San Antonio wasn’t messing around last night
Thursday night gave the casual sports fan a chance to relax a little bit. A night after a pair of Game 7’s in the NHL playoffs, there was just one playoff game to be played in either the NBA or NHL, and you didn’t even have to stick with it for the full length to know who won this one.
Spurs head to Western Conference Finals after 39-point blowout in Houston
Looking to close out the second round series and advance back to the Western Conference Finals for the third time in six years and first time since 2014, the Spurs absolutely took care of business against the Houston Rockets on the road. San Antonio was locked in right from the jump and pulled away with a dominant second quarter and a shutdown fourth quarter in a 114-75 series-clinching victory.
LaMarcus Aldridge led the show with a 34-point effort with 12 rebounds for the Spurs. Defensively, the Spurs took James Harden completely out of the game, holding the MVP candidate to just 10 points in 37 minutes. For as good a season as Harden had, this was a bummer of a way to go out. As the night went on, this shot of Harden and Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni summed up the entire evening as best as anything else could…
https://twitter.com/dkurtenbach/status/862843046441787394
Naturally, with Houston getting trucked at home in a crucial game, Twitter was full of comedians…
You gotta start suspending people for this, @twitter. Enough is enough. pic.twitter.com/6pGjwyvUQs
— Freezing Cold Takes (@OldTakesExposed) May 12, 2017
Houston sports fans may be a bit upset with how the series played out, but the Houston Astros won a game against the Yankees and has some things to look forward to on the sports scene…
Hey Houston, good news –> at least the Astros are winning. #atleastwehavethat #andJJWatt
— Jayme Lamm (@jaymelamm) May 12, 2017
Stephen A. just couldn’t help himself from saying something ridiculous.
Stephen A. Smith rips James Harden, says he looked “drugged” during awful Game 6 https://t.co/NII86tDtOv pic.twitter.com/QJuj926u3h
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 12, 2017
The Western Conference Finals begin Sunday afternoon.
The Western Conference Finals between @warriors & @spurs tips off SUNDAY!
G1: 3:30p/et SUN – ABC
G2: 9p/et TUE – ESPN
G3: 9p/et SAT – ESPN pic.twitter.com/KCLcBjQ8f7— NBA (@NBA) May 12, 2017
Is Colin Kaepernick being blackballed by the NFL?
Another day went by with a scrub quarterback getting a contract from an NFL team. The 49ers signed Blaine Gabbert to a one-year deal, filling a roster spot at the position previously occupied by Colin Kaepernick. And because a quarterback who has proven far less in the league than he has been signed by a team, the question has popped up once again. Is Colin Kaepernick being blackballed by the NFL?
This is difficult to debate for a number of reasons, but that won’t stop some people from trying. By many accounts, Kaepernick allegedly still wants to play in the NFL but feels he is worthy of being signed to be a starter somewhere. The problem is there are not a ton of teams out there in need of a starting quarterback, other than those who drafted one in the draft recently. The odds are probably pretty good Kaepernick will be employed somewhere this fall, but it may have to wait until one of two things occurs; a team loses a starter in training camp or early in the year and needs an extra arm, or Kaepernick accepts a reduced role as a backup option.
A report from ESPN says three teams have reached out to Kaepernick, for whatever that means at this stage.
I'll send it out again: The whisper campaign vs. Colin Kaepernick that is essentially a quiet black ball… https://t.co/kZZTYVhQAw
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) May 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/DownWithDamon/status/862446814955528192
Quick Hits
– Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but Josh Gordon is not going to be playing in the NFL this season. In somewhat related news, the Arizona Cardinals released Daryl Washington after he had been reinstated by the league.
– The beef between Richard Jefferson and Draymond Green continues to rage.
– Kevin Durant thinks incoming rookies should skip the NBA combine.
– One brewery in New England is wondering if Joe Flacco is elite.
– Mitch Trubisky drove his grandmother’s car to his first day of practice with the Chicago Bears. In other rookie quarterback news, Hall of Famer Jim Kelly thinks his nephew, Mr. Irrelevant Chad Kelly “finally got it.” We’ll see.
– Zack Greinke had a no-hitter in the works into the eighth inning, until Gregory Polanco launched one down the right field line just a few pitches after launching one just foul in the same area.
THERE'S A HIT!!!@El_Coffee with a blast to right and your Bucs are on the board! #HotCoffee pic.twitter.com/G5r4PwUIZW
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 12, 2017
– Golfers can be pretty picky about the courses they are playing, such as Jordan Spieth getting upset over the way a bunker was raked. Also, Sergio Garcia aced one.
– Remember when Gonzaga went on that NCAA Tournament run to the national championship game? That turned out to be pretty valuable for the school.
– Syfy is rebooting. Didn’t they try that not too long ago?
– This guy’s job is probably more dangerous than yours. He’s on a helicopter.
Helicopter Lineman working on a 345,000 volt transmission line
– I’m a Coke guy so I’ll never try this, but I’m curious to hear your thoughts about the Pepsi Fire Slurpee at 7-Eleven.
One last gratuitous moment of procrastination
Here’s something you don’t expect to see on the ski slopes…
https://gfycat.com/ConsciousEcstaticDanishswedishfarmdog
