1. Quick Hits
- Englishman Justin Rose won the U.S. Open by 2 shots over Phil Mickelson and Jason Day.
- San Antonio leads 3 games to 2 after last night’s 114 to 104 win. The Spurs can win the NBA Championship tomorrow night in Miami. Unheralded Danny Green of the Spurs has set a Finals record with 25 3-pointers so far.
- Game 3 for the Stanley Cup is tonight in Boston. The series is tied 1-1.
- Washington’s Alex Ovechkin wins his third NHL MVP award.
- Doc Rivers will remain as Boston Celtics coach after a proposed deal with the Clippers involving a player trade reportedly falls through.
2. He’s # 2
It was all lined up for Phil Mickelson yesterday. Leading the U.S. Open after three rounds. The final round on his 43rd birthday, on Father’s Day. Surely this would finally be his first U.S. Open win. And then he had to play 18 holes. In truth, he didn’t play well enough to win. To be a champ you have to play like a champ. And yesterday he didn’t. So Justin Rose wins his first Major and Phil extends his record of six second place finishes in the Open. You have to wonder if he’ll ever win it? Just as you wonder if Tiger Woods will ever win another Major. But hey, that’s golf.
3. Super Star Coaches
It’s an age-old question in sports. Can super-stars become great coaches or managers when they’re through playing? Ted Williams and Magic Johnson famously couldn’t. Jason Kidd will now try for the Brooklyn Nets despite having never coached anywhere. And there was a buzz that Mark Messier would take over the New York Rangers, similarly with no coaching experience. In the end the Rangers went with former Vancouver and Montreal coach Alain Vigneault. That’s probably a good thing. Let Messier’s legacy forever be “The Guarantee” and winning the Stanley Cup for the Rangers 19 years ago. You can’t improve on that.
4. Spelling 101
Sign of the weekend, at the College World Series in Omaha. Reinforcing the notion that the term student-athlete is an oxymoron. There was a little spelling error in the word “college“. Or as the headline read on the web site sportsgrid.com “Wellcome, Studen-Atheltes! The Colllege Wurld Seriies Haas Beguuun”
5. International Incident
In 2005, Patriots owner Bob Kraft showed Russian President Vladimir Putin his Super Bowl ring. As the New York Post reported, Putin put it in his pocket and walked out. Nice. Kraft, ever the nice guy, pretended it was a gift and the Bush administration suggested that Kraft should leave it at in the interests of U.S.-Soviet relations. Putin has heard Kraft’s story and maintains that it was a gift. But if you ever wonder why our two countries get along relatively well…thank Bob Kraft and his football team. Now you know why they call them Patriots.
Happy Birthday: Tennis star Venus Williams. 33.
Bonus Birthday: Barry Manilow. 70.
Today in Sports: 35 years ago today. Ever wonder when fans started to stand and cheer after two strikes hoping for a strikeout? Ron Guidry was on the mound and Yankees fans starting doing it. Guidry wound up with 18 strikeouts against the Angels.1978.
Bonus Event: A doubleheader. We got to watch Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Knicks and Houston, and simultaneously O.J. Simpson’s slow-speed chase. 1994.
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.
