Tale of Two Upsets and New Look Warriors

I recall watching the first championship game ever officially called the Super Bowl in 1969.  It was then still a game between that season's champions of the two distinct professional football leagues, the National Football League and the American Football League.  There would be one more before the leagues merged.

The first two NFL-AFL World Championship games were won by the NFL's Green Bay Packers at the tail end of their years of total dominance under coach Vince Lombardi.  Partly because of that, and because the NFL was a much older organization, it was felt to be the stronger.  People wondered if the AFL would ever win a championship.

In Super Bowl III (as it was later titled) the NFL was represented by the powerhouse Baltimore Colts, with the already legendary quarterback Johnny Unitias, who'd led them to their second successive one-loss season.  That team also had given up the fewest points in a 14 game season in history to that point.  The AFL was represented by the New York Jets, a franchise that was only nine years old.  Quarterback Joe Namath had played professionally for just four years, all of them with the Jets.  Plagued by injuries, he had still put up impressive numbers.

But the sports wisdom of that time said the Jets were literally out of their league.  The Colts--even though quarterback Unitas was injured--were heavily favored, and even called the best football team of all time.  

I suspect even football fans born decades after this game will know what happened.  Namath's passing shredded the vaunted Colts defense, and the Colts offense (even after Unitas entered the game in the second half) was completely ineffective, with several interceptions.  The Jets won 16-7 in one of the most famous Super Bowls ever.

I suppose sports fans in the future will argue which was the greater upset, but this certainly was a precedent for what happened in this year's Super Bowl.  The Chiefs vaunted offense was utterly ineffective, especially against a ferocious pass rush.  On the other hand, they accomplished their defensive plan: they stopped Saquon Barkley and the running game, and made quarterback Jalen Hurts beat them through the air.  Unfortunately for them, he did.

Behind a dominant offensive line, Hurts supplemented pinpoint passing and effective exploitation of the aggressive run defense with timely runs (leading the team in rushing yards.)  The combination was lethal and dominant.  Two interceptions of Mahomes led to two quick touchdowns, and Philadelphia led 24-0 at halftime.

But as Tom Brady said recently, the Super Bowl is two games, because it is so long.  There is plenty of time between the halves to analyze problems and make adjustments.  The Chiefs were usually good at doing this.  But they managed only one first down in their first drive of the third quarter.  The Eagles marched back down the field and scored a field goal.  It was now 27-0.  

The next Chiefs drive stalled again, ending with a failed fourth down pass. Everyone expected the Eagles to revert to the run game and milk the clock.  Instead Hurts threw a long pass to the end zone on the first play, and in the blink of an eye the Eagles led 34-0.

The Chiefs scored a few times in the fourth quarter, though the last TD was against the Eagles second team defense with about a minute left. The Eagles had added two field goals and won easily, 40-22.  The Chiefs didn't three-peat, it was Jalen Hurt who won game MVP, and a number of other expectations were dashed.

I've seen only a little of the post-game commentary by the sports wisdoms who predicted a close game that the Chiefs always win.  Did they admit anything?  Are you kidding?  They sure turned against Mahomes, though.  

Time to trot out the actual wisdom that applies: this is why they play the game.

The Warriors

After Jimmy Butler joined the team, the Golden State Warriors played at Chicago against the young Bulls.  By the third quarter they were behind 24 points, so not much seemed to have changed.  But on the court it must have seemed to them that everything was changing. They then had the highest point differential in a quarter and a half in modern NBA history, a 49 point swing, to win the game by more than 20.  Steph had 34, Jimmy Butler 25.

They then visited the Bucks, a better team on a 7 game winning streak, though they were without their star Giannis.  Again the Warriors started slowly but built momentum and won that game handily.  Steph had a season high 38 points in his 1,000th career game, and Butler had 20.  So far, with no time to learn the offense, Butler has made a significant positive difference--probably the difference between winning and losing in his first two games.  But that's the rap on Butler--he's great at first.  So far however it's clear that the Warriors are very happy with this trade. 

Impatience

 Not nearly as consequential as the blitzkrieg in Washington the past two weeks, there was a sudden and extensive shakeup in the NBA, especially with what many called the biggest trade in NBA history: a franchise player, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavs for the most important player on the LA Lakers not named LeBron: Anthony Davis.  Then the Sacramento Kings traded their franchise player, D'Aaron Fox to Chicago for Zack LeVine.  

The Fox trade was more or less expected since he'd made his desire for one public.  But the Luka trade came out of nowhere.  No one outside the principals had any idea negotiations were even contemplated.  Luka didn't know, and even LeBron didn't know.  

So the Golden State Warriors, cautiously exploring the trade market, got their hair blown back.  Not only did they lose out on one of their possible trade targets (LeVine) but two of their closest rivals made big moves that might have strengthened them: the Lakers (who just also added center Mark Williams from Charlotte) and the Kings, both just ahead of them in the w-l.  

Suddenly reports were flying that the Warriors were desperate to make a deal for a superstar. At first the big noise was about Lebron: maybe disgruntled at being kept in the dark and suddenly made secondary, and wary of the ball-hogging Luka, he would ask for a trade, and fulfill his stated dream to play with Steph.  The idea of them together at Golden State was far more potent than any result in the won-loss column.  They were feel-good box office to the max.

But the LeBron boom faded and then it was a trade with Phoenix to bring Kevin Durant back to the Bay--again, another boost to box office for the Warriors and the entire NBA, currently somewhat in the doldrums.  In fact a deal was underway that additionally could have sent the disgruntled Jimmy Butler from Miami to his choice of destination, namely Phoenix.

But on Monday--a day and a half before the trade deadline--Durant apparently let it be made known that he was not interested in returning to Golden State. (They also lost another potential target in Brandon Ingram, who just went from the Pelicans to the Raptors.)

 So the Warrior front office essentially lost their cool and were determined to make a big splash deal, maybe to make themselves look relevant.  They got impatient, and dealt for Jimmy Butler. (As I write this the deal hasn't quite been finalized, and some expect the Warriors to make another move before the deadline about twelve hours away.)

Now it was not more than two weeks ago that Steph Curry and Draymond Green were warning their overlords (through the media) that Butler was not going to fit the Warrior culture under Coach Steve Kerr.  By all appearances, Butler is mercurial and self-centered.  The Warriors have their hands full with one volatile star in Green himself, who may have cost them their near-term future at least three times: by successfully being baited into getting suspended in the finals they then lost to Cleveland, in possibly alienating Durant (although they appear to be friends since), and certainly in the notorious sucker punch that ended up trading away a potential scorer.

Butler is notorious for souring on teams and getting traded after a couple of years.  His stats are of a superstar but they are declining: he is 35, a year or less younger than Steph.  For him the Warriors gave up Andrew Wiggins, who is having his best year since 2022, especially recently, filling multiple needs for the Warriors--a three level scorer who can drive and get to the line, and a lock-down defender.  The Warriors deserved this resurgence, after being so patient with him last year, especially his long absences. 

They also traded away Dennis Schroder, who was supposed to be their salvation when they traded for him in December,  Kyle Anderson and young Lindy Waters III.  What did they all have in common?  They were disciplined, highly professional and dedicated to Steve Kerr and the Warriors culture.  Wiggins was such a favorite with Kerr that in his post-game, post-trade interview, he appeared utterly devastated.  

 Something isn't right with the Warriors on the court, and that had to be addressed.  But things seemed to be right in the locker room, and potentially--I would say probably--losing that could be just as fatal.

The experts so far are saying that the deal makes the Warriors better but probably not enough. I wonder if even that is true.  The Warriors want players with confidence but they don't tolerate primadonnas. Not on a team with Steph, or a team coached by Kerr. Will Butler truly commit to playing Warriors basketball?  I really doubt it.  

Super Bowl: There appears to be only one team playing this year: the Kansas City Chiefs.  Their opponents, the Washington Generals--I mean, the Philadelphia Eagles--impress Tom Brady and a few others, but nobody is betting against the Chiefs, their quarterback, their coach and their football intelligence: all they have to do is stop the run and dare the Eagles quarterback to beat them.  The Chiefs win close games--and nearly all of their games are close--and that's how they win Super Bowls.   So say them all. 

Well, maybe, but they apparently are still going to play the game.  I enjoy watching Mahomes operate but I'm going with the underdog.  Most Steelers fans probably are--not because they are in love with the other Pennsylvania team, but because--thanks to crucial injuries at the end of the 1976 season--the Steelers never won three Super Bowls in a row.  Four out of five, yes, but not three in a row.  Nobody has.  They don't want anyone else to do it.

But at this historical moment I'm also deciding my rooting preference on the news that the Chiefs' Kelce says he's "excited" that the dictator who is currently destroying more than two centuries of American government and the Constitution is attending the game.  Go Eagles.

As for the Steelers themselves, all three of their quarterbacks can be free agents, so they are reportedly trying to decide whether to keep Justin Fields or Russell Wilson.  Not a lot to choose from there.  Coach Tomlin has shown a preference for Wilson, but with him as quarterback the Steelers looked like a dispirited, rudderless team finishing the season.  There must be a lot else going on there to account for this, but it doesn't say a lot about qback leadership...  Of course, one or both (or all three) of them could jump ship on their own, which might say something else.

Patience

 Within a season of such desultory results, the Golden State Warriors and those who follow them closely seem to be watching for smaller signs of future success.  There was a flurry of optimism recently when two-way player Quinten Post got significant minutes in three consecutive games.  Although the Warriors lost two of them, Post still won praise and statistically was a net positive.

But especially in the game they won--a 20 plus point victory over the Bulls--Steph Curry and Coach Kerr were exultant.  Post's 7-foot presence is something they haven't had, but he's also capable of hitting threes (which he did consistently against Chicago.)  He "opens the floor" as they say.

His play, along with the energetic and increasingly skillful play of other young players like Gui Santos, Moses Moody and Brandon Podziemski revived by his rehab for a lingering injury, changed the conversation.  Especially since until now they weren't even in the conversation. But with the injuries to Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Kyle Anderson, and Kerr's continuing experiments with lineups and rotations, they've gotten their opportunities.

Now the Warriors at the moment don't look competitive even with their second-tier rivals like the Kings and the Lakers. Their hopes for stringing a win streak during the current homestand may be fading. They were utterly embarrassed by the Celtics, who they beat in Boston early in the season. Everything is trending towards an OKC v. Boston finals matchup.  

But it's not quite the All-Star break, and Steve Kerr is radiating a sense of confidence and patience this week--as the trade deadline gets closer.  Their won-loss record says if there are trades out there, some will be made.  Steph is a little less patient--but then he's interviewed just off the floor, especially after his frustrating shooting night against the Lakers.

 But Kerr--he doesn't seem to be constitutionally cynical enough to be talking up players to make them more attractive as trade bait, so I have to believe he sincerely believes in them.  But it's a risk.  They could all go down together.

The current enthusiasm for Post, Santos etc. follow excitement over Buddy Hield, Dennis Schroder etc. that has faded, so who knows? When Kuminga comes back, the Warriors may have the weapons they need to relieve Curry.  Andrew Wiggins has been showing his old form as well.  With Wiggins, JK, Moody and Post all capable of getting shots all over the floor, this could yet repay Kerr's faith and patience.  But...the trade deadline is still out there.

Football: Ohio State looked like an NFL team playing a Notre Dame college team--at least for the first half.  Notre Dame gave it that old college try and late in the game were in striking distance but Ohio State exploited their gambling defense for another score.  Do the Ohio State players make more money than the Notre Dame players?  I don't know, but they played like they do.

In the NFL, Washington upset Detroit last week, Buffalo out-slogged Baltimore, Philadelphia outclassed the Rams and Kansas City survived with some necessary Mahomes and Kelsey heroics.  The story this week is Kansas City, the reigning champs, who still seem to be doing just enough to win.  To become the first team to three-peat the Super Bowl, they will have to get past Buffalo. Is Buffalo as good as they looked last week, or did they overachieve?  The Chiefs still seem vulnerable, but they've got those playmakers plus that coach.  I don't see Washington beating Philadelphia, but the Buffalo v. Kansas City game could go either way.

Win It For the Draft Money

 What a lousy year for the teams I support and write about here: the Warriors, the 49ners, the Steelers, Giants, Pirates...and now everyone is saying that my sentimental favorite for the national college football championship doesn't have a chance.  Or, since it's Notre Dame, let's say they haven't got a prayer.

Ohio State is so much more talented that Notre Dame, they all say, that an 8 point spread for their defeat is pretty generous.  Notre Dame has also been hit by more significant injuries in the post-season, including several against Penn State.

No one of course knows what will happen on the day, so despite its vaunted offense and defense, Ohio State is vulnerable.  Notre Dame has the best pass defense I've seen, and they bottled up Penn State's runners pretty well.  Their offense is creative and disciplined. They run the ball well.  They are extremely well coached.

Here's the thing about Notre Dame: other teams boast of their "next man up" capability, but Notre Dame exemplifies it better than any team I know.  Just look at the drive engineered by their second string quarterback against Penn State.  

Maybe superior talent will win the day.  But the Notre Dame of legend exemplifies the intangibles.  Nobody talked about Knute Rockne's defensive schemes.  They talked about his ability to inspire.  I wouldn't put a lot of money on it understand, but I'll take the bet.  I'll take Notre Dame.

Back when Notre Dame was my mother's favorite team, possibly because it was one of the few colleges to have their games broadcast nationally (on the radio), northern and midwestern teams dominated.  And they did so for many years after that.  But over the last couple of decades it's been the southern teams.  Now it seems to be swinging back.  Why? 

Colin Cowherd suggests that southern teams prospered because they secretly paid players.  Now that paying players is legal, the big northern and midwestern teams have deeper pockets.  

Now there's something called the transfer portal and players go for the best deal they can get.  Not exactly an argument for the student athlete, or college education in general.  The college programs are just a junior version of the NFL.  This used to be called corruption.  Now it's called realism.  So maybe having a sentimental favorite is beyond silly.

As for the NFL divisional round, I don't really bet so I ignore spreads and concentrate on such details as...The winner!  And obscure items like that.

So while I sense that the Kansas City Chiefs are vulnerable this year, they are a veteran team and most importantly a veteran team at getting to the Super Bowl, and they got better late in the season, so with a couple of weeks rest--and practices for their newer players-- I don't see them losing this round.  In the other Saturday game, Washington is an exciting team but the Detroit Lions on a decent day are better on both sides of the ball.  Detroit.

The Sunday matchups are more even.  If the Texans or Commanders win on Saturday, it will be an upset.  But the Rams at Philadelphia?  The Ravens at Buffalo?  Who knows?

 Though some favor the Rams because of their great game last round, the Eagles are to me the likeliest to make it to the Super Bowl.  It may not even be close: the Eagles.

The Ravens will rise or fall on the performance of Lamar Jackson.  But the Buffalo Bills are formidable, and rarely falter in big home games.  The weather is likely to be a factor--in fact it's predicted to be so cold and snowy that it's a health hazard to attend the game let alone play in it.  So my prediction is: the weather wins.

So I'm going to end this 100% football post with my current pet peeve.  It's what we used to call showboating.  It was the lowest class thing you could do in football, showing disrespect to the game itself.  No longer.  Touchdown celebrations used to be penalized; now they are choreographed.  Do these guys spend as much time practicing plays as they do practicing their celebrations?

But the latest trend is the one that I can't stand: it now seems that every player who makes a first down, has to do the first down signal, posing for his statue in the hall of fame. They all do it the same way, and it happens every damn time.  What is special about it?  What is even interesting? It's just annoying. To me they look like clowns.  But then--that's entertainment, and with all the TV money, that's the business they are in. 

Wilting Warriors--and the Trade Deadline

 Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr spoke little more than a week ago about having no feeling of urgency regarding the upcoming trade deadline.  He liked the players he had, felt they were the most talented group he'd coached and was looking forward to seeing them flourish. 

 If that reflected management's attitude as well, my guess is that it all changed definitively on January 7th. After the game that night is when--I would bet--the Warriors went into high gear to make a big trade, urgently.  There's no guarantee they will find one, or that it will turn out to help. In fact, it doesn't look likely.  But they may be a lot less reluctant to reach out.  

On Tuesday the 7th the Warriors were defeated at home by the Miami Heat, who were playing on the road in the second of two games in a row, after losing in double overtime, their third consecutive loss.  The Warriors were also coming off a loss, another embarrassing one, to Sacramento as well.  But the Heat brought force and the Warriors wilted.  In his postgame interview Kerr did not hide his anger at the lack of effort and competitiveness, the crisis of confidence on his team.  

That's how the Warriors were characterized in stories in both the San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Times on Wednesday.  Fans who didn't leave early Tuesday night booed the team, after they collapsed in the fourth quarter.

But what really made this a paradigm of the Warriors at the moment is the game that Steph Curry had: he scored game high 31 ( the Heat's top scorer had 20) with 8 threes, and a shooting percentage of 50%.  This came on the same day as a long story on the ESPN site about how other teams are devoting their main defense to stopping Steph because they don't fear any other Golden State shooters.  And still he excels.  The story focus on his legendary status but also his age and the coming end of his career. He wants another championship, and the dare was that this group could find a way to get there.

Kerr also said that Steph is having trouble coping with this stretch of mediocrity.  The Warriors are brilliant some times and awful a lot of the time, but at the moment are exactly a .500 team. Count the number of times Curry has said recently, I just want to win.  And imagine you are in the Warriors front office.  What are you thinking today? 

In the meantime Kerr's analysis is that the only thing this team can do is concentrate on defense, and even after the trade deadline that's where it needs to go.  

A New Year for the Warriors, a Bad End for the Niners

 There's an interesting play of perspectives in the analysis of recent Golden State Warriors woes by Coach Steve Kerr and Steph Curry.

Kerr said that players weren't moving the ball enough and jacking up shots early in the shot clock instead of looking for the open shooter, or simply Steph Curry.  He also mentioned pace and turnovers.  When asked the same question, Curry said it was because we weren't making our shots.  Not making shots is discouraging, which leads to slower pace and getting disorganized, as well as less effective defense.

These two perspectives are different but compatible, and certainly understandable.  Kerr analyzes like a coach, looking at the big picture, at structure and pattern.  Curry analyzes as a player in the middle of it.  

In any case, the Warriors started to look better recently.  First there were two monster 30 plus points games for Jonathan Kuminga on a back-to-back, the first without Curry but the second with both of them on the floor.  Kerr called it a breakthrough of sorts, and a possible key to the future.  It seemed to be a key to the present anyway, as the Warriors won that second game, against Phoenix.

Then a dispiriting loss to Cleveland--but then everybody is losing to Cleveland these days.  And then the new year--and the first two game winning streak since mid-November.  Better yet, the shooting came back, especially against Philadelphia, in which Curry hit 8 three pointers on 8 shots, scoring 30 with 10 assists--one of those magical games in a stellar career.  

But he wasn't the only one--Moody, JK, Schroder and Lindy Waters all had multiple 3s, and as a team the Dubs shot 61% and 56% from three, after a long streak of below 50% shooting.  Ball movement in particular was noticeably robust, which Curry said afterwards was possible because everyone was making shots so there was no problem where the ball ended up as long as the player was open.  

The next game, the Warriors stayed ahead of Memphis to notch the win, despite Curry on the bench for the first in a back-to-back.  Andrew Wiggins stepped up with 24 points, Schroeder had 17, Lindy Waters 16.  And just as Shroder began looking comfortable on offense and made shots against Philadelphia, Buddy Hield (who started) may have come out of his deep slump with 14 points, including 4 threes, and led the team with a plus 18.  

All would be looking very hopeful except that JK went down with a "significant" ankle sprain that is likely to keep him out of the lineup for an "extended" period.  And so the potential of this team remains elusive, which won't help as the Warriors look at the trade deadline in a month.

Meanwhile as the NFL finishes its regular season, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost their fourth in a row to the Bengals, who therefore still have a chance to get into the playoffs, joining the Ravens and Steelers from the AFL North.  The Steelers' collapse doesn't bode well, except for a one and done.

The San Francisco 49ers will finish a hellish season against Arizona with their backup quarterback.  Only serious betters are likely to care who wins this one.  Even with all their untimely injuries, the Niners will probably be looking at some major changes for next season.

Otherwise, Kansas City has been looking more like a dominant team, but the Philadelphia Eagles look better.  Both contenders are resting stars for their final regular season game. Baltimore also has momentum, and Detroit, Buffalo and Washington are also in the Super Bowl hunt. 

In college football, the Bowls gave us a Penn State and Boise State matchup that was closer than the score indicated, plus some upsets and close games.  Ohio State demolished the undefeated Oregon Ducks, so forecasters who picked them as likely champions had a good day. 

 Notre Dame was impressive in their quarter-final.  The semis matchups of Notre Dame and Penn State, Texas and Ohio State should be interesting games though for different reasons.  But these games are each a universe in themselves, and predictions are futile.  I'd give the edge to Notre Dame in theirs, and Ohio State in theirs, but anything can happen on the day.

(Not So) Happy Holidays

 The holidays are not so happy for San Francisco sports fans, as the Niners failed to make the playoffs and look like a team in search of an answer.  The Golden State Warriors even admit they are still looking for an answer as they spiraled out of the play-in they qualified for early, even before getting to Las Vegas.  And things have not been much better since.

While the Niners face big questions and possibly big changes in the off season that can't come too soon, the Warriors are in the midst of their quandaries. Things started to fall apart for the surprisingly strong Warriors when De Anthony Melton went down with a season-ending injury.  The Warriors finally addressed that--by trading him?  Not much faith in the future there.  They got a quality player in Dennis Schrader, but what kind of a fit he will turn out to be is still to be determined, as he's had one good game out of the three he's played.  But the magic definitely isn't there at the moment.

Coach Kerr was blunt about one reason, when he said in his press conference (after a rare victory) that if the young players want to take contested shots from 17 feet, the Warriors will be a losing team.  But if they make the extra passes to free Steph Curry for a good shot, they will be winners.  Perhaps that's the reason that Curry has had two of his lowest scoring games out of the last three (those he dominated with 31 in that victory between), or maybe it's other stuff.

Meanwhile the Pittsburgh Steelers are ending their season playing some of the better NFL teams all in a row.  So far they've lost to Philadelphia and Baltimore, and face Kansas City on Christmas in a short week before their final regular season game with the Bengals, currently looking better than they have all year.  The Steelers have already backed into the playoffs, so these games don't mean as much, but momentum at the end of the season does mean something.  

Kansas City continues to be a mystifying team.  They've won so many games on the last play, and even their 27-19 victory over the Texans was closer than the score indicates.  They just haven't been dominant and yet they've won every game but one so far.  Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens should win out and are playing better as they approach the playoffs.  

Chiefs, Steelers, Ravens or whatever other AFC team may emerge, none seems stronger than 4 or 5 NFC teams.  But while Detroit and Philly are dealing with untimely injuries, the Green Bay Packers have momentum (though they have injuries of their own.)  They face Minnesota next, a team capable of at least being a spoiler.  After a mid-season lull, the Washington Commanders are back on a winning track, but with the Falcons and a possible revenge game with Dallas coming up.  The Falcons are worth watching as well.

Bay Area sports fans don't have much to cheer for in the college football playoff bowl games either, but they may appreciate them anyway.  Though several of the Same Old Teams are in it, others like Oregon, Penn State and especially Notre Dame and Boise State make them more interesting.  So happy holidays anyway.    

Mysterious Warriors and NFL Clarity

 As December begins, mystery surrounds the Golden State Warriors.  They started the season with a spectacular 12-3 record, and quickly got into the next round of the play-in tournament. Coach Kerr was deploying a 12 and even 13 man rotation, throwing fresh bodies quick on defense and fast on offence to overwhelm opponents.  A revived Andrew Wiggins was one surprise, as well as the barrage of 3 pointers from Buddy Hield that suggested he might be a "Splash Buddy" to Steph Curry.  Lindy Waters III was another surprise at both ends, essentially forcing Kerr to expand the rotation to play him.  Draymond Greene was a wizard on defense again, and he found his timely 3 point shots.  Steph was Steph, though more quietly.

 Now they've lost four games in a row, including two in which they were more than 15 points ahead in the fourth quarter.  What happened?  The inevitable injuries, even minor ones throwing off rhythms, including a couple to Steph.  But the one that seems so far to have hurt most was the season-ending injury to De Anthony Melton.  He was a steady offensive presence and important on defense.  How important is suggested by those four losses--all the games he's been out so far.  

Other possible factors: Buddy Hield cooled off and other young players weren't scoring as much, important perhaps in two close losses to western foes OKC and Phoenix.  At Phoenix Kerr tried tightening the rotation and playing his starters longer, but a valiant comeback effort in the second half fell short. 

Is it back to the drawing board or just a glitch of focus in a frenetic early season?  Are the Warriors as good as they'd convinced everyone they are, or was that just early energy?  Stay tuned.

In the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers seem to be falling apart.  Thrown off their rhythm by major injuries, they've lost their mojo.  In what was to be their best chance at a championship season, they may not even make the playoffs.

Meanwhile, my other team the Pittsburgh Steelers overcame a phantom of a past I remember well--losing in a Cleveland snowstorm--to outlast the Bengals, while the Ravens lost to Philadelphia.  So the Steelers seem likely to go to the playoffs as AFC North champs, though the Ravens can never be completely counted out.  Kansas City has clinched the playoffs, but their stellar record in mostly very close games seems to have depended more on luck than dominance.  So the Steelers may be legitimate challengers to them this year.  The Philadelphia Eagles now seem the clear favorite to be the NFC entry in the Super Bowl.  

Whirlwind Series

 What--it's over?  This vaunted World Series for the Ages should be just getting interesting.  Instead it's all done.  Dodgers in five.

It was billed as Ohtani v. Judge but as I suggested it might not be, it wasn't.  Ohtani, with an injured shoulder, was mostly a non-factor.  Judge was worse that that.  With a terrible series at the plate he will go into history with that comical look on his face as he muffed an easy pop fly in the fifth inning of the fifth game (isn't that rule one--keep your eye on the ball?) to open the door to the Dodgers, who at that point had but one hit, and the Yankees had a 5-0 lead.  Another error and a third Yankee mistake later, it was 5-5.

Instead the hero was a guy nobody talked about before the Series started: Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman.  He'd gone without hitting a homer for so long that everybody forgot that he knew how.  But with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth in the first game, he hit one.  The first grand slam to end a game in World Series history.

And he wasn't done making history.  He hit homers in the next three games, which added to the last time he batted in a World Series, made it six games in a row, an all time record.  He batted in two runs in that fateful fifth inning of game 5, further earning his selection as MVP of the Series.  

There were plenty of home runs in this series but most of the games were low scoring affairs.  Defense was the main Yankee flaw going into it--some would say arrogance--and it turned out to be fatal, especially in the first and the final games.  The Dodgers got very good a la carte pitching, superbly managed, good fielding and timely hitting.  The Series had drama, but it was never really close.

But by shutting down the mighty Yankees, the deeper and more talent Dodgers have made things even worse for the San Francisco Giants.  The impression is that the Dodgers, in the same division, are going to be dominant for years.  That could make the many high quality free agents looking for teams this offseason wonder if they will be signing up for highly paid futility if they join the Giants.  Money to pay a superstar won't likely be the Giants only challenge in acquiring one. 

Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors, after winning all their pre-season games, were electric in winning their first two in the real season, both by huge margins, and both by playing everybody.  They lost their third game when Steph went down with an ankle injury that may keep him off the floor for a couple of weeks. Then Wiggins was also out with an injury. But even without them, the Dubs thrashed New Orleans in back to back games at home.  So far they've been getting stronger as the games go on, throwing fresh bodies at opponents exhausted by their running, fast pace and tenacious defense.  They haven't played a contender yet, but they sure look like fun, with revelations of new faces and re-energized vets.

Both the Niners and the Steelers won marquee games last week: the Niners defeating the Cowboys on Sunday night, and the Steelers outlasting the Giants on Monday night.  Those are both solid steps on a road to the playoffs.

October Classic: World Series, NFL towards midpoint, NBA begins

A World Series for the ages is about to begin.  The two most talented and (not coincidentally) richest teams (and oldest) in MLB are playing each other.  It's actually a marvel it doesn't happen more often.

 It's billed as Ohtani's Dodgers versus Judge's Yankees, but the real heroes of each team can just as likely turn out to be others. With two offensive powerhouses we expect high scoring games, though it sometimes turns out to be a different kind of series. But spectacle--yeah, that's likely to be high, so it's also likely this will be the most watched World Series in history.

Updating my NFL teams, the Niners continue to be ground down by injuries and the resulting discombobulations (a technical football term.) But there may still be time.  Meanwhile, the also depleted Kansas City Chiefs continue to win.  Could the luck of these two teams be reversed by the end of the season? 

 The Steelers on the other hand are on the ascent.  Disregarding just about everybody's advice, Coach Tomlin replaced a quarterback with a winning record with a quarterback just recovered from injury.  After a lackluster first half, the gamble really paid off.  Russell Wilson put 37 points on the board against the Jets, for the highest score the Steelers have attained this year.  And sometimes injuries work for you.  A beat-up offensive line has suddenly become a formidable offensive line with some new blood.  Add to that a pretty tight defense and one of the game's most reliable field goal kickers, and the Steelers could go places.

The NBA regular season has just begun, and though Golden State has played only one game, and that one against an immature opponent, it does appear that Coach Kerr has the luxury of a deep lineup of players that seem to be thriving with any combination of players on the floor.  That is, the team is not only deep in talent, it is a deep team.  Against Portland the first team started slow, Steph being sidelined with a minor injury for a few days seemed rusty but he got his 3 point mojo back in the second half.  Eventually the entire roster played meaningful minutes. They put up 139 points which is eye-opening regardless of the opponent.

The New York Liberty won the WNBA championship--a league that is on the brink of transformation in the next two years.  Players opted for new contracts (as expected) though apparently they'll have to play with the old ones for another year, but by then they might really get paid a living wage (or the equivalent for a professional athlete.)  The league's popularity should earn it better television contracts to finance better salaries, better facilities and travel conditions.  And there will be a new team, from the Bay Area, backed by the Golden State Warriors.

October Crossroads

 It's October--when big league baseball and the WNBA have their big finishes, NFL football starts defining itself and the NBA knocks off the rust and tests out team changes. 

The MLB playoffs are underway, but neither the San Francisco Giants nor the Pittsburgh Pirates made it that far.  Both had an insufficient second half, though both had moments of fun and promise.  The Pirates frustrated the Yankees at the end of the season, taking that series, and the Bucs won all the games they played against the Marlins.  Their young starting pitchers are more than promising, and they have punch in the lineup.  I imagine they're fun to watch at the ball park, and should be next season.

When the Giants again missed the playoffs last year they went after the two biggest free agents available in a big way, and whiffed on both of them.  Those two--Judge and Ohtani--just happened to dominate the season, and may well meet in this year's World Series.

But the Giants finished the year starting to look like a team that could bring people back to the ball park. The best news is that their new leader is Buster Posey.  That should at least solidify and further advance the Giants feeling like a team and not just associated statistics.

The WNBA playoffs have also started, and Caitlin Clark helped get her Indiana team into them, but they didn't win a game.  She had a great year nonetheless--especially considering that she played a long college season and those playoffs into the national championship game, then almost immediately on a new team at a new level.  Breaking records and earning Rookie of the Year, she also helped elevate awareness of women's basketball, while surviving all the attention and the ugliness that so-called fans and click-baiting posters unleashed.  Angel Reese also had an outstanding rookie year.There's tough and skilled basketball still being played in those playoffs.  Meanwhile Indiana looks forward to an even better year.  

The NFL season has started, with the San Francisco 49ers underperforming, due largely to injuries, and the Pittsburgh Steelers perhaps overperforming expectations,  but neither team has been consistent or appears to have much of an identity yet.  To me the team that looks really solid is Minnesota.

The NBA pre-season is just starting and the Golden State Warriors have going for them the excitement of uncertainty along with potential.   Klay Thompson's absence makes it a new group needing to become a team, adding new players and expecting veterans to add to their roles.  Could be fun.

Curry-Age-ous

 If there were any doubt, no longer: this is the Age of Steph Curry.  After making noise in the first few exhibition games with the 2024 USA Olympic team, Curry got quiet on the scoreboard.  Opponents were keying on him, which often left space for damage close to the basket.  The US team was beating up opponents on the inside, with defensive blocks and steals and lots and lots of fast breaks.  Le Bron James became the point forward, leading the offense.  Steph became an enabler, diverting attention as well as making passes and screens.  His 3 point shot seemed a little off, perhaps due to the speed of play plus the different international 3 point line.

In the last two games, defenses tried to guard the basket area better, which left Steph some space.  He also became the point guard again in key situations.  And then, there's Steph being Steph in big moments. 

 In the semi-final, Serbia was ahead by 14 or so at the end of the third quarter.  So it was Steph who kept USA in the game and then Steph leading the fourth quarter comeback.  He had nine 3 pointers, and a total of 36 points.  Kevin Durant and Le Bron make big shots and key defensive plays as well down the stretch, and the USA played like a team.  For that game--which Coach Kerr and Durant both said was the best basketball game they'd ever participated in--they were a real team.  Serbia played a perfect game, Kerr said, but the US superstars played a better one, by playing together.  And by looking for Steph in the stretch.

At the end of that game it was a foregone conclusion to everyone, including the players, that USA would win the gold in the final game with France.  But the French team didn't get that memo.  They played hard, stayed close, and in the fourth quarter they were very close.  Towards the end it was a one or two possession game.  But then, improbably again, Steph happened.  He hit one three, then another, then another, and finally--night, night--another.  Four threes in the last three minutes of the fourth quarter.  He won the medal.  No player in Olympic history has scored more points in the last two games (60), and no player has ever hit eight three pointers in the medal game. 

These last few games were fun to watch.  I was more impressed with Le Bron in these Olympics than I ever have been.  Kevin Durant, injured for the warmup games, was like a Zen master on the court, hitting his fluid shots and deftly defending with steals and runouts. And wasn't it great to see Steph and KD as teammates again?  They seemed to love it. Anthony Davis was essential on defense, and the younger players who now get the most media attention and awards all had their moments, but these three--Le Bron, Durant and Steph--dominated those last several games.

And now, this team that was a dream to play on--it was Curry's dream to play in the Olympics, Le Bron's dream to play with Curry, and Durant felt the dream while playing, --will play together no more.   So it will all seem like a dream, but one worth having and remembering.

At The Break

At the MLB All-Star break, the San Francisco Giants look forward to a better second half.  And why not?  They got through the first half with a big chunk of their starting pitching staff injured for significant amounts of time.  Now Blake Snell is back, with two stellar outings so far--including eight innings one bad call from being perfect.  With Logan Webb and Kyle Harrison, and some interesting young pitchers, there's progress to be made.

The Giants front office seems to be going with youth, which has the potential of streaks of excitement.  But with the team's leading hitter (Matt Chapman) at a dismal .235, there needs to be a lot of improvement with the bat.

Meanwhile the other team I follow, the Pittsburgh Pirates, ended their first half on a high note--with a four game win streak that sent them on the break with a 48-48 record.  Considering how little was expected of them, this is notably good.  Of course the highlight of their first half was the incredible debut of pitcher Paul Skenes, who has been in the league for a couple of months, and may well start the All-Star game. Super-fastball pitchers don't tend to last all that long, but in addition to his fastball he has a crafty set of pitches that can keep him going for a nice career.   But for sure, now is the time to enjoy watching him.  

Skenes now heads a pretty good young starting rotation.  Bryan Reynolds leads the team in batting, homers and RBIs, Oneil Cruz hits the ball hard and throws even harder across the infield, and Rowdy Tellez is always a threat at the plate.  Plus the Cutch has found a comfort zone with these young players.  The bullpen looked better as the season went on, and they will be a key to the second half.

As basketball eyes turn to the Olympics and the WNBA, the Golden State Warriors are talking up the team as currently constituted, while quietly working on at least one major trade.  But Steph at the Olympics is the upcoming excitement.  Reports are that he's eager to excel and lead.

In the WNBA, Caitlin Clark continues to draw big crowds on the road as well as at home, and she's set some personal records already, but it's the Indiana Fever team that is the most impressive.  Their come from behind win over the MN Lynx is just the latest indication that they're learning to play together better on offense, and their defense is relentless. Clark as point guard and assist leader is of course the key, but everything is jelling around her.

 I'd thought before that this would be a learning year for Clark, and it would take some off-season rest (which she has not had since the start of last year's college season) and work on getting stronger before she could take this team places.  But now it looks like the Fever could make some noise in this year's playoffs.

Meanwhile Angel Reese is having a high-impact season, setting the record for consecutive triple doubles.  She's right to say that she's lucky she wasn't drafted until the 8 spot--she got on a better team and hit the ground running.  Both Clark and Reese will play in their All-Star game.    

Scrambling Time

 A few days into free agency and the Golden State Warriors are into scrambling mode.  They've lost Klay Thompson, and they've let Chris Paul go. They failed to complete a meaningful trade.  They've picked up a prospect and a couple of role players but nobody who can replace either of those players, or their roles.  They are going to save some money, though.

So the Warriors are more or less officially a team in transition, both in terms of next year's competition and the team's identity.  Klay was a big part of both, even though in some ways he was becoming a liability. The Warriors won't be the same without him.  Klay may win a ring with the Mavs, he may even turn into their Robert Horry, but he's not going to be happy in Dallas.  I doubt he'll be in the league at all in two or three years.  I hope I'm wrong.

If the Warriors' goal is to extend Steph Curry's career and help him win at least one more championship, things right now seem to be going in the opposite direction.

The Giants are scrambling, too, at least at the front office level, as they reportedly are deciding whether to go into rebuild mode or maintain their core players and compete for the playoffs.  Recently however they've been doing remarkably well on the field for a team that has lost most of its starting pitching to injuries.  These bullpen games are mostly working, and they're seeing some young prospects.  

Is it my imagination or are there more and more injuries in baseball?  This is hurting not only the pitching staff but the lineup, with guys coming back and going out so much that you can't get a fix on the team.

So soon after Willie Mays, comes the death of another Giants great, Orlando Cepeda.  I remember him from his rookie season through the early 60s.  Like Mays, he went on after the Giants to help other teams win championships, despite nagging injuries. He was the first player from Puerto Rico to play in the All-Star Game.  Roberto Clemente was probably the second.

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Pirates are doing well, behind some exciting young pitchers.  Cutch seems to be thriving at last.    

Willie

 Willie Mays died on Tuesday, at the age of 93.  He was unique, as a baseball player and afterwards, because he did not fade away.  The San Francisco Giants and the city of San Francisco kept him active and useful and honored. The Giants' ballpark is in Willie Mays Plaza, and it features an eight-foot high statue of him. Today he's being called the greatest center fielder of all time, and perhaps the greatest baseball player of all time.  But San Francisco especially will miss him (though it took a few years for SF fans to embrace him as a player.)    

I was growing up in western PA during his playing days, first as a New York Giant (where he was Rookie of the Year in 1951 and League MVP in 1954), then in San Francisco (MVP in 1965, with 52 homers) when I was in college, before a final season with the New York Mets (where he made his last plate appearance in the World Series) when I was a working writer.  

 Mays is part of Pittsburgh Pirates history for his bare-handed catch of a deep fly ball hit by the Pirates' Rocky Nelson in 1957, but I hadn't gone to Forbes Field for a game yet.  That was also the Giants' last year in New York, and their last game there was played against the Pirates.  Bob Friend had thrown one pitch to Willie when the crowd spontaneously gave him a standing ovation as a personal goodbye.  It's possible I did see him play at Forbes Field in the late 50s or early 60s, but I don't recall.  I certainly watched him on television--he especially excelled at All-Star games.  He played in 24 of them.

  Today I relished the story San Francisco Chronicle sports columnist Scott Ostler told, of a barnstorming or winter league game somewhere--Puerto Rico probably--in which Mays was playing center field next to Roberto Clemente, the Pirates Great One, in right field.  They apparently worked out a trick play in which, on a single hit to center, Mays deliberately seemed to let the ball go by him, tempting the runner on take another base.  But Clemente was right behind him, backing up the play, and gunned down the runner.  Clemente, especially early in his career, had the best outfield arm in the majors.  Though Mays was pretty close.

 On Thursday the Giants will play the Cards in Birmingham, Alabama, at the newly renovated baseball field where Willie first played professional baseball on the Negro League team.  The game was meant to honor the Negro Leagues, for Major League Baseball has officially recognized them as major leagues (as it has a few other leagues in the past), and the statistics of their players are now in the MLB record books.

It was going to be special for the Giants' outfielder Carl Yastrzemski because it is the only field where both his father (with his career in the minor leagues--when the Negro Leagues disbanded, the field hosted a minor league team) and his famous grandfather (Hall of Fame star for the Red Sox) played.  Three Carl Yastrzemskis is a story about the place of baseball in American history and American life, a sacred place.  Even more is the story of Willie Mays,.  The news of his death came the same day as the official announcement that he wouldn't be traveling to the game, but would watch it on TV.

Mays started with the Giants only a few years after Jackie Robinson broke the color ban with the Dodgers.  He won hearts and minds--President Obama said that he made it impossible to be a racist, at least while he played.  Obama gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. 

 He did not live long enough to enjoy the milestone of Thursday game in Birmingham, but at 93 he had so many, as a player, a godfather to Barry Bonds, and as a mentor to many other players--for he had really studied the game. Right from the start he studied how to hit with power, he studied pitchers before he faced them (he wanted to know their best pitch, because he would probably see it)  and eventually he understood the whole game so well that he directed his team's play from center field--allegedly including the catcher's call of pitches.  He certainly passed this on to Barry Bonds, who startled Giants announcers on a plane ride by telling them the first 4 pitches he would see the next day--and he was precisely right. 

Willie May's baseball intelligence helped make him a great player--he hit for power and average, many times a Gold Glove fielder, and a great baserunner.  But what people remember is that he played with joy and style.  That's something to be remembered for.

And This Ball Game Is Over!

The San Francisco Giants have suddenly been on fire.  After a very successful road trip, they won their first two games of their current homestand before falling to the Phillies on Wednesday.  With their dramatic 1-0 10th inning victory (their bullpen vs. the Phillies ace) Tuesday night, they had won 8 of their previous 10.

Most conspicuous change is their hitting.  It was situational and opportunistic, with a number of the hitters looking like Pablo Sandoval in his prime, driving the pitch to places where the fielders weren't.  Also very obvious, they finally scored big on an offseason acquisition of a star player with Matt Chapman.  Chapman adds power, smart hitting as well, and great fielding at third base.  His incredible play to end a game against Pittsburgh and preserve the win was one for the ages.  For the moment at least, the Giants are in second place and a game above .500.

Speaking of Pittsburgh, the Pirates have been playing above their reputation lately as well.  They won a series in Chicago and more impressively in Atlanta against the highly touted Braves.  They're still below .500 but if they can keep hitting, their new starters should add some victories, assuming the bullpen doesn't give them all away.

Back to the Giants: it was so great to tune into the 1-0 game and hear that same brilliant broadcasting team I listened to in the glory days.  (I find the Pirates announcing embarrassing.  All that Jolly Rodger and cannonball crap.)  

This is something I am well aware of and cherish about rooting for Bay Area teams.  Where else in the country can you find the best announcing team in baseball still on the air (through thick and thin, while oversensitive fans like me listen mostly during the thick)?  Or where else in the NBA can you find core players you've enjoyed watching for ten years but at Golden State?  As part of an organization that on and off the court is the gold standard of sports?  It's gratitude, man.  

In the NBA playoffs, well, it turns out that all the fun was in the second round.  In the third, the Celtics swept and the Mavs won in 5.  I have no interest in the finals.    

NBA Round 2 to 3, and the Young NL Fireballers

 The NBA second round game sevens lived up to their billing.  After being down 20 points in the third quarter, MN completed the biggest game 7 comeback in playoff history, going to up 10 in less than a quarter.  The Denver Nuggets appeared gassed.  MN was longer, quicker and deeper.  Denver's playoff experience could not overcome the T-Wolves.  MN showed impressive playoff resilience by surviving three straight losses to blow Denver out in the sixth game, and then go into a higher gear to end game 7.  They defeated the defending NBA champions and this year's MVP, the favorites to win it all. 

Now Jokic joins some other big names watching the playoffs on TV.  Viewership of the first two rounds was down by 17%, attributed to the absence of familiar stars like the Warriors' Steph Curry, whose jersey remains the most popular around the world. 

MN entered the West finals slightly favored over Dallas, who won their series by defeating OKC by a single point.  MN defeated a better team than Dallas did; Dallas squeaked by a young team not as talented or proven as MN (though they will probably be better next year.) Dallas had the edge in experience and maturity, but MN has proven it can overcome those disadvantages in the long run.  Even though they lost the first conference championship game at home, I'm expecting MN to prevail, and represent the West in the finals. I'll be rooting for them anyway.

In the East 7th game, the Indiana Pacers also set an NBA playoff record for shooting percentage (67.1%) to blow out the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.  Like the MN T-Wolves, they took the series by winning games 6 and 7.

The East finals began with Boston outlasting Indiana in overtime, with the Celtics looking rusty and the Pacers overanxious.  The question now becomes whether they can shake playoff nerves to take better care of the ball and steal one in Boston, and make this a series.  

In MLB, a recent series in Chicago between the Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates showed off two of the exciting rookie pitchers in baseball, back to back.  The Cubs rookie Shota Imanaga shut out the Pirates 1-0, accomplishing a total ERA of 0.84 over his first nine games, the lowest since ERA stats were recorded in 1913.  The next night, Pirates rookie fireballer Paul Skenes struck out the first seven batters he faced, one short of the record.  He finished 6 innings with 11 strikeouts, often on his 100+ mph fastball, giving up no runs as the Pirates' questionable bullpen held on to preserve his victory.

It seems like at the moment, Skenes is attracting the most attention in sports outside of Caitlin Clark. I remember watching the 19 year old Dwight Gooden pitch for the Mets in 1984 with absolute wonder at the speed and location of his pitches.  Gooden was a phenomenon who regularly reached 98mph with his fastball.  For Skenes that might qualify as an off-speed pitch.  There are some other fireballers out there regularly throwing beyond 100 mph, and while it's a wonder to watch them,  I also wonder how long they can do it, or as in Gooden's case, how they can handle it.  (Both in and out of baseball, Gooden had a recurring drug habit, mostly cocaine.)  Skenes seems pretty level-headed, so here's hoping he keeps being successful, on and off the field.  Meanwhile the Pirates have some other exciting young players, as well as veteran leadership.  Their bullpen could be their downfall, though.

Speaking of the Pirates, they announced they are enshrining Barry Bonds in their team Hall of Fame, along with his manager Jim Leyland.  It's a reminder of how great a player Bonds was before his exploits in San Francisco.  I watched him many times at Three Rivers--I especially recall one game in which he smacked four hard hits to every field.  I don't believe it is fair to keep him out of the MLB Hall of Fame--he was competing against pitchers and other players just as allegedly juiced as he was in his SF years.  But no one can criticize the Pirates for honoring him for his years with Pittsburgh.

Going Seven

 The two most interesting NBA playoff series--Denver/MN in the West, NYC/Indiana in the East--started with each team winning two games in a row, before settling down to the usual back and forth, to both be tied at 3-3, and game seven ahead.  The West series was even crazier--MN won the first two in a row in Denver, the Nuggets won their two in a row at MN.  

Unless one team is superior enough to win in 4 or 5, the playoff pattern is based on adjustments.  Teams have at least one off day to plot adjustments for the next game.  Denver had several days after the first two to make assignment and other adjustments to blunt the smothering defense of MN.  Their offense came alive, and Jokic finally had an MVP performance in the fifth game.  But MN came roaring back at home in game 6--downright extinguishing the Denver offense and shooting the lights out at their end, helped by plenty of steals and other turnovers as well as missed shots to get out and run.  

Denver lost the sixth game by 45 points, the biggest margin in playoff history, while scoring the fewest number of points.  But in terms of wins and losses, that loss is the same as it would have been had they lost by 1 point at the final buzzer of double overtime (except that their starters will be much better rested--they sat out much of the second half.)

  Now Denver has several days to adjust to the MN adjustments, and they'll be at home for game 7.  After the first four contrarian games, each team reverted to the usual pattern of winning their next home game.  So Denver looks to have the edge.

 But no matter what adjustments are devised, in a game seven everything hinges on how players play, who is hitting shots, who has the defensive energy and intensity, who keeps composed and handles the pressure.  Denver is the champ, the veteran of these moments, but with these two teams anything can happen.  Game 7 is Sunday afternoon.

The Knicks and Pacers series has more closely followed the traditional script of evenly matched teams: they each won their three games at home.  So game 7, also on Sunday afternoon, is in New York.  Even after being blown out in Indiana, the Knicks have the home court edge, maybe. For the thing about playing in New York is, everybody gets juiced to win there.  So this also will be sui generis, depending on performances, the timing of runs, etc. 

The chief difference between these two series is that the winner of the West series is likely to emerge as the favorite for Conference champ, but the winner of the East series is likely to be the underdog in the next round, against the Boston Celtics who have already won their series.

Meanwhile, Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors won the Magic Johnson Award, voted on by the Professional Basketball Writers Association, for the combination of on-court performance and off-court performance with the media.  It was his second.  A few days earlier, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr won the coaches version awarded by the same group.  Curry previously won the Clutch Player of the Year for the NBA just concluded season.      

It's A Series--and the New WNBA

 Four games into the second round of the NBA playoffs, and both Western Conference matchups are tied at 2-2.  The Denver-Minneapolis series is remarkable.  MN surprised the Nuggets by beating them on their own court in the first game, but Denver was expected to reassert itself in the second.  Instead, MN played an excellent defensive game--even without their recent defensive player of the year Gobert, and shut down the Nuggets again.  So sports bloviators (specifically Charles Barkley and Stephen A,) declared the series over, MN would sweep, especially as the series moved to their court.

But then Denver outshot them in two straight games in MN and tied the series.  Suddenly they were (of course) the favorites again.  The ever-popular pivotal game 5 is in Denver.

Meanwhile, the lumbering Dallas Mavs were manhandled by the young Oklahoma Thunder, but then seemed to find their game to take a 2-1 lead and were ahead in game 4 going into the fourth quarter.  But the Thunder stormed back and took a close one in Dallas, to tie the series, heading back to OC.

In the East the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers have a more traditional split, each winning 2 games at home.  Indiana's blowout victory in game 4 suggested to some observers that they had figured out the Knicks and were on their way to an upset in the series.  However, game 5 is in New York. 

The only series that seems to be moving decisively in one direction is Boston up 3 games to one over the Cavs, and going back to Boston for game 5.  But the battered Cavs gave the Celtics a run for their money in game 4, so at least an extended series isn't out of the question.

Off the court, the blah blah blah is hitting a new level.  It's not enough to speculate on Steph and LeBron playing together, or Steph and Kevin Durant reuniting--now it's Steph AND LeBron AND Durant.  Of course it is going to happen, and soon--at the Olympics.

Meanwhile the WNBA season starts tonight with four games.  Caitlin Clark's debut with the visiting Indiana Fever has sold out the Connecticut Sun arena for the first time in a decade.  There seems little doubt that the WNBA is suddenly at a new level, with national stars from the recently completed college season among their own rising and established stars.  Caitlinmania shows no signs of ending soon, and it's hoped that her rising tide will lift all boats.  Maybe I'll even start getting the admittedly generic team names matched up with their cities at last.  

While Warriors Watch

 The first round of the NBA playoffs is over, with some Western Conference surprises, at least in terms of pre-season hopes and expectations.  The biggest surprise (and failure) is the first round exit of the Phoenix Suns, swept by Minneapolis.  The Suns were often pre-season favorites to win the West and possibly the championship.  But the three superstar lineup, even in the few games all were healthy, couldn't compensate for lack of size, and the resources needed to sign them all contributed to a lack of depth.  By the first round they seemed past caring, criticized for a lack of physicality.

The Los Angeles Clippers were also highly touted, but again failed in the playoffs, losing to Dallas in six in the first round.  The Los Angeles Lakers disappointed themselves, and have already sacrificed their coach.  They bowed to Denver in five, which wasn't unexpected.  

So Steph Curry and the Warriors watching all this on TV could take some solace from their own underachieving season, especially since these three teams just mentioned have no clear path to improvement next season, whereas the Warriors may be only a player or two from improving at least enough to get into the playoffs and do damage there.  This makes it less likely that the team will opt for the kind of wholesale change that is predictably speculated in the ongoing blah blah blah.   In fact they could field pretty much the same team, and with a jump in productivity among the younger players, be more competitive.

And for all the talk about the Warriors being too dependent on Steph's scoring, look at New Orleans that couldn't win consistently without Zion, and Memphis which seemingly couldn't put together any kind of competitive team without Ja Morant.  

Much has been made of the fact that three of the biggest stars in the NBA are sitting at home for the second round: Steph, Kevin Durant and LeBron James.  All three are scheduled to play together on the US Olympic team--their conversations might be very interesting.  Nobody knows how upset Durant is with the Suns, or how restless LeBron is, though chances are still very good that all three will stay where they are.  Still...I have to wonder just what they will talk about during the Olympics.

Now the second round has started, with Minneapolis scoring a surprise victory over Denver on the road. It used to be said that it's not a series until the visiting team wins a game.  So look out, it's a series.