Tuesday, April 16, 2013

4/16: Boston, etc.

Greetings!
  • On a somber day in the United States, it's tough to talk about sports, but because that's what we do here, that's what I'm going to do. Prayers for everyone in the Boston area after a big-time tragedy, and I hope more details come to light in what was a senseless act. I'm 100% on board with them cancelling games, including the Boston/Indiana game scheduled for tonight, and that's a great move. 
  • To sports... Nerlens Noel has declared for the NBA Draft. The craziest part about this is that Noel tore his ACL midway through the season and yet no one thought he was coming back to school. He could be the #1 overall pick (still) and if he came back, looked slowed by the knee, and struggled, he would've fallen. If I was Charlotte or Sacramento and had nothing to play for next year, I'd take Noel, stash him, and bottom out again. 
  • NBA Round-up - Chicago got a huge win in the standings with a 102-84 decision over Orlando. They were led by 22 points from Carlos Boozer, but the big story is that the win takes them to 44-37, just a half-game behind Atlanta, and with Chicago owning the tiebreaker, all they need is one Hawks loss in the final two games. Oklahoma City clinched the #1 seed in the West after a 104-95 win over Sacramento. With the way that the Spurs have struggled, it was pretty likely that OKC would put it away, but it's official. And finally, Utah went on the road and kept their playoff hopes alive with a 96-80 win in Minnesota. Al Jefferson continued to play out of his mind in this one, and all eyes move to LA, where Utah needs the Lakers to drop their final game. 
  • MLB Round-up - Boston got a 3-2 win to complete a 3-game sweep over the Rays on Patriots Day. Without commenting on everything else in Boston, it was a big win for the Sox and they got 7 quality innings (2 hits, 1 ER, 10 K) from Ryan Dempster. Cincinnati snapped a 5-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the Phillies. Brandon Phillips had the clinching 2-run single in the bottom of the 8th and Aroldis slammed the door (hard) in the 9th. Finally, Oakland got a 11-2 victory over the hapless Astros to extend their AL-best record to 10-4. Tommy Milone is devastatingly good at home. 
What to watch for on Tuesday...
  • 7:10 - MLB - Royals @ Braves (FSS) - Guthrie vs. Medlen - Inter-league! Of course, there is Inter-League every day this season (lol), but this is the first look for Atlanta in a short, 2-game series with KC. 
  • 8:00 - NBA - Raptors @ Hawks (TNT) - This was originally going to be Boston/Indiana, and I'm sure TNT is thrilled to see Toronto on their slate. At any rate, the game does mean something, as the Hawks need a win to try to hold on to the #5 seed in the East. 
  • 10:30 - NBA - Blazers @ Clippers (TNT) - The Clips have to win out to guarantee home-court advantage, and I doubt Portland will stand in the way. 
Enjoy!

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