NBA playoffs
OK, there were some surprises in the Monday games. We have discussed them.
Big picture, there were no surprises Tuesday as the home team held serve in each series. And to be clear, there will be no surprises in the Golden State-Utah series. There’s simply no way the Jazz can match the Warriors’ firepower. Maybe the Jazz get a game back in Utah, but it’s hard to believe that series is going much longer than five games.
As for the East semifinal between Washington and Boston, well, that was a thrilling game with one of the best individual performances we’ve ever witnessed from a point guard in the playoffs.
Boston magician Isaiah Thomas is 5-foot-9. On his tippy toes. And he weaved and darted and was able to loft runners and drill jumpers and spin lay-ups over every Washington obstacle this side of Elizabeth Warren.
It was amazing. Dude had 29 in the fourth and the decisive overtime. He finished with 53 as Boston won its sixth consecutive postseason game.
It’s hard to remember 10 days ago when the Bulls took the first two in Boston and we were writing the C’s season obit. Now, the Boston-Cleveland Eastern Conference Final looks to be developing, and remember Boston has home-court.
While there are lots of folks wiring about Thomas, who lost his sister last month in a car wreck – and Tuesday would have been her 23rd birthday – and the fact that he had eight hours of dental work over the last two days, his game was masterful and defied description.
We’ll go a step further. If you look at the true definition of the middle word of the MVP, we can make an argument that Thomas is more valuable to the Celtics than James Harden is to the Rockets.
FILE – In this April 15, 2013 file photo, the headquarters for National Public Radio (NPR) in Washington. NPR announced Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016, that comments on NPR.org will be disabled beginning Aug. 23. The feature has been part of the site since 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) A legend says good-bye
As for the question, well, with this commentary on NPR it appears the end is near for Frank DeFord. To be honest, he’s on the short list of our favorite sports writers of all time.
We started reading Lewis Grizzard at a very young age in the ATL and tried to model a lot of our style around his. After that, we plowed through as many Jim Murray columns as we possibly could. Then there’s Dan Jenkins, the glorious golf wordsmith who is as funny as he is well-versed in golf lore.
Finally on our Rushmore of the great sports columnists/writers of that era-gone-by is DeFord, who was amazingly thoughtful and thought-provoking without being overly and overtly condescending.
Thanks Frank. You will be missed.
FILE – In this Sept. 28, 2014, file photo, New York Yankees’ Derek Jeter speaks to the media after the last baseball game of his career, against the Boston Red Sox, at Fenway Park in Boston. A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press that the former Yankees star Derek Jeter and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush have joined forces in their attempt to buy the Miami Marlins. The person confirmed the partnership on condition of anonymity because Jeter and Bush have not commented .(AP Photo/Steven Senne, File) Twitter making moves
If you are not looking for new ways to innovate and deliver new products from different platforms in today’s quick-changing sports world, you are running the risk of major loss.
So tip of the visor to Twitter, which announced a few changes and some major offerings to sports fans.
Twitter has landed deals with the WNBA, MLB, The Players’ Tribune and the PGA Tour to add streaming content or increase current amounts. Twitter also announced Stadium, its dedicated channel of sports that may find cable homes but will be an online location for its content.
Of the sports additions, we think the availability of more golf coverage – Twitter will look to add to its planned 70 hours of coverage from 31 tournaments – makes the most sense. If Johnny Golf Fan is at work on a Thursday or Friday and needs a quick online location for golf, Twitter now provides the action and a place to interact with fellow golf fans. That’s a nice piece to offer – the connection and discussion of specific topics that Twitter can provide.
The other noteworthy piece of this is the connection with The Players’ Tribune, the online sports news portal started by Derek Jeter that aims to offer sports newsmakers a direct connection with fans.
And this could be quite scary for a lot of sports news organizations, considering fans can get direct access – the plan is to start with TPT’s live series #Verified with athletes answering fan questions directly – and the hatred of the media could lead to a feeling of “cutting out the middle man.”
“The Players’ Tribune and Twitter share similar sensibilities and goals in giving newsmakers a platform to connect and engage directly with an audience,” Jaymee Messler, president of The Players’ Tribune, told Cynopsis Media. “#Verified is a fresh take on the dated format of the traditional press conference, and it will give fans a place to connect directly with some of their favorite athletes in an immediate and organic way.”
This and that
* Predators toped St. Louis on Tuesday and now own a 3-1 lead in that series. Man, the No. 8-seeded Preds are doing work.
* OK, the hatred spewed at Baltimore outfielder Adam Jones got the headlines earlier this week. This Giants fan/Dodger heckler wins the award for best shots by using a headline.
* It’s good to be Aaron Rodgers. Dude is at the top of his profession. He makes a pretty impressive pay check, somewhere in that $20 mil a year neighborhood. (And that’s a pretty nice neighborhood.) And after breaking up with Hollywood hottie Olivia Munn, Rodgers is now seen courting Kelly Rohrbach, who is exceedingly easy on the eyes.
* If you missed it, here’s our review of the new SunTrust Park, which was the venue where Billy Joel took the stage last Friday. Side note: Billy Joel now looks a lot like Anakin Skywalker when he removes his helmet in the Return of the Jedi. “Luke, I am your father.”
* Nick Saban got a whole lot of coin Tuesday. A whole lot.
* Enjoyed this story on UTC AD David Blackburn from TFP UTC ace Mean Gene Henley, who is having a strong run of late. Well-played indeed.
Today’s question
On this day 80 years ago Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer for “Gone with the Wind.” On this day in 1970, the New York Knicks beat the Lakers to win the NBA title in a Game 7 in which an injured Willis Reed limped out of the tunnel. On this day in 1971, NPR was born.
Odds are that if you were born on this day you may have a relatively pleasing singing voice. Bing Crosby (1903), James Brown (1933), Frankie Valli (1934), Christopher Cross (1951), and Eric Church (1977) among others were born on this day.
If we did some One-Word Wednesday, let’s try these:
- Nick Saban getting $11 million to coach football is __________.
- The future of sports on Twitter is ___________.
- The best old-school sports writer is __________.
As for a Rushmore, in honor of Ms. Mitchell’s masterpiece, if we spot you, “Frankly Scarlett, I don’t give a damn,” what are the other three one-liners on the Rushmore of most famous movie quotes ever?
Go, and in honor of Holly Heap, this would have been her fourth birthday, and the #HugsforHolly day, practice a random act of kindness today.