Update, April 21: I’m a regular contributor to the historical site Boston Sports Then & Now. Today my contribution was a reflection on some of the notable runners in The Boston Marathon, as we mark last Monday’s tragedy.You can read the article here. I tried to think of something long and eloquent to use […]
TheSportsNotebook’s NBA commentary today will focus on an MVP, an All-Star team, some honorable mentions and a Coach of the Year. Then we’ll wrap it up with a few things to keep an eye on the last few days of the season in the joust for seeding position. We’ll also look back on TheSportsNotebook’s preseason picks regarding each team’s Over/Under number on the win props and see how far off base I wa
The Los Angeles Dodgers were hit with another significant injury, when starting pitcher Zack Greinke broke his collarbone in the highly publicized brawl with San Diego’s Carlos Quentin earlier this week. Greinke will be out until at least the end of May and into June. He joins 3B/SS Hanley Ramirez on the disabled list. The Dodgers have picked up a lot of big names since the All-Star break of 2012, and Greinke and Ramirez are most definitely among them. In an NL West expected to be competitive and living up to that reputation in the first couple weeks, can the Dodgers keep going without them?
These are dangerous times to be a sports star in the city of Los Angeles. The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant goes down for the year. The Dodgers’ Zack Greinke breaks his collarbone. And the Angels’ Jered Weaver is out until May with arm problems. It’s the latter that will be our focus in American League MLB coverage, because Weaver’s injury is just the most serious thing to happen to the Halos in an April that, for the second straight year, has seen everything go wrong. What’s going on in Anaheim?
The arenas of popular culture—sports being a primary one—are the places where people of differing sides can come together, share some common enjoyment and remind themselves that however much they might disagree at the ballot box, that their opponents are still human and that probably about 90 percent of the people on either side of the aisle really do just want what they think is best for everyone.
It’s been an up-and-down year for the San Jose Sharks—which is saying something, because the compressed schedule wouldn’t seem to lend itself to a lot of ups and downs. But with the season entering its final two weeks, the Sharks’ roller-coaster is at the top. They’re in fifth in the Western Conference, with a comfortable seven-point margin between them and the playoff borderline. For today’s NHL analysis, we’ll examine their strengths and weaknesses and see if this the San Jose team that can finally reach the Finals.
I’ve avoided devoting much of this site’s NBA commentary to the Miami Heat. I’m assuming we’ll have plenty of time in the playoffs to go over them, and similar to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Heat get more than their share of attention in the mainstream media. Although unlike Los Angeles, at least Miami gets their media love for all the right reasons. TheSportsNotebook gave in on the Lakers earlier this week, and today we’ll do the same for the Heat. We’ll look at why they’re having such a great year and if there are any weak points that could derail a run at a second straight title.
Hockey in the New York Tri-State area has no shortage of excitement going right now, with the New York Rangers, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils are battling around the borderline of the NHL’s Eastern Conference playoffs. It’s possible all three could make it, and it’s possible all three could miss. Although neither extreme is likely, it adds to the drama these final seventeen days of the regular season. TheSportsNotebook’s NHL analysis will compare all three teams in each phase of the game.
There’s eight days left in the regular season and I’m giving in and talking about the Los Angeles Lakers. I’ve resisted using this space’s NBA commentary to talk about the Lakers, because they managed to eclipse Tim Tebow as the most overrated topic in sports. But with five games left, they’re locked in a final battle for the #8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, and let’s face it—they’d make a formidable challenger to anyone in a playoff series, regardless of how ugly it’s looked this season. So let’s diagnose why this team underachieved, and what its chances are at playoff redemption.
Okay Louisville, I surrender. I believe in you now. After an entire NCAA Tournament of damning the Cardinals with faint praise, I’m going to heap it on them now. Not just because they completed the last leg of the journey, beating Michigan 82-76 last night in Atlanta to win the national championship. But the way in which they did it.
The highlight of the week in sports for April 8-14 comes early, with tonight’s NCAA Final between Michigan and Louisville (9:23 PM ET, CBS). You can read the special preview for that game here, along with thoughts on Saturday’s semifinals. But there’s still a lot more going on in the world of sports. It’s the last full regular season week for the NBA, the NHL is down to three weeks to go and we move into Week 2 for baseball. Here’s the menu for the week in daily sports…
Louisville and Michigan were both highly regarded teams when the college basketball season began back in November, and in a year that’s seen wild fluctuations in the college hoops stock market, so to speak, it’s going to end with two of the early favorites playing for the national championship on Monday night (9:23 PM ET, CBS).