Dear Diary

Dear Diary: Today is Thursday. I just sat through Game 2 of the Warriors and Memphis. The game where Dylan Brooks fouled Gary Payton II so hard that in the ensuing fall, Payton broke his L (shooting) arm. 

Brooks broke the unwritten code about hard fouls around the head with intent to injure. Steve Kerr, the erudite Golden State head coach, who had played with Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman, immediately called it a dirty play on national TV. 

This has been a rough series. As has been Boston-Milwaukee. These guys are playing seriously. It kind of reminds me of the old days—when Rudy La Russa of the Lakers went after the arch-rival Celtics. Or when Bill Laimbeer and the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons would hack and kick and gouge their way to titles. 

In its own way, if this kind of histrionics persists, it will detract markedly from the product. The Celtics and Bucks are loaded with talent. Then there is Ja Morant, who has become rather all-worldly this year facing the Warriors with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and now the sensational Jordan Poole. In the end, it may take a number of 40+ games from Morant for the Grizzlies to advance. 

Before I went to sleep, I watched a little hockey. The New York Rangers stormed back to down the Pittsburgh Penguins, knotting the series at 1. These are two very evenly matched teams. It would be no surprise to me if there is a Game 7. 

I also saw the Panthers rout the Capitals in their series. This is a six or seven games series as well. While it is a lot of fun and entertaining, in the end, my money remains on the Colorado Avalanche to win it all. 

One last tidbit. I had checked on the Mets and Phillies in the first game of a four game set in Philadelphia. I stopped checking on the score with the Phillies comfortably ahead 7-1. I awoke the next morning to find out that the Mets had stormed back to win the game 8-7. They had done something similar in St. Louis earlier this season. The Mets seem to be the real deal. Baseball in New York (and Los Angeles where the Dodgers and Angels are looking good) is going to be a ton of fun this summer. 

Dear Diary: Today is Friday. It is rainy and nasty. I don’t think that the Texas Rangers and Yankees will get to play today. Or for that matter, tomorrow, when I am supposed to go to the Stadium for the first time since 2018. I hope that the Yankees do the right thing and postpone Saturday’s contest. I have vivid memories of going with my father to a makeup Wednesday afternoon Cleveland-New York doubleheader at the old ballpark and sitting through an hour’s deluge before the game was finally called. It still sends a chill down my spine when I hear a forecast of rain for a day I am going to the Stadium.

Brooks was suspended one game for his conduct. it should be a minimum of two. When Brooks takes the court for Game 4, the crowd will be beyond surly. What was the NBA thinking? Payton is out for the season and one game is enough? 

I checked out Miami and Philadelphia in Game 3 of that series. Joel Embiid had been in concussion protocol and suffered an orbital fracture late in the clinching game against Toronto. Without Embiid, the Sixers looked pitiful, with James harden a shell of himself and despite the frenetic play of Tyrese Maxey, who, like Morant, is fun to watch. 

Surprisingly, Embiid played and the Sixers dominated Miami. The Heat looked ragged and disorganized. I may be prejudiced, but taking sharpshooting Duncan Robinson out of the rotation is a mistake—one which, if the Sixers play like they did tonight, will haunt the Heat. Memo to Eric Spoelstra—put him back in!

I also watched a bit of the Suns and Mavericks. I thought this might be a sweep in favor of Phoenix. Luka Doncic and mates don’t agree. They took it to Chris Paul, Devin Booker and company. Will Phoenix regroup and snare Game 4 on Sunday?

Dear Diary: It is Saturday. I awoke with a brute of a head cold. I was glad the Yankees postponed the game. I had my jersey ready and my winter clothes to put on if I had to go.

Instead, I slept in a bit, awakening to see the last 20 seconds of Game 3 for Boston-Milwaukee. The Bucks scored with just over 11 seconds left on a Jrue Holiday lay up. A foul call on Holiday, which the officials said occurred before the attempted three point shot, led to a furious end.  Boston’s Marcus Smart made the first shot, then caromed the ball off the rim, caught it himself and threw up a shot. The ball bounded around to the Celtics Al Hereford, who tried a tip in, then snare the ball and sank the shot. Except it was clearly after time expired. 

Game over. The Bucks escaped. The Celtics were beyond aggravated about the call not being for three free throws. I have seen worse called for three shots. I also agree that the foul may have happened prior to Smart elevating for the shot. And I don’t think that a replay would have definitively changed anything.  

I did watch a bit of the Rutgers-Maryland Big Ten Men’s Lacrosse Championship. I came away with this: Maryland is a true number 1 in the nation team. And the gap between 1 and 3, where Rutgers sat, seemed to be enormous. 

I did see some more of the Rangers-Penguins. New York battled back from a 4-0 deficit to tie the score. Alas, the Penguins weathered a number of penalties and scored three times to down NY. 

I saved my energy for the Grizzlies and Warriors. Memphis streaked out to a sizable lead at the outset. The Warriors kind of kept pace. In the second quarter, Memphis suffered some shooting woes and the Warriors came alive. For the game, Golden State shot over 61% from the floor and scored 142 points. 

As well as Curry, Thompson, Wiggins and the Warriors shot, Memphis had Morant. Citing three point shots, dazzling with drives or throwing down thunderous dunks, he was the offense for the Grizzlies. He even hit a half court shot to end the first half. 

However, he was injured on a loose ball. Memphis contends that Jordan Poole went for his knee, grabbing and twisting it. I watched the replay. It didn’t seem that way to me. As much as the Celtics yelled about their loss, the Grizzlies called Poole’s actions dirty and warranting a suspension. 

More importantly, if Morant is injured—I thought a meniscus tear the way he limped about and threw down something while on the bench—this series is over. I know that Memphis went 20-5 without Morant during  the regular campaign. Except this is not the regular season and these are the Golden State Warriors. 

Let’s not forget the Kentucky Derby. Because it was absolutely unforgettable. Rich Strike, a horse only permitted in the field the day before the race when another horse could not run, confounded every expert and sprinted past the elites to a stunning win. 

80-1 long shots do not win the Derby. I had mentioned to my wife how much fun it would be if the horse won the race. Then I immediately dismissed that though. What a colossal upset!

Dear Diary: I was astounded when I saw the White Sox and Red Sox were on NBC at 11:30 a.m. I checked it out and the format is good. Exclusivity until 1:00 or 1:30 for a national telecast. Moreover, using broadcasters from each team is an homage to the World Series of my youth when the home team’s announcers would get to call the game. 

The bad news is that this is a one time shot on the network. The remaining 17 telecasts are on Peacock. Another way for MLB to increase revenue. Just like the Yankees are on Amazon Plus on Friday nights—with Friday’s make up as the Sunday doubleheader opener being telecasted on Amazon instead of YES. Aargh.

We pay enough for sports TV. YES, ESPN, FS 1, SNY, TNT, and TBS are included in my cable bill. Which is not cheap. Now it will cost me more to see my teams or any games they play? I am outraged. And remember, you cannot get free TV at all—to get the regular channels, you have to use some kind of service to access the broadcasts. Where were the politicians and the FCC when this was happening?

BTW— the Yankees and Rangers split the two games. New York looked anemic in both games, eking out a first game win on a GleyberTorres walk off homer, then having the formerly unhittable Michael King surrender 3 runs after New York had forged a 2-1 lead on a Giancarlo Stanton dinger to lose the second game. 

I checked on F&M playing in the twice delayed Centennial Conference Baseball Championships. Only to find that they were cancelled due to unplayable field conditions at Swarthmore. Which makes Swarthmore, the regular season champs by virtue of a tiebreaker, the automatic qualifier for the NCAA’s. F&M, which had a very fine season, is unlikely to snare an at-large berth. I am angry at the Centennial Conference and Swarthmore, which had all to gain with cancelling the tournament. So unfair. Find a neutral site, guys. 

I tuned into the Suns and Mavs. To see Doncic and Brunson doing it again to the vaunted Phoenix defense. I saw Chris Paul on the bench. For good reason. He had earlier fouled out, letting down Head Coach Monty Williams when he left Paul in the game with 4 fouls. 

Much of my Sunday interest was on Miami-Philadelphia. I wanted to see if Eric Spoelstra would change his game plan. He didn’t. The team is relying too much on Jimmy Butler, who scored 40 points, and center Bam Adebayo, who netted 21. The Heat could not offset Joel Embiid and a monster game (finally ) from James Harden, who led the Sixers with 31 points. 

I am hardly convinced that this won’t be anything more than a home court, seven game series won by Miami. Miami’s terrible three point shooting is hurting them. Considering that they were the best three point shooting team in the league, the correction is obvious. Play Duncan Robinson. 

What else did I watch on Sunday? Some time was spent watching the Leafs snd the Lightning. This time it was Tampa Bay’s turn to win. The series is tied at 2 returning to Toronto for Game 5. 

And I checked out the Dodgers and Cubs. Which was a rout in favor of Los Angeles. LAD is very strong and they had Walker Buehler on the mound—the ace of the staff. The Cubs are headed in the other direction. I worry about Manager David Ross’s job security. 

One other comment, Diary. I read a piece by Star-Ledger columnist Bob Klapsich about Yankees manager Aaron Boone. We forget that he has had heart problems from a congenital defect and wears a pacemaker. This man has survived open-heart surgery. How can you not root for him?

That’s it. My sports viewing and a few other things for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Thanks, Diary, for listening.