Jun 10, 2015
Thumbs up to Cavs, Lightning similarities
TSN's Dave Hodge brings the NBA Finals into Wednesday's edition of the thumbs. Dave is offering a thumbs up to the comparison between the gritty Cleveland Cavaliers and the hard-working Tampa Bay Lightning, both in favourable positions in their quest for a championship.
By Dave Hodge
For obvious reasons, I won't include LeBron James in any comparisons, but, except for him, I think I'm watching the Cleveland Cavaliers when I'm watching the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The NHL and NBA championship series are remarkably similar. The underdog Cavs and Lightning lost opening games that they might have won, and have battled back to lead 2-1. Both have overcome injuries - Cleveland far more significantly with the loss of Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving - but Tampa's success is tied directly to the ability to overcome what ails goalie Ben Bishop.
The Lightning have their goal-scoring, shot-blocking hero named Cedric Paquette, and his basketball counterpart is Cleveland's new-found scorer and well-known diver for loose balls, Matthew Dellavedova. Bishop, Victor Hedman and Andrej Sustr are tall enough to form a front court for Cleveland.
Both the Cavaliers and the Lightning are leading because they've worked harder than their slicker opponents. They have held in check the players who can otherwise seem unstoppable - Patrick Kane is Steph Curry, and vice versa. Not many knew Jon Cooper when he was hired to coach the Lightning, and even fewer were aware of David Blatt when he got the Cleveland job.
We wait and watch with thumbs up if the Lightning and Cavs bring home titles, or if the Blackhawks and Warriors recover by gritting their teeth and matching their talent with effort. Oh, and we watch with thumbs up to LeBron James, regardless of the outcome in the NBA Finals. The incomparable LeBron James.
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If the city of Glendale, Arizona is successful in its bid to cancel its lease agreement with the Arizona Coyotes regarding the NHL team's operation of Gila River Arena, shouldn't we say "thumbs up"? Wouldn't it be a good thing if Glendale turned its back on the Coyotes before the Coyotes do the same to the city in three years, because who doubts that this rocky relationship and ongoing battle to keep the NHL team in Arizona is a lost cause?
Success for the Coyotes in Arizona would have to include an end to all the political and legal bickering that has been the team's trademark, and that would be just the start of an uphill climb that seems impossible. In referring to the team's No. 3 position in the upcoming NHL draft, Coyotes' general manager Don Maloney says Arizona is "open for business". Do you think that hockey item made headlines in the desert? Not when the city of Glendale later announced that "closed for business" is its intention.