The Stack is back on this Tuesday and it’s a great time to be a sports fan with all of the NBA and NHL Playoffs going on. There was history over the weekend as well so let’s get to it all in “the stack” for today, Wednesday, May 26th:
Phil Mickelson makes history, wins PGA Championship
I don’t know about you, but the PGA Championship completely snuck up on me last week. Since I was on vacation starting Wednesday I didn’t have time to whip up a quick preview and prediction for the PGA Championship on the Ocean Course in South Carolina, but I can assure it I would not have picked Phil Mickelson to win it. Mickelson was a force really from the get-go. He led pretty much the entire way with a four or five stroke lead on Saturday before it went down to one stroke. Brooks Koepka momentarily grabbed the lead on Sunday after the first hole with Mickelson bogeying the hole and Koepka birdieing it, but that lead was short lived as Mickelson came back strong and Koepka fell apart. Mickelson’s chip-in from the sand was something else! With Koepka falling off and Louis Oosthuizen hanging in the mix, Mickelson made a birdie at the 16th hole which helped provide a little wiggle room with the bogey on 17. Mickelson, at the age of 50, hung on and prevailed to win the PGA Championship , becoming the oldest player ever to win a major. It was an incredible performance by a guy who has missed his fair share of cuts at majors in recent years. Mickelson turned back the clock this weekend and we were all privileged to watch his brilliance and history. Congrats Lefty!
NBA Playoff update
If you have followed this blog for any number of years, you know my disdain for the NBA Playoffs and their scheduling. There is no reason why teams should have two full days off between games multiple times let alone once in the series. Play every other day. The first round takes forever! With that being said, in the east, so far there haven’t been a lot of surprises, but a few big blowouts. Milwaukee is up 2-0 on Miami. The Bucks made 22 threes in game two and crushed the Heat 132-98. Ouch, Miami. Ouch! I think the Heat are in trouble. The Boston Celtics are in trouble as well. The Brooklyn Nets are up 2-0 in their series with the Celtics. Boston has been a disappointment all season long. It’s just a matter of time before the Nets put them out of their misery. Trae Young shushed the enthusiastic Madison Square Garden crowd on Sunday in game one of the Atlanta Hawks ’series with the New York Knicks with his game-winning shot with nine tenths of a second to go to give Atlanta the 107-105 win. I like Atlanta to win this series. The other series, Washington and Philadelphia, should be fun because of Russell Westbrook, but I think Philadelphia ultimately prevails.
In L.A., it’s panic time for both the Lakers and Clippers. Both teams lost game one (Clippers against Dallas, Lakers against Phoenix). The Lakers bounced back to win game two against Phoenix. They should be okay, but the Clippers not so much. They lost both games one and two at home to the Dallas Mavericks. See? This is why we don’t lose to the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder in our final two games. Karma! The Portland Trailblazers and Denver Nuggets are tied one game apiece. I ultimately like Portland to win. They were playing too good headed into the playoffs. And Utah surprisingly lost game one to Memphis, but Donovan Mitchell didn’t play. If he plays the rest of the series, the Jazz should win, but if he doesn’t, Ja Morant and Memphis have a fantastic chance. We’ll see how the rest of the week goes in the NBA Playoffs.
NHL Stanley Cup Playoff update
Perhaps the most surprising result of the NHL Playoffs so far is that the Edmonton Oilers are back home having been knocked out of the playoffs. And it’s not just that they lost to the Winnipeg Jets. It’s the fact that they were swept by the Jets, a team that they had beaten seven times in nine games in the regular season. Some poor goaltending and zero offense in games one and two didn’t help. The league’s best player, Connor McDavid, plays for Edmonton. The league wants him to be in the playoffs longer than one round. This is a very bad look for the Oilers. The Oilers join the St. Louis Blues and Washington Capitals who are now home. Their seasons are done. The Blues were outscored 20-7 in their four game series against the Colorado Avalanche. I saw nothing to dissuade me in thinking that the Avalanche won’t be in the Stanley Cup Final. The Capitals won game one, but the Boston Bruins were too strong in the final four games and won the series 4-1. Zdeno Chara couldn’t be his former team. Both of these teams were really good. Boston was just a little bit better.
The Minnesota Wild staved off elimination Monday night, beating Vegas 3-2 despite being outshot (and thoroughly outplayed) 22-1 in the second period. We’ll see if they can force a game seven tonight (9 PM ET NBCSN).
