A week ago Sunday was a cornucopia for sports fans as three major events took place at the same time. The three events were: The Warriors Basketball game, Roger Federer competing in tennis and Tiger Woods playing his best golf in years.
It would have been nice to have had a trio of television sets, but the channel-changer did yeoman service.
The most nail-biting of the three events was the golf tournament where Tiger finished one stroke back and had a chance to sink a long putt on the 18th hole for a play-off. Next was the Warriors heart-breaking loss to Portland, which may have been occasioned by the fact that superstar Steph Curry did not play. As for the tennis, the remarkable Federer, who is now number one at the age of 36, scored an easy win in his appearance at Indian Wells.
Woods showed last week that he is still the major crowd-gatherer when it comes to the links sport. Although he suffered major surgery and a prolonged absence from the tour, Woods showed flashes of his old form as he hit the ball with accuracy, putted well and dazzled with his short game.
Both Woods and Federer are considered “old guys” when it comes to their respective sports. Woods is 41 and Federer is 36, but both still have the talent necessary to be players half their age.
When it comes to basketball, as we have stated before, the refereeing in the NBA is getting more and more abysmal. The missed calls have resulted in player injuries in many cases, such as Curry’s reinjured ankle and other incidents which have placed star players on the bench.
As the playoffs approach for the NBA, the refs are getting looser and looser and when it comes to the playoffs themselves, literally let the players engage in full-contact MMA style. Perhaps it will take an extremely brutal foul for the basketball commissioner to instruct the refs that they are wearing whistles for a certain purpose. It stands to reason that when you have a seven foot, nearly 300-pound player crashing into a relatively diminutive guard such as Curry, the result is going to be disastrous. Speaking of Curry, he is the poster-boy when it comes to being the recipient of holding, pushing, tripping and outright pounding by opposing players. Unfortunately for the perpetrators, in many cases they send Curry to the foul line where he is as near perfect as any player who has practiced the round ball sport.
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Rivalling the sporting events was the nail-biting special election for a Congressional seat in Pennsylvania. As of midnight a week ago Tuesday, the Democrat’s lead over the Republican was at .4%, which effectively meant it was tied. It was stated that it may be a week or so before the final results were to be known.
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As to the most important local sports news that occurred, it was the announcement that the University of Nevada Basketball team would face the University of Texas in the NCAA tournament held in Nashville, Tennessee last Friday. The Pack, which won the Mountain West Championship, but lost in the MW Tournament, received the bid mostly on the strength of their non-conference schedule. They then went on to defeat the Longhorns in overtime before pulling off an improbable comeback over Cincinnati to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2004.
Coach Musselman has done a magnificent job despite having a short bench, numerous injuries to first-stringers and lack of a big man in the middle. Actually, the Wolf Pack averages a solid 6’7” at every position with veteran Jordan Caroline playing the Center spot.
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The latest reason given by Hillary Clinton for her 2016 loss is that many American women were influenced by their Republican-leaning spouse, boyfriend or son in voting against her. This latest excuse for her failed campaign puts her in the same category as former President Obama, who had the awesome ability to hear the voices of non-voters. This mystical power seems to be a hallmark of the Left Wing, which routinely thinks they know what is best for the populace based upon their superior intellect. In Hillary’s case, although I did not see it, she is reported to have taken one of her routine falls while overseas.
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The “Save Wildcreek” group has taken a major offensive step in filing a lawsuit to halt the transformation of the golf property into the site for a huge new high school. The group’s main contention is that the project will result in a significant loss of recreational space. Having worked with the Save Wildcreek participants in the past, it is easy to understand the increased traffic woes that will affect the area, especially during football games.
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Kudos to TRIC honcho, Lance Gilman, for ponying up the sum of $10,000 to help save the some 2000 wild mustangs that roam the industrial center’s property.
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