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

Late Morning Wake Up

Get Out of Bed!!

Good Morning! Yes, it's almost afternoon, but we're getting a late start today. Lot of playoff action on the table, including a pair of intriguing baseball games today. Let's get started with what happened while you were asleep. 

Pittsburgh Finishes Off Washington

The Penguins beat the Caps in overtime last night to win the series 4-2, but it wasn't easy. Pittsburgh watched as their 3-0 squandered before the Caps forced overtime. With the win, they are now 8-1 all-time in the playoffs against Washington. Next up will be the Eastern Conference Finals where they will face a Tampa Bay team that they went 0-2-1 against during the regular season. 

OKC Takes 3-2 Over San Antonio

The Spurs had lost only one game at home through the entire regular season. They have now lost two straight in a single series to the Thunder. Last night was Russell Westbrook's night. Westbrook torched the Spurs for 35 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists. Game 6 sees the series return to OKC on Thursday where the Thunder will try to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2014. 

Looking to tonight, we have two Game 5's in the NBA. Miami heads back north of the border to take on Toronto while Portland limps on their last leg into Golden State. Game 7 of the NHL Western Conference second round match up between the St Louis Blues and Dallas Stars will also be on the slate. 

Looking to baseball, we have two intriguing match ups. In one, we have two undefeated pitchers facing off. In the other, opposing pitchers facing their former team. 

The Chicago White Sox and the Texas Rangers combined last night for 24 runs. Today, the two starters meeting are each undefeated and have a sub-3 ERA. Mat Latos (5-0, 2.62) takes the mound against Cole Hamels (4-0, 2.68) in what should be a great game. First pitch is at 2:05. 

In the night cap, we turn our eyes toward our nation's capital again for another match up between the Tigers and the Nationals. Jordan Zimmerman (5-1, 1.10) faces the team he spent the last six seasons with for the first time tonight. His opponent on the mound will be Max Scherzer (3-2, 4.60) will also be facing his former team in the Detroit Tigers. Both pitchers have recently signed huge off-season contracts with their current teams. Should you watch this game, you will be seeing a combined $320 million worth of pitching arms out of the two starters. 

That's all I have at the moment. Keep a lookout for posts throughout the day. As always, thanks for reading. 

-Dug

@chansm1th

Tuesday Morning Wake Up

Welcome Back, Steph!

Good Tuesday morning to all. Quick turnaround after the overtime, but let's get ready for another day!

Steph Curry returned last night, in case you didn't hear. After not playing in the team's last four games, Curry looked fresh and in rhythm. Leading all scorers with 40, he also set a league-record with 17 (17!!) points in the overtime period. Golden State survived 132-125 on the road in Portland last night to take a 3-1 series lead as they head back home. Game 5 is Wednesday night. 

Stars, Preds Force Game 7

Two teams went into the night facing dire circumstances. Facing 3-2 series deficits, both Nashville and Dallas fought off elimination to force winner-take-all Game 7s. 

Dallas led 3-0 before St Louis would charge back to make it interesting. The Blues would score two goals before Dallas held on to win 3-2. Game 7 is in Dallas on Wednesday night. 

Nashville was quite the opposite. San Jose scored twice in the opening period to jump out to a commanding lead. After Nashville broke the goose egg on the scoreboard, momentum violently swing into their favor. They would tie the game early in the second period before falling behind 3-2 in the third. Just as it seemed like all was lost, Colin Wilson would tie the game two minutes after San Jose had taken their last lead. Behind a rowdy home crowd, the Predators would score the winning goal just two minutes into overtime. Game 7 is in San Jose on Thursday where Nashville hasn't won a playoff game yet. 

Oklahoma City at San Antonio

Game 5

Series tied at 2-2

The only real action going on tonight is a pivotal Game 5 in the Western Conference to see who will take on Golden State. San Antonio and the Old Guard have only last two games at home all season including the playoffs. After being trounced in Game 4, the Spurs will look to get one win closer to the Conference Finals tonight when they defend their home court. Tip is at 8:00 on TNT. 

That's all for now. Be sure to check back throughout the day for updates and breaking news. Thanks for reading!

-Dug

@chansm1th

Are You Ready?

Time to Step It Up!

Are you ready? The Preds are live in just less than two hours. No time left for excuses; you win, or you're done. Puck drops at 9 PM on CNBC. If hockey isn't your thing, there are a couple of different games on tonight that we will look at. 

Monday Night Baseball

Detroit at Washington

The Detroit Tigers make a trip to the nation's capital to take on Stephen Strasburg (5-0, 2.36) and the Washington Nationals. There aren't many pitchers who are as hot at the moment as Strasburg, so that should be enough reason to watch. Opposing him, Anibal Sanchez is an electric pitcher in his own right. Strikeouts will be a plenty on both sides tonight.

Happy Jose Day!

Jose Fernandez takes the mound at home tonight against the struggling Milwaukee Brewers. Any time Fernandez pitches, especially at home, it's guaranteed to be something to watch.I'll go ahead and say that Jose will strike out at least eight, and give up no runs before leaving in the seventh. Watch it!

Golden State at Portland

Game 4

Golden State leads 2-1

After winning his second consecutive MVP award, Steph Curry is currently questionable for tonight's game 4 against Portland. Lillard coming off a 40 point game might have to share the show tonight should the MVP play. Despite not playing since Game 4 of the Houston series, we keep hearing that Curry will be ready for the next round of the playoffs. But what about this one? Portland isn't exactly a pushover. They showed that on Saturday. Keep this game in your guide tonight on TV. 

For now, I'm going to check out, and watch Vinyl. Watch for posts concerning tonight's Game 6 while its on. Until then...

-Dug

@chansm1th

Mother's Day Morning Wake UP

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Good Mother's Day morning! If your mother is still with you, call her and make her day. If you're still a loser (Corbett), get out of bed, walk across the house and wish her a Happy Mom's Day. 

Nyquist Runs Away from the Field

Yesterday was a big day in sports. I could not image what would be more important than watching the Kentucky Derby yesterday, but if you are that stupid, you missed one Hell of a race. Sure it only lasted two minutes, but it went according to plan. Nyquist won in very exciting fashion. Exaggerator made a late charge, but just ran out of real estate, Should he have started a few seconds earlier, or the track was just a little bit longer, he would have been the one covered in the roses yesterday. However, Nyquist showed why he was the favorite, and also that he is unbeaten for a reason. For two more weeks, horse racing is relevant. Nyquist will pursue the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness, in two weeks on May 21.

Portland Defeats Golden State

Damian Lillard stole the show last night while Steph Curry sat out for another game. Lilliard went for 40 points while dishing out 10 assists in a game that cut the Warrior's lead in the series in half. On the other side of the fence, Draymond Green had himself a decent game also. Green had 37 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assits. Not too shabby. Game 4 is tomorrow night.

Preds get Crushed in Pivotal Game 5

History repeated itself when Nashville continue to avoid winning on the road in San Jose. Nashville is 0-7 in the playoffs at San Jose. There is good news though: Game 6 is in Nashville! The Preds will look to go back to San Jose when they attempt to force a Game 7 tomorrow night. Here's hoping for more playoffs.

Not much going on today in sports, it was all yesterday. Sunday Night Baseball is another Red Sox-Yankee match-up (yawn), the Cleveland Lebrons are in Atlanta going for the sweep, and Oklahoma City is at home looking to tie the series against San Antonio.

That's all that I have this morning. Now go and watch some sports!

-Dug

@chansm1th