Sunday, May 18, 2008

Sunday Stories

Bill Livingston of The Plain Dealer writes how LeBron James can beat you many ways..."Despite the Cavaliers’ sword fixation, James is a many-bladed knife. If his shot doesn’t get you, his passing, rebounding, or his defense — the best of his career this postseason, by far — will." ...
  • Bill Livingston


  • Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe writes why either team may win Game 7... "The Celtics will win because commissioner David Stern wants a Boston-Los Angeles final more than Hillary Clinton wants the nomination. The Cavs will win because Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz., officially ended the golden age of New England sports, igniting a chain of postseason disappointments for local teams." ...
  • Dan Shaughnessy


  • Howard Beck of The New York Times writes how the Celtics may not be a guarantee today... "Technically, they are correct. The Celtics still have every chance to put a big green bow on their transformative season. But their frequent pratfalls do not inspire much confidence." ...
  • Howard Beck


  • Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post writes how Game 7 is something the NFL can never give you... "But there's one thing pro football in all its glory can't give you: Game 7. The NFL can't give you six games of back-and-forth, of day-to-day adjustments and second-guessing, of cold stares and hard fouls, of familiarity breeding contempt even among friends. Only six previous games can produce the desperate drama that is Game 7, still the coolest thing in sports -- any sport and any teams." ...
  • Michael Wilbon


  • Juan Gonzalez of The Daily News writes how the Yankees became the richest team in sports... "Documents obtained by the Daily News under a Freedom of Information request provide a rare look at the Yankees formidable cash-generating operation. Even die-hard fans accustomed to paying top dollar to watch the superstar team will be astounded by the numbers." ...
  • Juan Gonzalez


  • Karen Crouse of The New York Times spends "30 seconds" with Laverne DeFazio...
  • Karen Crouse


  • Richard Sandomir of The New York Times writes how former ESPN baseball analyst Harold Reynolds has a new life in broadcasting... "Harold Reynolds seemed pleased. He was on a studio set, talking baseball, but it was about the Mets and the Yankees, not the full breadth of major league baseball. He was in Manhattan as SportsNet New York’s new analyst, sitting with Darryl Strawberry and Lee Mazzilli, not in Bristol, Conn., where he was a mainstay on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight.” ...
  • Richard Sandomir


  • Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe shares the transcript from Bill Belichick's interview with CBS' Armen Ketayian...
  • Mike Reiss


  • David Wharton and Mike Hiserman of The Los Angeles Times writes how the celebrities get their prime seats for Lakers games... "Hours before Wednesday's tip-off, he arrived at the still-empty arena dressed in a gray suit with a pink shirt and matching tie. His work all but done -- Locklear got her seats from team executive Jeanie Buss -- he needed to be on hand for any glitches. An actor who shows up with no seat for his bodyguard. A singer who does not have her parking pass." ...
  • David Wharton and Mike Hiserman


  • Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times writes how Bears linebacker Lance Briggs may be the Shawn Kemp of the current NFL... "And where was Briggs during the Cook County proceedings? In Arizona, his offseason place of residence, living with a third woman who is said to have given birth recently to yet another Briggs daughter." ...
  • Jay Mariotti


  • Andy Beyer of The Washington Post writes that Big Brown's win in the Preakness was impressive, but we still don't know how good of a horse he is... "Big Brown has not yet faced rivals who can challenge him. The supporting cast in the 133rd Preakness was a pitiful group, with only two graded stakes winners among them. The competition was so weak that bettors made Gayego the second choice in the wagering, even though he had lost the Derby by 36 3/4 lengths." ...
  • Andrew Beyer


  • Legendary sports columnist Jerry Izenberg writes about the harmony between jockey and horse... "The gate is open and Desormeaux and the wonder colt Big Brown, the one the army of racetrack workers everywhere lovingly call "The Freak," become one ... a man who talks to horses, communicating through his hands and with an occasional verbal cluck, and a horse that in his brief racing career has shown the ability to create wonders ... there in the kind of emotional and physical harmony that generate a magnificent ballet layered with grace and power and amazement." ...
  • Jerry Izenberg
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