The San Antonio Spurs swept their first two playoff series going (8-0) with all but two of the wins by a double digit margin. Their next opponent, likely the Oklahoma City Thunder, will be much more formidable and that semi-final series is much anticipated. At times sporting events approach their hype but quite often they do not. The Thunder have a 3 games to 1 lead vs the Los Angeles Lakers with game 5 in Oklahoma City.
Speaking of Los Angeles as we often have here, the hectic weekend at the Staples Center produced back to back days of Los Angeles teams losing day/night doubleheaders. On Saturday May 19th the Spurs down (33-11) after one quarter, roared back to beat the Los Angeles Clippers by 10 points. At night, the Thunder got 36 points from Kevin Durant and beat the Lakers by 3 points. On Sunday afternoon, the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes avoided a sweep and sent their semi final series back to the “Desert” with a (2-0) win. The Kings still lead 3 games to 1. At night, the Spurs won by three points to complete a sweep of the Clippers.
Finally, an oddity if you will, about odd or even year championships involving the Spurs. San Antonio, with current player Tim Duncan and current coach Gregg Popovich a part of all four teams, won NBA titles in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. Those are all odd years. These are the only NBA titles for the Spurs (they won none in the defunct ABA, for that matter) and hence are their first four titles. In the history of the 4 major sports leagues only one team has surpassed or even equaled winning their first 4 titles all in either an even or odd year. That franchise is the Dodgers whose first 5 titles were in odd years (1955, 1959, 1963, 1965 and 1981).The Dodgers only other title was in 1988, an even year.
With just over 2 minutes left and the Los Angeles Lakers leading by 7 points in game 2 of their series vs the Oklahoma City Thunder it looked as if my prediction that the Lakers would win at least one of the first two games would be correct. However, the Thunder scored the game’s final 9 points “storming” to victory. The defeat for the Lakers was far worse than the pun in the last sentence, but I still ask your pardon.
Likely, the Western Conference finals will match the Thunder with the San Antonio Spurs, who like the Thunder are (6-0) thus far in the playoffs. The Spurs have not been tested while the Thunder have won three close games. No prediction yet, but if and when they meet it shapes up as quite a series. The winner may be favored in the NBA Finals even against the Miami Heat. They would certainly be big favorites, barring injury, vs any other Eastern Conference team.
Meanwhile like most everyone else I more or less conceded the NBA East to the Heat when the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose got hurt (see “Hot Los Angeles teams” May 1, 2012). However, the Heat suffered an injury of their own, losing Chris Bosh and right now the Indiana Pacers, whose Larry Bird was named NBA executive of the year, lead the Heat 2 games to 1 in their quarterfinal series.
The Celtics currently lead the 76ers 2 games to 1 in their quarterfinal series and wouldn’t it be something if Bird’s Pacers play the Celtics, a team Larry played with during his entire great playing career, in the semi-finals. There is still a long way to go but I would be very surprised if the Spurs, Thunder or Celtics did not win their current series.
Finally the LA schedule I have talked about manifested in back to back home games for both the Lakers and Clippers. The amazing NHL Los Angeles Kings play Sunday afternoon looking for their second straight series sweep. They may be favored in the Stanley Cup Finals despite being an 8th seed, the lowest seed, in the NHL West. Sunday night, the Los Angeles Clippers play the Spurs. Tonight it is Thunder/Lakers, tomorrow Spurs/Clippers in the day with Thunder/Lakers at night. All the games are at The Staples Center.
A few weeks back, I talked about the Los Angeles teams and their fine play. Now their play might be termed incredible. It also poses scheduling problems, but that is a small burden, one would think, for the Kings, Lakers and yes the long maligned Clippers, all of whom play at Staples Center in Los Angeles. All three teams are into their next round and all three open or opened on the road in consecutive days. All three will play Games 3 and 4 at home at about the same time. Arrangements have been made for 2 game days on Saturday and Sunday at Staples Center.
The Los Angeles Kings are the most impressive team in the NHL or NBA playoffs thus far. The Kings are(9-1) and(6-0) on the road. They doubled phoenix (4-2) in their semi-finals opener at Phoenix and are big favorites to reach just their 2nd Stanley Cup Final in this their 44th season. Goaltender Jonathan Quick has been brilliant while Dustin Brown has scored a number of big goals.
The Los Angeles Clippers had a 3 games to 1 series lead vs the Memphis Grizzlies but needed to win game 7 at Memphis. The lords of television dictated a noon start in Memphis and 10 am Los Angeles time. The Clippers coming from hotel beds were fresher than the Grizzlies, who slept in their own beds, and won just their 2nd series as the Clippers. Los Angeles won by 10 points as 8 point underdogs. The Grizzlies are (1-5) in playoff series and lost their last two in a noon start. The Clippers franchise in its 42nd season began as the Buffalo Braves in 1970-1971. The Braves’ lone playoff series win was a best of 3 prelim vs the Philadelphia 76ers in 1976.
The Los Angeles Lakers are accustomed to success having won 11 NBA championships in Los Angeles, the first one 40 years and one week ago today. They were favored to beat the Denver Nuggets and struggled to do it. As was the case with the Clippers, the Lakers were forced to win a game 7 after having a (3-1) series lead. Unlike the Clippers, the Lakers were home for game 7 and for the 11th straight time the Lakers prevailed in a home game 7.
Last and perhaps least (after all it is only 34 games into a 162 game season that allows 5 teams from each league into its post season), the Los Angeles Dodgers are off to a rather impressive (23-11) start and lead their division by six games. They have the reigning Cy Young Award winner in Clayton Kershaw and also last year’s MVP in Matt Kemp.
So where will all this lead for the hot Los Angeles teams? The Kings, who have never won the Stanley Cup need to win it this season. Their(9-1) record notwithstanding, Los Angeles has a ways to go. They will likely be slight underdogs vs either the New York Rangers or the New Jersey Devils if they get to the Stanley Cup Finals. Both the Lakers and Clippers opening on the road are big underdogs in their quarterfinal series vs the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs respectively. One never knows but I think the Spurs will prevail vs the Clippers. I think the Lakers have a decent shot vs the Thunder as I see the Lakers winning one of the first two at Oklahoma City. Easy to say now, but I did see the Dodgers being a contender this season thus I will stick with them.
Only three teams in baseball history have lost two straight World Series and then won a third consecutive pennant. No team has done so since the Yankees in 1923 (they won the first of their 27 titles that year avenging two straight Series losses to the New York Giants). The two other teams to accomplish the feat lost in all 3 World Series. Both the Detroit Tigers with Ty Cobb (1907-1909) and the New York Giants (1911-1913) lost in all 3 World Series.
The Texas Rangers hope to join the 1923 Yankees as the only team to win a World Series after losing the Series the previous two seasons. They are off to a (20-10) start which I feel is remarkable after last season’s heartbreaking World Series loss to the St.Louis Cardinals. In Game 6 of last year’s World Series, Texas had a (7-5) lead with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning and were one strike away from a World Series victory. However, eventual World Series MVP David Freese delivered a 2 run triple that tied the epic game. Texas had a (9-7) lead after Josh Hamilton’s 2 run homer in the top of the 10th inning but again failed to hold the lead. This time, Lance Berkman had a 2 out, 2 strike game tying single. The Cardinals won the game on Freese’s homer in the bottom of the 11th inning and then won their 11th title in Game 7 the following night.
Josh Hamilton hit four home runs (all 2 run homers) in a win vs the Baltimore Orioles on May 8th. Texas also has a nice divisional lead early this season. However, no matter their regular season (I do not think it will be so great), it assures the Rangers or any other team very little. Baseball has become a tournament requiring the World Series winner to win at least 3 playoff rounds. Home field advantage in the World Series is determined by which league wins the All Star Game. The team with home advantage has won the World Series an incredible 21 of the last 26 times. Texas faces a long road ahead in its title quest.
My cheers for the Broadway show, “Leap of Faith” at the St. James Theatre, which really dazzled me this past Saturday night. The story was good, evoking Burt Lancaster’s performance in “The Rainmaker.” Raul Esparza is in the starring role as Reverend Jonas Nightingale. The musical numbers, complete with great staging and dancing, were sensational.
The cast was excellent with special kudos to Jessica Phillips as the conflicted sheriff/mother and Talon Ackerman, who plays her son. At times, the characters speak directly to the audience specifying it as a New York audience, one ripe with sinners.
Esparza was brilliant as the con man preacher, who never seemed too far from his moral center. The chemistry with Phillips and his compassion for her 13 or so year old son (Ackerman) really made the show.
After the show I watched as Mr. Esparza accommodated each and every person that stood outside the theater. He patiently signed programs and posed for pictures. This man not only has star quality on stage but real quality off stage as he went well beyond the “call of duty” with the people. Watching that interaction capped a great performance.
Raul Esparza
The NBA and NHL playoffs are running concurrently, (the NHL in the quarterfinals and the NBA in the first round) and the series have been very one sided to this point. 10 series are through 4 games. Only one stands at 2 games apiece. One other is (3-0) leaving at most 2 of the 12 at 2 games apiece. Eight series are at 3 games to one, one is (2-1) and there have been two 4 games to none sweeps.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, getting a big bounce their way on Kevin Durant’s winning shot in game 1, went on to sweep the defending champion Dallas Mavericks. Likely they will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the quarterfinal round. The Lakers played 40 years to the night of their first LA title and won versus the Denver Nuggets to take a 3-1 series lead. This win was Sunday night May 6th while the first title win was on Sunday night May 7, 1972. Both games started at about the same time.
Some history repeating with a bit of a stretch regarding those old rivals, the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers. First of all, each is up 3 games to 1 in its first round series and are on a collision course to meet in the NBA quarterfinals. Each won a Sunday game to take a 3-1 series lead. In at least 4 Boston vs Philadelphia semi-finals, games played on a Sunday left the series 3 games to 1 in favor of Philadelphia. Now Sunday’s results leave each team up (3-1) and likely to face each other in the next round. By the way, Boston came back to win two of those semi-final series in which they trailed the Sixers 3 games to 1, and lost in Game 7 in another one.
Before this season, the Los Angeles Kings had won but two quarterfinal series and one of those series wins was in an all expansion team division in 1969. They were (0-8) vs the St. Louis Blues in as many playoff games. Right now, the Kings lead their quarterfinal series against the Blues 3 games to none meaning LA is virtually certain to play in just its 3rd NHL semi-final in their 44 year history.
In the history of major league baseball, the NBA, and NHL, only 4 times has a team come back to win a series after falling down 3 games to none. Three of those times were in the NHL. One team to do so was the Philadelphia Flyers vs the Boston Bruins just 2 years ago. That year, the Flyers won their next series before before bowing to the Chicago Blackhawks in the finals. At that point, Chicago ended a 49 year Title drought. Last year, the Boston Bruins, the team that dissipated the (3-0) series lead to the Flyers the year before won its first Stanley Cup in 39 years. Currently the Flyers down 2 games to 1 to the New Jersey Devils in their quarterfinal series have a long way to go if they are to end a 37 year title drought.
One of the most famous championship droughts in history was 54 years endured by the New York Rangers. That lasted from 1940’s Cup victory until their next such triumph in 1994. Right now in a bid to make their current drought only one third as long as their famous one, the Rangers lead the Washington Capitals 2 games to 1 in their quarterfinal series. When the Rangers won the Cup in 1994 they beat Washington in the quarterfinals and the Devils in the semi-finals. If both the Rangers and Devils, as cited each up (2-1) in its series, both win, they will meet in the semi finals 18 years later. Then, Martin Brodeur was a young, inexperienced goaltender. He turns 40 on April 6th the date of the Devils’ game 4 vs the Flyers.
The Phoenix Coyotes are the other NHL quarterfinal series leader at this point. They lead the Nashville Predators 2 games to one. Before this season the Coyotes were (0-8) in quarterfinal series games having been swept by Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and the mighty Edmonton Oilers in both such appearances. They were still the Winnipeg Jets. In this 2011-2012 season when the NHL returned to Winnipeg, the Coyotes nee Winnipeg Jets have made some history. They might make more.
Martin Brodeur
It would seem much of the mystery as to who wins the NBA East disappeared when Chicago lost Derrick Rose to injury. The Miami Heat are clearly the favorites to return to the NBA Finals. While San Antonio has the best record in the Western Conference and Oklahoma City is also ahead of them let’s consider two Los Angeles basketball teams.
Right now, and it is really early in both baseball and the NBA playoffs but Los Angeles teams are on a roll. The Kings of the NHL gained the last spot in the playoffs and knocked off the top seed Vancouver Canucks in the first round. Now LA leads the 2nd seed, St. Louis Blues 2 games to none, winning both games in St. Louis. In the NBA, both the Lakers, seeded 3rd in the West, and the Clippers (5th seed), made the playoffs. This is just the 5th time both teams made the playoffs in the same season and one occasion was rightfully, completely overshadowed by the riots in Los Angeles 20 years ago. Then, a horrible situation forced scheduling problems. Now, an abundance of LA team wins may cause far more pleasant scheduling problems as the Lakers playing at home and the Clippers overcoming a 21 point deficit after 3 quarters at Memphis, won their first round opening games.
If all 3 win and since all 3 teams play at the Staples Center there could be scheduling problems. If San Antonio up 1 game to none and heavily favored vs Utah and Oklahoma City, up 2-0 vs defending champion Dallas, win their series, both the Lakers and Clippers would open their next series on the road. Add the Kings up 2-0, who definitely would open a semi-final series on the road, and the likely simultaneous starts of the next rounds (NHL semi-finals and NBA quarterfinals) and you see the potential problem. Alas it is one game into basketball; the Lakers are about 3 to 1 series favorites and the Clippers, without home advantage, are only slight favorites. Even the Kings, though seemingly in command, are not quite there. Yet it is a nice situation in LA sports with the Dodgers off to a 16-7 start as well. Only the most highly touted LA (or is it Anaheim?) team, the Angels, are not doing well, already 9 games behind Texas in its division. However, remember there are 2 wild card slots open to them if they can not catch Texas.
After one goal wins by the Washington Capitals, New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils, the Eastern Conference semi finals are set in the NHL. The top ranked Rangers will face Washington while 5th seed Philadelphia opens at home vs the 6th seed, New Jersey Devils.
The Capitals ousted the defending champion Bruins in 7 games winning on Joel Ward’s goal in overtime. Caps coach Dale Hunter once scored an overtime goal for the Caps in a 7th game and he also scored an overtime goal in a decisive 5th game for Quebec in 1982. Hunter was still with Quebec when they won 3 games at Montreal including the 5th and 7th games to win a quarterfinal series in 1985. In the just completed series, the Caps won three at Boston including the 5th and 7th games. The Bruins have won 6 Stanley Cups and only once in 1930 have they won a playoff series in the following season. They have never repeated as Stanley Cup Champions.
The Caps opponents, the New York Rangers, are now (4-0) in home 7th games while they are (0-5) in road 7th games. Since the top ranked Canucks are out of the playoffs, the Rangers are the highest ranked team remaining and any 7th game this year would be at home. The Rangers won 2-1 vs Ottawa in the first round 7th game. The Ottawa Senators are (0-5) in 7th games and have never won a Stanley Cup.
Philadelphia is one of only three remaining teams that has ever won the Stanley Cup. They last won it all in 1975 while their opponent New Jersey last won in 2003. The Flyers upset the Penguins in the first round while the Devils got a goal from Adam Henrique in the 2nd overtime of the 7th game to beat the Florida Panthers. As is the case with the Senators, Florida lost in its only NHL Finals appearance. They were swept by Colorado in 1996 while the Senators managed just one win vs Anaheim in the 2007 Finals.
In the NHL, there are 3 seventh and deciding games in the preliminary round all in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile in the Western Conference, “new blood” is the order of the day. None of the four first round winners; St.Louis, Los Angeles, Phoenix or Nashville has ever won the Stanley Cup. One of them will play for the Stanley Cup in the NHL Finals about one month from now.
Only the Los Angeles Kings, among the four West first round winners has made the Cup Finals since 1970, the last year in which the NHL had an “all expansion team” division whose playoff winner automatically made the Finals. The St. Louis Blues were the “expansion team division” winner in each of its 3 years of existence, losing to the more established division winner in 4 straight games all three times. The Kings who will face the Blues next, won its 1993 Finals opener at Montreal but lost the next four games.
The other Western Conference semi-final matches the Phoenix Coyotes and Nashville Predators. Phoenix and Nashville are two cities whose previous association with ice usually involved vodka. The Predators are in their 13th season and won just their 2nd playoff series ever when they beat Detroit in 5 games. The Coyotes, who came into the NHL as the Winnipeg Jets in 1979-1980, have a longer, more incredible history of playoffs failure. They just ended a 12 playoff series losing streak when they ousted Chicago and have won just three playoff series in their NHL history.
Some history will be made in and from the NHL West. Either Phoenix or Nashville will make its first semi-finals appearance. Nashville is favored to win the series though Phoenix has the home ice advantage. Thus far in the NHL, playoffs road teams are (28-17) going (15-6) in the Western Conference games. St. Louis which had an outstanding regular season has home ice advantage (?) and is favored in its series vs Los Angeles.
Phoenix Coyotes Cheerleader
Andy B Sports 