WARRIORS-CAVS IN NBA FINALS FOR 4TH STRAIGHT SEASON?
The Cleveland Cavaliers needed an overhaul and last week’s deadline-beating trades looked very good in Sunday’s 121-99 romp over the host Boston Celtics.
The Cavs unloaded plenty of deadwood – Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Rose, Jae Crowder, Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye and Dwyane Wade (homesick for Miami).
Cleveland added four players and the team became younger, more athletic and -- at least for now – stronger defensively and more enthusiastic. And star power forward Kevin Love is recuperating from a broken hand and will be ready for the playoffs.
Toronto (39-16) and Boston (40-18) have better records than Cleveland (33-22) – and Washington (32-24) and Milwaukee (31-24) are nipping at the heels of their sneakers. But do you seriously doubt that the new-look Cavs will take on the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals – for the fourth straight season?
I don’t think the same two teams in the Finals is good for any league, but Golden State vs. Cleveland still is the NBA championship most of us most want to see.
For the record, here are the number of different teams in the last three championship matchups in North America’s five major team sports (giving props to soccer):
World Series – 6.
Super Bowls – 5.
Stanley Cup Finals – 5.
MLS Cup Finals – 4.
NBA – 2.
SYRACUSE-NORTH CAROLINA STATE IN A BUBBLE BOWL GAME WEDNESDAY
The undermanned Syracuse Orange survived a scare in a 78-70 victory over Wake Forest Sunday before 24,018 fans at the Carrier Dome.
The Demon Deacons dropped to 9-10 (including 2-11 in the Atlantic Coast Conference). SU is 17-8 (6-6 in the ACC).
SU faces a far more formidable opponent – North Carolina State -- Wednesday, 9 p.m., at the Carrier Dome. The Wolfpack are 16-9 (6-6 in the ACC).
Both teams are on the bubble for the NCAA men’s tournament. A victory would be huge for SU. NC State has impressive wins this season over Arizona, Clemson, Duke and North Carolina.
SU plays at Miami Saturday. The rest of the regular-season schedule: home vs. North Carolina Wednesday, February 21...at Duke Saturday, February 24...at Boston College, Wednesday, February 28, and home vs. Boston College, Saturday, March 3.
FRUGAL TWINS AREN’T LIKELY TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS AGAIN IN 2018
The Minnesota Twins were baseball’s most surprising team in the 10-team playoff field last year.
The Twins have a very promising and relatively young starting lineup and a decent bench. What Minnesota lacks is pitching.
The Twins were viewed as a favorite in the bidding for free-agent starting pitcher Yu Darvish – but he signed Saturday with the Chicago Cubs. I wonder if he wanted to get away from the designated hitters in the American League in general and the Houston Astros in particular. The Astros crushed him in his two 2017 World Series starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers (0-2 record; 21.60 ERA).
Minnesota’s pitching woes mounted last week with news that ace starter Ervin Santana is expected to be sidelined for 10 to 12 weeks after surgery on the middle finger of his pitching hand.
That leaves recent Red Wing Jose Berrios as Minnesota’s likely Opening Day starter by default. Other candidates for the rotation are Kyle Gibson, Adelberto Mejia and damaged-goods Phil Hughes and Michael Pineda. That’s not an awe-inspiring cast.
Relief pitching is every bit as suspect. Newcomers Zack Duke, Addison Reed and closer Fernando Rodney are expected to bolster the bullpen. They probably can’t hurt. Other relief candidates include Taylor Rogers, Ryan Pressly, Trevor Hildenberger, Alan Busenitz and Trevor May (another arm off Tommy John surgery). It looks like a role call of the Red Wings Alumni Association.
Minnesota’s pitching has been lousy in recent seasons. Too few pitchers had power stuff. The previous regime preferred soft-serving control pitchers. It didn’t work. Since 2011, the Twins ranked 13th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 10th, 15th and 9th in the American League in earned-run average.
I was surprised when the pitching-poor Twins made the playoffs last season. I’d be shocked if they make the playoffs this season. My scouting report” Good hit...very good field...weak starting rotation...very suspect bullpen...At best a .500 team.
If I were a Twins fan, I’d be disappointed in the front office’s lack of activity this offseason. The team has lots of money to spend – and Joe Mauer’s $23 million-a-year contract ends this season.
I assume the Twins will loosen up and sign at least one starting pitcher and maybe another reliever. They’d better.
FOUR BILLS MAKE PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS TOP 100 PLAYERS
Pro Football Focus (PFF) last week posted a list of the Top 101 NFL Players for the 2017 season. The players were graded for 2017 performance only (postseason included).
The Buffalo Bills have four players on the list and they reflect the fact that the secondary was by far the team’s best unit:
21st – CB Tre’Davious White – PFF’s Rookie of the Year
95th – Safety Jordan Poyer
97th – Safety Micah Hyde.
99th – RB LeSean McCoy – tied for 2nd with 16 explosive runs (15-plus yards).
The top 10 players: 1-DT Aaron Donald (Rams)...2-QB Tom Brady (Patriots)...3-Safety Harrison Smith (Vikings)...4-LB Billy Wagner (Seahawks)...5-CB Craig Hayward (Chargers)...6-Edge Cameron Jordan (Saints)...7-WR Antonio Brown (Steelers)...8-TE Rob Gronkowski (Patriots)...9-Edge Calais Campbell (Jaguars)...10-Edge Von Miller (Broncos).
WELL, AT LEAST THE RAZORSHARKS ARE HOT
Two of Rochester’s pro teams have been as cold as the weather lately.
After opening this National Lacrosse League season with two lopsided victories, the Knighthawks had lost six straight games before Sunday’s impressive and very timely 17-10 victory at the Georgia Swarm. Joe Resetarits had 1 goal and 7 assists, Austin Shanks had 1 goal and 6 assists, Cody Jamieson had 4 goals and 2 assists, Eric Fannell had 2 goals and 4 assists, Kyle Jackson had 4 goals and 1 assist and Cory Vitarelli has 2 goals and 3 assists.
The K-hawks lost 12-9 to the Toronto Rock Saturday night before a disappointing crowd of 5,439 at Blue Cross Arena. Aside from the first two games of the season and Sunday, lack of scoring has been the team’s major problem. The K-hawks aren’t a bad team but this league is loaded.
Sunday’s win at Georgia should give the K-hawks a much-needed confidence boost for Saturday’s visit by the NLL-best Saskatchewan Rush: 8-1 record, including 6-0 on the road.
The American Hockey League Americans, so good for the first half of this season, are in a 2-5-3-2 slump (9 of a possible 24 points in the standings). Like the indoor lacrosse K-hawks, the Amerks have been offensively challenged of late.
The Amerks figure to make the playoffs, but the Toronto Marlies are a huge obstacle to winning the 2018 Calder Cup. Toronto is on a spectacular 15-0-0-1 run (31 out of 32 possible points in the standings). The Marlies are 37-11-0-1 overall and outscoring opponents 164-95 (+69).
The Amerks host Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Friday and play at Binghamton Saturday.
Amazingly, the hot pro team in town is the RazorSharks, who started this North American Premier League basketball season 0-6. Rochester is 4-2 since, including a two-game home sweep over the Vancouver Knights last Thursday and Friday at Blue Cross Arena after a massive roster overhaul and a coaching change.
The “new look” Sharks face a reality check Wednesday night at Blue Cross Arena against the NAPL-leading Albany Patroons: 10-1 record, including 5-0 on the road.
WAYNE FULLER LOVED BATAVIA
Wayne Fuller died Friday morning at Strong Memorial Hospital. His heart gave out at age 70.
Wayne loved sports, trains and buses, and his hometown Batavia.
He was best-known by sports fans in Rochester as the radio voice of the original North American Soccer League Rochester Lancers in the 1970s. He also was the voice of the Rochester Flash (American Soccer League) in 1981 and the indoor soccer Buffalo Stallions.
Wayne was a beloved sports personality in Batavia. He worked public address systems for a wide variety of sporting events and called high school games on radio. He worked in assorted capacities for radio stations throughout the region, most prominently for decades on WBTA in Batavia, where he began in 1967 and had a four-hour afternoon show when he retired in 2016.
He was the p.a. announcer/official scorer (simultaneously) for Batavia’s pro baseball team and the Wayne H. Fuller Pressbox at Dwyer Field was named in his honor – while he was living.
Wayne was a bus dispatcher for Empire Trailways for three decades, stationed mostly in downtown Rochester at Midtown Plaza. I’m sure the bus company never had a more efficient employee.
He was a very friendly person and an extremely dedicated worker. He had a fun life doing what he enjoyed in the city he loved and never left.
PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2019 IS NOT LOADED
The list of Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2019 first-time nominees is not exceptional:
Probable first-ballot selection – TE Tony Gonzalez: 12,325 receptions second only to Jerry Rice.
Likely selection but might need to wait a year or two – Safety Ed Reed.
Might be selected someday – CB Champ Bailey.
Nice careers but probably not Canton-bound – LB London Fletcher...CB Asante Samuel...LB Jonathan Vilma...OG Brian Waters...OT Jordan Gross.
SHORT SHOTS
No current pro athlete enjoys flaunting his wealth more than boxer Floyd Mayweather. He posted an on-line video Saturday, “Fooling around, playing my cousin Roy on my $30,000 crystal glass ping pong table.”
There are 131 American Hockey League alumni in these Winter Olympics. By country: all 25 players on Canada...USA 19...Sweden 17...Czech Republic 12...Finland 11...Olympic athletes from Russia 10...Germany 9...Slovakia 8...South Korea 7...Switzerland 7...Norway 4...Slovenia 2.
AHL Communications reports that Sunday was the 456th regular-season meeting between the Rochester Americans and the Hershey Bears. Hershey leads the series 213-190-53 after Sunday’s 3-2 home victory.
Actor Matthew McConaughey and Super Bowl LII Most Valuable Player Nick Foles are natives of Austin, Texas. The actor bought a full-page ad in Sunday’s Austin American-Statesman to salute the quarterback: “From one local to another, congratulations Nick Foles. Just keep livin, Matthew McConaughey.”
On this date in sports, 110 years ago (1908), the New York-to-Paris auto race (via Alaska and Siberia) began in New York City. George Schuster won after 88 days of driving...On this date 36 years ago (1982), Wayne Gretzky scored his 153rd point of the season to break the NHL record.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Monday, February 12
Paxton Lynch (24)...Jeff Tuel (27)...Robert Griffin III (28)...DeMarco Murray (30)...Todd Frazier (32)...Tim Redding (40)...Seth Payne (43)...Owen Nolan (46)...Lincoln Kennedy (47)...Larry Nance (59)...Bobby Smith (60)...Chet Lemon (63)...Doug Dieken (69)...Mike Robitaille (70)...Bill Russell (84). Jennifer Stone (25), Josh Brolin (50) and Arsenio Hall (62) are invited to the birthday party...Al “Digger” Cervi was born on this date 101 years ago (1917) and died in 2009 at age 92. Abraham Lincoln was born on this date 209 years ago (1809) and died in 1865 at age 56.
Tuesday, February 13
Kendall Fuller (23)...Nathan Eovaldi (28)...Charles Clay (29)...Aqib Talib (32)...David Padgett (33)...Drew Henson (38)...Luke Ridnour (38)...Niklas Backstrom (40)...Randy Moss (41)..Howie Cark (44)....Mats Sundin (47)...Ruben Brown (48)...Kelly McCormick (58)...Mike Krzyzewski (71). Jerry Springer (74) is invited to the birthday party if he promises not to incite trouble.