Celebrate

     What a time period!! The NHL Stanley Cup is decided. The NBA Finals concluded. The Triple Crown was attained. The middleweight title changed hands. The Women's and Men's French Open champions were crowned. Plus the Subway Series Part I was held. A sports fan's cornucopia of events from Thursday through Sunday. It doesn't get much better than that.

     In Las Vegas on Thursday night, the incredible happened. The Washington Capitals, long a bridesmaid, won their first Stanley Cup in 44 years by taking down the upstart Golden Knights in 5 games. Led by their Russian superstar captain, Alex Ovechkin and a supporting cast who ably complimented each other, the Caps defeated their nemesis, the Pittsburgh Penguins, who had taken them out of the playoffs 9 previous times, as well as the top-ranked Tampa Bay Lightning en route to the Stanley Cup Finals. 

     Ovechkin, a sure Hall of Fame inductee, has won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, awarded to the leading goal scorer in the league,  7 times including this season. He has won the Hart Trophy, given to the Most Valuable Player in the N.H.L. 3 times and is the frontrunner for this season. Additionally, Ovi has won 3 Lester B. Pearson/Ted Lindsay Awards for the Most Outstanding Player as voted by the players. The 2006 Calder Trophy winner as the top N.H.L. rookie,  Ovi has been a 9 time All Star through 2017 while being the 4th fastest in league history to score 600 goals. This season he is certain to win the Kharlamov Trophy, emblematic of the best Russian player in the N.H.L--his 8th. Ovi has won the SuperSkills Competition "Breakaway Challenge" on 3 different occasions, and he recorded the hardest shot this year in that competition. And he holds the N.H.L. record for most season with 10+ game-winning goals (5).

     One of the greatest players ever to suit up, one thing had eluded Alex Ovechkin. Winning the Stanley Cup. The Capitals have won the Presidents' Trophy for the best regular season record in 2010, 2016 and 2017. Yet his Capitals squads had come up empty in the playoffs all three times.

     His head coach, Barry Trotz, went to Ovi's wedding last summer and issued him a challenge to be even better this season. Challenge accepted. The Capitals' captain led in the locker room and by example on the ice. He pushed himself and his teammates to previously unreachable heights. Which is why, when the Capitals went ahead in the third period of Game 5, Ovi could be seen anguishing on the bench as the seconds slowly ticked away until the nearly impossible happened--Washington was the Stanley Cup champion. 

     The weight, the unimaginable burden, had been lifted off of Ovi's shoulders. He cried, screamed in delight and was as joyous as a little kid getting the exact gift that he wanted at Christmas. Alex Ovechkin was finally a Stanley Cup champion. Moreover, he deservedly won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the M.V.P. of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, leading all players in scoring. The aforementioned great resume became even more well-rounded.

     During the telecast of Game 5, Ovechkin's achievements were questioned in relation to other great players. It was extremely unfair to compare him to Henri Richard's 11 Stanley Cup titles--there were fewer teams for his Montreal Canadiens to compete against in fewer rounds. Multiple Cup winner like Mark Messier (6), Wayne Gretzky (4), Bobby Orr, and Gordie Howe played in a different era. Chicago's Patrick Kane, on 3 Cup winning teams, had a better supporting cast. 

     So did Sidney Crosby, the contemporary Ovi is most compared with--his three Pittsburgh Penguins teams which won the Cup were just better. On the ice, it was like comparing Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors (Crosby) with Lebron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers (Ovechkin). Both gifted players with multiple accolades, but entirely different styles of play.

     While I may have had my heart invested in the Golden Knights incredible first N.H.L. season, I could not exclude my admiration for Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. Ovis is one of he greatest ever to play the game; he finally reached the summit and had ample reason to exhale.

     Thus, I give Ovi a well-deserved pass with his awkward first ceremonial pitch at the Nationals' game on Saturday. He's a hockey player--from Russia, where baseball is not the National Pastime. His second left-handed toss to Nats' ace Max Scherzer found its mark. Good enough for a man who, with his teammates, has been lugging around the Stanley Cup wherever they go since just after 11:00 p.m. EDT on this past Thursday. 

     The parade is upcoming. I wonder, but for the summit in Singapore, this week, would Ovi and the team have been invited to the White House? Leave it to outfielder Adam Eaton, recently coming off the 60 day DL for the Nats to provide perspective: "This is my third picture with the Cup. I was in Chicago. I take full responsibility. I think the Cup follows me a bit. It makes sense. It's science." Washingtonians--your wait is over. Go delirious. You and the Capitals deserved this one.

     On Friday, the N.B.A. Finals mercifully concluded. Golden State, the far superior team, swept Cleveland and Lebron James. With some wacky Game 1 calls and reversals along with a mind-boggling dribbling out regulation time in a time game by J.R. Smith resulting in a Warriors overtime win, James and his team could not muster enough to overtake a roster with so many stars. James scored 51 points in Game 1 and lost. Then he broke his hand on a whiteboard in the locker room after the loss. By the time he reached Game 4, he was a tired and discouraged player playing superbly with a significant handicap and no true support. Game 4, with Steph Curry shooting so well after a mediocre performance in Game 3, was a coronation. 

     Sure, Golden State lucked out when guard Chris Paul of Houston went down with his leg injury. Had that not happened, Houston might well have vanquished the Cavs in four games, too. That does not detract from what the Warriors accomplished. Led by Curry in 3 games and Kevin Durant overall, this was a juggernaut that was ready for the fourth installment of the rivalry. Durant merited the 7-4 vote which awarded him the Bill Russell M.V.P. trophy for the Finals for the second straight year. His Game 3 performance was the knife in Cleveland's heart, capturing a come-from-behind victory, behind his 43 point effort when Curry and Klay Thompson were ineffectual. 

     Three titles in four consecutive years and an all-time record for regular season wins. Golden State is the ninth team to sweep its opponents in the Finals. They have won a road game in 19 straight playoff series, tying the N.B.A. record. Curry has hit a 3 point shot in 90 consecutive playoff games, a post-season record. Banged up and with hints of internal discord dropped by Shawn Livingston and David West. Head Coach Steve Kerr acknowledging that this was the toughest year yet for him to coach this group.

     They are a dynasty. Arguably, comparisons to the Chicago Bulls teams led by Michael Jordan and Scotty Pippen are tough to make, with the Bulls accumulating 6 titles. Nonetheless, this does not at all diminish how great the Warriors really are. They have defeated all challengers 3 times in 4 years and, but for a Kyrie Irving shot in Game 7 two years ago, we could be looking at a 4 for 4 showing. Curry, Duran and Thompson are Hall of Famers. Coach Kerr is, too. Draymond Green is a different kind of mercurial Dennis Rodman, and Rodman is in the HOF. Swingman Andre Iguodala has had an impressive career, which includes an Olympic championship in 2012; he will merit strong consideration for Springfield enshrinement.

     Golden State faces critical decisions on personnel--mega contracts to Durant, Green and Thompson must be strongly considered. Iguodala is 34 with one year left on his current contract--they must determine if he is in decline and move him. Curry is already inked long-term. Can the Warriors win it again? Let's talk in October, once the landscape is more settled.

     Which returns us to Lebron James. He is the best player in the N.B.A. Curry may be smaller and appear to be craftier. Durant is bigger and can shoot the lights out and make critical defensive plays. But neither one of these players could possibly have carried the Cavs to the Finals again, nor could they have made an 8th straight trip to the Finals, like Lebron has. He is a monster, even at age 33. 

     The next question in his superlative career is where will Lebron be playing next season? He does have a home in Los Angeles, which makes that a very intriguing destination. Houston, Philadelphia, Boston and a return to Cleveland has been predicted. While Golden State has been mentioned, that is not a good fit for salary cap and other reason.

     Two things for sure--James will be paid very well for his efforts--wherever he lands--and it will greatly affect the landscape of the N.B.A. for a while.

     One last thing about James--experts,please stop comparing him to Jordan. Can't we just say they were the two greatest players in N.B.A. history? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain among others notwithstanding.  

     Justify justifiably won the Triple Crown with a victory in he 150th Belmont Stakes. The 13th horse to win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and at Belmont galloping to a convincing win. He was run in just 4 races total. His stud fees are now worth $75 million. Trainer Bob Baffert has won 2 Triple Crowns. A lot of rejoicing is going on with the ownership, Baffert and jockey Mike Sullivan, who, at age 52 became the oldest jockey to win the Triple Crown.

     Undefeated welterweight Terence Crawford dominated Australian champ Jeff Horn to capture the WBO title via a 9th round TKO at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Crawford now holds four different belts and is rated he number 2 pound-for-pound boxer in the world. This man is a tough hombre.

     Simona Halep won her first Grand Slam title in four tries by defeating American Sloane Stephens in the French Open. The number 1 ranked Romanian lost the first set 3-6, then captured 15 of the last 16 games to turn a defeat into a decided victory by outlasting Stephens in the long games, which were punctuated by hard hitting from both players. Stephens lost her first final after winning the previous seven, one of which was last year's U.S. Open.

     Roland Garros concluded this year's tournament with Rafael Nadal taking Dominic Thiem in straight sets to win his 11th French Open and 17th Grand Slam crown. Nadal is the greatest player ever to play on clay. Thiem had done the nearly impossible, defeating the Spaniard on clay in Rome in May, 2017 and in Madrid in May, 2018. The way Nadal played in this year's French Open, those two Theim wins would not lead to a third. Recently having turned 32, Nadal punished the Austrian at every turn, bringing his career record at Roland Garros to 86-2, with an astonishing 110-2 in all best-of-five marches on clay.

     Albeit Nadal did not have to face Roger Federer at any point during this tournament. Federer has not played since being dispatched from the Miami Open earlier this year by an Australian qualifier. What Nadal did reestablish was his dominance in a major tournament, keeping his top-ranking status while placing him at the forefront of the discussion for Wimbledon, where he should be installed as the top seed.  Will this translate into more titles for the now injury-free Nadal, when  so many of his contemporaries like Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Federer have their own issues in their own stellar careers? It certainly will be the talk of the tennis world as we have reached the halfway point in he quest for Grand Slam titles.

     One more thing--tonight the Yankees conclude the Subway Series at Citi Field against the reeling Mets, losers of 8 straight games. Going with ace Luis Severino, with his 9-1 record bodes well for the Bombers, who have won the first two games via key homers from their talented lineup. Winners of 33 of their last 42 games after a 9-9 start, the Yankees have surpassed the Boston Red Sox for the lead in the A.L. East, at least for now. The loss of number 2 starter Masahiro Tanaka with hamstring injuries suffered running the bases in an N.L. park where he had to bat because there is now DH like in A.L. stadiums, will cause some difficulty short term--Tanaka is expected back before the All-Star game in mid-July. This is a really good team; let's see how resilient they are.

     Yet a sweep of he Mets, while not on the scale of the other victories mentioned above, is as sweet as it gets for Yankees fans. Who can blame them?

     To quote Three Dog Night, the Australian rock group of the '60's and '70's: "Celebrate, Celebrate, dance with the music!" To the winners--Washington. Ovechekin, Golden State, Durant, Crawford, Baffert, Sullivan, Halep and Nadal--they will indeed be dancing to the music. 

Justify, I think, will be dancing to his own beat. If not now, then certainly later.