When the lanky, uncoordinated Kelly Olynyk is the hero – and villain – of an NBA playoff series, you know things have taken an odd turnIn a sense, the Eastern Conference playoffs essentially ended last night. When the Boston Celtics beat the Washington Wizards 115-105 in Game 7 of their series, they most likely merely secured their spot as the team that LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers will beat on their way to their third straight NBA Finals. The only remaining drama in the East might be whether or not the Cavaliers will remain undefeated. It wouldn’t have been any different had the Wizards won, by the way, although John Wall is a bigger potential X-factor than anybody on...
Players such as Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan have chosen to pursue spells in Europe. But it’s not just money that proves an attractionWomen’s soccer players might be lured to Europe by money or the occasional tweet by Lyon’s Jean-Michel Aulas, who has signed athletes such as USA striker Alex Morgan (on loan) and young Canadian defender Kadeisha Buchanan.But most of the players who head to Europe or Australia for all or part of the year are doing so for a much simpler reason. They want to get better. Related: Alex Morgan: ‘If Fifa start respecting the women’s game more, others will follow’ | Donald McRae Related: Manchester City sign Carli Lloyd, two-times world player of the year Continue reading...
The Western Conference has won eight of the last 10 MLS Cups. But much of that has been to do with the power of the now declining LA GalaxyHaving just completed a 4-1 evisceration of the Seattle Sounders, the Chicago Fire – yes, that Chicago Fire – luxuriated in a little historical revisionism. Bastian Schweinsteiger’s midweek grousing about technical levels in MLS was recast as a suggestion that “forced [the Fire] to work on details.” This work, he claimed, had shown up in the match. Dax McCarty’s preseason criticism of a “culture of losing” had been a diagnosis that the incoming midfielder had promptly addressed. Wins exist to be over-interpreted. In any league — especially one that fetishizes parity like...
This week’s roundup also features tennis shots round the net post, Dutch football memories and Sepp Blatter at the Oxford Union1) It’s the Women’s FA Cup final on Saturday, with a competition-record crowd expected – topping the 32,912 at last year’s Arsenal win over Chelsea. It’s still not likely, though, to beat the 53,000 crowd at Goodison Park in 1920 for the Dick, Kerr and Co ammunitions factory women’s side versus St Helens Ladies. Some 14,000 more fans were shut out – evidence of the huge continued post-first world war popularity of the women’s game. Here’s some silent Dick, Kerr’s footage: the players posing with the mayor before facing Ellesmere Port Cement Works; film of the team departing on their...
Golden State and Cleveland are a combined 16-0 in the postseason, and everyone is bored. Let’s hope the conference finals offer something more compellingThe poor guys didn’t stand a chance. A day after the Cleveland Cavaliers completed their sweep of the Toronto Raptors with a 109-102 victory on the Raptors’ own court, the Golden State Warriors knocked the Utah Jazz out of the playoffs with a 121-95 win on Monday night. Cleveland and Golden State have both been perfect this postseason: the two teams have won two straight series in four, going a combined 16-0 without doing anything to challenge the growing perception that they will meet in the NBA finals for the third straight year.All of this is great...