Basketball

This Day In Sports 6-12: The Chicago Bulls…and Michael Jordan win Title #1 (1991)

On this date 24 years ago, Michael Jordan shed the label of a star who couldn’t win like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. On June 12th, 1991 Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls over Magic’s Lakers four games to one to win the NBA Championship.

Jordan had a monster series: 31.2 PPG-6.6 RPG-11.4 APG-2.8 SPG-1.4 BPG on 56% shooting.  Scottie Pippen provided the Bulls that extra push with a big series himself.

Game five historically was the last NBA Finals game of Magic Johnson’s career, and the last regular season or playoff game for him until his brief comeback in 1996.

Basketball

This Day in Sports 6-8: The Celtics Win Championship #16

Perhaps the NBA’s all time greatest team, the 1986 Boston Celtics, defeated the upstart Houston Rockets 4-2 to win their league leading 16th Championship. Larry Bird and Kevin McHale each chipped in 29 points. Hakeem Olajuwon was held to 19 and (an injured) Ralph Sampson held to 8, on a combined 10 for 26 shooting.

Despite the loss, it was expected that the Rockets would be the future of the NBA. Hakeem especially had brought the franchise to life and was in only his 2nd season. The Hakeem-Sampson combo had overwhelmed the Lakers in the Western Conference finals. The Rockets would fall apart around Hakeem over the next few years though, leading Hakeem playing the Kevin Garnett on the Minnesota Timberwolves role until 1993.

The Celtics would nearly defend their title…the Lakers would take them out in six though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYsABYH9n_E

Basketball

RDT’s 2015 NBA Finals Prediction

#2 Cleveland Cavaliers @ #1 Golden State Warriors

It’s interesting that one of the biggest reasons LeBron James went to Cleveland was the expectation of an improved supporting cast than he had in that last year in Miami (young Kyrie Irving over past his prime Dwyane Wade, and at worst Chris Bosh and Kevin Love would cancel one another out, although Love was regarded as superior), and yet, here we are. LeBron has carried this Cavs team throughout these playoffs. It’s not Irving or Love’s fault; both have been injured. Kevin Love had a disappointing year…for him. He was still quite capable of being a third banana. Kyrie Irving had been fantastic before injuries caught up to him. Throughout the Chicago series Irving played a role I expected Steve Nash to play for the Lakers when their big four was expected to go to the NBA Finals, which was a dangerous spot off shooter that could make a play anywhere on the court. Of course, Irving is far more capable of that. Kyrie’s health is almost as important as LeBron in this equation. Yes the Cavs have acquired some parts during the year that have helped immensely in Iman Shumpert, Timofrey Mozgov and J.R. Smith. Yes, J.R. Smith can win a game himself. Yes Tristan Thompson has become quite an underrated player who the Cavs might be better off with than Love. I just think the Warriors are too good.

I originally thought Golden State in five. I also saw everyone else seems to have the same prediction. Jalen Rose just said on commentary as much. But I mean, just look at LeBron these playoffs. His shot hasn’t been falling at all…and he’s STILL unstoppable. LeBron just finished the Eastern Conference Finals with a 30-11-9 average and his shot didn’t fall at all. Say what you want about the Hawks, I called them the worst 60 win team ever, but they were still a 60 win team. Cleveland also got by Chicago, which were quite a good team (they are probably the 90’s Knicks to LeBron’s Jordan). LeBron James is having one of the all-time sick playoff runs, easy opponents or not. Again, the Cavs have dominated with two of their signature players on the bench for a lot of the playoffs, sporting a 15-2 overall record. That’s why I don’t think it’s Warriors in five anymore.

The Warriors are absolutely stacked. They have a guy who went off for 37 in a quarter in Klay Thompson. They have crazy depth with Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and Andrew Bogut. They have multiple players that can at least hinder and slow down LeBron in Draymond Green and Iguodala. The team is so good they bench a guy like David Lee, who offensively could still be a 17-8 guy today. Oh, and they have the league MVP, a guy who just dropped 30 a game and nearly shot 50-50-80%s in the Western Conference Finals in Stephen Curry. I don’t know if Shumpert, one of the best perimeter defenders in the league can handle him. I don’t think a hobbled Irving can do it. And LeBron may be able to, but it will be exhausting and may affect his offensive play. Golden State has lost three games TOTAL at Oracle Arena this season (46-3).

LeBron James has been a combo of Iverson, Magic and Jordan in these playoffs. But It’s just not going to be enough. Golden State is stacked beyond stacked.

But LeBron will keep them in it.

Warriors in 7

Hockey

RDT’s Not-So-Serious Stanley Cup Predictions…The Finals!

Just for some quick record keeping, let’s see how I’ve done this playoffs.

I went 3-5 in round 1 (Montreal, NYR, Chicago)

I went 3-1 in round 2 (NYR, Chicago, Anaheim)

I went 1-1 in round 3 (Chicago)

That leaves me at 7-7…with ONE series remaining. Can we go over .500?

#3 Chicago Blackhawks @ #2 Tampa Bay Lightning

I’ll try to take this somewhat seriously.

The case for the Lightning:

-Just shut out the Rangers on their home ice in Game 7.

-In that series, had five players record seven points or more. That’s an average of a goal or assist per game.

-They have one time 60 goal scorer (and 43 this year) Steven Stamkos.

The case for the Blackhawks:

-They’ve been here before. Goalie Corey Crawford won’t feel the pressure as he’s played well in past Stanley Cup Finals.

-They too just won a road game 7.

-They have Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, two players I know who are great. Both seemed to play well in the Conference Finals.

-They also have Duncan Keith, a defender who scored 8 assists in the Conference Finals.

This is all I know. Experience alone makes me go with Chicago. Because all hockey series as of late go seven games, we’ll go with that.

Blackhawks in 7.

 

Basketball

This Day In Sports 6-1: The Seattle Supersonics Win the NBA Championship (1979)

Once upon a time there was a NBA Team named the Seattle Supersonics. Famously, the ’79 Sonics were known as the only NBA Champions without active players without a Hall of Famer until Dennis Johnson was inducted in 2010. Led by DJ and Jack Sikma, the ’79 Sonics took out the defending Champs the Washington Bullets. Interestingly enough, this was a Finals rematch as the Sonics lost in seven the year before.

The next year Larry and Magic showed up, and Seattle fell to the Magic led Lakers in the Conference Finals. But they’ll always have 1979.

Poker

This Is the Greatest Tournament in the World! A Little About the World Series of Poker

The World Series of Poker is still, without a doubt, the most important and prestigious tournament series when it comes to poker. Amateurs come from all over the world (including myself) to face off with the world’s top professionals hoping to win the WSOP’s trophy: a World Series of Poker bracelet. There are great players out there, top players even, who have yet to win a WSOP bracelet. Almost all great players try every year.

While the mainstream popularity of poker had waned over the years (from 2003 through 2006, poker was a huge deal everywhere, which led to huge ESPN deals and pushed the popularity of online poker to ridiculous heights…to which it came crumbling down in 2011 with “Black Friday”), poker is still far more popular than it was in 2002. In 2002, the World Poker Tour introduced card cameras on their tables to allow watchers at home to follow the action. Before this, quite frankly, poker was boring and unsatisfying to watch. The introduction to card cameras combined with Chris Moneymaker’s 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event win led to poker exploding into the mainstream. To show just how important the card cameras were, there is a key bluff Moneymaker, an amateur who won his $10,000 entry seat online, makes against professional Sam Farha. It was a key hand that allowed Moneymaker to win the tournament.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D16DberFu3Q

There were 631 entries in the 2002 Main Event of the World Series of Poker. In 2003, there were 839, which was the biggest live poker tournament ever at that point. In 2004 though there were 2,576. The WSOP Main Event would peak in 2006 with 8,773 players. Since then, the field for the Main Event has ranged from 6,000 to 7,000.

Some online types, specifically on 2+2 Forums (probably the best poker message board out there in regards to strategy, although it’s rules and posters can be quite immature and at times disgraceful),  will tell you that poker is dying. What they are getting at is that poker is a mathematical game in every form and at some point, people are going to solve it. Back in the pre-Moneymaker days, sure there were your mathematicians, but it was still a gambling game at heart. Back in the old days you’d hear someone going all-in and someone wondering if they should call or fold. Now, the question is whether or not someone should be calling or raising a 4-bet pre-flop. There certainly is other mathematical analysis done on the other games (meaning, non-No Limit Hold’em, which the Main Event is played) as well. With computers and tech, this is the way it’s going to go.

But it doesn’t change the fact (or my opinion, whatever) that the WSOP is the greatest tournament series in the world. Poker can be played in so many ways, and only the WSOP really hits on all of them. Like Omaha? You have your choice of Pot Limit, or High-Low. Maybe you are a fan of the split pot games, to which there are Omaha 8, Stud 8 and a OE 8 (both Omaha and Stud) event (I’ll be playing the Stud 8 for sure). This year the WSOP smartly has added a $565 and $777 event (previously, the smallest WSOP event in modern times in terms of buy-in has been $1,000) to attract more recreational participants (the $565 event, the Colossus, is projected to have about 15,000 to 20,000 players, which would shatter just about every live poker record). There is pretty much everything available to play if you play any type of poker. Hell, there’s even a Dealer’s Choice event!

The WSOP is doing just fine. While it probably will never hit the mid 2000s level of popularity it once did, there is still fun to have and money to be made. I just hope this year is my year to win a bracelet.

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

Good Bye To the Great David Letterman

The great David Letterman has hosted his last Late Show.

I haven’t really watched late night talk shows in a really long time, and even when I did I only watched when I had nothing go on at midnight. But when I watched, I always watched Dave. Even as a kid, David Letterman was often the last thing I saw on the television before I went to sleep. A lot of the times I didn’t get the jokes. A lot of the times I didn’t care about the guests. But something about Dave was just…funny.

I should point out I hated Jay Leno. There were a few reasons for this. One was that I hated his run in WCW in 1998. The 2nd was that Leno just felt…fake. The third? He was against Letterman. (Other reasons would come up over time, which I will address here). As I got older I became a Letterman and Conan guy. There would be occasional moments where a notable Letterman moment (both good and bad) would come up and I would find ways to watch online (a lot easier later with Youtube). My first memory of Letterman that I actually remember watching live was his comeback from his quintuple bypass surgery in 2000. After that, he helped bring together a nation with his 9/11 monologue. There were the funny flirtations with ABC, including one where Dave got a “tattoo” of the ABC logo. There were the times he tormented poor Richard Simmons, and other times where he put someone like Paris Hilton in her place (it’s up to you if you think that was an unprofessional thing to do or not). Of course, Letterman’s retirement ranked right up there as well.

To be honest though, my favorite Letterman moments were any time he made jokes at the expense of Jay Leno.

There’s some history here of course. Leno got the Tonight Show over Letterman in 1992 (against the wishes of Johnny Carson), and then both were rivals ever since. Each one took any jab they could at one another, Leno particularly taking shots at Letterman in 2009 during Letterman’s extortion/affair debacle. But when Conan O’Brien was in danger of losing the Tonight Show after five months back to Leno, Letterman took every shot he could and it was glorious. Conan would show up on the Late Show in 2012, again to hilarious results.

I remember being shocked about when Letterman spoke to Oprah about his depression. It amazed me (as it did with Robin Williams) that someone whose life was to entertain millions could be so sad. And while probably completely unrelated, I was happy to hear he was retiring on what seemed like his terms. I was happy to hear that it seemed like his family was more important to him than the show. Sometimes it’s easy to lose that as an entertainer.

One of my favorite tidbits about Letterman, he always seemed to care about upcoming comedians around him. A young Jon Stewart had been told that his late night show was being cancelled…Letterman was called and made an appearance. Letterman had an iconic piece of advice for Stewart: “Do not confuse cancellation with failure”. Letterman also showed up on Conan O’Brien’s new Late Night program, a program he inherited from Letterman, which was struggling in the ratings early on. It just shows how much Letterman really cared about the business he performed for.

I could keep ranting on, but instead I feel like posting some iconic Letterman videos and calling it.

Of course, Letterman began his final broadcast with a classic and hilarious joke: “It still looks like I’m not hosting the Tonight Show”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1f2_01URYQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhFkC1Z18c8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBLgp1qTCTg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQF5JF06NYM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5sVI_-LRCI

 

 

 

Basketball

RDT’s 2015 NBA Playoff Predictions: The Conference Finals

Woo I made it before Game 1 tonight!

First question I have to ask, why the heck is Warriors-Rockets the first series starting? Cleveland and Atlanta were done for what seems like weeks ago. Why should Houston have to just come back in two days?

Anyway, I posted my predictions on Twitter again in case I was late, but I’m not late this time! Then Grantland’s Zach Lowe copied me! (Or has no idea what RDTWorldofSport is, I give it a 50-50 chance).

An interesting tidbit about these Conference Finals: while the NBA is the most anti-parity league in basketball (we have a #1 seed against a #2 on each side, for example) this is the first playoffs in what feels like forever where none of these four teams really felt like true Championship contenders before the season began, other than possibly Cleveland. LeBron’s return to the Cavs got them here, fine. But the Hawks? Where did that come from? The Rockets looked like a two man team without enough depth to make it far, and it looked like they were who we thought they were until Josh Smith decided to realize his potential ten years into his career for a quarter and a half and led the Rockets to a stunning Game 6 comeback. The Warriors were a fun team to pick, but fun usually means “really good team that gets beat by the Spurs in the playoffs”. Instead, Stephen Curry owned the league, Klay Thompson made the rumors he’d be traded for Kevin Love look foolish and Andrew Bogut and Draymond Green led a great defense to create the clear title favorite at this point. Just some crazy stuff.

Eastern Conference Finals

#2 Cleveland Cavaliers @ #1 Atlanta Hawks

How the Cavs got here: Well, they convinced LeBron to come home. They got pretty lucky with #1 Overall picks, hitting Kyrie Irving in 2012, missing on Anthony Bennett and nailing Andrew Wiggins. They sent Wiggins and Bennett to Minnesota for Love, and while Love actually had a good (not by his standards) season, it’s debatable whether that’s been a good idea long term. They also got Mozgov, JR Smith and Iman Shumpert at the trade deadline, giving the Cavs decent depth. Obviously they key has been LeBron.

How the Hawks got here: To be honest, I have no idea. Kyle Korver was dealt to Atlanta a few years ago for cash. Paul Millsap had always been pretty underrated but a solid hand that Utah didn’t bother with and let walk. Al Horford was the #3 Overall pick right behind Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Jeff Teague was another Hawks draft pick who upped his percentages enough to go from an average player at best to good player. DeMarre Carrol is a former late 1st round pick of Memphis who bounced around before finally finding a place in Atlanta.

The Hawks are probably the worst 60 win NBA team in the history of the league. Unsurprisingly, they fell apart down the stretch after a really hot start. Brooklyn was a mess themselves and yet put up a fight, Washington was a secretly a mess themselves, only Toronto was in worse shape so suddenly they looked a lot better than they were (I picked Atlanta in 4 there, but I wasn’t underrating Washington, I was overrating Atlanta). This a poor man’s Spurs’ team at best and I still have no reason to believe in them.

You know who I believe in? LeBron James. I’ve still yet to see a reason why a LeBron lead team won’t win the East. Sure, he’s not the LeBron of a few years ago, but he’s still the best player in the league. And he has enough weapons around him in Smith and Irving to make sure the Cavs can score enough. Yeah, the Hawks probably win Game 1 and go up 2-1, but we know the story by now.

Cavs in 6

Western Conference Finals

#2 Houston Rockets @ #1 Golden State Warriors

How the Rockets got here: Stockpiling assets and landing deals for stars! That’s how James Harden and Dwight Howard got here. Then, take a chance on some troubled stars, like Josh Smith. Then, some of your younger guys work out, like Terrence Jones, and you’re good! Remember, the Rockets got very little for the Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady departures, yet it hasn’t mattered one bit.

How the Warriors got here: Landed Stephen Curry #7 in the 2009 NBA Draft. PGs taken higher: Tyreke Evans, Jonny Flynn and Ricky Rubio. The secretly great Andrew Bogut-Monta Ellis trade. Landing Klay Thompson at #11 in the 2011 NBA Draft, right after Jimmer Fredette and Kemba Walker were selected. Finding Draymond Green in the 2nd round in 2012.

The Rockets are obviously lucky to be here. After their shocking Game 6 victory that justified the Josh Smith signing and a solid Game 7 win, they now face a team that hasn’t slowed down one bit. The Warriors, unlike the Hawks, have decisively taken care of business in each of their two series thus far. The Pelicans bring Anthony Davis to take on the Warriors, no problem, Warriors sweep. Memphis gives Golden State a tough time early on, Coach Steve Kerr makes the adjustment regarding Tony Allen Golden State cruises to three straight victories.

There’s really no reason to think Golden State isn’t the far better team here. Can’t wait to see Jason Terry chase Curry around for 30 minutes a night. Patrick Beverly would have been a great help.

Harden probably gets one 10 for 28 with 20 free throw games made in their to steal one.

Warriors in 5

Hockey

RDT’s Not-So-Serious NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions: The Conference Finals!

Western Conference

#3 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

Both of these series basically worked out the way I thought. Not that the thinking was logical, but whatever. Something that should be known about me: I’m actually anti-parity and usually root for dynasties. It is a big reason why I’m a big NBA fan.

How does me being anti-parity relate to this? Well the Blackhawks are as close as we are probably going to get in terms of a “dynasty” in hockey these days. Conference Finals loss in 2009, a Stanley Cup win in 2010, a 2nd Cup Win in 2013 and they lost in the Conference Finals last year. I like the Ducks, but the Blackhawks need to continue their legacy!

Chicago in 6.

Eastern Conference

#2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. #1 New York Rangers

Ugh at the Lightning. Just ugh.

The Rangers just came back from down 3-1 in another Washington Capital meltdown. I mean, it’s obvious who I am picking here, right?

New York vs. Chicago baby!

Rangers in 4.

Note: Yes, I realize I just made these predictions without naming one NHL player.

Basketball

The Slightly Late 2015 NBA Playoff Predictions: Semi-Finals

Just to show I’m not using the results of the various Game 1s that have been played, I posted my predictions on Twitter beforehand. It was a busy weekend. Let’s delve into this before the Conference Finals!

Western Conference

#5 Memphis Grizzles @ #1 Golden State Warriors

The only chance the Grizzlies have here is to really hound Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and force them to miss shots. They have the defensive players to do it, although one of them, Mike Conley missed Game 1.

It’s going to be tough for the Grizzles because not only do they need to stop Golden State from scoring (good luck with that with MVP Curry), but they need to put up some consistent points as well. They can’t afford to lose a game where the Warriors score less than 100 points. Game 1 showed that Golden State definitely can hold down Memphis as the Grizzles only managed 86 points while Golden State did whatever they wanted. You just aren’t beating the 2015 Golden State Warriors that way I don’t think.

Memphis has been a fun tough out the past few years, but unless everyone from Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph to Vince Carter and Jeff Green show up (Carter in Game 1: 1 for 7), they just aren’t winning. They are in a lot of ways, the 1990s New York Knicks. Always good, but never great.

Warriors in 6

#3 Los Angeles Clippers @ #2 Houston Rockets

How can you not be impressed with the LA Clipper team? They were down 3-2 to the San Antonio Spurs and pulled out all the stops to steal back the series. Chris Paul got hurt in Game 7, came back and put up a game that will go down as one of the all-time great playoff performances. I was absolutely impressed. The Clippers still make huge mental mistakes…they should have outright won Game 2…but for the first time I also saw their mental toughness.

The Rockets? We really don’t know anything after Rajon Rondo ruined the Mavericks’ season. That shouldn’t be held against the Rockets obviously. I believe in James Harden but no one else on that Rockets team. I made my prediction after I learned there was a good chance Paul would miss Game 1, and seeing how Game 1 played out I feel great about it. The Rockets are a one man show with the occasional Superman appearance. That would be great for 2005 I guess (it’s how the 2006 Miami Heat were built), but in 2015 that ain’t gonna fly. The Clippers showed me in the 1st round that they are a great team. (The Clippers blew the Rockets out in Houston…without Chris Paul).

Clippers in 6

Eastern Conference

#5 Washington Wizards @ #1 Atlanta Hawks

I already missed the games on this one. I have a theory that sometimes it’s easy to overrate and underrate a team because of their round 1 results. For example, I thought the Wizards were pretty lousy coming into the playoffs, but lucked out in facing a just as lousy Raptors team and beating them decisively. That caused (in my view) the Wizards bandwagon to jump up a bit. Likewise, the Hawks had a little trouble taking out the Nets, even though the Nets were a hot team at the end of the year and probably better than the Raptors. This caused the Hawks to be underrated. So I figured the Hawks would make quick work of the Wizards, but I forgot something. I forgot the Hawks had a lot of problems down the stretch too. I think the point is, the East sucks.

Anyway, I shouldn’t have predicted that a Paul Pierce team would be getting swept, especially with the playoff experience the other Wizards gained last year against Indiana. Big mistake on my part. Washington’s been here already. The Hawks really haven’t. Sure Horford has played his share of playoff games, but Atlanta’s never had this pressure of being the big favorite. I wish I could take back my games prediction at least since Washington won Game 1, but I still think the Hawks are winning in 7. Alas.

Hawks in 4

#3 Chicago Bulls @ #2 Cleveland Cavaliers

Oh boy. LeBron did not show up for Game 1 and in the current state of the Cleveland Cavaliers I don’t know if he can have these bad games anymore. I still thought Cleveland was cruising to the Finals without Kevin Love, but talent wise this Bulls team is stacked and have a lot to prove. Derrick Rose of course wants revenge from 2011. Pau Gasol has a lot to prove after he fell apart in LA. Joakim Noah hates LeBron.

This is going to be one of those series that either adds to the legacy of LeBron, or shows that perhaps he needs elite teammates. One of the defining Michael Jordan stories of course is how he overcame those tough teams when his teammates weren’t always there. The 1992 and 1993 Knicks series. The 1998 Pacers series. MJ always came through. Can LeBron come through?

I need Cleveland to sweep through the rest of the way to be 100% here, and I wouldn’t count it out.

Cavs in 5