It would be a blow to the Triple Crown season if a healthy Mystik Dan doesn’t run in next week’s Preakness because of his handlers’ concern over what basketball people would call load management. A Preakness without the Kentucky Derby winner just wouldn’t be the same. Let’s hope Dan’s trainer isn’t consulting Kawhi Leonard.
Awkward: It’s happened before that the NBA MVP was eliminated early from the playoffs — presumably to the chagrin of the league. Yes, it’s a regular-season honor Nikola Jokic won for the third time. But the likelihood of a quick Jokic exit to the Timberwolves is not how the script was written.
No doubt: A $100,000 fine is enough to catch the attention of even a wealthy basketball player. But Denver’s Jamal Murray, who threw a towel at a ref in Game 2 before heaving a heating pad that landed on the court, got off very lightly. He should have been docked a game.
Stepping up: There’s not a more dynamic figure in basketball right now than Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, the postseason MVP.
Add hoops: I was raised to root against New York teams, but the playoff Knicks are an infectious bunch.
Overboard: NBA teams routinely send videos — a handful here and there — to the league office to point out missed calls. It’s laughable, then, that the Pacers submitted evidence of 78 alleged reffing errors from the first two games of the Knicks series. That’s not a highlight reel, it’s a documentary.
Suggestion: Rather than leave games in the hands of the refs, the Pacers might want to do a better job of holding down Knick scoring. Indiana’s defense is a sieve, giving up the most points of any second-round playoff team after being among the league’s most porous defenses in the regular season.
Count ’em: The Lakers have had six head coaches in the past 13 years. To be fair to LeBron James, he didn’t fire them all.
FYI: The Nike sneaker — the left one — that famously blew out from under Zion Williamson during a Feb. 20, 2019, Duke game is going on the auction block. No shoe puns here, but wasn’t it an odd coincidence that the sole ripped apart against the Tar Heels?
A look back: The signing by Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union of 14-year-old Philly native Cavan Sullivan recalls the hype in 2004 over Freddy Adu, who became the youngest athlete to sign a pro contract in the U.S. at 14 after being drafted by D.C. United. Adu never panned out and lives on as a cautionary tale.
Struggling: The Orioles, who boast so many big bats in Baltimore and Norfolk, could use a reliable closer. Of late, the flammable Craig Kimbrel isn’t that.
Recent arrivals: A couple of Japanese newcomers making smooth transitions to America are Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is 4-1, and Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga, 5-0 with an MLB best 1.08 ERA. And while Shohei Ohtani’s pitching career is on hold, he’s atop both leagues in batting average.
Immortals: Willie Mays, who turned 93 on Monday, is baseball’s greatest player. Did I hear somebody say Hank Aaron? Discuss among yourselves.
Bob Molinaro is a former Virginian-Pilot sports columnist. His Weekly Briefing runs Fridays in The Pilot and Daily Press. He can be reached at bob5molinaro@gmail.com and via Twitter@BobMolinaro.
