Sunday's thoughts

Sorry for the lack of updates. It's been quite the busy time here at the R&L, wrapping up the spring sports and figuring out All County and Player of the Year. For those not in the know, most newspapers, especially community ones, do some sort of "All County" team, a team made up of the best players in the county for each seasonal sport. This is often accompanied by a Player of the Year story, and we put a lot of time into those to make sure its something the recipient is proud of.

By the way, easiest All County team to figure out? Golf. There were a couple of debates as to who should make first team and who should make second team, but by and large, total stroke count for the year dictated not only All County, but Player of the Year.

The most difficult? Baseball. By far. Every county high school (six) nominated good, deserving players. The team had all eight fielding positions and three pitchers. Deciding on the pitchers was the toughest, comparing strikeouts to win-loss to ERA ... it was just very difficult. But I think we got them all right.

This will be sort of a quick-hit post, a few thoughts on the world of sports and a couple of links at the end.

LeBron, Cavs make Finals
I wrote in this blog that Cleveland has to find the Scottie Pippen to LeBron's Michael Jordan before it can be considered a lock to make the Conference Finals year after year after year. It's way too premature to even suggest Daniel Gibson could emerge as that secondary option, but man what a show he put on. The rookie from Texas scored 31 points in 29 minutes, and was 5-for-5 from 3-point range in the deciding Game 6.

I'd seen Gibson play at Texas, and I thought Cleveland got a bargain when management drafted him in the second round. But 31 points in the biggest game of his life? Not sure anyone counted on that.

And the most impressive thing about his performance was the way he handled himself on the court.
After draining his barrage of 3-pointers, it was Gibson's teammates who were jumping up and down the court, not Gibson. He was cool, suave and business-like, like Samuel L. Jackson in a cop movie. Again, it's way to early to say Gibson and James may be the next duo to make multiple Finals. But it's not out of the question, either.

While I'm at it, Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince laid a tremendous egg in Game 6. Billups, the leader, "Mr. Big Shot," was 3-for-7 with nine points. That was far better than Prince, who was an awful 1-for-10. Here's saying that Billups leaves town.

I really think Cleveland would be a great fit for him. He knows it's LeBron's team, but he can still play, is still a great locker room guy and would give the Cavs some more toughness.

NBA Finals
Let's all take a deep breath here. Yes, LeBron's 48-point performance in Game 5 was astounding. It was remarkable. It was (fill-in-the-blank). But let's not kid ourselves, the Spurs have a big edge in this series. San Antonio has the home-court edge, a huge advantage down low and the (much) better coach. Cleveland has been playing lights out, and obviously LeBron - in one game - became the player so many thought he could be.

The Spurs will mix up their defenses. I'd look for Bruce Bowen to guard LeBron, but he's going to get a ton of help from Manu Ginobli and others, especially when LeBron penetrates. And as Rob Horry showed against Phoenix, Steve Nash specifically, the Spurs aren't afraid to give someone a hard foul.

My best guess? Spurs win Game 1, Game 2, Game 4 and Game 6 to claim the crown.

MLB draft
OK, so no one's as big into the baseball draft as the NBA or NFL draft. But just keep an eye out for Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner is a 6-foot-5, left-handed pitcher for South Caldwell. South Caldwell's baseball team was the first thing I started covering once I graduated college. Although I've only been in the field for one year, Bumgarner is by far the best athlete I've seen. He could go in the top 15 picks.

Links
I'm going to try and remember to post a handful of links every week or so on great stories, or good videos, things of that nature.

You've probably seen this one, but this minor league manager had the best tirade I've ever seen.
My favorite part starts at about the 1:15 mark.

Here's a good, if somewhat sad read about Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood. It's written by the same guy who wrote Friday Night Lights. Good story, just tough to read as Cubs fan. Has it really been three years since Chicago was up 3-2 on Florida with Mark Prior and Kerry Wood pitching the two deciding games at Wrigley?

Finally, I saved this piece for last. This story really has nothing to do with sports, but I found it so gripping I wanted to pass it along. Make sure you set aside enough time to read it, it's quite lengthy. Regardless of what your feelings are in the war in Iraq, this piece of work is about so much more than war: it's about family and fairness, life and death, hopes and dreams, love and dedication.

A story for Jake