Let's start with the Mets, who went down 3-0 in the 2nd inning to NL East rival Braves. When John Maine gives up runs, that is usually the point where he crumbles. This time though, Maine lasted four more innings without giving up a run. A very pleast surprise, and even more pleasant was the sweet scent of the Mets' power possibly coming back. In a loss to the Phillies on Saturday, Daniel Murphy and Ramon Castro hit back-to-back home runs. In yesterday's game, Carlos Beltran blasted a 2-run homer, then Carlos Delgado singled, and David Wright followed that up with a two run homer of his own. Beltran tacked on another 2-run shot later in the game to seal the deal for a 6-4 win. The Metropolitans have not been hitting many home runs, but with five in their last two games, I gotta say that I'm excited about the possibility of them hitting more out of the park.
Alright moving on to the next order of business, Red Sox at Yankees. After a two hour rain delay, this got going in the New Yankee stadium and was simply enjoyable for the non-Yankees fan to watch. The New Yankee Stadium is a disaster. There are seats with obstructed view and home run balls are flying out of the stadium at record rate. The thing is, this stadium is going to be around forever now. They can't go back to the old Yankee Stadium. So much money went into the building and it has just been a big disappointment so far. I don't know what they can do, but they have got to do something to try and fix the problem.
Now it is time to move on to the highlight of the night: Lakers vs. Rockets, game 1. I don't think many people on the East Coast were up for the entirety of this one, but I can say that I am glad I was. This was a pretty entertaining game from a basketball fan's standpoint, but it had so much more. I could write about this one for a long time, but I'll check myself and just count down the top 5 reasons that you needed to watch this one.
5. Aaron Brooks is one of the most entertaining players to watch in the NBA. He might be the quickest guy in the league, and was capable of getting his shot anytime he wanted on aging Derek Fisher. He burnt him of the dribble 5 or 6 times last night. A six-foot nothing guy should not be able to score 19 points off of mostly layups, but Brooks did just that last night.
4. Phil Jackson's attack on Craig Sager just before the fourth quarter started. Sager was interviewing Jackson as the quarter was beginning, and was asking him about what the Lakers needed to do to continue their fourth quarter dominance over the Rockets (they outscored the Rockets 127-80 in the fourth quarter during the regular season). Phil responded by saying that first off they needed to get Sager away from their bench because he was scaring the Lakers in his "Bozo the Clown suit." Now we all know that Craig Sager looks ridiculous, but I never expected anyone to come out and be downright mean about it. I think Phil Jackson might have officially achieved codger status with that one. He could be losing it.
3. Shane Battier is still a ridiculous defender. Kevin Harlan said that he finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. That means he was behind Dwight Howard, Lebron, and Dwyane Wade. The only one that I am okay with being in front of Battier is Howard. The others were there because of numbers they put up and the flashy blocks they had. Battier doesn't get blocks because he doesn't go for them. Battier is a truly good defender. He guarded Kobe all night and forced him to take jump shots. He puts his hand in Kobe's face and contests every shot so that Kobe can't see the hoop. Maybe Lebron or Wade would block Kobe a couple times in a game, and maybe they would pick his pocket. But both of them would also both get beaten of the dribble by Kobe when they gambled and because they don't embrace defense like Battier. Sure, Kobe scored 32 last night, but it took him 31 shots to get that way. That is a lot of wasted possessions because Battier was working so hard on defense.
2. Ron Artest's hair. I figured that we were past the time of styles and designs being shaved into our heads, but Artest proved me wrong. He had the Rockets logo on one side, and I'm not even sure what on the other side. As if him saying that Brandon Roy is the best player he's played against wasn't enough proof that he's insane, this seals the deal.
1. Yao Ming. I am officially on the big guy's bandwagon after this game. He went for 28 points and 10 rebounds in last night's game, and that was the least of his accomplishments. Late in the 4th quarter with the situation still in doubt, Yao took a knee-to-knee collision from Kobe Bryant, went down and stayed down. Rockets fans held their collective breath. After the TV timeout, Yao was in the tunnel trying to get his knee loose. He demanded that he go back into the game, and proceeded to go out and hit another 20 foot jumper to help the Rockets seal the deal. He then followed up the win with only the greatest postgame interview with Craig Sager, and then admitted in the press conference after the game that he had just learned the word "underdog" a few days earlier so he couldn't really answer the reporter's question. Awesome.
Here's to hoping that all days are half as good as May 4th.
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