To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the Golden State Warriors will face off with the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals.
The same could be said of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics in the East.
Utah was a good team, but hardly championship worthy. Same with New Orleans. Toronto always chokes when the playoffs start.
So things are pretty much on schedule.
Who will win between Golden State and Houston? Got a coin and feel lucky?
Same with Boston and Cleveland. True, Lebron James has pretty much put on a one-man show, with little help from his teammates. But the Celtics are playing without their two best players, namely Gordon Heyward and Kyrie Irving.
Whoever emerges from the West looks to be a decided favorite to go on and claim the NBA title.
That's today.
But what about in a couple years?
The Philadelphia 76ers are young and still learning, but loaded with talent. Look for them to be a force. GM Danny Ainge in Boston has done a masterful job stock-piling draft choices, used them wisely, and the Celtics are on their way back too. The East is going to be highly contested at the top in years to come. And Father Time will take his toll on Lebron James eventually, likely soon.
In the West, the same could be said for the Pelicans. They're young and coming. The trio of All-Everythings at Golden State are getting older. No one knows how long Houston can keep the powder keg of egos in check, or going after even bigger free-agent bucks elsewhere down the line. Color the Oklahoma City Thunder toast. It doesn't matter if Russell Westbrook scores 50 points every game. Carmelo Anthony and Paul George are geezers, and none of them could play a lick of defense in the first place.
Of course, this all assumes no major injuries -- see Gordon Heyward above. And further assumes that guys now playing for the paltry sum of, say, $30,000,000 on a competing team won't see the wisdom in making $40,000,000 on a sure loser. Just for the sake of mo money. As if they could spend it all in the first place. Throw in endorsements, which likely double the above figures, and the only jock that comes to mind that could go through such a gigantic pile of money was Iron Mike Tyson. How in the hell do you blow $300 MILLION DOLLARS?
Nonetheless, it is what it is for now and decent competition is going to be on tap for the next few weeks.
Boston/Cleveland --- good matchup.
Same with Houston./Golden State.
Wouldn't bet the farm on any of them.
But in a couple years, look for the landscape to change, perhaps quite drastically.
And maybe that's a good thing.....
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
Monday, May 7, 2018
Poor Winnipeg. Alas
While I was pretty sure Winnipeg was in Canada somewhere, I didn't know where. Turns out, Canada's a mighty big country. Second largest in the world, I think, behind Russia. The hosers have tons of room to move around.
And it's a pretty safe bet most Canadians are still crazy about hockey. That's cool. Beats soccer or beach volleyball any day.
Lo and behold, Winnipeg is in a province called Manitoba. A little bit north across the border from North Dakota and those dreaded American know-it-alls to the south. And we know how many problems the Yanks have brought upon themselves with their evil and immoral ways.
To the surprise of many, the Winnipeg Jets of the NHL now find themselves in the Western Conference semi-finals, taking on the Nashville Predators.
More than a few pundits thought Nashville might well go on to win the Stanley Cup this year. They're pretty good. (No offense, Tampa Bay).
But the Jets weren't supposed to beat the Preds. OK, after four games the series was tied 2-2. But Nashville, with home-ice advantage, would host Game 5.
Surprise, Winnipeg went into country music land and blitzed the Preds to the tune of 6-2 to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Say what?
Everything was lined up for them to close out the series in Game Six, back in the friendly, and rabid confines of their own arena.
Their fans were certainly ready. See all the hard-cores with their faces painted blue and white chanting and otherwise working themselves into a frenzy before the game started.
Alas, it was not to be.
Those dad-burned hicks from Elvisland made the trek to the great white north, marched into Bell MTS Place -- whatever that means -- home of the Jets -- and promptly stuffed the locals to the tune of 4-zip. Series tied 3-3, and headed back to Nashville for the deciding Game 7. No doubt the Preds will be heavily favored. But ya never know how it might turn out.....
Yet it could be argued the Winnipeg fans had it backwards. Especially those that paid big bucks to attend Game 6 at MTS (Move Those Skates? Make That Save? Many Thousands Snowbound?) Beats me.
Thing is, they all showed up at the arena wearing white. Kinda scary, but could and would have been a lot worse if they'd worn tall pointy hats as well. Talk about cold. Brrr.
The problem? Their team was dressed in blue uniforms that day.
The visiting Predators wore white unis.
How can they expect to be champions when their PR folks can't even seem to get their colors right?
Nonetheless, here's to Winnipeg, and all of Manitoba for that matter. One of these days, I should probably visit there, just to check it out.
But you can bet it won't be in the dead of winter. They can have all that snow and frigid weather, thank you very much -- but nah.
I may be a lot of things -- opinions vary -- but the Abominable Snowman or a polar bear I am decidedly not.
Good luck Jets. You might pull this off yet.
But you blew your big chance in Game 6.
It's gonna be mighty tough in Grand Ole Opry Land to keep the hopes alive.
And hey, at least get the colors right this time, for the few that travel to see a road game.
And it's a pretty safe bet most Canadians are still crazy about hockey. That's cool. Beats soccer or beach volleyball any day.
Lo and behold, Winnipeg is in a province called Manitoba. A little bit north across the border from North Dakota and those dreaded American know-it-alls to the south. And we know how many problems the Yanks have brought upon themselves with their evil and immoral ways.
To the surprise of many, the Winnipeg Jets of the NHL now find themselves in the Western Conference semi-finals, taking on the Nashville Predators.
More than a few pundits thought Nashville might well go on to win the Stanley Cup this year. They're pretty good. (No offense, Tampa Bay).
But the Jets weren't supposed to beat the Preds. OK, after four games the series was tied 2-2. But Nashville, with home-ice advantage, would host Game 5.
Surprise, Winnipeg went into country music land and blitzed the Preds to the tune of 6-2 to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Say what?
Everything was lined up for them to close out the series in Game Six, back in the friendly, and rabid confines of their own arena.
Their fans were certainly ready. See all the hard-cores with their faces painted blue and white chanting and otherwise working themselves into a frenzy before the game started.
Alas, it was not to be.
Those dad-burned hicks from Elvisland made the trek to the great white north, marched into Bell MTS Place -- whatever that means -- home of the Jets -- and promptly stuffed the locals to the tune of 4-zip. Series tied 3-3, and headed back to Nashville for the deciding Game 7. No doubt the Preds will be heavily favored. But ya never know how it might turn out.....
Yet it could be argued the Winnipeg fans had it backwards. Especially those that paid big bucks to attend Game 6 at MTS (Move Those Skates? Make That Save? Many Thousands Snowbound?) Beats me.
Thing is, they all showed up at the arena wearing white. Kinda scary, but could and would have been a lot worse if they'd worn tall pointy hats as well. Talk about cold. Brrr.
The problem? Their team was dressed in blue uniforms that day.
The visiting Predators wore white unis.
How can they expect to be champions when their PR folks can't even seem to get their colors right?
Nonetheless, here's to Winnipeg, and all of Manitoba for that matter. One of these days, I should probably visit there, just to check it out.
But you can bet it won't be in the dead of winter. They can have all that snow and frigid weather, thank you very much -- but nah.
I may be a lot of things -- opinions vary -- but the Abominable Snowman or a polar bear I am decidedly not.
Good luck Jets. You might pull this off yet.
But you blew your big chance in Game 6.
It's gonna be mighty tough in Grand Ole Opry Land to keep the hopes alive.
And hey, at least get the colors right this time, for the few that travel to see a road game.
Sunday, May 6, 2018
Sports executive(s) of the year. Easy call
Without looking them up, do you have the faintest idea who Bill Foley and George McPhee are?
I didn't either, and only came across those names when I Googled the Las Vegas Golden Knights "front office".
Turns out, Foley is the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and Governor of the team.
I didn't know hockey teams HAD a Governor these days. But hey, if the real government can have a few associates to the second assistant deputy to the third under-secretary of some department or other -- and they probably do -- and make a ridiculous salary at the taxpayers expense, while not even knowing what their job is -- what's one more Guv here and there?
George McPhee is the President of Hockey Operations, General Manager, and Alternate Governor, of course. Every Guv needs a lieutenant, and his/her cast of thousands -- or at least a couple dozen. That's in the long-standing book of bureaucracy by-laws somewhere. I think. Somebody has to answer phones, take memos, and make the coffee -- right?
Nonetheless, these guys, and the other management hierarchy of the Las Vegas Golden Knights, deserve mucho kudos indeed. They have done what has heretofore been dang near impossible in the world of major professional sports.
To wit -- put together an "expansion" team that is not only competitive, but has a better than average chance of walking away with Lord Stanley's beloved Cup in the NHL in this, their first year of existence.
Name the sport -- basketball, football, baseball, or hockey. And though all have "expanded" in recent times -- see cha-ching -- all of the "rookies" have had a mighty rough go of it. Pretty much cannon fodder for the established teams in their respective leagues. Until now.
The Vegas Golden Knights were put together the same way. Players that weren't "protected" by other teams in the expansion draft, hence deemed expendable, and a few free agent signings of players looking for a home.
At that, if you were a free agent, and had a choice between playing in, say, the frigid outposts of Edmonton or Calgary, getting bombed with snow in Buffalo, ripped by the press in New York, or plopping down roots in a crime-ridden city like Detroit.......
And then discovered the folks in Vegas wanted you at a more than reasonable salary.....
Throw that in with the 24/7 bright lights, celebrities and show-girls galore, non-stop action, and a bazillion things to do....
Well, which one would YOU choose? You'd have to be nuts NOT to want to go there. Winning would be good, but tell me the many allures of Vegas don't pull at otherwise testosterone laden young alpha- males -- and I'll tell you I don't believe it.
Thing is, though it wasn't supposed to happen -- they ARE winning. Convincingly. These guys have turned out to be the real deal. The best of both worlds, as it were.
The Golden Knights easily dispatched the LA Kings 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs. OK, so the Kings were only a wild-card and not so good.
But they just closed out the San Jose Sharks in the second round. A much better team.
Now they await the winner of the Winnipeg/Nashville series for a shot at the Stanley Cup Finals.
And they just might win that one too, especially if the Jets, currently ahead 3-2 in the series, manage to eliminate the Predators. That would give the Vegas boys home-ice advantage.
Regardless, even if they don't go any further in the playoffs, the sports Executive of the Year award is a no-brainer.
See Foley and/or McPhee above.
They have done what has never before been accomplished in all the years, all the leagues, and all the expansions over all those many decades.
Put together a team that just might -- MIGHT -- be capable of winning a championship in its rookie year.
And I hope they do.
I mean, c'mon. Where would it be more fun to attend or see a parade? Winnipeg? Please. Most people don't even know where it is -- and don't care. Between Pittsburgh (Penguins) and Washington DC (Capitals -- they'll choke, because they always do), who would show up? Laid off steel workers or that tweetomaniac taking credit for it all? Tampa? Not a bad choice -- but it ain't Vegas.
Can you imagine the show that would be put on along the strip -- and downtown -- if the Golden Knights managed to win the Stanley Cup? In their first year of existence?
Oh my. Bring it on. The very thought of the possibility has yours truly thinking about going back to Sin City for the umpteenth time.
Always something new and exciting to do there.
And a Stanley Cup victory parade most definitely would qualify.
I didn't either, and only came across those names when I Googled the Las Vegas Golden Knights "front office".
Turns out, Foley is the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and Governor of the team.
I didn't know hockey teams HAD a Governor these days. But hey, if the real government can have a few associates to the second assistant deputy to the third under-secretary of some department or other -- and they probably do -- and make a ridiculous salary at the taxpayers expense, while not even knowing what their job is -- what's one more Guv here and there?
George McPhee is the President of Hockey Operations, General Manager, and Alternate Governor, of course. Every Guv needs a lieutenant, and his/her cast of thousands -- or at least a couple dozen. That's in the long-standing book of bureaucracy by-laws somewhere. I think. Somebody has to answer phones, take memos, and make the coffee -- right?
Nonetheless, these guys, and the other management hierarchy of the Las Vegas Golden Knights, deserve mucho kudos indeed. They have done what has heretofore been dang near impossible in the world of major professional sports.
To wit -- put together an "expansion" team that is not only competitive, but has a better than average chance of walking away with Lord Stanley's beloved Cup in the NHL in this, their first year of existence.
Name the sport -- basketball, football, baseball, or hockey. And though all have "expanded" in recent times -- see cha-ching -- all of the "rookies" have had a mighty rough go of it. Pretty much cannon fodder for the established teams in their respective leagues. Until now.
The Vegas Golden Knights were put together the same way. Players that weren't "protected" by other teams in the expansion draft, hence deemed expendable, and a few free agent signings of players looking for a home.
At that, if you were a free agent, and had a choice between playing in, say, the frigid outposts of Edmonton or Calgary, getting bombed with snow in Buffalo, ripped by the press in New York, or plopping down roots in a crime-ridden city like Detroit.......
And then discovered the folks in Vegas wanted you at a more than reasonable salary.....
Throw that in with the 24/7 bright lights, celebrities and show-girls galore, non-stop action, and a bazillion things to do....
Well, which one would YOU choose? You'd have to be nuts NOT to want to go there. Winning would be good, but tell me the many allures of Vegas don't pull at otherwise testosterone laden young alpha- males -- and I'll tell you I don't believe it.
Thing is, though it wasn't supposed to happen -- they ARE winning. Convincingly. These guys have turned out to be the real deal. The best of both worlds, as it were.
The Golden Knights easily dispatched the LA Kings 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs. OK, so the Kings were only a wild-card and not so good.
But they just closed out the San Jose Sharks in the second round. A much better team.
Now they await the winner of the Winnipeg/Nashville series for a shot at the Stanley Cup Finals.
And they just might win that one too, especially if the Jets, currently ahead 3-2 in the series, manage to eliminate the Predators. That would give the Vegas boys home-ice advantage.
Regardless, even if they don't go any further in the playoffs, the sports Executive of the Year award is a no-brainer.
See Foley and/or McPhee above.
They have done what has never before been accomplished in all the years, all the leagues, and all the expansions over all those many decades.
Put together a team that just might -- MIGHT -- be capable of winning a championship in its rookie year.
And I hope they do.
I mean, c'mon. Where would it be more fun to attend or see a parade? Winnipeg? Please. Most people don't even know where it is -- and don't care. Between Pittsburgh (Penguins) and Washington DC (Capitals -- they'll choke, because they always do), who would show up? Laid off steel workers or that tweetomaniac taking credit for it all? Tampa? Not a bad choice -- but it ain't Vegas.
Can you imagine the show that would be put on along the strip -- and downtown -- if the Golden Knights managed to win the Stanley Cup? In their first year of existence?
Oh my. Bring it on. The very thought of the possibility has yours truly thinking about going back to Sin City for the umpteenth time.
Always something new and exciting to do there.
And a Stanley Cup victory parade most definitely would qualify.
Saturday, May 5, 2018
Dwane Casey. Forever over-rated
The current head coach of the Toronto Raptors seems to have lived a charmed life.
From high school, through college (Kentucky), and overseas adventures (Japan), Casey found, or fell into a way/place/program that was successful. But always at a second tier level. A decent player, but not a really good one. Assistant coaching jobs galore,but always with another head man in charge calling the shots.
It could fairly be said Dwane Casey served a long apprenticeship.
It could also fairly be said he narrowly avoided a career bullet when "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" wasn't found regarding illegal cash going to a college player -- though it "allegedly" had Casey's name on it as the sender.
Yet he escaped, barely, and was finally rewarded a head coaching job in the NBA. He would succeed Kevin McHale as the coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, some thirteen years ago, in 2005.
His record since ----
2005-06 Missed playoffs.
2006-07 Fired mid-season.
That probably should have been the end of Casey's NBA head coaching job, but it wasn't.
After a four-year hiatus, which he spent bouncing around Japan, the Toronto Raptors gave him a shot at the head coaching gig.
His record since ----
2011-12 Missed playoffs
2012-13 Missed playoffs
2013-14 Eliminated in first round
2014-15 Eliminated in first round
2015-16 Eliminated in third round -- the conference championship, high point of his career.
2016-17 Eliminate in second round --- a step backwards.
And 2017-18, this year, the Raptors, though a #1 seed, are on their way to being swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers, a #4 seed, in the second round again.
After dropping the first two games at home, then losing a close one at the buzzer in Cleveland, chances are good the Raptors will fold their tents -- again -- and humbly bow out in Game Four. Chances of them coming back from an 0-3 deficit against Lebron and Co.? About the same as the Detroit Lions winning the Super Bowl, or yours truly winning a Pulitzer for his writing. Let's just say -- not so good.
The thing about Dwane is, he seems to get a lot out of his teams during the regular season, but is equally clueless when the playoffs start.
His regular season winning percentage over the years mentioned above? .549. Not outstanding by any means, but the Raptors have been playing in a division on the weak side throughout. Still, not too shabby.
But the killer stat rears it's ugly head when the playoffs have started.
Casey's career record there is a dismal .419.
And it will be going down a few percentage points after this season is over. The probable 4-0 sweep by the Cavs hasn't been computed into that figure yet. It might well dip below .400. And that's horrible.
So the question would seem to be thus --- why do the Raptors keep giving this guy contract extensions when he's already proven his glass ceiling and/or Peter Principle comes front and center with a vengeance when the post-season starts?
And hey, the Raptors are about as good as they're going to get. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers appear to be a team of the future (see a couple years down the road), and the Boston Celtics (through GM Danny Ainge's masterful dealings) are ready to compete now. True, they've been severely handicapped by the season long absence of Gordon Heyward and the injury to Kyrie Irving. But how good will they be next year, assuming everybody's healthy?
Answer -- a whole lot better than Casey and the Raptors.
In sum, Dwane Casey is just another guy that has been over-rated and over-hyped through the years.
Because the stats don't lie.
Kinda good, even pretty good through the regular season, but a gag is always waiting at the end.
From high school, through college (Kentucky), and overseas adventures (Japan), Casey found, or fell into a way/place/program that was successful. But always at a second tier level. A decent player, but not a really good one. Assistant coaching jobs galore,but always with another head man in charge calling the shots.
It could fairly be said Dwane Casey served a long apprenticeship.
It could also fairly be said he narrowly avoided a career bullet when "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" wasn't found regarding illegal cash going to a college player -- though it "allegedly" had Casey's name on it as the sender.
Yet he escaped, barely, and was finally rewarded a head coaching job in the NBA. He would succeed Kevin McHale as the coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, some thirteen years ago, in 2005.
His record since ----
2005-06 Missed playoffs.
2006-07 Fired mid-season.
That probably should have been the end of Casey's NBA head coaching job, but it wasn't.
After a four-year hiatus, which he spent bouncing around Japan, the Toronto Raptors gave him a shot at the head coaching gig.
His record since ----
2011-12 Missed playoffs
2012-13 Missed playoffs
2013-14 Eliminated in first round
2014-15 Eliminated in first round
2015-16 Eliminated in third round -- the conference championship, high point of his career.
2016-17 Eliminate in second round --- a step backwards.
And 2017-18, this year, the Raptors, though a #1 seed, are on their way to being swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers, a #4 seed, in the second round again.
After dropping the first two games at home, then losing a close one at the buzzer in Cleveland, chances are good the Raptors will fold their tents -- again -- and humbly bow out in Game Four. Chances of them coming back from an 0-3 deficit against Lebron and Co.? About the same as the Detroit Lions winning the Super Bowl, or yours truly winning a Pulitzer for his writing. Let's just say -- not so good.
The thing about Dwane is, he seems to get a lot out of his teams during the regular season, but is equally clueless when the playoffs start.
His regular season winning percentage over the years mentioned above? .549. Not outstanding by any means, but the Raptors have been playing in a division on the weak side throughout. Still, not too shabby.
But the killer stat rears it's ugly head when the playoffs have started.
Casey's career record there is a dismal .419.
And it will be going down a few percentage points after this season is over. The probable 4-0 sweep by the Cavs hasn't been computed into that figure yet. It might well dip below .400. And that's horrible.
So the question would seem to be thus --- why do the Raptors keep giving this guy contract extensions when he's already proven his glass ceiling and/or Peter Principle comes front and center with a vengeance when the post-season starts?
And hey, the Raptors are about as good as they're going to get. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers appear to be a team of the future (see a couple years down the road), and the Boston Celtics (through GM Danny Ainge's masterful dealings) are ready to compete now. True, they've been severely handicapped by the season long absence of Gordon Heyward and the injury to Kyrie Irving. But how good will they be next year, assuming everybody's healthy?
Answer -- a whole lot better than Casey and the Raptors.
In sum, Dwane Casey is just another guy that has been over-rated and over-hyped through the years.
Because the stats don't lie.
Kinda good, even pretty good through the regular season, but a gag is always waiting at the end.
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Stick a fork in.....
The Toronto Raptors. In Game One, at home, against the Cleveland Cavaliers (a #1 seed vs a #4 seed), the Raptors had the Cavs down 15 points in the third quarter. And they blew it.
They just got blown out in Game Two. Now the series goes to Cleveland for Games Three and Four.
Stick a fork in the Raptors. They're done. As usual.
The Philadelphia 76ers are a young and up and coming team. If they can stay healthy and keep the team together, they'll be a force to be reckoned with in a couple years.
But not this year. They had the Boston Celtics down 13 points and should have evened the series at 1-1. And they blew it.
Let's not forget, the Celts are playing without their two best players, namely All-Star forward Gordon Heyward, and super-star guard Kyrie Irving. If they can't beat the depleted Beaners under those conditions -- stick a fork in them. Though if the Sixers go back home and win Games Three and Four to tie the series, it could get interesting. That's a definite maybe. They have a pulse, though it's faint. Winning four out the next five is a very tall order. We'll see.
A couple days ago, there was an ominous rumbling in the distance, and it kept getting louder and louder. What could it be?
Yep, His Highness Tiger Woods was entering another golf tournament. Let the hype begin -- again.
Yet after one round of the Wells Fargo Open, dear Eldrick finds himself 6 shots behind. Where have we heard that before lately? Another round like that, and he just might miss the cut -- again. Even par isn't going to get it on the PGA tour, unless the tournament is the US Open, always ridiculously hard courses, where par is oftentimes really good. Quail Hollow, in Charlotte NC, though semi-tough, site of the Wells Fargo, isn't one of those venues.
I've been saying it since his marriage exploded. Stick a fork in this guy. Now in his forties, no way is he going to compete against the awesome fields of younger guns now on the tour. It doesn't have to be one guy every week -- say a Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, or Rory McIlroy. But it's always going to be somebody, likely a lot of them, that will bury Woods in any given tournament.
He had his decade of greatness, likely the most dominant decade of all time in golf.
But it's over.
Get used to it.
And all the hype and hero-worship in the world isn't going to change that.
Stick a fork in him.
He's more done than a goose left overnight in a 500 degree oven.
They just got blown out in Game Two. Now the series goes to Cleveland for Games Three and Four.
Stick a fork in the Raptors. They're done. As usual.
The Philadelphia 76ers are a young and up and coming team. If they can stay healthy and keep the team together, they'll be a force to be reckoned with in a couple years.
But not this year. They had the Boston Celtics down 13 points and should have evened the series at 1-1. And they blew it.
Let's not forget, the Celts are playing without their two best players, namely All-Star forward Gordon Heyward, and super-star guard Kyrie Irving. If they can't beat the depleted Beaners under those conditions -- stick a fork in them. Though if the Sixers go back home and win Games Three and Four to tie the series, it could get interesting. That's a definite maybe. They have a pulse, though it's faint. Winning four out the next five is a very tall order. We'll see.
A couple days ago, there was an ominous rumbling in the distance, and it kept getting louder and louder. What could it be?
Yep, His Highness Tiger Woods was entering another golf tournament. Let the hype begin -- again.
Yet after one round of the Wells Fargo Open, dear Eldrick finds himself 6 shots behind. Where have we heard that before lately? Another round like that, and he just might miss the cut -- again. Even par isn't going to get it on the PGA tour, unless the tournament is the US Open, always ridiculously hard courses, where par is oftentimes really good. Quail Hollow, in Charlotte NC, though semi-tough, site of the Wells Fargo, isn't one of those venues.
I've been saying it since his marriage exploded. Stick a fork in this guy. Now in his forties, no way is he going to compete against the awesome fields of younger guns now on the tour. It doesn't have to be one guy every week -- say a Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, or Rory McIlroy. But it's always going to be somebody, likely a lot of them, that will bury Woods in any given tournament.
He had his decade of greatness, likely the most dominant decade of all time in golf.
But it's over.
Get used to it.
And all the hype and hero-worship in the world isn't going to change that.
Stick a fork in him.
He's more done than a goose left overnight in a 500 degree oven.
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
The wacky playoffs
See the Boston Bruins go into Tampa and steal Game One from the Lightning. Boston's pretty good -- ask the Maple Leafs. Advantage Beaners. See them go back home and get blitzed on their own ice to fall behind 2-1 in the series. Who's going to win? Coin flip.
See the Utah Jazz get hammered in Game One of their NBA series at Houston. No surprise there. See the Jazz come out and steal Game Two from the Rockets to take home court advantage and even up the series 1-1. Who's going to win? Probably still Houston. But now the series goes back to Utah for the next couple games.
If, and a mighty big if, the Jazz were to take Game Three and go up 2-1, the pressure on Houston would be enormous. It further figures that if Utah stays clean at home and goes up 3-1, well, what comes after enormous?
And a whole lot of folks will start picking on/criticizing/dissecting Houston, making matters even worse. Could the team with the -- by far -- best regular season record in the league, get knocked off before even getting to the Conference Finals? Nah. They'll right the ship. Or coach Mike Dantoni better hope they do, or he's gonna have some serious 'splainin' to do to the press and his bosses.
As was noted before in this space, the Indiana Pacers should rightfully have knocked off the Cleveland Cavaliers. How Lebron and Co. escaped to move on is more a fluke than a sign of dominant play. The Cavs are ripe for the picking.
But -- now they're playing the Toronto Raptors. In Game One of that series, the hosers of the north had the Cavs right where they wanted them. Down 15 points midway through the third quarter, fans going nuts, and James having a bad game, at least by his standards.
What could go wrong?
Turned out -- plenty. The Raptors would blow the lead and lose the game. Don't be surprised if Toronto folds its tent like it did last year when the pressure ratcheted up, when they were supposed to be good as well. The same Cavs swept them in a four game series.
For a first year expansion team, the Golden Knights of Las Vegas have been amazing. At or near the top of the standings all year long during the regular season. Nobody saw that coming.
But the San Jose Sharks went into Vegas and punched them in the mouth early in their current series, stealing home ice away. Uh oh.
To their credit, again, the Knights just went into Saint Joe and returned the favor -- a convincing win, to reclaim home ice and the momentum. And the Sharks are really, REALLY tough to beat at home.
Can the upstart Knights polish them off? We'll see. Another coin flip.
Yep, these playoffs are definitely getting interesting.
Love it when at least a game or three is on TV every night.
Couch tater paradise.
See the Utah Jazz get hammered in Game One of their NBA series at Houston. No surprise there. See the Jazz come out and steal Game Two from the Rockets to take home court advantage and even up the series 1-1. Who's going to win? Probably still Houston. But now the series goes back to Utah for the next couple games.
If, and a mighty big if, the Jazz were to take Game Three and go up 2-1, the pressure on Houston would be enormous. It further figures that if Utah stays clean at home and goes up 3-1, well, what comes after enormous?
And a whole lot of folks will start picking on/criticizing/dissecting Houston, making matters even worse. Could the team with the -- by far -- best regular season record in the league, get knocked off before even getting to the Conference Finals? Nah. They'll right the ship. Or coach Mike Dantoni better hope they do, or he's gonna have some serious 'splainin' to do to the press and his bosses.
As was noted before in this space, the Indiana Pacers should rightfully have knocked off the Cleveland Cavaliers. How Lebron and Co. escaped to move on is more a fluke than a sign of dominant play. The Cavs are ripe for the picking.
But -- now they're playing the Toronto Raptors. In Game One of that series, the hosers of the north had the Cavs right where they wanted them. Down 15 points midway through the third quarter, fans going nuts, and James having a bad game, at least by his standards.
What could go wrong?
Turned out -- plenty. The Raptors would blow the lead and lose the game. Don't be surprised if Toronto folds its tent like it did last year when the pressure ratcheted up, when they were supposed to be good as well. The same Cavs swept them in a four game series.
For a first year expansion team, the Golden Knights of Las Vegas have been amazing. At or near the top of the standings all year long during the regular season. Nobody saw that coming.
But the San Jose Sharks went into Vegas and punched them in the mouth early in their current series, stealing home ice away. Uh oh.
To their credit, again, the Knights just went into Saint Joe and returned the favor -- a convincing win, to reclaim home ice and the momentum. And the Sharks are really, REALLY tough to beat at home.
Can the upstart Knights polish them off? We'll see. Another coin flip.
Yep, these playoffs are definitely getting interesting.
Love it when at least a game or three is on TV every night.
Couch tater paradise.
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Tom Brady and Draymond Green. Shut up
Now it's supposedly big news that Tom Brady took the "fifth" when asked whether he thought he was appreciated enough by the New England Patriots?
He needs to shut up and "appreciate" the good fortune that has come his way over the years.
Yes, I get it. #12 has been to eight Super Bowls, winning five of them, and MVP of four of them. A lock first ballot future Hall of Famer to be sure. Maybe the best QB ever.
But let's not forget back in the day he was a sixth-round draft choice -- almost an afterthought.
In the meantime, dear Tom has made about $200,000,000 playing football, and that's not counting the various endorsements he reaped the rewards of over the years -- probably at least that much again.
And most likely none of this happens if he doesn't fall into a system -- and coach like Bill Bellichick running it. Had he been with the Lions, Browns, Bills, Dolphins, Bears, Chargers, and a few other perennially sad-sack teams, he'd have probably been used up and forgotten long ago. It just so happened he landed in the right place, at the right time, in an organization in which he could prosper -- be great even.
So as much as I admire him for what he's accomplished, I don't want to hear him even semi-insinuating he doesn't get enough respect. That bit belonged to the late Rodney Dangerfield.
Shut up Tom, and be grateful for what you have. You wouldn't have that bulging bank account and drop-dead gorgeous trophy wife if you'd been picked by Cleveland or Detroit. More like super-sizing orders at a drive-thru window, begging for dates, and living in a trailer. The question isn't whether HE'S been appreciated enough by the team, but rather whether he sufficiently appreciates what the team made possible for HIM.
Draymond Green, he of the reigning world champion Golden State Warriors, is a wonderfully talented player.
He's also quite the thug and loud mouth. The NBA's version of Ndamukong (the stomper) Suh when it comes to dirty play.
We've seen him deliver several thunderous kicks to the groins of opposing players. Elbows to the faces, and other mayhem. But like Suh, he not only appears to have no conscience about it, but rather revels in his misdeeds.
And Green has never seen a camera or microphone he won't gravitate to either when it comes to talking trash.
He needs to shut up too. Not just any team would tolerate such goonish behavior. If he had been on a loser -- like the Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn Nets, Michael Jordan's abomination in Carolina, or whatever the Chicago Bulls have cobbled together in recent years -- dear Draymond would likely be cooking the stuff Tom was dishing out at the drive-thru. It just so happened he landed in the right spot at the right time as well.
For this, these guys get paid obscene amounts of money. More so than all but a handful of CEOs of highly successful corporations. For playing a game. For a few months a year only.
Like him or hate him, the President of the United States gets paid $400,000 a year. Tough job, packed with pressure 24/7/365. That same 400K is less than two game checks (out of 82 regular-season -- the playoffs kick in more mega-bucks) for Draymond.
And Brady has to play maybe a single quarter of any particular game to ring up the same cha-ching.
You wonder how and why the average "family of four" has to skip a house payment to attend a game these days, what with parking, exorbitant ticket prices, concessions marked up 1000% for food and drink they'd consider inedible (slop not worthy of giving to the NEIGHBOR'S dog) at home?
Guys like these are the poster children for how this has come about.
Yet they whine, or don't feel appreciated, or talk and talk some more, as if they're some sort of cult heroes, with legions of fans hanging on their every word.
Sad thing is -- they are. And THAT, is a testament to mass ignorance.
P.T. Barnum was absolutely right. There's one born every minute. Worse, they seem to be multiplying faster than rabbits fed a steady diet of chow laced with sexual stimulants. They're everywhere.
But OK. Enough is enough. I've ripped on the, ahem, all-American boy in the east and the, ahem, heart -- or is that groin -- throb in the west.
Time to follow my own advice and.....
Shut up. At least for a day or two.
But show me four hundred grand and I could probably be persuaded to stay mum a little longer.
How do I know my boss -- sometimes known as an editor -- truly appreciates me? Because he hasn't chewed me out in recent weeks.
Make it an even million, and I'd find a way to give myself a couple kicks in the groin. I'm not sure that's humanly possible, but I'd at least try. Can't be any worse than divorce court -- right?
He needs to shut up and "appreciate" the good fortune that has come his way over the years.
Yes, I get it. #12 has been to eight Super Bowls, winning five of them, and MVP of four of them. A lock first ballot future Hall of Famer to be sure. Maybe the best QB ever.
But let's not forget back in the day he was a sixth-round draft choice -- almost an afterthought.
In the meantime, dear Tom has made about $200,000,000 playing football, and that's not counting the various endorsements he reaped the rewards of over the years -- probably at least that much again.
And most likely none of this happens if he doesn't fall into a system -- and coach like Bill Bellichick running it. Had he been with the Lions, Browns, Bills, Dolphins, Bears, Chargers, and a few other perennially sad-sack teams, he'd have probably been used up and forgotten long ago. It just so happened he landed in the right place, at the right time, in an organization in which he could prosper -- be great even.
So as much as I admire him for what he's accomplished, I don't want to hear him even semi-insinuating he doesn't get enough respect. That bit belonged to the late Rodney Dangerfield.
Shut up Tom, and be grateful for what you have. You wouldn't have that bulging bank account and drop-dead gorgeous trophy wife if you'd been picked by Cleveland or Detroit. More like super-sizing orders at a drive-thru window, begging for dates, and living in a trailer. The question isn't whether HE'S been appreciated enough by the team, but rather whether he sufficiently appreciates what the team made possible for HIM.
Draymond Green, he of the reigning world champion Golden State Warriors, is a wonderfully talented player.
He's also quite the thug and loud mouth. The NBA's version of Ndamukong (the stomper) Suh when it comes to dirty play.
We've seen him deliver several thunderous kicks to the groins of opposing players. Elbows to the faces, and other mayhem. But like Suh, he not only appears to have no conscience about it, but rather revels in his misdeeds.
And Green has never seen a camera or microphone he won't gravitate to either when it comes to talking trash.
He needs to shut up too. Not just any team would tolerate such goonish behavior. If he had been on a loser -- like the Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn Nets, Michael Jordan's abomination in Carolina, or whatever the Chicago Bulls have cobbled together in recent years -- dear Draymond would likely be cooking the stuff Tom was dishing out at the drive-thru. It just so happened he landed in the right spot at the right time as well.
For this, these guys get paid obscene amounts of money. More so than all but a handful of CEOs of highly successful corporations. For playing a game. For a few months a year only.
Like him or hate him, the President of the United States gets paid $400,000 a year. Tough job, packed with pressure 24/7/365. That same 400K is less than two game checks (out of 82 regular-season -- the playoffs kick in more mega-bucks) for Draymond.
And Brady has to play maybe a single quarter of any particular game to ring up the same cha-ching.
You wonder how and why the average "family of four" has to skip a house payment to attend a game these days, what with parking, exorbitant ticket prices, concessions marked up 1000% for food and drink they'd consider inedible (slop not worthy of giving to the NEIGHBOR'S dog) at home?
Guys like these are the poster children for how this has come about.
Yet they whine, or don't feel appreciated, or talk and talk some more, as if they're some sort of cult heroes, with legions of fans hanging on their every word.
Sad thing is -- they are. And THAT, is a testament to mass ignorance.
P.T. Barnum was absolutely right. There's one born every minute. Worse, they seem to be multiplying faster than rabbits fed a steady diet of chow laced with sexual stimulants. They're everywhere.
But OK. Enough is enough. I've ripped on the, ahem, all-American boy in the east and the, ahem, heart -- or is that groin -- throb in the west.
Time to follow my own advice and.....
Shut up. At least for a day or two.
But show me four hundred grand and I could probably be persuaded to stay mum a little longer.
How do I know my boss -- sometimes known as an editor -- truly appreciates me? Because he hasn't chewed me out in recent weeks.
Make it an even million, and I'd find a way to give myself a couple kicks in the groin. I'm not sure that's humanly possible, but I'd at least try. Can't be any worse than divorce court -- right?
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