MidValleySports.Com

By Joe Torosian

Kick it!

The San Antonio Spurs are too young to win…but, apparently, they didn’t get that memo. LOL!

Everything was primed for them to be blown off the floor, the long-time fans, the bandwagon fans, all of them were there and paying the big bucks to see it happen…

And it didn’t happen.

The Spurs in Game Three were stone-cold killers. Instead of melting when the heat rose, they hardened. Even as I was rooting for the Knicks, I couldn’t help but be impressed by them.

Tough, resilient, and when Wemby gets that sky-hook down, he’ll be the greatest ever. Maybe I should qualify that as an “if.” 

He also has another gift/skill set/quality that will separate him from 98% of his peers: Victor Wembanyama cares.

Next Add NBA Finals: D’Aaron Fox is 28, he’s been in the NBA for nine seasons, but with 12 seconds to play last night, he hit the biggest shot of his career.

Observation: Knicks fans explode when Mitchell Robinson hits a free throw with the same passion Dodger fans use to explode when Manny Mota got a pinch hit with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

I feel bad if you never got to experience Manny Mota coming off the bench with the game on the line — with Vin Scully on the call. As the late Stuart Scott would have described it: “Like gravy on a biscuit, it’s all good!”

While I’m optimistic about the Lakers’ future under new ownership and management, I don’t think a fat contract for Austin Reeves will accomplish anything after seeing the Spurs last night.

Note to LeBron: You want another shot at a title? “Go East, Old Man!”

If I were Trump, even as a long-time fan, I wouldn’t have gone to Madison Square Garden. I’m not saying he didn’t have the right to go, I’m only saying I wouldn’t have gone.

Is gambling a bigger issue than domestic misconduct/violence?

I think everyone would agree that beating, hurting, or otherwise harming someone is much worse, but gambling is an issue that affects the integrity of sport.

Even people with big money, who on the surface have no reason to get caught up in gambling, can be overtaken by its fever.

I’ve seen it, and it’s becoming more invasive in the culture.

Understandably, the desire to give someone a chance to redeem themselves is important. And if they fail, at some point (see Steve Howe), you cut them loose…But gambling can morph into something else. Things can appear to be going well, and then, before you know it, you’re dealing with Art Schlichter.

And people will have doubts about a game’s integrity.

I’ve had a lot of fun talking about Terry McAulay, Amazon Prime’s rules analyst for football. McAulay’s call to the NFL office about the disputed two-point conversion in the Rams-Seahawks game last December does raise an eyebrow.

It may not be anything, but given the growth of gambling, it raises a question. Questions a major sport doesn’t need, while hypocritically continuing to align itself with gambling platforms.

Such confusion, especially for a young person.

Speaking of the Rams: Discussions about the Rams’ defense are not just centered around a possible Aaron Donald return (from this page to the football gods’ ears), but also on the different looks available to DC Chris Shula’s scheme with Myles Garrett in the house. As in a 4-3 front versus the long-time 3-4 look the Rams have used for years.

Timing is everything…I had just made a note about Cailtin Clark looking like she’d lost all her confidence after clanking a pair of free throws in the final minute…and then ka-boom! She hits a game-winner from 31 feet.

#62—May the San Francisco Giants rot and lie stinking in the earth…

The Dude abides…

1,309
Philippians 4:4-8
jtbank1964@yahoo.com
“RamView” M-W-F
Follow Joe on X: @joet13b