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“NBA Fans-Easty to Hate…Better to Appreciate”

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NBA fans wear their emotions on their sleeves, especially at this time of year, as the NBA championship trophy is handed out.

They love to cheer, love to hate. They root and they boo. It’s what the Golden State Warriors have encountered.

The good teams win, and then they wind up losing. They build a following and they fan the flames of dis-respect from fans around the league.

It’s the culture of the NBA. People got tired of the Red Auerbach-Celtics. They got turned off by the Lakers Showtime. The same Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen and the Chicago Bulls bunch.

And now the Golden State Warriors have almost reached the finish line.

The Warriors, shredded by injuries again to Kevin Durant and Kevon Looney, came from 6-back to hit 3-critical 3-point shots to win in Toronto, to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

They showed heart, no quit, lots of grit, but they are running on fumes, and running out of time. Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard came back to score 10-point in a row to almost get his team the win.

The True North fans showed no class, cheering when Durant reinsured his calf in the 2nd quarter, even upsetting their Toronto players.

The series goes on, but the talk should be about the legacy of the Warriors, apparently on their last legs.

There should be a great debate how their legacy matches up with the past dynasties in Boston, LA, Chicago.

It may never be the same in the Bay Area. Teams change, and this one certainly will and it’s not just what the Toronto Raptors accomplished. It’s free agency, it’s age, it’s injuries. It’s the inevitable change.

What a run Golden State has had. Since the 2012 season, 3-championship rings. Two other times they got to the finals. 5-Division titles in a row.

The regular season record in this span of Golden State basketball is (428-154) in the regular season. Add in a (75-26) record in the post season. Dominant.

A composite 503-wins with Steve Kerr as head coach.

All this from a franchise that had 12-losing seasons prior. At the turn of the decade, they went 19-63, 17-65, and 21-61.

In 1974, they won a title with Al Attles . The Nate Thurmond-Rick Barry run was good, but had a limited shelf life.. Back in the day, they were originally the Philadelphia Warriors, with Wilt Chamberlain and they won titles in the 1960s.

But by this weekend, this era will be officially over.

Kevin Durant will likely leave as a free agent, maybe to the LA Clippers or the NY Knicks.

Klay Thompson, part of the ‘Splash Brothers’ team with Steph Curry, could leave too, though he may stay because he has a special bond with his teammates.

Tough guy forward Andre Iguodala is openly talking retirement. So is bench bunch guard Shaun Livingston. And center DeMarcus Cousins, coming off two years of injuries, is not the player he was, and could head elsewhere.

Steph Curry and Draymond Green have been great players, and they established a special chemistry, where all the players elected to earn ‘less than the max’ so they could put together this star-studded galaxy roster.

It’s easy for fans to dislike teams that win all the time. It’s special that these teams have this kind of run, when you compare the short shelf life the Miami Heat or Cleveland Cavaliers had, and the few rings they got, despite their locked and loaded rosters.

As we say good bye to the season, we likely say good bye to the Golden State Warriors, what they represented, how they did it, and how they handled super-stardom.

Thanks Golden State for all he fun watching this franchise, and how classy the team was, from Kerr to Curry and Klay and KD, and everyone in-between.

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…..(Baseball)…………..

Padres-Giants….Friars open road trip….Tuesday pitching matchups… Chris Paddack (4-4)..2.97-vs-Tyler Beede (0-2)….Paddack last 4-outings (20inn-17R-24H-7HRs)…7.65-ERA

Padres…Off day on Monday

Padres…Sign 2nd round draft pick OF-Josh Mears (1M) package…500,000 below slot….Had signed1st round pick CJ Abrams to (5.2M) package…also 500,000 below slot….May take additional money to sign 3rd round Purdue OF-Hudson Head to above slot deal.

Padres…Sign 3rd pick..C-Driscoll-George Mason University

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Dodgers-W-Angels…..Dodgers led (3-1) in 7th at Press Time..Chris Taylor 2R-double… LA won 19-of-24…..(45-21) on year…Halos (9-7) last 3-weeks.

Dodgers-Angels..Tuesday matchup..Kenta Maeda (7-2)-vs-Felix Pena (3-1)

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(Scoreboard)

Tampa BayW–A’s…Brandon Lowe2R-HR…Kevin Kaimaier 2R-HR…..Rays (41-24)…won 5-of-6….A’s lost 9-of-13

Yankees-Mets….Rained out….Yankess lost 5-of-7…(40-24) on year…Mets won 4-of-5

Arizona-W-Phillies….D-Backs hit 3-HRs in 1st inning off Jared Eickhoff…..hit 5-homers in all off starter…Hit 7-HRs for game…Eduardo Escobar 2-2R-HRs….D-Backs won 7-of-9….Phillies won 4-of-6.

Texas-W-Red Sox…Elvis Andrus RBI single in 11th…..Rangers won 10-of-14….Red Sox just (5-8) last two weeks.

Cardinals-W-Marlins…Michael Wacha 6-shutout innings…St Louis lost 4-of-6…Marlins lost 5-in row

Pirates-L-Braves…Ron Acuna Grand Slam HR..Ozzie Albies 2-solo HRs..Freddie Freeman 2R-HR…Buccos lost 15-of-21….Atlanta won 7-of-9

Washington-W-White Sox…Trea Turner HR-RBI double…Nationals on (12-4) tear….Chisox won 8-of-13

Cubs-L-Colorado….Nolan Arenado 2R-HR…Charley Blackmon 2R-HR…Ian Desmond HXR…Rockies won 12-of-17….Chicago won 6-of-8.

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(MLB)

Boston…Santo Domingo doctors say legendary Red Sox icon David Ortiz transferred to Boston hospital on Monday evening in stable condition…….6-hours surgery to remove part of colon…gall bladder and repair liver damage……..Police say drug dealer tried to assasiinate Ortiz while in a bar….No motive established…..Bar patriots jumped shooter-beat him around head…has been arrested-will be charged with attempted murder….2nd accomplice arrested on Monday night……Red Sox dispatch team plane to Dominican Republic to transport Ortiz to Boston for further medical treatment….Police say Drug Lord ordered hit on Ortiz because ex player was having affair with his wife.

A’s…Team plane damages a wing during violent storm in Texas…Plane was on ground when hit by debris….Team flight to Tampa delayed by 5-hours overnight.

Atlanta…P-Dallas Kuechel throws 7-shutout innings in rehab game in Gwinnett in International League._

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(Injuries)

Cardinals..P-Adam Wainwright-hamstring injury

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(Roster Moves)

White Sox..Release 1B-DJ Peterson
Seattle..Sign FA-P-Matt Carisit-ex Cubs
Phillies-Orioles..Trade..Baltimore acquires P-Tom Eschelman

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…….(Basketball)…………….

(NBA Playoffs)

Golden State-W-Toronto……Warriors blow 14-point lead….Toronto takes lead at 5-minute mark as Kawhi Leonard hits 4-baskets in a row ….builds 6-point lead…but then Klay Thompson-Steph Curry hit 3-straight 3-point shots to give Warriors the 106-105 win….Thompson-Curry combined (57P)……Leonard was (5-18) shooting till late spree…finishes with (26P) in loss…..DeMarcus Cousins comes off bench with (14P-5R-1BS)…after Kevin Durant reinsures calf with 9:46 go in 2nd quarter…..Durant had (15P) in opiniong half before reinsuring right leg…..Raptors had (10-0) and (12-2) runs to get back into the game in both 1str and 2nd half…… .Raptors lead series (3-2)….Game 6-in Oakland on Thursday.

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New Orleans…Report Pelicans are trying to add a 3rd team to possible trade talks with Lakers for C-Anthony Davis….Pelicans want 4th pick in NBA draft and Kyle Kuzma of Lakers…but also want to deal Brandon Ingram to a 3rd team for additional resources.

Charlotte Hornets…G-Tony Parker retires after 18-year career…won 4-rings with San Antonio Spurs…averaged (15P-5A) in career.

Boston…Draft pick G-Charles Matthews-Michigan-tears knee ligament in workout with Celtics

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………..(Football)……………….

Kellen Winslow…..Jury in rape case finds him guilty of 1-count of rape…and 2-counts of lewd behavior…..Deadlocked on 2-other rape charges….Judge refuses to declare mistrial and order jury to return to court on Tuesday to deliberate further….Winslow facing 8Y in prison on first 3-convictions…

Chargers….Open mandatory mini camp with all veterans on hand….Back on field starting LBs Kayzir White…Denzel Perryman-missed much of last yesr with knee surgeries.

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(Teams)

Houston…Interview Nick Caserio for vacant GM job…Longtime Patriots exec

Jets…Will interview Phil Savage…Todd McShay for front office jobs under new GM-Joe Douglas.

Jaguars..DE-Yannick Ngakou boycots mandatory camp…Teams has yet to upgrade his low priced (2.2M) contract…he’s had 29-sacks in 3-years…wants pay upgrade to match 20M-deal Frank Clark got in Kansas City.

Ravens…Begin veterans camp trying to rebuild footwork-mechanics of 2nd year QB-Lamar Jackson…completed just 54% of passes last year.

Carolina…Says QB-Cam Newton has attacked his rehab-from shoulder surgery-ahead of schedule and throwing in practice.

Colts…OG-Antonio Garcia-suspended 4G-for PED violation.

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(Roster Moves)

Bengals..Sign FA-OT-John Jerry-ex Giants-Dolphins
Lions..Sign FA-QB-David Fales-ex Bears-Miami
Lions..Release QB-Connor Cook
Saints..Sign FA-S-Kayvon Webster-ex Rams-Broncos
Vikings..Workout FA-P-Justin Vogel-ex Packers
Steelers…LB-Arthur Moats-retires

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(NFL)

Competition Committee will make new proposals to owners on Wednesday after being given ‘blank check’ to design Coaches Challenge for Pass Interference penalties…Called and Not Called….Will make proposal also on who should handle ‘Hail Mary Calls’….Should booth make those calls or should coaches be given an extra challenge strictly for End of Game calls?

Eric Patterson..former Colts-Rams DB-found shot in front yard of home in Tampa over weekend.

Colts..OG-Antonio Garcia suspended 4G-PED violations

CFL…Montreal Alouettes fired coach Mike Sherman 5-days before season starts…says it was football related.

CFL…Negotiating to sell struggling Montreal team to 2-Hollywood screenwriters…Petrer-Jeffrey Lenkov-native Canadiens.

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(College)

Clemson….Hires Terry Bwden as a consutlant to Dabo Sweeney staff…former head coach Auburn..Akron..Samford.

Florida..Former Gators S-T9ony Joiner arrested for murder of his wife….played on 2007 championship team with Aaron Hernandez-coached by Urban Meyer.

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………..(Hockey)……………….

NHL Stanley Cup playoffs….off night tonite…Game 7-Blues-at-Boston on Wednesday.

LA Kings..Sign LW-Johan Sodergran-played last year in Sweden.

Ducks-Toronto..Open trade talks…Leafs would send RW-Kasper Kapanen to Ducks…Scored 20-goals last year….earns 6.2M

Ducks…Canadian reports team wants to buyout F-Corey Perry…has (2Y–17M) left on hi priced contract….Shopping Perry to other clubs and would pay some of his 8.5M-salary to make a deal.

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………..(General)…………….

Womens World Cup-France
..Team USA-vs-Thailand-Tuesday first round game….US is defending champion…Veteran roster led by Carli Lloyd..Christain Press…Megan Rapinoe…Tobin Heath…Mallory Pugh…Alex Morgan.

..Holland-vs-New Zealand
..Chile-vs-Sweden

(Scoreboard)..Monday

..Canada-W-Cameroon…Kelly Buchanan scores (45’) in 1-0 win
..Japan-Tie-Argentina…Japanese can’t generate offense in disappointing 0-0 tie

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Nascar-Michigan 400…..Joey Logano takes lead on final 5-laps after late restart to post victory in rain delayed race.

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Manchester United..opens talks to sell F-Paul Poga back to Juventus for (110M) transfer fee.

Team USA…Men’s World Cup team flites to Minnesota for final training before opening of Gold Cup after back to back shutout losses in friendlies last week.

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Sport of Kings–In Crisis”

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The firestorm of controversy refuses to go away in horse racing.

We have come thru a springtime of trauma in the Triple Crown.

The DQ of the Kentucky Derby winner, followed by the lawsuit over Maximum Security being disqualified to blocking down the final stretch.

We saw the fiasco of the start of the Preakness, with a horse throwing its jockey out of the gate, nearly causing a calamity with other horses all around.

The Belmont Stakes saw an upset winner in Sir Winston, who had won just 3-of-10 races growing into 3-year old status.

It’s been a messy season with injuries, illnesses, surgeries hitting the Derby and Preakness winners.

It’s been a spring of controversy too with the owners of the historic Laurel and Pimlico tracks, in Maryland, being accused of profiteering, and letting Pimlico become a dump.

Only 10-horses went to post at the Belmont, one of the crown jewels.

But all that pales in comparison to the real crisis on the West Coast, the mounting death toll at Santa Anita.

28-horses have died since Christmas Day. No one understands why. Broken legs, damaged ligaments, fractured joints, torn labrum, pelvis injuries.

Leadership has no answers at all.

Are the horse training too much? Does the use of Lasix, to help internal bleeding, have something to do with this? Is the use of diuretics changing a horses’s body chemistry? Is the use of whips in racing pushing the horses to the extremes of exertion?

No one seems to be making much of an issue of the track surfaces at Santa Anita are they? Something wrong with the dirt surface? The compound of dirt-clay? The watering schedule?

The number of breakdowns and the euthenization issues, are staggering. More, fatalities at one track, than the rest of the state. The gruesome ratio of deaths at Santa Anita is far beyond any of the other tracks nationwide.

No one knows, if this strictly a Santa Anita problem, or an epidemic nationwide.

Now the California Horse Racing Board has asked Santa Anita to shutdown the rest of the spring schedule, and they have refused.

We know this for certain. Delmar opens July 11th, and you wonder if this torrent of death will continue to this track.

And more importantly, the Breeders Cup, the big money weekend in racing, is supposed to come to Santa Anita in November. Will all those super star horses be put at risk?

28-horses dead at one track. Something terrible is causing all this at this heritage track.

Ignoring it, denying it, not addressing it, is almost as bad as allowing racing to continue thru the end of the spring meet June 23rd.

Horse racing needs to pull the Breeders Cup. Santa Anitta’s ownership needs to take ownership at what has happened at this track.

None of that is happening. The industry facing its own euthenization if they don’t act.

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“El Nino Is Back-Padres are Happy”

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Fernando Tatis returned to the Padres lineup last night, seven weeks after going down with a significant hamstring injury.

He was hitting (.300) with 6-homers, and 12-extra base hits. The on-base percentage was (.360) and the slugging percentage (.550). Not to mention the dynamic plays at shortstop.

The Friars were (15-12) out of the gate. Since then (15-19). Manny Machado was brilliant at shortstop, but with the dynamic Tatis back as his running mate, the left side of the infield is superb.

They call him ‘El Nino’ for he’s always swirling around making things happen.

Lots of people had lots of things to say Thursday night in the clubhouse.

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Fernando Tatis

..Was out much longer than I expected
..I had to be patient in this rehab
..Have never had a leg injury like this ever
..Injuries are part of the game-I am not hexed
..I was frustrated-I was playing so well
..I had to restrain myself-not overdue the rehab-do what trainers wanted
..I’m ready to go 100%

Andy Green

..He is ready to go-he played well at Amarillo
..We saw his quick twitch reactions and explosion at Amarillo
..Left side of this infield is solid-maybe best in baseball
..Tatis brings life to the clubhouse-guys feed off him
..He’s not going to play 100% of the time-he will have days off
..Tatis plays with energy-he is very good player
..There’s a steadiness to his personality
..He plays like he belongs
..You can see his authenticity in his preparation

Manny Machado

..Tatis will get his legs back quick
..He has talent-lots of it..more important he is hungry
..He learned a lot from his father-but he is his own person
..He understands the game and he’s only a kid
..He’s a unique talent with great work ethic
..He’s produce at every level he has been at
..A bunch of 20-year olds have done well…Machado-Trout-Harper-he’s next one
..I play my game-not really a mentor-but we talk
..Best learn the game at his speed-and he has
..His ability to bond in clubhouse impressive

So Tatis returns, with anticipation. He got on base 3-times vs the Nationals…picking up where he left off before he got hurt.

Maybe the short stay of Anthony Rizzo and the emergence on Tony Gwynn are the only two players in decades, to bring this type of excitement to the Padres clubhouse.

So far, so good, and we’ll see what ‘El Nino’ brings to the lineup this weekend.

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“The Greatest Generation-Greatest Day”

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I walked where they walked.

I was so stunned by what I saw, I couldn’t speak.

I know the history, and cannot imagine what it was like.

My whole family has been in the military. Father fought with the Seabees in the Pacific. 7-uncles fought in Europe and the Pacific. 3-died in combat.

They’re all gone now, but I have never forgotten where they were, what they did, how they contributed and the price they paid with their lives.

This morning, America, England, France and Canada will remember this 75th anniversary of the landings at Omaha-Utah-Gold-Sword beaches…all things Normandy.

They will remember Point duHoc, and the push that began against all odds to re-take Western Europe.

I walked those beaches last August. I sat and talked to a tour guide history professor about that morning, the plan, the disaster, the mistakes, the lives lost.

My uncle jumped with the 101st behind the German lines the night before the invasion began. He was wounded twice, survived, and saw his unit decimated. How he survived the jump into the St. Lo countryside, defies explanation.

A city that was 95% destroyed by bombardment, became the center of bitter fighting, with terrible deaths, second only to what happened on those beaches, 75-years ago this morning.

Eisenhower’s plan with the combined military forces, had to fight the weather, the German artillery, and the US mistakes.

The Air Force’s attempt to bomb the bluffs and knock out the 88-gun emplacements failed, when bombardiers, battling cloud cover, delayed their drops by 5-seconds. Instead of hitting the bluffs, the bombs landed a half mile inland.

The Navy’s attempt to shell the beaches failed to clear the barricades and land mines, and never created the bunkers the soldiers thought they’d be able to jump into once they landed. Instead they walked into a hail storm of death.

The withering fire, a vicious fusillade and cross-fire, slaughtered the first groups that came off the boats at 6:30am that day. The shelling from the bluffs continued unabated, on the beaches, and onto the landing craft. The death count in the first hour was staggering.

Dead soldiers, loss of equipment, loss of quality leadership. The plan was amiss. An hour into the carnage, Army Rangers tried to scale Point duHoc, where 5-of the heavy duty 88’s were in place. They took 90% casualties, but kept climbing the 150′ cliffs. it took them 35-minutes, they got to the top, destroyed the guns, opening the door for the US to finally get men onto the beaches, up the trails, and onto the bluffs.

The most stunning of the experience I had, was to not just walk the 450-yards from the low tide to the bluffs, and imagine what it was like, but then to go to the Normandy cemetery, located right above the beach. I could not talk when I walked onto the grounds, surrounded by 9,350 white crosses.

Think about the carnage, the death, the trauma, the blood, the chaos on the beach that first hour. I stood in that cemetery, fully engulfed in silence and respect. White crosses now reside as the resisting place for soldiers. There’s a wall with 1500 other names of those who landed, who were never recovered. 18,000 paratroopers jumped in. Then 150,000 landed in the 3-days that followed.

The cemetery is silent. Each white cross has a soldier’s name, his home state, and the day he died. The reverence on those walkways is stunning. No one talks. There are no laughs. People take pictures. People weep, like I did. Most are so stunned they are speechless.

A half mile down the road, there is a German burial ground, that contained 8,000-soldiers. There is no designation of whom they are, no identities, just a black stone on each grave, but no inscriptions.

Think of the dichotomy, White crosses-heroes, in the American cemetery, black stones-the villains, in the Germany cemetery. Good-vs-bad.

The fighting off the beaches would go on for weeks. The push inland was bloody. The destruction of Caen, Bastogne, Set Mare-Elise and so many other villages was part of the price paid The tally of those lost was staggering.

You walk the grounds whee so many gave so much, you have to be impacted by what you see.

I thought of my Uncle Vincent, a 22-year old, jumping out of a C-47, in the middle of the night, not knowing where he was landing, and what would happen. His unit decimated by anti-aircraft guns, by flak, by crashes, by land fighting.

Can you imagine the corpses? The red tide of blood washing over bodies? The destroyed equipment everywhere? A battle so momentous the emotional damage done to those who survived as bad as to those who died. Extraordinary, the courage of those men, and the suffering they would go thru. It was called the ‘Great Crusade’ by Ike, but it was the enormity of human tragedy. The totality of the brutality of what happened that murderous first day cannot be told by the statistics alone.

You’ve seen Saving Private Ryan. I had a D-Day survivor tell me the only thing missing from the movie was the smell of diesel fuel from the landing craft. You’ve seen Band of Brothers, the most honest story of those who jumped into the fight. It was true.

So today the world remembers, and should honor those who made the sacrifice. They jumped out of their planes, they jumped off the landing craft. They died in the water, died in the boats, died on the beach, died in fire fights inland.

In 1944, the St Louis Cardinals beat the St Louis Browns in the World Series. The Green Bay Packers, led by Don Hutson, beat the NY Giants in the NFL championship game. The National Basketball League champion was the Ft. Wayne Zollners. The Montreal Canadiens, led by Rocket Richard and Toe Blake took the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs from the Blackhawks. Hardly anyone remembers any of that. Seems trivial to what happened that summer day across the English Channel.

They did it, because they felt it was their duty, regardless of the outcome.

The world should stop and remember what happened 75-years ago this morning.

I will never forget, having had family members live, fight and die over there. I wish every American could go there and understand this morning, that morning back then.

Those men on this day, were indeed our ‘Greatest Generation’ and D-Day was their greatest day.

They died for the ideal of democracy.

God blesses them for what they did. We should never forget them either.

Freedom is not free. June 6, 1944–Normandy should be part of our lives forever.

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