THE WEEK AHEAD: MAY 14-20 As we pass the midpoint in May this week the NHL playoffs have their hit crunch point, the NBA postseason is settled in and major league baseball approaches it’s first round of interleague play. Here’s a look at what’s on tap this week at TheSportsNotebook… *Daily coverage of the conference […]
You can’t say LeBron James answered his critics on Sunday—that will take at least one championship, probably more, all with him winning Finals MVP honors, before that happens. But LeBron delivered the kind of game everyone’s been waiting to see—a completely dominating performance with all the money on the table—as Miami beat Indiana 101-93 to even their NBA Eastern Conference semi-final series up at two games apiece. TheSportsNotebook recaps this game, along with San Antonio’s closeout against the Los Angeles Clippers, and we look ahead to tonight’s doubleheader…
The Phoenix Coyotes weren’t able to stop the shot barrage that the Los Angeles Kings have putting on this season, but they were able to mitigate it and redirect it, and that was enough for goalie Mike Smith to deliver the Coyotes a 2-0 win in Game 4 of the NHL’s Western Conference Finals and avoid a sweep.
The New Jersey Devils did everything they could between the goaltenders on Saturday afternoon. But the New York Rangers had the best man between the pipes and it’s that reason alone that gave them a 3-0 win in Game 3 of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Finals.
Yesterday at the Staples Center will undeniably go down as Black Saturday in the developing history of the 13-year-old Los Angeles arena. The Clippers and Lakers each hosted must-win playoff games, each had them seemingly in control and both let them slip away. TheSportsNotebook recaps both games and looks ahead to Sunday’s twinbill in the NBA playoffs…
The Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers each faced virtual must-win spots on their home floors—in both cases a loss would have moved them to within a game of elimination with two more road dates ahead of them, in Boston and Oklahoma City respectively. But the Sixers and Lakers got it done and kept their conference semi-finals series alive. TheSportsNotebook recaps both games and looks ahead to Saturday’s doubleheader…
The second leg of the Triple Crown goes Saturday when the Preakness Stakes is held at Pimlico Racetrack in Baltimore. If the Kentucky Derby is like March Madness or the NHL playoffs, in that it has a crapshoot feel, the Preakness is analogous to the NBA playoffs, where the favorites prevail. And standing in the roles of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs are I’ll Have Another & Bodemeister, who finished 1-2 at Churchill two weeks ago and are slotted as the morning-line favorites in Baltimore. TheSportsNotebook will break down the contenders in the 11-horse field by first looking at the five new runners, and then the six holdovers from the Derby…
The Los Angeles Kings moved to within a game of sweeping of the NHL’s Western Conference Finals with a 2-1 win last night in Phoenix. The Coyotes came out and played hard, even got a brief lead, but in the end there’s too much talent on Los Angeles for this series to turn around.
The Miami Heat are officially in serious trouble—not getting a serious challenge—but trouble, as in can lose this series to the Indiana Pacers after a blowout defeat last night left the Pacers up 2-1 in the series. And one team that’s not in serious trouble is San Antonio, who laid waste to the LA Clippers to defend their home floor and take a 2-zip series lead. TheSportsNotebook recaps the games and looks ahead to a playoff doubleheader on Friday…
The defenses were sharp last night in Madison Square Garden as the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers hooked up for Game 2 of the NHL’s Eastern Conference finals. But the Devils were the sharper of the two and they got the big goal when then they needed it to tie up the series at a game apiece with a 3-2 win last night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder showed why they may be morphing into a championship team in front of our very eyes. The Boston Celtics showed the stuff that once helped them win a championship, as both teams won last night in the NBA playoffs. OkC successfully defended its homecourt against the LA Lakers to grab a 2-0 series lead, while the Celtics reclaimed homecourt, by beating Philadelphia on the road in Game 3 and going up 2-1. TheSportsNotebook recaps both games and looks ahead to tonight’s doubleheader…
As we hit interleague action in MLB this weekend, everyone has 35-plus games behind them and we’ve covered a little more than 1/5 of the schedule. TheSportsNotebook continues its evaluation period that’s going on this week. This post focuses on the National League. Please also check the American League overview from earlier today and the individual reports that were run yesterday, with an All-Star ballot put together for both the AL & NL.