What a sports weekend it was. New NHL and NBA champs were crowned, a German dominated the U.S. Open, the World Cup kicked off and the College Baseball World Series began. So let’s get started.
The L.A. Kings and New York Rangers only played a five game series (the Kings took the Cup 4 games to 1) but it was an extremely entertaining series with four of the five games being decided by one goal, two over-time games and one double overtime (the clincher). On the flip side was the NBA Finals, also a five game series, but one that was anything but competitive. The San Antonio Spurs claimed their 5th Larry O’Brien Trophy and in the process took LeBron’s Miami Heat to the woodshed, winning the last three games by an average score of 105.6 to 91.6 – and honestly it didn’t even seem that close. What comes next for King James? Does he remain a member of the Heat or bring his talents elsewhere? Stay tuned…..
The U.S. Open was played at historic Pinehurst No. 2 and Martin Kaymer made history by shooting back-to-back 65’s on Thursday and Friday on his way to a dominant 9-under 271 final tally. Much like the NBA Finals after game 3, the Open never really was in question as everyone else was only playing for 2nd place. Kaymer finished with an 8 stroke win over Ricky Fowler and two time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton (the only 3 players to finish under par for the tournament). Kaymer became only the seventh player to go wire-to-wire in the 114 years of the U.S. Open.
The World Cup kicked off with controversy and history being made. Host Brazil took a 2-1 lead over Croatia late in the opening match when Brazilian striker Fred took a flop to the ground when barely touched by the Croatian defender, drawing a penalty. Thanks to Fred’s antics and the Japanese official’s incompetence, a 1-1 match eventually became a 3-1 win over for Brazil in the opening match of the biggest sporting event on the planet. Next up was day 2 and the shocker when the Netherlands throttled defending champ Spain 5-1, the worst defeat ever suffered by a defending champion. And oh Team USA even hasn’t played yet – they take the pitch against Ghana this evening at 5:00 pm central.
Onto the College World Series which had its first round of games on Saturday and Sunday. Three of the eight teams left standing are homegrown – the Longhorns, Red Raiders and Horned Frogs. It’s a double-elimination format so once a team loses twice they go home.
The Longhorns (43-20) put themselves in a hole by losing their opener against underdog UC Irvine (41-23) by a 3-1 score. Texas had their chances but stranded 12 runners on base, including 9 in scoring position. The Longhorns take on Louisville (50-16) today at 2 pm central, with the loser being the first to be sent packing.
The Horned Frogs used a two-run rally in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat their Big 12 rivals Texas Tech and move into the winner’s bracket. TCU (48-16) tied it on a throwing error by Red Raiders second baseman Alec Humphreys in the bottom of the 8th and got the winning run two batters later on Bommer White’s RBI single. The Red Raiders (45-20) had taken a 2-1 lead in the top of the inning on a two-run triple by Tyler Neslony. Tech faces Ole Miss (46-20) Tuesday at 2pm central with the loser going home. TCU takes on top-ranked Virginia (50-14) in the winner’s bracket Tuesday evening at 7:00 pm central.
