Morning Round-Up for Thursday, May 2nd. Whether you’re ‘old school’ or you’re ensconced in the modern way of being a sports fan this time of the year for a lot of us is the best time to be a true sports fan…all over the world. UEFA Football (soccer to us here in the states) in Europe & the MLS are in full swing now, the red clay season in Europe in tennis is heating up leading up to the 2nd major the French Open starting in a few weeks in Paris. For us baseball purest the trees blooming & flowers starting to pop up means that the ‘big leagues’ are turning that corner leaving chilly April & rainouts behind (although May has it’s share of rainouts) when pitching starts get hot. The Stanley Cup Playoffs & NBA Playoffs are going into their 2nd rounds with their dramatic 1st round series ending some fanbases dreams & continuing the dreams for the winners…for now. Whether you wake up in the morning put your slippers on & go outside & pickup your newspaper or you wander into your living room & fire up your laptop to get your morning news this is our time of the year. By the time that NFL takes over our collective consciousness here in the U.S. we will have gone through late spring with weddings & graduations & the summer vacations & August get togethers. So let’s enjoy this time of the year & relish this weekends Kentucky Derby & later this month the Indy 500 as our ‘right of passage’ from spring to summer here in the U.S. Speaking of ‘right of passage’ those New York Knicks won’t have a better chance to advance to the NBA Finals than now since the Boston Celtics are without their difference maker Kristaps Porzingis who’s out until probably the Eastern Conference Finals. Why does that matter because he has a right calf injury & that injury is what kept Joe Burrow out for training camp & most of September last season. A calf injury is what’s keeping Giannis Antetokounmpo out for the Bucks 1st round match-up vs the Pacers. According to reports from medical experts this injury could develop into an Achilles injury so teams get really squeamish about calf injuries. Tonight’s Game 6 in Philly between the Knicks & the confused 76ers (who’s the man) is one of the most anticipated NBA Playoff games in recent seasons…for both the Knicks & the 76ers for differing reasons. Word on the street has it that the Lakers were doing exit interviews with their players in the lockeroom right after their loss to Denver that eliminated them from postseason earlier this week…now that’s a team in a hurry to make changes. Did you know that the Minnesota Twins are the hottest team right now in the ‘big leagues’ having won 10 straight…just hope that they’re not peaking in May. Yesterday was the deadline for NFL teams to accept or reject the 5th year option on players. Notable rejections were all quarterbacks that’ve been traded inside of their 1st contracts, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance & Mac Jones who are all in the prove it phase right now. See ya’.
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Morning Round-Up for Wednesday, May 1st…May Day! Are duos overrated? In recent ‘Pop’ music there’s been ‘Wet Leg’ & DOMi & JD Beck. Hip Hop fans ‘Black Sheep’ & ‘City Girls’ had their run too. For us older folks we remember Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis & their dance funk or Hall & Oates. But in sports are duos really a thing? Take for instance the NBA’s seemingly unwritten rule that you must have 2 superstars on your team to advance deep into postseason or even win a championship. In a sport where there’s 5 on 5 this is more possible but not necessary. In the 2024 NBA Playoffs the Philadelphia 76ers are coming to realize that it may not go just as that old classic 60’s duo Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston once sang ‘It Takes Two’…it may not need to be 2. 76ers coach Nick Nurse who’s won an NBA Title in Toronto (’19) by emphasizing team chemistry is at a crossroads with his 76er squad. Nurse must come to the realization that the torch is being passed to his young point guard Tyrese Maxey involuntarily from oft-injured superstar center & the reigning MVP Joel Embiid. Last nights game 5 was so physical & had so many players strewn on the Madison Square Garden floor at times that NFL Films could’ve shown the highlights using slow motion & their old classic 70’s dramatic music in the background with an AI version of their classic ‘Voice of God’ John Facenda narrating it. Maxey took the 76ers on his back & they rode him as he registered 46 big points. Maxey hit the game tying shot with time running out in regulation & continued to show that he’s the true ‘alpha dog’ on this team…now. The question is will Joel Embiid allow this transformation in order for the 76ers to win 2 more games & advance? From the AL MVP (with the Chicago White Sox in ’20) to have been given a choice to accept an assignment to the minor leagues yesterday by the Houston Astros or be released Jose Abreu is clearly at a crossroads. Abreu is hitting .099 with 1 XBH (extra base hit) in 22 games. For someone of his character & what he had to endure in order to get to the ‘big leagues’ from Cuba, Jose should be back sometime later in season with a renewed outlook on the game. This was supposed to be a season of vindication for Angels superstar Mike Trout proving to his critics that he isn’t ‘injury prone’ but his luck has ran out again in recent days. Trout once again sustained a major injury while playing at his all out style this time it’s a torn meniscus that will keep him out indefinitely. Word on the street is that Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark is proving why she’s considered one of the greats of the game already in practice & that she will be ready for her time in the WNBA…get ready to have your mind blown again very soon. CBS HQ showed the ‘Sportsline’ odds for next seasons Super Bowl LIX & the 49ers are +550 with the Chiefs at +600, the Ravens are at +950 & the Bengals, Bills & Lions are at +1300…hmmm. Okay, have an awesome 1st day of May & thanks for reading.
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Morning Round-Up for Tuesday, April 30th. One of the biggest regrets of my ‘salad days’ in the sports media was that I (along with others that were working media members in the Cleveland area at the time) didn’t take LeBron James as seriously as I should’ve while he was in high school. LeBron has grown into a leader of men, a role model & one of the all-time greats to ever lace up tennis shoes & play basketball. But there’s one thing that LeBron seems to be & that’s a realist. The L.A. Lakers tied with the Boston Celtics for the most NBA Titles for a franchise (17) & possibly along with the Dallas Cowboys & the New York Yankees are the U.S.’s most recognizable team sports brands out there. What the means is that there’s omnipresent excruciating pressure for success that very, very few sports franchises around the world knows. The reigning NBA Champion Denver Nuggets disposed of this edition of the Lakers sending them into more than likely one of their most important off-seasons that they’ve ever had. This period will be even more potentially tumultuous than the post-Kareem & Earvin Johnson’s HIV announcement period. For the sports media this gives us meat on the bone to deal with everyday when writing or talking about national sports. But for Jeannie Buss & general manager Rob Pelinka they’d probably like to click their heels & wish for it to be over & taken care in an instant because they have some key, key decisions to make. Speaking of decisions Luis Severino of the New York Mets was on his way to a decision that he’d be remembered for & that was carrying a ‘no-hitter’ into the 8th inning against the tough Cubs lineup last night. Well, the Cubs ran ’em in the 8th & Christopher Morel crushed one into the left field seats off of Mets fire throwing reliever Edwin Diaz & just like that the potential ‘no-hitter’ fades into oblivion & the Cubs snatch victory from defeat (as they say) winning 3-1. Here’s one for the ‘I almost got it done’ category, do you remember last years near magic playoff ride by the Seattle Kraken in their inaugural appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs? That’s right most of us don’t remember who was 2nd place or the team that didn’t become the ‘Cinderella’ story & for that the Krakens 1st ever coach Dave Hakstol was fired yesterday. The Kraken will now go in another direction & attempt to do what Hakstol couldn’t do & that’s advance in the Cup playoffs. No ‘Boomer’ or Phil Simms on CBS’s ‘NFL Today’ next season as they’re ushering in the new & improved (younger) cast with James Brown, Nate Burleson, J.J. Watt, Matt Ryan & Bill Cowher…both will be missed by most fans & yes ‘Father Time’ is undefeated…time moves on. Ezekiel Elliot gets another bite at the apple in Dallas…at least for 1 season as he is now reunited with the Cowboys for a flash from the past ‘I can still do it coach’ tour as their featured running back most likely just for the ’24 season. Okay, have a positive last day of April see ya’ & thanks!
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Morning Round-Up for Monday, April 29th. Monday is always that day of the week that those of us who has a weekend (or takes a weekend) for a quick moment in time if not half of the morning wishes that we could stay in bed. Well, just think about who some of those folks would be in the sports world this morning are. Those estimated 700+thousands who took time off & booked flights & hotels in Detroit to join the NFL Draft party for the 1st 2 rounds on Thursday & Friday nights. They wanted their weekends to continue with all of the energy that was exuded dancing & yelling & cheering while waiting for their teams draft pick to be announced. How about the folks that didn’t want to get out of bed this morning. Maybe like that GM or head coach that didn’t quite get the players that they coveted in this past weekends NFL draft, Phoenix Suns management & coaching staff in different ways contemplating what their futures are. It was announced last week that ‘officials’ from tennis’ ATP & WTA were convening at the Madrid Open this week trying to come to an agreement for some kind of equitable merger. The scuttlebutt on why such a merger is needed is that there are serious rumors if not steps being taken to start another tennis association/league much like the ‘LIV Tour’ in golf that will shake the establishment of the international tennis world to it’s core. Those folks probably didn’t want to get out of bed today…that’s for sure. Those other Philadelphia 76ers other than Tyrese Maxey & Joel Embiid & their GM were probably sleeping with their pillows on their heads trying to figure out what’s gone wrong. What went wrong for the 6ers other than no supporting cast for those 2 players against a New York Knicks team determined to prove everyone wrong in the playoffs. Do you think that the pitching coach & pitching staff of the Milwaukee Brewers had a great night’s sleep last night after getting rocked by the New York Yankees for 30 runs in 2 games & having to resort to something that happens late in the season to rest their bullpen & throw a position player (1B/OF Jake Bauers) in there late in a game to rest their bullpen? The scouts & management for the Baltimore Orioles tossed & turned in their sleep right before the weekend after deciding to send #1 prospect 2B/SS Jackson Holliday back down to Triple A (which they did) & if that could ultimately retard his development at the ‘big league’ level or not. Do you think that management of the Chicago Bears are still groggy after celebrating their draft picks this past weekend that looks as though they are finally turning the corner & will possibly be playoff a contender this season? They want that party to continue no matter how much sleep that they miss. Future 1st ballot college & pro basketball legend Candace Parker hung it up this past weekend after what is one of the greatest careers that a man or woman could have. Surely, after a few sleepless nights. Time to get up, let’s go.
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Morning Round-Up for Friday, April 26th. This wouldn’t be the ‘Round-Up’ unless I pontificated about the biggest story in U.S. sports this morning. Check this out, the 1st 14 picks in last nights NFL Draft were offensive players, 6 out of the 1st 12 picks were quarterbacks & there were 275,000 people congregating (according to news estimates) there in downtown Detroit (Michigan) to witness this annual ‘right of passage’. Wow, this has come a long way since a high school jock buddy & I took a day off of school to watch ESPN’s 1st coverage (he was at home & I was at home but we were on the phone watching & talking about) when a really young Chris Berman in his ESPN yellow sportscoat with their ESPN insignia on his chest saying “welcome to our 1st NFL draft”. It was still in a little room that looked like a hotel with team logos on polls & the team reps on their old style phones…it wasn’t fancy that’s for sure. Little did we know that it would become the spectacle that it’s become. Tonight will be rounds 2-3 basically the last of the rookie starters will be picked tonight & on Saturday it’ll be the backups & special teams players in rounds 4-7. Brock Purdy star quarterback for the 49ers was ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ meaning that he was the last player picked in the draft & that’s on Saturday late afternoon/early evening. Let’s go out to the ‘ballyard’, the Cubs big stud outfielder Cody Bellinger barreled into the wall on Tuesday night (as he does often) & broke some ribs so he was placed on the 10-day ‘IL’…he’ll be missed in their lineup. Here’s a dubious fact that no one wants to be a part of-on the Southside the proud Chicago White Sox have become the 4th team in MLB history to start out their season losing 22 of their 1st 25 games…they’re bottoming out & looking on the bright side there’s only one way to go & that’s up from there. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is looking like the dominate pitcher that the Dodgers paid through the nose for as he pitched a 6 inning gem last night giving up 0 runs off of 4 hits. The NBA Playoffs will take center stage again on Saturday night but for now the 76ers will wait until Sunday to get another shot at the Knicks at home to even their 7 game series up at 1-1. Embiid looked like the reigning MVP last night expressing himself freely giving the Knicks 50 points & making them like. Please sir may we have another? Can he stay healthy to lead them to the 2nd round & beyond? Lakers, ‘Schmakers’ they’re done & we know it. It’s Denver’s time & we should learn to appreciate Jokic & Murray much more. Okay, enjoy the weather, get out there & go for a drive & roll down your windows we wanna hear what you’re listening to…’It’s Spring Again’ as the great Lou Rawls once sang. As the song said “time for us to all those things again”…”cause it’s spring again”. Thanks for reading & talk with ya’ on Monday morning.
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Morning Round-Up for Thursday, April 25th. If you’re a U.S. sports fan then today you’re feeling a little bit of fan anxiety over the 1st round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs just like NBA fans of the teams in the 1st round of their playoffs. Or how about the news yesterday that the NCAA (after feeling pressure from former athletes & others) decided to give back ’05 Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush his trophy that they vacated & asked for & received the actual trophy back from in ’10. For the NCAA was this about optics? Were they trying to quail discussions & possible litigation about an alleged $300,000 payment infraction when it was illegal for an athlete or his or her family to receive such a payment now that there’s the N.I.L. system? Because players are now able to share in the profits of their likenesses does that absolve alleged infractions of the past? Those questions will be debated for years to come & will more than likely come down to business optics & personal & professional ethics issues. How about this sports story that the New York Mets are starting to heat up & their star shortstop Francisco Lindor exploded for 4 hits yesterday 2 of which were homers to lead his Mets to a victory over the slumping Giants in San Francisco. How about the former Cy Young pitcher Blake Snell who waited until days before the regular season started foregoing Spring Training to sign with the Giants only to now find himself struggling & going on the ‘IL’ with left adductor (groin) injury. Badges, we don’t need no stinking badges. Well maybe the story about how the Detroit Lions locked up 2 of it’s all-pro’s both for the next 4 years to $100+ million dollar deals (Amon-Ra St. Brown has $77 million guaranteed) is the big sports story here in the U.S. today. Nope, it’s about the upcoming NFL Draft that will be in Detroit this year & once the hype & pre-draft shows & mock drafts are over & you see Commissioner Roger Goodell walk out to the stage while being booed you’ll know that it’s on. For all of the fans of the 32 teams in the National Football League today is the 1 day that everything is rosy & they have a chance to make the playoffs & go to the Super Bowl. Then reality sets in by the middle of the summer then optimism turns to hope. For me my biggest memory on draft day was as a young producer/reporter hanging out at a popular Irish pub down the street from the University of Cincinnati I was a part of a live draft show on a now defunct sports radio station called the ‘Score’. As soon as the #1 pick was announced & it was Penn State’s rb Ki-Jana Carter the fans started throwing things & booing. It went from optimism to dread immediately. K-Jana is a highly respected person in life now but was not successful as a Bengal & it maybe wasn’t his fault but that’s just 1 example of the ups & downs of the biggest story in sports today & that’s the NFL Draft. So all of you fans dressing up & going to draft parties have your fun today! Thanks for reading.
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Morning Round-Up for Wednesday, April 24th. Picture this you’re somewhere in the time of the so-called dark ages of television & there are only 3 channels (pre PBS) to watch & on every channel at night & there’s a western or cowboy show on every station. What was the premise of those old shows back then? Peaceful town that has order is invaded by a bad guy or bad guys (not always wearing black) who are disrupting the order of the town & the good guy or good guys (not always wearing white) would ultimately clean up the town by running that bad guy out of town. Now, this happened every week so this was deemed the wild west. Yesterday the NCAA approved new rule changes that allows instant eligibility to multi-time transfers allowing them to move around after every season if they so desire. Also, the NCAA rules committee is now allowing the colleges & universities to officially help the ‘student athletes’ find N.I.L. agreements…oh boy, this sounds like the wild west again to me. Most former college athletes wanted to see fairness in allowing athletes to be given enough money above board to be able to buy plane tickets home, buy a suit or dress with new shoes, eat comfortably & live off of campus & not live in squalor. But, this may turn out to be a little bit excessive because cynically human nature is to try to find a way to exploit or get away with something if we can without notice, we’re humans. Let’s hope that this does mostly what the idea is to do & that’s to encourage superstar college athletes to stay in school longer & not create a sort of wild west mentality of do WHATEVER it takes to get & keep these athletes. Hopefully, there will be some sort of czar of college athletics that metaphorically wears that proverbial white hat that will run this thing & run the bad guys out by sundown before it becomes a major problem. The NBA Playoffs officially started last night when we got 2 road underdogs win their 1st games of their series. Both 3/6 match-ups are now tied up 1-1. The Pacers with their ball movement & continuous cutting to the basket was too much for the Giannis-less Bucks & the Dallas Mavs outlasted the Clippers who are trying to work injury prone superstar Kawhi Leonard back into playing form while they win a playoff series, he’s a key player in the Clippers hopes for a championship. According to the MLB Network’s MLB Central the baddest dude pitching right now may be the Oakland A’s Mason Miller who is the only ‘Statcast’ qualified pitcher to rank in the top 95 percentile or higher in 4 categories: fastball velocity, chase %, whiff % & hard hit %. Although the sad story of the A’s is hard to not focus on he’s a player to focus on & could be the most feared pitcher in the game right now. CBS’s Pete Prisco said yesterday on CBSHQ that he thinks that 6 qb’s could be taken in the top 20 of tomorrows NFL draft based on what he’s heard, wow! Over the years Pete is usually right about things like that. ATP/WTA tennis merger? Maybe soon.
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Morning Round-Up for Tuesday, April 23rd. If drama is what you want in your evening entertainment & you don’t mind there not being guns or sex or violence as the backdrop then the NBA Playoffs is what you’ve been waiting for. Although some of you may find that a game winning shot with time running out by Jamal Murray is pretty sexy. Or how about the 76ers scoring 8 points inside of :27 seconds late in the game to yank victory from the 76ers. The Lakers who lost a 20 point lead will lick their wounds & crawl back to L.A. hoping to win the next 2, don’t bet on it. The reigning MVP Joel Embiid is bravely or is it stubbornly trying to finish these playoff games after coming back to help his team win in the playoffs after missing 29 games until the last week of the regular season. Embiid looks like a player who still needs to be rehabbing his surgically repaired left knee but knows that his team needs ’em & that they can’t win without ’em. The Cleveland Cavs are on their way to advancing going up 2-0 at home vs the Orlando Magic. With the exception of 3 games so far this has been a pretty ‘chalky’ NBA Playoffs with the favorites winning at home. Let’s hope for an underdog to break through to add to the drama of the playoffs. Yes, NHL fans we know that the Stanley Cup Playoffs are happening & we are watching, hopefully. Did you catch Yankees manager Aaron Boone getting tossed out of the game in the top half of the 1st inning because the ump Hunter Wendelstedt mistook a fan yelling at him from the front row above the Yankees dugout as Boone? Shouldn’t there be some kind of game punishment for Wendelstedt. In the postgame ‘presser’ Boone was asked by a ‘YES Network’ reporter what’s your take on what happened to you out there…Boone was speechless, almost miming his anger because he probably didn’t want to get fined. A league apology isn’t enough, the ump needs to be suspended for 1 game to even one that out. C’mon man! Phillies fans were panicking because the Phillies announced yesterday that their superstar slugger & 1st baseman is doing the right thing & going on the ‘Paternity List’…so the Phillies then commenced to pounding the inconsistent Reds into submission last night. So much for being shorthanded…don’t worry Phillies fans he’ll be back soon. The New York Jets finally found someone to take failed 2nd overall pick in the ’21 draft Zach Wilson off of their hands & they got a 6th round draft choice throw in for good measure & they only have to pay $5.5 million of his salary. Here’s to hoping that Wilson will be reborn out in Denver wearing those new college looking jersey’s that they revealed yesterday. For Jets fans as former President Ford once said in a national television address ‘your long national nightmare is over’…well, yes that wasn’t about the Jets but it works for Jets fans that’s for sure. Okay, 2 days & counting left for those folks who take the NFL Draft as seriously as opening weekend…see ya’ tomorrow & thanks for reading!
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Morning Round-Up for Monday, April 22nd. For many people in the U.S. that are NFL fans this week is the true beginning of the NFL season. They’ll be parties scheduled & trips to their favorite teams facilities for watch parties booked treating the NFL Draft almost as though it was a playoff game or the opening game of the season. Is this year any different? Well, if you’re a fan living in the Chicago area or Minneapolis/St. Paul or Denver you’re local media is bombarding you with quarterback draft information & potential trades to move up in the draft close enough to get those 3 or 4 most coveted quarterbacks. This year there isn’t a quarterback coming out from N.C. State that’s a presumptive 1st round pick but way back in ’62 there was a 6’4 225 pound QB of Filipino/American descent (1st of that origin) that was drafted #1 in the AFL & #2 in the NFL by the Los Angeles Rams. Roman Gabriel played 16 deliberate seasons in the NFL because Roman was known as the toughest & most hard nosed quarterback of his era. Roman Gabriel if you watch the old NFL Films highlights was always seemingly fighting off lineman & linebackers & adjusting his single bar face mask either running in his plodding style or picking out an open receiver. Roman fit the George Allen one for all, we’re all in this thing together style of play that his defenses (Fearsome Foursome) dominated asking Roman to make plays when he had to either by brute force or finesse. Roman is not in Canton but he left an indelible mark on the little boys & girls who followed the NFL back then by his example of dignity & toughness. He should never be forgotten for that. Roman Gabriel was 83 when he died this past Saturday. In the ‘big leagues’ it’s really early but we can see some patterns that may last throughout the duration of this long 6 month season. Teams like the Boston Red Sox who are considered the worst defensive team at the moment is fighting off debilitating early season injuries to their pitching staff & other key players but have a pitching gem named ‘Cutter’ Crawford who’s confounding the ‘big league’ world at the moment. Crawford’s the only pitcher in Red Sox history to allow 1 run or fewer & 3 hits or less in each of his 1st 4 starts of the season. Babe Ruth, Roger Clemens & Pedro Martinez never did that. Some of us remember when John McEnroe argued with an ump over a call in Wimbledon years & years ago arguing that he saw chalk flying up from the line meaning that a ball was in. Well, this past opening weekend of the NBA Playoffs chalk was flying up in the air because all of the favorites won & that’s a 1st since ’13. If you stayed up you were treated to the game of the weekend witnessing possibly the maturation of the ‘OKC’ team lead by NBA youngsters Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & his running mate 7’1 center Chet Holmgren. 20 lead changes & 13 ties later ‘OKC’ took game 1 over the Pelicans & gained valuable playoff experience, remember they’re the #1 seed in the Western Conference.
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Morning Round-Up for Friday, April 19th. What do Boston Celtics star players Jaylen Brown & Jayson Tatum have in common with some of the classic Boston Celtics of the past? Well, on the surface probably not much but if we look at one of the classic teams that won 2 of the their 17 NBA Titles (tied with the L.A. Lakers) the ’74 & ’76 teams there are some similarities. The ’74 team was still inhabited by a few players from the Celtics glory days of the ’60’s but had fallen short of the NBA Finals in the previous 4 seasons. A reminder, the late 50’s through the ’69 Celtics were the dominant winning team in all of U.S. sports at that time. The ’74 team was coached by one of the all-time great Celtics, good guy Tommy (Tom) Heinsohn who was tough as hell but a fair person who kept the ‘Celtics Thing’ going after the Red Auerbach years. In ’24 the Celtics are coached by another tough guy who’s fair Joe Mazzulla who’s stepped in & added the stability at the head job that this talented team has needed. The ’74 Celtics were an underappreciated team that had the Milwaukee Bucks of Lew Alcindor (Kareem after that season) & Oscar Robertson in his last season trying to regain the NBA Title that they won in ’71 as their main rivals. That wasn’t supposed to be their year but the Celtics kept winning in the playoffs. This ’24 team is supposed to win but has faltered in the past more than several years & if they don’t win it all this season there will be a purging of the players on the current roster. The similarities aren’t many but there is one thing that is for certain Jo Jo White, Don Nelson & ‘Hondo’ John Havlicek aren’t running out of the tunnel on Sunday vs the winner of the Heat/Bulls game on Friday night. You know who will be running out of the tunnel on Sunday Porzingis, Hortford & Jrue Holiday will have to dive for those lose balls & make that extra defensive play like those old Celtics (Dave Cowens) did in order to get over their championship hump, that starts on Sunday. Can this group bring the Boston people their 18th title? Let’s stay in Boston where the surprising Red Sox have continued to win even after key injuries to pitchers & position players & now they’ll have to pray at the alter of the baseball gods that their current injury doesn’t bury them in the uber competitive AL East. Outfielder Tyler O’Neil sustained a concussion on Monday & has been put on the 7-day ‘IL’. The Red Sox will miss his .313 average & his 7 homers (3rd in baseball) out there every night. Jack Leiter’s debut with the World Champion Texas Rangers was all good until the Tigers got a 2nd look at his stuff in the 4th & then they ran him from the game…but his Rangers did get the win. Al & his family were quietly looking on while fighting to emote knowing that the television cameras were trained on them. Jack will bounce back as he’s supposed to have similar type of stuff that the Dodgers Yoshinobu Yamamoto has…give ’em time. Justin Verlander returns today for the Astros.