Thursday, June 13, 2019

Tale of 2 Game 7s: DOH! called Boston at Faceoff as MA Chased CA for 21st Century Champions

Almost 24 hours ago I was driving home excited about Boston trying to claim Massachusetts 18th championship of the century in one of the four traditional sports, while I played off two great college basketball teams of the century in my game and put in my miles on the walking desk. A couple of notes prior to the NBA's Game 6 and then the following tables at the bottom of this post:

Table A at bottom - 21st Century Champions by State
Table B at bottom - 48 Great Basketball Teams with Future NBA Players

If the Bruins had taken the Stanley Cup they would have tied California with 18 titles this century in the traditional four sports. If Toronto finished off Golden State tonight or Sunday after both UCLA and Stanford were stunned and are not in the College Baseball World Series (go Auburn!), Massachusetts could still pass the much larger California if both UMass hockey and the New England Patriots take the title.

Even with the setback last night, the fact that the 7 million residents of the Bay State have enjoyed more championships than the 29 million Texans and 19 million Floridians and almost as many as the 40 million Californians seems a bit disproportional. And then my DOH moment happened.

I remember I am supposed to call someone back from Boston, glance at the clock on my dash to see it is still just after 7 p.m. - I am assuming the clock is on Atlanta/Eastern time - and make a (legal) bluetooth call. To my horror, I suddenly realize the clock is actually on Auburn AL/Central time and I have basically just placed a call as the puck is being dropped IN BOSTON for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup. Wow, hopefully I am not banned from the Bay State for long.

Now that I've recovered from that mistake, a few notes on the daunting task of Golden State repeating what LeBron James did to them by winning three straight games after falling behind 3-1 in the NBA Finals.

I reflected on just how hard it is to win three straight games against great teams as 2004 UConn beat 2014 Louisville to prevent the latter from getting to 3-0 in my dice game. With that result, only 6 of my 48 Great College teams of the Century managed to start 3-0 having to play from among the other 42 great teams. Carmelo Anthony's 2003 Syracuse, Mario Chalmers' 2008 Kansas and Anthony Davis' 2012 Kentucky joined three modern teams who ironically were the last three teams that UVa pulled a Houdini against to win this year's title.

We actually used Carsen Edward's 2018 Purdue team so he could throw the ball to two 7-foot-2 players with almost the same name (Haas and Haarms). His Boilermakers who lose in the Elite 8 to UVa started their Big Ten play 3-0, Auburn at full strength with Chuma Okeke, who was injured the game before their last second loss to UVa in the Final 4 joined Kentucky atop the ACC at 3-0 when Stephen Curry scored my all-time high 38 points to stun 2006 Florida and drop them to 2-1, and the Texas Tech team that lost in OT with start defender Tariq Owens hobbling joined Kansas at 3-0 in Big 12 play.

The first of two tables lists the 21st century champions in the four traditional sports:

18, CA (California has 18 titles below, Golden State going for 20)
17, MA (the Bay State has 17 titles below, the Patriots and UMass hockey among favorites)
14, FL
10, TX
9, PA
8, NC
6, AL
5, CO, IL, MN, NY
4, CT, MI, MO, SC
3, LA, OH, OR
2, AZ, KY, MD, VA, WI

1, DC, IN, KS, LSU, ND, NJ, RI, TN, WA



YEARStateSportCHAMPION
2019NBAToronto Raptors or Golden State
2019MNCollege HockeyMinnesota Duluth
2019MONHLSt. Louis Blues 
2019VACollege BasketballVirginia
2018CANBAGolden State Warriors
2018DCNHLWashington Capitals 
2018MAMLBBoston Red Sox 
2018MANFLNew England Patriots
2018MNCollege HockeyMinnesota Duluth
2018ORCollege BaseballOregon State
2018PACollege BasketballVillanova
2018SCCollege FootballClemson
2017ALCollege FootballAlabama
2017CANBAGolden State Warriors
2017COCollege HockeyDenver
2017FLCollege BaseballFlorida
2017NCCollege BasketballNorth Carolina
2017PANFLPhiladelphia Eagles
2017PANHLPittsburgh Penguins 
2017TXMLBHouston Astros
2016ILMLBChicago Cubs 
2016MANFLNew England Patriots
2016NCCollege BaseballCoastal Carolina
2016NDCollege HockeyNorth Dakota
2016OHNBACleveland Cavaliers
2016PACollege BasketballVillanova
2016PANHLPittsburgh Penguins 
2016SCCollege FootballClemson
2015ALCollege FootballAlabama
2015CANBAGolden State Warriors
2015CONFLDenver Broncos
2015ILNHLChicago Blackhawks 
2015MOMLBKansas City Royals 
2015NCCollege BasketballDuke
2015RICollege HockeyProvidence
2015VACollege BaseballVirginia
2014CAMLBSan Francisco Giants
2014CANHLLos Angeles Kings 
2014CTCollege BasketballConnecticut
2014MANFLNew England Patriots
2014NYCollege HockeyUnion
2014OHCollege FootballOhio State
2014TNCollege BaseballVanderbilt
2014TXNBASan Antonio Spurs
2013CACollege BaseballUCLA
2013CTCollege HockeyYale
2013FLCollege FootballFlorida State
2013FLNBAMiami Heat
2013ILNHLChicago Blackhawks 
2013KYCollege BasketballLouisville
2013MAMLBBoston Red Sox 
2013WANFLSeattle Seahawks
2012ALCollege FootballAlabama
2012AZCollege BaseballArizona
2012CAMLBSan Francisco Giants 
2012CANHLLos Angeles Kings 
2012FLNBAMiami Heat
2012KYCollege BasketballKentucky
2012MACollege HockeyBoston College
2012MDNFLBaltimore Ravens
2011ALCollege FootballAlabama
2011CTCollege BasketballConnecticut
2011MANHLBoston Bruins 
2011MNCollege HockeyMinnesota Duluth
2011MOMLBSt. Louis Cardinals
2011NYNFLNew York Giants
2011SCCollege BaseballSouth Carolina
2011TXNBADallas Mavericks
2010ALCollege FootballAuburn
2010CAMLBSan Francisco Giants 
2010CANBALos Angeles Lakers
2010ILNHLChicago Blackhawks 
2010MACollege HockeyBoston College
2010NCCollege BasketballDuke
2010SCCollege BaseballSouth Carolina
2010WINFLGreen Bay Packers
2009ALCollege FootballAlabama
2009CANBALos Angeles Lakers
2009LACollege BaseballLSU
2009LANFLNew Orleans Saints
2009MACollege HockeyBoston University
2009NCCollege BasketballNorth Carolina
2009NYMLBNew York Yankees 
2009PANHLPittsburgh Penguins 
2008CACollege BaseballFresno State
2008FLCollege FootballFlorida
2008KSCollege BasketballKansas
2008MACollege HockeyBoston College
2008MANBABoston Celtics
2008MINHLDetroit Red Wings 
2008PAMLBPhiladelphia Phillies 
2008PANFLPittsburgh Steelers
2007CANHLAnaheim Ducks 
2007FLCollege BasketballFlorida
2007LSUCollege FootballLouisiana State
2007MAMLBBoston Red Sox 
2007MICollege HockeyMichigan State
2007NYNFLNew York Giants
2007ORCollege BaseballOregon State
2007TXNBASan Antonio Spurs
2006FLCollege BasketballFlorida
2006FLCollege FootballFlorida
2006FLNBAMiami Heat
2006INNFLIndianapolis Colts
2006MOMLBSt. Louis Cardinals 
2006NCNHLCarolina Hurricanes 
2006ORCollege BaseballOregon State
2006WICollege HockeyWisconsin
2005COCollege HockeyDenver
2005ILMLBChicago White Sox 
2005NCCollege BasketballNorth Carolina
2005PANFLPittsburgh Steelers
2005TXCollege BaseballTexas
2005TXCollege FootballTexas
2005TXNBASan Antonio Spurs
2004CACollege FootballSouthern California
2004CACollege BaseballCal State Fullerton
2004COCollege HockeyDenver
2004CTCollege BasketballConnecticut
2004FLNHLTampa Bay Lightning 
2004MAMLBBoston Red Sox
2004MANFLNew England Patriots
2004MINBADetroit Pistons
2003FLMLBFlorida Marlins
2003LACollege FootballLouisiana State, Southern California
2003MANFLNew England Patriots
2003MNCollege HockeyMinnesota
2003NJNHLNew Jersey Devils 
2003NYCollege BasketballSyracuse
2003TXCollege BaseballRice
2003TXNBASan Antonio Spurs
2002CAMLBAnaheim Angels
2002CANBALos Angeles Lakers
2002FLNFLTampa Bay Buccaneers
2002MDCollege BasketballMaryland
2002MINHLDetroit Red Wings 
2002MNCollege HockeyMinnesota
2002OHCollege FootballOhio State
2002TXCollege BaseballTexas
2001AZMLBArizona Diamondbacks 
2001CANBALos Angeles Lakers
2001CONHLColorado Avalanche 
2001FLCollege BaseballMiami
2001FLCollege FootballMiami
2001MACollege HockeyBoston College
2001MANFLNew England Patriots
2001NCCollege BasketballDuke

For any Californians trying to add the LA Lakers 2000 title - sorry, that is the LAST year of the 20th Century.

Now for the standings of my great college teams. Basically I developed this dice game with pretty precise numbers to let myself pull out the dice, player cards and rebound chart to make myself shut of the computer and play a meaningless game that takes 30 minutes. With the NBA Finals I will likely switch back to a half hour "get off computer" Statis-Pro baseball to help me keep up with all the new baseball stars. The following are my current standings after a couple of months with the Great Teams basketball season, and I list all players on each team who made the NBA and how many years they were on an NBA team (or I project how long careers will go for current  players or future draft picks - because I don't believe Kawhi Leonard will be done anytime soon).


ACC (past & present)WinLossPtsPtsAllDiffNBA Players, actual and estimated years
Syracuse 200330847410.02 Nba players, 24 NBA yrs, Carmelo Anthony 16, Hakim Warrick 8
Duke 201021806614.06 Nba players, 30 NBA yrs, Lance Thomas 7, Kyle Singler 6, Miles Plumlee 6, Mason Plumlee 5, Ryan Kelly 4, Nolan Smith 2
North Carolina 200521756312.06 Nba players, 40 NBA yrs, Marvin Williams 13, Raymond Felton 13, Sean May 5, Rashad McCants 4, Jawad Williams 3, David Noel 2
Virginia 20191185787.03 Nba players, 20 NBA yrs, De'Andre Hunter 10, Ty Jerome 7, Kyle Guy 3
Pittsburgh 2009116364-1.03 Nba players, 12 NBA yrs, DeJuan Blair 7, Sam Young 4, Brad Wanamaker 1
Maryland 2002126575-10.04 Nba players, 35 NBA yrs, Steve Blake 13, Chris Wilcox 11, Juan Dixon 7, Lonny Baxter 4
Georgia Tech 2004025572-17.03 Nba players, 23 NBA yrs, Jarrett Jack 13, Will Bynum 8, Luke Schenscher 2
Wake Forest026187-26.01 Nba players, 17 NBA yrs, Chris Paul 17
Big 12 (A10)WinLossPtsPtsAllDiffNBA Players, actual and estimated years
Kansas 2008307550257 Nba players, 42 NBA yrs, Brandon Rush 10, Darrell Arthur 10, Mario Chalmers 9, Cole Aldrich 8, Darnell Jackson 3, Sasha Kaun 1, Sherron Collins 1
Texas Tech 201930686081 Nba players, 9 NBA yrs, Jarrett Culver 9
St. Joe's 2004217175-43 Nba players, 28 NBA yrs, Jameer Nelson 14, Delonte West 8, Dwayne Lee 6
Texas 2003116470-63 Nba players, 21 NBA yrs, Royal Ivey 10, T.J. Ford 9, James Thomas 2
Oklahoma 2016125864-61 Nba players, 12 NBA yrs, Buddy Hield 12
Oklahoma St. 2004026774-75 Nba players, 36 NBA yrs, Tony Allen 14, John Lucas 9, Joey Graham 6, Stephen Graham 6, Ivan McFarlin 1
West Virginia 2010026776-92 Nba players, 4 NBA yrs, Devin Ebanks 3, Kevin Jones 1
K-State 2008026373-102 Nba players, 18 NBA yrs, Michael Beasley 13, Henry Walker5
Big East (past & present)WinLossPtsPtsAllDiffNBA Players, actual and estimated years
Connecticut 200431736013.06 Nba players, 47 NBA yrs, Ben Gordon 11, Charlie Villanueva 11, Emeka Okafor 11, Hilton Armstrong 6, Josh Boone 4, Marcus Williams 4
Villanova 20182174695.05 Nba players, 40 NBA yrs, Mikal Bridges 11, Jalen Brunson 9, Omari Spellman 8, Donte DiVincenzo 7, Eric Paschall 5
Marquette 20032173730.03 Nba players, 31 NBA yrs, Dwyane Wade 15, Steve Novak 11, Travis Diener 5
Georgetown 20071176715.04 Nba players, 24 NBA yrs, Jeff Green 10, Roy Hibbert 9, DaJuan Summers 4, Patrick Ewing 1
Louisville 20131174695.04 Nba players, 23 NBA yrs, Gorgui Dieng 10, Montrezl Harrell 10, Russ Smith 2, Peyton Siva 1
Cincinnati 2002117175-4.01 Nba players, 10 NBA yrs, Jason Maxiell 10
Creighton027285-13.01 Nba players, 11 NBA yrs, Doug McDermott 11
Butler 2010025480-26.02 Nba players, 26 NBA yrs, Gordon Hayward 15, Shelvin Mack 11
Big TenWinLossPtsPtsAllDiffNBA Players, actual and estimated years
Purdue 20183075687.02 Nba players, 6 NBA yrs, Carson Edwards 5, Vince Edwards 1
Illinois 20052174740.05 Nba players, 23 NBA yrs, Deron Williams 12, Luther Head 6, Dee Brown 2, James Augustine 2, Roger Powell 1
Wisconsin 20151168635.04 Nba players, 21 NBA yrs, Sam Dekker 10, Frank Kaminsky 9, Duje Dukan 1, Nigel Hayes 1
Michigan 20131172702.06 Nba players, 48 NBA yrs, Caris LeVert 11, Trey Burke 10, Nik Stauskas 9, Tim Hardaway 9, Glenn Robinson 7, Mitch McGary 2
Michigan St. 20091174740.02 Nba players, 17 NBA yrs, Draymond Green 16, Kalin Lucas 1
Iowa 2002116368-5.02 Nba players, 16 NBA yrs, Reggie Evans 13, Jared Reiner 3
Indiana 2002027276-4.01 Nba players, 11 NBA yrs, Jared Jeffries 11
Ohio St. 2007027080-10.04 Nba players, 31 NBA yrs, Mike Conley 17, Daequan Cook 6, Greg Oden 6, Othello Hunter 2
Pac 12 (WCC, MVC, CUSA)WinLossPtsPtsAllDiffNBA Players, actual and estimated years
Gonzaga 201721725715.02 Nba players, 2 NBA yrs, Killian Tillie 1, Zach Collins 1
Oregon 20172175705.04 Nba players, 22 NBA yrs, Tyler Dorsey 7, Dillon Brooks 6, Jordan Bell 6, Chris Boucher 3
Arizona 20151169645.03 Nba players, 28 NBA yrs, Stanley Johnson 10, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 9, T.J. McConnell 9
San Diego St.1173721.03 Nba players, 24 NBA yrs, Kawhi Leonard 18, Malcolm Thomas 4, Jamaal Franklin 2
Wichita St. 20131169690.03 Nba players, 17 NBA yrs, Fred VanVleet 9, Ron Baker 6, Cleanthony Early 2
Memphis 2008116068-8.04 Nba players, 21 NBA yrs, Derrick Rose 10, Chris Douglas-Roberts 6, Joey Dorsey 4, Antonio Anderson 1
UCLA 2006115971-12.06 Nba players, 51 NBA yrs, Arron Afflalo 11, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute 10, Jordan Farmar 10, Ryan Hollins 10, Darren Collison 9, Cedric Bozeman 1
Loyola-Chicago 2018025873-15.00 Nba players, 0 NBA yrs
SEC (Colonial)WinLossPtsPtsAllDiffNBA Players, actual and estimated years
Kentucky 201230746212.04 Nba players, 25 NBA yrs, Anthony Davis 16, Darius Miller 4, Marquis Teague 3, Doron Lamb 2
Auburn 20193066579.02 Nba players, 9 NBA yrs, Chuma Okeke 7, Austin Wiley 2
Florida 20062165641.05 Nba players, 46 NBA yrs, Al Horford 16, Joakim Noah 14, Corey Brewer 13, Chris Richard 2, Taurean Green 1
South Carolina 20171169654.02 Nba players, 7 NBA yrs, Sindarius Thornwell 5, PJ Dozier 2
Davidson1265650.01 Nba players, 18 NBA yrs, Stephen Curry 18
George Mason 2006026369-6.00 Nba players, 0 NBA yrs
VCU 2011025569-14.00 Nba players, 0 NBA yrs
LSU 2006025776-19.03 Nba players, 24 NBA yrs, Garrett Temple 8, Glen Davis 8, Tyrus Thomas 8
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