After a convincing double-digit win against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, the Golden State Warriors are heading to their 6th NBA finals in the last 8 years to face the Boston Celtics, tipping off on June 2, 2022. The Warriors never looked second best during the series, and even when they were down 30+ points in game 2, and losing game 4 they were still a better team than Dallas. The splash brothers were invited to a Poole party, and with Andrew Wiggins growing into a decent role player the team took over the Western Conference.

Even with Luka Doncic averaging 35+ points during that series, the supporting cast was more in-and-out than Christmas lights. Spencer Dinwiddie looks like a definite player for the future contributing 20+ points from the bench in the last three games of the series. Jalen Brunson was aggressive, but not clinical at times.

Dorian Finney-Smith is not the answer to any question in Dallas and neither is Reggie Bullock. The West is gonna be even more competitive than it was this season and for Dallas to stay relevant they are gonna need more consistent players to take the load off of Luka Doncic.

The Warriors are not showing an age problem with players like Jordan Poole (22), Kevon Looney (26), Jonathan Kuminga (19), and Moses Moody (19) just to name a few, with the aforementioned Wiggins an integral part of the team at 27 years old. They also have the impactful and talented Center James Wiseman to come back from injury, and at 21 the future lives in the present.

Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green are all on the wrong side of father time so having their replacements ready-made is a huge bonus for the Steve Kerr-led team.

Speaking of Steph Curry, the man has finally won a finals MVP award, no not the real one, the inaugural Earvin “Magic” Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP award. He can add this accolade to all his other ones including regular-season MVP, 3-time champion, and the man with the most made three-point field goals in the history of the game. The hope for those in San Francisco is that he can win the same award for the finals seeing point guards don’t win that award.

So it is set for 17-time champions Boston Celtics to face off against the latest and returning dynasty in Golden State Warriors on June 2, and this is a series I will not be predicting as I just want to enjoy watching the two best teams in the NBA face off for seven enthralling games.

With the 2021/22 Premier League season coming to an end, it will be a day with arguably the most implications at the end. With all seven European positions sorted out, two of three relegation positions confirmed, and achievements such as the title winners, the final Champions League place, and the final relegated team to be decided, we take an in-depth look at the positions up for grabs.

The top seven teams have been confirmed but the final top 4 spot has not been secured. It is an all London affair for the 4th spot between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur with Spurs having the edge heading into the final day. Spurs are on 68 points, 2 clear of rivals Arsenal with a win enough for 4th. Arsenal had it to lose and it seems they will after being in a commanding position before the North London Derby against Tottenham.

Losing that game 3-0 gave Arsenal a minor setback to their Champions League chase, however, win the final two games and they are safe. After a 1-0 win against Burnley on Saturday, Tottenham took what seemed to be a brief time in 4th place, with Arsenal tussling with Newcastle the following Monday.

What was supposed to be a simple victory turned into a nightmare for the Gunners when they went behind 1-0 to a Ben White own goal. Things got worse when Newcastle’s talisman Bruno Guimaraes made it 2-0 on the night, shattering Arsenal’s top 4 hopes. It doesn’t get any easier as on the final day Tottenham faces the bottom team Norwich City, and Arsenal takes on Everton who still have to try and avoid relegation.

Another spot waiting to be secured is 6th place which is being contested by Manchester United and West Ham United. Disappointing as the season was, Man United still has one more game and an important one as well. They will face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park where a win is needed to lock in 6th and a Europa League place for the Red Devils and incoming manager Erik ten Hag.

In the other corner, we have West Ham United facing Brighton, who has just beaten United 4-0 in the last game week. Brighton is enjoying arguably their best season by points, position, and playstyle under Grahame Potter and could look to end it on a high. The hammers though are desperate to make the top 6 to persuade their captain and hot commodity Declan Rice to sign a new contract at the club.

Reports last week stated that he rejected their latest contract offer of £200,000 per week for eight years amid he wants to be playing for the biggest trophies on show. The clubs that have made their interest known in the English midfielder are Manchester United and his boyhood club Chelsea. If West Ham can beat Brighton and United get a negative result against Palace, then they could show Declan that they’re in the bigger competition, and in regards to Chelsea, are a more stable club.

With Everton securing safety after a come from behind 3-2 win against Crystal Palace, it now leaves 2 to battle for one position. Leeds United led by American Jesse Marsch is floundering in the final relegation place in the league with only a win good enough to stay up because of their horrible goal difference [-38]. They are in this fight with Burnley, who after sacking Sean Dyche appointed U-23 coach Mike Jackson to the head coach position of the senior team, and Ben Mee moving from club captain to assistant coach.

Burnley drew 1-1 with Aston Villa on Thursday to edge further away from the drop. On Championship Sunday, Burnley host in-form Newcastle United while Leeds go to Brentford to close the season. Everton was in the relegation fight and would’ve had the toughest final day clash to stay up versus Arsenal, however, heroics from Dominic Calvert-Lewin kept the Toffees up for one more season.

Calvert-Lewin netted the winner in the 85th minute leading to jubilant celebrations as some fans ran unto the pitch at that point to celebrate. Burnley and Leeds are both on 35 points, meaning if both win Leeds still go down because only Norwich [79] has conceded more goals than Leeds this season [78].

The Premier League title is coming down to the wire as heading into the final day leaders Manchester City are ahead of Liverpool by only a solitary point. This means if Liverpool can better City’s result on Sunday, they would be champions completing the domestic treble [FA Cup, Carabao Cup, EPL] with eyes on the quadruple when they face Real Madrid in the final in France on the 28th. What makes this title race an intriguing one, is that Liverpool was 14 points behind City at Christmas, and closing that lead has been a stupendous task.

Liverpool takes on Wolverhampton at Anfield, while City will take on Aston Villa, managed by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard. He had a chance to win the Premier League during his playing career, but that infamous loss of footing that gave him the name “Slippy G” he will be looking for some redemption even if he won’t lift the trophy for the Reds. Villa is in a tough spot being managed by a Liverpool legend and could decide the title. Last summer they sold Jack Grealish to City for a British record £100 million and included a clause in his contract where if he was to win the domestic title they would receive £15 million from City.

There will be two brand new teams in this year’s Eastern and Western Conference Finals in the NBA, with defending champions Milwaukee Bucks and west champions Phoenix Suns both being eliminated in their respective game 7’s on Sunday.

The Bucks started their game against the Celtics in Boston the stronger, going out to an early seven-point lead in the 1st quarter after a Brook Lopez three. Boston took over mid 2nd quarter and never looked back. Giannis Antetokounmpo as usual had to be the driving force of the team, scoring or assisting on each of the team’s first 22 points.

Then the Celtics caught fire. Setting a game seven record in regards to 3-point field goals made (22) with Grant Williams leading the way with a record-equaling 7 threes. Williams joined an illustrious company who have accomplished that feat such as Marcus Morris and Stephen Curry, who did it twice.

Williams led the team in scoring as well notching 27 points, a career-high. Jayson Tatum had 23, with Payton Pritchard contributing 14 points and 5 rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.

Giannis, even though being on the losing end, became the 1st player in NBA history to record 200 points, 100 rebounds, and 50 assists in a single series. The Greek freak finished the game with a team-high 25 points and game high 20 rebounds, falling one assist short of a triple-double stat line. The game though ended 109-81 blowing out the Bucks and sending the deer into extinction.

In the Western Conference, a shock occurred in the valley as the Phoenix Suns were humiliated by the Dallas Mavericks, not playing like the team with the best record in basketball. After a mild start to the game, Dallas went out to a 29-15 lead in the first quarter, and how this series has been going you expected the Suns to eradicate that lead.

Never have I ever seen a single player have the same amount of points as an entire team in a half of basketball. The first half ended 57-27, the same amount of points Luka had in the half (27).

Chris Paul and Devin Booker ghosted one of the biggest games of the season at home as well. The lead kept ballooning as high as 45 points. The game ended 123-90, making the “Sun-set” in Phoenix from. Luka was fantastic, however, Spencer Dinwiddie had himself a night. Something Brooklyn should see that he stepped up in a massive elimination game, something they could have used.

Both Conference Finals are set. Boston vs. Miami in the East, with Golden State vs. Dallas in the West. Some people don’t want to see it (Laker fans) but the Celtics are looking to break that championship tie. I say for all the good defensive play the Heat have it won’t be enough to contain the Celtics, Boston in the final in 6. In the West, it will go the distance. Another game seven with Golden State using their experience, not talent or skill, to win the series.

Even though it is not a major trophy for the fans, it was a heartwarming moment to see the club winning some sort of silverware. On Wednesday, May 11, 2022, Manchester United’s U-18 team played their counterparts from Nottingham Forest in front of a record attendance at Old Trafford.

There were 67,492 fans seated inside the Theatre of Dreams to cheer on both United and visitors Forest with arguably the most evenly matched FA Youth Cup Final in a long while. After some sustained pressure, United took the lead through their captain Rhys Bennett in the 13th minute to the joy of the Red Army.

Forest was not to be done and after a howler by Manchester United’s goalkeeper Radek Vitek, a long-range shot from Josh Powell crept under the custodian. This put a halt to the momentum of Travis Binnion’s side and into the halftime break; it’s 1-1.

For the first half, the headliners were unable to affect the game positively. The likes of Kobbie Mainoo, Isak Hansen, Charlie McNeil, and Alejandro Garnacho were ineffective for the half.

In the 2nd half, it was Forest who started the brighter causing Vitek to be off his line very frequently. Goalscorer Josh Powell aimed to deliver some sumptuous crosses into the box, but to no one in particular. These wasted chances could be costly later in the game.

It wasn’t until the 77th minute, after some pressure high up the pitch, United’s winger Garnacho benefited from a heavy touch from defender Zach Abbott, and after he was taken down the only question was; was that in the box? On replay it shows that the foul occurred outside the 18-yard-area, however, the referee pointed to the spot after consulting with the linesman on the nearside.

Unfortunately for Forest fans, there was no VAR to help the official recognize he made a mistake. Nevertheless, Garnacho stepped up and coolly dispatched the spot-kick, calmly doing Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic celebration as well.

This is when the Warren Joyce knew he needed something to claw their way back into the final, and he made some attacking substitutions to go for it. This was countered by his opposing manager who swiftly replaced Sam Mather for defender Sony Aljofree.

The 4th official raised the board to display eight minutes of stoppage time. Eight minutes for United to hold on. Eight minutes for Forest to draw level for a second time. When going for it, you are vulnerable to counterattacks, and in the 3rd minute of stoppage time, it was all over.

A missed control from a Forest defender had the ball running through to Alejandro Garnacho who was off. The Argentine sprinted away from the defenders but took the ball too wide. After some trickery cutting in from the left to then cut back onto his left foot before firing his shot in via a massive deflection.

3-1 was the final score with the youngsters as ecstatic as they could be. This is United’s 11th cup win extending their record by two over Chelsea whom Forest beat to make the final. Speaking of Forest, they made the city of Nottingham proud. Fighting from behind for the majority of the game is never easy, but they can hold their heads high after that performance.

The future of both sets of players will be examined over the next five or so years, seeing as they played in the youth cup final. Whether Nottingham or Manchester, we are all eager to see who comes out on top in terms of career from that final.