by John Walters
Hands up if you want to wish John Carlos (R) (June 5) and Tommie Smith (L) (June 6) happy birthdays. They turn 70 and 71 this weekend.
Starting Five
Feat of Klay meets Feet of Clay. My work is done here.
1. Hey Now, Heyyyy Now, Don’t Dream It’s Over
Game 1 of the NBA Finals: Did KI become KIA (and I’m not talking about a car that Blake Griffin hawks)?
Yes, LeBron James was magnificent in the 108-100 overtime loss: 44 points, eight rebounds, six assists. And yes, I’m allowed to point out (ducks as Susie B. tosses a shoe his way) that King James might’ve taken a better shot at the end of regulation. Why did he pull a Harden: you drive to the hoop all night, creating havoc, being able to dish for a Mozgov Cocktail or get a foul call, and then when winning time comes, you settle for a fallaway jumper from beyond the arc? WHY!?!?
(I’m sure we’ll get an answer in the Comments section…)
Cleveland outplayed Golden State most of the night, and Stephen Curry was merely mortal (26 points — the real MVP was “Night of the Iguodala”), but GSW still wins. Now 5-0 as a franchise in Finals games since moving to Oakland.
LeBron James, now 11-17 in NBA Finals games. Michael Jordan, 24-11. Brought to you by “Don’t Shoot The Messenger” productions.
Anyway, it felt like the series was over because of the way Kyrie Irving limped off court during overtime after making that game-saving block against Curry in the final :30 of regulation. Irving is still only 23 and the Cavs have $80 million invested in him over the next five years. If you watched the San Antonio game a few months ago, you understand just how brilliant a player Irving — the 2014 All-Star Game MVP — can be.
You don’t want to mess with his knees long-term. Of course, this series will only run until August, so you wonder if he’ll be healed by then. If it were me, I’d sit him. At least through the next game. Start Matthew Dellavedova, count on him to take out at least two Warrior starters with his “spirited play,” and that’ll even things up.
2. Blatt, Blatter, Blattest
This is going to make a wonderful profile pic for his OurTime.com page
In a week in which Cleveland Cavalier coach LeBron James David Blatt and FIFA president Sepp Blatter have been in the news, the editorial staff here at MH — I refer to them simply as “The Danettes” — have been picking their brains to determine what sports figure is the “Blattest.” And what actually that term implies.
And we still don’t know, but we are going to single out Marine Corps vet George Hood, 57, above, as the Blattest man alive this week for setting a new world record in planking (5 hours, 15 minutes, 15 seconds…. and thereby crushing our personal best of nine seconds). That’s some awesome endurance. Hood is like a machine. Almost like a…fort.
Hood dedicated his effort to, and raised money for, the Semper Fi Fund, which helps wounded vets, which is very cool.
3. Brodacious
Vince, Drama, Turtle and E. show up on Ellen and play “I Never.” Also, we learn that Jerry Ferrara worked at a Boston Market in the neighborhood and was Employee of the Month seven times.
4. The Mountains Win Again*
“Damn! I just remembered I locked my keys in the van.”
Only 19 years after the fact, the story of the 1996 tragedy on Mount Everest, so chillingly (pun intended; they always are with me) told by Jon Krakauer in his best-selling book, Into Thin Air, comes to the big screen. Starring Josh Brolin, Robin Wright (schwing!) Jake Gyllenhaal and featuring many scenes of Keira Knightley talking into a phone (“AC-ting! Thank you!”).
Set for a mid-September release. Seems like an IMAX-worthy film, no?
Here’s the trailer. Little-known fact: Filmed entirely in Toronto.
*If this tune does not make the soundtrack, I don’t know anything.
5. AP Ranking
Two good-looking thorobreds (I have no idea if that makes any equine sense): American Pharoah and Josh Elliott
Well, if American Pharoah wins the Triple Crown tomorrow, he’ll be No. 1, no? That’s all I got. Go read the always terrific and never unprepared Tim Layden at SI if you want to know more. All I really know about horse racing is that the athletes are three years old and that the one trainer anyone cares about will either be played by John Slattery or Don Johnson in the movie, and that writers are compelled to try to find a new angle on his story every year, which seems almost as tiring as it is tiresome.
Also, if I know SI, and if I know their horsey editor, somehow the mag will find a way — and it should — to have the great William Nack pen a column about the historical signifiance of it all.
And remember, kids: Secretariat was not the last horse to win the Triple Crown. It only feels that way (Affirmed, in 1978; Alydar may be the greatest runner-up of all time, with apologies to Stockton & Malone).
Music 101
7 Stars
Besides appearing on The Colbert Report a couple of times, The Apples in Stereo, a quasi-psychedelic outfit from Denver, have never found the national acclaim that at least I feel they’re worthy of. This tune is from 2007 off their New Magnetic Wonder CD. I don’t think it ever charted, but I’m a fan.
Remote Patrol
SATURDAY SATURDAY SATURDAY!
UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona vs. Juventus
FOX 2 p.m. (pre-show; kickoff at 2;45 after all the Heineken ads)
Messi, Suarez and Neymar, the South American troika, take on some nasty Italians.
Belmont Stakes
NBC 4:30 p.m. (pre-show; post time is almost two hours later)
I’ve always wondered if Aqueduct even stages races on this day…..
1. Lebron’s hit that shot twice in his career at Oracle so he probably figured he’d go 3 for 3.
2. They said on the radio today that LBJ likes to be able to watch the clock so he can get a final shot. by posting or driving, he can’t do both.
3. Warriors last final appearance in 1975 was played at Cow Palace in SF because arena was booked for Ice Capades.
4. From Wikipedia: Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse-racing facility and racino in South Ozone Park, Queens, New York City. Its racing meets usually are from late October/early November through April.
“Check out the big brain on Brad!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hrm-rPSCIBw
4. True story, one day I took the back trails through the Superstitions Mountains to Weaver’s Needle with a hiking buddy (and erstwhile Yankees pitcher). Much to his chagrin, J.J. later realized he’d locked his keys in the car. We had two bleak choices:
1) break a window 2) interrupt his wife’s hair appointment and ask her to drive 40+ miles to save us.
As she pulled up 1.5 hours later, J. J. deadpanned: “Don’t forget to tell Alice how nice her hair looks.”
One pique < Four Peaks
As a member of CAVS nation (yes, involuntarily drafted but “ALL IN” now), last night was a mixture of the “life lessons” & fighting Tyson. Yep, everyone has a plan till they get punched in the face. Or gut, as all CAVs fans doubled over in hysterical pain when Kyrie went down. Which brings me to the life teaching – here we were, at the FINALS, all except LBJ being talked of by the NBA “experts” for the past 7 days as barely competent, especially compared to the mighty Warriors “best team in the NBA, blah, blah, blah”. And we come out BLAZING! Kyrie is not only IN the game but almost like himself! Hologram no more! It was glorious. I didn’t just get giddy, I got hopeful that we really DID have a chance to win the title! Ok, sure, the Warriors came back (when LEBRON took a rest at beginning of 2nd quarter (which NOT ONE of those TV talkers mentioned later!), but the Cavs & Warriors were neck & neck thru 4 quarters & I really thought we’d win. ON the Warrior’s HOME floor! I was already thinking of my opening MH comment “alright, alright, ALRIGHT!”
As for LBJ’s final shot of regulation, um, well, like okerland says – he’s hit the shot from there before? And he had 42 points by that time so his shootin’ was slumpin’ no more (47% to be exact, which is under my “recommended 52%” but not bad!). Actually, I’d have preferred if he’d bulldozed to the hoop & jammed it down, gloriously silencing that at times obnoxiously loud crowd but maybe LBJ saw the defensive scheme & figured that would have just wasted seconds. A shot is better than no shot.
And then came OT. His previous team shined in playoffs’ OT. And so has this Cavs team until last night. Exhaustion? And then the “gut punch”. Ohhhhhh noooooooooooo! From giddy belief to hysterical ‘God really does hate Cleveland!’ in 10 measly seconds. Life is cruel. At least for Cleveland sports fans.
I’m so proud of the Cavs’ effort last night. They were THISCLOSE. At the overwhelming favorite’s HOME floor! But without Kyrie close to 70% or more going forward, I’m not optimistic. I think TT & JR are just as good as ANY of the Warriors (save Steph) when they are clicking, & Moz was & is great at times but it’s true that the Warriors have MORE good players & thus can rest their key guys. But if we had Love & a healthy Kyrie? Not only do I think we’d win, but we’d do it in 5.
So, to sum up last night – I went from little hope to giddy hope to no hope in less than 3 hours. But you know, when we lost Love & Kyrie went lame, I didn’t think we’d get past the Bulls! (Hangs head). And then the #1 Hawks were supposed to be, well, #1 in the East. Did *I* think the Cavs would go thru them like a hot knife thru butter? Hell, no. Not without Kyrie! The fact that LeBron got this team into the Finals STILL has me “on top of the world, eh”. Also, I thought the HEAT were going to crush the Spurs last year in Games 3&4, so you just never know what will happen in the Finals. (As long as the AC keeps running). 😉
As for Jordan – how many Finals games would he have won without Pippen, Grant, & later Rodman? He could NEVER have gotten this Cavs team to the Finals. He’d have crushed their confidence & they’d have lost to the, er, Bulls, in 4.
The problem with horse racing is that it is barely ‘cleaner’ than boxing. And I’m not talking about the stalls… Anyhoo, I watch the Triple Crown races every year but my one & only fave racehorse is Secretariat. He was an equine Tebow/LBJ. I just loved him, big & chesty. (Yes, yes, I do have a “type”…). Watching him come down the stretch at Belmont seemingly in a different race than his far trailing competitors still gives me chills & teary eyes when I think of it.
Couple more things (it’s Friday, I’m chatty today) –
“Feat of Klay meets Feet of Clay” cracked me up. Albeit painfully. It’s so jdubs.
And last night was not a total gut-wrenching loss (of game & maybe key player for series) – it prompted jdubs to state (correctly) that “Cleveland outplayed Golden State most of the night” AND he also acknowledged LeBron’s MAGNIFICENCE! (I have it in writing now). And even included a handsome photo of Sweet Pea. I wouldn’t call it “even” but just like a spray of Bactine – it did make the hurt feel a bit better. 🙂
Also – Women’s World Cup starts tomorrow. Do you think the FIFA mess will help or hurt TV ratings? If the “Lillehammer doctrine” applies, the ratings should be thru the roof.
Seven comments without me even being involved? #beamingwithpride