This year, we have been treated to several game 7s in the early rounds of both the NHL and NBA playoffs. It’s interesting to see how teams respond – especially the favored teams in their respective series. Phoenix had the NBA’s best record this year and was oh, so close to winning it all last season. But they had a historically awful performance Sunday night – trailing by 45 points at one point in the 2nd half. SU says they will not recover from this with the current roster. Now it’s true that Devin Booker had a hamstring injury that no doubt hampered him in the series. My take is that teams that barely fall short the previous season have a hard time winning it all the next season. For some reason, it does not usually work out. No doubt they were feeling the pressure as the Pelicans extended them in the first round more than expected.

And then we have the NY Rangers. Long-time subscriber, M. Levine, has offered his services to provide commentary on the Rangers this post-season and he weighs in here:

Hockey people I trust thought the Rangers were 50-50 to make the playoffs, so finishing where they did was a real accomplishment, and coming back from 3-1 down against a really good team took it to another level. They are probably the weakest of the 4 teams remaining in their conference, and may even be the weakest of all 8 remaining. That being said, this is the NHL, where upsets can happen, and this team has three things on their side that all NHL teams need, and that should make them a tough out – tremendous team chemistry and character, as shown in the last series (down 3-1 in the series, down 2 goals in game 5, 2 goals in game 6, and down a goal with 6 minutes left in game 7); a big-time goalie, despite some shaky moments last series; and a great power play.

SU must admit that I watched more hockey the last 2 weeks than I have in the last 3 years. The Ranger games have been very exciting – good stuff. We will see if momentum carries over to the next series. Certainly belief will carry over if they fall behind on the road at the start of the series with Carolina.

The Yankees continue to thrive. Shades of 1998 for sure. SU continues to worry that either Judge or Stanton will get injured, as that will hurt. Joey Gallo has hit .300 the last few weeks – it’s hard to believe as I have watched my share of games and just cannot recall that many hits. He is either a walk, strikeout or a home run. Nothing in between. They are beating up on the lesser teams as they need to, and will have built a nice cushion once their schedule becomes more challenging in the Summer. SU says enjoy the ride while it lasts. Btw, Aroldis Chapman may not be the official closer the rest of the season. He is no longer a sure thing as he cannot locate his fastball for a strike anymore.

Interesting note (but only to a few people): Michigan will have a player on the NBA championship team this season. Jordan Poole may be the only one who actually steps on the court (vs. Stauskus on the Celtics, Duncan Robinson on the Heat, and Trey Burke on Dallas), but it is still a nice achievement for a college team.