June begins with an NBA Finals blowout
There has been plenty of time to hype up the start of the NBA Finals, with the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers meeting for a third straight year. As the night went on, some casual viewers may have flipped over to watch the spelling bee instead.
Warriors take Game 1 of NBA Finals
The game got off to a good competitive start, with LeBron James dropping the hammer to tie the game at 24-24 in an explosive first quarter. The Warriors held a five-point lead after a 35-30 first quarter and took a 60-52 lead into halftime.After halftime, the Warriors continued to outpace the Cavs on their way to a decisive 113-90 victory in Game 1. Of course, the Warriors got off to a great start in the NBA Finals last year too.
Leading the way for the Warriors was the combo of Kevin Durant and Steph Curry. Durant led all players with 38 points while Curry was busy dialing up six three-pointers on the night. Here is one of them, where he gets LeBron stuck in his tracks.
Steph and Durant were too much to handle…
Steph drops in the no-look to Durant for the #AssistOfTheNight! pic.twitter.com/g3UkPqb0J9
— NBA (@NBA) June 2, 2017
Durant also got the best of James on this play…
LeBron asked what stood out to him in Game 1.
Answers: "KD"— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) June 2, 2017
Draymond Green was a bit of a pest for much of the evening, as he tends to be when going up against players like LeBron. In an interview airing on ABC News, Green said he doesn’t care if people think James is the greatest basketball player or not, just so long as they don’t recognize James as the 2017 NBA champion. He even got the best of James late in the game too…
Draymond with the tough finish!@warriors have their largest lead of Game 1. #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/NG8cviAJsI
— NBA (@NBA) June 2, 2017
Naturally, the series opener did not go quite as this animated preview said it would. But here’s how it’s being covered in Ohio today…
Sports front page for @recordpub's Friday, June 2, 2017 edition. @APSE_sportmedia pic.twitter.com/KM5bVskcCl
— TomNader_PortageSports (@Tom_Nader) June 2, 2017
James is now 1-7 in NBA Finals Game 1s. I’ll save you the effort of looking it up yourself and tell you Michael Jordan was 4-2 in NBA Finals Game 1s. And no, this stat does not mean anything.
LeBron James is 1-7 in NBA Finals Game 1s in his career pic.twitter.com/pODiMHJEpw
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 2, 2017
Anyway, here’s a good one from the archives as we prepare for Game 2 on Sunday…
Can da cavs come back?
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) May 25, 2009
Spelling Bee finally has a solo champ again
For the first time since 2013, the National Spelling Bee avoided having to end in a tie between two contestants. Ananya Vinay, a 12-year-old sixth-grader from Fresno, California, took home the grand prize of $40,000 and a $2,500 savings bond after correctly spelling “marocain” to break a tie. She was also the youngest finalist in the competition. But I have to ask, do spelling bee champs actually enjoy winning the spelling bee?
https://twitter.com/huahsu/status/870482875724050432
One thing I learned about the spelling bee this year is there is a written test. This was introduced this year and was to be used to break a tie, if one continued. That is what cost six-year-old Edith Fuller from competing in the final round. I feel your pain, Edith. I wasn’t great at written tests either. But the final round went on, and that meant some spellers got a chance to strut their confidence with some showmanship. Like this kid, who spelled the word and walked off stage in the spelliing bee’s closest equivalent to a bat flip.
https://twitter.com/silviakillings/status/870466574553165824
Also, the broadcast could probably use one of these kids to spellcheck their graphics…
The #SpellingBee is so hard even the people with the correctly spelt word can't spell it on the screen. #Fougere, or is it? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/yFSmgjRBHl
— Johnny (@johnnyyP) June 1, 2017
At least it kept Darren Rovell entertained.
https://twitter.com/PHadaway_99/status/870483548070977536
Spelling Bee contestant in the final rounds tonight giving Nike more exposure than LeBron with huge swoosh pic.twitter.com/S02d7twpHk
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 2, 2017
I'M BUYING SO MUCH NIKE NOW. HE'S A MUCH BIGGER INFLUENCE THAN LEBRON
— Patrick (@Thepatinator7) June 2, 2017
Quick Hits
– One more NBA Finals note to pass along. Yesterday it was reported Durant may be interested in accepting less money in order to stick with the Warriors a little longer.
– Once upon a time, Bulls fans wanted to ship Michael Jordan out of town and thought hiring Phil Jackson was a big mistake for the franchise. Oops.
– We have a Game 3 guarantee in the Stanley Cup Final, courtesy of Nashville’s P.K. Subban. The Predators are down 2-0 as the series moves to Nashville for the first time.
– Jason Whitlock is known to say some absurd things on a regular basis, and he once again got the chance to spew some insane rhetoric about LeBron James not being a real victim of racism because he’s rich. This despite LeBron just had a racial slur painted on his Los Angeles home. Martellus Bennett wouldn’t stand for that nonsense. I don’t think Whitlock is dumb, but he sure can be an idiot.
– Here’s a random observation that caught my eye, as someone who is casually following the regular season. CC Sabathia is out to a 6-2 start with the Yankees after notching his latest win yesterday in a 12-2 victory over Toronto. Sabathia hasn’t had a winning season since going 14-13 in 2013, and he won just nine games last season.
– Are there too many home runs in baseball? Probably. But who has the best baseball announcers? Our staff weighs in. On a related note, White Sox broadcaster Hawk Harrelson will retire after the 2018 season.
– It is expected MLB will expand in the future. When it does, it could be heading to Mexico. And it turns out Jeb Bush wanted to be the control person in a bid for the Marlins, but nobody outshines Jeter.
– The Twins pulled off the ole 5-4-3 triple play last night against the Angels…
https://twitter.com/timattwister/status/870481962695348224
– Former LSU head football coach Les Miles is still supporting LSU’s other athletic programs, and he’s still eating grass too.
– Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder is a bit of a college football treasure, but his decision to block a player from transferring is beyond absurd. Stop me if you have heard me say this before, but college coaches shouldn’t have this kind of totalitarian power over where a kid may or may not go to school.
Bill Snyder goes on a dissertation about the decision to deny Corey Sutton the opportunity to transfer. @KCTV5 #KState #KstateFB pic.twitter.com/qTUkfnb7bO
— Andrew Carter (@AC_TwoCircles) June 2, 2017
– In other college football news, Mack Brown says he hasn’t shut the door on the idea of coaching again. You know, Texas A&M could have an opening if things don’t go well this fall…
– Netflix canceled Sense8, a show I never heard of. But at least Rick Moranis is getting back in the swing of things soon.
– The 30 for 30 on the Celtics-Lakers rivalry will be a two-night event.
– Nintendo has rolled out some details about its upcoming online system for the Nintendo Switch. It’s going to cost Switch users $3.99 per month, $7.99 for three months, or $19.99 for an entire year. Now get on it and play me in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
– Lastly, we tend to roll our eyes and poke fun at ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith but today we send condolences to he and his family after his mother passed away.
One last gratuitous moment of procrastination
Well, this seems fitting…
