Memorable NBA Finals

Here are some of my memorable NBA Finals moments, much thanks to Michael Jordan.

1998 - Jordan's Last Jumper (as a Bull)
Although the Utah Jazz dominated the NBA's regular season, and had home-court advantage throughout all rounds, the Bulls didn't have a problem. In the final seconds of a Bulls dynasty, Michael Jordan hits a jump shot in the late seconds on a great move against Bryon Russell.

1994 - Knicks-Rockets and the O.J. Chase
It wasn't what happened on the court at Madison Square Garden, but in Los Angeles as the telecast was overshadowed by the famous police chase in the Bronco.

2005 - Spurs-Pistons
You have to appreciate hard-working teams with substance. And both collided in a series lacking style, but showing determination and will by two teams pushing their limits. And the Spurs came out on top in a great seven-game series.

1993 - Bulls Three-peat
It wasn't Jordan to make the big shot to win the NBA Championship, but his backcourt buddy John Paxson hits a three-pointer in Game 6 with just seconds remaining to seal the series against the Phoenix Suns.

Honorable Mention
1992 - Michael Jordan continued to hit three-pointers against Portland. After another shot hit, Jordan gestured as if he didn't know why the shots were going in.

1991 - Jordan's much imitated move going to the basket against the Lakers. Sadly, this was also the final postseason played by Magic Johnson.

Just getting up to speed...

You want championship series? Well, you're in luck.

The Miami Heat took a 1-0 lead over Dallas this evening. And tomorrow, finally some hockey as the Stanley Cup Finals begin in Vancouver tomorrow night when the Canucks face off against the Bruins.

It's also interesting to see a team relocate into a city that not too long ago lost a franchise to relocation. Winnipeg is more than likely to get the Thrashers (probably a new moniker coming) from Atlanta pending approval which is likely. Winnipeg lost the Jets hockey franchise in 1996 to Phoenix. The former Jets franchise is now known as the Phoenix Coyotes.

Congrats Heat!

And so it is... Heat and Mavericks, five years later.

Both conference finals ended so quickly, that there will be no NBA basketball over the holiday weekend. Thankfully I posted my memories of past conference finals before tonight. In future posts, references to this year's conference finals can specify blown leads and otherwise one-sided power from the teams deserving to reach the NBA Finals.

Since the last work stoppage canceling games in 1998-99, only three franchises from the West made the NBA Finals. Lakers (7 appearances), Spurs (4 appearances) and the Mavericks (2 appearances).

Major Injury Should Not Set Precedent For Rule Changes

After last night's collision at home plate between Florida Marlins' Scott Cousins and Giants' star catcher Buster Posey, there seems to be some outcry for changes, possibly in the rules. Well, the play was within the rules. Cousins' job was to score a run and Posey's job was to be in a position to prevent the run from scoring. It's very unfortunate that the play yielded a significant injury, as Posey is expected to miss a significant amount of games. There was no obstruction or interference on the play, and aggressive base running is too subjective and cloudy for umpires to determine the intent (beyond trying to score a run of course, and avoid being tagged). No changes should come from this occurrence, despite the unfortunate injury to a great contributor to both sides of an inning for the Giants.

NBA Conference Finals Memories

Here are some of the more memorable moments experienced during my personal following of the NBA Conference Finals. Of course, this is timed with the current conference finals in progress.

2002 - Lakers vs. Kings
The foul was on... Mike Bibby. Some questioned the call during Game 6, giving the Lakers the advantage, allowing a Game 7. The Lakers went on to win the series and ultimately the NBA Championship. Also, an important moment earlier in the series was when Robert Horry made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to win the game.

1994 - Pacers vs. Knicks
Spike Lee and Reggie Miller. Although the Knicks went on to win the series, Miller's Game 5 performance was incredible, and some blamed Lee for his antics, although Miller shined on the floor. The game had a significant role in the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary "Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks."

2007 - Cavaliers vs. Pistons
In Game 5 Lebron James carried the Cavs on his back, in a tough environment known as the Palace of Auburn Hills. Scoring the team's final 25 points in a double-overtime victory, the Cleveland took a 3-2 series lead. And in Game 6, Rasheed Wallace was ejected by technical fouls, and the Cavs won the series, going to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

Sharks in a Must-Win Situation

After yesterday's 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks, the San Jose Sharks face elimination tomorrow night at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. Clearly, special teams have been a recurring theme in the series. With plenty of opportunities for the Sharks early yesterday on the power play, they failed to capitalize. And with the best power play in the regular season, a 5-on-3 advantage is plenty for the Canucks to feed off of. And they did so in the second period with three goals in a very short stretch.

Sharks' captain Joe Thornton is expected to play in game 5. Thornton suffered an injury in the third period and didn't play for the remainder of yesterday's contest.

WCF Just Got Interesting

Through games one and two, the third period would drastically tilt in favor of the Vancouver Canucks. However, even upon two quick goals in the third (credit to a five-minute power play off a game misconduct penalty to Jamie McGinn), the San Jose Sharks showed enough to hold off a rally, winning 4-3 and now only trailing Vancouver 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

The power play really was a strong point for the Sharks, accounting for three of the four goals. Patrick Marleau scored twice on the evening, including a spectacular breakaway play to get the puck past Canucks' goaltender Roberto Luongo. Could this be a turning point?

Friday Preview

Tomorrow, we'll look at Sharks-Canucks Game 3, perhaps Bulls-Heat Game 3.

Also, many spring sports throughout NCAA action heat up as institutions begin to finish spring terms and with baseball, softball and other spring seasons finishing up, there's just more to talk about.

Let's not forget about baseball.

Hopefully, we'll have something about football if there is a new CBA and both sides come to terms, which appears to be a long way right now.

For my second installment of memorable moments, I'll probably consider NBA Conference Finals moments. Please leave any suggestions in the comment box as we can have a healthy discussion amongst the blog community.

Ranking List #1 - NHL Stanley Cup Conference Finals Moments

This will be the first of many comparative blogs for certain sports catergories. You may agree or disagree. These are the greatest NHL Conference Finals moments during the time I've followed hockey. They are not necessarily the dramatic or repeated on highlight reels. These moments are simply just well-archived in my mind.

1994 - Devils vs. Rangers
Game 6 - Mark Messier guarantees a victory as the Rangers trail the series 3-2. After the guarantee, he scores a hat trick to force game 7. In the final game, down 1-0, the Devils score in the closing seconds to force overtime. In the second overtime, Stephane Matteau wraps around the Devils' net and stuffs the puck past Martin Brodeur to send the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Finals.

2003 - One Goal
When the Anaheim Mighty Ducks faced the Minnesota Wild, only one puck crossed into the Anaheim net throughout the four game sweep. J.S. Giguere was an outstanding goaltender taking the Mighty Ducks to the SCF for the first time in franchise history.

1996 - Facial
An intense rivalry only started as the relocated Colorado Avalanche (in the previous year played in the Eastern Conference as the Quebec Nordiques) met the President's Trophy-winning Detroit Red Wings. With only one more game to send the Avs to the SCF, Claude Lemieux knocked Detroit's Kris Draper into the top of the board. Draper had dental and facial injuries, along with a concussion from the hit. Detroit's Dino Ciccarelli took such exception to the hit, he couldn't believe he shook Lemieux's hand during the traditional series-ending handshake.

1997 - Avalanche and Red Wings meet again, and benches cross
Colorado Head Coach Marc Crawford began to climb over the glass pane into the Red Wings' bench, appearing to go after Detroit Head Coach Scotty Bowman.

2000 - Stevens Hit
In game 7 between the Devils and Flyers, defenseman Scott Stevens drills Eric Lindros knocking him into a concussion. The Devils went on to win the game, and of course, the series. Ultimately, this is how Lindros finished his tenure with Philadelphia after multiple concussions.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs - Conference Finals

The NHL Conference finals are in full gear. The higher remaining seeds (Boston and Vancouver) seem to have full control of their respective series. However, Friday and Saturday night will answer a lot when it comes to how the Stanley Cup Finals will play out.

Tomorrow night, a must-win for the San Jose Sharks. While staying in the game for the first 40 minutes, the third period has allowed the Canucks to show the distance. The speed of Vancouver's forwards and aggressiveness of the blue liners has tilted the ice. Will the puck-possession style of play be an advantage on home ice for the Sharks? 

I'm curious to see how the home ice advantage (allowing the final line change on a stoppage) can create mismatches to the Sharks advantage. Unfortunately, the camera doesn't always show the bench and who comes on and off the ice. It's something a person in attendance would have to carefully observe before the next puck drops. It's fascinating to see how Sharks' head coach Todd McClellan utilizes his forward combinations after Vancouver's hand is shown by head coach Alain Vigneault. 

In the Eastern Conference Finals, finally some defense showed tonight and Boston Bruins' goaltender Tim Thomas shutout the Lightning 2-0, thus showing his ability to stop the puck. While surrendering a total of 10 goals in the first two games, Thomas proved why he is a 2011 Vezina Trophy finalist.