LeBron had seen enough from Coach David Blatt. (Getty Images)
Steve Stich, Jim Bearor, Zack El-Sharif and Evan Sally check in with the main contenders in the NBA, the Cavs, Bulls, Warriors, Spurs and Thunder.
Two Ways to Listen:
If you have an Android device and don’t want to use SoundCloud there are several apps on the Play Store that our show is available on. We recommend Podcast and Radio Addict.
Posted in evansally, jimbearor, NBA, stevestich, zackelsharif
Tagged evansally, goldenstate, jimbearor, lebron, nba, stevestich, Warriors, zackelsharif
-Zachary El-Sharif
This past week of sports has reminded us why we devote so much time and money into it. We saw history made before our very eyes. After this busy week in sports, here’s my quick takes on the top news of the week.
Racing:
American Pharoah became the first Triple Crown winner since 1978 after winning the Belmont Stakes on June 6th. Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
American Pharoah won the Triple Crown and was the first horse to do so since Affirmed in 1978. I’m not into horse racing and I find it farfetched to think that your average sports fan really cares about horse racing. Gamblers care about horse racing, and if you like gambling this was kind of a wash out for you for the big three races this year. American Pharoah came into the Kentucky derby at 13-5, which isn’t very risky odds and from there on out he remained the heavy favorite, so for the gamblers looking to make a quick buck it was kind of a throw away year. Congratulations to the group behind American Pharoah; they put together a very historic run together, but don’t expect me to care about it.
Posted in Miscellaneous, zackelsharif
Tagged alexrodriguez, arod, baseball, belmontstakes, benbishop, bigpapi, blackhawks, bostonredsox, cavs, chicago, chicagoblackhawks, chipkelly, cleveland, clevelandcavaliers, davidortiz, eagles, evanmathis, goldenstate, goldenstatewarriors, hardfoulsports, hfs, horseracing, horses, lightning, mathis, mlb, nba, nbafinals, NHL, philadelphia, philadelphiaeagles, tampabay, triplecrown, Warriors
– By Evan Sally and Jim Bearor
Photo: Associated Press/Tony Dejak
The first three games of Warriors vs. Cavs have ranged from unexpected to downright bizarre. We saw back-to-back overtime games for the first time in Finals history. We saw Golden State, the best team in the league statistically, never lead at the end of any quarter except for the end of overtime of Game 1. We saw Matthew Dellavedova become a household name because of his inexplicable ability to frustrate the MVP Steph Curry, and more bizarrely, score a career high 20 points in Game 3. We saw Golden State miss a ton of open shots. We saw the league’s best shooter shoot a career worst 2 for 15 from 3 in Game 2. We saw LeBron James torch the league’s best defense for 41 points per game. And as great as LeBron James is, no one saw that coming.
Then the Warriors woke up.
Game 4 represented a return to normalcy. Finally, we saw the series we expected to see. Role players like Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala finally hit some open shots. Especially in the case of Barnes and Green, who had looked rattled previously, this is a huge development. LeBron finally had an off game, and the rest of the Cavs weren’t able to keep up the scoring slack. Add it all up, and it’s the recipe for a Golden State blowout victory. With the series tied at 2-2 headed back to the Bay Area to start a best of 3 for the championship, Jim Bearor and I try to figure out how we got to this point and examine where the series is going from here. Continue reading
Posted in evansally, jimbearor, NBA
Tagged basketball, cavs, cleveland, clevelandcavaliers, clevelandcavs, evansally, goldenstate, goldenstatewarriors, hardfoulsports, hfs, jimbearor, lebron, lebronjames, nba, nbafinals, nbaplayoffs, playoffs, stephcurry, stephencurry, thefinals, Warriors
LeBron James and Steph Curry fight for a loose ball. Photo Credit: Ibtimes.com
– Jim Bearor
The Cavaliers have taken control of the NBA Finals, and it goes deeper than the 2-1 lead they have over the Warriors.
Matthew Dellavedova has won over fans everywhere by filling Kyrie Irving’s shoes and putting the clamps on Curry, the regular season MVP. The Cavaliers that remain aren’t “The Big Three” or “The Splash Bros”, they’re six pretty average or mediocre guys led by LeBron James, who is on pace to break every NBA Finals record there is. James is two wins away from Akron, Ohio building a statue of him, and he knows it.
As he confirmed in his interview with Dwyane Wade following Game 3, his concentration and determination to win are at an all-time high. This mindset has spread through the locker room, and it’s evident in the play of guys like Mozgov, Thompson, and Dellavedova. The team embodies the blue collar culture of Cleveland, and with LeBron’s “homecoming” narrative coming to a head, this is the perfect storm to make America fall in love with them.
Tagged cavs, cleveland, clevelandcavaliers, game4, goldenstatewarriors, hardfoulsports, hfs, kingjames, lebronjames, mvp, nba, nbafinals, stephcurry, Warriors
– Evan Sally
Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals are over, and there’s a lot to digest. What just happened? Both games have been overtime thrillers. If you’re a neutral viewer, you have to be enjoying the hell out of the Finals so far. If you’re a fan of either team, which I am, Games 1 and 2 have been about as nerve wracking and heart pounding as it gets.
In Game 1 as a Cavs fan, it was a pleasant surprise to see Cleveland be able to keep up with Golden State. You never want to your team to lose, but I was pleased to see Cleveland be able to compete with Golden State, not only because I obviously would love to see LeBron win another title, but purely as a basketball
Lebron James driving to the hoop against Harrison Barnes (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
fan, I want to see a good, long series. Win or lose, I was happy with their performance. That is until we saw Kyrie Irving go hobbling off the court in overtime. The news of him being out for 3 to 4 months with a broken kneecap, compounded with a disaster of an overtime, turned an encouraging game into a gut punch. How does Cleveland recover from something like that? With Love and Irving gone, I was dreading the rest of the series. Counting the LeBron factor or not, beating a team like the Warriors with the skeleton crew Cleveland would be forced to put on the court would be a near impossibility. The Warriors were in the driver’s seat, with nothing but smooth road to the championship.
Tagged basketball, cavs, clevelandcavaliers, curry, evansally, goldenstatewarriors, hardfoulsports, hfs, lebron, nba, nbafinals, stephcurry, Warriors
NFL News
NBA News NHL News
HARD FOUL SPORTS 