Let’s Play Seven

May 13, 2009May 23, 2010Danny Vinik Leave a comment

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are in full swing and the next two games feature three great game sevens. That’s right. Three of the four conference semifinals have gone the distance and that is what makes hockey so great. They should all be great, hard fought games and the most-anticipated game is tonight when the Pittsburgh Penguins head back to Washington to face the Capitals.

This one has the making of one of the greatest games in NHL history. This series has been nothing short of phenomenal. I wrote a post a week ago or so saying that for this series to reach its potential, Evgeni Malkin needed to step up and push the Penguins to a game seven. He did more than that as Pittsburgh actually one three straight games and took a 3-2 lead in the series before falling at home in overtime. Now they have to head back to Washington where the crowd will be loud and ready to propel the Caps to victory.

I expect big games from Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. This is the biggest game of the year so far and this is when stars come out. I’m not sure they can repeat their matching hat tricks from game two, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see each have multi-goal games as beneath winning the series, there is a competition for the best player in hockey. Don’t forgot Malkin either. He’s fighting for best-player-in-the-league honors as well and he could easily swing the game for the Pens. Continue reading “Let’s Play Seven” →

Big Baby Shouldn’t Have Apologized

May 13, 2009May 23, 2010Danny Vinik 3 Comments

Glen “Big Baby” Davis hit the biggest shot of his life, sprinted up the court in excitement, and bumped a fan along the way. The fan didn’t fall down or get injured whatsoever, but he was a kid. And now the boy’s father and Magic fans are outraged that Davis would do something like that.

Seriously people, this is absurd. It’s not like he took a swing at a fan or had any malicious intent at all. Big Baby was excited – who wouldn’t be – and as he celebrated by running up the court, arms flailing, he accidentally made contact with a fan who was less than a yard away from the court. It’s like getting upset at a player who jumps into the stands and tries to save the ball. It was a split-second emotional reaction, not an intended attack on the kid.

The uproar over this is beyond absurd. Competitive sports must always maintain their integrity, honesty, and humility, because no one likes a sore-winner or a sore-loser. But the politically correct, be-super-careful-what-you-say attitude has now infiltrated the NBA.

And guess what? The Magic fans of course got there wish, because the NBA wasn’t going to risk the bad press that of course manipulate this innocent celebration into a savage attack. Davis today said, “If I’ve hurt anybody or if I’ve done any harm to anybody, please forgive me because my intentions were just harmless”. Continue reading “Big Baby Shouldn’t Have Apologized” →

Referees Are Too Old

May 10, 2009May 23, 2010Danny Vinik 2 Comments

Nuggets Mavericks Basketball

In yesterday’s game against the Denver Nuggets, Dallas’s Anthony Wright tried to foul Carmelo Anthony in the final seconds since the team had a foul to give. No official blew his whistle and Carmelo made a game-winning three-pointer, giving the Nuggets a three games to none lead in the series.

There were 61 fouls called in the game, and yet the most important one was not called at all. After the game, the NBA admitted the missed call. “At the end of the Dallas-Denver game this evening, the officials missed an intentional foul committed by Antoine Wright on Carmelo Anthony, just prior to Anthony’s three-point basket,” said NBA President of league and basketball operations, Joel Litvin.

Wow. That is a bad call to screw up. Maverick players were enraged after the game and owner Mark Cuban pushed a camera man as he left the stadium. Doesn’t such a horrible call undermine the entire idea of sports? Every day, I hear about another official who blew a decisive call in a game. Maybe it’s because more games are getting closer or players are finding ways to push the rules, but it seems like there are more tough calls than ever before.

The playoffs are supposed to decide a champion, but if one team is getting an advantage via officiating, than how can it be fair? A slight advantage is one thing, but when a game is decided such as in the Mavs-Nuggets game, that is not right. Continue reading “Referees Are Too Old” →