From the "Talks too much" studios, let's make the magic happen.
Playoffs payoff
OK, we like the NBA playoffs more than most.
And the conference semifinals are setting up potentially to be quite exciting.
Memphis Grizzlies guard Courtney Lee, center, is defended by Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23), guard Klay Thompson, second from left, and guard Shaun Livingston (34) during the first half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA playoff basketball series in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, May 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) Memphis swiped Game 2 at Golden State as Mike Conley returned Tuesday night and scored 22 wearing the facemask. (Rushmore of facemasks: Hannibal Lector for sure. Jason Voorhees from Friday 13th, Rip Hamilton from the Pistons just because and who?)
Atlanta evened its series by beating the John Wall-less Wizards.
We fully expect the Cavs and the Rockets to even things up with the Bulls and Clippers respectively tonight.
So that would be four semifinal showdowns at 1-1. That's cool.
What's not cool is that almost every series will hinge on injury and the real potential that the conference finals could be the yawn-tastic match-ups of Memphis-Houston and Chicago-Washington (or Atlanta).
The injury scenario - Chris Paul, Wall, Conley, Kevin Love and the always tenuous state of Derrick Rose - is disappointing.
A Memphis-Atlanta NBA Final, well, let's just say that Adam Silver is not thinking that is FAN-tastic.
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Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Shelby Miller (17) delivers in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, in Atlanta. The Braves won the game 9-0.Braves draw an ace
Your Atlanta Braves have little chance for extended success this season. There are too many flaws.
The brass has been clear about the goals and the targets for the process of rebuilding this bunch. Hanging around .500 would be admirable, but over the long haul, even that modest aim seems like a stretch.
That said, it certainly appears the Braves have found an ace.
Shelby Miller threw a three-hit shutout Tuesday, needing only 99 pitches (75 of them strikes) in a 9-0 win over the Phillies. His ERA is down to 1.66, and he has not allowed more than two runs in any of his six starts.
Wow.
He throws effortlessly hard and has quick moving stuff. He looks like a young Tim Hudson with more velocity.
Plus, there's the added bonus that the Braves lifted him from the Cardinals for Jason Heyward, a free-agent to-be who could be a one-year rental that cost St. Louis a long-term right-handed ace.
It would be almost exactly the same scenario with the same two teams when the Braves sent Adam Wainwright to St. Louis for J.D. Drew in December 2003.
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Golf pros on the anonymous record
Sports Illustrated polled PGA and LPGA players in an anonymous poll.
The results are quite interesting. (Who doesn't like anonymous polls right?)
Bubba Watson competes during the first round of the Shenzhen International golf tournament at Genzon Golf Club in Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong Province, Thursday, April 16, 2015. (Chinatopix Via AP) CHINA OUT Here are the three most interesting things we saw:
First, Bubba Watson finished in the top three of the answers given to who is the most underrated player and who is the most overrated player.
Fifteen percent of the players polled said they would pay $1 million a year to make one more 20-foot putt per round. Of course, with the scoring averages where they are and the purses where they are, any pro who could drop at least four strokes a tournament would make that $1 million up pretty quickly.
One player said Tiger Woods was underrated. Yep, you read that correctly.
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This and that
- Yes, just what we all needed. There now are three new bowl games on tap for next season. That means there are 42 bowl games featuring 82 teams. The new games are in Austin, Texas, Tuscson, Ariz. and of course Orlando which is home to the World's biggest Mouse, half the PGA Tour and more bowls than a Tupperware show.
- Harry Caray (Will Ferrell) crashed the Latenight with David Letterman show this week. This is worth your time.
Indiana Pacers Paul George, left, Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) and teammates react in the waning seconds of the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center, Tuesday, March 31, 2015, in New York. The Nets defeated the Pacers 111-106. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens) - The fallout from the bad stuff athletes do always gets headlines. This should too. Paul George gave an Indianapolis family $10,000 so they could buy a handicapped-fitted van. Nice job PG.
- Then there is this sticky situation. Despite the fact that Brittney Griner has pleaded guilty to her involvement in a domestic assault case with her fiancee Glory Johnson, the WNBA and USA basketball are dragging their collective feet in dealing with it. This is a rotten double standard.
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Today's question
Did you remember the mailbag?
As for the question, well, there's a ton of interesting birthdays today.
It's also 11 years ago today that Spy's favorite show Friends went off the air.
It's also 17 years ago today that Kerry Wood struck out 20 Astros in a one-hitter in his fifth career start.
It was 61 years ago today that Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile.
We'll stick sports and go there. What's the Rushmore of most important sports numbers? Four-minute mile is on the short list. Some of the great baseball ones - like 500 homers and 3,000 hits - have been watered down of late.
Whatcha' got?