Heh, my favourite team, Sporting Clube de Portugal, has the record for the biggest win in the history of the european competitions when we beat in 1963, Apoel from Cyprus 16-1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju5B8Jz97oA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ0CROB0K2E

Yeah, I went to cheer for Germany yesterday afternoon at TD Place in Ottawa. The games were great but predictable. The new spot is really gorgeous, just next to Rideau Canal and a lot of new cinemas, food markets, restaurants and shops around the stadium. That's much more exciting than Montreal's Olympic Stadium where I went several times this year to cheer for Montreal Impact FC and where I will return if there is an interesting World Cup game (maybe the semi-finals). From the outside, the stadium looks nice but from the inside, it feels like a Soviet prison in a desert land.

Yes I'm glad something actually got done in this city. The Lansdowne stadium is finally beautiful (and structurally sound) again! And I much prefer the individual bucket seats to the old metal benches that were there on parts of the North Side.

I'm pretty surprised how well the Cavs have done without Irving or Love. I was thinking this would be over in 5 after Kyrie went down, but they're up 2-1 with the next 2 games at home instead. I'd still rather see Golden State win, but it's nice to see a competitive series. Those deep threes by Curry towards the end were very impressive.

As to Lebron's secret motivation, I wonder if Bird didn't take him aside and explain that two rings wasn't enough for the pantheon.

I'm shocked. The Cavs are actually pulling this off by doing the exact opposite of what I would have done: shutting down the paint and forcing the Warriors to beat them with threes. Forcing them to play from the outside to open up spaces inside. In theory it should work for the Warriors as they are a few passes and a screen away from a three pointer, but they have been shooting terribly from the three point line. On the other end, the Cavs are running iso on James. End of playbook.

I don't understand what's going through Steve Kerr's mind. He was one of the best shooters ever, he knows that when threes aren't going in, they are not going in, period, you have to run other plays. In the first half (and the previous game) they got plenty of open shots, but they weren't falling. When's the time to call a timeout and ask your players to attack the rim and not settle for jumpers? It's incredibly frustrating when teams do that, here we call that "falling in the trap": insisting on three pointers on a bad night and stagnating ball movement. It's how strong offensive teams lose games.

Speaking of Irving and Love, I thought the Cavs chances went up dramatically when Love got injured. He's not a bad player by any means, it's just that I think he had troubles going from franchise man to 3rd offensive option. He had to go the Bosh route and become another rebounding spot up shooter. Losing Kyrie, however was what I thought would do them in, as they had run out of a second weapon on offense since the other player who can create his shot (J. R. Smith) is too inconsistent. They are closing games with a defensive gameplan that I thought was suicidal against the Warriors and through hustle. Dellavedova is the man who should be getting credit here, he was the man making the key plays, fun to watch.

^ Yes, the Warriors have been shooting much worse than usual though Curry seemed to get it back in the 4th. Lebron's been a one-man wrecking ball out there, so it makes sense to let him continue to carry them though Delly has made some nice plays himself.

Yeah, it did seem to bother Love which was strange to me. I didn't blink when Wade's production went down because they're both slashers, so I assumed something(Wade) had to give. With Bosh, he never had that much of an offensive game to begin with, and I assumed it was playstation numbers for a losing team with Toronto. Love on the other hand is a very good shooter and great rebounder. I thought they would complement each perfectly with him grabbing the rebound, hitting Lebron further down, and then Lebron either works into a shot or kicks it back to Love for an open look. I knew he wouldn't produce quite so much as he had, but I thought he'd be more valuable than he was.

In any case, I'm definitely hoping Curry and Thompson can pull this off. After what happened with OKC a few years ago, I'm not so sure a young team can make it back.

I don't follow pro basketball much at all. You see, the only team I've ever really cared about was the Golden State Warriors, and they have been so terrible for so long, that most years, I typically would only periodically check the standings to see how many teams were actually worse than they were (and in a typical year there were usually at least 5 or 6 really bad teams who were worse.) Because I grew up in the San Francisco area, that was simply the local team, and other than one or two respectable years in the 90s, they just never did much to excite the viewers. So I never watched much basketball, and other than cheering on the Warriors on the rare chance I ever saw them on TV, I never cared.

But this year, they are one win away from winning the whole big thing. Wow. Its surreal, I'm shaking my head in disbelief, watching them take it to LeBron James & co. I dunno, I have a feeling Cleaveland wins the next one and the Warriors get it done in game 7. Two evenly matched teams, its been a real slugfest but the last 2 games Golden State has gotten it done.

Well, you guys have a crazy team going. A little bit of a story here: I bought NBA 2k11 (the game with Jordan on the cover) after not having bought a basketball videogame since NBA Live '98. Long story short, I eventually got to play in the Warriors. Looking at the roster, I thought this team was a couple pieces short of being good: a strong rebounder and defensive presence inside (as you may or not know, the starting center at the time Andris Biedrins, sucked balls) and a jack-of-all-trades small forward (because every team in basketball NEEDS one of those). Let's remember that, at the time, they had Monta Ellis at his prime and David Lee getting all-star numbers. Then they got rid of Ellis for Bogut, drafted Thompson, another gifted shooter to replace that offense and got Iguodala on board and I lost it. I thought improvement was certain, but didn't think they'd dominate regular season, much less make it to Finals. But they didn't stop there. They got and/or developed other great talents and gave them a gameplan. They could score as well as anyone, they only needed someone to teach them defense. What a great team and what a great season. As a long time basketball fan, it's been fun to watch. Gotta give them some love!

HO-LY SHIT. Curry's 4th quarter tonight was jawdropping, to say the least. I'm not a basketball scholar but I'd like to think I know plenty of it and, right now, Stephen Curry gets my vote as the best off-the-dribble shooter ever, and very high on a best shooters ever list. That three point answer to LeBron's previous crazy difficult three was amazing. These past couple games, the Warriors have hit their threes and that was all they needed. Offensive sets were good (scorers felt a little passive though), defense was clearly good (LeBron hitting less than 45% from the floor and contesting everyone else) problem was they had many open looks that didn't fell, because the Warriors did get open shots against the Cavs defense. They got open a whole lot. In games 4 and 5, those shots they had missed went in and, combined with the Warriors now standard 4th quarter rally, the Cavs were overrun. I'm a little sad that Irving is out, he could have made this an even better series, it would have at least not made the Cavs resort to iso on LeBron for every single play.

Man, it sounds like these Cleveland fans are sore losers.

But as much as I hate the NBA, I am happy that Golden State won because it means LeBron lost.

Hating the NBA and/or basketball in general is fairly normal among metalheads, at least in my experience.

Cleveland fans are (understandably, I'd say) a little hurt because they built a solid team, they thought they were going all the way. To me, the team didn't seem quite as good, as local legend basketball coach Carlos Morales once said: "there aren't enough basketballs in the world for that team to shoot". James, Irving and Love all were the main scorers for their teams at some point meaning someone has to compromise and become a role player, which more often than not leads to loss in production. I never thought they were making it to the East finals, much less the actual finals. That said, while I have a soft spot for the Warriors, I didn't think they were making it either, my prediction for the finals was Hawks vs Clippers, clearly I was mistaken, but I'm glad because the Warriors season was way, way too good to not win it all. It's been a pleasure to see.

On a slightly different note, as Game 6 went along I was thinking to myself Andre Iguodala should get the finals MVP but never in my life I thought they would have given it to him. Justice was made, Iguodala was the smartest player on the court, one of the best scorers and did so while holding "the best player in the world" ( ) to less than 40% field goals. First finals MVP that had no starts in the regular season. I always greatly enjoyed his game since his days in Philadelphia, but I didn't think he had this sort of performance in him. This man showed he wanted it and was willing to do what was necessary. Kudos to the man and congrats to all you (probably no more than 5, haha) Warriors fans that visit this forum.

I love college basketball. I just think the NBA is so fake-feeling.

I'm not a Warriors fan, but I was pulling for them to win. I don't hate Lebron, but he has rings and the Warriors are a far more fun team to watch. Most eastern teams aren't very talented and so they lean on team defenses that stall mediocre or worse offenses, but that doesn't do much against better offenses in the west. The Cavs had more firepower than is more normal for an eastern team, but they lost said extra scoring and Blatt reverted back to team defense. Lebron had a very well-rounded performance, but the Warriors focused on stopping him, and his efficiency was atrocious. I'm not sure about giving Iggy the finals MVP though. I really felt watching the series that Curry and Lebron were the best players in it and were drawing the most defensive attention. Iggy played a part in it, but I didn't feel like he was the star.



Would you mind explaining this a little further? I had just assumed that the international nature of the userbase combined with the better teams being from the west and south was what led to the relative lack of basketball discussion.

I figured giving Igoudala the MVP was akin to giving Richard Dent the MVP of Super Bowl 20 and (whose that guy from Tampa Bay who had 3 interceptions) the MVP in super bowl 37.

In other words, its the "Defense wins championships" adage, and it was Igoudala's rebounding and defensive play that got the accolades, much more than his offensive numbers (which, while impressive, suffered from mediocre to poor free throw shooting.)

I think one advantage college basketball has is there is less money and stardom involved, and it is easier for a small-market team (e.g. Butler, Gonzaga, George Mason) to be hugely successful. This is true, to a lesser extent, of college football, although smaller college football programs tend to have more trouble achieving success (and being recognized for it when they do.)

No doubt those two were the best players, which is why they attracted so much defensive attention but they didn't perform in these finals quite as well Iggy did, in my humble opinion. Curry had a couple shaky performances, including one abysmal 5-23 from the field and James's performance just didn't cut it for me. I don't hate the guy, he is a great player, but as a fan, he fails to convince me of his greatness. I could go on and on about it, but I digress and it's not a fun conversation. Iggy however, was just short of flawless (because, you guessed it, free throw%), scoring, assists, rebounds, all of the defense that ever was and the IQ of a basketball wizard. A decent chunk of the key plays were set up by him. When push came to shove, Iggy was playing point guard and running plays. In my mind there was no one else who could have won it, but was willing to bet on Curry getting it.


I thought they still had some potentially solid offense in there, but it seemed like many of those players who could have generated it got used to playing other roles. I mean, Blatt coaches the Russian national team on a very European-styled gameplan, I believe (and this is strictly speculation) that if he had resorted to that gameplan instead of "LeBron-save-us" offense, strong inside players like Mozgov (whom he has coached before) and Tristan Thompson (who showed improvements in his post game) could have been viable offensively on the Warriors smaller lineup (their most dangerous one). Having good offensive presence inside tends to open up perimeter shots, so maybe ice-cold spot-up shooter like JR Smith and Shumpert could have had better looks to get going. But neither Mosgov or Thompson were instructed to be aggressive options on offense, other than as offensive rebounders, allowing the Warriors to keep their smaller lineup on the court, which is ideal for them. Again, I can't say for certain if that's what would have happened or if it would have changed the result, but it's a thought. Anyway, I agree with what you said, I'm just musing.

StainedClass: There is just so much overflashiness with these star players, and it feels much less team-focused and much more selfish than college basketball.

Nochielo: Your idea for the offense is definitely intriguing, I do recall Mozgov exploding for like twenty points in one game, so he has the capability. Iggy made the so-called heady plays, but I have to wonder how many of those were open because of the threat of Curry or Thompson shooting them into oblivion. Those shots he made were often lightly contested or in transition. Lebron did a great job for most part though It's just never good basketball to have one guy be your entire offense, especially if he can't handle that load with an equally high effiiciency. Eastern teams seem especially bad about this, and they believe that more defense will fix what is an innately flawed strategy for offense. This sort of explains why I'm not as big on Iggy's D on Lebron, as there was just no way that he could have pulled off his normal efficiency while scoring and everything at that volume. One man can only do so much on a team that decides to forego offense for defense.



I can understand this. One of my relatives feels the same way about football because of the way Owens, Moss, etc acted a decade ago.

I think it was at least worth a shot, since they had next to no chance with the gameplan they went with. Then again, I'm such a fanboy for the European playbook, so maybe I'm biased, haha.

I agree entirely, many times you could see the Cavs defense step back from Iggy at the catch, challenging him to shoot. But at then end of the day, you still have to knock those jumpers down and make them pay. The Cavs' gameplan to leave him open made his scoring easier, but Iggy still had to sink his shots, that's how I see it. I can see why they would rather have anyone other than Curry/Thompson shoot the ball, but you don't step back from the guy that hit his last 3 jumpers, at some point you're going to have to contest his shots or the guy goes off for 20 points and you're still stuck with a loss. Maybe it has a little bit to do with how each of us thinks good basketball is but, to me, if a player goes, let's say, 6-11 from the field for 14 points I don't really care how he got those numbers, but I'd rather have him get those numbers on open looks.

Don't get me wrong, I see what you are saying, but maybe it comes down to preference and what we prioritize on basketball. There's as many coaches as there are fans, right?

I think just the opposite. Iggy's numbers on offense were possible due to the Cavs' gameplan, which left him the energy he needed to lock down LeBron, a player a couple inches taller and roughly 40-50 pounds heavier. What I saw was Iggy teaching a defensive clinic and, at the other end, taking what the defense gave him, without overexerting himself. Didn't make any complicated moves, just smart, efficient basketball. In short, I think his defense was the star, his offense was incidental.

That golf course that they just finished the US Open on is an evil bastard. Dustin Johnson was so close to outright winning, and he three-putted the last hole to squander it.

....I hope they go back. That course is fucking brutal.

^ Spieth winning back to back majors is quite impressive. I'm used to seeing him in the hunt but two majors in one year is the stuff they put on Hall of Fame plaques. It'll be interesting to see if he can keep this up. The days of Tiger, Phil, and Vijay are coming to a close, I think Vijay and Tiger have retired, and it's good to see future legends build their legacy.

Tiger hasn't retired, but he needs to. It's not fun to watch him struggle so badly.

Has anyone followed the ongoing (South) America Cup?

A little, yeah. All I want is Brazil to not win it, and they probably won't, since Gaymar is out.

Just read that Ireland players were bribed to prevent injury to Messi in 2010 friendly match.

Haha, the fuck just happened here!

Chilean player got banned for the rest of the Copa-America after he inserted his finger into another player's anus. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foot ... 44940.html

That boy ain't right.

HAHA! Brazil got eliminated! xD

^ Not a surprise

Australia lost to Japan 1-0 in the women's FIFA in Canada. They did well to get to the quarter finals but couldn't hold out a much more skilful Japanese team. Great effort despite the loss.

The Ottawa Senators have traded Robin Lehner and David "Peg" Legwand to Buffalo. And the award for Least Surprising Roster Purge/Salary Dump goes to...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! The midget lost!

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/33085977

CHILE! AMERICA CUP CHAMPION CONCHETUMARE!!!! AAAAAAAARRRGGGHHHHHHH!!!! GET THAT FUCKING MIDGET TROLL MESSI!! CAGON PECHO FRIO!!!!

Pulling for Japan to pull off the repeat tomorrow.

¿Qué carajos significa “pecho frío”?

Like most of my fellow countrymen, I don't follow football/soccer/whatever-you-guys-call-it-in-your-respective-countries, but sorry Argentina/Brazil, you can't win them all. Congrats to all Chilean fans of the sport, enjoy this day! Enhorabuena!

Pecho frio: literally Cold chest is someone who fails in crucial moments, who lacks the balls and heart to accomplish what he must, the one who doesn't give his 100% etx.

OK, noted. So many hyped players in all sports suffer from that, it's almost an epidemic.

GET FUCKED, ST. LOUIS

EDIT: Never mind! We won, so nothing I whined about before matters at all!

Bundesliga starts today.

One league below, though, SV Sandhausen started into the season with a three point penalty, meaning they started with -3 points. After three games they lead the table. Don't know anything about that team, but that is pretty awesome.

Fuck yes Everton, 2-0 up at HT against Saints with two sublime goals. Where was this kind of football from you last year?

Or last week for that matter