The Home Stretch

Hold on to your hat…TINK this week pays tribute to a champion horse and looks at the basketball and hockey playoffs speeding around the track toward the conference championships.

 

Horse Racing

Horses for courses…The 142^nd Kentucky Derby took place on Saturday. Amid the crazy hats and Mint Juleps, the overwhelming favorite, Nyquist won the race. In case you were wondering, Nyquist’s owner is a Detroit Red Wings fan and named the horse after Gustav Nyquist, a Swedish winger for the NHL squad. For a touch of good luck, the horse got a visit from the Stanley Cup hours before the race.

The second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, will be run Saturday, May 21 at Pimlico in Baltimore.

 

Boxing

Winning by a nose…the action continued on Saturday night in Las Vegas as Mexican phenom Saul “Canelo” Alvarez put his middleweight title on the line against former champion and British boxer Amir “King” Khan. Despite being a 4-1 underdog, Khan was leading the fight after five rounds, but Alvarez won by knockout in the 6^th round. With the win, Alvarez raised his record to 47-1-1 with 33 knockouts.

Up next for Alvarez – if he wants to keep his title – is a mandatory fight against undefeated Kazakh boxer Gennady Golovkin (35-0 with 32 knockouts).

 

National Basketball Association (NBA)

Western Conference:

Playing without their star, two-time MVP Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors got a wake up call losing to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday. Damian Lillard dropped dimes with 40 points in the victory.

Welcome back Curry…Steph returned to action Monday night and delivered in spectacular fashion. The MVP came off the bench to score 40 points (including an NBA record 17 in overtime) and added nine rebounds and eight assists leading his team to a 132-125 overtime victory. The Warriors lead the series 3-1 and can clinch at home in Oakland on Wednesday.

Champing at the bit…After a 32-point Spurs win in Game 1, the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder have played three close games. The Thunder beat the Spurs Sunday night behind thoroughbred Kevin Durant’s playoff-career-high-tying 41 points, and the series is knotted 2-2, resuming in the Alamo City Tuesday.

Eastern Conference:

The Miami Heat tied their series with the Toronto Raptors, aka Drake’s favorite squad, 2-2 with an overtime win at home Monday. Dwyane Wade is carrying his Heat team, scoring 38 points in Saturday’s loss and 30 points in Monday’s victory.

Hitting their stride…The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks 100-99 Sunday, sweeping their opponents from the ATL 4-0 after also sweeping the Detroit Pistons in the first round. LeBron James and his Cavs await the Toronto-Miami winner in the Eastern Conference Finals.

 

National Hockey League (NHL)

Down the stretch they come…In the NHL playoffs, one Eastern Conference semifinal series is still alive, while in the West, both semifinals are going to a deciding seventh game.

 Eastern Conference

• The Washington Capitals, the regular season’s best team, defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday to narrow the Penguins’ series lead to 3-2. Pittsburgh can close out the series at home on Tuesday
• The Tampa Bay Lightning, led by playoff MVP candidate Victor Hedman, defeated the New York Islanders 4-0 Sunday to close out their series 4-1

Western Conference

• The Dallas Stars beat the Louis Blues in St. Louis on Monday to tie their series 3-3. The deciding game is Wednesday in Dallas
• Meanwhile, an hour later and 300 miles away, the Nashville Predators defeated the San Jose Sharks at home in overtime to force a seventh game Thursday in San Jose

 

Major League Baseball (MLB)

Zika is taking its toll on sports, too. Concerns over the virus have forced Major League Baseball to move the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins two-game series from Puerto Rico. The teams will meet on May 30^th and 31^st in Miami with many in Puerto Rico feeling left behind the pack.

Baseball is back in the Windy City. The Chicago Cubs (24-6) own the best record in baseball and have the North Side buzzing. The young Cubs were expected to be excellent this year and have not disappointed. They have their sights set on winning the World Series, something they haven’t done since 1908. Cubs fans are trying not to put the cart before the horse as there are several months of baseball left.

South Side rivals, the Chicago White Sox (23-10), lead the American League and are the surprise team in baseball as most predicted the Sox to finish in the middle of the pack.

Some in Chi-Town are placing bets on an all-Chicago World Series. Both teams are paced by superstar pitchers who lead their league in wins: Chris Sale (7) for the White Sox and Jake Arrieta, the defending CY Young award winner (best pitcher) (6), for the Cubs.

 

Remember at TINK Sports we watch the games so you don’t have to.
See you next time…