Second Thoughts: Much respect to Cavs, but Warriors too tough at home


Knucklehead of the Week

The “U” is back. University of Miami third baseman Edgar Michelangeli clinched a super regional victory over Boston College last week with a seventh-inning grand slam. He stared at the ball, flipped his bat and trotted around the bases. As he approached home plate he started hopping around like he had Icy Hot in his jock. Then he taunted the BC catcher. The benches cleared, and for the rest of the game Miami players mouthed stuff to the BC bench. Cops came onto the field after the game and there were no handshakes. Same old Miami.

Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there. I hope your kids hold off on making you breakfast until you can finish my column. Men don’t expect to be showered in gifts; we don’t want shoes or jewelry. A new chamois for wiping down the truck would be nice. Can’t go wrong with a steak on the grill, either.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are playing with house money in the NBA Finals. They've earned much respect by coming back from a 3-1 deficit to force a winner-take-all Game 7 tonight in Oakland. I don't think they'll win, but I do think we might finally get a close game.

All of the rest between games is giving series MVP LeBron James a chance to recharge — bad news for Golden State. But the Warriors are at home, in their comfort zone, so I’m expecting them to make 25 3-pointers and run away with the title. Any chance the Cavs can trade Kevin Love before the game?

Ichiro Suzuki surpassed Pete Rose last week for the most hits in professional baseball history. Ichiro had a hit Friday to reach 4,258 — two more than Rose. It's amazing to think that Ichiro played many years in Japan and still has 2,980 hits in the majors.

Rose did bring up a great point, though, about “professional hits.” If you add his minor-league numbers (he was a pro, getting paid), Rose has 4,683. OK, Pete, you can still wear that shirt with the Hit King label on the collar.

Looking forward to the College World Series. I'll be cheering for the underdogs — Coastal Carolina and Cal-Santa Barbara. The Gauchos (great nickname) eliminated Louisville in the super regional on a pinch-hit, walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning.

Lovie Smith, Illinois' new football coach, is not messing around. Smith has banned scooters from his program. Oooh, Lovie. No more gliding around on small wheels for his players. I didn't know the Illini led the Big Ten in scooter collisions by football players.

Trending up: Bartolo Colon, Johnny Cueto, Ron Rivera. Colon is 43 and pitching in the big leagues. The portly Mets hurler has eight quality starts in 13 outings this season. His ERA in four starts since turning 43 is 2.10. Added bonus: Colon hit a double last week, the third two-bagger of his career. Watching him run is worth the price of admission.

Trending down: Soccer fans, Kyle Larson, Jose Reyes. There's a big soccer tournament in France — I've seen some highlights. I've also seen idiot fans throwing flares onto fields and rioting in the streets because they can't hold their beer. Perhaps they're bored by all the low-scoring matches. I long for the days when fans just streaked on the field.

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