NBA Mock Draft
A team-by-team look at the first round of the NBA Draft. Some mock drafts try to advise teams, while some try to predict their moves; this one provides the best of both worlds, with some charm to boot
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NL All-Star Report: Pittsburgh’s McCutchen Fills CF Void
By the middle of May the race to be the National League’s best centerfielder looked like kind of like the race for the NBA title during the Michael Jordan era—it was about watching to see who would finish second. That’s how dominant Matt Kemp was for the Los Angeles Dodgers, as he rattled off a .444 on-base percentage and a stunning .719 slugging percentage in a tough hitter’s park, keying his team’s scorching start. Then Kemp went down with a hamstring injury. Then he came back and promptly re-injured the hammy. Now he’s just hoping to be able to play in Kansas City for the July 10 All-Star Game
MLB Weekly Report: Miami Melts Down In All Phases Of The Game
Say this much for the Miami Marlins—they know how to time a meltdown. With their city celebrating its NBA coronation, baseball is going to be an afterthought and there’s never been a better time for Ozzie Guillen’s team to be away from the public eye. The Marlins have gone from being right on the heels of Washington in the NL East to having a 33-38 record coming into Sunday’s games and staring up at the rest of their division.
The Road Course Awaits NASCAR Drivers At Sonoma On Sunday
Its road course week in NASCAR, as the Sprint Cup Series goes to Sonoma, CA on Sunday afternoon for the Toyota/Save Mart 350. The track at Sonoma is so referred because it’s literally set up as a road, with its sharp turns the same way you’d drive if you were going through a neighborhood (well, I guess I hope not too much like the way you drive in a neighborhood, but I trust the point is clear).
AL All-Star Report: Cleveland’s Underrated Asdrubal Cabrera
If there was a player who was at a key position and amongst his peers at the spot, he got on base more frequently than any of them, hit for better total power (as measured by slugging percentage) than any of them, and graded out higher in the defensive metrics for range than any of them, what would you think of that player? Particularly if the latter gave his team at a big edge at position that demands good and thereby enabling your team to be on first place in the latter part of June? You’d probably think you have an MVP contender on your hands. And they he won’t get discussed in that context, that’s exactly what the Cleveland Indians have with shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.
NBA Playoffs: LeBron’s Crowning Moment
The road that started on Christmas Day came to an end last night in South Beach last night, as the Miami Heat won the NBA championship in decisive, indeed anti-climactic fashion, in taking apart the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-106 and wrapping up the Finals in five games.
NL All-Star Report: Jed Lowrie’s Career Rejuvenation In Houston
The career of Houston Astros’ shortstop Jed Lowrie looked to be on the downward trend when the 28-year-old was traded from Boston to Houston over the offseason. After a decent debut with the Red Sox back in 2008 that saw him post a .339 on-base percentage, play good defense, drive in the run that won the Division Series over the Los Angeles Angels and otherwise liberate us Sox fans from ever seeing Julio Lugo on the field again, Lowrie looked to have a bright future. Then health problems, including mononucleosis, got in the way and he only had 68 at-bats a year later. In 2010 he was productive when he played—a .381/.526 stat line—but health still only allowed him 171 at-bats. With 309 ABs a year ago, his numbers tailed off sharply. The Red Sox dealt him for reliever Mark Melancon, who was shipped to the minors soon after this season started. Lowrie, meanwhile, has taken off.
Wrapping Up The NHL Season
The NHL season officially came to an end last night as the league handed out its awards in Las Vegas. Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin won the Hart Trophy, symbolic of the league’s MVP and New York’s Henrik Lundqvist was named winner of the Vezina Award, which celebrates the league’s top goaltender. TheSportsNotebook believes Phoenix goalie Mike Smith should have won both awards (goalies are eligible for the Hart, as Lundqvist was a finalist), but that had been water under the bridge for some time, as the finalists have been made public for several weeks. Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson was named top defenseman and Ken Hitchcock of St. Louis brought him Coach of the Year. These individual winners—along with several honors—take their place with the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings in the history books for the 2012 season.
AL All-Star Report: The Decline Of Alex Rodriguez
The New York Yankees may be flying high right now, even with last night’s loss to Atlanta, as they’ve won 10 of 11 and are atop the American League East. But it’s not because of anything they’re getting from Alex Rodriguez at third base. You might say that’s a good thing—because what happens then when A-Rod heats up? But is A-Rod going to heat up? A look at the numbers and the recent trajectory of the 36-year-old third baseman who’s only halfway through his lucrative 10-year deal at roughly $30 million a year—hefty even by Yankee standards—suggest reason for concern.
NBA Playoffs: Miami’s Mettle Gives Them Control Of Finals In Game 4
Oklahoma City came out and threw the first punch in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, getting out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter against the Miami Heat. But the Heat counterpunched in the second quarter to essentially even things up and then a combination of OkC being stone cold from behind the three-point line and Miami being smarter down the stretch produced a 104-98 win for the Heat to give them a commanding 3-1 series lead.
NL All-Star Report: Chase Headley Keeps Getting Better In San Diego
The San Diego Padres don’t have much in the way of offense. The lineup is anemic under the best of circumstances and having to hit in the vast dimensions of Petco Park is in fact the worst of circumstances. But it hasn’t stopped their 28-year-old third baseman Chase Headley from continuing the breakout year he enjoyed in 2011 and building on it in 2012.
AL All-Star Report: 2B Jason Kipnis Carries Cleveland Offense
The Cleveland Indians are hanging in the AL Central race, only 1.5 games back of Chicago coming into Monday’s games. And while a big part of that is the division they play in—at 33-32, the Tribe are only a half-game better than the Boston Red Sox or Miami Marlins, both of whom are fighting for their lives against tougher competition—another big part of it is the play of second baseman Jason Kipnis. The 25-year-old in his first major league season is having a year that would measure up against any caliber of competition and he leads up our discussion of American League second baseman on The Road To Kansas City and the July 10 All-Star game.