5/29/10- What a Day

What a Saturday in sports. There was something for everybody. So many great (and sad) things happened, and everything was amazing in its own unique way.

In the NBA, Kobe Bryant did what he always does, hit clutch shots near the end of games (or set them up by air balling), after the other team has cut a major lead down. He did that against Phoenix to send the Lakers to the NBA Finals to play against, who else, the Boston Celtics. Magic Johnson was raving about the upcoming matchup after the game, and ESPN will continue to rave about it. I won't until Wednesday.

Kendry Morales hit a walk-off Grand slam for the Angels to beat the Mariners. In itself, this would not make my columns. But what happened after did. During the celebrations, he fractured his left leg, and may be out for the rest of the year. This is truly unfortunate for the Angels, as he is a good player who has contributed much for them all year. This will definitely change how the Angles celebrate walk-offs, and maybe other teams as well. This reminds me of things similar to this from the NFL. Remember Martin Gramatica, and his brother Bill? They both hurt themselves celebrating game winning field goals. Yet their injuries were funny, this one wasn't at all. I feel so sorry for Kendry and the Angels, and this is something we may never see again, despite how many times we see walk-off wins. But, that was not the most memorable event from this great day (not for Kendry).

Chicago beat Philly in game 1 of the cup finals, where both teams played badly, and decided not to bring their goaltending with them. Chicago played slightly better, so they won. Even though they had no powerplays at all. This was the Flyers game to have, and they decided not to take. The Flyers have to win Game 2, or they may get swept because of the way the Hawks play on the road. With all the jawing that went on during the game, and after presumably, Game 2 will be a very hard hitting game. Despite this being the highest scoring Cup Finals game since Game 4 of the 1992 Cup Finals (with the Hawks losing a 6-5 game to the Pens at Chicago Stadium to lose the Cup), that was not the most memorable event.

The most memorable event was Roy Halladay's perfect game. I am a Mets fan, so I should be saying bad things about him, or not even acknowledge it as true. But, this is only the 20th perfect game in MLB history. Some people have called this season, "The year of the Pitcher", and I agree with them. Before June even started, we have seen a No-Hitter from the Colorado Rockies, and 2 perfect games in 20 days. And offensive output has increased dramatically. Sure it has. This shows baseball is still, and always will be in my opinion, a pitcher's game. Roy Halladay is the best pitcher in the game today, and he truly deserved this, even if he does pitch for the Phillies. What a great day for him, and there is still 4+ months left in the baseball season, so plenty of more opportunities to see something else amazing. The NBA's slogan is, "Where amazing happens". That should be the 2010 MLB season's slogan.

What a day. The month of June will provide us with a new NHL, and NBA champ, and the world will turn to South Africa for the world cup. I frankly can't wait to see it all.