The NBA semi-finals are set and last night the Western Conference series opened. It was a double overtime game that saw the Spurs take the lead over the defending champion Thunder. Wemby dominated; there aren’t a lot of alternative descriptions that apply there. Here are some of his stats from last night; remember, he is only 22 years old:
- 41 points, 24 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and 3 assists
Notwithstanding that performance, it still took double OT to beat the Thunder. This should be a great series, and it sort of demands that the Knicks and Cavs in the East provide some drama in their games lest they become an afterthought here.
Moving on … In 2020, Tom Brady left the Pats and signed with the Bucs. He spent 3 seasons in Tampa amassing 37 wins there including 5 wins in the NFL playoffs. He retired after the 2022 season and did not make any dramatic returns to the field on Sundays – or any other day of the week for that matter.
Brady’s career intertwined with the NY Jets. Remember, the injury to Drew Bledsoe that put Brady on the field for the first time was inflicted by a Jets’ linebacker. Over the course of his career, Brady’s record as a starting QB against the Jets was 31-8 (including playoff games).
The Jets have played 6 full seasons since 2020 when Brady decamped for Tampa. While Brady started and won 37 games, the Jets total wins for the 6 seasons stands at 28 games. In a sense, Tom Brady continued to dominate the NY Jets even after he left the AFC East.
Switching gears … Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens are two of the greatest pitchers in MLB history; I don’t anticipate any serious pushback there. Their careers overlapped for 10 seasons in the 1980s and early 90s. Both Ryan and Clemens were strikeout pitchers.
- Ryan played for 27 years in MLB and averaged 246 strikeouts per 162 games
- Clemens played for 24 years in MLB and averaged 224 strikeouts per 162 games
- Ryan had the most career strikeouts in MLB history at 5714
- Clemens ranks third in career strikeouts in MLB history at 4672
Interestingly, there is a great asymmetry in their career statistics:
- Ryan: He threw SEVEN no-hitters and won ZERO Cy Young Awards
- Clemens: He threw ZERO no-hitters and won SEVEN Cy Young Awards.
Next up … I want to take a synoptic view of Ted Williams’ accomplishments over the period 1939 – 1953.
- 1939: Williams is 20 years old in his rookie season and hits .347 with an OPS of 1.045
- 1941: Williams hits .406 with an OPS of 1.287
- 1942: Williams hits .356 with an OPS of 1.147
- 1943 – 1945: Williams is in the US Marine Corps as a pilot instructor
- 1946: Williams hits .342 with an OPS of 1.164 and wins the MVP Award
- 1947: Williams hits .342 with an OPS of 1.133 and wins the Triple Crown
- 1948 – 1951: Williams’ WORST year saw him hit .317 with an OPS of 1.099
- 1952-1953: Williams is a combat pilot in the Korean War flying 39 combat missions
Finally, I’ll leave you today with these words from Groucho Marx:
“Well, Art is Art, isn’t it? Still, on the other hand, water is water. And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now you tell me what you know.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………