Pat Summitt (1952-2016): Trailblazer

English: Secretary of the Army Pete Geren takes a photo with head coach of the NCAA championship team, the Tennessee Lady Volunteers, Pat Summitt (far right) and members of the team in his office at the Pentagon, June 24. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pat Summitt didn't invent women's basketball when she first became coach at the University of Tennessee in 1974.  The passing of Title IX by Congress two years earlier, which mandated that women athletes be afforded the same opportunities as men, brought new life to an idea that was either put on the back burner or banned outright.

In Summitt's 38 years as Volunteers coach, her teams have won 1098 games and lost 208, appeared in 18 Women's Final Fours and won eight national championships.  She has coached future Olympic and WNBA stars including Candace Parker, Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Kara Lawson.  And every one of her players graduated from school.

Summitt was the kind of coach players feared and respected, yet wanted to play for, and to whom every parent could trust their daughters to.  Because she won and won often.

She had a longstanding rivalry with Geno Auriemma of the University of Connecticut, who eventually passed her in coach the Huskies to eleven national titles, more than anyone else in college basketball history.  They were the two superpowers in the women's game, and then there was everybody else.

Not for nothing does Summitt's name appear on streets and basketball courts all over Tennessee.

Before Summitt's last season coaching the Vols in 2011, it was announced that she was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers disease.  On Tuesday at age 64, she had died from its complications.

Pat Summitt was more than a coach who helped spread the gospel of women's basketball.  She was a trailblazer for the idea that a woman's place should also be on the field, on the ice, and on the basketball court.  Sports and society in general owe her much ingratitude.

Another Hockey Gamble in the Desert

English: Vector image of the Las Vegas sign. Português: Imagems vectorial da placa de Las Vegas. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For many years, the city of Las Vegas meant gamblers, entertainers and reputed mob figures brought together in a neon oasis, operating 24/7 in the Nevada desert.  But as the Rat Pack and Wayne Newton have given way to Celine Dion and Britney Spears, alleged mobsters replaced by entertainment conglomerates and high rollers are joined by tourists, Las Vegas is getting more mainstream every day.

So it shouldn't have come as a surprise that the National Hockey League has awarded an expansion franchise to Las Vegas, to begin play in the 2017-18 season.  The ownership group, led by businessman Bill Foley, came up with the half-billion in cash that the league wanted.  Which is way more than what the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets fetched back in 2000, the last time the NHL expanded.

The NFL may be next, with the Oakland Raiders either in negotiations with the city, or simply using them to get a better deal out of Alameda County or sharing space with the Los Angeles Rams.  Major League Baseball and the NBA are also considering Las Vegas for relocation or expansion.

You might think that the major sports leagues have been avoiding Vegas until now because of its unsavory reputation as a city where games are wagered on, and because teams and players are routinely punished for betting on their sports (see:  Pete Rose).  But we've become so used to point spreads, fantasy leagues and casinos in nearly every state that it's almost hypocritical for professional sports to suddenly decide that it's now OK to operate in America's gambling mecca.

The NHL has been adding teams since 1967, either through expansion or merger.  In recent years, the league has gone to places where you don't see much ice, if at all.  The most notable failure thus far is the Arizona Coyotes, who keep threatening to leave because of bad attendance and the lousy arena deal they have.  And the NHL wants to put another team in the desert?  Where next?  Dubai?

las vegas does not have a large population or TV market, so it will be interesting to see if the new NHL team gets any kind of fan support beyond the high rollers who already secured their season tickets.  If it does, then other leagues will want to set up shop here.  If not, the franchise won't be the first (or last) to leave Las Vegas wearing only a barrel.

Cleveland Is Championship Land

Cleveland Cavaliers logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cleveland, Ohio.  The "mistake by the lake".  Punch line for generations of comedians (Bob Hope grew up here).  The place where radio DJ Alan Freed coined the phrase "rock and roll", and where its Hall of Fame now stands.  Home of this year's Republican National Convention.  Now the city has become known for something else . . .the home of the new NBA champions.

The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors 93-89 at Oakland Sunday to win Game 7 of the NBA Finals, and the championship series four games to three.  LeBron James, who returned to Cleveland after winning two titles in Miami, accomplished his mission of bringing one back to his hometown.  He scored 27 points in the final game, and was the recipient of the playoff MVP award.

The Cavs, who had marched through the Eastern Conference playoffs with little or no resistance (Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors), became the first team in NBA history to win the title after trailing three games to one.  The Warriors, who had won a regular season record 73 games, fought tooth-and-nail during the Western Conference playoffs (Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder) just to defend their league championship.

Except for the final game, this was not the most exciting series to watch with blowouts being the rule than the exception.  But then the NBA decided to suspend the Warriors' Draymond Green for Game 5 on account of one too many flagrant fouls.  Some would say this was a turning point in the series, others decried the league for the timing of the suspension.  What it really accomplished was that Cleveland won the next three games.  And thirty million viewers watched Game 7 on ABC.

The city of Cleveland had not won a major men's pro sports championship in 52 years.  The original Browns (now the Baltimore Ravens) won the NFL championship over the Baltimore Colts (now based in Indianapolis) on the pre-Super Bowl afternoon of December 27, 1964.  Cleveland's baseball team last won the World Series in 1948.  The Cavaliers joined the NBA in 1970.  Their teams' defeats in the big game had names attached:  "The Drive", "The Fumble", "The Shot" and so on.

After over five decades of ineptitude and heartbreak, the fans of Cleveland have suffered enough.  Thanks to the prodigal son who came home, it's time to go celebrate that elusive championship.

Penguins Chill Out Sharks to Win Stanley Cup

Sidney Crosby (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the first 25 years of the San Jose Sharks' existence in the National Hockey League, the Pittsburgh Penguins have won three Stanley Cups (1991, 1992, 2009).  Sunday night, the Pens won their fourth Cup on the Sharks' home ice, also known as the Shark Tank (minus Kevin O'Leary, Lori Grenier and Mark Cuban).

Pittsburgh won Game 6 with a 3-1 victory over the Sharks to take the series four games to two on goals by Brian Dumolin, Kris Letang and Patric Hornqvist.  Logan Couture scored the only goal for San Jose.

Sidney Crosby, who has won just about every major championship in his career including a Stanley Cup and an Olympic gold medal, didn't score a goal in the Finals.  But he did make enough of an impact to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.  For Phil Kessel, who was hounded out of the pressure cooker that is the Toronto Maple Leafs, winning the Cup was vindication for him.  He joins his sister Amanda, who won an NCAA women's ice hockey championship with the University of Minnesota this past season.

Having survived a lousy start to the regular season, injuries to key players and a midseason coaching change (Mike Sullivan for Mike Johnston), the Penguins made it through the Eastern Conference playoffs with series wins over the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning.  Oh, and having a hot goaltender like Matt Murray didn't hurt, either.

The Sharks made it to their first Cup Final in franchise history after years of not meeting their playoff expectations.  Under the leadership of Joe Thornton, Logan Couture and goaltender Martin Jones, they got past the Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues to represent the Western Conference in the finals.

The Penguins may have deserved their Stanley Cup victory, but the Sharks have shown that they were more than happy just to make the final round with the way they played.  We don't think it'll be another 25 years before they have a chance to hoist the Cup themselves.

Gordie Howe (1928-2016): Mr. Hockey

Gordie Howe, owner of the Vancouver Giants, at Gordie Howe Night at the Pacific Coliseum in March 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Before there was Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane--heck, nearly every NHL star of the past half century--there was Gordie Howe.  The  hockey icon from Floral, Saskatchewan died Friday at age 88.

Howe's career spanned three and a half decades (1946-1980), three teams and two leagues.  He won four Stanley Cups in the 1950s with the NHL Detroit Red Wings, and two World Hockey Association titles in the mid-1970s with the Houston Aeros.  During his NHL career, Howe scored 801 goals and 1850 points, records that stood until Gretzky came along and obliterated them.

Howe was also known as a rough-and-tumble right winger who fit the stereotype of the typical hockey player, sometimes spending more time in the penalty box than on the ice.  He's been stitched up hundreds of times, lost teeth and even had a serious head injury during a game.  Despite all that, Howe played 1767 games during his NHL career, much of it with the Red Wings.

Howe also managed the feat of sticking around until the age of 52, playing with his sons Mark and Marty on the Aeros and Hartford Whalers (today's Carolina Hurricanes).

Since Howe finally quit playing hockey, those who have either watched him play in person or on TV have idolized and credited him with popularizing the sport across North America.  One example is  Gretzky, who began his NHL career at the same time Howe was ending his.  Not only did "The Great One" break most of Howe's records, but he also played using the number 99 as a tribute to the man who wore number 9 on his uniform.

Gordie Howe was a prolific scorer who sacrificed his body to lead his teams to championships, yet lasted long enough to live out every father's dream of having his sons play alongside of him.  They didn't call him Mr. Hockey for nothing.