Classic rivalries can spice up any sports season, and this year is no different. When two heavyweights battle one another, fans go wild. This week’s TINK celebrates some favorite current season rivalries (and a few classic pop culture ones too).
National Basketball Association (NBA)
David conquered Goliath this week as young point guard Damian Lillard outplayed reigning MVP Stephen Curry. Lillard’s Portland Trailblazers dominated the Golden State Warriors 137-105 Friday and Lillard aka “Baby Dame” was Droppin Dimes with 51 points and seven assists.
The next night, Curry bounced back triumphing over fellow State Farm assist man and point guard rival Chris Paul. Despite a late run by the Los Angeles Clippers, Curry’s Warriors held on to win 115-112. The Warriors improved to an amazing 49-5 and are chasing the NBA regular season record of 72-10 held by Michael Jordan and his 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls. Just like MJ, the Warriors know that sometimes the greatest rivalry is between yourself and…yourself.
Playing big. Anthony Davis, the 6’10” New Orleans Pelicans star, scored a season-high 59 points and had 20 rebounds in a win versus the Detroit Pistons. Davis joins Shaquille O’Neal and Chris Webber as the only NBA players with 50 points and 20 rebounds in a game since 1983. In another stud performance, Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside (who stands 7’0”), playing without All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, had 25 points and 23 rebounds in a win over the Orlando Magic Saturday.
College Basketball
In college basketball’s most intense rivalry, think Tupac and Biggie or Kanye versus Taylor Swift, #20 Duke stunned #5 North Carolina 74-73 Wednesday despite trailing most of the game. (The schools are just eight miles apart but couldn’t be more different). Duke had the tables turned on them Saturday as Louisville used a big second half run to beat the Blue Devils 71-64.
Want to be a top-5 team? Not last Wednesday. In another stunning night of upsets, #3 Oklahoma, #4 Iowa and #5 North Carolina all fell on the same evening. Not all is lost as Carolina and Oklahoma bounced back with big victories on Saturday.
After all the upsets, here is this week’s AP Top-5:
#1 Villanova
#2 Kansas
#3 Virginia
#4 Oklahoma
#5 Xavier
And to prove nobody is immune, newly minted Top-5 Virginia lost Monday to #12 Miami 64-61.
LSU’s freshman phenom Ben Simmons is facing his toughest rival yet: studying. Simmons, the most talented player in the country, found himself in the hot seat because of “academic issues” and did not start Saturday’s game versus Tennessee. LSU lost 81-65 and at 16-11 is in jeopardy of not making the NCAA Tournament (aka March Madness).
End of an Era. In women’s college basketball this week, Tennessee was outside the Top-25 for the first time in 31 years. To put that in perspective, in 1985 Ronald Reagan was the US president and Wham’s “Carless Whisper” was the year’s #1 song. Also, hairstyles looked like this.
National Hockey League (NHL)
The Washington Capitals continue to dominate the Eastern Conference and are led by three-time MVP Alex Ovechkin. Russian rivalry? Ovi was once an item with fellow Russian, tennis player Maria Kirilenko, but is now engaged to Russian model Nastya Shubskaya.
The top of the Western Conference is more intriguing as the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues are all battling for top billing. Chicago is led by Patrick Kane, a rare American hockey mega-star, while Dallas has a potent offense (#2 in the league) and St. Louis is riding a superb defense (#2 in the league).
Major League Baseball (MLB)
Winter blues? Think Arizona and Florida. At least that’s where the baseball world is in February and March. Pitchers and Catchers reported to Spring Training last week, while the rest of the players are arriving this week.
If you thought we just finished baseball season…we did. It was November 1st when the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets to win the 2015 World Series.
Mark your calendar…the MLB season starts April 3rd.
Racing (NASCAR)
You know who else was in Florida this weekend? The racing world. That’s right, the folks that travel 150+ mph around the track in super-fast cars.
The Daytona 500 took place Sunday and Denny Hamlin edged out Martin Truex Jr. in a photo finish (more precisely, by 0.010 seconds – the closest finish on record). This was the first Sprint Cup Series race but don’t worry there are 35 more events for racing rivalries to play out. The final one takes place November 20th in Miami.
Remember at TINK Sports we watch the games so you don’t have to.
See you next time…
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