Naomi's point; Barca's signing; Reaves ejected for malicious actions; & another fan incident
The Monday Memorial Day Edition of "Eight things to know before 8 AM" is here
I hope you all are enjoying your extended Memorial Day weekend. Lots to discuss in five different sports, starting off with a major controversial storyline that reached a crescendo yesterday morning, and concluding with yet another mindlessly stupid fan incident with an NBA player. Let’s get started.
1) Naomi Osaka makes a point
One of the world’s best female tennis players made headlines last week, after Naomi Osaka said that she would not be participating in the mandatory interviews with the media at any point during the French Open (currently in progress). Her reasoning was that, according to her sister in a since-deleted Reddit post, Naomi was frustrated that she was repeatedly asked about her poor performance on clay courts (among other more frequently-asked, poorer quality questions). Naomi also felt she was a poor orator when asked ‘what has happened/what will happen on the courts’ in pre- and post-game media appearances. Naomi’s belief, by blocking media interviews, was that she would be shutting off all of that outside noise so that she could focus on her game. Thus, tying all of that to mental health.
A quick response and punishment, not only from Roland Garros (the city hosting the French Open), but agreed upon by the other three grand slam organizers, was levied yesterday morning. Essentially, Osaka was fined $15,000, and the punishment could escalate to a possible default (removal from the tournament) if she continues her in-actions:
“We have advised Naomi Osaka that should she continue to ignore her media obligations during the tournament, she would be exposing herself to possible further Code of Conduct infringement consequences. As might be expected, repeat violations attract tougher sanctions including default from the tournament (Code of Conduct article III T.) and the trigger of a major offence investigation that could lead to more substantial fines and future Grand Slam suspensions (Code of Conduct article IV A.3.).”
I can see where the Roland Garros committee is coming from, as the media makes it possible for a player’s voice to be heard to the worldwide public. This benefits the player (more exposure), the media (more content) and the fans (more feedback). But Naomi (who has yet to talk to the media, even after her first round straight-sets win yesterday) has a credible point, especially with social media exposure exacerbating the mental health issues. It’s a controversial talking point that will only get more attention the further Osaka advances in this year’s French Open.
2) Upsets in French Open - Day 1
We just finished opening day of the 2021 French Open, and we already have so many notable upsets in the first round, no less. In no particular order:
Men’s Draw:
(25) Dan Evans loses to Miomir Kecmanovic, 6-1, 3-6, 3-6, 4-6
(19) Hubert Hurkacz loses to Botic van de Zandschulp, 7-6, 7-6, 2-6, 2-6, 4-6
(4) Dominic Thiem loses to Pablo Andujar, 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 4-6
(16) Gregor Dimitrov loses to Marcos Giron, 6-2, 6-4, 5-7, 0-3 (retired; injury)
Women’s Draw:
(26) Angelique Kerber loses to Anhelina Kalinina, 2-6, 4-6
(6) Bianca Andreescu loses to Tamara Zidansek, 7-6, 6-7, 7-9
(16) Kiki Bertens loses to Polona Hercog, 1-6, 6-3, 4-6
I find it mildly amusing that the three ranked men’s players that lost all had early one set and two set leads, only to all collapse in the subsequent three straight sets. The biggest names are, of course, Dominic Thiem And Bianca Andreescu, as both are top-10 players, and Thiem had the fifth-best odds to win it all; Andreescu, the sixth-best odds.
3) Barcelona signs Argentinian star to 2-year deal
So, this was a pleasant surprise, as one of the richest futbol/soccer teams in the world, my favorite, FC Barcelona, signed a 32-year-old Argentinian forward, Sergio Aguero. The team acquired him as a free transfer from the English Premier League champions (and Champions League runner-up) Manchester City earlier this morning (his contract expires next month). Aguero signed a two-year with Barcelona, and joins an attacking group that includes Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele. The team needed a replacement at forward after Luis Suarez departed for La Liga opponent Athletico Madrid in the last off-season.
Aguero has a boatload of experience (international and otherwise), as he has been teammates with Messi for the Argentinian National Team for almost twenty years, and was with Manchester City for a decade. Aguero was a substitute for a majority of City’s games this past season due to injury, but will look to rebound with this Spanish team.
4) Maryland lacrosse playing in the National Championship this early afternoon
By the time you are reading this, the Maryland men’s lacrosse team (15-0) will be playing Virginia (13-4) for the national title (1:00 PM EST on ESPN2). I have already discussed how great the Terrapins’ Jared Bernhardt has been this season (and especially this postseason). But for the Cavaliers, watch out for the duo of redshirt freshman Connor Shellenberger (33 goals and 44 assists during the regular season) and senior Matt Moore (29 goals and 32 assists). I will be floored if the Terps dominate as they did against Duke in the Final Four, as these Cavs are looking to win their seventh national title (my Terps only have three titles to their belt). The last time Virginia reached the championship game? In 2011, when they faced… you guessed it, the Terps, and won, 7-6.
5) The Golden Knights’ Ryan Reaves ejected after “intent to injure” Avs’ Ryan Graves
I would love to make a “Ryan on Ryan” crime joke here, but now is not the time and place. In the first game of the second round between these two NHL teams, the Colorado Avalanche cruised to a 7-1 win on their home ice. But frustration built up to anger for one of the notorious fighters in the Las Vegas Golden Knights’ rightwinger Ryan Reaves midway through the third period, with his team already down 6-1. After a save by the Avs’ Philipp Grubhauer (yes, a former, longtime Washington Capitals’ goaltender), Reaves sucker-punched Ryan Graves, then took him down to the ground, back-first. Reaves then had one of his knees on top of Graves’s neck/chest region (hard to tell via video), and continued his actions on a squirming Graves.
For his punishment, the referees agreed on one major penalty (unsportsmanlike conduct) and two minor penalties (for roughing), which altogether resulted in a hard-to-believe nine minute power play for the Avs, as seen below:
The correct call, and Reaves should receive further discipline from the League in the coming days (in the form of a multi-game suspension).
6) Orioles’ losing streak reaches 13; D-Backs snap 13-game losing streak
Well… I have nothing else to say… My Baltimore Orioles have essentially bottomed-out, after their thirteenth straight loss, a 3-1 loss in another series sweep, this one coming from the American League Central-leading Chicago White Sox. This loss was actually inevitable, as the team was facing the Sox’s ace in former Washington National Lucas Giolito (5-4, 3.73 ERA). The Os now face the Twins in a three-game series at home - remember, they got swept by the Twins this time last week in Minnesota. I do not see them getting a win against the Twins’ ace in Jose Berrios (5-2, 3.67 ERA) this Memorial Day afternoon. For those curious, the franchise’s longest losing streak all-time is 21 games, set back in 1988, and has been well-documented.
On the other hand, the Arizona Diamondbacks snapped their season-long thirteen game losing streak of their own with a surprising 9-2 win over the first place St. Louis Cardinals. D-Backs rookie pitcher Matt Peacock pitched six innings of two-run baseball, as the team battered the Cardinals’ pitching staff for five runs in the sixth inning to put the game away for good.
7) The 9th Day of the NBA Playoffs (1st round)
This weekend featured yet another day of blowouts, as the Hawks (16 point win); Suns (8 point win), Nets (15 point win) and Clippers (25 point win) all had impressive performances.
(4) New York Knicks lose to (5) Atlanta Hawks, 113-96 (Hawks lead, 3-1)
The Knicks’ Julius Randle actually had his best game of the postseason (23 points on 7-19 shooting; 10 rebounds and 7 assists), but it was the hometown Hawks who had the upper hand as they pulled away in the third quarter. It was not a bad performance by either team, but the Hawks just had more offensive weapons than the Knicks could handle in game 4 yesterday afternoon. Now the team heads to New York and Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night to put this series on ice and advance to face, most-likely, the Philadelphia 76ers.
(2) Phoenix Suns defeat (7) Los Angeles Lakers, 100-92 (Series tied, 2-2)
This story can be quickly summarized with one team’s star veteran player returning from injury, while the other losing their star vet for the entire second half. Both the play of the Suns’ Chris Paul (18 points and 9 assists) and the sidelined Anthony Davis (only 6 points and 4 rebounds in 19 first half minutes; left game with injured groin) went hand-in-hand in the Suns’ game 4 win to even the series and force a best-of-three tomorrow night.
And, as of 1 PM EST on this Memorial Day Sunday, Davis is doubtful to play in Game 5:
(2) Brooklyn Nets defeat (7) Boston Celtics, 141-126 (Nets lead, 3-1)
This game was eerily reminiscent of game 3 between these two teams, except that Jayson Tatum was not there to save the day for the Celtics in a blowout game 4 loss; he did finish with a team-high 40 points, however. The Nets’ big three of James Harden (23 points… and 18 assists!), Kyrie Irving (39 points on 6-12 from three) and Kevin Durant (42 points on an efficient 14-20 shooting) all had big performances. The team will look to wrap-up the series tomorrow night back in Brooklyn. The Nets will be facing the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
There also was an incident involving Kyrie… as I will mention later here.
(4) Los Angeles Clippers defeat (5) Dallas Mavericks, 106-81 (series tied, 2-2)
The last game of the Sunday slate of first round NBA games was… a blowout, as the Clips’ took a 15-14 lead in the first quarter and the lead only grew exponentially (at least that is how it felt for the Mavs last night) as the game progressed. No Mavs’ player scored more than 19 points for the team, as they were an anemic 5-30 from beyond the arc (16.7%! Yikes!) in this game 4 loss. Amusingly, the road team has won each game in this series. Like the Denver Nuggets-Portland Trail Blazers and the Suns-Lakers series, this 1st round Western Conference series also is down to a best-of-three. If the point holds (road team has won all four games between Clips and Mavs), expect the Clippers to move on in the series. Game 5 is on Wednesday night back in Los Angeles.
8) Another fan ejected in an NBA game; charged with battery
Yet again, with more fans returning to NBA games during these playoffs, we had yet another incident involving a fan and a player. In this case, like the Westbrook situation, a fan threw a water bottle that witnesses reported grazed the head of Kyrie Irving as he was heading to the tunnel at the end of the game. The 21-year old fan was arrested, and faces assault and battery charges for his actions:
We are done with another edition of my “Snippets” on this Monday Memorial Day afternoon. I hope you all enjoy the last bit of this holiday, with gorgeous skies from coast to coast! So, until next time, signing off.