Let's get it going (can you use that in a sentence)
Monster matchup tonight. Huge stakes. Huge benefits for the winner. Tons of pressure.
And there's a good-size basketball game on tap too.
Before we get to the NBA, the monster matchup known as the spelling bee is tonight. And know this: Watching kids in tons of competitions and sporting events, the single stressful experience watching our son was during a spelling bee. Seriously.
Good luck kids.
As for the basketball game, well, here's a question for the group:
If LeBron pulls this off - and we do not think he will - how much will that help his case for the GOAT?
Even with James and even with how well he's playing, a Cavs win could be listed as the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history.
Vegas has the Warriors at minus-1,100, which means if you are backing Golden State, you have to bet $1,100 to win $100.
The Warriors are the second biggest underdog entering a Finals series in the modern era. Only Allen Iverson's 76ers that lost to Shaq and Kobe and the Lakers in five were bigger long shots.
As for Game 1, the Cavs are a 13-point underdog, the biggest for a Finals opener every, according to Oddshark.com.
Snitker full-time
In the two years and two weeks since Brian Snitker was named manager of your Atlanta Braves, the team has 45 last-at-bat wins. It's the most in the majors, and is even more important when you consider that the Braves are 163-178 in that time frame. More than a quarter of Snitker's wins have come in Atlanta's last time at the plate.
For all the hubbub about the young Braves and the young prospects and building for a 2019 run, it may be time to address Snitker.
His record as a big-league manager is nothing to write home about. But before this spring, he has been handed a less than MLB-worthy roster.
So let's look at what we know:
We know these Braves seldom make negative headlines off the field.
We know these Braves look like they are having a ton of fun on the field.
We know these Braves, as a whole, are assuredly having more success as a collection as opposed to the expectations for the individual parts.
We know these Braves, according to that 45-last-at-bats-wins stat, have a believe that they are never out of a game.
Maybe the first one of those four facts is as much good timing and good people as anything a manger does. But the other three are about leadership on the field in particular and in the work-place in general.
And in the modern-day MLB - a place where the "book" has been replaced by analytics - the best managers in the game make sure their best players are having fun and confidence during the game.
Snitker is doing that as well as anyone in baseball right now and should get a long-term deal ASAP.
Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani walks from the batting cage during a spring training baseball practice on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) Shohei Time
Very interesting take here from YahooSports super columnist Dan Wetzel.
Wetzel makes a great point, and one that we have discussed around these parts before: Why is the MLB in general and its TV partners in particular not making a much bigger deal about Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani?
Ohtani pitched last night in Detroit. There were fewer than 20,000 there. As Wetzel rightly pointed out it was a Wednesday with the threat of rain and the home-town Tigers are struggling.
But Ohtani is on the level of young Tiger, young Shaq and young Barry Sanders.
He's doing things we've never seen before and changing the game in real time.
Before last night - a game in which Ohtani pitched five innings and allowed three hits and one run before being pulled during the second rain-delay - Ohtani had the singular most dominant pitch the game has seen since Mariano Rivera.
These numbers are staggering: Ohtani had thrown 157 split-finger pitches this season. Of those 157 pitches exactly one of them has resulted in a base hit. One. Batters are 1-for-44 on Ohtani splitters that end at-bats. Oh my goodness. Opponents have swung and missed at the Ohtani splitter 61 percent of the time.
Know that last night, Ohtani hit 101.1 with a fastball - the highest speed reached by a starter this year - and 70 with a slow curve. Imagine that range and neither is his best pitch.
And now remember that he is hitting .291 with a .929 OPS and six homers in 103 at-bats.
His projected numbers over 162 games (and granted, he takes way more off days than most) are crazy. Over a full season, Ohtani is on pace for 32 homers and 108 RBIs. He's also on pace to go 17-4 with a 3.18 ERA and 242 Ks.
Amazing. Simply amazing.
This and that
- Following up on a story from Wednesday, Cleveland defensive back Damarious Randall says his tweet about the Cavs beating the Warriors and Randall buying everyone who retweeted his post a jersey was an obvious joke. Randall has passed 948,000 retweets, meaning the $99.99 jersey would run him close to $100 million. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/browns-damarious-randall-now-says-his-nba-finals-jersey-offer-was-obviously-a-joke/
- This is long, but a very interesting read. It details the best first-round, late-round and missed chances in the draft for all the MLB teams. We love the draft. You know this.
- Pretty awesome story about Jermaine Gresham helping a lady on a flight recently. Good stuff. Favorite part? Not taking the lady's money and telling her to pay it forward.
- Hunter Johnson became the five-star QB caught in the middle at Clemson. He announced his intention to transfer. Clemson has allowed him to go anywhere - including within the ACC. His three front-runners now appear to be Northwestern, Purdue and Duke.
Today's question
NBA Finals predictions anyone?
As for today, May 31, let's explore.
Clint Eastwood celebrates a birthday today, his 88th.
It was 10 years ago today that Usain Bolt ran a 9.72 100.
Brooke Shields is 53 today.
Man, there are some really dumb smart people in this world, you know?
And how about a mini-Rushmore of hardest names of sports stars to spell in honor of the bee? Coach K is there. The Greek Freak is too.