In case you were busy watching a yule log DVD in a misguided attempt to stay warm, here's what you missed in sports on Wednesday.
The Miami Heat stormed back from 15 points down against the Toronto Raptors, winning in overtime, 123-116. LeBron James, who got his 34th career triple-double in the win, said afterward, "I used to be completely terrified of dinosaurs, so this sort of comeback wouldn't have been possible even a couple of years ago. But for some reason spending a lot of time around my boy Ol' T-Rex Bosh made me pretty comfortable with the idea of dropping a big game on some scary looking lizards."
In case you were busy justifying your documentary short's omission from this year's Sundance Film Festival, here's what you missed in sports on Thursday.
Miami scored the final nine points of the game in a 99-90 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. LeBron James dominated the game on both ends of the court scoring 39 points to go along with seven rebounds and three steals. "We've been bad on the road this year by our standards, so I came out mad," LeBron explained after the game, before Kobe Bryant appeared behind him cloaked in a cloud of smoke. "Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it," Bryant said to James with a menacing laugh. A terrified James responded, "Why didn't you just beat us then?" Bryant grinned broadly at James and hissed, "your punishment must be more severe."
At this very moment, there are no matches being played at the Australian Open. This is true for two reasons: (1) Everyone's asleep, because it's early in the morning, and (2) we, the East Coast liberal media elite, need time to write about what happened the day before without the distraction of amazing tennis matches.
The creators of the Australian Open, which is now more than 100 years old, knew that it was hard for American bloggers to write about tennis while tennis was taking place. Sure, writing about tennis is great, but at the end of the day, you'd rather be watching tennis.
Which is why, when the Internet gets ready for bed in the early evening, around 9 p.m. EST, the Australian Open wakes up.
It's perfect. Sure, you're kind of always between rounds, never really knowing who is at what stage, but that's fine. That's a completely manageable sacrifice to make for writing time, watching time, and (most importantly) no sleeping time.
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Wednesday.
Kevin Durant's 34 points and 14 boards led the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 107-99 win over the San Antonio Spurs and an NBA Finals berth. A despondent Tim Duncan began his postgame comments on a melancholic note. "I used to rule the world," he said. "Seas would rise when I gave the word. Now in the morning I sleep alone … sweep the streets that I used to own." He continued in this vein for about two minutes as some reporters began to realize he was quoting a Coldplay song. The rest of them picked up on it when he sprang up for the chorus, ripped off his shirt, and pumped both fists as he sang, "I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing! Roman cavalry choirs are singing!"
Martin Brodeur made 21 saves as the New Jersey Devils beat the Kings 3-1 to avoid a sweep in the Stanley Cup finals. Kings coach Darryl Sutter kept a brave face, but when he finally got a moment alone, after the game, he broke down weeping and called his wife. "Those decorative brooms I made?" he said. "One for each player? So festive, so vibrant? Burn them. Maybe then I'll stop dreaming like a stupid little boy. A STUPID LITTLE BOY! A STUPID LITTLE BOY! A STUPID LITTLE BOY!"
By Shane Ryan at
Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Wednesday.
The Lakers used 12 fourth quarter points from Kobe Bryant to rally for a 96-91 win over the Clippers. After the final whistle, scuffles broke out on the floor when Pau Gasol patted Chris Paul on the head. "I don't know if Pau's got kids, but don't touch my head like I'm one of your kids," said an angry Paul. "I don't have kids," responded Gasol. "Yet." Then he winked at the camera, and held up a placard with his phone number and a picture of a rose.
Rafael Nadal continued his Grand Slam dominance over Roger Federer, winning in four sets to advance to the Australian Open final. Rafa is now 8-2 over his rival in the Grand Slams, and 18-9 overall, leading to the odd situation where Federer is the greatest player of all-time, and yet only the second-greatest of his own era. "It's a historian's nightmare!" shouted a frantic historian, fumbling with his glasses and tripping over a pile of history books.
As part of our coverage of the NBA lockout, Grantland’s Jonathan Abrams checked in with Brandan Wright, a forward from the University of North Carolina who split last season between the Golden State Warriors and New Jersey Nets, to see how he is spending his newfound free time. Wright discussed his offseason workout, playing under Don Nelson, and having teammates with famous significant others.
Grantland: How have you spent your time this offseason?
Wright: “Working out a lot. The place I work out at is called Art of Strength. It’s not a traditional weightlifting. It uses kettlebells and is aimed at preventing injuries. So it’s pretty much a full-body workout and uses every muscle in your body. I think it’s really good for athletes because it’s functional training, where you’re moving your whole body. You’re not just putting such-and-such weight on a bench press or throwing weight on your back for squats. It’s stuff you have to do on the court. Right now, I’m up to 227 pounds after ending the season at 210. But I’m a lot stronger and I basically don’t have any body fat on me.”
Watching players at Wimbledon is like seeing your school friends all cleaned up and crisply side-parted in church. Watching them at the U.S. Open, however, is like seeing them out at the mall, trying on colorful looks and getting loud, unsolicited, and entirely heartfelt feedback from a gum-snapping shopgirl.
Tennis snobs often sniff that the U.S. Open is loud, unrefined, and entirely lacking in manners, particularly those rowdy night crowds filled with, well, New Yorkers — the financebros and fashionistas who, day in and day out, give the city its particular alchemy of style and sweat. But can you even blame them? The day matches are sizzling, the night matches run late, and the lines for those signature Honey Deuce drinks are long enough that you might as well grab one for each hand, and maybe one more if they'll let you.
But I'm getting ahead of myself — we haven't quite reached the real night sessions yet. No, the first week of the U.S. Open is the domain of the daytime crowd, the middle-aged moms and dads from Connecticut who take the MetroNorth to Grand Central and then hop on the 7, clutching their visors and spray-bottle fans and strategizing about their plan of attack. For me the U.S. Open was a father-daughter affair, with my dad — now retired and thoroughly immersed in a twilight career as a tennis club pro — taking me along to the early rounds every year largely so he could do things like ship me off as a mercenary to, say, get Stan Smith's signature on a tennis ball. "He can't say no to you," he would urge. "Who's Stan Smith?" I would say.
If you're reading this, and you're able: Take a day off this week and go. You'll see up-and-comers on side courts so intimate you can smell the tennis balls in their bags, and a few years later you'll realize that up-and-comer you sat 10 feet away from was someone like now-no. 7 Mardy Fish. And you'll develop a sense of just how hard it is, just how grueling, how painful, how mundane, how ridiculously hot it is, not even to win the whole thing — but even to come anywhere close.
