1. Quick Hits
- LeBron James’ lefty layup at the buzzer won the opening game for Miami over Indiana in overtime 103-102. Said James, “I mean, I made a layup. It’s not like I made something from half court. I made a layup. I’ve been doing that since I was 8 years old.”
- NHL Playoffs: Pittsburgh crushed Ottawa 7-3. The Penguins lead 3 games to one.
- Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher announces his retirement.
- San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree tore his Achilles. He’ll likely miss the season.
- The NFL is still considering cutting the preseason from four games to 2. They would then either expand the playoffs or add two games to the regular season.
2. Enough!
Too bad Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia aren’t boxers. They can’t stop the sniping. The other day Garcia was asked if he’d have dinner with Woods during the U.S. Open and Garcia quipped “We’ll have him ’round every night. We will serve fried chicken.” Garcia later apologized saying “I answered a question that was clearly made towards me as a joke with a silly remark, but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner.” End of story? Nah. Woods took to twitter to rip Garcia: “The comment that was made wasn’t silly. It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate.” And yesterday, before the tweet, Garcia told the media, “I feel sick about it. I’m truly, truly sorry. And I hope we can kind of settle things down and hopefully move on.” Doesn’t look likely. So how about boxing gloves? Maybe a steel cage?
3. Gifting
If you’re a multi-millionaire loved by millions of sports fans maybe you shouldn’t register for wedding gifts. RGIII (Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III) is getting married to Rebecca Liddicoat. Want to send them a gift? Here’s their registry at Bed Bath and Beyond. Lots of people already found it and have sent RGIII stuff like vegetable peelers for $7.99. Hey, when you’re in the middle of a two-year $21-million contract you need all the help you can get. Wanna bet the next pro star publicly registers at Tiffany.
4. Thursday eMailbag
Several Top 5 subscribers weren’t impressed with Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp. The Oklahoma City native pledged $1,000 to tornado victims for every homer he hits before the All Star break. One subscriber wrote, “Wow. This guy makes 20 million dollars a year. Can’t this cheapo write a check for $100,000 leave alone a million for the city which has given him a start?” My response to the critics is to cut Kemp some slack. At least he’s doing something. Now comes word that Kemp will give $250,000 in addition to his home run tally. Perhaps all the critics will pipe down now.
It seems Angels fans don’t think that Mike Trout gets the acclaim he deserves nationally. J.H. writes, “If Trout played in New York he would go by one last name MANTLE!”
In regards to Phil Jackson’s new book Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success, D.J. says “The title of the book should be Thirteen Rings. Wonder why he has conveniently forgotten the two he got as a player with the Knicks?”
And you guys couldn’t resist when golfer Nicolas Colsaerts hit his drive into a bathroom. From W.W. “You’d think the course had been in Flushing.” And from H.K. “What iron did he use for that shot? A number 1 or a number 2?”
Editor’s Note: Stop yanking my chain.
5. Bobble Head Night
And tonight is a bobblehead night at the Florence (Kentucky) Freedom’s minor league game against the Schaumburg (Illinois) Boomers in the Frontier League. Actually, you won’t get a bobblehead. The first 1,000 fans will get an empty bobblehead box courtesy of a local radio station. It’s “Manti Te’o Girlfriend Bobblehead Night,” thus the empty box. Tonight’s promotions will feature “An air guitar contest, a pretend kiss cam, an imaginary food fight, and fans with imaginary friends, girlfriends/boyfriends or spouses are encouraged to sit in section 115, the section furthest down the left field line.” All that, and as usual at Freedom games, free parking!
Happy Birthday: Baltimore manager Buck Showalter. 57.
Bonus Birthday: Drew Carey. 55.
Today in Sports: The NBA approved the move of the Philadelphia Warriors to San Francisco. 1962.
Bonus Event: The end of the line for bank-robbers Bonnie and Clyde. They are shot by police while driving a stolen car, of course, in Louisiana. 1934.
LAST DAY to win valuable prizes! Send me the emails of 3 new subscribers and you’ll be eligible for a drawing. You can win one of three autographed books or one of five That’s Sports baseball/golf caps. And just think how your friends will thank you for enlisting them in the Top 5 family. (Of course you can send more than three if you wish!) The deadline is TODAY.
The next time you need a gift for that young sports fan in your life, check out my books. And if you’d like a personally autographed copy contact the Dolphin Bookshop at 516-767-2650.
The Top 5 resumes Tuesday. Have a great holiday weekend everyone.
