As always, Memorial Day weekend is one of the biggest sports weekends of the year. There were NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs, the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in auto racing, baseball, and the national championship for lacrosse.
The NBA defending champion Miami Heat won their 3rd consecutive game in the Eastern Conference Finals, after losing the opening game, to take a 3 games to 1 lead, after a 102-90 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. The Heat led from the opening tip on, with LeBron James leading the way with 32 points.
On Sunday, the Oklahoma City Thunder got back in the Western Conference Finals with a 106-97 win over the San Antonio Spurs, to cut their series deficit to 2-1. The return of Serge Ibaka provided the needed boost for the Thunder, scoring 15 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, and blocking 4 shots. The Spurs will still win this series though.
In the NHL, the Los Angeles Kings took a commanding 3-1 Western Conference Finals lead, with a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night. The defending champion Blackhawks face elimination at home in Game 5 on Wednesday.
On Sunday, the New York Rangers also took a 3-1 stranglehold on the Eastern Conference Finals with a 3-2 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens. Martin St. Louis had the game-winner 6:02 into overtime for the Rangers.
No team has ever gone 7 games in each of the first 2 rounds of the NHL playoffs and made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Rangers and the Kings are each one win away from doing just that.
In auto racing, on Sunday in Indianapolis, Ryan Hunter-Reay won his first Indianapolis 500 race, in the 2nd closest finish in the 98th running of the race. Hunter-Reay beat Helio Castoneves by 0.06 seconds. Castroneves was that close to tying A.J.Foyt, Rick Mears, and Al Unser Sr. for the most wins at the Indy 500 with what would have been his 4th win.
In the NASCAR race Sunday evening, the Coca-Cola 600, 6-time Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson won his first race of the year, over Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth. On a side note, Kurt Busch raced in both of these races. He finished 6th in the Indy 500, but his night ended early when he blew an engine with 129 laps remaining in the NASCAR race. Tony Stewart is the only driver to complete all 1100 miles in both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
Also on Sunday, Josh Beckett of the Los Angeles Dodgers threw a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies. This was the first no-hitter in the major leagues this year, and Beckett was the first Dodger to toss a no-hitter since Hideo Nomo in 1996. While that’s a great accomplishment for Beckett, what could be more boring than watching an opposing pitcher throw a no-hitter against your team, on your home field?
On Monday, the national championship in lacrosse was decided in a game between top seeded Duke and 6th seeded Notre Dame. This was a rematch of the 2010 final, in which Duke won the face-off in overtime and scored the winning goal in 5 seconds, the shortest overtime final ever.
Duke stormed out to an 8-2 lead on Monday, but Notre Dame forged a furious comeback, closing the gap to 9-8, before losing 11-9 on an empty net goal, after pulling their goalie in an attempt to tie the score. The game didn’t get good for me until about halfway through the final period, when the score got close. This was the 3rd national championship for Duke lacrosse, all in the last 5 years.
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Sports With Frank Thomas
I have fun with, cause I found just what I was having a look for.
You’ve ended my four day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day.
Bye