By Julie Buehler
The NFL Draft was in Chi-Town, the whole world watched “The Fight Dud Of The Century,” American Pharoh is the new horse poised to win the Triple Crown, not a nickname Fox News gave President Obama, the Clippers are keeping basketball fans (Read: owner Steve Ballmer) on the cusp of emotional breakdown and the Anaheim Ducks are barely breaking a sweat through the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
And if ALL that weren’t enough to keep you happy as a sports fan, how about this: In N Out will be opening in La Quinta. Right off highway 111 near the Trade Joes and Lowes.
Life is good.
Real good.
Let’s break down the biggest week in sports in 2015!!
We’ll begin with the stuff that puts me in a good mood, and the 2015 NFL Draft. For the first time since 1964 it was in Chicago. The weather wasn’t great at first, pretty windy and chilly, but the warmth of the Mid-West people and the festival atmosphere the NFL set up for the 50,000+ fans in daily attendance made that fact easy to forget.
Generally held in NYC and amidst the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, the Chicago draft allowed the NFL to charm fans and spectators in a way that Manhattan would never allow. And it worked.
I saw fans from all 32 franchises, crowds were massive and everyone was smiling. It felt more like a Super Bowl week than a NYC draft week and that was awesome. Chicago and the NFL proved it doesn’t need New York. You can expect to see the draft in other cities in the future.
Equally entertaining at the draft was watching Roger Goodell aimlessly searched for people to hug as three of the first four selections went the non-traditional route and didn’t show up in Chicago but chose to stay with family. Of course, then Goodell was handsomely rewarded at the 12th overall pick by Danny Shelton. A 350+ pound (after sitting in a sauna) defensive lineman drafted from the University of Washington and by the Cleveland Browns.
Shelton picked Goodell up and swung him like a rag doll around the Auditorium Theater stage.
The Pac-12 beat out the SEC and Big 10 for most draft picks in the first round and the Jets, Raiders and Browns faired very well with their drafts. Could mean the turning of the tide for some franchises.
It was a turning of the tide for boxing last weekend as well.
Yup. The So-Called “Fight of the Century” ended up being a dud of entertainment and a classic Mayweather “let-me-run-around-the-ring-to-not-get-hit” fight.
Now, come to find out Manny had a shoulder injury and thus, an excuse as to why the fight was so uninteresting and this is all setting up nicely for a rematch that stupid sports fans can overpay to see.
It’s insulting to think ANYONE would pay to see another one of Mayweather’s fights. But they will. Someone will. Heck, LOTS of people will.
Sad state of affairs.
Mayweather is as interesting as the WNBA. But he’s got Bugattis (plural) and seething ego that people either love or love to hate, so they pay attention.
It’s ridiculous. He’s a coward, in the ring and outside it. It’s sad he gets as much publicity as he does.
Anyway, back to good stuff.
A year after the Clippers owner, the longest tenured owner in the NBA was banished for life for his long-standing racists tendancies, the Clippers took out the defending world champion San Antonio Spurs in a breathtakingly beautiful Game 7 effort.
Chris Paul was the hero for the Clippers last year as he stood up for his teammates and led them through that tumultuous time and he was the leader last Saturday, banking the winning basket with 1 second remaining.
I thought before that series that if the Clippers could persevere past the Spurs, they had a great chance of getting to the Western Conference Finals and even the NBA Finals.
That seems even more true now.
They’ve turned the corner from being a talented team that stubs their toes every now and then to be a ridiculously talented team that overcomes a weak bench and mental mishaps.
Might be poetic justice that the year after Donald Sterling is banned, the Clippers win the first title in franchise history.
Yes, the Golden State Warriors will do everything they can to see that doesn’t happen, but just ask yourself, “What if?” Where would that rank in the pantheon of great redemption stories? We’ll wait to see if it comes to fruition, but I’d have to say Top 5.
Haven’t even mentioned the impressive season the Houston Astros or San Diego Padres are having or the excitement of the NHL playoffs.
But I’m out of space and you’re out of time.
Let’s do this again next week huh? We’ll be closer to the In N Out being ready.
Yeah, life is good for us sports fans.
Real good.
Julie Buehler hosts the Coachella Valley’s most popular sports talk radio show, “Buehler’s Day Off” every day from 1-4 on 1010 KXPS, the valley’s all sports station. She can also be seen every morning between 6-7am on KMIR sharing the coolest stories in sports. She’s an avid gym rat, slightly sarcastic and more likely to recite Steve Young’s career passing stats than American Idol winners. Tune in M-F 1-4 pst at www.team1010.com or watch “Buehler’s Day Off” on Ustream and KMIR.com for her sports reports.
