Bring on Game 5
We discussed the lack of truly competitive games Monday. It's undeniable.
And it's no longer entirely true.
Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals was tight, despite a monster first quarter from the Cleveland LeBrons. They had a 19-point lead in the first half.
The Celtics rallied and cut it to seven at least twice in the second half, and once midway through the fourth.
They got no closer, but the must-win tension was felt in ways by both teams, which is an entertaining scenario, especially in non-Game 7s.
And the difference, as it has been for every team that LeBron James has played on in conference postseason games for almost a decade, was James.
His 44 points (efficiency was clear: 17-of-28 from the floor; 9-of-13 from the line) were
He did it in a variety of ways. He had 13 in transition. He had 16 shots in the paint - a theme for the Cavs in Game 4 - and was physical.
Yes, he had seven turnovers, and that sloppiness with the ball will be magnified when the series returns to Boston. But here's what we know:
Cleveland won Game 4 with Kevin Love, its second-best offensive player, being virtually useless on that end.
It's now a three-game series and one team has one of the four-best players ever and the other is missing its two best players.
After being switched to and forced to guard LeBron frequently in the painted area, Terry Rozier said it perfectly when asked what can you do when LeBron gets in the lane: "Hope he misses, you know."
And here's what we think we know:
No matter which team emerges from the East, neither of these teams has anything for the Warriors.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) passes under pressure from New Orleans Saints free safety Vonn Bell (48) in the first half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)NFL owners meet
We referenced this Monday, but it deserves more than a line item.
The NFL owners meet and truth be told, this should be the biggest call to arms in the modern era of America's most popular sport.
The CYA rationalizations that are floated by the Shield's mouthpieces should be ignored this week. This should be about addressing issues and being in front of conversations. To start, the company line of "Every other sport would love to have our TV numbers" is 100 percent accurate. But that does not change the fact that NFL viewership numbers are down.
There are a couple of business issues on the agenda, good and bad.
Pizza Hut stepping in for money to replace Papa John's as the NFL's official pizza and Fox upping the Thursday night price by 50 percent are signs that sponsors are still lining up. (Side note: The marketing TV plan for Fox is pretty clear and it's pretty smart. Fox sold a lot of its pieces to ESPN and Disney. But it appears that Fox proper is going to try to be a Thursday-Sunday network sports entity. Thursday night football, Friday night WWE, Saturday college football and basketball, Sunday NFL. Smart in the sense that sports draw better than TV programming even with sports' number sagging. And sports are a much safer bet for a TV programmer than some random sitcom or another Fire, Police or Hospital drama.)
As for the NFL, though, commercial rates are about the flat-line. It happened during the Super Bowl. It will happen during either this regular season or the next. And that's a long-term issue.
And addressing that has to be Job No. 1 right?
If you think that starts with the protests, OK. But it also has to address watchability, be it the rules of catch as well as TV time and other issues.
There is the preparation for the gambling decision. How is the league prepared to jump on the raft on this new revenue stream. (Side question: If you are the NFL with more than $10 billion in annual revenue, why are you asking for 1 percent when you should be figuring out how to put a satellite office in New Jersey or Mississippi and having a betting dedicated betting window on NFL.com?)
Forget the kickoff rules and the introduction of the new Panthers owner.
Do not worry about the announcement of the 2022 and 2023 Super Bowl locales.
Heck, we're even willing to try not to preorder tickets to the NFL draft in Nashville.
There are issues and it will be interesting to see if they are addressed.
QB free agency (college version)
Press Row co-host David Paschall mentioned the somewhat eye-popping trend of all these five-star quarterback recruits moving around.
Hunter Johnson announcing his plans to leave Clemson is the latest. (According to this 247sports.com report, Purdue and Northwestern are front-runners for the Indiana-native.)
The fall-out though begs the bigger question and a need to address a growing misconception.
Will this continue to happen? Absolutely, and it's not just happening on the college level. It has happened on the pro level for years, if not decades. Yes, contracts are put years and caps on it, but pro players are cut and college players are processed.
Even more telling is how often players transfer on the high school level or switch travel teams in whatever sport. As for the misconceptions, let's review two of them:
First, for the college fans who are wondering about the change in today's players and where's the loyalty? Shut it. There is little loyalty within the business of sports, and college sports is almost as big a business as pro sports. Yes, the loyalty of a lot of fanbases filled with Johnny State U. Fans is deep. But that loyalty is a one-way street and that street is paved with the demands of success.
Yes, if you have a Minkah Fitzpatrick career or a run like Laettner, you'll never have to worry about a drink or a dinner tab in T-Town or Durham.
But when the success fades - or when it does not reach the same heights as your rival - that passionate loyalty becomes a loyal passion for change.
Start with college coaches. Fans turn on the college coach quicker than a Miata up the W Road. And then when new coach comes in, how many of that incoming recruiting class are "encouraged to look elsewhere" and how many of the roster for the new coach go from being current to former players?
As for the folks saying, "See, this will become even more commonplace if you change the transfer rules," you need to calm down. First, there is the real business of schollie being one-year renewable deals. If the NCAA, conferences or schools wanted more of a commitment, give more of a commitment. (Yes, there are some schools and coaches who have said that is what they offer, but make it universal and binding if you want more protection from transferring.)
Also, most of the talk about transfer-rule changes are directed to either a) players and recruits in programs that have a coaching change or NCAA issues; or b) limiting the power of former coaches having a say in the new home for their soon-to-be former player.
That said, whether the rules change or not, the transfer trend is only going to continue to grow.
This and that
- Reminder here that there is no place better to keep up with all the Spring Fling coverage than timesfreepress.com and on Twitter with the #BestofPreps
- Speaking of the NBA playoffs, the home teams are 52-19 this postseason. That seems like a lot.
- Good day for a lot of us who have missed Porker's. That's right Porker's II: Porker's Revenge (or as it will be known, 2503 Station Grill.
- Washington vs. Tampa Bay. Game 7. Let's go. (Side note: Washington is 4-11 in Game 7s, the worst NHL record in series finales; Tampa is 5-2, the best mark in series finales._
- Should we have been able to predict the Braves struggling Monday after the emotional win Sunday? More than likely. Braves bagel, Phillies 3. (Side note: As big a surprise as the NL: East leading Braves have been, if we had a vote right now, Philly manager Gabe Kapler is manager of the year. The Phils were supposed to be worse than the Braves and they are - a half game behind them in second in the East.)
- Man, Billy Ripken needs some worker's comp. Check this video out of Sean Casey smoking a line drive during a hitting session on the MLB Network set. Ouch-standing.
- Mad props to the 7-year-old Dodgers, who, despite their mediocre coach, took home the league title Monday night with a come-from-behind, 21-20 win in seven innings with a walk-off two-run homer. Kudos to Madeline Ray, Jax, Clark, Hamilton, Eli, Jack, Cole, Abney and Griffin. They finished the year 15-1.
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Today's question
Let's go. True. Or. False.
True or false, the word-period-word-period-word-period writing technique is now tired. True. Or. False.
True or false, Cavs reach the NBA Finals.
True or false, if the NFL owners end these meetings without an announced plan about pregame protocol, these meetings are a failure.
You know the drill. Answer a T or F; leave a T or F.
As for today, May 22, well, 85 years ago the Loch Ness monster was allegedly spotted for the first time.
In 2001, Jane Fonda and Ted Turner got divorced.
As for a Rushmore, in honor of author Arthur Conan Doyle, who brought Sherlock Holmes into book fame, let's do a Rushmore of all-time serial literature characters. (No Lenny or Boo Radley, please. Need multiple entries to have a shot.)
Go.