[Posted Wednesday a.m.]
NHL Quiz: Name the only four to score 100 goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for their careers. Answer below.
NBA Playoffs
Monday….
Toronto bounced back at home to even their series with Indiana at 1-1 with a 98-87 win, despite the fact the Raptors’ All-Star backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan was awful yet again, just 8 of 31 from the field after going 8 of 32 in Game 1. 16 of 63!!! Yikes. They are a combined 1 of 17 from three-point land.
But the star on Monday for Toronto was center Jonas Valanciunas who had 23 points and 15 rebounds.
The Mavericks shocked the Thunder in Oklahoma City in Game 2, 85-84, to even this series at 1-1 as a buzzer-beater for OKC was waived off (rightfully so). Raymond Felton led the Mavs with 21 points and 11 rebounds out of the point, while for OKC Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were horrid; a combined 15 of 55, including just 3 of 17 from three. [Durant was 7 of 33!]
The Warriors beat the Rockets 115-106 to take a 2-0 lead as Steph Curry sat out with his balky ankle. Klay Thompson, 34 points (15 of 16 from the line), Shaun Livingston, 16 points and six assists, and Andre Iguodala, 18 points, picked up the slack.
But what of Curry? Coach Steve Kerr said of the superstar’s aborted pregame warm-up, “He tried to see how it’d feel. He tried to push off on it, and it was tender.”
Kerr said he wasn’t sure if it was a “tweak” or a “sprain.”
Golden State fans have every reason to be concerned. Curry had surgery on a tendon in his right ankle in May 2011 and another operation in 2012, missing all but 26 games in the season between.
In December 2012, the Warriors extended Curry’s contract, a four-year deal worth $44 million, not exactly a mammoth contract by today’s standards, but the team got a discount because of his ankles. The last four seasons, however, he has played at least 78 games and had never missed a playoff contest until Monday.
An MRI exam on Curry’s ankle Tuesday revealed no serious structural damage but he remains questionable for Thursday’s Game 3.
Kerr is well aware of players playing through ankle issues that didn’t turn out so well, like Grant Hill, whose full potential was limited by his own chronic problems.
–On a different matter involving the Warriors, Knicks president Phil Jackson did not get the Warriors’ permission before he talked to Kerr’s top assistant Luke Walton about the Knicks head coaching position. For now, though, Kerr doesn’t view it as tampering.
Walton confirmed he spoke to Jackson last weekend but said it wasn’t a job interview. He did also talk to the Nets about their coaching vacancy and took himself out of consideration for a job that ended up going to Atlanta Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson.
Luke’s father Bill Walton was quoted recently as saying he thought Luke should stay with Golden State because he’s in a great situation, but Walton added the other day when the tampering issue came up that he “loves” Phil Jackson and knows him “very well.”
Because the Knicks don’t have a first or second-round draft pick, finding a new coach isn’t as pressing as it would be otherwise. Interim coach Kurt Rambis remains in the running.
–In Tuesday’s action, the Boston Celtics once again had shooting issues in the first half of their game against the Atlanta Hawks, like historically bad ones. With 5:30 to play in the first quarter, Atlanta had a 24-3 lead and it was 24-7 after one, the lowest score ever in a quarter for a playoff game since the introduction of the shot clock in 1954.
Atlanta went on to win 89-72 to take a 2-0 series lead, but the Hawks had their own shooting woes. Paul Millsap and Kent Bazemore were a combined 3 for 26 from the field.
Meanwhile, the Spurs took a 2-0 lead against Memphis with a 94-68 pasting of the Grizzlies; all 13 Spurs players scoring. In 26 minutes Tim Duncan took just one shot from the field, but had 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Take that, Kobe!
—Phoenix retained Earl Watson as their head coach. Watson was 9-24 as the interim coach after the team fired Jeff Hornacek.
Ball Bits
–Matt Snyder / CBSSports.com
“Second-year Mets starter Noah Syndergaard is not the best pitcher in baseball. Even if he’s on the periphery of the discussion, he’s not on the short list of candidates for that title. He does, however, have the best raw stuff in baseball and I’m not even sure there’s strong competition for him on that front.
“Monday, his stuff was on full display in Philadelphia during a 5-2 Mets win. The results: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. He now has a 0.90 ERA and 0.95 WHIP with 29 strikeouts in 20 innings through three starts this season.”
I was going to write all this myself having watched the game, but I’ll give Mr. Snyder credit. Syndergaard (“Thor” to us Mets fans) routinely threw his fastball over 100 miles per hour, even in the sixth inning. In fact he threw it 100 12 times in the first two innings.
But get this, as Snyder points out, “only six pitchers all of last season hit 100 as many times as Syndergaard did through two innings on Monday.” Ponder that. [Aroldis Chapman was first with 336, followed by Kelvin Herrera at 64 times.]
And Syndergaard was throwing 92-moh changeups. His slider was low-90s.
You get the picture…filthy stuff.
But here’s the stat Snyder doesn’t mention that I like. Thor is the first pitcher since Roger Clemens in 2005 to start the season with three starts yielding one run or fewer while fanning at least 8.
On Tuesday, the Mets hit six home runs in an 11-1 win over the Phillies to get back over .500 at 7-6. They have now hit a team record 17 round-trippers in five games. New second baseman Neil Walker hit two on Tuesday, bringing his season total to six, but the switch-hitter has three from the right side, his weaker side, when he had none against lefties all last season while with the Pirates.
Philadelphia’s offense has been putrid…nine straight games scoring three or fewer runs.
–It’s not too early to watch the standings, at least for us Mets fans, so we’d like to thank the Marlins’ Jose Fernandez for shutting down the Nationals on Monday, 6-1; Fernandez striking out 9 in six.
But the Nats won 7-0 on Tuesday behind Stephen Strasburg’s 8 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts; Strasburg off to a super start, 3-0, 1.25. Bryce Harper cracked a grand slam, his second in a week. More on him below. [The Nats had a franchise record four home runs in the seventh inning.]
—John Lackey of the Cubs moved to 3-0, 3.66, in Chicago’s 5-0 win over the Cardinals on Monday; Lackey striking out 11 in seven scoreless.
–The Chicago White Sox’ Matt Latos is 3-0 with a 0.60 ERA after a 5-0 win over the Angels on Tuesday.
–The Yankees are 5-7 and the New York Post’s Kevin Kernan had a damning piece on outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, he of the $153 million contract thru 2020 (with a $5m buyout for 2021); one of the dumbest contracts in the history of the world.
Ellsbury was benched in Tuesday’s 3-2 loss in 11 to the A’s, though he appeared in the ninth inning as a pinch-runner and was promptly thrown out attempting a steal.
One thing the Yankees do have is the best one-two relief combination in the game, Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller, and this is before Aroldis Chapman becomes eligible on May 9 after serving his 30-game suspension.
Betances has thrown 7 innings with 17 strikeouts and Miller has 13 Ks in 6 innings, neither giving up an earned run.
–So two years ago, if you asked the question, ‘Who would you rather have, Mike Trout or Bryce Harper?’ the answer would have been Trout in a rout.
But in 2015, Harper hit .330 with 42 homers and 99 RBI, plus a historic 1.109 OPS, while Trout was 41-90, .299, .991. Harper was NL MVP, with Trout finishing second for a third time to go with his AL MVP trophy in 2014.
I wrote the last two years a few times about Trout that it was a little disturbing he wasn’t hitting for a higher average like he did his first two full seasons, and he’s already stopped running, at age 24, when that was such a big part of his game. He went from 49 steals in 2012 to just 11 last season.
But Harper, after three injury-riddled campaigns where his batting average was in the .270s, exploded last year and it seems he is just getting better…off to a superb start. He’s still just 23 years of age.
Thru Tuesday…Harper is hitting .333, 7 HR, 20 RBI; Trout is at .220, 1 HR 4 RBI.
You’ll do pretty well with either one, but it’s going to be interesting to this writer just what kind of season Trout ends up having. We already know that Harper is headed towards his second straight MVP honor.
–We note the passing of former two-time All-Star Milt Pappas, 76. Pappas was 209-164 in a career that extended from 1957-73, winning 15 games seven times.
When he came up with Baltimore in ’57, he was but 18 years old and by 1961 was part of what was known as the Baby Birds’ rotation with Chuck Estrada, Steve Barber and Jack Fisher.
Pappas had a solid career but will forever be known as part of one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history, Dec. 9, 1965, traded with Jack Baldshun and Dick Simpson to Cincinnati for outfielder Frank Robinson. Robinson promptly won the Triple Crown for Baltimore, leading the Orioles to their first World Series since 1944 (when the franchise was in St. Louis) and a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Meanwhile, Pappas would go to Atlanta and then Chicago, where on Sept. 2, 1972, he was a pitch away from a perfect game but umpire Bruce Froemming called ball four on a 3-2 pitch, which Pappas never forgave him for. It was probably a ball but Pappas believed he deserved the call.
–Just a note on the college game. My Wake Forest Demon Deacons took 2 of 3 from then-No. 4 Florida State in Winston-Salem over the weekend, the first time Wake won a series over FSU since 2002. Thru Monday the Deacs were 22-17, 7-11 in the ACC (FSU 23-11, 10-4). Wake has a terrific all-around player, Will Craig, who is hitting .442 with 10 home runs, while also saving five games out of the pen, throwing to a 1.80 ERA.
Division I Coaches Poll (4/18)
1. Florida
2. Miami
3. Texas A&M
4. Vanderbilt
5. Louisville
6. TCU
7. Mississippi State
8. LSU
9. Florida State
10. North Carolina State
[Baseball America’s 4/18 poll has it 1. Miami 2. Florida.]
NHL Playoffs
–What a fiasco in Philadelphia on Monday night. The Washington Capital took a 3-0 series lead over the Flyers with a 6-1 victory, with the game ending up in ugly mayhem; fans chucking their promotional light-up bracelets onto the ice as PA announcer Lou Nolan repeatedly pleaded with them to stop.
As told by Dan Steinberg / Washington Post:
“This is Philly, this is not somewhere else in the NHL,” (Nolan) said. “Have some class.”
“Okay, those fans that were classless enough to throw these…next one that’s out there is going to cause us a minor penalty,” he said in mounting panic.
“Okay, those of you that have been throwing them, you’ve done it now!” poor Nolan finally said in agony. “Two-minute bench minor. Way to go.”
And then there was the vicious hit on the Capitals’ Dmitry Orlov by Philly’s Pierre-Edouard Bellemare…as ugly as it gets. [Bellemare was suspended one game.]
And this all on a night that started out honoring the Flyers’ late owner and founder, Ed Snider.
–My Rangers suffered an awful loss at home to the Penguins, Tuesday, 3-1, and are now down 2-1 in this series. I wasn’t optimistic going into the playoffs this year.
NFL
With the draft just around the corner, it’s kind of bizarre we don’t know who the Rams are going for…quarterback Jared Goff or Carson Wentz…seeing as how they gave up a boatload for the No. 1 overall pick.
And a lot of folks think the Jets are going for Memphis QB Paxton Lynch with the 20th selection. Geezuz, take a pass, Jets. Just develop Bryce Petty, and go ahead and give Geno Smith a final shot in the interim if you’re not going to re-sign Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Golf Balls
–So I didn’t watch much of the RBC Heritage event last weekend, but as I noted last time, why was CBS using Protracer when it didn’t at the Masters?
Well, Martin Kaufmann of Golfweek asked, “Can anyone explain to me why the RBC Heritage was a more interesting television production than the Masters?
“I didn’t say ‘more compelling’; nothing gets our juices flowing like a dramatic weekend at Augusta….
“My opening question was rhetorical. Solely from the standpoint of a television production, I found the RBC Heritage to be much more interesting….
“At the Masters, for example, we had cameras following Jordan Spieth as he strolled down the fairways and circled putts. At Harbour Town, with no Spieth nor Rickie nor Rory, the focus turned to the competition, which is where it always should be….
“One of the parting images from the RBC Heritage was of (winner Branden) Grace and his fiancée standing together, texting on their phones.
“ ‘They’re actually not texting each other, in case you’re wondering,’ anchor Jim Nantz joked. ‘ ‘I love you.’ ‘I love you, too.’’
“ ‘It’s the modern relationship, Jim,’ Faldo replied.
“It was a good moment – two guys joking about a funny scene. If they had done that at Augusta, they probably would have been banished for 2017. But at Harbour Town, it was a perfect ending to the tournament.”
—Men’s Division I College Golf Poll
1. Texas
2. Illinois
3. Georgia
4. Southern Calfornia
5. Vanderbilt
6. Auburn
7. Stanford
8. Florida State
9. Arizona State
10. Oklahoma State
13. Wake Forest
–Steve G. wanted me to mention that Jacksonville University alum Russell Knox finished T-2 at the Heritage last weekend.
Premier League
Tottenham blitzed Stoke 4-0 on Monday behind Harry Kane and Delle Alli, both with two goals; Kane now with a league-leading 24.
So the Spurs did what they had to do to stay in the title race. With four games to go for both Leicester and Tottenham we have this:
1. Leicester…34 games – 73 points
2. Tottenham…34 – 68
3. Man City…34 – 61
4. Arsenal…33 – 60…plays West Brom, Thurs.
5. Man U…33 – 56…plays Crystal Palace, Wed.
Tottenham has West Brom, Chelsea, Southampton and Newcastle remaining.
Leicester has Swansea, Manchester United, Everton and Chelsea.
And now Leicester is not only without superstar striker Jamie Vardy for the Swansea game, but the Football Association cited Vardy for improper conduct following his second-half red card against West Ham on Sunday, meaning he could receive a second game ban, which would hold him out against Man U on May 1. That would be huge.
Leicester, by the way, has been handed 11 penalties this year, including Sunday’s late-tying penalty kick that was converted into the critical tying score. The 11 is more than any other team in the league. The record seems to be 12, but no team in the last 10 years has won a championship while relying so heavily on penalties for its goals. 9 of Leicester’s 59 goals, or 15.3%, have come from these free shots, when the average for past champions is between 3.8% and 7.5%. [Irish Independent]
On Tuesday, Manchester City could manage only a measly draw against 19 Newcastle, which puts them in Champions League jeopardy (even though they are in the semis of current Champions League play). Man U can pull within two points today with a win.
For Newcastle, though, the point was huge.
Last three are relegated.
17. Norwich 34 – 31
18. Sunderland 33 – 30
19. Newcastle 34 – 29
20. Aston Villa 34 – 16
Stuff
—Ethiopians nearly swept the podium of both the men’s and women’s races at the Boston Marathon on Monday, winning both for the first time in history and taking five of the six spots on the victory stand.
Lemi Berhanu Hayle won the men’s race in 2 hours 12 minutes, 45 seconds, while Atsede Baysa won the women’s race, coming from 37 seconds behind with less than five miles to go. She finished in 2:29:19, 44 seconds ahead of another Ethiopian.
Most of the top Americans did not run because they had been in the U.S. Olympic trials in February. A number of victims from the Marathon bombing of 2013 ran in this week’s event, including two who had lost parts of their legs.
–We note the passing of actress Doris Roberts, 90. Roberts was the meddling mother on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” the last sitcom I watched on a regular basis.
Roberts won four Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Marie Barone and received a total of seven nods as best supporting actress for the show. She played the Barone family matriarch for nine seasons from 1996 to 2006.
Phil Rosenthal, the creator of the program, said he based the character of Marie Barone on his own mother and auditioned more than 100 actresses for the role.
Her TV son Ray Romano offered his condolences in a statement: “Doris Roberts had an energy and a spirit that amazed me. She never stopped. Whether working professionally or with her many charities, or just nurturing and mentoring a green young comic trying to make it as an actor, she did everything with such a grand love for life and people and I will miss her dearly.”
Her on-screen daughter-in-law, Patricia Heaton, added on Twitter: “She was funny and tough and loved life, living it to the fullest….It was truly a privilege Doris. I love you and miss you.”
Roberts emerged on the Hollywood scene in the 1950s, making her Broadway debut in “The Time of Your Life.” She then appeared on television shows such as “Ben Casey.” She would later win her first Emmy in 1983 for “St. Elsewhere.”
–A 21-year-old Swiss champion snowboarder, Estelle Balet, was killed in an avalanche Tuesday while filming above the village of Orsieres in the Swiss Alps.
Balet was freed by the time emergency services arrived but she could not be revived.
Last year she became the youngest ever champion of the Freeride World Tour, winning the women’s snowboarding event.
In the Freeride Tour both skiers and snowboarders compete by riding down steep, unmanaged slopes; far more dangerous than regular skiing and snowboarding. [BBC News]
–Brad K. passed along the story from the Daily Mail of a teacher getting mauled by a bear in Alaska during a student outing.
“Forest Wagner, 35, an associate professor at the University of Alaska Southeast, was leading a mountaineering class on Mount Emmerich, near Haines, when the bear attacked him on Monday, the university said.
“One of his students hiked down the mountain to get cell reception and call for help. Wagner was taken to the hospital by helicopter” and his condition was reported as being stable.
All of the 11 students and two teaching assistants escaped unhurt.
“Troopers said the bear, which had cubs, was seen again after the mauling.”
No word on whether it was a grizzly or Kodiak.
–From Tom Stienstra / SFGate
“On tranquil waters with scarcely a ripple for miles, the sea erupted in mayhem last week when five orcas attacked a juvenile gray whale.
“An estimated 20 orcas have arrived in Monterey Bay this month to hunt gray whale calves, often within short range of whale watching boats out of Moss Landing.
“Every spring, Monterey Bay attracts gray whales on their journey north to their feeding grounds in Alaska. From April into early May, orcas from up and down the Pacific Coast arrive to swarm the whales in attempts to separate the cows from their calves and when successful, coordinate attacks and wild celebrations on the surface. It can last for hours.”
In my next life I’m coming back as an orca, not a gray whale. Just sayin’.
–So you know the mountain lion story from last time, Granada Hills, California? Steve G. tells me that from the high school I cited came such celebs as John Elway, Ryan Braun (boo…boo…), Ashley Judd and Cuba Gooding Jr. And now you know…the rest of the story.
Top 3 songs for the week 4/20/74: #1 “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” (MFSB featuring The Three Degrees) #2 “Bennie And The Jets” (Elton John…one of my favorites of his…) #3 “Hooked On A Feeling” (Blue Swede)…and…#4 “Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me” #5 “Come And Get Your Love” (Redbone) #6 “Oh My My” (Ringo Starr) #7 “Sunshine On My Shoulders” (John Denver…wear SPF 50 or higher…) #8 “The Loco-Motion” (Grand Funk) #9 “The Lord’s Prayer” (Sister Janet Mead…bizarre…but whatever you do, don’t YouTube it! It will stay on your brain for days…) #10 “I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song” (Jim Croce…his best…)
NHL Quiz Answer: 100 goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs…Wayne Gretzky, 122 (208 games); Mark Messier, 109 (236); Jari Kurri, 106 (200); Brett Hull, 103 (202). Glenn Anderson is next with 93 (225).
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
