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: The unfortunate realization of Donald Sterling

The Lede

Donald Sterling's racist comments just shows ugly side of sports

Yesterday was a tough day in sports. Racism became front page news all day, overshadowing another great day of NBA playoff basketball, when a tape that featured a conversation between Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and his mistress girlfriend, V. Stiviano.

I won't dive into the whole story behind Sterling and Stiviano. TMZ has you all covered for that. But the brief summarization is this: Sterling had a heated argument with Stiviano, and didn't like that fact that she was "assciating with black people." He said that she could "sleep with [black people]," she could "bring them in," but "not to promote it on that ... and not to bring them to my games."

Everybody in the NBA (well, not the Houston Rockets, for some reason), ESPN, and NBA on TNT, especially those of color, made their remarks on the situation, and they were all just a tamer approach to what Snoop Dogg said earlier in the day. If TV was uncensored, I'm sure someone like Barkley would have made himself really known.

Obviously, my opinion holds true with all of them. NBA commissioner Adam Silver will have to be swift and make a decision early this week about what to do. With the damning evidence and previous history with racism involving Sterling, he should receive a suspension for the rest of season, banning him from going to Clippers games and anywhere else in the NBA, and he should be forced out as the Clippers owner during the offseason. There's simply nothing he can do to repair his image now.

Unfortunately, that doesn't eliminate the racism that still exists in our world. Every day I'd like to think that racism isn't as big of a deal as it was the day before, that more people get it. But it's moving slower than it should be. Much of the older generation still feels uncomfortable around black people, and think they're just crazy-different from the rest of the world. That especially holds true with the older generation in the Midwest.

No, those same old people say the exact same things about younger people that aren't wearing suits and being a "normal" person. Just like they say blacks are loud and annoying, they'll say the same stupid things about a white guy that has a mohawk, tattoos all over the place, or plays role-playing games with their other nerd friends.

That old, stupid way of thinking still exists in sports, and it still exists with owners. It still exists with those that are running college football bowl games. In a way, just like inside Sterling's warped, pathetic mind, they thrive off of being an owner because that still gives them the advantage over black people. They're making money off of what these athletes are doing on the court.

It's like the modern-day version of slavery. Black people now make a lot of money and enjoy what they do, but these white owners still sit back in their luxury suite at games, watch them work, and rake in the money.

I would like to think most owners and those that run bowl games don't think that way. But unfortunately, some of them still do, and that's simply disgusting.

Sterling's actions proved that there's still a long way to go unfortunately. And hopefully the action taken against Sterling is stiff and strong, enough to get backwards-ass owners thinking a little bit differently.

Recap of my favorite teams from yesterday.

Today's Slate
Games that I'll be keeping an eye on today.

SOCCER - BARCLAY'S PREMIER LEAGUE
Chelsea 2, Liverpool 0
Man City 2, Crystal Palace 0 - 2nd Half on NBCS

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1
Flyers at Rangers (Tied 2-2) - 11:00a NBC
Blues at Blackhawks (CHI 3-2) - 2:00 NBC
Ducks at Stars (ANA 3-2) - 7:00 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1
Bulls at Wizards (WSH 2-1) - 12:00 ABC
Clippers at Warriors (LAC 2-1) - 2:30 ABC
Raptors at Nets (BKN 2-1) - 6:00 TNT
Rockets at Blazers (POR 2-1) - 8:30 TNT

MLB
Padres at Nationals - 12:35 FSSD/MASN2
-Indians at Giants - 3:05 STO/CSBA
Phillies at D'backs - 3:10 CSPA/FSAZ
Rockies at Dodgers - 3:10 RSRM/SNLA

LAX
ACC: Syracuse vs Notre Dame - 12:00 ESPNU
PL: Lehigh at Loyola - 12:00 CBSS
Bayhawks at Cannons - 12:00 LAXN
Rattlers at Lizards - 5:00 CBSS

CBB
Virginia at Florida St - 12:00 ESPN3
Kansas at Baylor - 1:00 FCS623
Oklahoma at Texas Tech - 2:00 FSSW
-Oklahoma St at Texas - 2:00 LHN
Oregon at Oregon St - 3:00 ESPNU