Happy Monday everyone, here's my Top 5 for June 4, 2012 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
- Home cooking. Boston beat Miami in overtime in game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals 93-91 so their series is tied 2-2. The home team has won all eight games in the two Conference Finals.
- Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals is tonight in Los Angeles. The Kings lead 2-0 in the series.
- Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas announces he'll take next year off to "reconnect with family, friends and faith."
- Tiger Woods won the Memorial golf tournament tying Jack Nicklaus for second place with 73 tour wins. Sam Snead had 82.
- Novak Djokovic, attempting to win his fourth straight Grand Slam title, had to rally from two sets down to beat #22 seed Andreas Seppi to reach the quarters.
- The MLB draft is tonight. Houston holds the first pick.
- St. John's basketball star LeRoy Ellis who won an NBA championship with the 1972 L.A. Lakers is dead at the age of 72.
2. No-Han Santana
Hey, every team pitches a no-hitter every half century or so. What a moment Friday night, and so what if Carlos Beltran's "foul ball" was really a hit in the sixth inning? The Mets franchise and their fans deserved a break. (The St. Louis Post-Dispatch treated the headline with an asterisk because of the bad call. I wonder how many asterisks that newspaper used while covering Mark McGwire's heroics?) Anyway, scratch off the Mets pitching a no-hitter from the list of things I never thought I'd live to see, right along side the Red Sox winning the World Series. So I guess the only thing left is the World Champion Chicago Cubs. Nah.
3. Your Turn
No sooner had Santana struck out David Freese then your emails came flying.
From Top 5 subscriber J.G. " Ever since the Mets fired Willie Randolph, I have not paid too much attention to them... until tonight. Maybe the baseball spirits decided that the team needed a break from all the lawsuits and financial woes. It reminded me of a story from their initial season when they were on a winning streak. The locals kept saying, "Break Up the Mets!!!"
K.M. writes, "Took 50 years but it happened before they get to throw dirt over me! Truth be told I always thought the Mets first no-hitter would be thrown by some journeyman pitcher who came 'el cheapo' off some scrap heap never to be heard from again."
And from P.G. "Please post (Howie Rose's call) on your blog for anyone who hasn't heard."
Editor's Note: You got it! Here's Howie's terrific call.
And one more reason that wacko Mets fan in the office is wearing his team jersey today. The Mets are tied for first place.
4. Tiger Roars
I was one of those who thought that Tiger Woods would never win another golf tournament. Between his injuries, "fall from grace" and swing changes I wondered if he could put four solid rounds together. This weekend he proved that he could, capped by that splendid chip-in on 16 yesterday. So yes he tied Jack Nicklaus in total wins, but now the real chase beings. He's four shy of Nicklaus' 18 Majors, with the U.S. Open in two weeks at Olympic in San Francisco. And now for the first time in a long time, Woods may be a real factor, in fact in some betting circles he's now listed as the favorite to win.
5. Boys
Take some music and put it under a montage of images of Stanley Cup winning teams and voila you've got a great promo, with a great tag line. Enjoy!
Happy Birthday: Tennis star turned nun Andrea Jaeger. 47.
Bonus Birthday: Separated at birth, Angelina Jolie and Russell Brand. 37.
Today in Sports: The Indians run a promotion: "Ten Cent Beer Night." Drunken fans riot and Cleveland forfeits the game to Billy Martin's Texas Rangers. 1974.
Bonus Event: On the same day, the NFL granted a franchise to the Seattle Seahawks. There is no connection between the two events. 1974.
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