The NBA and NHL playoffs keep marching along with both leagues advancing to their conference semifinals. The annual football right of passage, the NFL Draft, took place last week generating plenty of buzz and even fashion commentary.
National Basketball Association (NBA)
The NBA playoffs steamed ahead with no real surprises in the first round. Fans are hoping for improved competition this week.
Eastern Conference
Playing through the pain…Celtics star guard Isaiah Thomas’ sister passed away just before the playoffs began. Struggling to contain his emotions, Thomas mustered the strength to lead his team to a first-round victory over the Chicago Bulls. He then flew home to attend his sister’s funeral before the second-round opener Sunday versus the Washington Wizards. If that wasn’t difficult enough, Thomas lost a tooth in the Wizards series opener but still managed to score a game-high 33 points in a Celtics triumph.
(Source: Yahoo! Sports)
The other matchup pits the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers against the Toronto Raptors, a series that was very competitive in last year’s playoffs. Domestic or Imported? Cavs star LeBron James was so cool he took the time to drink a beer (almost) in a 116-105 Game 1 victory.
Source: For the Win
Western Conference
The league’s best team, the Golden State Warriors, swept their first round series last week and were home eating nachos waiting for their next opponent. Sunday’s victory over the LA Clippers meant that the Utah Jazz were rewarded with facing the NBA’s top squad. The Warriors not-so-secretly were pulling for Los Angeles because there’s no nightlife in Utah.
Texas two-step…The Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs might be the best second-round matchup on paper but you wouldn’t know it from the Rockets’ 126-99 Game 1 blowout victory. The Spurs get a shot at redemption Wednesday night as the series resumes in San Antonio.
National Hockey League (NHL)
The NHL playoffs are quickly approaching the conference finals with action heating up across the US and Canada.
Eastern Conference
Home cooking? No thanks. Playing at home is proving a bad omen for the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Caps had the league’s best regular season record but that didn’t mean much to the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins who took the first two games in the nation’s capital. The Caps returned the favor in Pittsburgh Monday with an overtime victory, cutting their series deficit to 2-1.
Trouble in Gotham…The Ottawa Senators lead the New York Rangers 2-0 with game three and four in New York Tuesday and Thursday nights.
Western Conference
The Edmonton Oilers have the league’s brightest young star in Connor McDavid (a mere 20 years old) while the Nashville Predators continue to surprise hockey prognosticators as they keep winning. Both teams lead their series 2-1.
National Football League (NFL)
In front of an impressive 70,000 fans in Philadelphia, the 2017 NFL Draft began Thursday night and continued into the weekend. The Cleveland Browns, the worst team in the league, selected Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett first overall. A beast on the field, Jarrett loves the beasts of the past, dinosaurs, off the field.
Dolce & Gabbana should have been proud…Fashion was on full display at this year’s draft.
Source: SportsonEarth.com
Is your insurance up-to-date? Michigan’s Jake Butt’s is, thankfully. Butt was a projected late first round draft pick, which brings with it a roughly $4 million signing bonus. Butt, however, tore his ACL in Michigan’s post season Bowl win and fell to the fifth round. His signing bonus was less than $400,000 but he did get an estimated $543,000 in an insurance payout.
In a heart-warming display, Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson announced a Cards’ pick from the Grand Canyon with the wife and son of fallen Phoenix police officer David Glasser.
The youngest addition to the NFL family came Friday night when Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson and Ciara announced the birth of their baby girl, Sienna Princess Wilson.
Soccer
Not everyone is obsessed with Brexit in the UK…In English Premier League action over the weekend Chelsea scored three second-half goals to beat Everton 3-0 and moved closer to the EPL title. Tottenham remains on their tail after nailing down a win over Arsenal.
Major League Baseball (MLB)
A couple baseball performances over the weekend stood out.
Welcome to New York…Friday night Matt Holiday, an off-season acquisition, earned his New York Yankees stripes with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10 inning to beat the Baltimore Orioles 14-11 after being down 9-1 earlier in the game.
He did what? Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon had one of the best games in MLB history Sunday going 6-for-6 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in a 23-5 win over the New York Mets. Rendon became just the second player in baseball history to have such a game (the only other guy did it in 1949).
Share the TINK Sports love.
Remember at TINK Sports we watch the games so you don’t have to.
See you next time…
Recent Comments