A Big Sports Weekend

Let's gather all the trash talk in one place - there will be no Triple Crown attempt, darn it, but we have Yankees-Mets, Nadal-Unspellable in the French Open, and the final showdown between Boston's Big Three and Miami's Still Standing Two.

I'm rooting for the Yanks, Nadal, and the Celts. However, if LeBron can get past Boston the Game of Thrones with OKC will be great spectacle.  I think the Young Usurpers will dethrone King James, if it gets to that.

Comments

[Jack is Back]

Plus England continues its rained out innings agains the West Indies; Netherlands v. Denmark in Euro 2012; and The Ladies Championship at the French Open.

Don't forget the St. Jude in Memphis where Rory McIlroy has a tentative lead.

Plus College World Series continues with Stony Brook tied with LSU in the 14th suspended by rain last night. 4 to 4.

[Captain Hate]

I don't have any trouble cheering for the Yankess over Maher's Mutts; especially when you factor in the Wilpons' disgusting arrangement with Madoff.

[PMain]

LEt's not forget game 5 of Stanley Cup Finals.

[Danube of Thought]

I have hated the Celtics with every fiber of my being for over fifty years. I hope they lose tonight, but if that doesn't happen I will say many rosaries for the Thunder.

[maryrose]

Thunder, Thunder, Thunderation!
Let the Okies prevail.

[Vikingpundit.blogspot.com]

Don't forget that the LA Kings could win their first Stanley Cup after 45 years as a franchise.

That said, my beloved Devils will win.

[Captain Hate]

Judging from other threads, the trolls must have bet a bundle on "I'll Have Another" in the last 24 hours.

[peter]

Rooting for the Devils, because I always root against LA teams, and for the Yankees, because of Maher, (and I am a Yankee fan) and for Stony Brook, because it is on Long Island, and... oh, who cares? I am sure no one.

[Jane]

How can you hate the Celtics? That's impossible.

[Alex]

Don't forget cycling's Tour of Switzerland, the Criterium du Dauphine, and soccor's Eurocup 2012.

I'm rooting for the Celtics, Djokovic, and the Mets.

[Jack is Back]

How about those Sea Wolves from Stony Brook going 2 up on LSU? Feel good story if only for 5 innings. Netherlands are dominating Denmark but are losing 1-0.

And at wet Edgbaston, the Westies are 264 for 7 in the 92nd over. Even narciso can understand that score.

[matt]

It is very possible after being in a Boston bar during the NBA Finals as the lone Laker fan. I sat like a stone the whole game or would have found myself in a dark alley with a bunch of goons.

Having said that, it was even better to be in the same Boston bar a year later when the Lakers finally beat Boston in Boston for the Crown. One can gloat very well without saying a word.

And yes, it would be very sweet to beat the Devils on their own ice for the Cup.

[matt]

€9 Billion to €18 Billion to € 24 Billion to €100 Billion. European math is hard! LUN

[Holly]

My son is catching the opening pitch at the Reds game this afternoon in Cinci. Question: is this something that is typically televised? It was a last minute arrangement yesterday at GE (it's GE day at the Reds), too late to book a flight to personally view his performance. So I'm wondering if I can catch it on the computer or DirectTV. Gotta see if I'm claiming him or delegating to "yup, daddy's boy."

[MarkO]

I want the Joker Slam.

[Captain Hate]

How can you hate the Celtics? That's impossible.

Maybe when the Big 3 amble off to retirement the team will be more likeable.

[MarkO]

I liked Russ. But, then I moved to LA. Magic.

[Ignatz]

I've always liked the Celtics. Even have a soft spot for the Cowens era guys; loved to watch Paul Silas bang the offensive boards.

[Ignatz]

A question to any horse racing experts out there.
What are the odds they scratched I'll Have Another cause he's worth more at stud as a 'he woulda won the triple crown if he'd just had a chance' as opposed to just another 'he blew it at the Belmont' horse?

[Dave (in MA)]

The NBA was selling Thunder shirts with "Beat the Heat" on 'em as early as yesterday.

Maybe "KJ and Hondo" can use that as motivation.

[Captain Hate]

Iggy, I'll take them at their word that they did it out of concern for the horse's well being.

[Jane]

I admit I haven't watched the celtics since Larry Bird, but they seemed like a fine bunch of guys back then.

[Ken Hahn]

The Yankees? The Celtics? I'd rather root for the IRS.

[peter]

Iggy, that is a possibility, but not all male horses are studs. They have to be alpha males. Secretariat was notoriously a dud as a stud.

[Jack is Back]

CH,

Wasn't Red Aurebach a DeMatha guy?

[Rocco]

What a buffoon that Mumbles Menino is. Check out Howie Carr's Mumbles site with all his gaffe's. (Howie's new website is pretty good too)

http://mumblesmenino.us/

[Ignatz]

--Iggy, that is a possibility, but not all male horses are studs. They have to be alpha males. Secretariat was notoriously a dud as a stud.--

I'd heard that too peter, but wikipedia says his daughters' lines did considerably better than his sons'.
In any event, even if he was a dud, he made a lot more after retiring than he did racing.

[Captain Hate]

Wasn't Red Aurebach a DeMatha guy?

Thank God no.

[Jack is Back]

CH,

He had a DC connection and I thought it was DeMatha? But it was GWU and St. Albans. He coached St. Albans - first job. Still, what you got against Red?

[daddy]

Just tying up some loose ends:

[daddy]

Jane,

Nice first segment of the latest FWD&you.

Apparently Dick thinks the Walker Recall Election was close.

Whatever.

[Captain Hate]

Still, what you got against Red?

He once challenged Chamberlain to a fight knowing full well he wouldn't take the offer and clean his clock. Red was obviously a good basketball coach but I can't respect somebody that pulls crap like that. I certainly can't imagine Morgan Wootten doing that. During my sophomore year at DeMatha, after losing to Power Memorial and Lew Alcinder, the following day he did nothing but praise the New York star. The following year the Stags dealt him his last, and maybe only, loss in high school.

[matt]

Auerbach was a nogoodnik. Petty, nasty, a condescending winner and a poor loser. He had a bag of dirty tricks larger than Santa has toys. He was a winner, but there wasn't a lot noble about it.

[Thomas Collins]

Ignatz, see LUN for an article suggesting that the risk was that I'll Have Another might have been further injured and required to be euthanized, thus ending the chance for juicy stud fees. I think this makes sense. As mentioned in the article, a Belmont Loss doesn't prevent a Derby and Preakness winner from commanding good stud fees.

[Ignatz]

Thanks TC. I have no doubt he was seriously hurt, but when there's that much money on the line who knows.

Interesting conjecture in that wiki article I cited is that the gene for Secretariat's enormous heart is only passed through mares, which would account for his descendants on the mare side of his offspring being so much more impressive than the stallion side.

[GMax]

Robert Tracinski:

Wisconsin is the bellwether for that cultural-political shift, but it is not the only example. Two less-heralded votes on Tuesday were held in California, where voters in San Diego and San Jose—hardly bastions of conservatism—approved referendums cutting back on benefits for government employees. In San Jose, the measure was approved by a 70%-30% margin.

Back when Democrats took control of the House of Representative in 2006, as the public turned against President Bush, I predicted that the Democrats were nonetheless facing an eventual day of reckoning. They had won their majorities in the House and Senate largely by recruiting scores of conservative "blue dog" Democrats. But these conservative Democrats were merely used as cannon fodder to support far-left legislation like Obamacare. As we faced a crisis of mounting government debt, these congressmen had to go back to their constituents and explain why they were still in favor of fiscal restraint, even as they support a president who keeps running trillion-dollar deficits. The result is that the Blue Dog Caucus in the House has been reduced from 54 members after the 2008 election to 26 after the 2010 election, and after November, it may be winnowed down to as few as 10 congressmen.

Paul Ryan summed up the trend after the 2010 election, and events are bearing him out: "Reagan Democrats are becoming Reagan Democrats again." Democrats who are not adherents of the socialist hard left are becoming appalled at the out-of-control growth of government, and they will support any politician who has the will and the courage to rein it in.

[peter]

I've got Atigun to win, Dullahan to show and My Adonis to show.

[Robert]

Let's not forget the Rolex Race from Mid-Ohio this afternoon, IRL race tonight from Texas (no Danica) as well as the Kings v. Devils from NJ.

And tomorrow we have F1 race from Montreal and the Nascar race from the Long pond (i.e., Pocono).

[Thomas Collins]

Union Rags runs down Painter to take the riches in the Belmont.

[Captain Hate]

I agree, GMax, that significant positive news from DoT, cc, Sara, DrJ and Iggy's state (apologies to anybody I've inadvertently omitted) has been overshadowed by the Wisconsin events. But not ignored or unappreciated.

[DrJ]

And Frau, TK, matt, JimMtnView, macphisto, and Enlightened. Can we count Caro, since her daughter lives here?

[Ignatz]

Where's Elliott from (I thought CA?) and where's Elliott period.

[DrJ]

I knew there was one I forgot! Yes, Elliott is from CA. There's probably more I've missed.

[Captain Hate]

Is glasater from the Golden State?

[DrJ]

No, she's up in WA.

[Jane]

Apparently Dick thinks the Walker Recall Election was close.

Daddy,

A week ago he didn't think it even mattered so I consider that an improvement.

Our producer didn't make it Thursday so they are showing a rerun from April on TV. It's interesting to see how things have changed.

[Danube of Thought]

When the Lakers beat the Celtics twice in the Showtime Era, the highlight of it all was Auerbach's churlish reaction. Then when the Zenmaster began to overtake his record of total titles, he had nary a single gracious word to say. He just mumbled about Phil having had great players, as if he hadn't had Russell, Jones, Cousy, Sanders, Heihnsohn et al. A genuine discredit to sport.

[MarkO]

The great Celtic argument was whether Russ made Red or Red made Russ.

[jimmyk]

Secretariat was notoriously a dud as a stud.

That's a bit exaggerated. There was some initial disappointment, but in the end produced some winners. Per Wiki:

Canadian Bound was a complete failure in racing, so for several years, the value of Secretariat's offspring declined considerably. However, he eventually sired a number of major stakes winners, including 1986 Horse of the Year Lady's Secret, 1988 Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Risen Star, 1990 Melbourne Cup winner Kingston Rule, which broke the course record in Australia's richest race, and the 1994, 1995 winner of the G1 Pacific Classic, Tinners Way, born in 1990 to Secretariat's last crop.

He also sired General Assembly, which won the 1979 Travers Stakes at Saratoga while setting a still-standing race record of 2:00 flat.

[Captain Hate]

The great Celtic argument was whether Russ made Red or Red made Russ.

Impossible to determine; they're joined at the legendary status. I was disappointed that Russ retired before facing Abdul Jabbar; but Russ did things his way. Nobody ever talks about Wilt's Sixer championship team but they were one stocked crew of studs. Luke Jackson was a complete badass at strong forward; Chet the Bradley Jet Walker at small forward; Hal Greer (last person to jump shoot free throws) at one guard and Wally (Wali?) Jones at another (I think Larry Costello was in the mix at the end of his career) and Billy Cunningham off the bench as the sixth man. Beat the Celtics in 6 as Wilt put together a series of dominant performances (there was one picture in SI of him grabbing a rebound where he looked more gigantic than usual), and then on to Golden State for the championship. Lost to the Celts the following year when Wilt started getting wanderlust and that was that. Abdul Jabbar then set the competitive balance completely on its ear in a way that only basketball, with its small number of people on the court, can do.

[Ignatz]

--Nobody ever talks about Wilt's Sixer championship team but they were one stocked crew of studs.--

I'm still not sure they weren't the single best single season team ever.

[daddy]

C'mon Celt's.

Don't crumble now. Miami back in the lead for the first time since way early in the first. Ughh.

[MarkO]

Wilt would make today's players weep. No one has ever been like him. Teamed with Jerry West with Bill Sharman (Celtic) as coach they ran off 33 straight games. He was unstoppable.

[daddy]

Why's that gal in the Snorg T's ad on the top left wearing men's underwear?

Meh.

[Captain Hate]

Let's get this Final ON! Go Thunder!!!

[Danube of Thought]

There is something close to ecstasy in our wikiup. The Hated Ones actually had a 4th quarter lead, and visions of the Finals dancing in their heads. Then they were crushed.

The ones I feel sorry for are the poor homeless winos in Southie, as Murph, Tommy-boy and Sully saunter out, florid-faced, to stomp ever vagrant and set fire to every car in Southie so as to remind the world yet again what a Boston sports fan is.

Tough luck, assholes.

[daddy]

DoT,

I was pulling against LeBraun but your 11:30 sure has me giggling:)

[Captain Hate]

I hope Satan made Johnny Most watch tonight's game as part of his eternal torment.

[GHD Australia Sale]

On festive occasions more than ever one thinks of one's dear ones far away.It is on the festival occasions when one misses his dear most.

[Captain Hate]

Condolences to TC and the other Celtic fans. Even though the team was outgunned, it took Chris Bosh hitting three three pointers as LeBron again confounds his fans by disappearing in the last 5 minutes of a key game.

The casual viewer who only watches the Finals is about to meet Kevin Durant and a team that was built intelligently through the draft and a couple key trades. They beat a San Antonio team that was poised to assume legend status, having not lost a game in over a month. Prepare to be impressed. Plus Durant is a very likeable player who was working hard on his game 2 summers ago as LeBron was organizing tasteless television shows around his ego.

[peter]

Thank you, JimmyK, for the correction on Secretariat's progeny.

[Jane]

Tough luck, assholes.

Hey!

[Rocco]

Thanks CH

And congratulations to the Heat and their fans

An asshole

[Thomas Collins]

Thanks, CH. I'm glad to see Bosh making a nice recovery. It was a tough 4th quarter for me to watch, but the Heat earned it. No excuses. If the Big Three is broken up next year, it was a great five year run.

As between the Heat and OKC, I like both teams. I am going to root for OKC becasue I always enjoyed Kendrick Perkins' play when he was with Boston.

[Porchlight]

Holly, that is cool! How did it go?

[Captain Hate]

And yes, it would be very sweet to beat the Devils on their own ice for the Cup.

Even though the Kings had far more shots on goal while I was watching, they looked like they were just going through the motions based on what I expect in a Cup close-out game.

Hopefully last night's disgraceful boxing decision will put the final nail in the coffin of that garbage excuse for a sport.