“I may be 7-2 but I never felt taller when standing in his shadow” the words of Kareem Abdul Jabbar describing his relationship with Muhammad Ali. On occasion there are athletes who are a cut above the sport they represent; in this instance we are not discussing athletic skill. This was the embellishment of the “The Greatest”.
Game Two
I’m 0-2 waiting on the “real Cavs” to make an appearance. This is a bunch of guys in Cavs jerseys trying to imitate the team we witnessed bogart its way through the Eastern Conference Playoffs. For those who might be unfamiliar with the word bogart the Urban Dictionary says; “To hog something that is supposed to be shared,” or “A person who bogarts.” The first definition might be a stretch however the second certainly fits.
As I mentioned I was a little apprehensive regarding the second game because the Curry/Thompson tandem only scored 20 points in Game One. They have scored 26 with roughly half a game remaining. I talked to a friend prior to the evening game. He said; “Maybe the Warriors believe they have a second life after almost losing to the Thunder.” I can’t disagree with him the Warriors appear really scary. With 7:08 left in the 4th quarter Curry goes to the bench----Warriors 92 Cavs 64. For the second evening in a row you can laugh at me again. Final 110-77.
Consider this
The television viewers for Game One of the Warriors-Cavs were 19.19 million folks. It was significantly higher than last years match and it was higher than Miami-San Antonio the previous season. I forgot we are told nobody watches the NBA according to a number of folks.
Teammates
The Cavs Kevin Love and Warriors Klay Thompson are battling one another on the basketball court. Once upon a time the two were teammates; back in 2001 they played on the same Lake Oswego (OR) Little League Baseball Team. As for how they managed to become teammates is interesting. Love’s father Stan was born in Southern California but played his college ball at Oregon University. Klay’s dad Mychal was born in the Bahamas played his college ball at the University of Minnesota. He would be drafted by Portland and spent the major portion of his NBA career in Oregon as a member of the Blazers.
Coach K.
Not sure how this subject came up however Duke’s Coach K. made his intentions known he is not close to retirement. Kentucky’s John Calipari (57 years old) made a similar pronouncement much earlier. Why the discussion on retirement it could have something to do with age. Coach K. is 69 years old and will turn 70 before the 2016-17 season is complete. Kentucky and Duke are tied for first in recruiting for the Class of 2016 prospects. Other senior citizens coaches include Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim (71 years old) and Larry Brown Southern Methodist University (75 years old) will have another birthday before the season begins.
Why?
You have an opinion I have an opinion everyone should have an opinion depending on the subject matter. It’s just that an opinion not actual fact, unless your name is called out is it important? Here’s the example Mike Greenberg on ESPN’s Mike and Mike. He claims ESPN/ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy was calling him out. During the Thunder-Warriors series Greenberg said; “It looks as though Steph (Curry) is hurt.” I must be honest I don’t always agree with some of the stuff Van Gundy says.
He’s got one clear advantage over Greenberg and me; he’s coached the game at the NBA level. There is a clear difference between “talking about the game (Greenberg, me and you) then playing or coaching.” Van Gundy didn’t provide his audience a name besides the fact the audience for the telecast was much larger than Greenberg’s radio/television audience. Unless Greenberg “confessed” we had no idea who Van Gundy might have been referencing.
