Say What?

Warriors hide Thompson concussion, clear him to play

Just about everyone who watched the final game of the Western Conference Finals noticed that Golden State’s Klay Thompson was hit hard in the head by the knee of Houston’s Trevor Ariza with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.  Thompson sprawled on the floor, gripping his head with both hands.  Then he went to the locker room, blood oozing from his right ear.  He passed concussion protocol, as determined by the team’s medical staff, which cleared him to return to the game.  He did not play, with Golden State far ahead.  A postgame press release from the Warriors called the injury “a laceration” – with no symptoms of concussion.  But the next day the team admitted that Thompson later that night “did not feel well and developed concussion-like symptoms.”  Fortunately for him and the Warriors, the NBA Finals (against Cleveland) do not begin until Thursday, so he’s had ample time to recover and receive a legitimate “All clear.” 

Just asking: Could the NBA – or players union — afford to hire an independent neurologist at every game?  Or do we leave the diagnostics to a team doctor who wants to go to the Finals and  a trainer who gets a playoff share?

Falcons’ Shembo charged with killing his girlfriend’s dog

Atlanta Falcons linebacker Prince Shembo has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, a felony, after allegedly killing his girlfriend’s dog.  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the woman left her Yorkie, named Dior, with Shembo at his apartment,    and when she returned, the dog was unresponsive.  She took her to an animal hospital, where the animal died.  An autopsy determined the cause of death was “blunt force trauma.”  The woman said Shembo told her he killed the dog.  When Shembo was at Notre Dame, he was accused of sexually assaulting a student, Lizzie Seeberg, who claimed he bullied her into silence.  She criticized the university and local police for not investigating.  Later she committed suicide, but he was never charged with a crime.

Nadal demands right to reject umpires for his matches

Rafael Nadal, 9-time winner of the French Open, demanded that a respected Brazilian umpire, Carlos Bernandes, be banned from officiating at his matches.  Nadal is unhappy with Bernandes because earlier in the year he assessed a code violation against him for taking more than 25 seconds between points.  Nadal left the court to correct a wardrobe malfunction: he had put his shorts on backwards.  Roger Federer, winner of 17 Grand Slam tournaments, criticized Nadal for trying to influence the selection of officials. “I think everybody should be treated the same way,” he said.  There is some concern that umpires might try to please the top stars like Nadal so they will not be eliminated from working the championship match.

Keselowski says candor costs him endorsements

NASCAR star Brad Keselowski says his frequent tweeting and his willingness to be outspoken cost him millions.  “Anyone who speaks his mind can’t get any endorsement deals,” he said on ESPN’s PTI.  He said corporations do not want to be represented by anyone who might say something that offends someone.  Keselowski has 2,300 Twitter followers.  He often dispenses news items that make people uncomfortable, such as this about a fellow NASCAR driver accused of domestic violence: “Family court judge upholds  protection order against Kurt Busch.”

Lowry sinks three birdies using his wedge as a putter

Playing in the second round of the Irish Open, Shane Lowry became so frustrated that he slammed his putter against a fence and bent it.  So he spent the rest of the round putting with his pitching wedge.  Amazingly, he putted well, sinking three birdies, including a 30-footer, rallying for a 3-over-par 73 that was good enough to make the cut.

Lightning coach says ‘young, dumb’ is good for his team

The New York Rangers entered the final game of the Stanley Cup Eastern Conference playoffs with reason for confidence.  They had won their last seven Game 7s in Madison Square Garden.  But the Tampa Bay Lightning rolled to a 2-0 victory to claim their first berth in a Stanley Cup Final since they won it in 2004.  After eliminating the Rangers, Lightning coach Jon Cooper tried to explain why his team was so oblivious to history.  “Maybe we’re young, dumb and don’t know any better.”

Bruce Jenner changes name to Caitlyn, dresses as woman

Bruce Jenner, retired track-and-field Olympian who has undergone transgender surgeries, has changed his/her name to Caitlyn Jenner and appears on the cover of Vanity Fair as a well-dressed woman.  She will soon be doing a reality-TV series on E!  And she will be receiving the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs in July.  “I’m not doing this to be interesting,” she said. “I’m doing this to live.  I’m not doing this so I can hit it off the women’s tee.”