Brad Pye’s National Sports Beat (5/18-5/24/17)

It wasn’t a joke in a jail cell of New England Patriot tight end Aaron Hernandez’s fiancée Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez had thought when she received a call about his death, it wasn’t. It was a suicide. He had killed himself in his single cell.

The Seattle Seahawks could face a back up for QB Russell Wilson. The top two candidates are Robert Griffin III and Colin Kaepernick. Both are former NFL Rookies of the Year honorees. My pick would be Griffin who was the talk of the league until he was injured.

Long range thought! The Dak Prescott quarterbacked Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans could make Super Bowl 2018 an all Texas affair. Just a thought!

Stephen Curry is still the Golden State’s No. 1 come through guy. Curry’s 40 points play in that 113-111 game seven playoff win over the San Antonio Spurs every point was needed to earn a date with the 4-0 LeBron James and gang. The Cavaliers and Warriors is the matchup the world of NBA basketball has been waiting for. And the beat continues!

When the 42-year Derek Jeter is honored with retirement of his No.2 jersey and he is given a plaque, he will be the biggest show in 2017. Jeter starred in five World Series championships, 14 All-Star games, six on the All-time List. Jeter was never regarded as the best player in baseball. He did what the best in baseball should have done.

Check this! Five of the top six players selected in the NFL are men of color. They are men of color. They are LSU’s Leonard Fournette, Ohio State’s Marshon Lattimore, Notre Dame QB Deshone Kizer and Haason Reddick. All five of these says: “Mother Knows Best.”

My picks in the Eastern and Western conferences title games are the Cavs and the Warriors. Both teams have so many standouts it’s hard to select the ones who will be the players of the moment. For the Warriors try on Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, et al. And what about LeBron James, Deron Williams, Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith among others. Going into these playoff games both the Cavs and Warriors had won eight games each. If both teams roll to four more victories, they will battle in the NBA Championship game for the whole thing. And the beat continues! For the record the GSWs lost to the San Antonio Spurs once this season in Oakland, 113-111.

The Boston Celtics went into the semi-finals of the East conference with a 115-105 victory over the Washington Wizards en-route to the conference finals vs. LeBron James and his cut throat Cavaliers. Isaiah Thomas led the way with 29 points and 12 assists. With the Boston Celtics winning the second round series, the Washington Wizards hadn’t won a game in Boston since 1982.

The Ball Bothers and their dad, LaVar Ball reminds me of UCLA QB Ronnie Konnie Knox. Like Konnie’s dad, the Ball Brothers’ father, LaVar Ball, makes more headlines than his sons. And the beat continues!

Solomon Thomas, was a San Francisco ‘49ers draft choice, was 195 pounds in the fourth grade, according to his mother Martha Thomas.

Don’t be surprised if Clemson’s National Championship QB Deshaun Watson takes the Houston Texans starting job from Tom Savage. The Texans made Watson their first round 2018 pick. Savage has two years experience on Watson, but he has only four TDs during this time. Savage says: “I’m the veteran guy.” Watson added: “I’m a competitor.”

Charles Barkley will take a break from NBA Basketball to talk about race and other things. Barkley has his own view of “Race In America.” Barkley says: “I’m just talking, about what has been happening. We know what the problems are, and more conversation are not going to solve them. So let’s stop with the rope-dope and get to the antidote.”