SU knows that many of you have written off the NBA and no longer tune in.  You are making a big mistake – especially in a COVID-19 world.   Look, I am the first person to say that I can’t stand watching James Harden play.  It physically pains me.  But there is a whole crop of young players who are lighting it up now in the playoffs.  Consider:

• Luka Doncic, playing on a sprained ankle, had a triple double yesterday and the game winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in OT for Dallas.  SU faves Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway, Jr. also had great games and the action was up and down the court all game long.  The 4th quarter and OT were great.
• If you stayed up last night, Utah outlasted Denver with Donovan Mitchell netting 51 and Jamal Murray 50 for the Nuggets.   SU caught the 4th quarter – really great stuff.
• The NBA has done an amazing job of piping in the crowd noise which makes it feel like the stands are full – it’s just that you never see them.  SU says the crowd noise is key as the announcers get excited to be heard over the crowd.
• Now, not all of the series have been close.  But for the series that are now tied at 2-2, in a normal playoff year, the home team has the advantage as 2 of the next 3 games are in their arena.  Not this year.  It makes for a whole new dynamic as there is no true home court – at least not that I can make out as I can’t tell if the home team crowd is louder than the opposing team’s.
• The games are in the 120s and the 130s – so much better than the 1990s Knick-Heat games in the 70s.  The Pat Riley of the 1990s would not be happy coaching now I don’t think.  Sure, there is little defense and no big men in the post anymore.  But when you have 7-footers like Doncic operating, who cares?
• Btw, Jeff Van Gundy made an excellent point yesterday that SU was thinking about also.  There is no reason that every kid cannot learn  how to use his or her feet the same way that Doncic does.  American born players can also learn and use the Euro step and it’s a huge advantage.  He finishes at the hoop with those long strides and it’s legal.  Dunking gets you on the highlight shows but learning the footwork will separate you from the pack.

SU stumbled across the Shut Up and Dribble series on Showtime last night.  Very interesting and well done.  It traces social activism and racism in sports going back 60 years.  Worth a look.

Tennis has started at the Western & Southern tournament at the National Tennis Center in NY and ESPN should pipe in the same crowd noise that they do for basketball but for tennis matches.  The quiet is not good.  SU says it’s easy enough to make some noise on a great shot.  We need to think outside of the box now.  The low TV camera angles are bad enough on some of the courts.

Finally, SU is happy to report that the Yankees have not placed any more players on the IL this morning as they had no games over the weekend.  Gleyber Torres, Paxton and one of the relievers all joined on Saturday.  As long-time SU subscriber, Jeff, commented over the weekend, it may be good to get the injuries out of the way now, but we all know the preliminary time estimates are always wrong.  Tight hamstrings and calf muscles are always susceptible for re-injury.  Not a good situation.

SU is back in the saddle after some enjoyable convention viewing.  I will buckle up now for American Carnage starting next week.  What is going on with the Yankees’ injuries?  They cleaned house last off-season with the training and conditioning staff but this season, as short as it is, has almost been worse than past years.  They lost Severino for the year in spring training, and then in the span of just a few weeks, down goes Kahnle, Stanton, Judge and LeMahieu.  Zach Britten goes on the IL with a hamstring issue and now Gleyber Torres has a tight hammy and Paxton has forearm tightness.

We know some of these guys are just injury-prone.  Clearly, the Generational One is although he tried to slim down this off-season but to no avail.  Judge also can’t stay healthy – injuries every year.  All of a sudden, the Yankees are in 2nd place and can’t beat the Rays who are a no-star, make contact team.  What a concept.  As a long-time Yankee fan, my reaction is that they roll out a lot of players with numbers in the 60s, 70s and 80s.  This is not a playoff contender.  You can easily absorb a sweep early in the season in a 162-game schedule but we are in a sprint this year and this counts for a lot more.  If the starters can’t go more than 6 innings, and you are down Kahnle, Britten and maybe Green (not available yesterday after 4 off days??) in your bullpen, this does not look good.  They are not winning games by a lot of runs so they need to pitch the top guys a lot.

The Yankees actually caught a break by having the Mets with some positive tests and at least one game canceled this weekend.  The reality is that a .500 record probably gets you into the playoffs this year so it’s no time to panic.  But for $250 million, you know Hal Steinbrenner must be scratching his head.

As always, it’s a great time for Tyler Wade to step up and take advantage of the opportunity but he just never does.  Clint Frazier has done that.

Four NBA playoff games yesterday.  The winning teams scored 111, 111, 111 and 109 points.  Just caught my attention.  NBA playoff games are outstanding.  They are really fun to watch and the networks have done a great job with the sound, lights and Zoom pictures of fans on the sidelines.  I will be interested to see how the NFL does this starting in September.

SU is sure that you all recognize that line from the move, Gladiator, where Russell Crowe asked the fans just that after carving up a bunch of opponents.  I have been asking myself this question after watching a few Yankee games this weekend.  The answer is “No!”  Not even close.  Let me tell you why:

• Sports is more than wins and losses.  As a fan, I want to be entertained and inspired, and I want to enjoy how the game is played.  Rolling out a bunch of big dudes who are only thinking about hitting home runs no matter what the situation is not fun or inspiring.  Guys on base, have a plan.   Watch where the shift is.  Make contact.  Move a runner over.  Some on this blog are happy with the record and if you extrapolate out, you have 100 wins in a full season.  Maybe.  But now the Yankees are 10-6 and face the truth: Tampa Bay is not a good match-up for the Yankees.  They roll out reliever after reliever who is over 6 ft. 7 inches tall and throws 97 mph.  And of course, they are all right-handed.  They can’t hit at all but aside from home runs, neither can the Yankees.
• SU will not get on Stanton.  He tried to lose weight and some muscle mass.  But clearly playing 7-inning games as the DH in a doubleheader was too much.  He pulled his hamstring running to 2nd base on a wild pitch.  The solution is to only hit home runs.  And take your time walking around the bases.  But they can slot in plenty of guys (Frazier, Ford) who might actually hit the other way.
• I don’t mind no fans – I have become used to it.  Michael Kay, Cone and O’Neill keep me entertained enough.  But every game must have 25 strikeouts and a ton of foul balls.  Just not interesting.
• The season just passed the quarter mark.  Judge, Urshela and LeMahieu are carrying the team.  But they can’t do it forever.  As the standings tighten up, we will see who rises to the occasion.

Looking like college football will be canceled without even trying to play any games.  SU says at least give it a shot.  The NFL is full steam ahead.  I get that once students return, there is no enforceable bubble.  It just seems like they should have tried.  But the major conferences are going to announce tomorrow apparently.  Bummer.

SU did watch the final round of the PGA in almost its entirety.  That was great.  So many players in contention.  Older guys, younger guys.  Brooks Koepka made the mistake of dissing Dustin Johnson on Saturday and came up very small Sunday.  Not a good move – and hey, this is golf.  You guys don’t talk smack like that.  He didn’t back it up.

Greetings from the wasteland of Westchester County, NY – home of thousands of people without power in the wake of Tropical Storm Isaias.  As they like to say in HBO’s Game of Thrones, we are all ready to “bend the knee” to Con Edison if they will please, please, please fix the down power lines and restore power.  Not their best moment this week.

Anyway, I digress.  Now that SU is in a hotel, lots of time to watch Yankee games.  SU has to agree with long-time subscriber (and prolific commenter) S. Goldman, that it is incredibly frustrating to watch hitters mindlessly step up to the plate and try to hit into the shifts.  It is just stupid when 2/3 of the infield is open every at bat.  And it’s especially frustrating when you are Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres or Aaron Hicks and hitting about .100.  They are daring you to go the other way and the way the ball flies in these smaller ballparks in the hot weather, well, there is absolutely no excuse.  SU no longer even knows who the batting coach is for the Yankees but please, get them to try it.

SU is thrilled that SU fave, Mike Tauchman, is finally getting regular at bats.  He does go the other way and can actually get a clutch hit here and there.  Andujar was sent down – too bad – but he was given a shot and in a 60-game sprint, you don’t have the luxury or the track record to be given more rope.  Sanchez and Torres do, and Hicks is a Cashman favorite and he doesn’t have to perform to get his at bats.  Just needs to show up and stay healthy.

SU did not comment on Giancarlo Stanton when he was hot (for the first 4 games) and now that he’s gone cold for the last 8 games I won’t comment either.  SU wishes the Generational One well and he can fly under the radar with Judge slamming home runs all over the place.  He will settle in at .252 at some point.

The Yankees’ record is deceptive with Paxton and Happ not pitching well at all.  You have to hope that Paxton’s arm strength will rebound to his historic level and that someone other than Happ can claim the 5th spot in the rotation.

The Cespedes Era is officially over for the Mets.  What a knucklehead.  SU still believes the Mets will get untracked this season and make a move but the clock is ticking.

I miss Didi Gregorius.  Should have been re-signed.

SU is enjoying the NBA games.  Love watching Duncan Robinson on the Heat and Trey Burke on the Mavs as they are both getting some minutes.  The playoffs will be entertaining.  Plenty of room on the bandwagon so get on board.

Nadal out at the US Open and Federer will miss as he is hurt.  Djokovic has not officially committed as of yet.  The issue seems to be traveling from Europe and getting some clarification if players will need to quarantine once they return to Europe after the Open is completed.  The schedule is very condensed and the French Open comes up quickly.  The USTA should pipe in the crowd noise the same way other sports have been doing that.  Makes a difference for the telecasts.

We have the PGA Tournament in SF this weekend and more baseball.  Enjoy the live sports action while you can as you never know when a few failed COVID-19 tests shut things down.