Big Orange Energy
McLaren, the Knicks, and Joe Burrow
Since we had a guest on our regularly-scheduled Vroom Vroom show this week (Taylor Hagler was so much fun to have on the show, check it out!), we didn’t get to talk all that much about a very eventful weekend for Formula 1 in Miami. Now we did, plus we got to look forward to Imola, where Ferrari plans to have upgrades ready to go.
The last time McLaren had both of its drivers win a race in the same season was 2012, when Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton got the checkered flag three times apiece, which was a repeat of their 2011 performance. After that, things went extremely downhill for McLaren — and while asking for six combined wins from Norris and Oscar Piastri still is a lot, it feels safe to say that the papaya is out of the darkness that fell with their 2013 car.
Imola, which was canceled last year due to flooding, is a fun one because the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix has officially happened three times, but the San Marino Grand Prix also was held at Imola from 1981-2006. Michael Schumacher won six of the last eight San Marino GPs (San Marino is an hour up the road from Imola, which is about halfway to Parma), which makes it feel like forever ago… but that 2005 race was won by Fernando Alonso, on the way to his first world title.
The Knicks’ first world title came 54 years ago last night, when Willis Reed came out of the tunnel and inspired the Garden and his teammates.
What’s funny about Reed’s appearance that night being so famous is that he only wound up scoring four points in 27 minutes — it was really about the emotional lift and the immaculate vibes that Reed brought with him.
Jalen Brunson came out for the second half of last night’s game and wound up scoring 29. That ended Brunson’s streak of 40-point games at four, tied with Michael Jordan and Bernard King for second-longest in playoff history behind Jerry West’s six. It also was exactly what the Knicks needed to rally from a double-digit deficit and also withstand another injury to OG Anunoby.
The Knicks wound up with 130 points in Game 2 against the Pacers, the fifth-most points they’ve ever scored in a playoff game. The others were a double-overtime loss in Philadelphia in 1968, and wins over the Bucks in 1970, Cavaliers in 1978, and Celtics in 1990.
Reed was instrumental in that 1970 victory which got the Knicks to the Finals, scoring 32 points with 10 rebounds. The 1990 game remains the Knicks’ playoff scoring high, 135 points, with 44 by Patrick Ewing.
The Knicks lost the first two games of that best-of-5 series, and after winning Game 3 by three points and Game 4 in this blowout, they went up to Boston and won Game 5, Ewing scoring 31 (incluidng a three-pointer!) in that one.
This is the first time the Knicks have won the first two games of a second-round series since 1999, when they swept the Hawks en route to the NBA Finals.
Speaking of exciting runs that didn’t quite end with a championship, Joe Burrow’s thoughts on aliens, as referenced on the podcast:
The Knicks have this vibe with Josh Hart. It’s important to know who your weirdos are (complimentary).
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