It's a holiday, so that means a quicker-than-normal 5-at-10.
From the "Talks too much" studios, thank you to those that served and to those family members who support those in the military. Happy Memorial Day.
Weekend winners
LeBron. Dude was unbelievable in a 114-111 overtime Game 3 win that all but wraps the Eastern Conference finals for the Cavs. Despite an awful start from the field - he missed his first 10 shots - he still managed to score or assist on 68 of Cleveland's 114 points. That's a mind-numbing 60 percent of the offense through one dude.
Steph Curry. We can say it now: Curry is the best shooter ever. Yes, the rest of his game has improved so much that he won the MVP, but his shooting stroke is absolutely pure.
The Braves. Hey, don't look now, but your Atlanta Braves have inched back over .500 with a 22-21 record. Don't go putting a down payment on playoff tickets just yet. Still, with every quality starting pitching performance from these young arms, the foundation continues to get stronger. Somewhere Butch Jones smiles and says "Brick by brick."
---
Weekend losers
Racing in general. Memorial Day is normally the New Year's Eve of motorsports, with the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 dominating the calendar. A late charge from Juan Pablo Montoya aside, Sunday was rather forgettable in terms of racing, and that's not good.
The Hawks. This was the best-case scenario for a potential title - Cavs banged up, the West with two teams unfamiliar with the Finals, et al. - and now they are on the brink of elimination.
---
One more
Chattanooga, which hosted the U.S. Cycling championships this weekend, advanced to the Final Four of the "Best Town Ever" contest.
In truth, we had little-to-no interest in this until this weekend when we saw that Boone was trying to rally support with other cities and their local newspaper tried to drum up support.
So we wrote a column in Saturday's paper that generated more than a little vitriol from the folks in the greater Boone area.
The social media feedback was even more angst ridden.
And hilarious.
So it goes and with that, we may have to revisit the topic later this week.
So Chattanooga is now in the Final Four of the "Best Town Ever" contest run by Outside Magazine and will face off against Eau Claire, Wis.
To vote go online here.
---
This and that
- Take that Odell Beckham Jr. This high school kid makes a true highlight reel grab.
- The Adrian Peterson mess only continues to sludge forward. Peterson will reportedly not report to OTAs because he is upset the organization did not show "enough support." Yo, Adrian, shut your pie hole. They still wrote monster checks while the mess you created was being sorted out. Support? May be time to switch directions. (See what we did there Spy?)
- Chris Kirk survived the demolition derby at the end of the Colonial for par on the final hole and a victory worth $1.17 million. That's a nice way to spend Memorial Day.
---
Today's question
It's Memorial Day.
You haven't already, you need to read Mark Wiedmer's excellent Memorial Day column you need to.
Excellent stuff.
With that in mind, we offer the Rushmore of best athletes to serve in the military.
Whatcha' got.