Sports Update for May 4th

NBA

So, the Pacers finally got by the Atlanta Hawks, even though they struggled mightily in so doing.

In fact, at times, it looked like it would be the Pacers themselves that would get eliminated.

After an incredible start to the regular season, the Pacers began to weaken later on, as the regular season came to a close. Yet, they recovered enough to clinch the top seed in the East, denying the Miami Heat of that privilege.

But in the first round, the Atlanta Hawks pushed Indiana to the limit, giving them all sorts of headaches, before the Pacers finally took Game 6 in Atlanta to force the decisive Game 7 in Indiana.

And the Pacers were able to get it done, and move on to the next round, taking the Hawks out after an impressive series that almost saw them knock out the top seed. Only two top seeds in NBA history have ever been knocked out in the first round.

The Clippers were able to finish off the Warriors in their first round series, coming from behind (they were down by eight at the half) to finally move on to the next round.

Also, the Oklahoma City Thunder, once of the most talented and accomplished of teams the last few years, finally were able to put away the Memphis Grizzlies, exacting a measure of revenge against the team that had knocked them out of the playoff race last postseason. It took the full games, with Memphis pushing OKC to the limit, and to the brink of elimination. But now, OKC advances, with a chance to possibly make their second Finals appearance in three year.

Should be an interesting second round!




NHL

The Canadiens lost Game 2 to the Bruins, which means that the series is all tied up at 1-1.

The series now switched to the Centre Bell in Montreal for the next couple of games.

After outlasting the Flyers in a very tough seven game series, the Rangers took Game 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have perennially underachieved in the playoffs ever since winning the Stanley Cup Finals in 2009.

Also, the LA Kings, fresh off their incredible comeback series win over the San Jose Sharks, were also able to take Game 1 against the Anaheim Ducks, in what should prove to be a tough series. I wish them the best as they now seek to extend their current playoff winning streak of five games and counting.




Boxing

Well, Floyd Mayweather won another big fight, at least officially. I cannot comment too much on it, not having seen the fight.

But from what I understood, Madaina pushed him to the limit, making him bleed for the first time in his boxing career, and keeping it close enough that it was not entirely certain who would win in the end.

Of course, it wound up being a decision in favor of Mayweather, although the crowd booed loudly.

In the post-fight interview, Mayweather claimed that he had allowed Madaina to keep it close on purpose, because he wanted to provide an exciting fight for the fans. He claimed that he had gotten a lot of criticism for his fights generally being boring, since he wins them decisively, and so he gave the gift of a great fight to boxing fans. Apparently, it had nothing to do with Madaina, who himself claimed that he won the fight. Mayweather also made a point of listing some fighters who punched harder than Madaina, emphasizing that he was not that hard of a puncher.

I'm not sure about you. But Mayweather's arrogance really can be irritating. he is a great fighter, obviously. But if you have him tell it, he's just that good, that he ranks as the best of all time.

It would be nice to see him lose, at least once.

Obviously, that is not an easy task, so let's see if it happens in the future.

The fans probably will want a rematch of this fight, and they were already talking about the possibility of it for September.