Happy Tuesday everyone, here's my Top 5 for May 18, 2010 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
* Despite being banged up, Kobe Bryant scores 40 points and the Lakers easily beat Phoenix in game 1, 128-107.
* The NBA draft lottery is tonight. The team with the worst record, the New Jersey Nets, has a 25% chance of winning.
* Like old times. Alex Rodriguez and Marcus Thames both hit two run homers in the bottom of the 9th off Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. Boston sinks under .500 and is closer to last place than first place, with an 11-9 loss.
* Tiger Woods adds the British Open to his golf schedule.
2. Fine Whine
Lakers coach Phil Jackson loves to play psychology. Before the playoff series with Oklahoma City, he complained that Kevin Durant gets preferential treatment from the refs. That cost him a $35,000 fine. The other day, before the Phoenix series, he bitched that Steve Nash illegally palms the ball. Nash wasn't called for it once last night, and the Lakers cruised to a win. Hey Phil, you've got 10 rings. Just shut up.
3. Gasoline Alley
A couple of things from the NASCAR race the other day. The stands were barely half full in Dover, Delaware. I can understand Mets attendance being down. Cost versus success of the team. But NASCAR? Not good news for those who say the economy has turned around. Also in that race, Jimmie Johnson was penalized for going too fast. C'mon. Going too fast at a car race? OK, he was leaving the pits and that's a safety issue. But don't people go to races to see crashes? Lets double the speed limit coming out of the pits. Watch those attendance numbers zoom.
4. Sibling Rivalry
According to the Wall Street Journal, older brothers are more successful in major league baseball. Of the 300 sets of brothers they studied, 58% of the older guys had better careers. They cite Hank Aaron over Tommy. Dizzy Dean over Paul. And Graig Nettles over Jim.
The first two brother acts I thought of were a couple of not so average Joes. DiMaggio and Torre. Of the three DiMaggio ballplayers, Joe was the middle child. And Joe Torre, younger brother of Frank, was the far superior player. So much for that theory. But another study found that younger brothers stole more bases than older. That the baby brother was more aggressive. Being a younger brother, I think that's right on.
5. Winning at All Costs
So if you heard a basketball coach would do anything to win, you'd say what else is new? Then if you heard the coach tried to bribe the refs, maybe you'd raise an eyebrow. What if you heard he was the coach of the boy's team at Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church in a Harrisburg suburb? Are you kidding me? A church league? Yes he was arrested. I'm sure his defense will be Proverbs 17:8 "A bribe is a charm to the one who gives it; wherever he turns, he succeeds." Then again, under the Pennsylvania State law that deals with bribery, section 4701, he's probably screwed.
Happy Birthday: A couple of hall of famers. Reggie Jackson. 64. Brooks Robinson. 73.
Bonus Birthday: 30 Rock star Tina Fey. 40.
Today in Sports: New York City ends night baseball games for the duration of World War II. 1942.
Bonus Event: The birth of East Side gridlock. The United Nations moves its headquarters to New York City. 1951.