SPORTS SPECTRUM MAGAZINE PRESENTS
SPORTS SPECTRUM DAILY
Looking Closer at the World of Sports
By Dave Branon and Rob Bentz
FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2008
NBA
LAKERS MOVE TO THE FINALS
The NBA's dream is about to come true. Half of a dream matchup for the NBA finals is set as the boys from the sports glamour city of LA beat the robotic team from Texas 100-92 on Thursday at the Staples Center. That means that the NBA will have the ratings-grabbing LA Lakers and its superstar Kobe Bryant poised to go up against either longtime Eastern power-Detroit or Boston-in a finals series that will have tradition and history on its side.
The Lakers dispatched San Antonio and its superstar Tim Duncan with a strong second half in which they outscored the Spurs 58-44. The Spurs looked unbeatable in the first period, but they cooled off as the game went on. Duncan, the man with no flash but with workmanlike efficiency, put together a triple double to lead the Spurs (19 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists), but it was the flashy Bryant who stole the show.
The NBA's MVP scored 39 points on a variety of shots from all over the court-pull-up jumpers, long-range bombs, slashing drives to the basket-as he proved again that he is the best basketball player in the NBA. And the Los Angeles Lakers took one more step toward completing a remarkable season-one that started in turmoil and trade threats and seeming chaos and that has every sign of ending in NBA glory.
NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
BOSTON VS. DETROIT
Game 1: Boston 88, Detroit 79
Game 2: Detroit 103, Boston 97
Game 3: Boston 94, Detroit 80
Game 4: Detroit 94, Boston 74
Game 5: Boston 106, Detroit 102
Boston leads 3-2
Game 6: Friday at Detroit
WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. SAN ANTONIO
Game 1: Los Angeles 89, San Antonio 85
Game 2: Los Angeles 101, San Antonio 71
Game 3: San Antonio 103, Los Angeles 84
Game 4: Los Angeles 93, San Antonio 91
Game 5: Los Angeles 100, San Antonio 92
Los Angeles wins series 4-1
MLB
WHITE SOX WIN BATTLE OF DIVISION LEADERS
A pair of red-hot American League division leaders clashed on Thursday, with the visiting Chicago White Sox beating the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1.
White Sox starter John Denks (4-4) allowed six hits and just one run in six innings to cool off baseball's hottest team. Denks struck out nine Rays.
Joe Crede and Paul Konerko hit home runs for the visitors, while Carlos Quentin, Jim Thome, and Orlando Cabrera added RBI hits.
Edwin Jackson (3-4) gave up 10 hits and four earned runs in a losing effort.
Tampa Bay has won nine of their last 11 series but they're not even the hottest team on the field as Chicago has now won 12 of its last 15 games.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Minnesota 5, Kansas City 1
Toronto 12, Oakland 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Atlanta 8, Milwaukee 1
St. Louis 3, Houston 2
San Francisco 4, Arizona 3
Pittsburgh 7, Cincinnati 2
San Diego 5, Washington 2
Chicago Cubs 8, Colorado 4
New York Mets 8, Los Angeles Dodgers 4
SUPRISES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS
Major League Baseball circa 2008 has been unlike any other in recent memory. Teams who were expected to be good-are anything but. While teams with few expectations have surprised. Who's who? Let's have a look at the surprises and disappointments thus far:
SURPRISES
1. Tampa Bay Rays - Nobody expected this sort of success from the AL East's perennial doormats. They're young, athletic, and fun to watch!
2. Florida Marlins - Trade away your two most talented and consistent veterans (Willis & Cabrera) and improve? Not a typical plan for success, but it sure has been working.
3. St. Louis Cardinals - No pitching? No problem. This year's Cards staff has been a total surprise. Could anyone in baseball have predicted that journeyman Todd Wellemeyer would the same number of wins at this point in the season as C.C. Sabathia and Justin Verlander combined?
4. Chicago White Sox - Have they turned the clock back to 2005?
5. Chicago Cubs - Many experts thought the Cubbies would be good. But this good? They're 23-8 at Wrigley!
DISAPPOINTMENTS
1. Colorado Rockies - Last year's Cinderella story has become this year's pumpkin ride. No pitching. No hitting. Not a good combination.
2. Detroit Tigers -On paper the Tigers entered the season with one of baseball's most potent lineups in decades. On the field the Tigers have been shut out eight times in the first quarter of the season. Ouch!
3. Seattle Mariners -Didn't they add a proven staff ace to a veteran-rich quality line-up during the offseason? What in the world is happening in the Pacific Northwest?
4. Cleveland Indians - Wasn't this team supposed to vie for a World Series spot? Chief Wahoo, it's not happening with this soft lineup.
5. New York Mets - Sorry, Johan, but the Mets are a mess.
NHL
STANLEY CUP FINALS
Detroit vs. Pittsburgh
Game 1: Detroit 4, Pittsburgh 0
Game 2: Detroit 3, Pittsburgh 0
Game 3: Pittsburgh 3, Detroit 2
Detroit leads 2-1
Game 4: Saturday at Pittsburgh
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
What matters in life-in the words of an athlete in the news.
TODAY'S FEATURE
ALBERT PUJOLS, first baseman, St. Louis Cardinals
BIO NOTE: Pujols. Who is hitting .359 this season, is just five home runs shy of the 300 mark. He will end the season very close to 1,000 RBI in his career; he has 896.
RECENT NEWS: On Thursday, Pujols hit his 13th home run of 2008 to help the Cardinals beat the Astros.
FAITH QUOTE: "Our players encourage each other. We have a prayer time. We also have a Bible study on Sunday, which is awesome. We have a great study time every Wednesday. I remember a couple of years ago, we were reading a book, The Purpose-Driven Life, and we would get together on road trips. We'd have 12 or 13 guys in the room after a night game. We didn't care [how late it was], because if you don't have time for the Lord, you don't have time for anything." -Sports Spectrum magazine
MINI MEMO
Putting the Sports Spectrum spin on today's sports news
THE DAILY
TIME FOR A CHANGE
And on Day 2,169, it ended. In late 1999, Rob Bentz and I began putting together a weekday sports news and views report for the Sports Spectrum Web site. We called it Hot Corner back then. Since we began in October of that year, we have banged out 2,169 of these compilations of game reports, opinions about the world of sports, and quotes from Christian athletes. During that time our lives have changed as has the sports world's scene. Rob has gone to and completed seminary, and he is now a small groups pastor at a church in Colorado Springs. He and his wife, Bonnie, have had two children since we began doing this. My life has changed as well-in some ways good but in one way worse than is imaginable. My wife Sue and I lost a daughter to a car accident in 2002, making life look a lot different each day than it did when we first began with these reports. Now, however, Rob and I say goodbye to The Daily. Beginning on Monday, you'll hear from a new voice as Brett Honeycutt takes over this responsibility from his post in Charlotte, North Carolina. In September, Brett will become the managing editor of Sports Spectrum magazine as I move into some new and exciting new adventures at RBC Ministries here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I will be working on special projects for Discovery House Publishers and returning to my roots in the editorial department at RBC. I hope you continue to enjoy The Daily as it comes to you in a little different way. And I hope someday Brett and his team can report that they have passed our record of 2,169 editions of The Daily.
-Dave Branon, managing editor, Sports Spectrum magazine
SPRINT CUP STANDINGS
Twelve races into the 35-race card in the Sprint Cup 2008 season, Kyle Busch holds the lead. The NASCAR major league will reconvene this weekend in Dover, Delaware, for the Dover 400. Here's a look at the Top 12 in the Chase for the Cup.
1. Kyle Busch 1,860
2. Jeff Burton 1,766
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1,721
4. Denny Hamlin 1,596
5. Clint Bowyer 1,578
6. Carl Edwards 1,538
7. Kevin Harvick 1,517
8. Tony Stewart 1,511
9. Jimmie Johnson 1,493
10. Jeff Gordon 1,486
11. Greg Biffle 1,483
12. Kasey Kahne 1,454
POWER UP!
Verse of the Day
“The tongue also is a fire.” James 3:6
Read about this how verse applies to you. It's the basis for a sports-related devotional article by Molly Ramseyer.
The article “A Small Spark” is found on May 29 in the May-June edition of Power Up, which comes inside each copy of Sports Spectrum magazine.
Read about the trouble one reporter got into with a slip of the tongue.
SIZZLERS
It's all in how you look at things.
JUST WONDERING: Do you think Kobe Bryant earned some respect with his 39-point performance in the Western Conference clincher?
JUST WONDERING II: Doug Collins back to the Bulls? Really? Why?
SMOOTH: Isn't it a joy to watch Kobe Bryant go one-on-everyone when he gets that gotta-score look in his eye? The beauty and elegance of his moves to the basket are unmatched by anyone else in the game.
BLUE TONGUE: Rasheed Wallace demonstrates again that profanity is the default language for those who lack the either intelligence or the class to engage in civil conversation.