As the seemingly endless NBA season approaches its final month, four strong contenders for the title are in a close race for the best record in the league.
The home advantage in the playoffs goes to the team with the better record.
In the NBA East, the Indiana Pacers are (46-15) while the two time defending champion Miami Heat are two games behind with a (43-16) record.
In the NBA West, the Oklahoma City Thunder lead with a (46-16) record while last year’s Western Conference winner, the San Antonio Spurs are a half game back with a (45-16) record.
Last year, the Heat really took advantage of having the best record, by first winning the Eastern Conference title and then the NBA crown in home, decisive, 7th games.
Last year Miami won the Eastern final vs Indiana and then the NBA title against San Antonio.
One had the longest championship drought in NHL history, the other remains the team to have played the most seasons without ever winning that championship.
They are the New York Rangers (aka the Broadway Blueshirts) and St. Louis Blues respectively. Each team recently pulled off a big trade in the hope of winning the NHL’s big prize, the Stanley Cup.
The Blues are a viable contender, having the third most points in the league at the moment. They added an outstanding goaltender in Ryan Miller.
The Rangers are four points ahead for playoffs qualification. They traded for last year’s scoring leader, Martin St. Louis (Loo E).
Who knows maybe these trades will lead to “St. Louis vs St. Loo E” in the NHL Stanley Cup finals.
A young man did the right thing and I’m glad I witnessed it.
A vehicle trying to park at a local mall ran into a parked car. I thought the driver had driven away.
I soon discovered him walking with his female friend about to put a “contact” note on the windshield of the car his vehicle hit.
I told him that he was a good man, there is good karma in what he did and also there was little damage to the other car. The parked car was also a bit over the parking line.
It was nice to see such honesty as he easily could have driven off as someone, who once hit my car while I was driving, had done.
The honesty evoked memories of Jean Stapleton as “Edith Bunker,” on “All in the Family,” leaving a note on a car she damaged.
“Edith’s accident,” all stemmed, as she told us in her inimitable way, from peaches in some liquid form, as I recall.
Recently I had the privilege of seeing an incredible one woman show called “My Mother has Four Noses,” playing at The Duke Theater in New York City (229 West 42nd Street).
Jonatha Brooke, a gifted singer and songwriter, is the sole actor. She is accompanied by a small group of musicians, who add to this heartfelt look at Jonatha’s relationship with her mother.
It is a humorous and also poignant story of Ms. Brooke and times with her mother, especially in the last years of her mother’s life.
Her accounts of life with her mom “Stoney” are at once detailed, gripping, humorous and most of all a testament to their love.
Ms. Brooke is a gifted, attractive performer who touched a special chord in me as I have suffered the loss of my mother.
Her words should be a primer for all those who will one day face the problem of an aging, ill parent.
Ms. Brooke did so with support from her husband and his sister with grace and dignity. I am so glad she recalled the story in this tremendous performance.
The heavy favorites won the Academy Awards in the best acting and best picture categories.
Those awards went to Cate Blanchett in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine,” Matthew McConaughey for “Dallas Buyer’s Club” while “Twelve Years a Slave” took the best picture award.
There should be quotation marks around “best” because the awards are and always will be comparing apples and oranges.
I did see the three films referenced above and all three award winners were very good indeed.
The New York Yankees won an exciting seven game World Series from the San Francisco Giants in 1962.
Ralph Terry, who had yielded Bill Mazeroski’s series winning homer two years earlier, was the hero in 1962. He pitched a (1-0) shutout in game seven.
The Giants had runners on second and third with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning when Willie McCovey lined out to Yankees’ second baseman Bobby Richardson to end the World Series.
At that point in time, the Yankees had won an incredible 20 World Series in 40 seasons. They did not win another title for 15 seasons.
Once again, the Miami Heat are the favorites to win the NBA championship.
The Heat are battling the Indiana Pacers for the top record in the NBA East. It is likely the two teams will meet in the Eastern Conference finals.
Last year Miami won at home in game seven to go to the finals. In the finals, they prevailed in an exciting seven game series vs the San Antonio Spurs.
A current Heat hot streak was highlighted by LeBron James’ game winning three point shot vs the Golden State Warriors that also avenged an earlier season loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
There is a long way to go and with strong contenders like the Pacers, Thunder and Spurs–it will be tough for Miami to win again. However they deserve to be considered the top choice to win it all for a third straight season.
In 1961, a magnificent New York Yankees team left no doubt as to which was the best team.
They won the American League pennant fairly easily despite a fine Detroit Tigers’ team.
Next they won the World Series in five games from the Cincinnati Reds.
That year Roger Maris set a single season record with 61 home runs breaking Babe Ruth’s record. The great Mickey Mantle hit 54.
There was so much more as Elston Howard batted .348, while Edward “Whitey ” Ford broke Babe Ruth’s record for scoreless innings in the World Series.
Since two of Ruth’s records were broken some history books call 1961 a “bad year for the Babe.” Of course it attests to Ruth’s greatness as a player.
In the 1960 World Series, Hal Smith hit one of the most important and dramatic home runs in baseball history.
If in the seventh game of a World Series, you hit a three run home run that transforms a one run deficit into a two run lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, it is an epic home run.
Hal Smith did just that. Yet largely due to the fact that the New York Yankees tied the score vs Smith’s Pittsburgh Pirates with two runs in the top of the ninth inning, his home run does not get the right amount of credit.
In my opinion, it was one of the biggest hits in baseball history.
Smith connected for a three run homer that put the Pirates up (9-7) with 2 outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
The fact the Yankees tied the score and Pittsburgh won it all on Bill Mazeroski’s homer leading off the bottom of the ninth inning, should not diminish the importance of Smith’s home run. Again it was one of the most important in baseball history.
Yesterday was the first day of Baseball spring training. A look at one of the games, matching the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies, stirred World Series memories.
Those teams met in the 1993 World Series with the Jays prevailing in six games.
The World Series ended on a three run home run by Joe Carter. He hit it off Mitch Williams, who also lost game 4 in that World Series.
Only one other time did the World Series end on a home run. The year was 1960 and Bill Mazeroski hit it as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the New York Yankees. Those teams also played yesterday in the first exhibition game.
