to move up and down
Gregg Popovich wanted some “nasty.” The San Antonio Spurs obliged, and they’ve now tied NBA history.
Not to mention left the Oklahoma City Thunder agonizing about what could have been.
Manu Ginobili scored a playoff-high 26 points and the Spurs won their 19th in a row to tie the NBA record for longest winning streak kept alive in the playoffs, beating the Thunder 101-98 in the Western Conference finals opener on Sunday night.
Two wrongs don’t make a right: There has been a nasty edge to the playoff series between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers and after more blood in Tuesday’s latest encounter, the Heat’s Dwyane Wade said the physical clashes were getting close to crossing the line.
Wade was left with bleeding above his eye after being struck by Tyler Hansbrough in the second quarter of the Eastern Conference semi-final.
That incident may have motivated a worse foul when Miami’s Udonis Haslem slammed both his arms into the face of Hansbrough in the game’s second flagrant foul.
“I thought I got fouled once and the next thing I know I took a hit,” said Wade, whose 28 points helped Miami to a 115-83 victory to give them a 3-2 lead in the series.
“Obviously my face is not the ball. I thought it was uncalled for. No-one likes to see their own blood, I tried to stay in the game (mentally),” added Wade.
This is the face Kevin Garnett made when he was called for a foul with 10 seconds left. A foul is a foul, right?
Referees are not asked to consider what time of the game it is, and call the violation accordingly. Of course, it happens all of the time: a foul in the first quarter is often not called in the fourth quarter, for fear of influencing the outcome of a close game. It is ridiculous, sure, but it is also human nature to want to let the players paid millions of dollar determine the result, as opposed to the referees paid considerably less than that.
Even given the Knicks’ ridiculous history, this season had to be one of the franchise’s strangest. Carmelo Anthony came under fire for his performance, Jeremy Lin hit the scene, Anthony and Mike D’Antoni clashed, D’Antoni “resigned,” Mike Woodson took over, Lin got injured, Anthony rescued the team and led the Knicks to the playoffs, Amar’e Stoudemire punched a glass casing around a fire extinguisher following a loss in Miami, and, well, they sputtered out in the playoffs, setting a league record for most consecutive losses in the post-season, before winning Game 4.
Amare Stoudemire allegedly punched a fire extinguisher after Monday night’s Game 2, and now he might not be able to play on Thursday after receiving stitches. Filed under: How to win friends and influence people.
What do you think of the new Brooklyn Nets logo? It was designed by minority owner Jay-Z, who says he was “inspired by the New York City Transit Authority subway signs from 1957.” Photo: NBA.com/Nets
Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant goes head over heels during Game 1 of their first round NBA Western Conference basketball playoff game against the Denver Nuggets. Photo: REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
These people are fun. Fellow Canadians and Steve Nash supporters give a thumbs up to their favorite Phoenix Suns player before their NBA basketball game with the San Antonio Spurs. REUTERS/Darryl Webb
Professional sports do not house compassion very well.
Metta World Peace, nee Ron Artest, seems to have attempted to legitimately better himself in recent years, especially since the Malice at the Palace in November 2004. The world in which World Peace grew up in should not be forgotten when considering the player and his actions.
It would be nice to be able to place this under consideration when World Peace’s vicious elbow to the side of James Harden’s head on Sunday is evaluated. Unfortunately, you cannot. Regardless of the reason World Peace acted with such force — whether it was a malicious shot to Harden or a celebration gone awry — he must be punished sternly.
‘Are you gonna cry about it?’ The advantages to blubbering for male athletes
His lips quivered. His eyes winced shut and his shoulders began to heave as Bubba Watson, a strappingly strong lad from northern Florida, became a helpless little boy moments after sinking his 2012 Masters winning putt on Sunday evening at Augusta National, bawling his eyes out for all the world to see.
We see tears in golf. We see them in hockey. We see them in all sorts of athletic arenas where all kinds of victorious men, of otherwise manly stature, turn into weeping willows.
But what we are seeing is more than just tears. Mr. Watson’s blubbering was a biological cue, a secret recipe for long-term mental and physical health, a symbol of male emotional liberation and an indication that, even though he had won the big one, he never believed that he would.
