DeMar DeRozan/Kyle Lowry's Bromance Wake Up

Good Morning! It's a beautiful sunny morning here, and we're going to look at what happened while you were asleep. 

Toronto tied up their series with Cleveland last night as the Raptors took Game 4 105-99. The combo of Lowry and DeRozan, pictured above, continued to carry the weight of their country as the two combined for 67 points last night. Although the Cavs controlled nearly every statistical category, they forgot that the score was the most important one. LeBron James went for 29 points and 9 rebounds while his faithful sidekick Kyrie Irving chipped in 26. With the series being tied, the question now is who win win a road game. I think that for Torontp to win the series, Game 5 tomorrow night in Cleveland is a must win. The winner of that game will take the series, in my opinion. 

Let's take a look at what happened on the diamond last night. Baseball is possibly my favorite sport, but we don't talk near as much about it as we should. Last night, we were treated to a few good pitching performances. Our beloved Reds were on the Left Coast last night to pay a visit to the Dodgers. When you see Clayton Kershaw on the lineup card, you can be safe saying that one run will win the game. Last night saw that. Not Kershaw and Reds' starter Brandon Finnegan turned in complete games. Finnegan's line was 8 innings, 5 hits, and one earned in the losing effort. It was by far the rookie's best start. Kershaw, on the other hand, threw 9 scoreless innings while allowing three base runners and striking out 7. Hard one to lose, but if you like pitching, this was a beautiful sight. 

Elsewhere around baseball, Johnny Cueto threw a complete game shutout. Cueto improved to 7-1 on the season while blanking the Padres. No walks and only two hits allowed, he struck out 6 en route to a 1-0 win. 

Breathe a Sigh of Relief, Scumbag

Looking forward to tonight, we have Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals in Oklahoma City. As Corbeech noted yesterday, Draymond Green will be able to play for whatever reason. Punishment for his nut kick heard 'round the world wasn't enough to keep this prick off the court. $25,000 and an upgrade to a flagrant two is about as horribly wrong of a decision that could be made. However, Green now has three flagrant points meaning one more and he will automatically be suspended. Who has the betting odds on whether he will get one tonight? Take the no. 

Game 4 is at 9:00 tonight. If Karma is real, OKC will roll the Warriors again, and Draymond Green will get hit by an airplane. 

That's all that I have. Check back later for more news and updates. 

-Dug

@chansm1th

Saturday Morning WakeUp

Good Saturday morning! I won't be posting anymore this weekend after this one due to husbandly duties, it is my wife's birthday weekend and I'll be busy as shit. Let's jump into what happened last night, then look forward to the high points of the weekend.

Heat Fight Off Elimination, Defeat Raptors 103-91

Miami forced a Game 7 last night after taking down the Raptors at home. Goran Dragic poured in 30 points while Dwyane Wade added another 22. After turning it up in Game 5, DeMar DeRozan scored 23 and Kyle Lowry had 36. The Raptors had a chance to clinch last night and they laid an egg. They will return north of the border to fight it out one more time in Game 7 on Sunday. Early Prediction: Heat win.

Welcome to the Show, Matt "F@cking" Bush

By now you should have read the article posted yesterday about troubled pitcher Matt Bush. Well at the ripe old age of 30, the former number one pick in the draft finally made his major league debut. Bush got thrown into the fire in the ninth inning with Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, and Edwin Encarnacion waiting for him. Bush would strike out Donaldson before retiring the next two in order for a scoreless and hitless inning. I am proud for him. Hopefully, he can stay clean and actually get to throw more.

Looking to the weekend, there are a few interesting things on the schedule, but nothing like last weekend. Game 7 between Miami and Toronto is on Sunday. The winner will face Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Sunday Night Baseball features St Louis headed to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers. Mike Leake (traitor) will take the hill against Alex Wood. Any time the Cardinals play, it's always a good chance to root against them. 

The NASCAR boys are in Dover for the weekend. Racing, to the normal fan, means nothing at the moment. We still have a few races before the Playoffs begin to take shape. Tomorrow in Dover, Kevin Harvick is on the pole. Blog Folk Hero, Dale Earnhardt Jr, will be his partner on the first row. In the last five races, Kyle Busch has finished first or second in four of them. He leads the standings with three wins and is starting third. 

That's all I have. Hopefully some of the other writers might keep you entertained this weekend. Hope you all have a great time!

-Dug

@chansm1th

Thursday Morning Wake Up

 

Almost Through Another Week

And a good Thursday morning to you. This blog is almost a week old, and we are having more fun than you can imagine. Thank you so much to all of the readers who work behind the scenes to make this enjoyable for us. (Hint: Comments are welcomed and appreciated!) Let's check out what happened while you were asleep and what we can look forward to tonight.

St Louis Advances, Finishes off Dallas

St Louis absolutely dominated Dallas on their own ice. After the second period, they led 5-0. Hell, this one was over after the first when the Blues were up 3-0. Dallas played groggy the entire game. One goal in the third period doesn't even help their case. It is one thing to lose in a Game 7, but a completely different one to get pants on your own home ice. St Louis will face the winner of Thursday night's Game 7 between Nashville and San Jose in the Western Conference Finals

Toronto Takes Game 5, Leads 3-2

DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry combined for 59 points as the Raptors take down the Heat in Game 5   No leading at any point, Miami seemed out of sync from the get go. Trailing 28-18 after the first quarter, Miami had been called for more fouls (8) than made shots (6). More bad news, Luol Deng left midway through the third quarter with a wrist injury. X-Rays were inconclusive. Game 6 sees the series headed back to Miami where it's do-or-die for the Heat. 

Golden State Advances

The Portland Trailblazers are officially done. Golden State held on for a 125-121 victory last night to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second straight year. Before the game, Steph Curry was honored as the league's MVP. However, on this night, it was another star who shined the brightest. Klay Thompson went for 33 points while shooting 13-17 from the field. He also connected on six three-pointers to lead all scorers. Golden State now awaits the winner of SA-OKC. 

Max Scherzer K's 20

20 strikeouts, are you kidding me?? That's what Max Scherzer was doing last night while you were asleep. In the first time he faced his former team, Scherzer showed us exactly why the Nats are paying him so much. He tied the nine inning record for strikeouts and now shares it with the likes of Roger Clemens, Kerry Wood, and Randy Johnson. That's pretty good company to share anything with. What might be more impressive is that of the 119 pitches he threw last night, 96 were for strikes. 

Looking toward tonight, there are two playoff matchups that you definitely should keep an eye on. The first is Game 6 between San Antonio and Oklahoma City. The Spurs will look to fight off elimination with hopes of returning the series to San Antonio for a possible winner-take-all Game 7. 

The other match-up is a Game 7 in the NHL between Nashville and San Jose. The home team has won every game throughout the series, and oddsmakers are leaning toward the Sharks tonight by a large margin. Look for complete coverage of this one tonight. 

That's all for now. Check back throughout the day for updates

-Dug

@chansm1th