"The Stack" 6-9-17
We do not have much in the final post of the week. The NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final could both be done by Sunday night and that will mean posts over the rest of the summer, but we’ll worry about that later. French Open champions will be decided this weekend. Woo? Let’s see what is in “the stack” for today, Friday, June 9th:
Penguins blank Predators, one win away from Stanley Cup
For the first time in the Stanley Cup Final this year, we had a dud of a game. It was the Pittsburgh Penguins who wanted to put this game to bed early on and the Nashville Predators offered little resistance. Justin Schultz scored a minute-and-a-half into the game on the power play and the onslaught was just beginning. By the time Evgeni Malkin scored with eleven seconds left in the period, it was 3-0 Penguins. They scored three goals on nine shots and that was enough for Predators head coach Peter Laviolette to yank goalie Pekka Rinne. Pittsburgh has been a house of horrors for Rinne. It wasn’t much better for his replacement, Juuse Saros, who allowed three goals in the second period. The Penguins would win by that 6-0 score. The Predators tried to send a message by starting a few fights in the third period, but it was the Penguins who delivered a message in this game. It’s crunch time now and the Penguins are ready. Will the Predators be ready when the puck drops for game six on Sunday at 8 PM ET on NBC? I sure hope so.
McDermott staying at Creighton, Ohio State sets eyes on Butler
So Creighton men’s basketball head coach Greg McDermott is not leaving Omaha for Columbus. He is staying at Creighton instead of accepting Ohio State’s offer which is probably the right decision. I just don’t know how he would have fared in the Big Ten. With that, Ohio State is now moving on and setting their eyes on Butler head coach Chris Holtmann. Holtmann has had plenty of success leading Butler since Brad Stevens left. They were in the Sweet 16 last year and have made the NCAA Tournament in each of Holtmann’s three seasons. Will Holtmann spurn the Buckeyes and stay at Butler? Possibly. I wouldn’t criticize him for that. We’ll see if this deal gets done.
Final triple crown race this Saturday
No triple crown is at stake when the Belmont Stakes take on Saturday and some of the appeal for the race disappeared when Classic Empire, who most experts thought would be the favorite, pulled out of the race because of an abscess on his right front hoof. Irish War Cry has now been installed as the favorite. Is Cloud Computing not racing? Really this race just doesn’t have a whole lot for many people including myself with no triple crown hopes on the line. I’ll take Irish War Cry for the win.
NBA Finals could be decided tonight
If you watch game four of the NBA Finals tonight, 9 PM ET on ABC, you could witness history should the Golden State Warriors win. They would go 16-0 in the postseason, a record which will never be broken, and it will put them in the discussion as best team in NBA history. It would be hard to argue against it even if you are a fan of the ’96 Chicago Bulls. The Cleveland Cavaliers looked like a dejected bunch Wednesday night after the Warriors came back. They have more than enough talent of winning this game and forcing a game five, but I will take Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and company to complete the sweep and end these dreadful NBA Playoffs and for the most part boring NBA Finals. Kevin Durant will be the MVP and he deserves it. His move to Golden State, while vastly criticized by some including me, is close to paying off and he is a major reason why the Warriors are approaching history.
Coming up Monday: NBA Finals reaction, Stanley Cup Final reaction and more.
