As we enter the third week of May it’s time to say Hello and Goodbye. We have television seasons ending, series finales, and teams being eliminated from the playoffs in basketball and hockey. But on the bright side, we have new movies, new music and some happy fans watching their teams advance deeper into the playoffs.
We say a scandalized goodbye to NFL star and Hall of Famer Michael Strahan who is abruptly leaving “Live! With Kelly and Michael” and Kelly Ripa to join “Good Morning America.” Can’t wait to say hi again to Scandal, Modern Family, Empire, Grey’s Anatomy and more in September.
Say hello right now to new music from Beyonce (Lemonade), Drake (Views), Meghan Trainor (Thank You) and even a new Carpool Karaoke with James Corden and Gwen Stefani. Watch as they pick up two people who say they have nothing better to do: Julia Roberts and George Clooney.
National Basketball Association (NBA)
We’ve reached the NBA conference finals and the stakes keep growing.
In the West we say a possible final goodbye to future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan and his San Antonio Spurs who, despite having the second-best record in the league, lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in six games. Like “The Good Wife,” this is likely the end of an era for the Spurs’ “Big-3” (Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili) who have won four championships together.
Must see TV…the Western Conference Finals feature the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder. On one hand, the Warriors have won a record 73 regular season games and are led by two-time MVP Stephen Curry, but on the other hand, the Thunder have arguably two of the five best players in the game: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
In Game one of the series Monday night, the Thunder dropped the Warriors in Oakland 108-102 behind 27 points and 12 assists by Russell Westbrook. The OKC star was unstoppable in the second half, like he was in his Mountain Dew commercial. The series resumes on Wednesday before moving to Oklahoma City Sunday. Tune in later this week to see how it all shakes out.
The Toronto Raptors, feeling good about #1 fan Drake’s SNL appearance, needed seven games to advance to their first Eastern Conference Finals in franchise history. Awaiting the Raptors are the Cleveland Cavaliers. Their series tips off Tuesday night.
No rest for the weary…The Raptors are a bit tired having played 14 playoff games already this season. LeBron James and his Cavs should be well rested, having swept their first two opponents 4-0, and were last seen on the court more than a week ago.
National Hockey League (NHL)
Like the NBA, the NHL playoffs are in the conference semifinal round. Hockey in May? Yes, but you may be surprised at the cities battling for the Stanley Cup.
The Tampa Bay Lightning said sayonara to starting goalie Ben Bishop (leg injury) in their Eastern Conference Finals opener Saturday versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. No worries, though, as Lightning struck and they won the game. The Penguins recovered with a 3-2 overtime victory on Monday. The series is now tied 1-1 and resumes in Tampa Wednesday.
The St. Louis Blues defeated the San Jose Sharks 2-1 Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in their Western Conference Finals behind outstanding goaltending from Brian Elliot. Game two is Tuesday in St. Louis.
Major League Baseball (MLB)
Parting is such sweet sorrow…We will be saying goodbye to the great Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz at the end of the season. (Who can forget his selfie with President Obama). Big Papi worked his magic again on Saturday hitting a two-out triple in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the Houston Astros 5-5. In his next at bat, Ortiz doubled to drive in the winning run and became the third player in MLB history to have over 500 Home Runs and 600 Doubles. #HolaPapi
The Chicago Cubs won two of their three games with the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend and are saying bye bye to the ball and the rest of baseball with a 27-9 record, by far the best mark in the league.
“Say Hello To My Little Friend”…In a sport that rarely has real fighting, Texas Rangers’ Rougned Odor landed a huge punch on Toronto Blue Jays star Jose Bautista. Odor will be seeing more of his family soon as he will certainly be suspended by MLB. This beef dates back to last years’ playoffs when Bautista flipped his bat after hitting a home run, angering the Rangers and their fans. #ARangerNeverForgets
Also This Week
Pencil it in…the second leg of the horse racing Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, will take place Saturday in Baltimore. All eyes are on Nyquist, the horse named after an NHL hockey player who won the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago. Here is a taste of Baltimore to get you in the spirit.
Remember at TINK Sports we watch the games so you don’t have to.
See you next time…
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