playoffs Page 130 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
The Rangers' Unsung Heroes Are UFAs. Will NHL GMs Take Notice?
The Rangers are still alive. But they sure as hell wouldn't have gotten to Game 5, let alone the finals, if not for two quiet contributors who, if there's any justice or sense in this world, will cash in this summer....
Boris Diaw's Behind-The-Back Pass Was Just Incredible
We've already sung the praises of Boris Diaw and his intoxicating fat-guy game, but after the performance he put on during last night's beat down of the Heat, it's worth heaping a little more praise on the thick Frenchman....
Fallen Rangers Fan Is The Saddest Subway Rider
A reader sends along this photo of a prone Rangers fan, fittingly adorned in a Rick Nash jersey and camo Rangers hat, lying prone on the Q train at 2:00 a.m. last night. We are told that this guy "barely moved" for at least three stops, at which time our tipster had to get off the train....
Luck Is Hockey's "Bullshit Dump"
That up there is Bruce Bennett's photo for Getty, zoomed in to unsustainable resolution, but still clearly showing the millimeters of shaved ice that brought the loose, potentially game-tying puck to a halt with 1:11 left. The notoriously shitty surface at MSG tends to increasingly make itself known...
Basketball Doesn't Get Much Prettier Than This Spurs Possession
Smack dab in the middle of the Spurs' transcendent first half from Game 3 of the NBA Finals was this possession, which is about as good as a basketball possession can get....
Bobby Ramos Was The MVP Of Game 3
After getting smoked by the Spurs with a historic shooting night, the Miami Heat had some serious questions to answer. These were not those questions....
Jonathan Quick Saved Everything And Salvaged Some Respect
The odd thing about this series, where L.A. finds itself up 3-0, is that it's never felt particularly dominant. The Kings have clearly been the better team, but Games 1 and 2 could have gone either way, and everything save the scoreboard says last night's 3-0 win was fortuitous. ...
Dwyane Wade Fined $5,000 For This Ridiculous Flop
The NBA has brought swift justice against Dwyane Wade, who committed one of the most egregious flops you will ever see during last night's game against the Spurs. He will be fined $5,000 for convincing the referee that Manu Ginobili has telekinetic powers. ...
On Hockey's Fetish For Finding The Latest "Best Player In The World"
Because hockey people have the attention spans of goldfish, some have pronounced Drew Doughty the best player in the world. That he's the third or fourth to receive the honor since the playoffs started should tell you how much weight that carries. ...
LeBron Went To The Movies By Himself
Sometimes, after a rough game, you just need 90 minutes alone with Angelina Jolie....
The Spurs Made The Mistake Of Thinking LeBron Had Something To Prove
LeBron James is, if nothing else, hyperaware of expectations. Some players use that for individual motivation, others fail under the pressure, but James, on occasion, twists it into a game plan. You saw that last night down the stretch, as the Spurs appeared convinced James would seek personal redem...
L.A. Kings Put Will Ferrell "Go Kings Go" Video Sign Outside MSG
There is a monstrous video screen with Will Ferrell's mug shouting "Go Kings Go," and other ravings about losing his mind, in the shadow of the Empire State Building. The video screen is on the corner of 33rd and 7th avenue, one of the busier intersections in New York. For those unfamiliar with the ...
Actually, LeBron James Was Drinking Gatorade Last Night
Brand fights are the worst of all fights, Gatorade's sustained trolling of LeBron James's cramps due to a supposed lack of proper hydration lacked some pretty key context: James had been drinking Gatorade all night....
Why Do NBA Playoff Games Take So Long?
While it's common knowledge (and a common complaint) that the NBA playoffs as a whole take a long time to complete, it's often the case that the games themselves take a long time as well. Part of this is due to overtimes being (slightly) more frequent in the playoffs than in the regular season—6.0 p...
NBA Players' Union Calls Lack Of A/C "Completely Unacceptable"
About midway through the third quarter, Spurs Sports & Entertainment released a thoroughly unsatisfying statement about the broken air conditioning at the AT&T Center. It read:...
For 20 Minutes, The Kings Were Historically Dominant
The third period of L.A.'s eventual overtime victory was the Rangers' worst nightmare come to life—the Kings dominating possession as they have all year, forechecking the life out of New York, and raining down shot after shot. How overwhelming was it? Unprecedentedly so....
The Stanley Cup Will Come Down To The Best Team Vs. The Best Player
The Rangers and Kings are in the Stanley Cup Final because of depth, since this is not basketball, where a small number of very good or great individual players can drag a team to postseason success. You need top-flight players to win championships in hockey, obviously, but just as necessary are low...
Guy Buys $1 Stanley Cup Tickets; StubHub Takes Them Away
Thanks to yet another StubHub seller who is bad at decimal places, a New York Rangers fan was able to purchase a few tickets for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals for $1 each (the purchase came with a $8.20 service fee, but who's complaining?). Unfortunately, this lucky Rangers fan probably won't end...
The Kings Will Beat You At Their Game, Or Yours
A game can be a classic without being particularly good hockey. We haven't had a conference final Game 7 go to OT in 20 years, so Kings-Blackhawks qualifies as an all-timer just on sheer novelty, but it was ugly at times. Bad goaltending, lax backchecking, freak bounces on questionable ice, and goal...
Los Angeles Kings Beat Blackhawks In Overtime, Advance To Stanley Cup
The Kings beat the Blackhawks 5-4 in overtime of Game 7 and advance to the Stanley Cup Final. It was another wonky goal in a game full of wonky goals....