After spending the first three games wildly jacking up threes and mostly missing, the Golden State Warriors came back last night in Game 4 with a more comprehensive team approach that looked a little more like actual basketball, and the results spoke for themselves—a 103-82 win that tie up the NBA Finals 2-2 and regained […]
Stanley Cups are won and lost every year when one goalie takes at least a game or two in the Finals and invites his team to hop on his back. It might be a stretch to say Blackhawk goalie Corey Crawford single-handedly produced his team’s series-tying 2-1 win in Game 4 over the Tampa Bay […]
There’s one overriding thought that’s going through my mind as I watch these NBA Finals. It lingered in the first couple games and came out full-bore during Golden State’s third-quarter meltdown in last night, what ultimately cost them in a 96-91 loss to Cleveland in Game 3. That thought is this—what’s all the fuss about […]
Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals was the best one yet. All three games between Chicago and Tampa Bay have been one-goal games, with the corresponding game-end drama. But this was the first game that combined the up-and-down tempo that had been predicted, a high quality of play and still had plenty of drama. […]
The stat line tells you LeBron James had a dazzling 39 points/16 rebounds/11 assists. And for much of the night he really was good—not great, because those points came on 11-of-35 shooting, but terrific in distributing the ball. But I can’t ever recall watching a great player turn into as much of a train wreck […]
The play was much more aggressive in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals then it had been in Wednesday’s series opener, and that was reflected in the goal totals, as Tampa Bay nipped Chicago 4-3 to the series at a game apiece. But the more you dig into the numbers, the more it’s apparent […]
Saturday will be the 13th time since 1978 that a horse has come to the Belmont Stakes with a shot at the Triple Crown. The 12 previous times have seen those horses finish in second place four times, including Smarty Jones’ near-miss in 2004. They have finished in-the-money eight times. But in none of those […]
Those of us who picked Cleveland to win the NBA Finals have to answer this question—if the Cavs couldn’t get a road win on a night when LeBron dropped 44 and Cleveland’s inside personnel decisively won the battle against Golden State and when the Warriors were clearly tight for a quarter-plus, then when exactly does […]
The telltale warning signs came early for the Tampa Bay Lightning in their 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Lightning came out of the gate playing with aggression and grabbed an early 1-0 lead. But amidst that free-flowing play they committed three dangerous turnovers, leaving the […]
The narrative for this year’s NBA Finals has been cast as a choice between the best player or the best team. Do you take LeBron James to carry the Cleveland Cavaliers on his back to their first NBA title? Or will the 67-win Golden State Warriors, easily the league’s best, to bring home their first […]
The Tampa Bay Lightning came into existence in 1993 and have won one Stanley Cup, back in 2004. The Chicago Blackhawks are an Original Six team, born in 1927 and with three Stanley Cups before the Lightning were even born. Now the Blackhawks seek their third Cup in six years. These very different heritages collide […]
The Game 7s of the NHL’s conference finals weren’t as exciting as the each series overall was, particularly Chicago-Anaheim, which went for thrill-a-minute to Game 7 clunker. But Tampa Bay-NY Rangers produced a good game, and in the end the Blackhawks and Lightning advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals. Tampa Bay won 2-0 in Madison […]