Water Cooler: Open Thread Memorial Day Weekend

What are you watching/what's on your mind about events going on this weekend?

Here's a list of things I know are going on this weekend:

• NBA Playoffs: After Lebron's last second 3 pointer Friday night, the Cavs and Magic are tied up at 1 victory a piece. They play Sunday night at 8:30 ET.

Lebron came up huge last night. They needed to win that game if they wanted to have a shot to win this series.

• NBA Playoffs: After a drammatic game 1, Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets pulled off a victory on the road Thursady to tie the series 1-1. They play Saturday night at 8:30 ET.

Anyone else think the finals will be a class of '03 throwdown? I've always thought Melo was a pretty good player, and it'd be nice to see him make the finals.

I also think Kobe's overrated. He's a talented player, no doubt, but talent alone doesn't make you a great player.

• NHL Playoffs: Malkin's hat trick Thursday night gave the Pens a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Pens are good. Like scary good.

• NHL Playoffs: An OT goal by Patrick Sharp keeps the Chicago Blackhawks alive in their series against the Red Wings (Detroit leads 2-1)

I haven't been watching this series so I'll leave it up to someone who has to comment on it.

• NCAA Lacrosse Championship Semi-Finals: Syracuse (2) leads Duke (3) 14-6 at the start of the 4th quarter.

This game isn't over. 8 goals is not an insurmountable lead in College Lax. However, Syracuse has dominated this game from the first face off, so they'll probably move on to play the winner of Virginia (1) and Cornell (5). Syracuse's Peritt leads all scorers with 4 goals and an assist

Feel Free to leave a comment about your general thoughts about things this weekend, or about a game I'm missing.

SSreportersLegend

220 days ago

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I'm watching the final day of the Barclays Premier League. You may not like soccer, but there are 4 games that matter in the relegation battle. They are:

Manchester United @ Hull

Chelsea @ Sunderland

Middlesbrough @ West Ham

Newcastle @ Aston Villa

Hull, Newcastle, Sunderland, and Middlesbrough all are in danger of being relegated to the Coca-Cola Championship, which is a lower league. There are several different scenarios for every team that I won't go into. It's kind of like the NFL playoff picture, only....

All 10 matches are played at the same time. So there is no such thing as waiting until a certain set of games are over to make your decision of which team you'll send out. There is scoreboard watching, the PA announcer is the one that tells the entire crowd the scores in the other matches.

I am a huge fan of relegation because it increases the number of meaningful games on the final day, and I'll be intently watching and updating the results tomorrow morning.

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False ProphetAll-Star

220 days ago

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dude the nfl has a ton of meaningful games week 17. Its just half the teams in said games are trying to lose, not win ;). The key word there is TRYING.

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SSreportersLegend

220 days ago

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The Seahawks try to lose. ;-)

I'm talking about games involving lesser teams and not the playoff picture in general. When you get dropped to a lower league it's devastating.

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False ProphetAll-Star

220 days ago

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true, but i'd say there aren't even enough people to fill 32 rosters of NFL quality teams, much less lesser leagues

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RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer

220 days ago

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Auto racing!!!

F1's Monaco Grand Prix at 7:30 ET Sunday, THE Indianapolis 500 Sunday afternoon, and the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday night.

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SSreportersLegend

219 days ago

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As things stand, Hull City are staying in the Premier League and Newcastle would be relegated. Two minutes to go! What drama!

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SSreportersLegend

219 days ago

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Middlesbrough have been relegated, down 2-1 to West Ham with minutes to go. Their rivals Newcastle are likely to join them.

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SSreportersLegend

219 days ago

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It is now final. Middlesbrough lose 2-1 and are down.

Sunderland are safe despite currently being behind 3-2 against Chelsea.

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SSreportersLegend

219 days ago

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David Edgar has been sent off to end the season, and their final Premier League game for at least 1 year! NEWCASTLE ARE RELEGATED FROM THE BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE!!!!

HULL CITY IN THEIR FIRST EVER SEASON SURVIVE THE RELEGATION BATTLE AND STAY UP!!! The fans swarm the pitch! Their 1-1 draw with Bolton combined with Newcastle's loss to Fulham last week ends up being the difference. One point.

Sunderland fans are celebrating because both Hull and Newcastle have lost, meaning they will stay up!

What a way to end the season.

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SSreportersLegend

219 days ago

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On a basketball note, do the Denver Nuggets have any idea how to properly in bound the ball in a close game? Trevor Ariza stole the ball last night in game 3 in a similar fashion as he did in game 1.

Who knows? That could be the difference between being down 2-1 and up 3-0.

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JuTMSY4Legend

219 days ago

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Hey Red Sox...wtf...

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Taytay 24All-American

219 days ago

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Just witnessed my first Nats win in person! This is the best Memorial Day weekend ever!

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Behbigben15All-Star

219 days ago

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Hmmm, interesting. I was at the Nationals game on Saturday night. Just the second MLB stadium I've visited (other one being Camden Yards). So much different than I had expected..

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Taytay 24All-American

219 days ago

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I'll be at Camden in September when the Rangers return. I missed them a few weeks ago, but it was nice to be able to see them three nights in a row on TV.

We've got a Sunday mini-plan, so I'm at Nationals Park each Sunday home game. So far, I'm 1-2 with a rainout.
How was the park different than you expected? Is that good or bad? What did you expect?
Personally, I find it to be very nice. It isn't a throwback like Camden Yards or my familiar Ballpark in Arlington, but it isn't bland, either. It is efficient and comfortable, and doesn't try to be something artificial, so I think it will age well.

Of course, the best thing about Nats Park is having Ben's Chili Bowl and Five Guys right in the house!

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Behbigben15All-Star

219 days ago

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Oh it was nice. All the interactive things right inside the gate and, like you said, the places to eat (with picnic tables) is what surprised me. It almost had the carnival feel to it, if you ask me, which I thought was pretty cool. The capacity isn't quite as much as Camden Yards, but it seemed so much more spread out and at the same time, it seemed like you got a good view in every single seat.

I managed to get free parking next to RFK Stadium, where D.C. United now plays, and a few of my friends and I took a short ten minute bus ride to the stadium itself. It was the fifth MLB game I've attended so far this season, other four being at Camden Yards, of course. After this season, I think I will have the list of MLB stadiums visited up to about five. We've been planning trips to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Cleveland so hopefully we'll get there. Always and adventure visiting a new stadium..

If you were to ask me my favorite, I would still say Camden. But that could change once I go to Nationals Park a few more times.

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Taytay 24All-American

219 days ago

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We took a break and sat at a table in the shade ourselves today and I was thinking that I don't recall seeing that at a ballpark before. You mentioned transportation: I love being able to take the Metro down to Navy Yard and be right outside the stadium. Not having to deal with a parking lot is a major plus that I should have mentioned before.

It is a little on the small side, but that's a good thing, I think. (Especially when it's only half capacity anyway). Cozy is good.
Having said all that, Camden Yards is certainly nothing to sneeze at. I was always a bit jealous of the attention it got when it opened, as well as the Jake in Cleveland. I felt the Ballpark in Arlington was unfairly overshadowed by those two. However, after visiting Camden Yards a few years ago, I freely acknowledge that it deserves all the praise it continues to receive.
We considered our own little ballpark tour this summer. The schedule worked--we were going to hit five parks in the northeast--but tickets in NY and Bos were going to be hard to come by. Maybe next year if we plan for it a little earlier.

Glad you enjoyed Nats Park, and good luck with your ballpark tour. I'd love to hear how it goes.

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False ProphetAll-Star

219 days ago

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Lebron and his cavs trail 75-67 with just under 8 mins left. The twins were up 6-1 last i checked

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SSreportersLegend

219 days ago

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This is a miserable game of basketball to watch. Orlando vs. Denver/LA Lakers seems inevitable. Cleveland has, to me, little chance of winning this series now. Ilgauskas and Varejao are useless as centers. Dwight Howard is running rings around them.

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SSreportersLegend

219 days ago

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99-89 the final.

Magic will win this in 6.

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