Random thoughts from Greg Cote of the Miami Herald
• Answer: Thunder star Kevin Durant donating $1 million to Oklahoma tornado relief efforts. Question: For real, what NBA player stood tallest this week even though he wasn’t even playing?
• The Pittsburgh Penguins were the first NHL team to reach the conference finals. I don’t wanna say the Stanley Cup playoffs take a long time, but the players’ playoff beards are now floor length.
• No horse racing Triple Crown again after Oxbow won last week’s Preakness. I had an idea to finally end the long Triple Crown drought, but officials rejected my idea to let Miguel Cabrera be a jockey.
• Don Shula finished fifth in an ESPN greatest-NFL-coach poll, after the network rejected Miami’s idea to reword the question, “Who is the greatest coach to have a Perfect Season?”
• Ray Lewis plans to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro next month, after previously doing the metaphorical equivalent in his life and career.
• Sentences I Never Imagined Writing (one in a series): Receiver Plaxico Burress, who spent 20 months in prison on a gun charge, has come out with a line of luxury men’s socks.
• St. Louis signed undrafted offensive lineman Terrell Brown, who is 6-10 and 403 pounds. “Finally! Somebody who’s slower than me,” Manti Te’o said.
• The French Open is under way, with Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal the defending champs. Nadal and top-ranked Novak Djokovic appear on the same half of the bracket. That’s what happens when you put Roger Federer in charge of the draw.
• The Cleveland Cavaliers won the lottery for next month’s top draft pick. Owner Dan Gilbert and his son credit their lucky bowties. I think I’d rather be unlucky.
• Alex Rodriguez sold his Miami waterfront mansion for $30 million. Reminds me of my own house, other than his being 51,000 square feet bigger and having nine bedrooms, 11 baths and a zen garden.
• Sergio Garcia made a “fried chicken” reference to needle Tiger Woods as their discord escalated, rendering Garcia guilty of both a racist comment and a lame cliche.
• David Beckham is retiring. What a big, big loss for the sport of underwear modeling.
