Friday’s 6-pack:
All-time leaders in home runs for the Oakland A’s:
363— Mark McGwire
269— Reggie Jackson
254— Jose Canseco
230— Eric Chavez
198— Jason Giambi
192— Sal Bando
Quote of the Day
“Maybe this is hard sometimes for a coach or a player to admit this: We lost to a better team. That’s just the reality. We did. And we put ourselves in a position to win Games 3, 4 and 5 and we weren’t able to do that in the fourth quarter. And that’s where I think you really have to evaluate and really try to grow from as a coach and certainly as a group, whatever that group looks like next year.”
JJ Redick
Friday’s quiz
In the movie Any Given Sunday, what well-known actor played the starting QB for the Miami Sharks, before he got hurt?
Thursday’s quiz
Shaquille O’Neal played for six teams in his 19-year career, eight of them for the Lakers.
Wednesday’s quiz
John Gibbons was manager of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2016, last time they won a playoff game.
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Jalen Brunson scored 40 points, scoring game-winning 3-pointer with 0:04 left.
Knicks only played three subs, who played a total of only 36:00.
New York wins the series, 4-2.
Good season ends for Detroit; they were 14-68/17-65 the last two years, but went 44-38 this year and made the playoffs for first time since 2019.
— Speaking of the Knicks, on May 8, 1970, I was 10 years old, was playing wiffle ball in the street in front of our house, at 8:15 or so. My dad stuck his head out the door and said “Get in here, now.” My friends laughed, they thought I was in trouble, but my dad never yelled at me, so I didn’t know what was up.
“Who you rooting for?” he asked me- Game 7 of the NBA Finals was about to start, Knicks vs Lakers. He and my sister were huge Knick fans; I didn’t really care who won, but I was good at being an annoying little brother so I said “Lakers”
My dad pointed to the other side of the living room and said “Sit over there, then”
Knicks killed them; they were up 27 at the half, won easily. Was cool to see my dad happy, but don’t think I said so that night.
— I bring this up because one of the Knciks’ starting guards on that team, Dick Barnett, passed away this week at age 88.
Barnett was a lefty jump shooting guard who played 14 years in the NBA, scored 15,358 points in an excellent career. He played 42:00 in that Game 7, scored 21 points. He was really good.
RIP, sir.
— By the way, the Knick-Laker playoff games started at 8:30 back then because they had the Ringling Brothers Circus in Madison Square Garden during the day; took them a while to get the court ready to play. Times have changed.
— Clippers 111, Nuggets 105
James Harden scored 28 points, Kawhi Leonard 27.
Clippers used three subs, who were a combined +20
Series is 3-3; game 7 is Saturday night in Denver.
— I have a question, actually several questions about why the Lakers played the same five players the whole second half in their Game 4 loss to Minnesota.
Minnesota led 61-58 at halftime, but the Lakers outscored them 36-23 in the third quarter. Timberwolves led the series 2-1- they outscored a tired Lakers team 32-19 in the fourth quarter and seized control of the series.
In the last 30 years, no NBA team had ever played an entire half of a playoff game without making any substitutions; Lebron James is one of the best players ever for sure, but he is 40 years old, and he didn’t score a point in the 4th quarter.
My main question is this: Lakers’ coach JJ Redick had never coached before this season; was this his decision? Did the front office approve of it? Were they even notified? What did the seven subs on the bench think about being ignored for the whole second half.
— Famous birthdays, May 2nd:
Engelbert Humperdinck, 89
Jo Ann Pflug, 84
Clay Carroll, 84
Christine Baranski, 73
Keith Moreland, 71
Dwayne Johnson, 53
David Beckham, 50
Pat McAfee, 38
Ian Anderson, 27
— May 1, 1991 was a pretty significant sports day:
Rickey Henderson set the all-time stolen bases record during a day game in Oakland.
That night, Nolan Ryan threw his 7th no-hitter, at age 44.
— So far this season, Mets have outscored opponents 50-19 in the first three innings; Francisco Lindor is hitting 14-30 in the first inning.
— Back in 2005, every major league team hit .250 or better for the season; last year, only six teams hit .250 or better.
— A’s 3, Rangers 0
Jeffrey Springs allowed two hits in six scoreless IP.
Rangers haven’t homered in their last seven games.
Right now, the A’s are tied for the last playoff spot in the AL.
— Rockies 4, Giants 3
San Francisco led 3-1 after the sixth inning.
Rockies snapped a 12-game losing skid at Oracle Park.
Colorado won its last two games, after starting the season 4-25.
— Guardians 4, Twins 3 (10)
Jose Ramirez is the first Cleveland player with 250+ homers, 250+ stolen bases.
Pinch-hitter Angel Martinez had the walk-off single for the Guardians.
Minnesota slips to 4-13 on the road.
— Blue Jays 4, Red Sox 2
Vladimir Guerrero Jr hit a 3-run homer in 8th inning.
Red Sox led 2-0 after six innings.
Alex Bregman knocked in the only two Boston runs.
— Royals 8, Rays 2
Bobby Witt homered, extended his hitting streak to 22 games.
Royals went to Tampa Bay and swept the Rays.
Rays are 9-13 in their temporary home, an outdoor minor league field.
— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres, Giants, Phil/Ariz
AL: New York, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, Astros, A’s/KC
All-time leaders in home runs for the Oakland A’s:
363— Mark McGwire
269— Reggie Jackson
254— Jose Canseco
230— Eric Chavez
198— Jason Giambi
192— Sal Bando
Quote of the Day
“Maybe this is hard sometimes for a coach or a player to admit this: We lost to a better team. That’s just the reality. We did. And we put ourselves in a position to win Games 3, 4 and 5 and we weren’t able to do that in the fourth quarter. And that’s where I think you really have to evaluate and really try to grow from as a coach and certainly as a group, whatever that group looks like next year.”
JJ Redick
Friday’s quiz
In the movie Any Given Sunday, what well-known actor played the starting QB for the Miami Sharks, before he got hurt?
Thursday’s quiz
Shaquille O’Neal played for six teams in his 19-year career, eight of them for the Lakers.
Wednesday’s quiz
John Gibbons was manager of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2016, last time they won a playoff game.
***********************************************
Friday’s Den: Clearing out a cluttered mind………
— Knicks 116, Pistons 113Jalen Brunson scored 40 points, scoring game-winning 3-pointer with 0:04 left.
Knicks only played three subs, who played a total of only 36:00.
New York wins the series, 4-2.
Good season ends for Detroit; they were 14-68/17-65 the last two years, but went 44-38 this year and made the playoffs for first time since 2019.
— Speaking of the Knicks, on May 8, 1970, I was 10 years old, was playing wiffle ball in the street in front of our house, at 8:15 or so. My dad stuck his head out the door and said “Get in here, now.” My friends laughed, they thought I was in trouble, but my dad never yelled at me, so I didn’t know what was up.
“Who you rooting for?” he asked me- Game 7 of the NBA Finals was about to start, Knicks vs Lakers. He and my sister were huge Knick fans; I didn’t really care who won, but I was good at being an annoying little brother so I said “Lakers”
My dad pointed to the other side of the living room and said “Sit over there, then”
Knicks killed them; they were up 27 at the half, won easily. Was cool to see my dad happy, but don’t think I said so that night.
— I bring this up because one of the Knciks’ starting guards on that team, Dick Barnett, passed away this week at age 88.
Barnett was a lefty jump shooting guard who played 14 years in the NBA, scored 15,358 points in an excellent career. He played 42:00 in that Game 7, scored 21 points. He was really good.
RIP, sir.
— By the way, the Knick-Laker playoff games started at 8:30 back then because they had the Ringling Brothers Circus in Madison Square Garden during the day; took them a while to get the court ready to play. Times have changed.
— Clippers 111, Nuggets 105
James Harden scored 28 points, Kawhi Leonard 27.
Clippers used three subs, who were a combined +20
Series is 3-3; game 7 is Saturday night in Denver.
— I have a question, actually several questions about why the Lakers played the same five players the whole second half in their Game 4 loss to Minnesota.
Minnesota led 61-58 at halftime, but the Lakers outscored them 36-23 in the third quarter. Timberwolves led the series 2-1- they outscored a tired Lakers team 32-19 in the fourth quarter and seized control of the series.
In the last 30 years, no NBA team had ever played an entire half of a playoff game without making any substitutions; Lebron James is one of the best players ever for sure, but he is 40 years old, and he didn’t score a point in the 4th quarter.
My main question is this: Lakers’ coach JJ Redick had never coached before this season; was this his decision? Did the front office approve of it? Were they even notified? What did the seven subs on the bench think about being ignored for the whole second half.
— Famous birthdays, May 2nd:
Engelbert Humperdinck, 89
Jo Ann Pflug, 84
Clay Carroll, 84
Christine Baranski, 73
Keith Moreland, 71
Dwayne Johnson, 53
David Beckham, 50
Pat McAfee, 38
Ian Anderson, 27
— May 1, 1991 was a pretty significant sports day:
Rickey Henderson set the all-time stolen bases record during a day game in Oakland.
That night, Nolan Ryan threw his 7th no-hitter, at age 44.
— So far this season, Mets have outscored opponents 50-19 in the first three innings; Francisco Lindor is hitting 14-30 in the first inning.
— Back in 2005, every major league team hit .250 or better for the season; last year, only six teams hit .250 or better.
— A’s 3, Rangers 0
Jeffrey Springs allowed two hits in six scoreless IP.
Rangers haven’t homered in their last seven games.
Right now, the A’s are tied for the last playoff spot in the AL.
— Rockies 4, Giants 3
San Francisco led 3-1 after the sixth inning.
Rockies snapped a 12-game losing skid at Oracle Park.
Colorado won its last two games, after starting the season 4-25.
— Guardians 4, Twins 3 (10)
Jose Ramirez is the first Cleveland player with 250+ homers, 250+ stolen bases.
Pinch-hitter Angel Martinez had the walk-off single for the Guardians.
Minnesota slips to 4-13 on the road.
— Blue Jays 4, Red Sox 2
Vladimir Guerrero Jr hit a 3-run homer in 8th inning.
Red Sox led 2-0 after six innings.
Alex Bregman knocked in the only two Boston runs.
— Royals 8, Rays 2
Bobby Witt homered, extended his hitting streak to 22 games.
Royals went to Tampa Bay and swept the Rays.
Rays are 9-13 in their temporary home, an outdoor minor league field.
— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres, Giants, Phil/Ariz
AL: New York, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, Astros, A’s/KC
