Thunder
We had supremely high hopes for the Thunder-Warriors series in the Western Conference Finals going in. And, after the Thunder rallied in the second half for a 108-102 Game 1 win at Golden State, that excitement level only grows.
It was not always pretty basketball, even with the two highest scoring teams in the NBA reaching triple digits. But it was awesomely competitive, entertainingly athletic and optimistically engaging. The numbers offered glimpses into Game 1 that were both clear and confusing.
Consider these:
The Thunder were significantly better than Golden State from 3, shooting 47 percent from distance and holding the Warriors to 36.7 percent.
The Thunder now have won three straight games at San Antonio and Golden State. How impressive is that? Well, during the regular season, San Antonio and Golden State were a combined 79-3 at home.
The Thunder trailed by as many as 14, but battled back by holding the Warriors to a measly 14 fourth-quarter points.
The Thunder won despite superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook shooting a combined 17-of-51 (33.3 percent). That’s a scary stat for the Warriors, since you have to believe that those two are going to shoot better. Which means the Thunder did not play their best and still managed to steal Game 1 from the most successful regular season team in NBA history.
Most importantly, the Thunder were +19 when athletic big man Steven Adams was on the floor. That’s quite telling, too, considering the Warriors are at their best going small. So Adams was able to keep up defensively and dictate style.
So the series few expected has started off in a fashion that even fewer may have imagined.
Game on, indeed.
ESPN logo.Interesting times at ESPN
The Undefeated launches today. It’s a longtime project that aims to discuss sports, race and culture and is a spin-off site on ESPN.com. It could be cool. It could be short-lived. (Heck, Grantland was both.)
The Undefeated has had a roller-coaster existence of more than a few years before being launched. Here’s an interesting look at its history.
This is a welcomed addition for ESPN, which has seen a number of defections – by choice of people or in the case of Curt Schilling, by the network – recently. So it goes, and we’re interested to see what The Undefeated brings to the table. (We loved Grantland, and we are big fans of FiveThirtyEight.com, too.)
Good luck.
FILE – In this Oct. 20, 2015 file photo, Tiger Woods responds to a question during a press conference in Mexico City. Tiger Woods registered for the U.S. Open, which was more procedure than pronouncement. Three weeks later, he played five holes during the official opening of the golf course he designed outside Houston. The next step is returning to competition, which remains unknown. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File) Legendary status
Two of the biggest – and most popular – sports stars of this generation are at crossroads in their Hall of Fame careers.
Peyton Manning announced his retirement after helping the Broncos to a Super Bowl win in February. He even had two news conferences to discuss the decision and has been clear about it.
While a lot of the discussion about what Manning will do next – be it coaching or announcing or just sitting back and owning a couple of dozen Papa John’s – that does not stop the swirling questions about whether he will return to football.
Peyton’s dad Archie received a healthy dose of those inquiries from the MMQB radio show, and it’s an understandable thought process. In fact, here’s betting those questions will only increase as camps get closer. That said, we’d be shocked if Manning returns, considering the way last season ended, both good (he won the Super Bowl after all) and bad (statistically, Manning was the worst starting quarterback in the league that did not play for Cleveland).
As for another globally known 40-year-old, the thought of retirement has not been embraced. Tiger Woods is continuing his efforts to make a return to competitive golf, and the results Monday were less than encouraging.
Tiger was at a news event promoting his upcoming and took three swings at a 100-yard par 3. All three found the water. Woods struggled mightily last year before having surgery on his back. He has been on the shelf since last August, but despite hopeful reports of a potential return at the U.S. Open next month, he still looks a long way off.
We have often said that Woods will never be the Tiger of the early 2000s again. No one will. Ever. (Think of it this way: As unbelievable hot as Jason Day is right now with 7 wins in 17 tournaments – and that’s scorching – Woods was close to that pace for an decade. From 1999-to-2009, Tiger won 65 times in 191 tournaments. In ’99-00 he won 17 times in 41 starts.)
It’s hard to fathom being Tiger Woods right now, considering there was something you once did better than anyone on the planet, and now you simply can’t. (In some ways last year’s regular season likely had some of that feeling for Manning, too.)
Be it physical or mental for Woods, though, for the first time, you have to wonder if he’ll ever return.
No, not to the heights that only he knew, but to the PGA at all.
Here’s hoping so.
Florida offensive coordinator Charlie Weis.This and that
– Man, don;t you know stories like this drive fans nuts. In this case it’s Notre Dame, which according to this story, paid former coach Charlie Weis more last year current coach Brian Kelly. Yes, Kelly made more in total compensation, but Notre Dame paid Weis more. (Side note: Does the expression more money than God work for Notre Dame, since, they are kind of pulling from the same checking account in a lot of cases?)
– Enjoyed today’s sports column from TFP ace Mark Wiedmer. He does fine work.
– Speaking of doing work, here’s TFP all-around ace David Paschall’s story catching up with UTC AD David Blackburn on Press Row on ESPN 105.1 The Zone. Blackburn discussed the progress toward adding a new athletic facility on to The Roundhouse on Monday.
– Man, tells us what you really think Brad.
– Shoutout to MocTastic for the last addition here. For those scoring at home that is the link to Cam Robinson, Alabama’s All-American left tackle, and Hootie Jones being arrested on drugs and weapons charges in Louisiana.
Today’s question
Happy birthday, Sugar Ray Leonard. Sugar – a flat-out awesome nickname for what it’s worth – is 60 today.
On this day in 1939, Princeton and Columbia played a baseball game that was the first televised sporting event in U.S. history. So there’s that.
It’s also the birthdays of Pascual Perez (would have been 59 but he died in 2012), Jon Koncak (53) and Matt Ryan (31). Heck, it’s Danny Manning’s birthday too, and remember he was the central piece in the deal that caused the Hawks to trade Dominique Wilkins.
With all of that converging on us, who is on the Rushmore (Stone Mountain in this case maybe) of notorious Atlanta sports figures?