The NBA playoffs are down to the final four teams – the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat in the Eastern conference, and the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks on the west side. The cool thing about this is that there is no favorite team to win the championship. I believe all four teams have a great chance to win the title this year. This is almost never the case. As most people know, the 76ers did not perform well in their last series against the Heat. A big reason for this was the lackluster performance of James Harden. He definitely needs to take his job more seriously and get in better shape. He performed like an old baseball hitter who has lost his bat speed.
The PGA Championship men’s golf tournament is being played in Tulsa, Okla., at the Southern Hills Country Club this week. The last time the tournament was played there was in 2007, and Tiger Woods won. He is playing this week, but I don’t think he’s going to win, especially after his first round being four-over par 74. At the end of the round, he was clearly struggling with his leg injury. I would take either Rory McElroy or Justin Thomas to win the tournament. McElroy is already in the lead at five-under par, and if he can keep that momentum, he would be in excellent contention to win. The last time the tournament was played there, it was in August, and the temperatures were over 100 degrees for most of the four days. It isn’t going be that hot, but it will be in the 80s for most of the week.
I have to acknowledge two college lacrosse teams. I follow the Delaware men's team and the Syracuse women's team. Congratulations to the Delaware men for pulling off a big upset win Sunday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament against No. 2 Georgetown. They will play Cornell in the quarterfinals this weekend. The Syracuse women made it to the quarterfinals with wins over Fairfield and Princeton, but they fell short against Northwestern.
I will be following and reporting on the Cape boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams and the Cape baseball team in the upcoming state championship tournaments. Go Cape!
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A 2002 Cape grad and 2007 UD grad, Lewes resident Sumner Spence is one of the Cape area's biggest sports fans. Although he’s used a wheelchair his entire life, he has lived vicariously through his sports-playing father, brother, and friends, who gave him his love of sports. He hopes to provide new and interesting perspectives on the sports stories and issues of the day. Email Sumner at sumspence@gmail.com.
