June 9, 2025
What a week for sports fans across the globe whether you love the crack of a slapshot, the pop of a forehand winner or the gentle swish of the ball kissing the bottom of the net. We were all graced by dramatic matches and games filled with comebacks and heroics that were, without exaggeration, for the ages.
I will break my dedication of my musings away from basketball exclusivity and share the connections between 3 magnificent and completely different games that are tantalizing all of the huddled masses with their unique storylines.
Let’s go ‘3 From Deep’:
- Let’s start with the NBA Finals. Game 1 was the 4th buzzer beater by Tyrese Haliburton in the playoffs. All were dramatic in their own way. The 2 pointer to tie New York was visually one of the coolest shots I have seen. The step back shot on Townes hitting the back of the rim, going straight up and out of the camera capturing the moment at court level, the backboard lighting up to show that time had expired and the ball falling straight through the net. Remarkable. The only thing that could top that would be to have another opportunity in the NBA Finals and, lo and behold, Haliburton hops on his steed and gives the Pacers their first lead in the game with.3 seconds left!
*There is a scene in the great western movie, ‘Tombstone’, where Wyatt Earp walks directly into the incoming fire of his mortal enemies, the Cowboys, with an overwhelming advantage and turns the tide from sure death and defeat into ultimate victory while gunning down their leader, Curly Bill Broadus. One of Wyatt’s posse asks Texas Jack if he had ever seen anything like that before meriting the reply’ Hell, I have never even heard of anything like that before!’ That is my tribute to Haliburton – I have never seen anything like this before where 4 games were won by 1 player in the midst of the all important playoffs. But, I digress…
Game 2 was what we all expected in this series. OKC’s superior depth and talent took control in the first half and never relinquished it for an easy win. Can the Pacers compete for the Larry O’Brien Trophy? Probably not but they have surprised us all to this point. One thing is for sure: Haliburton has to be much more assertive and effective all game long if they want to even be competitive. As daunting as it is to go against Montreal’s Luguentz Dort, Tyrese holds the keys to the kingdom not just at the buzzer but over the full 48 minutes of play.
- Onto hockey. It really is a special time to be in the City of Edmonton and feel the excitement, pride and angst (Unfortunately, the Panthers soundly defeated the Oilers last night both on the scoreboard and in the mental game). Games 1 and 2 in Edmonton were beyond great. Playoff Hockey is the most intense sport in all of the team sport world to me. And I believe NHL players are the most amazing athletes in sport. What they do with a puck and a stick on ice at the speeds they play with the physical nature of the sport is way out of my ability to understand. I am not a fan of the fighting element but I understand it. Connor McDavid is still under-appreciated from my vantage point because of his combination of skill, effort and leadership. My hope is that the Oilers regroup and bring the ‘City of Champions’ moniker back to the City of Champions!
- My wife and I are huge tennis fans. We play the game with great joy even though age has been a cruel master in the erosion of athletic abilities. I really fell for tennis watching Arthur Ashe defeating Jimmy Connors in the U.S. Open in another era. We moved on with McEnroe & Borg then Becker & Sampras along with Evert & Navratilova before settling in on the artistic glories of Federer & Nadal. The grace of Roger versus the brutality of Nadal was captivating enough but adding in their irrepressible personalities led to man crushes galore! Murray came in; Warinka was always a bit of a disruptor. It was the emergence of Djokovic, truly the villain, again using a western analogy, riding in on a black horse with a black hat without the likeability of the 2 heroes but adding such a dynamic to the creation of ‘The Big 3’. They won virtually every Masters for 2 decades and provided such color to the sport. The exit of R & R made it seem like that magic could never be captured again.
That is, of course, until the epic duel between Sinner and Alcaraz in the French open Final. The second longest Masters match of all time with so much dazzling skill and shotmaking on display that we truly watched not just the emergence of a new ‘Big 2’ but a new level of tennis being played by both men and women (referencing the Gauff – Sabalenka 3 set Women’s Final in the French).
Here’s the beautiful irony of the match that piggybacks on the overtime games in the Stanley Cup and the dramatics of the Haliburton buzzer beater: Alcaraz went down 2 sets and had to save 3 match points in the 4th set and then break Sinner’s serve in the next game just to stay in the match! Which he did and then went on to win 2 consecutive tiebreakers to defend his crown. The demeanor of the charismatic Alcaraz and the stoic Sinner has won over the fans of Rafa and Roger. Novak is still very good but Father Time is his doubles partner now. The young guns have taken over.
What is next? Who can say. It could be another 7 game ulcer-inducing Stanley final. The Pacers could find a way to somehow withstand the withering Thunder defense and Mozart-like offensive genius of SGA and make it a series. Or not. Magic happens ever so rarely in sport but we were all graced with multi-sport magicians at work in their different arenas of competition that all I can say is, ‘Thank you’! It was great to be a part of the fun.
Join Ryan and me on Saturday from 10am-noon for ‘The Basketball Show’ on Edmonton’s Sports1440, online on sports1440.ca. All of our content is available on your favorite podcast provider. Joining us this week will be the great Raptors analyst, Jack Armstrong, and the president of the WNBA’s Toronto Tempo, Teresa Resch. We will also be discussing the Singers and CEBL, the 2025 Hoop City3x3 Basketball Festival and, of course, all your NBA Finals updates.
In loving memory of my son, Ben, please take care and always be kind to each other – we never know what others are dealing with in their lives.
Have a great week on and off the court!
Yours in Basketball,
Paul
Paul J. Sir
Host, The Basketball Show
CEO, 3×3 Basketball Association
Color Analyst, Edmonton Stingers
*Email Paul at paulsir3x3@gmail.com with your thoughts comments on his blog and ‘The Basketball Show.’
