This is one of the few weekends every year that I get up in the middle of the night to watch sports, but have done so annually when Australian Open organizers moved their men’s and women’s finals to the night session.
On Saturday morning (TSN, 1:30 a.m.), the world number one Victoria Azarenka of Belarus takes on 2011 French Open champion and world number six Li Na of China. Azarenka, who is also the defending champion, defeated American sensation Sloane Stephens 6-1, 6-4 in a controversial semi-final while Na beat Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-2. A couple of notes here. First, it has been amazing the number of times I have heard from ESPN the last two weeks projecting a Serena Williams/Maria Sharapova semi-final. Second, the crowd will probably be supporting Na after Azarenka took a questionably lengthy timeout in her win over Stephens on Thursday.
In the men’s final, world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia will take on world number three Andy Murray of Great Britain (Sunday, 1:30 a.m.). Djokovic is no question the fresher of the two. He steamrolled past David Ferrer of Spain 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 on Thursday, while Murray needed four and a half hours to beat Roger Federer in five grueling sets on a fewer day of rest. Djokovic beat Murray in the 2011 Australian Open title 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 and is looking for his third straight Australian Open Championship.
The Oklahoma City Thunder had a brilliant third quarter in the opening game of the NBA Finals on Tuesday.
Down 54-47 at the half, the Thunder outscored the Miami Heat 27-19 to take a 74-73 lead, and then played even better in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Heat 31-21 for a 105-94 victory.
Kevin Durant led the way with 36 points. It is still amazing to me how much the Thunder fans have warmed up to Durant over the years because he played for the University of Texas Longhorns as a freshman in the NCAA.
According to Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Henry Burris, the Oklahoma-Texas rivalry is as hot as Edmonton-Calgary.
Another Thunder player who was exceptional in game one was Russell Westbrook. He recorded an impressive double double (27 points, 11 assists).
The fact that Oklahoma City was a game better in the standings in the regular season than Miami (47-19 vs. 46-20) might just help them win an NBA title. Their home court advantage is very significant as the Thunder fans deliver a college atmosphere throughout each home game.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are advancing to the NBA Finals after defeating the San Antonio Spurs 107-99 in game six of the Western Conference Finals.
Kevin Durant scored 34 points and recorded 14 rebounds.
The Thunder, like the Boston Celtics were once down 2-0 in the conference finals, but have roared back since. The Celtics can close out the Miami Heat on Thursday night.
The Spurs dominated the first half and the Thunder dominated the second half, outscoring the Spurs 59-36. The Thunder had four different players recording a key second half three point shot. Durant, Derek Fisher, Thabo Sefolosha and James Harden all scored key baskets from beyond the arc.
The Spurs meanwhile lost four consecutive games after winning twenty consecutive games. The Thunder meanwhile were 2-0 against the Celtics this year and 1-1 against the Heat.
This will be the fourth time in the history of the Seattle Supersonics/Oklahoma City Thunder that the franchise has advanced to the NBA Finals. Their only championship came in 1979 when they beat the Washington Bullets.
A team playing away from home has finally won in the third round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs.
Last night in San Antonio, Kevin Durant scored 27 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs 108-103 to take a 3-2 series lead in the Western Conference Finals.
Even though Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 50 points, I felt the best player on the Thunder in game five was James Harden. Playing with his hockey beard, Harden scored 20 points and was a +24 on the court.
So far in the conference finals, the home team had won the first eight games. In the Eastern Conference Final, the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics have each won their first two home games heading into game five in south Florida tonight.
Sunday night in Boston, the Celtics beat the Heat 93-91 in overtime as point guard Rajon Rondo scored 15 points and 15 assists for a double double. As Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are all getting up in age, this is becoming more and more Rondo’s team. Still for the Heat to win the series, they will need to do a better job defending Allen who had four three pointers in game four.
The San Antonio Spurs have lost a basketball game. This news is significant because it was the first time April 11 that the Spurs filed to score more points than their opponent.
Let’s put this into perspective. The Spurs won twenty straight basketball games (ten regular season games and ten playoff games) prior to their 102-82 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.
Russell Westbrook (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
The Oklahoma City Thunder have advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
Monday night in Oklahoma, Russell Westbrook led the way with 28 points as the Thunder defeated the Lakers 106-90 to win the series 4-1. Their opponent will be the San Antonio Spurs in a series that starts Sunday.
There were two major turning points in this one. Late in the first half with the Lakers leading 51-50, Metta World Peace took a technical for a hard foul he committed on Thabo Sefolosha of the Thunder. Then Kobe Bryant took a second technical for arguing the call saying that Metta was only playing the ball. The Thunder went up by three after the subsequent fouls.
The second turning point came with the amazing shots made by Westbrook and Kevin Durant, who scored as the basketball went off the top of the backboard and into the net.
Meanwhile in Boston, the Celtics took a 3-2 series lead with a 101-85 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Kevin Durant is the best player in the National Basketball Association.
Saturday night in Los Angeles proved it.
Durant made a game winning three point shot with 13.7 seconds left as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 103-100 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference Final. Durant’s 26-foot shot over Metta World Peace might have just been the most significant shot in his basketball career. The Thunder are now in the driver’s seat as the series shifts back to Oklahoma on Monday.
In other action, the Miami Heat tied the series at 2 with the Indiana Pacers with a 101-93 win today. Sunday, LeBron James had his best game of the playoffs as he knocked down 40 points and 18 rebounds. Another player who played at a high level was Dwyane Wade. The 2006 NBA MVP had 30 points of his own after a silent game three.
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs can close out the Los Angeles Clippers tonight with a win. Yesterday Tony Parker had a double double (23 points, 10 assists) in a 96-86 San Antonio win. The Spurs completely dominated the second half in this one. The Spurs were once down 53-43 at the half, but outscored the Clippers 26-8 in the third quarter.
LeBron James of the Miami Heat has been named the Most Valuable Player of the National Basketball Association.
On Saturday, the announcement was made official.
James was third in scoring with 27.1 points per game, and second in overall points with 1683. My pick was Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Durant meanwhile had 1850 points, almost 200 more points than James.
My other arguments for Durant is that Oklahoma City (47-19) had a better record than Miami (46-20), play in a stronger conference and if you take Durant out of the lineup the Thunder are nothing. If you take James out of Miami’s lineup, they still have Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
In other NBA news, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets 96-87 last night. Pau Gasol led the way with 23 points after playing poorly in game six. The Lakers now play the Thunder in the second round. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers play the Memphis Grizzlies this morning.
The only upset on paper in the first round was Philadelphia’s series win over Chicago. But I saw that coming as soon as Jalen Rose tore his ACL in game one.
It’s been a while since we’ve delved into the world of fantastic sports videos on the internet, but don’t worry – When Sports Go Viral is back!
This time around we’ve got some hilarious stuff from the NBA, a pretty funny blooper from some NCAA track and field action, and an instructional video about how to get fired from your post as the manager of a professional soccer club!
Let’s start out with the NBA, where model Kate Upton has teamed up with the Oklahoma City Thunder for “Take a Supermodel to Work” day.
The Chicago Bulls will have a difficult time now in their attempt to win their seventh championship in franchise history and first since the Michael Jordan dynasty.
On Saturday in Chicago, Bulls star guard Derrick Rose tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and will be out for the postseason.
If you were interested in watching Chicago’s 103-91 win over Philadelphia, you needed NBA Canada, a station only available on a higher subscription package than the regular sports package available to Shaw subscribers.
Even though the Bulls won the game by a dozen, they will automatically not be the clear favourite to win the series. The 76ers definitely have the tools, even as the number eight seed in the East, to beat the Bulls without Rose.
The best game yesterday was in Oklahoma City where the Thunder defeated the Dallas Mavericks 99-98 as Kevin Durant made a 15 foot jump shot with two seconds left.
For the Oklahoma City Thunder to be considered an elite team in the National Basketball Association, Kevin Durant needs to simply have the ball as much as possible.
On Sunday, Durant recorded a remarkable 51 points in a 124-118 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets. Point guard Russell Westbrook also added 40 points.
With the win, the Thunder improve to 24-7, the best record in the Western Conference, and only half a game back of the Miami Heat for the best record in the NBA.
Durant, Westbrook, and teammate Serge Ibaka combined for 103 of the Thunder’s 124 points, made unbelievable history. Thy became the first trio to record 50 points, 40 points and a triple double in the same game. Ibaka had 15 rebounds, 14 points and an amazing 11 blocked shots.
One could argue and make the case that Ibaka is more valuable than Westbrook for the Thunder. Westbrook has been criticized for being a shoot first point guard, while Ibaka’s defensive ability was shown on the scoresheet Sunday when he was a +31– impressive when you consider the game went into overtime.
It may be the Christmas season, but it is a very big weekend on the world sport stage. On Boxing Day, the sports world will be focused on Alberta for the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship. The event is significant because it is the first time that Edmonton and Calgary, two bitter provincial rivals have joined forces to host a world class sporting event. Edmonton will host all of Team Canada’s round robin games, with Calgary hosting the medal round.
Team Canada’s first game is Monday at 1:30pm against Finland (TSN). Both teams have something in common. They both lost to Russia in the medal round at the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships in Buffalo. Finland lost 4-3 to Russia in the quarterfinals, while Canada lost 5-3 to Russia in the Gold medal game.
As the NBA lockout nears its second full month, we’re getting word now that the “big wigs” from both sides will be meeting sometime next week.
That’s noteworthy for two reasons: For one, it’ll be only the second time they’ve all been face-to-face since the lockout began on July 1st. As well, if no progress is made at the meeting, it could be a sign that games will be missed as a result of this work stoppage.
NBA commissioner David Stern has said that no progress by Labor Day weekend would be bad news for the league and its players. Let’s face it – there won’t be much, if any progress at this meeting. The two sides haven’t been talking and when they do talk, it hasn’t been positive.
One thing the players (some of them, anyway) have in their favor at the moment is the fact that they can continue to make money during the lockout, whether it’s signing deals in Europe or starring in movies. Owners around the league might be in some trouble though, especially if they also own the arena their team plays in… (more…)
If the NBA were to read its horoscope for this month, it would probably look a little something like this:
“Much of your focus this month will be on personal possessions and whether or not they’ll still be around come the fall. Dependability and stability are key aspects when some planet lines up with some star, or something. Also: something about emotions.”
The league kicked off the lockout litigation recently by taking the players to court over certain aspects of the negotiations so far, which says to me that this thing is far from being resolved at this time and we are in for a long battle. As time passes too, we’re seeing more players becoming resigned to the fact that they should probably start looking for somewhere else to play!
The biggest mover and shaker so far has easily been Turkish club Besiktas, where the GM has been working away to build his own little temporary Miami Heat situation. They signed NJ Nets point guard Deron Williams, they’re working on getting OKC Thunder forward Kevin Durant into the mix and the Kobe Bryant rumors are still out there too, though not everyone is happy about that idea.
Then there’s Carlos Boozer, who says he “definitely” plans on playing overseas if there’s a lockout, there’s Dwyane Wade, who says he loves the game too much to not play this year, and then there’s Ron Artest…(After the jump: Is Tiger buckling under the pressure? Plus – a wonder strike from Paddy McCourt!)(more…)
Do or Die for NBA?
Loading ...
