The NHL quarterfinal round, featuring two “original six” team match-ups, is well underway.
In the Western Conference, in the 16th playoff series between the two original six teams, the favored Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings, split the first two games in Chicago. The Black Hawks won eight of the previous fifteen playoff series between the teams.
Also in the West, the defending Stanley Cup Champion, Los Angeles Kings lead the San Jose Sharks two games to one in their series. The home team has won all the games in that series and neither team has lost at home so far in these playoffs.
In the other “original six” clash, this in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins completed an incredible week by going up two games to none vs the New York Rangers. The Bruins had an incredible comeback victory vs the Toronto Maple Leafs in game seven of the preliminary round. They followed that with two home wins vs the Rangers in the quarterfinal round.
In the other Eastern Conference series, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a two games to one series lead vs the Ottawa Senators. In game two, star player, Sidney Crosby had the (three goal) “hat trick” for the Pens. Ottawa tied game three in the last minute of regulation play, before winning in the second overtime.
There were a record 17 overtime games in the preliminary round and the Ottawa win in game three was the third of the “quarters.” That double overtime game was the first of the 20 overtime games, to go beyond the first overtime.
Tonight is game six of the NBA quarterfinal series between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. The Pacers lead three games to two, with game six at their home. If the Knicks win tonight, then game seven would be in New York on Monday night.
The other three quarterfinal series are over and for the third straight year, the Miami Heat won a series in five games, though losing the first game of the series. This was the second time in three seasons that the Heat lost the series opener, but won the next four vs the Chicago Bulls.
Last year in the NBA finals, the Heat lost the opening game, but won the next four vs the Oklahoma City Thunder. This year the Memphis Grizzlies, who have won eight of their last nine games and “covered” the point spread in an incredible ten straight games, lost the opener but won the next four vs the Thunder to advance to NBA semi-final round.
The Grizzlies’ opponents in the NBA semis will be the San Antonio Spurs. They dispatched the Golden State Warriors in six games. That series opens tomorrow in the three thirty eastern time/ABC time slot.
I preface this by saying I like Steve Kerr as an analyst. At the very least, I can listen to him, which is not the case with most analysts or play by play people.
Kerr works with the still superb Marv Albert, which for me means the volume can stay on. That is high praise from me, indeed.
Having said that, what was Kerr thinking when he said the Miami Heat, ahead by three points with 45 seconds left in their eventual game 5 win vs the Chicago Bulls, and a new shot clock (i.e. 24 seconds to shoot) should go 2 for 1?!
That meant Kerr thought, or at least via brain freeze, said they should get 2 shots to the opponent Chicago Bulls’ one shot. Why would they do that? The Heat had a lead of three points. Thus the objective is to decrease the time remaining.
The Heat could even take a 24 second violation and be ahead by 3 points with 21 seconds left. Eventually, the Bulls got the ball with 26 seconds left and missed two, 3 point shots. The Heat won by three points.
Now, in another movie, and of course when reading the book, “The Great Gatsby,” it always entertains and provides insight.
Thirty nine years after the last movie version (thirty nine being “Jack Benny’s (perpetual) age” and Mr. Benny died in 1974, the year Robert Redford starred as “Gatsby”) I really enjoyed the movie. That was the case with Mr. Redford and now with Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic book is a timeless account of the human condition, with some emphasis on money and greed. It also is a great love story.
The direction and special effects, depicting New York/Long Island in the 1920’s, are superb.
DiCaprio, as with Redford before him, is so much more than a great looking man. He literally shines in a fine performance as the dashing, mysterious “Gatsby.”
Tobey Maguire both impressed and surprised me as “Nick Carroway,” who also is the film/story’s narrator. The director is Baz Luhrmann, while Carey Mulligan plays Daisy Buchanan, the object of Gatsby’s great love.
Amitabh Bachchan lights up the screen in his brief but key role as “Meyer Wolfsheim,” the thinly disguised real life gangster, Arnold Rothstein. “Gatsby” tells “Nick” “Wolfsheim”/Rothstein fixed the 1919 World Series. “He saw an opportunity and seized it.”
That is a sobering reality, depicted effectively in the movie. Much of this fine movie, based on a classic book, does the same.
There are two related events from the 1982 NHL preliminary round, concerning the Bruins’ historic win in game seven.
That year in a decisive fifth game, the two time champion, New York Islanders overcame a two goal third period deficit and beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime.
Current Toronto coach, Randy Carlyle, who did coach the Anaheim Ducks to the Cup title in 2007, was a Pittsburgh player that night. He made a big mistake, leading to the Islanders’ goal that cut the deficit to one goal. The Islanders then roared through the last two rounds to win a third straight Stanley Cup.
Also in the 1982 NHL prelims, the LA Kings staged a miracle comeback to win game three at home vs the heavily favored Edmonton Oilers. The Kings’ owner was the late Dr. Jerry Buss, and he left the arena with the Kings way behind and missed their amazing win.
Last night thousands of fans left the arena with the Bruins way behind, having to beg security officials to let them back in the arena.
Click on the link to see a great video from 1982
There will be something so rare this afternoon in major league baseball, an event that once occurred just about every week, but disappeared: a true doubleheader, and not a day/night, but an old fashioned doubleheader.
Due to the fact that the last two games of a four game series between the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians, in the Yankees only scheduled visit to Cleveland, were postponed, there is a makeup doubleheader scheduled today. The first game has a noon, local start. The second game, matching two first place teams by the way, is scheduled for a three thirty local start.
Ah, doubleheaders! I am old enough to remember them on Sundays and certainly on such holidays as Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day. They represent many fine memories. Sadly, they do not exist any longer. Once in the back of a car service provided vehicle, I recall Al “Grampa” Lewis, a once big baseball fan, recall and lament by saying “remember doubleheaders”
In the great book, “The Godfather,” author Mario Puzo talks of the men, some with children in hand, waiting at the betting parlor, to wager on Sunday doubleheaders. The parlor boss, “Carlo Rizzi” (this before “Sonny” arrives to “confront” him regarding “Carlo” hitting “Sonny’s” sister “Connie”) is to neatly write with chalk the odds for the plethora of doubleheaders in what were 8 team leagues at the time, in the years after World War 2, depicted in the great book and film.
People before my time must have great memories of Yankees vs Indians doubleheaders, in say the 1950’s, when great names such as Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Al Rosen and Larry Doby were among the players, who lined the rosters of each team.
I recall a truly entertaining, if not great, doubleheader between the Yankees and Indians at the original Yankee Stadium in June, 1970.
With Cleveland easing to victory in the “opener,” Yankees manager Ralph Houk brought six foot six inch pitcher, Steve Hamilton into the game. Hamilton threw the highly entertaining, “folly-floater” pitch. It was thrown on a high arc and was difficult to hit.
The Indians’ Tony Horton found this out when he popped out to catcher Thurman Munson on the second of two such pitches. Tony fouled off the first one and asked Hamilton to throw another.
However, Tony “wowed” the crowd when he crawled back to the dugout after that at bat. The entertaining, Yankees’ broadcaster Phil Rizzuto cites Horton as a big part of that “show.”
In the first game of that “DH,” Bobby Murcer homered in his last at bat. Then he hit three home runs in the nightcap. Thus he hit four consecutive home runs, a record he shares with, as another Yankees’ broadcaster Frank Messer, would say, “Joe Many.”(the rather obvious reference being many others have hit four consecutive home runs but nobody has ever topped four.)
I believe firecrackers were thrown on the field that day so not all the memories are great. Yet this scheduled doubleheader and thoughts of others, including the related, aforementioned one, between the two clubs, evokes good memories this Monday morning.
Click on the link for great video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFvp7kMraAw
There was a time the NHL sent 16 of its 21 teams into the playoffs. (Now it is 16 of 30.) Worse than that money making farce, the league scheduled a potential four games in five nights in the first round of the playoffs.
Sure, play all year to eliminate but five teams and then for the “all important” playoffs, schedule the teams to play a possible four times in five nights. Certainly three time in four nights! It was absurd.
Now the NHL may have another scheduling fiasco, not as bad, but still horrible. Three series currently are (3-2) and in all three cases should the home team, which trails (3-2), win game six, the decisive seventh game would be played the next night. There also would be a change in venue for that game.
I love the NHL playoffs, know to “ignore” the regular season and accept it is a business. However, having this possible next night, game seven with a change in venue really shows how little the integrity of the sport matters when television, money and short sighted thinking gets in the way.
For the record, the Pittsburgh Penguins lead the New York Islanders three games to two, with #6 at Long Island tonight. If the Isles win, then game seven is scheduled in Pittsburgh tomorrow night.
Repeat and rinse, (this scheduling horror bothers me almost as much as having little hair to rinse, which is truly sad) for Washington Caps leading the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins leading the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In each case, if the trailing team wins Sunday, then game seven is Monday night with a change of venue. Next hockey report and the next round hopefully will be more positive regarding the schedule.
The NHL preliminary round is well underway and again teams based in Canada are not faring very well.
The once glory teams of the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, are each down three games to one. The Vancouver Canucks were swept out in four straight games by the San Jose Sharks. Only the Ottawa Senators are doing well, leading three games to one in their preliminary round series. However, guess their opponent? Answer, the Montreal Canadiens.
No team based in Canada has won the Stanley Cup in 20 years. Montreal was the last to do so in 1993. Since that time, there have been but five finals appearances by the seven NHL teams currently located in Canada.
The Montreal Canadiens won an incredible five eighths (15 of 24) of the Stanley Cups contested from (1956-1979.) Since then, they have won two, with only three finals appearances. The once mighty, Toronto Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup in 1966-1967, the last year before expansion. They have not even been to the finals since that time. Oh Canada indeed!
Click on link for video
In my post of April 25th, I wrote there was little mystery in the preliminary round of the NBA playoffs after two games in each of the eight series. Though only one of the six teams down two games to none advanced, the Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls each (1-1) in their series, when I posted, went on to upset series wins.
Now I cite the excitement thus far in the quarterfinal round, with each series one game old.
The Chicago Bulls, after winning as a seven point underdog, in the decisive seventh game vs the Brooklyn Nets in the prelims, went into Miami and shocked the defending champion, and top ranked Heat. The Bulls, 12 point and eight to one underdogs, won game one.
Two other quarterfinal, opening games were decided by two points. In the other, an upset victory occurred.
Though the San Antonio Spurs, on an incredibly clutch and wide open three point basket by Manu Ginobili, won game one vs the amazing Golden State Warriors and Steph Curry, it took two overtimes for the (129-127) win.
The Warriors now (7-0) vs the spread and an amazing underdog story, were nine point underdogs. Steph Curry scored 44 points for the Warriors in the loss.
On Sunday, the Indiana Pacers won game one at New York, vs the Knicks. Indiana, which lost their quarterfinal series last year in six games vs the Heat, after leading two games to one, were five and a half point underdogs in game 1.
Meanwhile the Oklahoma City Thunder, three point favorites in game one, but series underdogs, won the opener by two points vs the Memphis Grizzlies.
Finally, in its recap of the Spurs two point win vs the Warriors, in its “defining moment” portion, ESPN .com put out another factual error.
Their account stated the Spurs were down by two points when Ginobili made the all important three point shot with one second left in the second overtime. In fact the Spurs were behind by one point. Hence the (129-127) two point Spurs’ victory margin.
“The Big Wedding,” directed by Justin Zackham, is a highly entertaining comedy, that once again showcases the comedic skills of the great modern actor, Robert De Niro.
The movie has a big name cast that includes Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon, Katherine Heigl ,Robin Williams and Topher Grace.
The plot centers around old fashioned mores being applied amidst the rather open lifestyle of the characters involved. This takes place in and around a wedding.
There are some really funny scenes and as usual, in somewhat wild comedies I like, have noticed scenes with a reasonable amount of pathos.
In such films as “The King of Comedy,” “Analyze This,” “Analyze That” and now again in “The Big Wedding,” De Niro comes across not only with the assurance that is his acting essence, but with a sense of comedic timing that is astounding.
