Stanley Cup Playoffs 2014: Blackhawks force Game 5 against Kings in instant classic

The defending champions have been impossible to beat in the final three games of a series since last year, and that trend continues after the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Los Angeles Kings, 5-4, in double-overtime.

I expected a win from the home team coming into the game, but I didn't expect a game quite like that. Chicago started things off by taking advantage of power plays and going up 2-0 early in the contest. Los Angeles answered by scoring two goals themselves and the Blackhawks added one more keep a 3-2 lead after just one period.

The goals slowed down as the game went on. The Kings eventually took a 4-3 lead in the second period, but they didn't enjoy it long after the third period began. Ben Smith had his third goal of the postseason to tie it up at 4-4 just a 1:17 into the final period regulation.

After non-stop action in the first overtime, Chicago finally scored just over two minute into the second overtime to stay alive in Round 3. It was by former Kings player, Michal Handzus.

The game honestly had it all. Anybody that's not a hockey fan would be instantly transformed with all the drama, hard hits, and just great hockey play all around. It had everything. Your high-scoring affair in the first period and then both goalies seemingly getting hotter as the game went on. There was rarely an overtime that thrilling with non-stop action on both ends. At one point, there were eight minutes of hockey without a whistle.

Sure, the NBA is more popular and the general public still scoffs at the sport, but do what I did and put both games side-by-side together. Trust me, you can have your foul frenzy of a game that takes out the best player in the game for over half the game. You can take your final minute of the game lasting a half-hour and endless views of instant replay.

While suckers were watching to see who touched the ball last, NHL fans were treated to back-and-forth game action. NHL fans got over 82 minutes of game action, NBA fans got 48 and the runtime of both games weren't that much different.

NBA Playoffs 2014: Can Thunder sustain momentum against Spurs?

Sometimes having a superstar is all you need to create the difference between two teams and win a playoff game. Russell Westbrook did just that in Oklahoma City's series-tying victory over San Antonio. But can the Thunder sustain a gameplan like that to advance to the final stage?

Westbrook scored 40, Kevin Durant had 31, and the Thunderous duo combined for 71 points to even up the Western Conference Finals. It wasn't just those two scoring all the time -- with Serge Ibaka back and continuing to improve, the Thunder have gained an 18-4 advantage in blocks in the last two games.

That's also created a better transition game for OKC -- they outscored SA 21-0 in fastbreak points last night. The Spurs also relied on the perimeter to generate offense, but ultimately went 9-of-27 from downtown.

In today's generation, there's no doubt that fans and plenty of sports media outlets will send out that agonizing old question of, "Are the Spurs done?" Trolls and other Skip Bayless wannabes are at their Twitter machines asking where the Spurs fans are at.

You would think that we have finally learned that just taking what happened after one game and running with it is the wrong thing to do. I mean, how many people thought this series was over after the Spurs smacked around the Thunder in San Antonio after the first two games?

The reality is that Oklahoma City is gaining some roleplayers in Ibaka and Derek Fisher -- one of the variables needed to complete the equation to an NBA championship. But the largest part of both Thunder victories are the incredible scoring output of Westbrook and Durant. The problem with that is not being able to rely on that each night to win a title.

San Antonio can easily buckle down and make the adjustments, including an improved performance from Manu Ginobli, and take the momentum in this series after Game 5. Phil Jackson got his title as the "zen master" with the Los Angeles Lakers because they generally thrived in the fifth game of a series, making changes when the national media couldn't wait to shoot them down at a rapid-fire pace even when a series was knotted up after four games.

The same is being done with the Spurs because everyone wants to be the first to write that chapter that the Spurs' ship has finally sank. When it comes to making adjustments and managing a team, it's not a stretch to put more faith in Gregg Popovich over Scott Brooks right now.

Oklahoma City could certainly win the last two games and close this series out with Ibaka's dominance inside and the Westbrook/Durant duo scoring around 70 points a game. But nothing is over, despite claims that will be made on social media and four-letter networks today.

Just like being patient and waiting to see what the Thunder would do at home in the next two games of this series, let's see what San Antonio has for the pivotal Game 5.

Los Angeles Clippers didn't 'get robbed' in loss to Oklahoma City Thunder

Late last night, controversy surrounds Game 5 between the Clippers and Thunder, again showing that cooler heads always prevail and there were always more than one reason teams lose a game.

It's a natural reaction to look at last night's game and completely dismiss how everything went down. The ball should have been called out on Oklahoma City on the Matt Barnes' reach in and even more controversy surrounds Chris Paul's foul on Russel Westbrook, sending him to the line for 3 shots as they then sat down by two points.

Doc Rivers went on a horrible tirade after the game and both killed the calls and killed the refs. Despite actually admitting that the Clippers could have played better down the stretch, they "got robbed." Yup. Having a 13-point lead and blowing it with a shade over four minutes left is certainly getting robbed.

Even more nauseating than Rivers was the absolute breakdown over Twitter. College basketball analysts were spouting off, oh, where are the people that defended NBA refs and crucified NCAA officials? Please, go back to watching tape on the Ivy League. Naturally college refs are going to be worse because there's a bigger pool to select from, and they clearly get more calls wrong and remain inconsistent at best throughout games.

Replay haters were spouting off how it failed again. Enough. We all know replay rules are stupid and I've explained multiple times how they can create a replay system that works fast and can look at everything. And replay haters don't understand what they're complaining about because replay actually gets it right -- it's the refs that can't go back and say something was a foul. So first, replay haters need to figure out what to bitch about before yelling off their soap box.

Then there's Clippers fans, who go off on tangents about how the refs are the worst -- never mind refs helping them advance in one of the games against Golden State -- and that this could cost them the series! Oh, the stupidity. There's so many things that happen throughout the course of the game, plenty of other things could have happened to prevent last night's outcome. Begins with finishing a game and Chris Paul doing anything differently than that disaster he owned up for in the final seconds. Maybe Westbrook could have missed a free throw.

But no, let's just bitch about the controversy because that's easy fodder to throw around on Twitter and sports media. God help us all when some people can't look past a couple plays and don't realize that there is always, always more than one reason why there's an outcome of the game -- unless rain forces a postponement.

The sooner people figure that out, the less vitrol, bitterness, and hatred will spew on social media.

• NHL: Rangers complete comeback, Blackhawks advance - Pittsburgh chokes as they'll face uncertainty heading to the offseason, and Sidney Crosby will face plenty of scrutiny after scoring just one goal -- a game winner in Game 3 -- during the entire playoffs. On the flipside, Patrick Kane had his sixth goal in the game-winner and lucky bounces are always the king of hockey.
• NBA: Pacers back to normal after Wizards beatdown - Marcin Gortat had 31 points and 16 rebounds. Roy Hibbert had 4 points and 2 rebounds. Let me know when you figure it out, Indiana.
• MLB: Braves 5, Giants 0 - Ryan Vogelsong wasn't backed up by the offense, who had just one hit through the first six innings. This was Mike Minor's first win of the season.
• NCAA: ACC considers non-conference games against itself. It sounds weird at first, but it's better than seeing Clemson take on The Citadel.
• MEDIA: Clay Travis tries to defend Donald Sterling with some horrible rant about how actions should speak louder than words. Travis also never brings up Sterling heckling players, being sued by Elgin Baylor, and forcing out Latino tenants. Why? Because research is a hard thing, and it's much easier to go on a 1,000-word tirade filled with one-sentence fragments.

Today's Slate:

(Central times listed)

TENNIS

ATP BNL d'Italia - 4:00a TNNS

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - CHAMPIONSHIP

Benfica at Sevilla - 1:45 FS1

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 2

Canadiens at Bruins (Game 7) - 6:00 NBCS

-Ducks at Kings (ANA 3-2) - 8:30 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 2

Nets at Heat (MIA 3-1) - 6:00 TNT

Blazers at Spurs (SA 3-1) - 8:30 TNT

MLB

Rockies at Royals - 1:10 FSKC

Nationals at D'backs - 2:40 MLBTV

-Braves at Giants - 2:45 MLBTV

Padres at Reds - 6:10 MLBTV

Marlins at Dodgers - 9:10 MLBTV

WSD Sports Page (5-3-14): Damian Lillard leads Portland Trail Blazers to the Western Conference Semifinals

Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge are men amongst boys in Portland, the San Francisco 49ers pick up the option for Aldon Smith, and college lacrosse continues to dazzle. All in today's sports page.

The Lede

It took 24 Western Conference first round games, but a team finally advances to the next round. Damian Lillard makes a shot with 0.9 seconds on the clock, giving the Portland Trail Blazers a ticket to the next round over the Houston Rockets.

How much of a badass was Lillard? Against Houston, the man can do everything. In this playoff series, Lillard averaged 25.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 7.4 assists in 45 minutes of action. All of that is above his normal season averages.

Also tack on an incredible 45.9 percent shooting from downtown and constant drilling from the free throw line. The man had it all, and he was one of the two big reasons why the Blazers are headed to the next round.

Another one is LaMarcus Aldridge, who rebounded from his off night in Game 5 and put down 30 in the series clincher. His efficiency died when compared to his first two games in the series, but it knocked his percentage down to 50 percent, which just explains how freaking nuts he was in the first two games at Houston -- which was about a 59 percent average for those scoring at home.

These last two games in the series weren't like the insane, zero-defense affairs. But at some point you just gotta be a little tired from scoring all the time, right?

Poor Dwight Howard. He was non-existent in his first and only playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was certainly the man for the Rockets averaging 26 points and 14.2 rebounds per game, but the Laker fans already having fun slapping him on the ass as he exits the door.

Can't blame them for how he left, but he was certainly not the reason why Houston isn't moving on.

Their defense is.


Other Headlines

1. NBA: The latest on Donald Sterling and V. Stiviano -- Sterling admits that he should have "just paid her off" while the woman spoke to Barbara Walters on 20/20 and insists that Sterling should publicly apologize. Considering Sterling's history, he is a racist, and any sort of apology would be fabricated garbage that would just be wasting everybody's time.
2. NBA: Dallas, Brooklyn force even more Game 7s. That brings us to a total of five Game 7s in the NBA this weekend. Most of the time you'd be lucky to have a single game on Saturday night, and the second round usually began the next day. Enjoy it!
3. NHL: Chicago lays the wood down with 5-2 shellacking. Patrick Kane closes it out with two goals in the third period.
4. NFL: 49ers pick up the option for Aldon Smith. I'm still firmly against it, but ultimately it was the right move in a business sense and it's not a surprise after hearing all signs pointing to go in the past couple days. It's only guaranteed until next March, and again, I've got the under on that bet he'll stay clean until then.
5. NFL: Colin Kaepernick comes out and says the Miami "incident" has changed him. Unless you're an idiot like Aldon and haven't grown up after screwing up royally over three times in your life, you quickly learn that a target is on your back when you're a big figure. But, perhaps Joshua David should just tell him to shut the f*ck up.
6. LAX: Ivy League semifinals both ended in one-goal games. The only time Ivy League sports is exciting is when the Harvard men's basketball team has their moments and when their teams meet on the field for men's lacrosse.

Yesterday's Favorites

• Giants 2, Braves 1 - Tim Lincecum picks up his second win of the season thanks to Angel Pagan's leadoff home run and Michael Morse's solo shot in the sixth inning to break a 1-run tie. Sergio Romo's eighth save was like watching the end of an NBA game. Long and brutal.
• NCAA Baseball: West Virginia 5, Texas 3 - It's the Longhorn's third straight Big 12 loss despite Brooks Marlow going 4-for-5 and the team getting the same amount of hits as the Mountaineers (11). Texas was down 4-0 until the seventh inning when they put up three straight runs. And that was it.

Today's Slate

Central times listed.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

-Tottenham at West Ham - 6:45a NBCS

Sunderland at Man United - 9:00a NBCS

Man City at Everton - 11:30a CNBC

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 2

Canadiens at Bruins (MON 1-0) - 11:30 NBC

-Kings at Ducks (Game 1) - 7:00 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1

Hawks at Pacers (Game 7) - 4:30 TNT

Grizzlies at Thunder (Game 7) - 7:00 TNT

Warriors at Clippers (Game 7) - 9:30 TNT

MLB

Dodgers at Marlins - 6:10 SNLA/FSFL

-Giants at Braves - 6:10 CBA/FSS

Mets at Rockies - 7:10 SNY/RSRM

D'backs at Padres - 7:40 FSAZ/FSSD

LAX

AE: UMBC vs Albany (Final) - 9:00a ESPNU

-Johns Hopkins at Loyola - 11:00a CBSS

Army at Notre Dame - 11:00a ESPNU

Colgate at Syracuse - 3:00 ESPN3 (ONL)

BE: Denver at Villanova (Final) - 3:30 FS1

ECAC: Fairfield vs Air Force (Final) - 4:00 FS2

Lizards at Bayhawks - 6:00 PT

Hounds at Launch - 6:00 TLN (ONL)

CBB

Baylor at Oklahoma - 2:00 FSOK

Texas Tech at Kansas - 2:00 ESPN3 (ONL)

-Texas at West Virginia - 3:00

Kansas St at TCU - 4:00 FSSW

WSD Sports Page (5-1-14): Los Angeles Kings complete reverse sweep against San Jose Sharks

Los Angeles comes back to win a seven-game series against San Jose, Mike D'Antoni is gone as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach, and more NCAA players doing the stupid in today's sports page.

The Lede


For the fourth time in NHL history, a team pulled off the amazing reverse sweep in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Los Angeles cruises to seven-game series victory over San Jose blows it in the postseason again. It was a storyline that was hard to believe could happen, but it ended up being a story that's pretty easy to believe.

Home ice matters little in hockey, especially in Game 7s. The road team has won more often than the home team, and that happened with both Minnesota and LA on Wednesday night.

Some Sharks fans will be quick to point out the phantom goal in Game 6 that skewed the whole series, but they can justify it however they want. That didn't excuse the no-show at home in Game 5. And the continuing disastrous history of the team deserves all the vitrol from its fans because, let's face it, it keeps on continuing. There's no excuse when dropping four straight games in a series.

Now it's a SoCal rivalry in the next round, and it's going to be just as tough for the Kings. That series against the Sharks was a hard-hitting mess that saw Jonathan Quick absolutely winded in the closing minutes of last night's game. At least they'll have two nights off before the opening game, and two nights off between Game 2 and 3.


Other Headlines

1. NBA: Mike D'Antoni resigns as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. He posted a sub .500 record with the team, an astonishing 20 games under. The team reportedly wouldn't pick up the option on his contract, and therefore he didn't want to go through another season of hell and discomfort. Perhaps this move is in the best interest of everyone.
2. NHL: Minnesota advances on overtime goal in Game 7. No, hockey doesn't get much better than that. And it all starts over again with the next round tonight.
3. NBA: Playoff recap. Dwight Howard and Houston hold off elimination, San Antonio wins another nail-biter with Dallas, Toronto wins shocking high-scoring affair.
4. NCAA: Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky explains why he's still in college even though he hates being broke. He thinks the NBA boring, which is interesting considering how easy it is to watch the Badgers and fall asleep. And don't get me started on him knowing that he's "pursuing his degree free of charge" and hates "seeing $20 left in" his bank account at the end of the month. I'd hate for him to budget around paying his tuition for the next 20 years with a low-income job.
5. ESPN: Outside the Lines reports big-time college football teams in FBS are thriving despite the economic struggles over the years. Next up, whether or not money handed under the table and other incentives make athletes decide where to go to college. This breaking revelation and more on the next OTL.
6. NBA: Toronto Raptors fan gets rejected after going for a kiss. Oh, the feels, man. At least they won the game, so he can't feel all bad.
7. NCAA: Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston steals crab legs, issues stupid apology. Reason #943 of why I don't care about college athletics that much. This guy, a national title winning, Heisman Trophy winner, steals crab legs and, with his lawyer, issues a long-ass, stupid apology.

Yesterday's Favorites

• Giants 3, Padres 2 - Tim Hudson picks up his fourth win and almost reels in all 27 outs, but a late home run in the final inning forced a move to put Sergio Romo in to close the game. They've now won six of their last seven games, and will head to Atlanta for a big series with the NL West lead.

Today's Slate

(A.K.A. Games I'm keeping track of) - Central times listed.

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 2

Canadiens at Bruins - 6:30 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1

Pacers at Hawks (ATL 3-2) - 6:00 NBATV

Thunder at Grizzlies (MEM 3-2) - 7:00 TNT

Clippers at Warriors (LAC 3-2) - 9:30 TNT

MLB

Dodgers at Twins (Game 1) - 12:10 MLBN/SNLA/FSNO

Dodgers at Twins (Game 2) - 6:10 SNLA/FSNO

LAX

AE: UMBC vs Binghamton (Semi 1) - 3:55 AETV (ONL)

AE: Stony Brook at Albany (Semi 2) -6:30 AETV (ONL)

WSD Sports Page: Adam Silver saves the NBA playoffs with Donald Sterling beatdown

Why Adam Silver saved the NBA playoffs, why Joey Crawford could have cost the Oklahoma City Thunder their playoff series, and a conspiracy theory involving Matt Cain and the San Diego Padres all today on the sports page.


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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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?
5. 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

WSD Sports Page: Los Angeles Clippers' playoff run likely over

More on the Donald Sterling mess, a San Francisco 49ers fan sues the NFL for not being able to buy a tickeet to the NFC Championship, and recapping all the sports in today's sports page.

The Lede

The Los Angeles Clippers are probably done and it's a damn shame

On Sunday, the Clippers played a lifeless game against Golden State, losing 118-97 in a game that was essentially over after Stephen Curry made all the baskets in the first quarter. Despite deciding to play the game after a team meeting on Saturday, they certainly didn't show up mentally. And they shouldn't have played the game.

What does it take to supplant Donald Sterling, an NBA owner that's incredibly racist, believing that he still owns black people by clothing them and feeding them on his team? What does it take to cancel an NBA game? Apparently more than this.

Before disaster hit, the Clippers were looking like the best team in the West heading into the weekend. They held on to a victory on the road against an exciting Warriors team on Thursday. San Antonio now is down 2-1 against Dallas. Oklahoma City is barely getting past a tenacious defense in Memphis. Portland and Houston don't have the defense to continue on in the postseason. The East's biggest threat is Miami, and the Clippers obviously wouldn't have to worry about that until the final series of the postseason.

Now? It's probably over. The NBA is too late on its swift action to mentally repair the team. Doc Rivers is mulling over working for Sterling right now. Some players should feel the same way. In fact, this whole team might implode because why would anyone want to play under Sterling? Say what you will about sticking together and playing as a team, but more of what transpired on Sunday will happen.

Other Headlines

1. NFL: San Francisco 49ers fan sues NFL because he couldn't buy tickets for NFC Championship. He lives in Nevada, and that was one of the 44 states that wasn't allowed to purchase a ticket. This isn't new for the NFL, the Broncos even did it without the scrutiny because they didn't cut off a close geographical location like the Seahawks did with California. There's honestly a valid point here to be made, but we'll see how far this really gets in the court system -- especially since the suit is referring to Qwest and not CenturyLink, the old name for the Seahawks' stadium.
2. SOCCER: Barcelona player Dani Alves eats a banana that was thrown at him during a game. It's the greatest video of the weekend.
3. NBA: Shaq tried to race Kenny Smith to the video board, but falls over thanks to a trash can. This is the second greatest video of the weekend.
4. MLB: Ryan Braun injures teammate Jean Segura, then gets injured himself. Milwaukee is having one hell of a great start to the season at 18-6 after Saturday night, but Braun apparently has had enough of it.
5. NCAA: SEC sticks with eight game schedule, but demands teams schedule one game from a power conference. So, why not just have a nine-game conference schedule so that each team will be forced to play nine good teams? Whatever, maybe this means Iowa State and Vanderbilt can get a series going.

Yesterday's Favorites -- includes San Francisco Giants, Texas Longhorns baseball

Playoff Report -- recapping everything that happened in the Stanley Cup and NBA playoffs.

Today's Slate

SOCCER

Newcastle at Arsenal - 2:00 NBCS

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1

Penguins at Blue Jackets (PIT 3-2) - 6:00 NBCS

Avalanche at Wild (MIN 3-2) - 8:00 CNBC

-Sharks at Kings (SJ 3-2) - 9:00 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1

Heat at Bobcats (MIA 3-0) - 6:00 TNT

Hawks at Pacers (Tied 2-2) - 7:00 NBATV

Spurs at Mavericks (DAL 2-1) - 8:30 TNT

MLB

Rockies at D'backs - 8:40 RSRM/FSAZ

-Padres at Giants - 9:15 FSSD/CSBA

WSD Daily Sports Page (4-24-14): Breaking down the San Francisco 49ers' 2014 schedule

We closely examine San Francisco's schedule as the NFL finally releases the regular season slate. We also look at LaMarcus Aldridge's domination against the Houston Rockets, Nick Young's first pitch in the MLB, a second pine-tar incident, and more in the daily sports page.

The Lede



Breaking down the San Francisco 49ers schedule

The official dates and times of all 32 NFL teams were announced last night. News trickled in before the full announcement that Chicago would be San Francisco's first opponent in their new football stadium in Santa Clara, but that would come after opening the season at Dallas in one turns out to be a tough start to the 2014 season.

After the Cowboys and Bears, the 49ers will at Arizona, Philadelphia and Kansas City at home, and then road trips to St. Louis and Denver in primetime before finally reaching their bye week.

There's no Seattle in that stretch, which will obviously be the most anticipated matchup of the season (twice), but all of those teams don't expect to slow down after exceeding expectations a season ago. Luckily, the 49ers won't have to travel much in that stretch, being able to stick around the west half of the country until after the bye week.

In fact, San Francisco gets their two East coast trips out of the way back-to-back. After St. Louis at home, they will head to New Orleans and New York in early November. As reported by most Niner season preview sites, they fully expect the 49ers to stay at Youngstown, Ohio during that stretch to ease the travel.

After that? Six straight games on the West coast with four home games (Redskins, Seahawks, Chargers, Cardinals) and two back-to-back road trips to Oakland and Seattle sandwiched in between those home games.

Compared to last season's traveling, this will be a much easier schedule to maneuver with -- that's especially thanks to taking on the AFC West and having Dallas as a road game in the NFC East slate.


Top Five Stories that Matter to Me

1. NFL: More schedule nuances. A maximum of two flex games are allowed between weeks 5-10, and now all-AFC or all-NFC matchups can be switched over to FOX or CBS (and vice-versa) to balance out the schedule if games are flexed. Life sure will be weird if we watch Pittsburgh-Baltimore with the FOX graphics.
2. NBA: LaMarcus Aldridge has back-to-back games of 40+ points to give Portland a 2-0 lead over Houston. That's a real bummer, Rockets fans, but you're learning that you need defense the hard way.
3. MLB: Michael Pineda ejected for putting pine tar on his freaking neck. Honestly, he was pretty close to getting away with it because his skin tone nearly matches the substance. But what a complete idiot to try and get away with this twice in a row.
4. NBA/MLB: Swaggy P not too swaggy on his pitching. One of the Los Angeles Lakers' best players this season, Nick Young, believes that baseballs need to go in some kind of net.
5. MiLB: Tracy McGrady joins the Sugar Land Skeeters as a pitcher. The Skeeters are your minor league team that will whore out for any chance of publicity. And it's working. Maybe they'll score some more ESPN3 broadcasts.

Yesterday's Favorites

MLB: Giants 12, Rockies 10 (F/11)

Tuesday came the hits for San Francisco, and then came the runs on Wednesday -- and they needed it. Colorado took an early 5-1 lead after two innings, but Matt Cain rebounded with a six-inning affair thanks to Mike Morse launching two jacks. His second one in the third inning tied it up at 5-all.

Cain's numbers weren't impressive -- 10 hits, seven runs (all earned), and just two strikeouts -- but he actually had a chance to win it as the team had a one-run lead in the top of the seventh. But that was quickly squashed when the Rockies tied it up in the bottom frame.

All tied up at eight heading into extras, Colorado passes on Trevor Ariza to load the bases and pitch to Hector Sanchez, who hit a home run earlier in the game. As I was still trying to figure out why the hell the Rockies would intentionally walk Ariza, Sanchez launches a grand slam to avoid a sweep. Coors Field was in full effect, and the Giants were victorious.

With LA's win last night, SF remains one game back from the NL West lead while Colorado sits a half game back of the Giants. Both SF and Colorado have the night off while the Dodgers play Philly again tonight.

NCAA Lacrosse: Johns Hopkins 13, Villanova 7

After a tight ball game all the way to the middle of the 3rd quarter, the Blue Jays were able to extend their 8-7 lead with three more by the end of the period and tacked on two more in the fourth. Their defense stiffened up and shut down any chance for a comeback by the Wildcats. JHU goalie Eric Schnedier blocked all eight shots by Nova in the final period.

Blue Jays attacker Wells Stanwick had three goals on six shots and also recorded an assist while other attackers Ryan Brown and Brandon Benn also had multi-goal games.

For the most part, Nova played well with JHU. The biggest difference was JHU being able to get two extra man goals in the second period while the Wildcats went 0-3 on EMO.

Stanley Cup Playoffs

• Blue Jackets 4, Penguins 3 (F/OT) (Tied 2-2)
• Stars 4, Ducks 2 (Tied 2-2)
• Blackhawks 4, Blues 3 (Tied 2-2)

Pittsburgh scored three goals in the first period, but couldn't sustain the lead with Columbus scoring a goal in each period. The Dallas-Anaheim series is getting dirty with multiple fights breaking out in the third period and 14 different penalties were called. Vladimir Tarasenko scores his third and fourth goals for St. Louis in the playoffs, but it wasn't enough as Chicago ties the series up.

NBA Playoffs

• Heat 101, Bobcats 97 (MIA 2-0)
• Mavericks 113, Spurs 92 (Tied 1-1)
• Blazers 112, Rockets 105 (HOU 2-0)

It ended up being a close one, but Charlotte could never get over the hump against Miami after being down double-digits in multiple instances. LeBron James led the Heat with 32 points, six boards, and eight assists. Dallas pulled away in the second half, outscoring San Antonio by eight points in each of the final two quarters despite Manu Ginobli's 27 points.

Today's Slate

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1

Bruins at Red Wings (BOS 2-1) - 7:00 NBCS

Avalanche at Wild (COL 2-1) - 8:30 CNBC

-Sharks at Kings (SJ 3-0) - 9:30 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1

Pacers at Hawks (Tied 1-1) - 6:00 NBATV

Thunder at Grizzlies (Tied 1-1) - 7:00 TNT

Clippers at Warriors (Tied 1-1) - 9:30 TNT

MLB

D'backs at Cubs - 1:20 WGN

Padres at Nationals - 6:05 FSSD/MASN2

Phillies at Dodgers - 9:10 CSPH/SNLA

CBB

Texas A&M at Miss St - 6:30 ESPNU

USC at UCLA - 8:00 P12

WSD Daily Sports Page (4-23-14): Should Frank Vogel be fired if the Indiana Pacers don't advance?

Will Indiana's Frank Vogel get fired if the Pacers don't advance to the next round? "Stone Cold" Steve Austin gives his thoughts on gay marriage and says it exactly how we thought he would say it, and your daily recaps of NBA and NHL action -- including Drake's lint roller -- all today in the sports page.

The Lede



It's crazy, but Frank Vogel should be coaching for his job

Despite achieving a 56-26 record and being the first seed in the Eastern Conference, Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel is apparently coaching to keep his job.

ESPN's Marc Stein reports that sources close to the Pacers believe that if Indiana underwhelms in the playoffs, Vogel will likely get the axe. That sounds pretty severe considering everything Vogel has done for the Pacers during his tenure, but there's been a clear drop off by Indiana that's lasted since February.

Clearly, it's not just Indiana coming back to Earth. They're a really great team filled with superstars, but team chemistry must be on the same page. Otherwise, it doesn't matter who is on the team. This is why many teams that are filled with nothing but superstars end up disappointing -- it's incredibly hard to get those egos together.

Team chemistry is completely collapsing with the Pacers, and a lot of it reportedly is from Lance Stephenson beginning in late March. Yahoo! Sports reported on a fight between Stephenson and Evan Turner during practice right before their first game against the Atlanta Hawks. Stephenson had a scuffle with George Hill on March 31st, and Roy Hibbert calling out "some selfish dudes" was likely referring to Stephenson.

Perhaps Stephenson has big head on his shoulders after becoming one of the most improved players in the NBA this season. The problem for Vogel is that he can't pin it on Stephenson. In fact, president Larry Bird is on Stephenson's side and criticized Vogel in March for his disappointment in how the team is prepared.

It's truly unfortunate for Vogel. Since taking over during the 2010-11 season, the Pacers haven't missed the playoffs, haven't finished lower than second in the Central division, and the team is 167-97 in the regular season. Despite just an 18-17 playoff record, they've improved every season and were looking to finally break through into The Finals this year.

There's still time to get that done, but Miami is the clear favorite right now in the East. And perhaps Frank won't get another chance if he doesn't even make it to the Heat.


Top Five Stories that Matter to Me

1. NHL: Los Angeles drops to 0-3 hole against San Jose. There's nothing more pivotal than a Game 3 when a team holds a 2-0 lead. Now the Kings will have to win four straight games
2. NFL: The regular season schedule is officially released tonight. This is the only sport that devotes a 3-hour show for a freaking schedule. Yet it will probably score higher ratings than every baseball game, all the NHL games, and even the Spurs-Mavs game on NBATV.
3. WWE: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin gives vulgar rant about gay marriage. He focuses on religion, and it really "chaps [his] ass." But hey, he gets the point across.
4. NFL: LaMarr Woodley believes the Oakland Raiders will make the postseason. For those that don't know who Woodley is (that's a lot of you) the linebacker spent his first seven seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. It good to have goals, no matter how unrealistic they are.
5. NBA: Aubrey Drake Graham uses a lint roller during the Nets-Raptors game. Real Instagram comment: "habibiz lint roller on deck"

Yesterday's Favorites

MLB: Rockies 2, Giants 1

The hits finally came for San Francisco, but they were unable to bring in the runs scoring just once on a solo home run by Hunter Pence. They were able to get baserunners against Colorado starting pitcher Franklin Morales, but all nine runners in scoring position were stranded. Madison Bumgarner gave up nine hits but recorded six strikeouts in a complete effort that went eight innings.

NCAA Baseball: Texas 5, UT-Pan American 4

It was a bit closer than the Longhorns wanted it, but they finally break a 3-game losing streak after getting bulldozed by TCU over the weekend. Mark Payton hit a go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to give Texas their first lead of the night and they held on to finish off UTPA in the ninth. Ben Johnson hit a solo home run in the sixth inning to tie the game up.


Stanley Cup Playoffs

• Canadiens 4, Lightning 3 (MON 4-0)
• Bruins 3, Red Wings 0 (BOS 2-1)
• Rangers 4, Flyers 1 (NYR 2-1)
• Sharks 4, Kings 3 (F/OT) (SJ 3-0)

After coming back in the 3rd period down two goals, Montreal smacked in the game winner with under one minute left.

Boston is also starting to flex their muscles. After getting zero goals in the first game, they've outscored Detroit 7-1 in the last two games with seven different players.

NBA Playoffs

• Pacers 101, Hawks 85 (Tied 1-1)
• Raptors 100, Nets 95 (Tied 1-1)
• Wizards 101, Bulls 99 (F/OT) (WSH 2-0)

Great night in The Association. The Pacers pulled away in the 3rd quarter outscoring the Hawks 31-13. Toronto outrebounded Brooklyn 52-30 to overcome shooting just 12.5 percent from downtown and turning the ball over 10 more times to even the series. Chicago loses another heartbreaker at home and will have to find answers in Washington.

Today's Slate

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - SEMIFINALS
Bayern Munich at Real Madrid (Leg 1) - 1:45 FS1

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1
Penguins at Blue Jackets (PIT 2-1) - 6:00 NBCS
Ducks at Stars (ANA 2-1) - 7:00 CNBC
Blues at Blackhawks (STL 2-1) - 8:30 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1
Bobcats at Heat (MIA 1-0) - 6:00 TNT
Mavericks at Spurs (SA 1-0) - 7:00 NBATV
Blazers at Rockets (POR 1-0) - 8:30 TNT

MLB (NL West)
D'backs at Cubs - 1:20 WGN
-Giants at Rockies - 2:10 CSBA/RSRM
Padres at Brewers - 7:10 FSSD/FSMW
Phillies at Dodgers - 9:10 CSPH/SNLA

LAX
-Villanova at Johns Hopkins - 6:00 ESPNU

CBB (Big 12)
Missouri State at Kansas - 6:00 ESPN3
Baylor at Texas State - 6:30 ESPN3

WSD Daily Sports Page (4-22-14): NBA stars only complain about calls when it matters to them

Star NBA players not complaining about calls when things go their way? That's rich considering how often they complain every single time they don't get any call. That and how the San Francisco Giants continue to struggle in today's sports page.

The Lede

 

Following the Brooklyn Nets' road win over the Toronto Raptors, both star NBA players Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce didn't spend much time on foul calls in the game, something that Raptors head coach Dwane Casey found interesting int he last quarter of the game.

Casey wouldn't criticize the officials directly, but noted that Toronto didn't get any calls in the fourth quarter. Looking at the box score, outside of a Deron Williams offensive charge with 4:11 to go, the six other fouls called in the period were on the Raptors. In fact, after that Williams charge when the game was 77-76 in favor of the Nets, Toronto was called for four fouls in the final 1:46. However, most of that came from the Raptors needing to foul to extend the game.

But Casey's beef with not getting any calls is somewhat fair, even though the Raptors could have settled for less field goals.

That's not where my beef is with this whole situation. It's with both Garnett and Pierce, with their somewhat oblivious comments to what Casey said.

"In the playoffs you're not going to get calls," Garnett said [via ESPN]. "If you do, then you're fortunate. Playing on the road is very difficult. We know that. Some of us do. And that's just expected to come with the series. Things are not going to go the way that you want them and you have to just continue to be aggressive. But that's the difference between experience and non-experience."

Sorry Garnett. While some things aren't going to go your way, it's certainly not just experience that gives teams calls in the NBA. It's star athletes' names that do it. Saying that "you're not going to get calls" is pretty rich coming from an NBA star that routinely gets calls.

Pierce brought up the boring argument of, well, things didn't go our way either!

"We could say something about the refereeing on our side, but we're not going to get into that. We understand that it's the playoffs. A lot of calls may not go your way and we understand that as veterans. You gotta be able to play through it."

Because stars always need to complain, even when things go our way.

All these statements are incredibly rich from NBA stars when they're the ones that bitch the most on the court when things don't go their way. There's a reason why LeBron James doesn't get much love when compared to Michael Jordan. It's not just because fans of other teams are jealous of James' skills and generally, the better the player, the more hated he is in social media.

That's some of it, but the reason why James doesn't get much respect is how he constantly, always has the face of anguish any time a foul doesn't go his way. He continues to flop on the ground like he doesn't have any strength, checks his face for blood when there's any sort of contact to the head just so he can have a case for the ref, and when he gets stuffed at the rim, of course that was a foul.

Garnett and Pierce are the same dudes, same as all the other NBA stars that have ever played the game. Especially the stars in this era of basketball. They have no problem shrugging their shoulders about foul calls when their team wins the game. But they would be the first to bitch if the game was lost in a similar fashion.

Yesterday's Favorites

MLB: Rockies 8, Giants 2

Well that's a horrible way to end a 10-game, one-run streak. Ryan Vogelsong can't even make it through two innings in his worst start for San Francisco, and is the shortest start for any National League pitcher. Even worse, reliever David Huff got injured on a hit in the top of the third after getting the Giants out of a jam in the second inning.

The game was essentially over after four different Rockies racked up home runs in the first three innings, pulling out to a quick 7-1 start and didn't look back. Giants hitting continued to slump with just six hits on the night and hitting just 1-of-10 with runners in scoring position. Michael Morse left three runners in scoring position.

Today's Slate
Central times listed.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - SEMIFINALS
Chelsea at Atleico Madrid (Leg 1) - 1:45 FS1

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1
Lightning at Canadiens (MON 3-0) - 6:00 NHLN
Bruins at Red Wings (Tied 1-1) - 6:30 NBCS
Rangers at Flyers (Tied 1-1) - 7:00 CNBC
Sharks at Kings (SJ 2-0) - 9:00 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1
Hawks at Pacers (ATL 1-0) - 6:00 TNT
Nets at Raptors (BKN 1-0) - 6:30 NBATV
Wizards at Bulls (WSH 1-0) - 8:30 TNT

MLB
D'backs at Cubs - 7:05 FSAZ/CSCH
Padres at Brewers - 7:10 FSSD/FSWI
Giants at Rockies - 7:40 CSBA/RSRM
Phillies at Dodgers - 9:10 CSPA/SNLA

LAX
PL: Bucknell at Colgate (Qtrs) - 3:00 LAXM (ONL)
PL: Navy at Lehigh (Qtrs) - 6:00 LAXM (ONL)

CBB - BIG 12
UTPA at Texas - 6:00 LHN
CS Bakersfield at Kansas St - 6:30 FCS

WSD Daily Sports Page (4-18-14): MLB replay isn't the problem, the whole sports replay process is wrong

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

WSD Daily Sports Page (4-16-14): Boston Marathon hoax, NCAA feeds their athletes, Giants-Dodgers goes to 12 innings

The Boston Marathon is the site of a completely horrible hoax, Chris Johnson won't give up in the NFL, some dude shoots hoops while driving in his car, and San Francisco beats LA in a 5-hour baseball game that featured both teams leaving nearly 30 people on base.

Let's get to it.


The Lede

Boston Marathon hoax proves we can't have nice things

A year ago, three people died near the finish line of the Boston Marathon after two bombs went off. Shortly after the ceremonies that had people remembering the anniversary of the disaster, somebody decided to be cute and re-create the scene with two bookbags.

The hoax creator has been identified as Kevin Edson, or "Kayvon" has he apparently goes by. He ran around the area yelling out "Boston strong!" in a black veil and dropped two suspicious bookbags off by the finish line. Police self-detonated them be safe, but they simply had a rice cooker and photo equipment between the two of them.

Edson has been charged with possession of a hoax device, disorderly coonduct, and disturbing the peace. Later on, Deadspin revealed the crazy man looked at Dzhokhar Tsaranev, the man involved with the real bombings a year ago, as a heartthrob.

Even more unnerving: Edson's Facebook banner had a picture of Tsaranev's face with the following text: "Had a blast at the marathon!!! Y U Stalin 2 Call Me????????"

Edson clearly has a few issues, and maybe like most of us guys that reach 25 years old, he's just trying to figure out what the hell life means. For him, he thought it'd be a great time to celebrate the loss of his apparent loved one by re-creating the scene of an event that killed people and injured plenty more. A scene of chaos that affected so many people and a city that rallied together to get past a tragedy.

That's great. Maybe you can deal with your problems with a loved one you can't get like every other normal guy and spend a night with yourself and a laptop with a bottle of lotion, Kleenex, and the doors and blinds closed.

Top Five

1. NFL: Ex-Tennessee Titans RB Chris Johnson visited the New York Jets. It's a good fit. I'm pro disaster getting together with disaster in any sport. Because the results are exciting.
2. NCAA: Council approves all the meals and snacks athletes could ever want. There you go athletes, you happy now? Maybe you can share with those other students that already don't get meals in the first place and are living on ramen noodles Great Value chips.
3. NHL: ESPN predicts that Sidney Crosby is a 97 percent favorite to win the Hart Trophy. That's in today's edition of Mastery of the Obvious with the Worldwide Leader.
4. GOLF: John Daly, the amazing golf ball whacker guy, tees up in a woman's mouth. Now this would have done much better than Daly selling his own memorabilia outside of Augusta National.
5. WTF: Somebody dribbles a ball and makes a basket out of a moonroof of a car WHILE DRIVING IT. I don't need to say anything else.

Yesterday's Favorites

NCAA Baseball: Texas 10, UT-Arlington 2

The Longhorns continue to dominate in college baseball. They've climbed up into the top five in one poll and picked up their 30th win of the season after an incredible performance from the bullpen. The Mavericks were able to open up the game with a 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning, but Texas answered quickly with three runs in the 3rd inning and they didn't look back.

Chad Hollingsworth picked up his first win of the season for Texas with the staff pitching. Ben Johnson and Tres Barrera combined for seven RBIs.

NFL: San Francisco 49ers pick up Brandon Lloyd

It's the return of B-Lloyd for the 49ers. One can only hope his next rap album will follow.

NL West Recap

• Giants 3, Dodgers 2 (F/12)
• Mets 9, Diamondbacks 0
• Rockies 3, Padres 2

San Francisco is on a roll against LA, taking three of the first four games against their hated rivals. The latest chapter was a thriller and complete torture for both teams. They went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position -- each -- and left a combined 29 players on base as a team. But the Giants' second score was the most important, and Hector Sanchez won the day on a night where Pablo Sandoval went 0-for-5 with a walk and Buster Posy left early after going 0-and-3 with two walks.

Elsewhere, it just keeps getting worse for Arizona. The NY Mets have now collected 25 hits in the first two games. A collected effort by their pitching staff held the D'backs to just three hits while Bronson Arroyo gave up 10 hits and nine runs in 3.1 innings.

Finally, Colorado didn't blow it again San Diego this time -- it was the other way around. The Padres put up two runs on Juan Nicasio, but he settled down and pitched well the rest of the way after a bad first inning. The Rockies held them scoreless the rest of the way while picking up enough runs to win the contest.

With two straight extra-inning victories, the Giants have tied it all up with the Dodgers atop the West at 9-15 apiece. The D'backs already sit 6.5 games out of first place.

Today's Slate I'll Be Watching

BARCLAY'S PREMIER LEAGUE

Crystal Palace at Everton - 1:45 NBC Live Extra / EPL Overflow Channels

Sunderland at Man City - 1:45 NBCS

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1

Canadiens at Lightning - 6:00 CNBC

Blue Jackets at Penguins - 6:30 NBCS

Stars at Ducks - 9:00 NBCS

MLB - NL WEST

Mets at D'backs - 2:40 FSAZ

Rockies at Padres - 9:10 FSSD

-Dodgers at Giants - 9:15 NBC BA

NBA (Games w/ playoff implications)

Bulls at Bobcats - 6:00 CSCH

Mavericks at Grizzlies - 7:00 ESPN

Raptors at Knicks - 7:00 MSG

Pistons at Thunder - 7:00 FSOK

Clippers at Blazers - 9:30 ESPN

BIG 12 CBB

Grand Canyon at Kansas - 6:00 ESPN3