[While it's extremely important to recognize and utilize our strength as workers, I'd like to specifically discuss a highly specialized union in this post.]
Holy shit. Another great game. The Wolves couldn't hit a three to save their lives, and it somehow didn't matter. The defense was stifling, and out of nowhere (compared to the earlier games), Rudy took complete control of this match. Just look at the stats. Him dunking over Luka every now and then was also a fun bonus. I mean, yeesh, the Wolves would have been completely lost without him last night. Also, I've talked a lot of crap about Randle this year, but there's absolutely no way we come close to taking this round without him. He was absolutely huge on both sides of the court every game this series. Wow.
I will always be a constant Nervous Nelly pessimistic Minnesota sports* fan, and therefore I certainly have no grand proclamations regarding this year's playoff chase. BUT... I like this team. I feel they were a bit disjointed throughout the season, but I'd like to think it's coming together at the perfect time.
The next round will unquestionably and significantly up the level of difficulty, but hey, for myself, I'm playing with house money now.
*I'm only referring to men's sports here. I'm not pessimistic about the Lynx, though I am annoyed about certain parts of the course of events in the WNBA Finals last year.
I went to bed after the third quarter because, despite the close score, the win just kind of felt inevitable. I am not strongly rooting for Houston so they won't have to play in that stupid Pacific time zone.
Top headline at ESPN shows only pictures of Lakers
They're sooooo salty. The broadcast last night with Kevin Harlan was such a refreshing departure from the ESPN crew.
Now the top headline is already NFL again, with the first basketball headline being, "Lakers' early playoff exit a blow to betting public." LOL
That headlines totally epitomizes the decayed and degraded state of sports/journalism.
I had SportsCenter on this morning and I usually flip it off at 7 because I can't stand First Take. But I was in the middle of getting dressed and caught the first part of the show where Greeny said the "Wolves survived and advanced "
My dude, the Wolves kicked 15 kinds of dog poop out of the Lakers this series really wasn't close.
Schneemann struck out anyway but Arias walked. If Arias instead was called out and Schneemann's strikeout still happened, that's it for the inning and the Twins end it down 1-0 instead of 4-0.
He was absolutely brutal behind the plate in the seventh inning.
There’s been a fair amount of turnover in the last few seasons due to retirements of prominent umps. I find myself unfamiliar with their replacements. Mostly, I see that as a good thing.
A game like this is how an ump gets me to remember their name.
One thing missing in NBA coverage, LeBron is the best 40 year old basketball player in world history.
All I hear is that, "____ proves that MJ was better."
LeBron past 35 is way better than MJ past 35. It's not particularly close.
He was basically the only bright spot on the floor last night. My favorite moment(s!) was Rudy dunking over Luka as he just raised his hands in exasperation (not sure if that was directed at the officials or himself, but from what I know of him, it was the former).
Does LeBron even want to play with Luka next season?
James has played, not counting the playoffs, 1562 games. That would rank 15th in MLB right now. Add in another 292 playoff games puts his total at 1854 and that's fifth in MLB (fourth if not counting postseason). Incredible longevity.
Agree, plus look at MJ's supporting cast versus LeBron's for a large chunk of his career.
Jordan retired 14 years after Kareem. It’s been 22 years since Jordan retired. One would hope from a training standpoint alone that a player today in any sport would be better at a similar age to any historical predecessor.
Even thirty-something platoon guys like Rowdy Tellez and Daniel Vogelbach are probably better conditioned than Hrbek was at the same age.