The NBA Western Conference Finals are set (and are going to be awesome), we had another (bad) NHL Game 7, and we learned the new Madden cover choice. Cheers to the weekend…
The Thunder kicked the Spurs’ ass and will face the Warriors in what is going to be a must-watch WCF series
I have to be honest: I just really felt like the Spurs were still going to find a way to win this series going into Game 6. This is the best-coached team in the NBA and they’ve been in these spots many a time before. They were a ridiculous 67-15 team this year and they’re loaded with guys that have been there, done that. And the Thunder seem to frequently disappoint in these moments. But, goodness, that is definitely now how it all went down.
Gregg Popovich summarized the first quarter (25-19 Thunder) for the Spurs:
And things only got worse after that. The Thunder outscored San Antonio 30-12 in the second quarter, for a 55-31 (massive) halftime lead.
halftime adjustments for the spurs: get on the plane, go home
— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) May 13, 2016
The game appeared out of hand… until late in the fourth quarter when the Spurs were trying to make a furious comeback. And then a sequence happened that was just depressing if you’re a basketball fan not rooting for the Thunder… and especially if you’re a Spurs fan. Tim Duncan going up for a dunk and nope. Then Durant back the other way for a dunk.
113-99 final (Kevin Durant led the way with 37 points), and the Thunder are off to the Western Conference Finals for what is going to be an absolutely awesome series against the Warriors. And as Alysha Tsuji writes, if this is it for Tim Duncan, it’s sad to see him go out like this. Duncan had this to say after the game:
Tim Duncan on his future: “I’ll get to that when I get out of here and figure life out.” — Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) May 13, 2016
Oh, and we of course had another Pop gem in the postgame presser:
For the second straight night, we had an NHL Game 7 that was very bad
On Wednesday night, the Blues beat the Stars 6-1 in a Game 7 and on Thursday night, the Sharks beat the Predators 5-0. So a combined score of 11-1 in the two Game 7’s (I did the math for you; you’re welcome). Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne had an even worse night than the average viewer:
He was probably every bit as angry at his defensemen, who were terrible on the night. It was a particularly rough night for Shea Weber:
um, what is Shea Weber doing? pic.twitter.com/1kGN0K7a1V
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 13, 2016
Shea Weber, man pic.twitter.com/Oh0QSmFVof
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 13, 2016
So, it will be the Blues and Sharks in the Western Conference Finals.
Gronk is the ‘Madden NFL 17’ cover boy
EA Sports announced on Thursday that Rob Gronkowski will be on the cover of Madden NFL 17. I wrote much more about that (and included a teaser trailer EA released) here.
Quick Hits
– Scott Skiles stunningly bailed on the Orlando Magic after coaching there just one season.
– Jordan Spieth had a frustrating finish to open The Players.
– This is a big one in the football world: Pop Warner is eliminating kickoffs in their three youngest levels.
– Ole Miss officials verified that those Laremy Tunsil texts are authentic. Uh oh.
– There was a CAT ON THE FIELD in Anaheim for the Cardinals-Angels game.
– LeBron says his kids will ultimately decide when he retires.
– Brad Gagnon ranks all 32 projected NFL starting quarterbacks for 2016.
– Matt Lo Cascio previews UFC 198.
– Michael Grant writes how it’s time to baseball to stop with the bullpen phones.
– A Mets fan made a bet saying he’d get a tattoo in honor of a Bartolo Colon home run if Colon hit one. Whoops.
– We talkin’ about practice shoes, man. Practice shoes.
– The heck is this Burger King spa?
– Chicago Midway and TSA cannot be serious with their security line system.
One last breath of gratuitous procrastination
This bike thief bait is pretty fantastic:
Screw it, one more breath of gratuitous procrastination
“UFC in Australia” really is the perfect title for this one.
