The Weekend Run-down May 16, 2011

The NBA and NHL playoffs took center stage this weekend as both leagues are now in the conference finals. In the NBA, one of the most anticipated match-ups of the playoffs turned into a laugher as Chicago behind its stifling defense and a couple of monster dunks by Taj Gibson of all people took game 1 from Miami and its big 3 of James, Wade, and Bosh. Memphis tried its best but finally lost their Cinderella slipper as OKC eliminated them in game 7 of the Western semi-finals. The “Believe Memphis’ campaign comes to a bittersweet end as the Grizzlies enjoyed their best season ever and look to have a bright future ahead of them.

In the NHL, Vancouver rallied late to push past the San Jose Sharks, to take the first game of their series. San Jose’s penchant for blowing leads was never more evident then in this game, but more of that later. The Boston Red Sox demise has been greatly exaggerated as they swept the New York Yankess and finally get back to .500. On top of getting swept, the Yankees are dealing with Jorge Posada’s refusal to go into the game after being placed at the 9 spot in Joe Giradi’s lineup card. A circus has ensued as the ageing Posada and his wife took to social media (which never makes anything better) to vent their frustration. Just another day in Yankee land right?

Now for the rundown:

NBA:

Eastern Conference Finals Game 1: Chicago 103 Miami 82 – The Bulls came out and made this one a street fight. Chicago doesn’t have the glitz and glamour of three of the games superstars but they proved that they will be a tough match for Miami. MVP Derrick Rose scored 28 points and Luol Deng chipped in 21 as for Chicago. The Bulls vaunted Tom Thibodeau defense held Lebron James and Dwayne Wade to just 33 points combined. The Bulls just outhustled Miami all over the floor as they dove for loose balls and boxed out Miami on multiple occasions. The isolation plays Miami ran with so much precision and efficiency against Boston were met with double teams as Joakim Noah packed the paint and didn’t allow James and Wade to attack the basket. This is the blueprint for Chicago. Miami may have the stars but Chicago has the depth and will look to wear down the Heat. So far so good as they take game 1 and look to carry their momentum into game 2 Wednesday.

Western Conference Semi-Finals Game 7: OKC 105 Memphis 90 – Kevin Durant was mad at himself for letting his team down in game 6 and came out took it to the Grizzlies in game 7. Durant scored 39 as he saved his best game of the series for the most important one. Durant’s Dr.Jerkyll-Mr.Hyde sidekick Russell Westbrook also turned in his best performance as he notched his first postseason triple double with 14 points 10 rebounds and a season high 14 assists. You never know what you will get from Westbrook but when he plays under control like this, he makes the Thunder as good as any team in the league. The Grizzlies battled but an 18 for 23 stretch that extended from the first quarter to the second quarter all but doomed their chances. Mike Conley scored 18 to lead Memphis and would cut the Thunder’s lead to 52-49 on a 3-pointer in the third. That would be as close as Memphis got as Durant got hot again as he scored eight points in a 14-2 run for OKC that all but sealed it up for the Thunder. Oklahoma City now will face Dallas in the Western Conference Finals. Memphis fades off into the sunset but they had their most successful season ever. They return 20 point a game scorer Rudy Gay and now have fan support that hasn’t been there for years in Memphis. Things are looking up and as long as they can sustain their success, things will only get better for the Grizzlies. Congrats on a great season Memphis.

NHL:

Western Conference Finals Game 1: Vancouver 3 San Jose 2 – When your making your first conference finals appearance in 17 years, your not going to let a little 2-1 deficit hold you back right? The Canucks scored two goals in the third to take game 1 of the Western Finals. This continues an ugly trend for San Jose. They have blown three leads in these playoffs when leading in the third period of the game. Vancouver capitalized in the final period as Henrik Sedin set up Kevin Bieksa’s tying goal and Bieska would score the winning goal as well. San Jose looked a bit sluggish at times which was understandable after their emotional game 7 win over Detroit. Anitti Niemi kept San Jose in the game as he stopped 35 of 38 shots but it wasn’t enough. Game 2 is Wednesday in Vancouver and I’m sure San Jose will respond with more rest under their belts.

MLB:

Boston Sweeps New York – The Boston Red Sox were suppose to win over 100 games this year, run roughshod over the American league and meet the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. Armed with the acquisitions of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez this is what you were told to believe coming into this season. However things started out rough, as a matter of fact very rough for the Sox. After starting out a major league worst 3-10 after, the Sox have slowly crept back up the standings.

They completed their sweep of the hated Yankees last night as Jon Lester pitched 6 innings and struck out 7. New York now is the team struggling as they have lost 5 in a row and have a drama developing in the club house with Jorge Posada. Posada went out of his way to apologize but the damage has already been done to his reputation. He refused to go into the game after being dropped to 9th in the lineup but what can you expect after hitting just .165? New York’s defense has also abandoned them as they now have made 13 errors in 10 games. A-Rod allowed a ball roll to through five hole in the seventh and it stretch the Red Sox lead to 6-4. Jonathon Papelbon came in and got the save the in the ninth to preserve the sweep.

Nashville Predators lose series to Vancouver but best is yet to come

The most successful season in Nashville Predators history came to a close last night. The Vancouver Canucks capitalized on early mistakes from the Preds and defeated them 2-1 in front of a sold out Bridgestone Arena.




This game will be remembered for the missed opportunities Nashville had. The Predators allowed two early goals by Mason Raymond and Daniel Sedin ten minutes into the game, as the highly energized and frenzied pace seemed to work against the home team. This lost marks the third time Vancouver has beaten the Preds at home in this series. Nashville was able to get back into the game thanks to improbable goal by David Legwand. The veteran forward scored on a banking shot that hit off of Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo’s leg.



But Nashville wouldn’t be able to get any closer. The Predators couldn’t exploit its power play opportunities as they were just 1-21 in the series while having the man advantage. Nashville had an 18 shotson goal compared to Vancouver’s 9 but the Canucks were able to put 2 of those shots in net.



“I thought we played the first two periods as well as we’ve played all in the playoffs,” coach Barry Trotz said. “The first period was a little disturbing because according to our [calculations] and what we track … we were outchancing them 11-2 and we were losing 2-0.



Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler continued to be the thorn inside of Nashville’s side as he recored assists on both goals for the Canucks. The first would come off a Ryan Suter turnover that happened to be near the net. Kesler zipped a pass to Raymond for a backhanded shot past Pekka Rinne.



This was a disappointing end to an otherwise great season for Nashville. The Predators won their first playoff series in defeating the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, recorded their first playoff victory in overtime, their first playoff road victory, the teams first win in an elimination game (Saturday night in Vancouver, forcing Monday’s game six), and set the single season attendance record averaging 15,562 655 a game at Bridgestone Arena



The Predators ownership is hoping that this season’s momentum rolls over as they now turn their attention to key off-season moves. This includes re-signing their top restricted and unrestricted players. The first player on that list has to be Shea Weber (who had the best beard in the world by the way), earned $4.5 million this season. He could command as much as $7 million and any team (and there will be many) that is willing to make that offer could possibly take him away from the Predators. Goalie Pekka Rinne is locked up for next season but the Preds would be smart to lock up the Vezina trophy finalist up long term. Steve Sullivan is a fan favorite for all of years of fighting injury but with his contract up and his health down as he only played a limited amount of games this year; his time may be up in Nashville. Joel Ward had a breakthrough in the playoffs and his $1.5 million salary will surely increase in the open market as he is an unrestricted free agent. He may have played himself out of Nashville’s price range. The list goes on as Nashville would probably like to lock up Defensemen Ryan Suter up long-term as well.



The challenge the Predators face now is sustaining the success that they have achieved this year. This is a team on the rise as long as their core stays intact with Weber, Suter and Rinne. They have the playoff experience needed to advance in future playoffs. They also have a number of possible impact players in the minors including local favorite Blake Geoffrion, Defensemen Jonathon Blum, and left-winger Taylor Beck. If the Preds can find a way to add some scoring punch to the lineup, that would take this team to a new level. As Ryan Kesler of the Canucks proved, a dynamic scoring wing can pay big dividends in the playoffs. Hopefully the Preds can sign a talented offensive wing to add to an already tenacious defense, but that may be hard to due considering the players that are already in line for new contracts. The salary cap also isn’t Nashville’s friend as they have one of the lower payrolls in the league.



Above all the uncertainty about the Predators, we can all agree that this was a watershed moment type of season for them. They have gained respect from non-believers who never thought a hockey team could survive here and gained numerous new fans with their tough grind it out style. Even though this wasn’t the ending we wanted in Smashville it’s only the beginning of bigger and better things for Hockeytonk.



Congratulations to the Nashville Predators for a great season and we look forward to an even better one next year.

The Weekend Run-down: Mother's Day Edition

Mother’s Day weekend is usually one of the better sporting weekends on the calendar and this year was no different. A stunning sweep and meltdown by the two-time defending champs in LA, the run for the roses in Louisville and those pesky Predators highlight a power packed weekend.




NBA: L.A. goes down swinging, but not in the good way – The Lakers came into the NBA in full anticipation of championship number 16 and giving there hall of fame coach Phil Jackson a proper send off. None of that will come to fruition now after being dismantled by Dallas in a four game sweep. The Mavericks controlled in every conceivable way. Sunday’s 122-86 defeat was the most shocking defeat of all. The pride and glory that champions are suppose to play with never showed for L.A. The game was basically over by halftime as Dallas torched the Lakers defense for a playoff record with 20 3-pointers, shooting 63 percent from behind the arc and 60 percent from the field (44 of 73) overall. I personally was waiting on a vintage Kobe performance but he finished with just 17 points on 7 of 18 shooting and was merely a spectator to the end of the Lakers dynasty. The game got chippy at the end as both Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum lost their cool and were ejected for physical plays. Bynum will surely hear from the Commish for his clothesline take down of J.J Barea. This couldn’t have been the way Phil Jackson envisioned his last game playing out but he seemed gracious in defeat. Said Jackson "In all my hopes and aspirations, this is the final game that I'll coach," he said. "It's been a wonderful run."



Memphis take 2-1 lead over Oklahoma City: The underdog Grizzlies scratch and clawed their way back from a 16-point deficit to comeback and defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder. Zach Randolph led the way for Memphis as he scored 21 points and snagged 21 rebounds. The game looked like a lost cause for the Grizzlies as they uncharacteristically out of sync on offense and couldn’t stop Russell Westbrook on defense. Point Guard Mike Conley realized the danger zone that Memphis was falling into. “I think once we looked up at the clock and saw how many points we were down, a little bit of desperation hit,” Conley said. He and the rest of Grizzlies finally got their act together in the 4th quarter as they went a 13-2 run and outscored Oklahoma City 23-10 in the fourth quarter. O.J. Mayo had 18 points off the bench. Conley also scored 18, Marc Gasol had 16 and Tony Allen had 10. The game would go into overtime as neither team was able to connect on shots before regulation expired. It was all Memphis in overtime as they built a 92-86 lead and never looked back as they finished off the Thunder from the free throw line from there. This was an overall great victory for the Grizzlies as they now pull within two victories of making their first ever appearance in the Western conference finals. Good luck Grizzlies.



NHL: Predators won’t go down without fight – The Nashville Predator faced their first elimination game and came away with the 4-3 victory of top-seeded Vancouver Canucks. Joel Ward and David Legwand were the stars of the game as they both scored two goals. Ward, who especially has come in strong in these playoffs, scored his goals less than five minutes apart early in the third period as the Preds were able to extend the series and give the Smashville faithful at least one more home game. Pekka Rinne had 31 saves and to go along with the heroics of Ward, who also has six points in three games, has already set franchise records with seven goals and 12 points in the playoffs. Ryan Kessler of Vancouver continued his hot play as he scored twice after having his tooth knocked out and had to receive stitches to his face after he was struck by a deflected puck. The Canucks are just 1-4 in potential series clinching games this year. Head Coach Barry Trotz was in no mood to concede anything as he stated “We’re a resilient group. One of the themes we’ve had since Day One in Nashville is let’s not make any excuses for anything, and we don’t.” Game 6 will be played today at the Bridgestone arena. Make sure to come out and support the Preds for what could be possibly the last home game of the year. A boisterous home crowd could definitely swing the game in Preds direction.



137th Kentucky Derby – In what was called the most open Derby field possibly ever, a 30-1 long shot proved it to be true as Animal Kingdom took the annual run for the roses at Churchill downs. Animal Kingdom pulled off the stunner as he pulled past Nehro at the 1/8th pole to cross the finish line 2 3/4 lengths ahead. Animal Kingdom made history as he became the first ever derby winner to never have raced on dirt before the Kentucky Derby. The morning favorite Dialed in never was much of a factor as he finished eighth. I’m surprised,” Irwin said immediately after the win. “I know a lot of history and I just didn’t see it happening. When it did, it was surprising and overwhelming, really.”, said winning jockey Barry Irwin. The next leg in the Triple Crown is the Preakness held May 21 at Pimlico race course in Baltimore.

The Memphis Grizzlies and the Nashville Predators give Tennessee a taste of post-season success:

A couple of weeks ago I assessed the post-season success or should I say unsuccessfulness of Tennessee’s professional sports franchises. (See: http://www.noomizo.com/index.php/the-tennessee-sports-fan-conundrum-why-cant-tennessees-professional-sports-teams-acheive-post-season-success/) and as always it seems my foot has now been placed firmly in my mouth. The Memphis Grizzlies at the time had never even won a playoff game, and were given the tall task of facing the number one seed of the NBA’s western conference in the San Antonio Spurs. The Nashville Predators hadn’t won a playoff series and were facing arguably the hottest NHL team coming into the playoffs in the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. As much as I credit myself for knowing a thing or two about our local pro teams, little did I and for the most part the state of Tennessee anticipate that we would be treated to a pair of fast-paced and exciting NHL and NBA playoff series victories for both teams.

The Predators got things started as they battled Anaheim in a highly entertaining back and forth battle of up-tempo teams. The series featured everything you want in an NHL series with brutal hits (Martin Erat had four teeth knocked out by Jarkko Ruutu in game 4), spectacular goals (You won’t find a better one than Bobby Ryan’s amazing goal in game 5), suspensions (Ryan for stomping Jonanthon Blum’s foot) and a dramatic come from behind victory overtime thriller in game 5.

The Preds fought for every inch of ice and resembled the hard nosed blue collar team they always have been under Barry Trotz. Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, Pekka Rinne, and Mike Fisher all showed at various points why they are so valuable to the team. But it was also the unsung heroes in Jered Smithson with his game-winning shot in OT of game 5 as well as Nick Spaling scoring two goals in the game 6 clincher, detailing the entire team effort. They also stole the hearts of Nashville in the process as the sold out Bridgestone arena was rocking in every game. “Hockeytonk” showed to be alive and well in “Smashville” as fans came out in droves to see their Predators. The local and national media have finally caught on as the media presence at Predator games has nearly tripled. They have given us locals something else to talk about other than the Titans and the NFL lockout labor strife. They have made us proud and proved that hockey can survive in this non-traditional southern market.

The Predators have fought for respect since they arrived in Nashville. They seem to finally be getting there just due as Head Coach Barry Trotz has been nominated for the Jack Adams award for coach of the year, Goalie Pekka Rinne is up for the Vezina trophy for best goalie and defensemen Shea Weber is a finalist for the Norris trophy awarded to the NHL’s best defensemen. As critical as the press has been about Nashville’s hockey team, it seems that things are finally changing for the better. The Predators attendance has steadily increased as the chart below shows. And now with the playoff victory under their belt, the numbers should only get better.

Season Avg. Paid Avg. Comps

2008-09 14,189 852

2009-10 14,155 834

2010-11 15,562 655

The Memphis Grizzlies have come into their own at the right time as they took down perennial playoff power San Antonio Spurs in just six games. The Spurs were the number one seed in the west and Memphis was given little hope of winning a couple of games much less the entire series. The Grizzlies came out in game 1 and showed the Spurs they meant business as they punished San Antonio in the post thanks to Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. The newly minted “Bruise Brothers” just obliterated the older Spurs team on the inside. San Antonio had no answer for the multi skilled big men as Memphis ran its offense to perfection thru the duo. The Spurs tried everything including small lineups and inserting seldom used rookie Tiago Splitter in favor of undersized and ineffective Dejuan Blair. Memphis also used a stifling perimeter defense featuring perimeter pit-bulls Shane Battier and Tony Allen. One of the surprising and ironic events is how the injury of the Grizzlies most athletic player in Rudy Gay has allowed the paring of Battier and Allen to attack other team’s best wing players. The lethal 3-point shooters of the Spurs were limited to just 29.4% in the series after shooting an NBA best 39.7% during the regular season. Marc Gasol has made the trade of his brother Pau to L.A mentionable in these parts again as he has developed into one of the better center in the league. He averaged 20 points and 16 rebounds against the Spurs

However, maybe the biggest story of the Grizzlies surprising run has to be the emergence of Zack Randolph as their go to clutch performer. Randolph as you remember was the enigmatic head case that made stops in Portland, L.A., and New York before arriving in Memphis. He was a player who reputation had preceded him. He was known for having talent but not the work ethic that was needed to become a consistent star. Randolph is now proving that he has moved past those demons as he carried the Grizzlies past San Antonio averaging 27 points and 11 rebounds for the series. He bullied his way to the hoop and showed a soft leathery jump shot from the outside. He made the game winning 3-pointer in game 3 that stunned the Spurs so much that they never recovered from it (Tim Duncan looked as if his eye-balls were going to pop out).

Credit also has to be given to the Grizzlies coaching and bench play as Head Coach Lionel Hollins has mixed and matched players until he finally settled on a unit featuring hard nosed defenders in Darrell Arthur and Sam Young and balanced it out with skilled offensive players O.J Mayo and Grevis Vasquez. Memphis has taking on the identity of its coach Hollins who was a member of the 1977 and 1978 NBA all-defensive teams. He relishes the opportunity for his team to get out in passing lanes and playing in your face pressure defense. Hollins has been the steady hand that has led Memphis to respectablity. He has taken this team and made it his as he has navigated thru the Allen Iverson debacle and enstilled confidence in Point Guard Mike Conley by giving him the minutes he needed to become a solid leader on the team.

As a result of their attainment both the Grizzlies and the Predators have made this spring much more interesting here in Tennessee. The teams continue their march into history as the Preds now are facing the number one seeded Vancouver Canucks. The Grizzlies are taking on up and coming Oklahoma City, a team featuring one of the best players in the world in Kevin Durant. There are so many similarities in these teams as both face stiff challenges in their quests to bring home championship hardwood that has eluded the volunteer state. They are both hard working blue collar teams that don’t have the name recognition as the big cities teams do. Nashville and Memphis have also proved that they are hungry for more as well, as they have both already taken a victory in their second round series.These two teams have captured the spirit of Tennessee, from the rolling hills and country music of the mid-state to the bar-b-qued filled aroma and fun loving elements of Beale Street of Memphis. These two teams have a chance to go down in Rocky Top lore.

The Weekend Run-down

The Mesmerizing Masters: What a captivating weekend finish we witnessed on golf’s grandest stage. Rory McIlroy played brilliantly thru the first three days and looked as if he would don his first green jacket as he had a four stroke lead heading into Sunday. But the young Irishman could not handle the pressure and the wheels on his game fell completely off. McIlroy shot a 43 on the back nine that opened the door for everyone else. The stage was set for an epic battle as Tiger Woods showed he still has considerable game and growled his way back from 7 strokes down to take the lead at -10. Everyone surely takes notice when Tiger is in position to pounce on Sunday’s at a major. Tiger would miss some key putts along the way that could have made for an even better score but it was good to see him rounding into form. After Tiger’s round, things heated up for a trio of younger but fearless challengers. Adam Scott, Jason Day and Charl Schwartzel all shared or lead on the 16th and 17th holes. Scott took command as he made an array of dazzling shots. Not to be one upped, Day and Schwartzel were hot on Scott’s tail. In the end it would be Schwartzel finishing with four straight birdies to take the championship. Great stuff from Augusta this year; it surely was one of the best I’ve ever witnessed.

NBA: Top Teams Battle for Playoff Positioning.

Chicago 102 Orlando 99 - Chicago held on for a 3 point victory over Orlando and the win all but locked up the number one seed in the east for the Bulls. Derrick Rose also put the final touches on his MVP caliber season as he pasted the Magic for 39 points and five assists. The Magic were without their MVP candidate Dwight Howard who was suspended for this game due to receiving his 18th technical foul of the year.

Miami 100 Boston 77 - The Miami Heat finally beat the Boston Celtics and did it emphatically. Boston had previously owned the Heat this season as they pounded and punked them in their three previous meetings. This time Miami was having none of it. Lebron lead all scorers with 27 and he set the tone for Miami early. The Heat outrebounded the Celtics 42-26 and that was a season low for Boston. Miami was superb defensively as Dwayne Wade rejected Ray Allen on numerous occasions and closed out on his three point attempts. In what was likely a preview of the Eastern conference semifinals, this game was physical as the teams scuffled after a hard foul by Jermaine O’neal on Lebron James that led to some pushing and shoving under the basket. The playoff intensity showed but it was Miami taking control of the number two seed in the East.

OKC 120 L.A. Lakers 106 – This is the fifth straight loss for the two-time defending champions and it officially is a sign of panic in tinsletown. After beginning the post all-star break at 18-1, the Lakers lackadaisical play of late has them reeling. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook controlled the game and combined for 57 points as the Thunder won their fourth in a row and their first against the Lakers on the road since March 12, 2006. The Lakers looked sluggish out the gates but came on in the fourth quarter and took the lead but the Thunder would close the game out on a 16-2 run. Kobe Bryant finished with 31 points and Pau Gasol added another 26 but it would not be enough. The danger the Lakers now face is in the standings. The Lakers latest loss has them tied with Dallas in the standings and the surging Thunder are now only one game back for the number two seed in the West.

NHL: Nashville Predators nab the 5th seed in the West - The Preds have scratched and clawed their way to yet another playoff berth. For the sixth time in seven years, Nashville will be chasing Lord Stanley, this time as the 5th seed in the West. The Predators finished the season 14-4-3, moving from 11th going into a game on March 10 to their current position and clinched their playoff ticket with a win over Columbus this past Friday. Nashville will face the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the four vs. five match-up. It bodes well for the Preds as they have beaten the Ducks 3 out of 4 times this year. Nashville has been in this position before and knows it’s time to bring a playoff victory to music city. “For us, it’s the next step,” Nashville coach Barry Trotz said Sunday. “Sooner or later we’re going to break through that, and that’s been our goal since losing out last year is to take the next step. Hopefully, we’ll take it this year. From our standpoint, that’s our goal.” Hopefully this is the year that Smashville tastes some playoff success. Coach Trotz and the Predator faithful deserve it.