PHOTO BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
LeBron James raises the championship trophy.
Idle chatter while catching up with the world now that high school tournaments are behind us.
Count me as unsurprised, and happy, that the Cleveland Cavaliers wrestled the NBA title away from the Golden State Warriors.
At the very least, we shouldn’t be shocked that the “underdog” (quotations intentional) team beat the vaunted Warriors. I seem to recall another team, about eight years ago, that walked into University of Phoenix Stadium after having gone through the NFL regular season without a loss. The New England Patriots struggled all evening to shake the pesky Giants, who hung around, and hung around, and then pulled off one of the most astounding plays you’ll ever see in a football game on their way to springing the upset.
The similarities are eerie, at least as they apply to Game 7. Regardless of what else happened to the Warriors — whether it was the Draymond Green suspension (he should have been forced to sit out the game just for being stupid enough to take a swing at LeBron James), or alleged one-sided officiating in Game 6 — Golden State still had the final game on its home court. The Warriors were darn near unbeatable there.
But we’re talking about LeBron here. One can only imagine how tired he was of hearing about Steph Curry, and his three-point shot, and it must have just frosted him to see Curry win the MVP award unanimously.
The Warriors should have anticipated this. But one wonders how much they had left in the tank even if they did. They should have taken a lesson from the Patriots and not been so focused on the 73-win season. At some point, no matter how good you are, you are going to come up with a clunker. The Patriots came up with theirs in the Super Bowl. Golden State had their slump in the playoffs.
— And how can you be anything except happy for the folks in Cleveland, who hadn’t seen a team win a title of any kind since Jimmy and the Browns 1964. Boston fans, especially, should be able to identify with that.
But even during that 86-year World Series drought, we had our moments. The Celtics owned the NBA in the 60s and then added five more titles in the 70s and 80s. The Bruins won two Stanley Cups. And the Patriots had already won two Super Bowls by the time the Red Sox finally won their championship.
Poor Cleveland. Not only had their teams failed, they failed spectacularly. There was “The Drive,” followed by “The Fumble.” There was Jose Mesa, one strike from delivering the Indians a World Series title only to cough it up. There was that miraculous shot Michael Jordan made to beat a good Cavalier team in the NBA playoffs.
Cleveland has seen its share of misery. Don’t worry about Curry and the Warriors. They’ll be sadder and wiser next season, just like the Kansas City Royals were last fall.
— The Red Sox had a very good stretch in May, but they seem to be fighting the inevitable June swoon.
It doesn’t appear as if the Sox have anywhere near enough pitching to do more than contend for an Eastern Division crown. This is underscored when the guy who was banished to the bullpen only three weeks ago is rushed back into action because nobody else they’ve tried seems to be able to pitch either.
But if they can ever get some, look out! The have three of the best young players in the game today in Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Xander Bogaerts.
Of the three, Bogaerts is a superstar now. Betts is well on his way. And Bradley will probably always be geared more toward hitting in the mid .200s. But what he gives you in center field more than makes up for that.
— If you’re a Vince Wilfork fan (and really, who isn’t?), you can see the big guy in all of his splendor in the ESPN The Magazine body issue. Big Vince will bare all, or as much of it as decency will allow, in the next issue.
Wilfork, easily among the most popular and beloved Patriots ever to put on a uniform, admits he’s no Adonis. He’s not ripped. You’d undoubtedly have to hire an excavator to find his muscles. But he’s happy with himself.
And why shouldn’t he be? He’s made a good living hauling all that bulk around. For all of us ugly-body types everywhere, I commend Big Vince for cashing in on his gigantic reputation.