Grip on Sports: If cloning were possible, Tuesday would have been a good night for sports fans to utilize it
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Some nights there are just too many games to watch. Last night was one of them. Read on.
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• Portland knocks Oklahoma City from the NBA playoffs on a last-second long-as-heck 3-pointer from Damian Lillard. The San Jose Sharks take advantage of an “awful call” – the Las Vegas Knights’ description, not mine – and rally from three goals down in the third period to win in overtime.
Great stuff.
And it overlapped way too much.
If you are trying to watch two playoff games at once, you run the risk of missing key elements, as happened to yours truly last night. A break in the action for a face-off in a three-goal game? Let’s move to the Blazer contest. Get back and what happened? A five-minute major because there is blood on the ice?
Crud.
Get involved in the Sharks’ scoring frenzy? There is basketball missed. It’s a no-win situation, so you decide to stay on the overtime hockey, which may just be the most exciting playoff sport there is.
So you miss Lillard rising up from Vancouver as the self-proclaimed “Playoff P,” Paul George, is too late getting his hands up. Boom. Oklahoma City is out of the playoffs again. Stop smiling. It’s not becoming Mr. Sonics Fan.
Lillard, the Oakland-raised guard who wanted to be a Cougar, has become a star. And the Blazers have become the new hot NBA team. He’s fun. They’re fun. Especially when they are eliminating Clay Bennett’s vagabond group.
But we missed most of it. Not that we are complaining. The hockey was spectacular, even if it turned on a questionable decision.
Overtime in a seventh game is unmatched. One shot ends it. Legs are tired, whistles are swallowed, fans are insane.
It’s perfect.
• While writing about the early entrants to the NBA Draft yesterday, we underestimated the number of players accepting the offer to be evaluated almost by half.
Yep, there are 233 players on the list, though only 175 are from the college ranks. The rest are from overseas.
It’s an interesting game of musical chairs. With just 60 spots available in the draft, and only 30 of those with guaranteed money, as the next month wears on, players will slowly pull out of the process, returning to school before the May 29 deadline.
• Frank Clark was the one asset the Seahawks had that could yield the franchise a haul of draft picks. He did. And then Kansas City gave him the money Seattle never would.
The trade was a win for the Hawks – even if they now have a bigger pass-rushing deficit. It was a win for Clark. And, if the Chiefs can win enough playoff games next season, it will be a win for them as well.
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WSU: Spring football is officially done. Over. Finished. Theo Lawson lays it to rest with this story – and with video of interviews with Mike Leach, Matt Brock and Calvin Jackson Jr. The most interesting aspect of yesterday’s last practice? Eastern Washington transfer Gage Gubrud led the offense for two drives in the live period. Coming off an injury, it was Gubrud’s first time in that situation as a Cougar. There will be more in the fall. … The Associated Press has a look at the Cougars following spring football. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12, Jon Wilner shows the Networks are not doing well financially. And it is costing the conference’s schools a lot of money. … In football news, the NCAA is fine-tuning the targeting and overtime rules again. … Oregon has a couple of high draft picks headed to the NFL. … Oregon State knows the next couple months are crucial for fall success. … In basketball, Arizona has picked up a transfer from the Harvard of Orange County. … Oregon State is having to rebuild a bit. … So is UCLA, with a new coach and players headed to the professional ranks.
Gonzaga: Oumar Ballo made it official yesterday, signing his letter of intent with the Zags. He adds size – he’s 6-foot-10, 260-pounds – and youth – he’s 16-years-old – but will more than likely need a redshirt year before he’s ready to help consistently. Jim Meehan has more in this story. … The baseball team defeated WSU 8-5 at home. … Around the WCC, BYU has picked up a key transfer.
EWU: The Eagles have a whole bunch of new cornerbacks. And a new cornerbacks coach. Ryan Collingwood has more on both.
Chiefs: Overtime playoff hockey is as exciting as it gets. Especially when the home team would go down 3-0 in the series if it loses. The Chiefs didn’t let that happen last night at the Arena, with Jake McGrew’s goal giving them a 3-2 win. Kevin Dudley has the game story and Colin Mulvany the photo gallery.
Preps: It was a busy day at the area’s high schools. We have roundups for baseball, tennis, softball and soccer.
Mariners: The bumbling defense hurt the M’s again last night in their 6-3 loss at San Diego. … Yusei Kikuchi will only throw one inning in his home start Friday night. The bullpen will finish it. … Gene Warnick has the Out of Right Field summary from last night’s game.
Seahawks: There really isn’t anything else to discuss except the Clark trade. Everyone has an opinion. And it will have an impact on the upcoming season. How much so depends, in large part, on what happens in this weekend’s draft. … OK, there is one other piece of news. Jarran Reed had surgery yesterday.
Sounders: Seattle has to bounce back after the season’s first loss.
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• One thing about hockey. Even first-round series in the playoffs are evenly matched. And anything can happen. Including a hard-to-believe comeback as time runs down. Oh, there is one thing that won’t happen, though. A Canadian team winning the Stanley Cup. It last happened in 1993, when the Montreal Canadiens topped the Los Angeles Kings. The three Canadian teams that made the postseason this year all lost first-round series. Until later …