Obamaville June 17, 2015 - Sports Trumps politics and Trump - Golden State

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On a day when The Donald showed up with his hair in Trump Tower to announce he has decided to let the people finally have a chance to vote for him, Trump's event was trumped by the largest crowd since the glory days of Michael Jordan.

The Golden State Warriors trumped LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA finals while Trumping Trump and all the politicians for headlines.

In the process Stephen Curry and the Warriors brought home their first title in 40 years while Coach Steve Kerr, who was a teammate with Michael Jordan when MJ won his last of six titles in 1998,  became the second coach in history to win the championship his first year coaching.

As if that was not enough, this year the television ratings soared, up by around 25%, as the games surpassed 20 million viewers and most likely it was the second largest audience in history to, yes, the Michael Jordan 1998 title.

The only drawback to the rags to riches story of the Warriors was the media fascination with crowning LeBron James King James.  There is no doubt James is exceptional, but the media tended to go brain dead from a historical standpoint and were very biased against the feel good team from out west.

Crowning LeBron the best ever showed total ignorance of some mighty powerful facts.  Bill Russell won 11 NBA titles in 13 years including eight in a row and ten out of twelve over one span.  Thirty-eight players have won four or more titles.

LeBron has been to the finals six times and walked away with two titles.  Michael Jordan won all six title games in which he played.  Most likely LeBron is the greatest player currently playing but he is yet to elbow his way into the "greatest of all time" club.

Golden State did have one of the greatest records of all time for the season and the discipline, depth, desire, and drive of the team made them the consensus favorite contrary to the media preoccupation with LeBron.  Golden State delivered when it counted.

In terms of side stories and intensity, it was one of the greatest series of games played in the championship series and a far cry from the scandals plaguing other teams and sports.

Along with the Triple Crown victory of American Pharoah, the first in thirty-seven years, it was a good month for sports to knock politics out of the headlines and consciousness of America.

America thanks you American Pharaoh and Golden State.

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NBA Finals - Battle for Supremacy - Records shattered in Greatest of all Championships

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LeBron James and Stephen Curry have now met three times in the playoff and records are falling to the wayside.

After three games and 583 points scored, the combined scoring difference between the two teams is just ONE POINT, Golden State has 292 and Cleveland 291, though Cleveland holds a 2-1 lead in games.

The first two games ended in overtime, a new NBA record, and LeBron James scored 123 points in the first three games, another new NBA record.

As the referees allow an amazing amount of physical contact, the floor of the game is often covered with bodies in hot pursuit of the ball.  Such enthusiasm was almost lost in the deluge of cash pumped into professional basketball and it is great to see it resurface.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, in existence since 1970, have never won an NBA Championship during the forty-five year history, although LeBron James won two while with the Miami Heat.  Unlike his stint at Miami, James is no longer surrounded by a supporting cast of superstars.

Out west the Golden State Warriors, who were founded in Philadelphia in 1946 and moved to the west coast in 1962, have won three NBA championships but it has been forty years, 1975, since they last won.

In terms of television interest, and noting that TV viewership nationally continues to fall, the first two games drew the largest audiences since ABC took over the broadcast in 2003.  Game 1 drew about 17.8 million viewers and game two 18.8 million viewers, new ABC records and up 26% from last year.

Highlights include a maturing of LeBron James into one of the greatest team leaders, most inspirational motivators, and relentless physical stalwarts to ever play the game.

His success in leading the Cavaliers is in spite of the loss of two stars at the beginning of the finals, and being the decided underdog against the Warriors.

As for the favored Golden State, Curry knows he must be far more aggressive from the start of the game, take more shots rather than pass off so often, and turn up the emotion in order to lead his team back into the lead.

America is being served a dose of basketball the way it used to be before money dominated the game. This series is all about passion, grit, and guts and the battle between the opposing superstars.  It should be a great finish.
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