Battling Back

Last night, pitcher John Maine led the New York Mets to their 3rd victory in June, beating the Minnesota Twins 8-1.  Maine allowed 4 hits through 7 1/3 innings, earning his second win in just eight starts.  The Mets garnered a commanding lead in the 8th, sparked by Ricky Ledee's homer, Jose Reyes serpentining to 2nd via a single and a stolen base, and Paul Lo Duca's single.  The subsequent line-up of Carlos Beltran and David Wright both earned doubles, sending Reyes and Lo Duca home.  The final batter of the inning, Carlos Gomez, procured a sacrifice fly that sent Beltran home with the Mets leading 8-1, albeit ending the inning.

Winning has proved illusive for the Mets this June.  Offensive injuries, sluggish pitching and a lengthy away game streak induced a 2-11 slide, following an exceptionally strong start.  The Met host the Twins at Shea Stadium again tonight, ardently looking for their first consecutive win in June this year.

On Top of the World

Two nights ago, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 83-82, and earned the NBA World Championship for the fourth time in nine years. Led by finals MVP Tony Parker, the Spurs had too many offensive weapons to contains. The Spurs retained composure, despite numerous runs by the Cavaliers.


Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili celebrate victoriously.

The Cavaliers opened the 4th quarter with an 11-0 run, and took the lead, 63-60. Ginobili quickly responded with a bucket and a foul, which missed, albeit was tipped in by Tim Duncan. Lebron James then missed a 3 point shot, which enabled Ginobili to drop his first 3 pointer of the game. Spurs lead, 66-63, just like that.


Michael Finley holds the ball after the game. This is his first championship after 14 NBA seasons.

The rest of the game mimicked this flow, where Cleveland would squander open look after open look. In fact, San Antonio managed to maintain the ball for nearly 2 minutes with 2:29 remaining in the 4th quarter. The Cavaliers need to do some serious soul searching in terms of time and clock management. Despite the rookie mistakes, the Cavaliers squad is very talented and fortunate to be in the finals, as these games will serve as a solid foundation for future Cavalier championships.

All in all, the Cavaliers were no match for the Spurs. Ironically, the road to the NBA finals was more perilous than any year prior for the Spurs, yet they played with more confidence and finesse than ever before. This victory is truly the culmination of NBA Playoff heartache and mistakes past, coupled with the relentless desire to be the best. The Spurs are not flashy, and don't walk with a stereotypical NBA swagger. In fact, most consider this fundamental, team-first squad to be rather dull and boring. Call them what you will, however don't forget to include 'champions'. They are living proof that following crowd doesn't necessary lead to victory.


Tim Duncan is the heart and soul of this Spurs squad.

LETS GO SPURS!!!!!!!

Strike a Pose

But whichever should I strike for my NYC stage debut?  If you are wondering what in God's name I am referring to, please read the entry from a few days ago entitled "Contain Me In It". 

Here is my sequence thus far:
Tadasana
Urdhva Vrikasana
Utanasana
Lunge (high)
Plank
Vasisthasana (Left)
Wild Thing (Left)
Urdhva Dhanurasana
Vasisthasana (Right)
Plank
Cobra
Downdog
Jump
Utanasana
Warrior 2 (Left)
Side Angle (Left)
Ardha Chandrasana (Left)
Ardha Chandrasana Chaposina (Left)
Standing Split (Left)
Warrior 3 (Left)
High Lunge (Left)
Downdog
Jump
Utanasana
*********************************
Warrior 2 (Right)
Side Angle (Right)
Ardha Chandrasana (Right)
Ardha Chandrasana Chaposina (Right)
Standing Split (Right)
Warrior 3 (Right)
High Lunge (Right)

I hope that I only have enough time to get to the line of astericks.  My right hamstring has a tear, and I'd prefer to skip hamstring intensive poses on the right.  However, in the spirit of balance, I am leaving them in my sequence.  For now.  I'm feeling a game time decision.  And, if we are allowed to do jump-backs into chatauranga, then I'm all ova it like peanut butter on jelly.  oh yea!

One more

Despite a down-right ugly performance by the entire Spurs squad, they are now one mere win away from their fourth championship in the last nine years after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 75-72.  In fact, last night's game was one of the lowest scoring games in the history of the NBA finals.  The Spurs were led by defensive specialist Bruce Bowen, who made 4 of 5 shots from the three-point range, and Tony Parker, who led the Spurs in scoring with 17 points.

The Cavaliers missed out on a valuable opportunity to win and close the gap on the Spurs.  The game was close throughout the fourth quarter, where the Spurs committed 4 turn-overs and went for long stretches without scoring.  The Cavaliers had numerous open looks, but couldn't get anything to drop.  Inexperience and youth certainly played into the Cavaliers' misfortune.  During one fast break, Lebron was driving lane, met a double team, and passed the ball to Anderson Varejao.  Instead of passing back to James for a game-tying layup, Varejao took a wild, half-handed shot and missed.

Also, a controversial last play could have sent the game into overtime.  Bruce Bowen appeared to foul Lebron James with 4.9 seconds left, just as Lebron launched an unsuccessful 3 point shot.  The foul was not called, regulation time ran out, and the game ended.  The score would have been tied if Lebron was given the opportunity and able to make all three free throws. 

For the Spurs, the win was not glamorous, nor are any of the plays worthy of Top 10 Status on Sports Center.  They did, however, hang on to survive their own ethereal shadows. The taste of victory is omnipresent. 


Lebron James shots over Tim Duncan in last night's game.

Contain Me In It

A yogically inspired dance production from the Freespace Dance Company is about to make its debut at the Dance Theater Workshop stage in New York City, complete with real yogis.  Artistic director Donna Scro Gentile drew from her yoga practice when creating these beautiful modern dance sequences.  Two parts of the production are brand new, a solo about revealment and concealment and a new company piece exploring the idea of containment.  Additionally, the company will be joined by two dozen yogis from Yoga Montclair on-stage.  The yogi's will be performing sequences of poses as the audience enters the building, and will be on-stage as Donna and Omni Kitts dance and weave through thier duet, Namaste.  Afterward, the entire group will chant the Anusara invocation.  Don't forget to arrive early, as the yogis will be on-stage before the production begins.

The production will run June 21 - 23, 2007. 
For tickets, buy on-line or contact Dance Theater Workshop box office at 212-924-0077.

Donna Scro Gentile and Omni Kitts performing the duet, Namaste.

One Away...

The Cleveland Cavaliers are one mere win away from a first ever franchise appearance in the NBA Finals after beating the Detroit Pistons 109-107 in double-overtime last night. The Cavaliers owe this feat entirely to the man who answers to "The King". Yes folks, we're talking about Lebron James. He single-handedly scored 48 points, and 25 of his team's final 30. James made a critical layup with 2.2 seconds left in the second overtime to put the Cavs up by two and seal the Piston's fate. Lebron has quieted his critics...for the moment.