Walter Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 Season suspended Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedZeppfan1977 Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 10 hours ago, Walter said: Season suspended And what is next? Baseball, NHL? No doubt. I am going to see if they play all NHL games tonight? I never thought this would get so extreme. The March Madness will be played they say with no fans? Should they not just cancel it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted March 13, 2020 Author Share Posted March 13, 2020 Coronavirus for Defensive Player of the Year. It shut down the entire league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted April 9, 2020 Author Share Posted April 9, 2020 (edited) Introducing my nephew to more classic sports history. The fate of the Los Angeles Lakers changed on June 25, 1979. Before that date, with the exception of the 1971-72 season, the L.A. Lakers were perennial bridesmaids and a disappointment. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in his Lakers years was becoming known more for his migraine headaches, punching Rudi Tomjanovich, and being outplayed by Bill Walton. But then the stars aligned and thanks to a fortuitous trade with the New Orleans Jazz (and a coin flip), the Lakers ended up with the #1 pick in the 1979 draft. Wisely overruling Jerry West's plan to trade down in the draft to get Sidney Moncreif, Jerry Buss was adamant about picking Magic Johnson #1 all the way. The Lakers getting Magic Johnson ushered in a sea-change in not just the Lakers' history but changed the course of NBA history, too. The Lakers were rejuvenated and the fans were rejuvenated. Before Magic arrived the Forum crowds could be lethargic...the Forum would sound like a mausoleum. The Lakers raced to a 60-22 record in Magic's first season...#1 seed in the Western Conference. But the regular season was one thing. Could the Lakers finally put an end to their playoff woes? 40 years ago tonight at the Fabulous Forum, the Lakers and their fans began to find out. The first playoff game for the 1979-80 Lakers was April 8, 1980. Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals between Phoenix Suns and the Lakers. As the #1 seed, the Lakers had a first-round bye. Here's the first half. Second half. Edited April 9, 2020 by Strider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chef free Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 Clearly, God is a Warriors fan... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 Flashback Friday. Continuing my voyage through the 1980 NBA playoffs. A major factor in why I enjoy watching classic sports...besides all of the great teams and players...are the sleek, uncluttered broadcasts of yore. Modern televised sports are a headache with all of the faux hype and barrage of music and the overloaded screens full of stats and numbers and scrolling bullshit. Like some stock market tickertape. Anyway...April 23, 1980. Game 2 Western Conference Finals. Seattle Supersonics @ Los Angeles Lakers at the Fabulous Forum. The defending champion Seattle Supersonics are probably one of the most overlooked NBA teams in history...along with their partners in crime, the Washington Bullets. Both teams made the NBA Finals in 1978 and 1979...The Bullets winning the championship in 1978 and the Supersonics winning in 1979. Their only NBA championship. Coached by Lenny Wilkins, Seattle featured Gus "The Wizard" Williams, Downtown Freddie Brown, Jack Sikma, Paul Silas, and a plethora of Johnsons...Dennis Johnson, Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson, John Johnson. The 1980 Lakers had the rookie Magic Johnson, Stormin' Norm Nixon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes, Michael Cooper, Spencer Haywood, Jim Chones, and Mark Landsburger. The coach was Paul Westhead, who had to take over during the season when original head coach Jack McKinney suffered a tragic bicycle crash. Who knows what Lakers history would look like if that crash had never happened? Love the shout out to Walter Matthau by Brent and Hot Rod Hundley. First half... Second half... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted May 5, 2020 Author Share Posted May 5, 2020 (edited) 40 years ago today I was as excited as I have ever been for a sporting event. After a long drought the Los Angeles Lakers were back in the NBA Finals since losing to the New York Knicks in 1973. Game 1 was on Sunday afternoon, May 4, 1980. Philadelphia 76ers vs. Los Angeles Lakers at the Fabulous Forum in Inglewood. Philadelphia had taken care of the Boston Celtics 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals, while the Lakers knocked off the defending champs Seattle 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals. Philadelphia was led by Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Mo Cheeks, Henry Bibby, Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins, Bobby Jones, Lionel Hollins, Steve Mix, Caldwell Jones and coached by Billy Cunningham. Dr. J was one of my favourite players at the time and I was nervous about the Lakers' chances going into the Finals. In fact, Dr. J scared me. Pat Riley was one of the assistant coaches for the Lakers...Paul Westhead taking over as head coach after Jack McKinney got in a terrible accident mid-season and could not return. The NBA on CBS. Brent Musburger, Bill Russell, and Hot Rod Hundley. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is awarded the season MVP at halftime. Edited May 5, 2020 by Strider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 9 hours ago, Strider said: 40 years ago today I was as excited as I have ever been for a sporting event. After a long drought the Los Angeles Lakers were back in the NBA Finals since losing to the New York Knicks in 1973. Game 1 was on Sunday afternoon, May 4, 1980. Philadelphia 76ers vs. Los Angeles Lakers at the Fabulous Forum in Inglewood. Philadelphia had taken care of the Boston Celtics 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals, while the Lakers knocked off the defending champs Seattle 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals. Philadelphia was led by Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Mo Cheeks, Henry Bibby, Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins, Bobby Jones, Lionel Hollins, Steve Mix, Caldwell Jones and coached by Billy Cunningham. Dr. J was one of my favourite players at the time and I was nervous about the Lakers' chances going into the Finals. In fact, Dr. J scared me. Pat Riley was one of the assistant coaches for the Lakers...Paul Westhead taking over as head coach after Jack McKinney got in a terrible accident mid-season and could not return. The NBA on CBS. Brent Musburger, Bill Russell, and Hot Rod Hundley. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is awarded the season MVP at halftime. That was the first NBA season I really remember. Weren’t the games shown on tape delay? I remember never seeing a finals game live. Dr J was my favorite player and the Sixers were my favorite team. Darryl Dawkins went to the high school I ended up graduating from when we moved from upstate NY to central Florida. Magic Johnson certainly put on a show in the last game of the series.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedZeppfan1977 Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 46 minutes ago, Walter said: That was the first NBA season I really remember. Weren’t the games shown on tape delay? I remember never seeing a finals game live. Dr J was my favorite player and the Sixers were my favorite team. Darryl Dawkins went to the high school I ended up graduating from when we moved from upstate NY to central Florida. Magic Johnson certainly put on a show in the last game of the series.... I remember Bobby Jones slamming one that was for the ages. I cheered for the 76ers then and especially after Buffalo lost the Braves. And the Braves were a good team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted May 7, 2020 Author Share Posted May 7, 2020 On 5/5/2020 at 8:51 AM, Walter said: That was the first NBA season I really remember. Weren’t the games shown on tape delay? I remember never seeing a finals game live. Dr J was my favorite player and the Sixers were my favorite team. Darryl Dawkins went to the high school I ended up graduating from when we moved from upstate NY to central Florida. Magic Johnson certainly put on a show in the last game of the series.... Magic was a skinny 20 year old rookie. Had a triple double in his first playoff game and also a triple double in his first NBA Finals game. He had a pass in that fourth quarter that was unbelievable...Brent, Bill, and Hot Rod practically jumped out of their seats. But make no mistake...Kareem was still the man. Most people only remember old Kareem from 1984 onward, as that was when the NBA really began to grow and expand their reach and get rid of the tape-delays. But 1980 Kareem was a beast. He should have been the Finals MVP. As for the tape delays, Game 1 was on Sunday afternoon so that would have been shown live on CBS. It was the weekday night games that were tape delayed. Except in Los Angeles and Philadelphia...we got the games live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted May 8, 2020 Author Share Posted May 8, 2020 May 7, 1980. Game 2 NBA Finals. Philadelphia at Los Angeles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted May 10, 2020 Author Share Posted May 10, 2020 Saturday May 10, 1980. Game 3 1980 NBA Finals. Lakers at Philadelphia '76ers. 12:30pm PST/ 3:30pm EST. Finals tied 1-1 and the series moves to the Philadelphia Spectrum for the weekend. Yes, these were the days of Saturday and Sunday games in the Finals. No day of rest. CBS scheduled the Finals this way to assure them of as many live broadcasts as possible. Games played Monday thru Friday would be tape-delayed and suffer poor ratings. Grover Washington, Jr. played the National Anthem. These were also the days when they had people with actual talent perform at sporting events. This game is historic for another reason. The 1979-80 season was the first NBA season with the 3-point line. In this game 3, Dr. J hit the first 3-point shot in NBA Finals history. It would be the only 3-point shot made during the entire 1980 Finals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 2 hours ago, Strider said: Saturday May 10, 1980. Game 3 1980 NBA Finals. Lakers at Philadelphia '76ers. 12:30pm PST/ 3:30pm EST. Finals tied 1-1 and the series moves to the Philadelphia Spectrum for the weekend. Yes, these were the days of Saturday and Sunday games in the Finals. No day of rest. CBS scheduled the Finals this way to assure them of as many live broadcasts as possible. Games played Monday thru Friday would be tape-delayed and suffer poor ratings. Grover Washington, Jr. played the National Anthem. These were also the days when they had people with actual talent perform at sporting events. This game is historic for another reason. The 1979-80 season was the first NBA season with the 3-point line. In this game 3, Dr. J hit the first 3-point shot in NBA Finals history. It would be the only 3-point shot made during the entire 1980 Finals. In my best Carson voice - “I did not know that!” Dr J was amazing.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted May 12, 2020 Author Share Posted May 12, 2020 (edited) Mother's Day Sunday May 11, 1980. Game 4 was a 10am start PST...less than a 24-hour turnaround from Game 3. With the Lakers up 2-1 and Game 5 in Los Angeles (the Finals were in the old 2-2-1-1-1 format), Philadelphia was in a must-win situation at home for Game 4. This was the game with Dr. J's incredible baseline scoop move that has been replayed on a thousand highlight shows. The next day at school, all of us kids on the basketball court tried to replicate the move...usually unsuccessfully. I love watching these old games that finish in under two hours. Edited May 12, 2020 by Strider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 (edited) Throwback Thursday. Wednesday May 14, 1980. Game 5 of the 1980 NBA Finals. The series moves back to the Fabulous Forum for the all-important fifth game with the Lakers and '76ers tied at 2 games apiece. With the series tied and the Lakers having two of the three remaining games at home, I was feeling moderately good about the Lakers chances of winning the championship. Unlike 1977, when Dr. J averaged over 30 points a game during the Finals, the Lakers had kept the Doctor relatively under wraps. His point totals in the first four games in the 1980 Finals were 20, 23, 24, and 23. Meanwhile, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was having a monster series, scoring 33, 38, 33, and 23 points in the first four games. Kareem was also cleaning up on the boards with 14, 14, 14, and 11 rebounds thru four games and averaging almost 5 blocks a game. Along with Jack Nicholson, look for a young John Travolta in the crowd. Edited May 15, 2020 by Strider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted May 17, 2020 Author Share Posted May 17, 2020 (edited) Friday night, May 16, 1980. Game 6 NBA Finals. Los Angeles Lakers @ Philadelphia '76ers at the Philadelphia Spectrum. Lakers up 3 games to 2. Forty years ago tonight everything changed for Los Angeles Laker fans. For the most part before 1980, being a Laker fan meant frustration. Frustration from losing year after year to the Boston Celtics in the 1960s. Frustration from mostly failures in the 1970s. Even their one year of triumph in 1972 was bookended by head-scratching losses to the New York Knicks in 1970 and 1973. The reputation of the Lakers before 1980 was "always a bridesmaid, never a bride". Laker fans who came of age during the Showtime Era of the 1980s or the Shaq-Kobe Lakers of the 2000s have no idea of the suffering that came with being a Laker fan before Magic Johnson arrived. Magic cemented his arrival was for real in this game 6. With Kareem injured in game 5 and back in L.A. recuperating, 20-year old rookie Magic started at center for the Lakers. I had no idea if Magic was up to the task before this game started. With Kareem not playing, I felt both Jamaal Wilkes and Norm Nixon had to have monster games for the Lakers to have a chance. Realistically, I thought Philadelphia would win Game 6 and there would be a Game 7...with or without Kareem. So yeah..I was nervous as hell and not confident in the Lakers' chances. And yes, other than Los Angeles and Philadelphia which received this game live at 9pm EST/6pm PST, the rest of the country got this game tape-delayed at 11:30pm. Edited May 17, 2020 by Strider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedZeppfan1977 Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 On 5/17/2020 at 1:03 AM, Strider said: Friday night, May 16, 1980. Game 6 NBA Finals. Los Angeles Lakers @ Philadelphia '76ers at the Philadelphia Spectrum. Lakers up 3 games to 2. Forty years ago tonight everything changed for Los Angeles Laker fans. For the most part before 1980, being a Laker fan meant frustration. Frustration from losing year after year to the Boston Celtics in the 1960s. Frustration from mostly failures in the 1970s. Even their one year of triumph in 1972 was bookended by head-scratching losses to the New York Knicks in 1970 and 1973. The reputation of the Lakers before 1980 was "always a bridesmaid, never a bride". Laker fans who came of age during the Showtime Era of the 1980s or the Shaq-Kobe Lakers of the 2000s have no idea of the suffering that came with being a Laker fan before Magic Johnson arrived. Magic cemented his arrival was for real in this game 6. With Kareem injured in game 5 and back in L.A. recuperating, 20-year old rookie Magic started at center for the Lakers. I had no idea if Magic was up to the task before this game started. With Kareem not playing, I felt both Jamaal Wilkes and Norm Nixon had to have monster games for the Lakers to have a chance. Realistically, I thought Philadelphia would win Game 6 and there would be a Game 7...with or without Kareem. So yeah..I was nervous as hell and not confident in the Lakers' chances. And yes, other than Los Angeles and Philadelphia which received this game live at 9pm EST/6pm PST, the rest of the country got this game tape-delayed at 11:30pm. I remember Jerry West's miracle shot at the Garden. In this day and age it was a game winner. Then it was 2 fucking points and a tie and a game they eventually lost in OT. That was bullshit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedZeppfan1977 Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 So they play in Orlando? Nothing to worry about there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul carruthers Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 I've seen some of the highlights & the bubble seems to be working for the NBA & I hope Lebron doesn't destroy Miami in the Finals, if my wishful thinking is at hand. Tomorrow should be interesting since the Heat are on in the afternoon & covid isn't ravaging the Association like it's doing MLB.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul carruthers Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 Go Heat, go.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedZeppfan1977 Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 10 hours ago, paul carruthers said: Go Heat, go.... East will come down to them and Bucks. But they could not beat the Bucks in regular season as far as I know. No answer for the Greek freak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted September 15, 2020 Author Share Posted September 15, 2020 Eastern conference finals: Miami vs. Boston. Who had that matchup before the playoffs started? @paul carruthers must be ecstatic! I'm going to laugh so hard if the Clippers lose to Denver tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 CLIPPERS CHOKE!!! Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedZeppfan1977 Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 6 hours ago, Strider said: CLIPPERS CHOKE!!! Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!! I knew you would chime in on this. Wait until my Bills go into the desert and take your bitch ass Raiders apart!!! Can Denver beat the Lakers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 5 hours ago, LedZeppfan1977 said: I knew you would chime in on this. Wait until my Bills go into the desert and take your bitch ass Raiders apart!!! Can Denver beat the Lakers? 1. I don't live in Nevada so they are not my Raiders. 2. Yes. Any team can beat any team at any given time. The Lakers are certainly not infallible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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