05/08 (Happy Mother's Day) Quickie

First (and most), happy mother's day to all the moms out there...

...Especially my own mom (who is spending the weekend visiting my brother and sister-in-law, who became a new mom two weeks ago, which was my third new nephew/neice in the last 6 weeks -- so a huge first-time happy mother's day to my sister and my wife's sister-in-law.)

And, of course, a very happy mother's day to Mrs. Quickish, whose two boys greeted her this morning with cards and homemade presents.

***

Some life out of the Celtics (even with that gruesome injury to Rajon Rondo's elbow, that he came back from but remains to be seen what the full impact is), which are one win from taking back momentum in the series. Even for a longtime Celtics-hater, hard not to root for them last night to make it interesting versus the just-as-hatable Heat.

Huge win for the Grizzlies, who have yet to lose at home in the playoffs (until they do). That gives them the advantage, with two more games in Memphis in the series and a 2-1 series advantage after yesterday's OT win.

No-hitter for Justin Verlander: A bit more overpowering than Francisco Liriano's.

Derby win for Animal Kingdom: If you read Quickish earlier this week, you knew that was NYT horse-racing writer Joe Drape's savvy pick to win. (It was not my own pick to win.)

Manny Pacquiao beats Shane Mosley in snoozer: Everyone knew this dud was coming, since it was set. So why the frustration when it turned out to be a dud?

Andre Ethier's hit streak ends at 30: Still impressive.

CBB Coaching: Sean Miller has no interest in Maryland, signs extension with Arizona. I'm a bit surprised, but the programs are not so disparate that this is a huge shock.

NBA Draft: Terrence Jones going back to Kentucky. I will never begrudge a player his decision -- going pro or staying -- but I think that Jones is probably making a mistake. A solid season won't improve his 2012 draft stock ahead of 2011 (mid-to-late Top 10), not with so many awesome players coming out next season. If he wants an NBA career, he would have been better off on an NBA team, getting NBA coaching, finding his NBA fit. But wow, Kentucky is going to be loaded next year.

Today: Is this the end of the run for the Lakers? Given that it's a "when" not "if" situation this month, does it really matter if the Lakers lose in 4 versus 5 or 6 or 7? Probably not. I mean, going out in 6 or 7 would at least show they had some life, versus a sweep, which would be like stamping out the Lakers' relevancy as a title contender for the forseeable future.

-- D.S.