NBA Quiz: In winning the Rookie of the Year Award on Monday, Philadelphia’s Michael Carter-Williams became just the third player since 1950-51 to lead all rookies in scoring (16.7), rebounding (6.3) and assists (6.2). Oscar Robertson did this in 1960-61. Who was the other? [Hint: His rookie year was 1975-76 and it was statistically his best all-around season in what would be a 13-year playing career.] Answer below.
NBA Playoffs
“The Spurs delivered a blowout defeat to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of their opening-round series, and all it did was remind us of who they are, what they’ve done and what they’re setting out to do.
“That’s the Spurs’ way. They’re about the process. And if you continue to live by the process set out by Gregg Popovich, R.C. Buford and Peter Holt in their quest to have the best organization in the NBA that runs on common sense and respect, you’re going to be successful. That’s why the Spurs are so different and often referred to as boring by many NBA viewers. They may lose games, but there’s rarely any drama.
“You don’t get in-house fighting. You don’t get very many contract demands or trade requests from key players. You don’t get a coach on the hot seat or an executive in danger of losing his job. They populate front offices and sidelines around the league because their process is simply more astute and basic while navigating the complexities set forth by professional sports and the insecurity of the highest levels of competition. The drama is the game itself and the extracurriculars don’t exist….
“It sounds simple, but for everybody else it’s made complex by ego and conflicting motives. You don’t get that with San Antonio. You just get the same thing year in and year out. That’s why we keep saying the same thing about them over and over, regardless of the outcome.
“That is true success in the NBA.”
And on Tuesday, the Spurs opened with a 116-92 win over Portland in Game 1, with Tony Parker having 33 points and 9 assists, while, importantly, reserve Marco Belinelli got untracked for 19 off the bench.
–Before Monday night’s Washington-Indiana Game 1, the Washington Post’s Matt Bonesteel asked, “Which Roy Hibbert will show up for the Pacers?”
Try the Roy Hibbert who was 0-for-2 from the field, no points, no rebounds, in 18 minutes. Wizards win 102-96 as guards John Wall and Bradley Beal, while not playing spectacularly, nonetheless had a combined 38 points, 16 assists, 12 rebounds and six steals.
[Hibbert is actually scoreless in five of his past 12 games.]
–The Clippers’ Chris Paul picked a good time to have a career shooting night in Los Angeles’ Game 1 122-105 triumph over the Thunder in Oklahoma City, Monday, as Kevin Durant had a pedestrian 25 points.
Paul had a career high 8 three-pointers in just nine attempts and overall was 12-of-14 from the field, his best in a game where he had a minimum of 10 shots, as he went off for 32 points and 10 assists. [Actually, Paul had never made more than five 3s in a game and on Monday hit five in the first quarter alone.]
Durant, by the way, crushed LeBron James in the final MVP vote, 119 first-place votes to LeBron’s six. It was Durant’s first, with LeBron having won four of the previous five trophies (Derrick Rose the other).
–Tuesday, the Brooklyn Nets opened up their series against the Heat in Miami, Brooklyn having taken all four of their meetings in the regular season, though by a total of 12 points.
I selected the Nets as my “Pick to Click” at the start of the season because of their tremendous depth, which I thought would be the critical element come playoff time.
But at least in Game 1, the Nets, down just 46-43 at half, then folded and Miami ran away with it, 107-86, as Kevin Garnett went scoreless and Paul Pierce had just 8 points.
But as the New York Daily News’ Mitch Lawrence noted, “It’s as if the Nets decided to spot the Miami Heat a playoff game, and you know how often that strategy works when you’re going against LeBron James and the two-time defending champs? Try never.”
Coach Jason Kidd is being questioned in some circles for playing reserves in the entire fourth quarter. I understand what Kidd did, having watched the entire game. We’ll see if resting his stars pays off on Thursday.
–Separately, a lot of us are scratching our head over the firing of Golden State coach Mark Jackson, despite steering the team to two straight seasons of at least 45 wins. His players loved him. Stephen Curry, whose game flourished under Jackson’s tutelage, said before the announcement:
“What Coach has gone through this year has been unlike anything I’ve seen – just the amount of distractions, the circus that has been around him and the decisions he has had to make. I love Coach more than anybody. For him to be in a position where his job is under scrutiny and under questions is totally unfair.”
Jackson just didn’t get along with the Warriors’ ownership group. In his three-year tenure he was 121-109, including 51-31 this season.
So that means there is suddenly a decent chance Jackson will get into the mix for the Knicks job because Phil Jackson’s favored candidate, Steve Kerr, would prefer to live on the west coast and he’s friends with members of the Warriors’ organization. [The Lakers are also now interested in Kerr.]
For his part, Mark Jackson grew up in Brooklyn, went to St. John’s, and was a popular New York Knick.
–As for the Donald Sterling situation, a CNN/ORC International poll released Monday had 47% of the public supporting a forced sale of the team, while 50% are against it.
Very interesting. But, that is 47% of all Americans. When you break it down to those who describe themselves as fans of professional basketball, support for stripping the team of its owner rises to 60%.
As an aside, in the same poll, two-thirds of all Americans say that race relations in the U.S. are good, with virtually no difference between whites and non-whites on the issue.
Lastly, Clippers team president Andy Roeser, who initially defended Sterling, is taking an indefinite leave of absence, the NBA announced, clearing the deck for the league to appoint an interim CEO to oversee the franchise.
Ball Bits
–The Houston Astros’ stretch of futility is really pretty remarkable.
2011…56-106…first year in franchise history they lost 100
2012…55-107
2013…51-111
2014…10-23
And the other day, USA TODAY Sports Weekly’s Will Leitch said of manager Bo Porter, in his second season, that he “is starting to look like a delusional idiot.”
It’s not worth getting into all the details but in a nutshell, in a game against the A’s, Oakland built a 7-0 first-inning lead and shortstop Jed Lowrie, batting for the second time in the inning, decided to bunt, which normally could be considered bad form but it was just the first inning….and…Houston had deployed a shift against him so Lowrie was simply doing a smart thing.
Yet Porter went ballistic and it carried over to the next game with Porter ordering his relief pitcher to retaliate against Lowrie…totally bush league, or as Lowrie later said, “flat-out embarrassing.”
–One player to watch all season is Detroit pitcher Max Scherzer, who after his Cy Young Award season of last year when he went 21-3, rejected the Tigers’ six-year, $144 million contract extension offer. Everyone thought he was nuts.
But Scherzer, a very bright individual, is calculating he can make more in free agency this fall, so he’s playing this season for $15.525 million.
Well, thus far he is 4-1, 1.72, with 60 strikeouts in 47 innings.
–So much for my Zack Greinke watch. The L.A. Times’ Kevin Baxter says that over the past two seasons Greinke actually had a string of 21 consecutive starts in which he had gone at least five innings and given up two or fewer runs, not the 18 I said last time (it was a different source, and, no, I’m not going back and counting them up myself).
But it doesn’t matter anymore because on Monday, Greinke had given up two runs in three innings before the rains hit in Washington, forcing a 3-hour, 17-minute delay. Needless to say, Greinke didn’t return. Bye-bye streak.
–Thru last Saturday’s action, a record-low 24.8% of base stealers had been caught. By comparison, in 1960 the percentage caught stealing was 39.5% and it has been drifting down ever since. [Dave Cameron / Wall Street Journal]
–The average fastball in the majors has risen from 89.9 mph in 2002 to 91.7 in 2013. Of course the number of strikeouts has soared in that same period.
–Big blow to the Reds in losing outfielder Jay Bruce to a partially torn meniscus. He is expected to miss 3-4 weeks. Bruce is one of just three players in baseball, the others being Miguel Cabrera and Adrian Beltre, to have at least 30 home runs in each of the past three seasons.
–Thru Tuesday’s play, Mets pitchers are a major league record 0-for-55 at the plate to start the season. We may have to redefine the term “pathetic.” Starter Jonathan Niese at least has four walks.
–The Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw made his return after being out with a muscle strain behind his left shoulder and threw 7 shutout innings against the Nationals, Tuesday, for the win. Kershaw scattered nine hits, walked none, and struckout nine. It was his first start since opening the season in Australia, March 22.
So now we’ll see if the two-time N.L. Cy Young Award winner has a recurring issue, Kershaw having signed a seven-year, $215 million contract in the offseason. The injury has shined a spotlight on that long, season-opening trip and whether teams can possibly be ready after just 15 spring training games.
–The surprising Colorado Rockies, 21-14, are 13-5 at home and hitting a staggering .355 there. On the road they are 8-9, .254.
The Mets, 8-8 on the road and 8-8 at home, are hitting .261 away, but a putrid .192 at Citi Field.
—College Baseball Writers’ Poll…May 5
1. Oregon State
2. Virginia
3. La.-Lafayette!
4. Florida State
5. Louisville
6. Cal Poly
7. Oklahoma State
8. LSU
9. Oregon
10. Vanderbilt
–The New York Times’ Tyler Kepner had a piece concerning a big anniversary, May 8-9, 1984, when Tom Seaver picked up both career win No. 275 and 276 on the same day. How?
Well, the game between the White Sox, Tom Terrific’s team back then, and the Brewers was suspended after 17 innings due to a curfew rule at Chicago’s Comiskey Park.
So it resumed the next day, May 9, before a regularly scheduled contest. Seaver finished the first game, won by Harold Baines with a homer in the bottom of the 25th inning, with Seaver pitching the top of the inning. And then he started the regularly scheduled game, going 8 1/3, allowing 4 earned runs in a 5-4 victory.
The time of the first game, 8 hours and 6 minutes, is the longest major league game, though a 1920, 1-1 tie between the Brooklyn Robins and the Boston Braves went 26 innings, but it only took 3:50! In 1974, the Cardinals and Mets played a 25-inning contest at Shea Stadium won by the Card 4-3, though it took 7:04 to complete.
But what Seaver did on May 9, 1984, was “Walter Johnson-type stuff,” as then Milwaukee catcher Bill Schroeder put it.
And here’s some real trivia. Seaver didn’t strike out a single batter in his two appearances that day, the only two wins of his 311 in which he did not fan anyone.
–May 7, 1959…55 years ago…the Dodgers held “Roy Campanella Night” at the Los Angeles Coliseum, drawing a record 93,103.
Campanella, an 8-time All-Star and 3-time N.L. MVP for Brooklyn, 1948-57, was only 36 when he was in a car crash on Jan. 28, 1958, just days before spring training, that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. The Dodgers had moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles the previous fall and Campanella was looking to revive his career after two mediocre seasons, at least for him.
Campy spent most of 1958 in rehab and regained use of his hands. Proceeds from “Roy Campanella Night” went to his medical costs.
The crowd was actually the largest documented gathering for a baseball game to that point as the Dodgers played the Yankees in an exhibition contest.
Campanella starred in the Negro Leagues throughout the 1940s before signing with Brooklyn prior to the 1946 season. His first full year wasn’t until he was 27 in 1949, but even with that late start, he accumulated 242 home runs and drove in 856, while batting .276. Seven seasons he hit 20+ homers and three times drove in 100.
He was enshrined in Cooperstown in 1969 and passed away on June 26, 1993. [Craig Muder / Baseball Hall of Fame]
NFL Draft
OK, a few last comments. Whoever ends up with Wake Forest’s Michael Campanaro is getting a steal. He will make the regular-season roster and will have a lengthy career. [I’m guessing he’s a 6th rounder.]
1. Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina
2. Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson
3. Khalil Mack, OLB, Buffalo
4. Aaron Donald, DT, Pitt
5. Greg Robinson, Auburn
6. Blake Bortles, QB, Central Florida
7. Jake Matthews, T, Texas A&M
8. Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M
9. Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina
10. Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech
But what is Houston going to do with the No. 1, trade it?
The player most in demand is clearly Clemson receiver Sammy Watkins, who is a cinch to go in the top five with a number of teams interested in trading up to get him.
I’m pretty pumped to see who my Jets select, with six picks in the first four rounds (six in the first 137).
Michael Sam? When was the last time you heard that name?
One non-draft-related item…the Eagles signed Alejandro Villanueva, a 6-foot-9 defensive lineman who last played football in 2009 for Army as a wide receiver.
The 277-pound Villanueva served three tours in Afghanistan and most recently as a U.S. Army Ranger. He’s 25 and impressed the Eagles at a regional combine in Detroit last month.
Back in 2009, Villanueva was Army’s offensive captain and led the team in receptions with 34 and five touchdowns, so should he make the team, seems kind of obvious he could be part of the Eagles’ short-yardage packages. Someone to root for.
Finally, the Jets became the fourth N.F.L. team to be sued by a cheerleader for back wages. Krystal C., a former member of the Flight Crew, argues she was paid $3.77 per hour when including her nonpaid work, on top of the $150 per game she earned.
We will have no dissension among the Flight Crew! It’s dangerous for all the passengers….and viewers.
Golf Balls
Sports Illustrated polled 200 players on the PGA, LPGA and Champions tours. Among the questions asked:
Do you think there are gay players on the PGA Tour? Yes 81%. No 19%. [Loose Lips: “I have lots of suspects.”]
Will Phil Mickelson win a U.S. Open? Yes 68%. No 32%. Boy, I’d say it’s 25/75 these days.
Did Tiger’s run-ins with the rules in 2013 change your opinion of him? PGA: Yes 15%. No 85%.
Should Tiger have been DQ’d at the Masters? PGA: Yes 52%. No 48%.
The LPGA players were asked, “Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler or Jordan Spieth?” Adam 91%. Rickie 6%. Jordan 3%.
—Tiger Woods announced on his website that his recovery from back surgery is not going that well, a “very slow process,” as he put it. He is still sore from the incision and hasn’t done anything requiring him to rotate the back as yet.
“I hope to be back sometime this summer, but I just don’t know when,” Woods said.
–Sports Illustrated had a blurb on Tony Lema and how he should be in the Hall of Fame. I forgot he won 12 tournaments, including the 1964 British Open, and from 1963 to ’66, Lema finished in the top 10 in eight of 16 majors, including as runner-up to Nicklaus in the ’63 Masters. Plus Lema was 8-1-2 in his two Ryder Cup appearances.
But it was after the 1966 PGA Championship that he was flying in a twin-engine charter plane from Akron, Ohio to an exhibition in the Chicago area when the plane crashed on a golf course on the Indiana-Illinois border, killing Lema; his wife; and the pilot and co-pilot. Tony Lema was just 32.
As for the nickname “Champagne Tony,” it was at the 1962 Orange County Open that Lema, then a journeyman, led after three rounds and was drinking a beer with reporters when he announced, “If I win this thing tomorrow, it’ll be champagne all around, not beers.” He won and sent champagne to the press room. Overnight he became a sensation. [Gary Van Sickle / SI]
May 6, 1954
England’s Roger Bannister becomes the first to break the 4:00 mile barrier.
Since then, only 420 U.S. men have run the mile under four minutes and at year end only 1,303 men worldwide had done so, according to Ryan Lamppa, founder of Bring Back The Mile, a group devoted to restoring a distance taken over by the 1500 meters. [Wall Street Journal]
The world record has stood since 1999 at 3:43:13, set by Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj.
Bannister ran a 3:59.4 in Oxford with Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway has his pacemakers.
20…Jim Ryun (United States) 3:51.1
–The Pittsburgh Penguins shut out the Rangers for a second straight game on Monday, 2-0 at the Garden, to take a 2-1 series lead with Game 4 in New York tonight, Wednesday.
All Rangers fans are incredulous the team is now 0-for-34 on the power play. 0-for-34!!!! Rick Nash, the team’s highest-paid player and designated chief goal scorer, has zero goals on 41 shots in ten playoffs games.
–Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Kings, after taking four straight against San Jose, took a 2-0 lead in their second-round series against Anaheim on Monday.
–Incredibly, needing to win its final two Premier League matches against inferior competition to have a shot at the title, Liverpool on Monday night proceeded to blow a 3-goal lead against Crystal Palace, coming away with only a 3-3 draw.
Staggering. Assuming Liverpool were to win its final game, Manchester City just needs a win and a draw in its final two against Aston Villa and West Ham.
But…all together now, sports fans…stranger things have happened!!!
Correction: I stupidly wrote last time that Real Madrid had defeated Barcelona to reach the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid. Real defeated Bayern Munich. [Thanks E.S. for pointing that out.]
—Oregon State finally fired Craig Robinson, Michelle Obama’s brother, after he was just 94-105 in six seasons as the Beavers’ basketball coach. Don’t cry for him. He’s receiving a buyout of $4 million as he had three seasons left on his contract. OSU was 16-16 last season and set to lose its top five scorers.
Robinson’s six Beaver squads never made the NCAA tournament nor even an NIT.
–The Wake Forest basketball program is in a state of flux, to put it mildly, following the firing of coach Jeff Bzdelik and the hiring of Danny Manning. Phil W. is feverishly updating me as one recruit requested a release from his letter of intent, while the brother of Florida’s Scottie Wilbekin, Mitchell Wilbekin, who had earlier committed to Tulsa when Manning was still coach there, has now committed to Wake.
Yup, gonna be interesting to see how it all shakes out by next fall.
–So you know how some of us are already excited by the Thanksgiving Day football schedule?
Yeah, it’s early, but Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 are changing when it comes to college football, and for the better. The Fiesta and Orange Bowl games will be on Dec. 31 (along with the Peach), while on Jan. 1, you’re only going to have the Outback, Capital One and Cotton Bowls before the playoff semifinals, the Rose and Sugar.
The only problem with this schedule is the Sugar Bowl clearly won’t be ending until very late, but Jan. 2 is a Friday so I imagine a ton of people will be taking that day off.
Now what sucks is that believe it or not, overall, there will be a record 39 bowl games. Lots of dreadful 6-6 vs. 6-6 matchups…that is if they can find enough teams with even this record.
–To say Rutgers University is dysfunctional would be an understatement. It’s been that way for years, particularly when it comes to the athletic program.
But the other day, a Rutgers official asked former football player and now role model, Eric LeGrand, to deliver the keynote speech at the university’s May 18 commencement.
LeGrand, for those of you not familiar with his story, was a defensive tackle paralyzed in a 2010 game who has overcome severe obstacles to be an inspiration for all.
But 48 hours after the school asked him, another university official called LeGrand to inform him that the school had “decided to go in another direction for political reasons.”
As of Monday night the school hadn’t given him any answers.
“I just want an explanation,” LeGrand told NJ.com’s Dan Duggan. “I wish somebody would have given me a call tonight and explained to me why.”
LeGrand had been following the situation with Condoleezza Rice, who backed out of giving the commencement address amid a controversy on campus surrounding her selection. So he was fired up when Rutgers’ president’s chief of staff called Eric. He was told to think it over the weekend with his family and that they’d touch base again Monday. That’s when a different person called, which is so bogus.
Understand LeGrand has been giving motivational speeches all over the country. But late Monday afternoon, Rutgers athletic director Julie Hermann (a real piece of work) said LeGrand was passed over for former Gov. Tom Kean.
“ ‘She told me, ‘I was pushing for you, but President Barchi decided to go in another direction for political reasons. But he wants you to come to the ceremony. He wants to personally give you your degree,’’ LeGrand said.
The chief of staff didn’t return two phone calls Monday night.
But then on Tuesday, Rutgers’ President Barchi said in a statement, “Eric LeGrand will speak at our commencement and personally receive his degree from me… It was never our intention that Eric would be the only speaker. We have resolved that miscommunication and are delighted to have him participate.”
LeGrand was pleased with the outcome, though it seems clear Rutgers is simply doing damage control. It’s really hard to like this school.
–The controversial shark cull in Western Australia caught more than 170, with 50 of the biggest destroyed, even though no great white sharks, to whom most of the attacks killing six people in recent years, were caught.
Western Australia Fisheries Minister Ken Baston said, “I think the strategy’s gone very well, bearing in mind that it’s a very broad strategy, and that’s basically to protect those people that swim in those popular areas.”
Labor fisheries spokesman Dave Kelly said, “The policy is very unpopular, it has hardly caught any of the sharks it was destined to catch. What people want is scientific research to show why the government thinks this policy makes our beaches safer.” [BBC News]
No doubt the great whites are massing outside the “drum lines,” waiting for an opening, upon which they will launch a massive assault.
–Showtime is rebroadcasting the Floyd Mayweather-Marcos Maidana fight on Saturday as part of the network’s “free preview weekend,” so try and catch it. Looks like 9:30 ET/PT, though I think they are showing Amir Khan-Luis Collazo first.
—Boxer Jimmy Ellis died. He was 74 and was being treated for Alzheimer’s disease. Ellis was the onetime sparring partner for Muhammad Ali who captured the heavyweight boxing championship when Ali was stripped of his title for refusing to enter the Army.
Ellis was undersized at just 190 pounds when he received the last of eight entries into a tournament to crown Ali’s successor, 1967-68. Joe Frazier declined to participate, but the bouts were a boon to ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” and I remember watching many of them.
Ellis defeated Leotis Martin and Argentine Oscar Bonavena and then won a 15-round decision over Jerry Quarry in the tournament final to gain the W.B.A. title. Ellis then successfully defended it against Floyd Patterson in a 15-round bout in Sweden before losing his title to Frazier in February 1970 after failing to answer the bell for the fifth.
Ellis later fought Ali in July 1971 at the Astrodome after Ali’s conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court, with Ali knocking him out in the final round. Ellis retired with a 40-12-1 record, with 24 knockouts. By all accounts a good man who later worked for his hometown Louisville Parks and Recreation Department.
In a statement, Ali said, “He was a great athlete and a caring man. Great competitors who happen to be great friends are rare. Jimmy Ellis was that to me and I will miss him.”
–We note the passing of Larry Ramos, 72, who performed with the Association. Ramos was with the New Christy Minstrels folk group when the Association invited him to join and he harmonized and played guitar on the top-five Billboard hits “Windy” and “Never My Love.”
Top 3 songs for the week 5/6/67: #1 “Somethin’ Stupid” (Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra…this is what was great about the 60s…you could still have a tune like this top the charts…) #2 “The Happening” (The Supremes) #3 “Sweet Soul Music” (Arthur Conley)…and…#4 “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You” (The Monkees) #5 “Happy Together” (The Turtles) #6 “I Think We’re Alone Now” (Tommy James & The Shondells) #7 “Don’t You Care” (The Buckinghams… loved this one…) #8 “Close Your Eyes” (Peaches and Herb) #9 “You Got What It Takes” (The Dave Clark Five) #10 “I’m A Man” (The Spencer Davis Group… another outstanding week, I think you’d agree…)
NBA Quiz Answer: Phoenix’ Alvan Adams was Rookie of the Year in 1975-76, leading all rookies in scoring (19.0), rebounds (9.1) and assists (5.6). The only one of the three totals to be exceeded in his next 12 seasons was rebounds, 9.2, in 1978-79.
