A moment of silence for the tragedy that happened in Orlando this weekend and a prayer of peace for all of those directly affected with the loss of life.
Amen.
On to it.
Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby celebrates with the Stanley Cup after Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals against the San Jose Sharks in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, June 12, 2016. The Penguins won 3-1 to win the series 4-2. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Weekend winners
Clayton Kershaw. Want to know when you are rolling? Kershaw pitched eight innings and allowed two earned runs and his ERA went up. Yep, that's dealing. If you are scoring at home, Kershaw's strikeout-to-walk ratio is now 122-to-six.
Sam Cohen. No, not the musician Sam Cohen or the philanthropist Sam Cohen. The University of California at Santa Barbara reserve catcher who hit a walk-off homer to get the Gauchos (yes, it's an awesome nickname) to the college World Series. Actually, as great as that sentence may sound, we've undersold Cohen a bit. Cohen hit a pinch-hit walk-off grand slam with his team down 3-0 against Zach Burdi, Louisville's first-round-picked closer who was hitting as high as 103 on the radar gun.
Speaking of college baseball, how about the anti-SEC crowd as a weekend winner? The SEC entered the NCAA tournament with eight teams in the tournament and five of those advanced to the Super Regionals. Unless Florida can beat Florida State in today's decisive game, the SEC will be blanked in the College World Series for the first time since 1992 - the first year of the SEC football title game.
Sidney Crosby. The Kid, as he has been called during his glorious NHL career, is actually 28 now, seven years removed from his first Stanley Cup with the Penguins. But, even with a couple of gold medals, two scoring titles and two MVPs, after securing his second Stanley Cup title secures his place among the games all-time greats.
The Cubs. Wow, that's a lineup that covers up a ton of mistakes. Chicago made four first-inning errors against the Braves and still won 13-2 Sunday. Chicago has a run differential of 162 - yes, 162 to the good - through 61 games (they're 43-18). Add to that, the Cubs have two legit No. 1 starters in Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester. And if you need any more data about how great they are, know this: The Cubs are pretty much the exact opposite in every way of what the current Atlanta Braves are.
Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James answers a question early Saturday, June 11, 2016, after the Golden State Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 108-97 in Game 4 of basketball's NBA Finals in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane) Losers
Cleveland. Man, the fans there have waited and waited for a title. With the Cavs' Game 4 loss - more on that below - the fan base is left on the brink. What's worse, losing every year or actually starting to believe you have a chance to win it all only to be pulled back into the quagmire of titlelessness yet again?
Oklahoma governor. Here's a personal tip for all politicians trying to get cute about sports: Think of Nike and go the opposite direction and Just Don't Do it. It's hollow and shows how much a waste of time happens in all of leadership positions. Here's the Oklahoma governor offering Kevin Durant a faux cabinet position to stay in OKC. Gross. Other than the side bet between mayors or governors in title series or the proclamation for the state championship high school teams, government bodies everywhere need to stay out of BCS discussions and steroids and cabinet positions for free agents to be.
Golf fans of birdies at major championships. OK, here's a look at the crazy twists and turns of the greens. And here's a look at the thickness of the rough. Enjoy a casual, laid back 72 holes of golf fellows.
Brazil. Losing a tough elimination match in a major global tournament is always tough. Losing it the way Brazil did - on a controversial call in which a Peru player used his arm to score the difference-maker in a 1-0 loss - and then not have the referee consult the replay is doubly as painful.
The 5-at-10's TV viewing. OK, the 5-at-10 is not a big TV watcher, but we had a couple of things we were set to watch that we have not because we were out of town. Yet. We did not watch the first installment of the OJ: Made in America documentary and we missed Sunday's Game of Thrones. We will rectify each of these on Monday and be better prepared to discuss them on Tuesday. Deal? Deal.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, right, and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, left, argue while being separated by Channing Frye (9) during the second half of Game 4 of basketball's NBA Finals in Cleveland, Friday, June 10, 2016. The Warriors won 108-97. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane) NBA Finals
Lots to say, and lots to get to.
First, Game 4 was fun and intriguing and what a lot of us had hoped this entire series would be.
It also was the worst fears of the Cavs' players, coaches and fans. Cleveland was in a blowout battle through the first three games and the Splash Brothers had made little more than a ripple.
In Game 4, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson delivered on their handy moniker and were the difference with a blitz of 3-pointers. It was good enough to put the Warriors up 3-1 and the Cavs on the brink of elimination.
The silver lining is that Draymond Green is suspended for Game 5 after his strange and puzzling altercation with LeBron James that led to yet another flagrant foul and yet another time in which Green has taken a shot at another players' privates.
It also has led to a strange social media exchange that has included Steph Curry's wife trash-talking James on Twitter. You stay classy Oakland.
Without Green, who TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer rightly and hilariously dubbed "The Nutcracker" in this awesome column, the Cavs appear to have a clear advantage in Game 5. That could mean a Game 6 return to Cleveland and potentially could force a Game 7 in which anything could happen. (Still, it's hard to see a fully-stocked Warriors bunch losing at home to just about anyone, but you never know.)
Green's absence would be even more paramount if the Cavs had made a few more plays on the offensive in the final eight minutes of Game 4. Alas, that's the way the Warriors beat you - their offensive pressure extending to the defensive end where teams have a tough time keeping up.
So it goes.
This and that
- We are planning on writing way more about this for A2 tomorrow, but can we, at least for the moment, forget the political positions and posturing from the Orlando nightmare. This is less about the polarizing issues various people are wanting to advance with the circumstances here. This is not about an attack on a gay night club or gun laws or grandstanding. This about a homegrown terrorist and his hatred for America that led him to ISIS and a decision to kill innocent people. And fighting that issue should be atop every speech made right now.
- Joey Logano dominated at Michigan, leading almost 70 percent of the 200 laps, to win the weekend's NASCAR race. A couple of surprising names - Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch - finished in the last two spots. In the weekend's least surprising finish, Danica Patrick finished a non-consequential 21st.
- Daniel Berger was the PGA Tour rookie of the year last year. That's cool. After a complete performance in Memphis this weekend, he now can call himself a PGA Tour winner for the first time.
- Also of note here: Dustin Johnson flashed the unbelievable scoring potential that makes him an intriguing pick every time he tees it up. After a sloppy bogey on the par 5 third, Johnson made six birdies and an eagle in his final 12 holes to finish 7 under Sunday and fifth in the tournament at 9 under. That said, there's little to no way we'd pick him this week considering his balky putter likely will give him fits at Oakmont.
- Speaking of golf, anyone interested in a contest for this week's U.S. Open? Let us know.
Today's question
OK, feel free to name winners or losers from the weekend. It's fun, give it a try.
As for a question, today we celebrate the 30th birthday of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson. Yes, the twin tots on Full House are 30 for Pete's sake. Rushmore of the most famous twins.
Go and remember Orlando in your thoughts and prayers.