NBA Finals is set

With last night's 104-90 win, the Golden State Warriors advance to the NBA Finals, where they will face the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Houston started off on the right foot, jumping out to a 22-17 lead after the first quarter.  But trouble emerged in the second quarter as the Rockets got out scored 35-24, and the Warriors never looked back.  Compounding the problem was Houston's James Harden.  His night started off right, stealing the ball away twice to begin the game.  But his dream night turned into a nightmare, turning the ball over a playoff record 13 times, and shot an ice-cold 2-for-11 from the field.  His only saving grace was his 10 for 13 from the free throw line.

It was a series that never really wanted to go the Rockets' way.  With the exception of Game 4's win to extend the series one more game, the Warriors were fully in control.

The Warriors will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the finals, who swept the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference final.  It will be a long week of rest and Lebron James references on sports talk and highlight shows, as Game 1 of the NBA Finals is slated for next Thursday, June 4th at 9PM.

NBA FINALS SCHEDULE
All games to air on ABC (locally, WTEN ABC 10)
GAME 1: Cleveland at Golden State - Thurs 6/4, 9PM
GAME 2: Cleveland at Golden State - Sun 6/7, 8PM
GAME 3: Golden State at Cleveland - Tues 6/9, 9PM
GAME 4: Golden State at Cleveland - Thurs 6/11, 9PM
GAME 5: Cleveland at Golden State - Sun 6/14, 8PM*
GAME 6: Golden State at Cleveland - Tues 6/16, 9PM*
GAME 7: Cleveland at Golden State - Fri 6/19, 9PM*
* - if necessary

Midday Recap: A First Since 1956.

NBA

The borough of Brooklyn will host a Game 7 for the first time since the Brooklyn Dodgers went to a 7th game against the Yankees in 1956, as the Brooklyn Nets won 95-92 to set up a Saturday night decisive Game 7 at the Barclay Center (Sat, 8PM, TNT).  Deron Williams had a double-double, scoring 17 with 11 assists.  Marco Belinelli scored 22 for the Bulls.  By the way, the Yankees won that Game 7.

GOLDEN POWER
The Golden State Warriors are onto the 2nd round after their 92-88 win over the Denver Nuggets.  Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 22 points and 8 assists in a game where turnovers could have sunk the Warriors.  The Warriors turned the ball over 19 times compared to the Denver Nuggets 7, but made up for it going 23/24 from the free throw line.  The Warriors are in the 2nd round for the first time since 2007, and will face the San Antonio Spurs.  The Warriors look to advance past the 2nd round for the first time since 1975, when they won the championship.

COMBINING FORCES
It's good to see that Spa Catholic and Bishop Gibbons are in talks of combining their football programs so they can field a team for the upcoming 2013 season.  Last season, the Golden Knights came in with a short roster, as we noted when they traveled up to Warrensburg in Week 3, and had to forfeit their 4th game against Cambridge because of injuries.  The deal isn't official as the other coaches have to vote on the measure, but Section 2 chairman Gary VanDerzee doesn't anticipate there being any problems.

Speaking of high school football, we'll be coming out with our 2013 Football Broadcast Schedule soon!

COMEBACK TIME
The Detroit Red Wings even the series against the Anaheim Ducks, but not in the way you probably thought they did if you went to bed before Midnight last night.  The Red Wings led 4-1 at 20 seconds into the 3rd Period, thanks to Johan Franzen's 2nd goal of the game.  So some probably turned the TV off and went to bed safely thinking the Red Wings were going to easily even the series.  But then Anaheim came back, with goals from Ryan Getzlaf (7:50, 3rd), former Syracuse Crunch threat Kyle Palmeieri (12:31, 3rd), and then capped with Bobby Ryan's tying goal with 2:22 left in the 3rd.  So instead of a decisive game for the Red Wings, we were looking at overtime.

Overtime was settled quickly, as Gustav Nyquist wristed one past Jonas Hiller 1:21 into the extra time.

ONE-SIDED PLAY
The Ottawa Senators lead 1 game to none in their best-of-7 against the Montreal Canadiens after the 4-2 win at the Bell Centre in Montreal.  The Senators scored the lone goal in the 1st period, then relinquished the lead in the 2nd Period as the Canadiens scored twice, and then scored three goals in the 3rd.  Since teams change sides each period, that means all goals were scored on one side of the rink.  If you were watching on TV, all 6 goals were scored on the right side of the ice, unfortunately for those paying for seats on the left side.

The game was physical, explosive, and neither team looked as if they are going to be a dominating force in the series, which should make for an interesting Game 2 tonight in Montreal.

SILKY CLAY?
Boston's Clay Buchholz is the first pitcher to 6 wins, but his play has raised some eyebrows.  Namely, Toronto Blue Jays broadcasters who during their broadcast accused Buccholz and relief pitcher Junichi Tazawa of putting an illegal substance on their forearms.  According to Buccholz, the substance is rosin.

BRAVE JOURNEY

MLB

The Mets begin a three-game stretch against the Atlanta Braves tonight,  with Shaun Marcum taking the mound for the Mets.  Marcum, who was the losing pitcher in the 15-inning marathon in Miami on Monday night, will try to get his first win against an Atlanta team that has cooled down some since their 10-game win streak in mid-April.  On the other side, Mike Minor got roughed some against the Detroit Tigers, allowing 6 runs in 6 2/3rd innings.  Radio Coverage: 1230 FOX Sports Radio WMML, 6:50PM.