by John Walters
If Memory serves us correctly, today is Salvador Dali’s 112th birthday…
Starting Five
With 402 threes, Curry broke his own single season record of 286 by 41%
You Nanimous!
I know it’s an Olympic Year, but you are most likely looking at your Sports Illustrated “Sportsmanperson of the Year in Stephen Curry. He won his second consecutive MVP yesterday by leading his team to a 73-9 record, the league’s best ever, and by leading the league in both scoring (30.1) and steals (2.14). Oh, and he was the first unanimously voted (all 131 ballots) MVP winner, and yes, you can argue that LeBron, Shaq and MJ deserved the distinction in previous years.
The boyish-faced Steph is so many things: a drone-strike shooter; a player with an unbelievable handler (Did you see his last assist in regulation to Draymond Green on Monday night); a selfless teammate; and a post-racial icon.
On the day he finished 4th in the MVP voting, Russell Westbrook went off for 35 points and 11 boards in OKC’s Game 5 comeback triumph at San Antonio
Also, he’s changing the game. Did you see where Damian Lillard was launching bombs from on Monday? Steph’s influence. Do you see that the Cavs now lead the NBA in the postseason for threes made (16.8 to GSW’s 12.0, but they were without Steph for five games)? That’s mostly Steph and the Dubs changing the game.
2. Caps Lock (Out)*
Overhead crease shots are the best
*The judges refuse to accept “It Ain’t Ovi Til It’s Over”
Fun series, but the Pittsburgh Penguins take Game 6 and the whole shebang from Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals after an overtime goal by Nick Bonino. If you were watching this game from the Bada Bing, this must have been sweet.
Nyet is Russian for “Not Yet.” (Is it?)
Anyway, this is the sixth season of the Ovi Era in which the Caps have finished first in their division, and they have yet to play in a Stanley Cup finals. Ovi is kind of the Dirk Nowitzki of hockey (and yes, we know Dirk eventually got there….but it took awhile)
3. FOX 10, ESPN 9
If Bob Costas says it, there’s a good chance that Aaron Cohen wrote it
At last night’s Sports Emmy Awards, FOX won 10 categories while ESPN won 9. Couple that with yesterday’s quarterly earnings miss by Disney, its first in five years, and I think John Skipper’s li’l buddy last night may have been a bottle of Maker’s Mark.
Also, props to HBO’s/NBC’s Aaron Cohen for winning yet another Outstanding Writing Award. I don’t know how many that is now. Years ago, 2007 or 2008, Aaron won his first and thanked his girlfriend for her support. He was followed at the mic by Charles Barkley, who just spectacularly crucified him for that (jokingly, but you know how Charles can joke). Aaron has overcome that moment and well.
Note well: there’s an Emmy Award-winning Aaron Cohen who wrote for The Colbert Report. Not the same guy.
Complete list of awards here….
4. Over There!
This is the place to be the next two months, before the Olympics, and instead of the GOP primary in Cleveland
Beyonce, Bruce and Bale. Rihanna, Radiohead and Ronaldo. A Stone Roses reunion in Manchester. A Tour de France that begins in Normandy. Serena goes to tie and then break Steffi Graf’s Grand Slam singles record of 22. Europa 2016. Coldplay’s final (?) tour. Dude, you’re even getting Adele!
Queen Bey will be Europe’s sovereign this summer
It’s All Happening in Europe this summer. Here are three European excursions (“Bey-cations?”) I’ve mapped out for you.
5. A Recife For Disaster
When Rivaldo thinks of the upcoming Olympics, well, he just can’t bear to look
So you know it’s bad when a former Brazilian soccer star, Rivaldo, urges people not to travel to Brazil for the Olympics, saying the atmosphere surrounding Rio de Janeiro and the 2016 Summer Games is getting “more ugly.” Oh, and the coastal city of Recife is ground zero for the Zika virus, which is spread by mosquitoes, which are plentiful.
If you were writing a global biological disaster screenplay, how about gathering intensely sexually active athletes from all over the planet in one spot, then seeing them infect one another with a potentially deadly virus, and then watch as they return to their home countries and infect others? And you thought the “Z” in World War Z stood for “zombie.”
Where In The World
Last week: Palma, on the island of Mallorca
Hint. Northern Hemisphere
Music 101
Strange Magic
This trippy single from Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra was released in 1976 and went to No. 14 on the Billboard charts. With hits like this one, “Evil Woman,” “Livin’ Thing,” “Do Ya,” “Turn To Stone,” “Sweet Talkin’ Woman”, “Don’t Bring Me Down” and “Mr. Blue Sky,” ELO dominated mid-Seventies FM radio and were at the vanguard of prog rock, which was never Mr. Jann Wenner’s favorite style of music. Still, Lynne is an R&R HOFer
Remote Patrol
Game 7: Blues at Stars
8 p.m. OLN
True confession: I still don’t understand why icing is only called some of the time. Or why no one calls frosting. Or why teams don’t just pull the goalie more often for the heck of it. Or how everyone seems to implicitly know when their shift is over and when someone else shift begins. Or how smelly hockey gear must get and how those trainers are probably the most dedicated. Anyway….it’s Game 7 and what’s not to love about that?
here is what I know about icing based on my one month of watching each year.
1. If even strength or on the Power Play if you hit the puck from behind your own blue line to the other end deliberately, it’s icing.
2. There is no icing when down a person
3. If you attempt to ice the puck and the opposing team purposely slows up to try and allow icing, the ref can wave it off.
4. You can hit to the other end in the hopes that your guy will be there first, but if he’s not, it’s icing.
If you ice the puck, you can’t change your line up.
I’m not saying that Curry shouldn’t have won this year’s MVP but that HE is the 1st & ONLY guy to be unanimous is a JOKE. However, the IDIOTS making a big deal out of this distinction are the IDIOTS who voted in the 1st place. I’m sorry jdubs, but sometimes I really detest your fellow media members.
Speaking of “idiots”, all those folks who rushed to completely rule out the Thunder after just ONE GAME with the Spurs (granted, it was a thorough beat-down) must either be in shock &/or panic with the current situation (OKC 3, S.A 2 & they are headed back to OKC), OR pretend they never said such a thing (specialty of the NBA media). What I’ve learned over my last 5 years of intensive “AP”-level of NBA watching (well, watching of LBJ & his teams) is that the play & results of the same players can vary GREATLY from one night to the next, like “night & day” different, like “who ARE those guys in our uniforms?” different, like “OMG, I’m having a seizure!” different. It’s what makes the NBA & especially their Playoffs so great. AND so “I gotta hide my eyes &/or bite on my hand!” agonizing.
Anyhoo, if that series gets back to San Antonio, I wonder if the AC will mysteriously “break” down…
And speaking of panic, I’m getting right panicky myself about the Olympics. Just yesterday, I wrote down all the dates of the US Olympic Trials for Swimming, Track & Field, & Gymnastics (LOTS of overlap last week of June thru Jul 10th!) in my date book but every day I read another DIRE forecast. Between the virus, unfinished venues, political upheaval, Brazil’s economy going off that cliff along with the newly built cycling path (What’s the host country’s Olympic motto? No, not ‘faster, higher, stronger’ but “Cheap, cheaper, CHEAPEST” ? Can’t wait to see the venues!) , & horrendous water conditions, I’m actually worried not just that the Olympics won’t happen 3 months from now, but also about what will happen to all the competitors, tourists and media, both short & long-term AND to the Olympics itself – could this be the end? Granted, right about now is when all the usual dooms-day forecasts appear about an upcoming Olympics, but this is the worst I can remember. I love the Olympics even more than watching Sweet Pea do a rim-shaking OMG reverse dunk (well, ok, it’s tied but my love for the Olympics has lasted my entire life time – I was even born in an Olympic year!) & I usually wave my hand in the air at pre-Olympic “we’re all doomed” wailing, but not this time.
Do YOU think they should cancel the Rio Olympics? Would YOU go to Rio to cover it? What if you still worked for NBC?