The Lede
In a matter of days, NBA commissioner Adam Silver saved the league from a dark, ugly cloud hovering over the 2014 playoffs. The ugly, racist tape that involved Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling took away from a weekend of fantastic playoff action. It was only going to continue siphoning the atmosphere until Silver took swift action, and he certainly did that.
Banned for life and a $2.5 million fine, the most he was able to allow under the NBA constitution. All of that going to charity. You can bet that Silver would have fined him more if possible. And he will move as fast as possible to get a majority vote from the owners to kick Sterling out of power.
Silver quickly sided with the overwhelming majority of dismissing Sterling for everything he said. Some have chimed in with trying to defend the first amendment, that how we obtained Sterling's comments were unjust and wrong because he didn't know that he was recorded. But despite all that, it's out there in the open. America will forgive a lot of mistakes, but condemning people of color and talking about how you're owning them is something that doesn't get a second chance.
Sterling may not go to jail for what he said, but he might as well change his name and move to a different country. He won't be respected by anybody.
Mark Cuban, who even talked about how it was slippery slope if the NBA throws the book at him, quickly tweeted in support of the decision. Silver demanded that owners will not sit in the gray area. They're uniting together to kick the racist out of power.
To Silver: You backed down anybody that wanted to sit in the gray area of what the right decision was for Sterling's punishment. You wouldn't let this ugly crap hang around through the rest of the season, only suspending him until the summer. You threw the gauntlet and in the first days of being the NBA commissioner, you set a no-BS atmosphere for the owners that will trickle down to the players. You're in power of this league, and no one will want to face punishment from you.
Other Headlines
- NBA: The Washington Wizards move on to the next round. Apparently they only played three quarters in the 75-69 victory. Better yet, they'll probably face the Atlanta Hawks.
- NBA: Joey Crawford stops Kevin Durant's free throw shooting to make scoreboard operator light up "Bonus," leads to Durant missing 2nd free throw. The Thunder lost 100-99 in their fourth overtime game.
- NBA: Clippers rebound with 113-103 victory. Now that the Sterling dark cloud is gone, perhaps they can get back to being a favorite to win it all this postseason.
- NHL: Three Game 7s tonight. Forget the NBA, it's puck night tonight. Will the Los Angeles Kings be the next team to complete a four-game comeback?
- NBA: Boxers interested in owning the Los Angeles Clippers. I'm much more into the conspiracy theorgy of Magic Johnson being in the Instagram photo on purpose so he can try and buy the franchise.
Yesterday's Favorites
- Giants 6, Padres 0 - Matt Cain's start was scratched after cutting his hand in a kitchen accident, leading to a start by Yusmeiro Petit and a shutout outing. Considering Cain's poor history against San Diego, conspiracy theorists unite!
- Texas 6, Prairie View A&M 3 - Longhorns scored five runs in the first three innings and starting pitcher Lukas Schiraldi had a career-high eight strikeouts in six innings of work.
Today's Slate
(A.K.A. Games that matter to me) - All times Central.
UEFA CHAMPIONS - SEMIFINALS
Atletico Madrid at Chelsea - 1:45 FS1
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1
Rangers at Flyers (Game 7) - 6:00 NBCS
Wild at Avalanche (Game 7) - 8:30 CNBC
-Kings at Sharks (Game 7) - 9:00 NBCS
NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1
Mavericks at Spurs (Tied 2-2) - 6:00 TNT
Nets at Raptors (Tied 2-2) - 6:30 NBATV
Blazers at Rockets (POR 3-1) - 8:30 TNT
MLB
Dodgers at Twins - 7:10 SNLA/FSNO
Rockies at D'backs - 8:40 RSRM/FSAZ
-Padres at Giants - 9:15 FSSD/CSBA
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