13 posts tagged “playoffs”
No, it certainly doesn't. I've yet to find a better toupee than that in my life...
(from Deadspin via The Sports Hernia)
In case you're not down with Fisher's story, he was a key player on last year's Jazz team that reached the Western Conference Finals. Prior to one of Utah's second round games against Golden State, he flew to New York to be with his eleven-month-old daughter, who was undergoing surgery for eye cancer. He made it back to Salt Lake City in the second half of the game against the Warriors, in time to nail a late three to send the game to overtime. After the season, the Jazz agreed to void the remainder of his contract to allow him to play in a city where his daughter could receive treatment.
Now, according to Bleacher Report, he's getting mocked by Jazz fans with chants of "cancer, cancer" and a picture even shows a Utah fan covering his eye to mock Fisher while shooting a free throw.
Man, that's brutal. I've heard just about every heckle in the book at the sporting events I've been to (not ALL of them directed at me, of course), but nothing near as nasty as that. I realize certain fans' behavior doesn't represent Salt Lake City or Jazz fans as a whole, but I'd be pretty embarrassed right now if I was rooting for them.
Alright, the Wizards actually won tonight in Cleveland to send their first round series back to Washington for Game 6, but I figure I'll go through with this post anyway...
I've decided to end my blogging hiatus with a tribute to DeShawn Stevenson, the winner of this week's Useless Person of the Week Award. You've likely heard all about the James-Stevenson saga (or the Cavs-Wizards saga, to a lesser extent). Are you kidding me? That's like comparing a one-hit wonder like Soulja Boi to a legend like Jay-Z. Has that been said before? Actually, I wouldn't even call Stevenson a one-hit wonder -- I'd call him a 38.6% wonder, a shout-out to his shooting percentage this season.
There's much more to Stevenson than the "Can't feel my face" routine he does each time he scores a basket. Here's a few fun facts, for those who may have been paying too close attention to his on-court theatrics to have taken notice: He was arrested for his part in a fight the night he was drafted by Utah in 2000, and was charged with statutory rape the following year after allegedly having sex with a 14-year-old girl. Last August, a man was shot at Stevenson's home, though the details of the incident remain a bit sketchy.
I don't care much for Stevenson, his "Can't feel my face" or his assertion that the best all-around player in the NBA is overrated. I do, however, care to share this famous video of Gilbert Arenas beating him with one hand in a three-point shooting contest at a Wizards' practice last season:
Kirk Gibson. Derek Jeter. Reggie Jackson. Randy Johnson. Aaron Boone. Edgar Renteria. Joe Carter. What do these players have in common? They’re all heroes of past post-seasons. Who will be this year’s Mr. October? Here are eight x-factors for this season’s playoffs:
Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox: We’ve all heard the term “Manny being Manny”. Well, in Boston’s 2004 World Series run, the enigmatic left fielder hit .350 with a pair of home runs and 11 RBIs and picked up MVP honours in the Red Sox sweep of the Cardinals. However, this season he saw his regular season home run and RBI totals dip to 20 and 88, respectively, in 133 games. Who will Manny be in October? We’ll see, and his performance will have a large impact on Boston’s chance of making noise this post-season.
Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees: A-Rod was in a class of his own in the 2007 regular season, hitting .314 with 56 home runs, 156 RBIs and 143 runs scored. However, his true worth, as well as the likelihood of him returning to the Bronx next season, will be determined by his post-season production. He’s struggled in first round losses the past two seasons, hitting just .103 with no home runs. If he struggles this time around, watch for Rodriguez to opt out of his contract this off-season.
Fausto Carmona, Cleveland Indians: The 23-year-old Carmona was remarkable as C.C. Sabathia’s sidekick in the regular season, going 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA in 215 innings. The playoffs, however, are a whole new ball game. How will Carmona fare when the games really matter? We’ll see, but he’s certainly gotten hot at the right time, winning his last five starts.
Garrett Anderson, Los Angeles Angels: It was a tale of two seasons for the veteran left-fielder—he hit .285 with just three home runs in the first half, but broke out with a .305 average and 65 RBIs after the all-star break, including a club-record 10 RBI game on August 21 against the Yankees. He was a key to the Angels’ 2002 World Series team, hitting .300 with two home runs in 16 playoff games.
Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies: It’ll be the first trip to the playoffs for Rollins and many of his Phillies teammates—they haven’t had a sniff of the post-season since Mitch Williams served up a walk-off blast to Joe Carter in the 1993 World Series. Rollins was incredible in the regular season, hitting .296 with 30 home runs, 94 RBIs, 139 runs and 41 stolen bases. He’ll be called upon to be a catalyst for Philly’s offense if they hope to win their first World Series since 1980.
Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs: Zambrano is one of the best pitchers in baseball—he won 18 games and pitched 216 innings in 2007 for a Cubs’ staff that has been depleted by injuries in recent years. He is, however, the game’s most emotional player, and he’ll need to check himself in October when the games mean even more. If Zambrano can control himself, he’ll be invaluable to Chicago in the post-season.
Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks: Upton, the top pick in the 2005 draft, debuted as a 19-year-old on August 2. He started in right field for the remainder of the regular season, and will be expected to contribute if the D-Backs wish to make noise in the post-season. Is he too young, though? Not necessarily—Andruw Jones starred as a 19-year-old rookie in Atlanta’s 1996 playoff run and Miguel Cabrera turned heads as a 20-year-old on Florida’s 2003 World Series team.
Jeff Francis, Colorado Rockies: The Rockies, who won 14 of their last 15 games to grab the NL wild card, will rely on the young Francis to anchor a starting rotation that struggled for much of the regular season. The Canadian southpaw was Colorado’s ace this year, going 17-9 with a 4.22 ERA, including an 8-5 record with a 4.20 ERA in hitter-friendly Coors Field.
The Major League Baseball playoffs are finally upon us, but before we find out who this year’s Mr. October will be, it’s time to look back on the players that stole the show in the regular season. Here are my picks for the 2007 end-of-season awards:
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
A-Rod put together one of the most remarkable offensive seasons in baseball history in 2007, hitting .309 with 53 home runs, 151 RBIs and 140 runs scored entering the final weekend. The third baseman carried a Yankee team that found itself in last place in late-May into playoff contention, nearly eliminating a 13½ game Red Sox division lead before settling for the wild card.
Runner-ups: Magglio Ordonez, Detroit; Vladimir Guerrero, Los Angeles; David Ortiz, Boston.
NL MVP: Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies
Holliday put up great numbers in 2006 but didn’t receive much MVP consideration with Colorado lingering at the bottom of the NL West. He did much of the same in 2007, hitting .338 with 36 home runs and 132 RBIs as of September 27, and a current eleven-game Rockies’ win streak has them in the hunt for the wild card entering the season’s closing weekend. This time around, Holliday’s contribution won’t go unnoticed.
Runner-ups: Prince Fielder, Milwaukee; David Wright, New York; Chase Utley, Philadelphia.
AL Cy Young: Josh Beckett, Boston Red
Sox
Beckett finally pulled it together in 2007, going 20-7 with a 3.27 ERA for the Red Sox, who’ve spent much of the season with the best record in the major leagues. The right-hander, who has battled blister problems for much of his career, survived a stint on the disabled list in May to lead the majors in wins while throwing 200 innings.
Runner-ups: John Lackey, Los Angeles; Fausto Carmona, Cleveland; C.C. Sabathia, Cleveland; J.J. Putz, Seattle.
NL Cy Young: Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres
Peavy has been hands-down the most dominant pitcher in baseball this season, going 19-6 with a 2.36 ERA and 233 strikeouts in 210 innings for the Padres. The 26-year-old bounced back from a disappointing 2006 season to carry a San Diego pitching staff that was among the best in baseball.
Runner-ups: Brad Penny, Los Angeles; Brandon Webb, Arizona; John Smoltz, Atlanta; Takashi Saito, Los Angeles.
AL Rookie of the Year: Dustin Pedroia,
Boston Red Sox
Pedroia’s main competition for this award came two hot-starting Japanese teammates, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima. Ultimately, Pedroia’s rookie season was more impressive. The diminutive second baseman was hitting .318 with eight home runs for the first-place Red Sox entering the final weekend, striking out just 42 times in 513 at-bats.
Runner-ups: Hideki Okajima, Boston; Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston; Delmon Young, Tampa Bay, Jeremy Guthrie, Baltimore.
NL Rookie of the Year: Ryan Braun,
Milwaukee Brewers
Braun put together one of the most impressive offensive seasons in rookie history, hitting .322 with 33 home runs since his late-May call-up by the surprising Brewers. Although their run to the post-season came up short in 2007, Milwaukee’s future is in good hands with Braun and 23-year-old teammate Prince Fielder.
Runner-ups: Hunter Pence, Houston; Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado; Chris Young, Arizona; Peter Moylan, Atlanta.
If the Raptors fall to the Nets tonight, it won't be the biggest first round upset. In fact, it could hardly be recognized as an upset after Golden State, who barely snuck into the playoffs at 42-40, pulled off arguably the greatest playoff upset in NBA history last night with a 111-86 win over top-seeded Dallas. Baron Davis, Jason Richardson and Stephen Jackson made like Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin, running away with the best-of-seven series in six games, the first time a eight-seed has knocked off a top-seed since the NBA switched to the seven-game first round format in 2003. Prior to the switch, there were two eight over one upsets---Denver over Seattle in 1994, and New York over Miami in 1999, both in the maximum five games.
The combo of Davis, Richardson and Jackson was the story in this series. Davis, healthy for seemingly the first time in his career, carried the Warriors with 25 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. The hot-headed Jackson, best known for his role in The Malice at the Palace in 2004 and for firing gunshots outside strip clubs, averaged 23 points per game, including 33 last night, and managed to only get ejected from two games in the series. Furthermore, Jackson was the main Dirk Nowitzki stopper, limiting the likely-MVP to just 38% from the field in the series, including just 2-of-13 last night. Richardson, coming off a difficult regular season, averaged 19.5 points per game on 51% shooting.
The Warriors await the winner of the Houston-Utah series, which is set for Game 7 in Houston following Utah's win at home in Game 6 last night. The second round fate of the previous advancing eight-seeds? Denver fell in seven games to Utah, while New York, led by former Warrior Latrell Sprewell, swept Atlanta en route to the NBA Finals, where they fell in five games to San Antonio.
...I wouldn't go as far as to say that much yet, but at least the Raptors were able to extend their stay in the playoffs with a 98-96 win in Game 5 tonight. After jumping to an early 20-point lead, the Raps let the Nets back in the game in the fourth quarter before escaping with a two-point win after Bostjan Nachbar's game-winning three-pointer rimmed out.
The Raps still trail 3-2 in the series and head back to New Jersey for Game 6, where they were embarrassed in Games 3 and 4. By dropping the first game of the set, the Raptors put themselves in a position where they were going to have to win a game on the road, which they are going to have to do on Friday if they hope to come home for Game 7. Letting the Nets back in tonight's game was bad news---no question that a blowout win, which looked to be in the cards after the first quarter, would have left them in better shape heading on the road. More bad news for the Raptors---TJ Ford left the game after taking a bad tumble in the second quarter, and his replacement, Jose Calderon, went down with an ankle injury in the final minute. No word yet on their availability for Friday night.
Despite the injury, Calderon was the story of the night for the Raps. Filling in for Ford, he once again proved himself capable of leading an NBA team, finishing with 25 points and 8 assists. His performance was huge, especially considering Chris Bosh was again a no-show 11 points in a foul-filled 24 minutes. Andrea Bargnani proved capable of stepping up, scoring 18 points, although he was nowhere to be found in the second half. Morris Peterson stepped into the starting lineup, scoring 17 points, including several big buckets to weather Net runs in the third quarter.
Overall, a fair performance tonight by the Raptors. For the most part, the game wasn't nearly as close as the final score would suggest, but they would've done wonders for their momentum if they hadn't let the Nets back in this one. Next, they head out on the road, looking to make up for embarrassing efforts at The Meadowlands in Games 3 and 4.
The sports weekend from hell (Raptors playoff loss, Jays swept by Baltimore) has come and gone, and things look to be getting back to normal for Toronto's two best teams. The Raps recovered with a nervous 89-83 win last night, and the Jays bounced back with a sweep of a two-game set in Boston.
It's been five years since I've watched a Raptors game that had any meaning, and I'd forgotten how unnerving these playoff games can be. I had the chills before Saturday's Game 1, only to have my world thrown into a tailspin by the Raptors' horrible showing at the hands of Vince and the Nets. The chills were back for Game 2 last night, when Anthony Parker helped a shaky Raptor squad escape with a narrow win. Unless one of these teams gets a serious shot in the arm, I get the feeling each game is going to be a grind---you can throw whatever happened in the regular season out the window.
Of course, the key to success for the Raptors is Chris Bosh. He's the only legitimate big man in the series, but hasn't played like it at times thus far. It took him awhile to get going last night, and if the Raptors are going to steal a game on the road, he has to play a full 48. Parker, the difference maker in Game 2, is a better scorer than his 12 point per game regular season average suggests, and will be called upon to create shots if the offense keeps breaking down the way it did in the first two games. Also, any contribution from Andrea Bargnani would be welcomed.
Parker, Joey Graham and Morris Peterson did a great job of shutting down Carter in the first two games, but you have to figure he's going to go off one of these games. Aside from Kidd and Jefferson, another player that terrifies me is Bostjan Nachbar, one of the best players that nobody has heard of. He's made huge shots in the fourth quarter of both games thus far, and he'll likely continue to get good looks playing alongside the big three. The Raptors can't forget about this guy.
This series looks like it may be a an all-out, seven game grind. As of right now I still have the Raptors taking it, but partly because I'm afraid to imagine how I may react to losing to Carter.
