The Dugout - June 18
(David J. Phillip/AP Photo)
2014 NBA Champions – The San Antonio Spurs
Redemption. It must taste pretty good right about now. After the heartbreak of last season, the San Antonio Spurs somehow found the resolve to come back even stronger this year and went that final step further. After losing in game 2, they found another gear to blow Miami out in three straight games and roll on to a historic win. You really can’t overstate how incredible this achievement is. The teamwork, the efficiency, the pure dominance. They have no peer.
And Let’s Not Forget the LA Kings
RIP Tony Gwynn
We lost one of the great hitters in the history of baseball this week at the far too young age of just 54. Cancer.
Gwynn was a true legend. He played all 20 years of his pro career with the San Diego Padres, amassing 3141 hits in that span. 15 times an All Star and a Hall of Famer. They didn’t come much more talented than “Mr Padre”.
Condolences to his family and to the baseball community that he was such an active part of. He will be missed.
Tony Gwynn (V.J. Lovero/Sports Illustrated)
Most NBA Titles Among Active Players:
5 - Tim Duncan
5 - Kobe Bryant
4 - Tony Parker
4 - Manu Ginobili
3 – Udonis Haslem
3 – Dwyane Wade
The Heat is On
So what does the future hold for LeBron James now? Does he opt out of his contract and seek greener pastures or stick it out in Miami? His family are settled where he is, and he has a coach and a franchise who he has worked well with and who have shown the desire never to rest on their laurels. It’d be pretty dumb for him to leave now, to be honest. He won’t find the structure and support that he has with the Heat anywhere else. However this team has been proven to be off the pace. They’ll beat most teams that they face, but no longer are the 4-time defending Eastern Conference champions the best team in basketball. In fact there are probably a few Western sides that would back themselves against an aging Heat side. LeBron must stay, and he must be the centrepiece. Nobody else can consider themselves safe though. Having played more than an entire extra season in postseason games over the last four years, guys like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are effectively a few years older than they should be in basketball years. Ray Allen is in his twilight. Mario Chalmers was abysmal in the finals. The bench was anonymous.
Bosh, Wade and James all have $20m player options for next season, and only one of them deserves it. Battier has retired to work the microphones, Haslem has a player option also. Norris Cole and Chris Andersen will probably still be around, but the rest are all off contract. There’s talk that the big three will opt out and re-sign for less money. LeBron probably gets three times his salary in endorsements anyway. They might be best off trying to spend that money on a rebounding centre who can protect the rim, and move Bosh to PF. Wade can still turn it on but he’s hit or miss. $20m on a guy that only plays half the time? Might as well trade him to the Knicks. Miami have had a real wake up call here. Expect a busy offseason.
Nice Try, Tony
Brandon Weeden & Tony Romo (in disguise) (USA Today)
Good Week:
- Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs) – A fifth ring puts a lot of things in perspective. Duncan is without doubt one of the great players in NBA history, and as far as I’m concerned the greatest players of his generation (with all due respect to Kobe and ma boy Dirk). Despite it all, he remains so incredibly humble and balanced.
- Kansas City Royals – A great defensive lineup and an effective pitching staff is being complimented nicely by some explosive offence and has seen the Royals go on an 8 game win streak. Salvator Perez (C) and Eric Hosmer (1B) are leading the charge, both hitting .350 over the past week.
- USMNT (FIFA World Cup) – The US Mens National Team. See, despite what they say, the Yanks still care about soccer when it matters. And they got their reward with a thrilling finish (and a lightning start) earning them a 2-1 win over Ghana who knocked the USA out in 2010. Still no hope of them winning the thing though, despite their clueless media’s rage when Coach Klinsmann said just that very thing last week.
Bad Week:
- Justin Verlander (Detroit Tigers) – The 2011 AL MVP is enduring the worst season of his career, another blowout loss seeing his ERA up to 4.61 as he was booed off the field by his own fans. He’s still owed about $150m through 2019 on his contract, so you can understand why Tigers fans aren’t happy.
- LeBron James (Miami Heat) – Because every time anything goes wrong with the Heat the internet blames LeBron. As if being the best player in the world isn’t enough, he’s also supposed to be 4 other starters and a bench as well? Settle down people. The best team won and that’s nothing to be ashamed of on LBJ’s part.
Player of the Week:
Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs) – The youngest NBA Finals MVP since Magic Johnson! A couple of poor games to start were quickly forgotten as Leonard dominated the last three. Incredibly, he’s still only 22! The future is bright for this one.
Upcoming Dates (NZ Time):
June 27 - NBA Draft Held
July 16 - MLB All Star Game
August 4 - NFL Preseason Begins