Sonny Side of Sports

Nuthin’ But Net, Terry!

Terry Daniels

My VOA colleague Terry Daniels is a big Los Angeles Lakers fan, and he sometimes wears his Kobe Bryant warm-up suit to the office after a victory by the two-time defending National Basketball Association champions. I haven’t seen Terry in his Kobe outfit in awhile, though, and I think Terry realizes the Lakers are going to have to travel a difficult road to a third straight NBA title.

As I write this, the Lakers are tied with the New Orleans Hornets at two games each in their first round playoff series.  The Hornets stung the Lakers April 24th, 93-88, with New Orleans getting a spectacular “triple-double” performance from star guard Chris Paul, who tallied 27 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds.

James Aniebiet

Sonny Side of Sports fan James Aniebiet checked in from Nigeria following Paul’s brilliant all-around game:  “The Lakers are really struggling this season.  Meanwhile, that was a terrific performance by Chris Paul.  His triple double was staggering.”

There have been other terrific performances during the first round of the NBA Playoffs.  Serge Ibaka, the only player in the NBA from Congo-Brazzaville, tied his career high with 22 points and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds to help lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 97-94 victory over the Denver Nuggets.  The 21-year-old Ibaka, in only his second year in the league, is part of a young and dangerous Oklahoma City squad that could challenge the Lakers for supremacy in the NBA’s Western Conference.

In the Eastern Conference, the 17-time NBA champion Boston Celtics are the first club through to the second round of the NBA Playoffs after a 4-0 sweep of the New York Knicks.  Boston’s next opponent should be the Miami Heat, featuring the talented trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

The Celtics lost to the Lakers last year in a thrilling seven-game series in the NBA Finals.  It was a result that delighted Terry Daniels, and yes, helped bring his Kobe warm-up suit to VOA once again.

Charl’s In Charge

Here’s a Sonny Side of Sports salute for Charl Schwartzel, who became the third South African golfer to win the prestigous Masters tournament on April 10th.  Schwartzel fired four consecutive birdies to clinch his first major title.  The 26-year-old South African has a pilot’s license, and you might say he was flying high after sinking his putt on the 18th hole in Augusta, Georgia.

His victory comes 50 years after fellow-South African Gary Player became the first golfer from outside the United States to don the classic green Masters jacket, given each year to the Masters champion.  Schwartzel is also the second South African in four years to win the Masters, following Trevor Immelman in 2008.

Schwartzel credits six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus with helping him win the 75th Masters.  He says during lunch with the great American star last year, Nicklaus gave him tips on how to play each of the 18 holes at Augusta National.  “He actually took the time to take me through all 18 holes,” says Schwartzel, “and the way he used to think around Augusta and the way he used to play it, which flags he used to attack.”

You can find out more about Charl Schwartzel, including how to pronounce his name, in this video, which was recorded before he played the Masters for the first time in 2010.