rely on an unlikely loss by the Oklahoma City Thunder vs the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team with the league’s worst record.
From a league perspective, the game seems even more important to the Spurs. While it is doubtful the Pelicans are a title threat, the Spurs are a truly viable one.
A Spurs win makes them the “2” seed in the Western Conference while a loss could drop them as low as a “6” seed. Quite a difference!
One hundred fifty years ago today, Abraham Lincoln, a great leader, U.S. President, and man, was killed as he attended a show in Washington D.C.
Violence, senseless violence, which still permeates the world, took this man who stood taller, (albeit with flaws, as is the case with all of us), than his considerable height, during a horrible civil war in the United States.
Growing up I read about him and idolized him before my focus shifted to sports.
The tragic assassination of John F. Kennedy, the first U.S. President I recall, also took away from my intense love and attention to Lincoln.
That horrible event nearly 100 years after the one that took Mr. Lincoln’s life still leaves me asking and wondering why, if not how and by whom?
In these tough, cynical, “too far gone” times, perhaps it will do good to remember Abraham Lincoln as a man, who came from poverty, and without formal education (“talk about being home schooled,” fellow attorney and Lincoln scholar Michael Liss pointed out) to rise to fame and do great deeds.
The fierce determination so evident in Mr. Lincoln was used for good not greed, to help the less fortunate and actively strive to improve. Yes, good advice for the world, this country and any individual.
Remember, if nothing else, part of one sentence in the last paragraph of President Lincoln’s resounding second inaugural address in March, 1864.
That speech rivaled his more famous “Gettysburg Address” in many minds, and will resonate for all time, if we heed the words.
“With malice toward none, with charity for all…”
Five current coaches or managers have won at least three championships.
The two basketball coaches, San Antonio Spurs’ coach Greg Popovich, with 5 NBA crowns, and Duke University’s Mike Krzyzewski with 5 NCAA titles top the list.
Next comes New England Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick with 4 Super Bowl championships.
Baseball’s Bruce Bochy, the San Francisco Giants’ manager, and College Football’s Urban Meyer of Ohio State, each have three crowns.
Meyer is the only one on this incredible list to have compiled his titles with two different teams. He won 2 titles as Florida University coach before snaring the current one with Ohio State.
Greg Popovich–Five Crowns
The NHL regular season ended yesterday. There are five teams from Canada who made the playoffs: Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets and Ottawa Senators. The Senators with red hot play down the stretch clinched their playoff spot yesterday.
Neither the defending champion L.A. Kings, nor the defending President’s Trophy winning Boston Bruins made the playoffs.
The New York Rangers, finalists last season, won the President’s Trophy this season, with the most points in the league.
The other three division winners were the Montreal Canadiens, Anaheim Ducks and St. Louis Blues. The division winners were the top four teams in points.
The always exciting Stanley Cup playoffs begin Wednesday night.
Rick’s Cabaret is the popular gentlemen’s club in midtown Manhattan that is a favorite with celebrities, and especially pro athletes. You can watch sporting events on the clubs many high-def TVs–I was there to take in the Yankees/Red Sox game.
The club is three floors, featuring Ringside Seating around the stages, a 2nd floor Steakhouse, VIP Lounges, and Deluxe Private Suites on the 3rd floor. The Rick’s Cabaret Girls are beautiful and friendly–and there are many of them.
Needless to say, my friends and I had a great night. We watched the Yankee game, got table dances from the lovely girls, and noticed a celebrity seated nearby. We stayed on the 2nd floor in the club’s restaurant the entire evening.
Perhaps most people wouldn’t expect a fine dining experience, but the Rick’s Cabaret NYC Steakhouse is first rate.
My compliments to Chef Franklin Edwards, who I learned was trained at the French Culinary Institute. He offers a classic steakhouse menu, but has added some contemporary items to the menu, and it works!
Chef Franklin Edwards
There will be a new Stanley Cup champion this season as the defending champion Los Angeles Kings were eliminated from playoffs contention last night.
Though this is a highly disappointing result, the Kings’ three year run manifesting in two Stanley Cup victories and one conference final loss is one of the best feats in recent NHL history.
The Winnipeg Jets were the team battling the Kings for the last playoff spot and despite a loss last night, clinched a playoff berth when L.A. lost its game.
At least 4 teams from Canada will be in the playoffs while a fifth, the Ottawa Senators have a magic number of one point with one game left to qualify for the playoffs.
Lon Simmons was one of the greatest sports broadcasters ever and a true legend in the Bay Area of San Francisco/Oakland. He died this week at age 91.
His football play by play was on the mark, with explosive, breathtaking calls such as when Jerry Rice broke loose for extra yardage on the San Francisco 49ers’ Super Bowl winning drive vs the Cincinnati Bengals after the 1988 season.
Mr. Simmons called so many great moments including Joe Montana’s touchdown pass to John Taylor to win that Super Bowl.
Lon also broadcast for both the baseball Giants and Oakland A’s.
There are so few radio sportscasters with any real ability left. They were not weened on radio.
Simmons was superb, using “tell it good bye” on his home run calls including #600 for Willie Mays, who by the way pinch hit for George Foster when he hit that historic home run. Each man hit over 50 home runs in a season.
So I say good bye to Lon Simmons remembering the great calls and his superb ability–which I hope to emulate in my broadcasting career.
I wish I had a reel of his work but at least my mind does: Lon when Jim Marshall ran the wrong way and scored a safety for the other team, John Brodie to Bill Tucker as the 49ers finally won a division title in 1970, Juan Marichal’s no hitter, which the great Russ Hodges, the Giants’ lead announcer at the time, was kind enough to let Lon call and so many others.
click here for video of Lon Simmons
click here for more Lon Simmons
click on image below to make larger
Willie Mays with Lon Simmons
The dynastic University of Connecticut woman’s basketball team collected their third straight NCAA title with a victory over Notre Dame’s woman’s team in the championship game.
It is the tenth title for Connecticut coach, Geno Auriemma which ties him with and evokes comparisons to UCLA men’s coach John Wooden.
All ten titles have happened since 1995 while Wooden won ten titles in twelve seasons.
It was the second straight season in which Connecticut defeated Notre Dame in the final game. Also it is the fourth time in five seasons, that Notre Dame lost in the final game.
