North: New NBA champs good, but not the best
Time for random thoughts:
I enjoyed the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, but I can think of five or six teams from the past that would have picked their teeth with them.
Draymond Green, who just won his first NBA title with the Warriors, will get paid but Golden State is the right fit for him.
• The Chicago Blackhawks, who continue to display why they are the best-run franchise in town, will continue to parade the Stanley Cup all over the city. If you don't get close to it, you're not trying hard enough. The Hawks love to take it everywhere to give the fans a photo op!
• Dallas Cowboy wide receiver Dez Bryant said on Twitter, "13 million is cool, but where is my security?"
Seriously?
• The Chicago White Sox are a bad ballclub right now. I'm not sure how much they care, though. A competent franchise would give Robin Ventura his walking papers at the All-Star Game break.
• How can you not like Cubs manager Joe Maddon?
• I love football and I am ready for the Bears, but can we say they look like a playoff team? Not yet. I know training camp is always filled with enthusiasm, but let's see what September brings.
• The Chicago Blackhawks averaged 21,769 this year in attendance at the United Center while the Sox are drawing 21,420 at U.S. Cellular Field. I didn't think it was possible hockey would outdraw an American League team, but the numbers don't lie.
• I wrote this column earlier than usual because I am going in for my first colonoscopy. I don't love the idea but I'm glad I'm finally going. Everyone is supposed to go after 50 and I just kept putting it off, but I finally ran out of excuses.
• Kudos to NBC, Doc Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Jeremy Roenick on their work during the Stanley Cup Final.
• The same kudos go to ESPN and ABC for their coverage of the NBA Finals.
• Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg and his bosses, John Paxson and Gar Forman, will be hoping they can duplicate what Golden State did once they let go of Mark Jackson and hired Steve Kerr as their coach. But Hoiberg will be facing a stronger Cavs team just based on a healthier roster. Cleveland is already favored to win it all. We shall see …
• The Warriors' Andre Iguodala from Springfield, Ill., won the NBA Finals MVP, but many believe Stephen Curry got the short end of the deal and others thought LeBron James deserved it.
• "Ray Donovan," the powerful drama about the go-to guy for Los Angeles celebs, moguls and superstar athletes, starts July 12 on Showtime.
• I watch hockey now on a 60-inch flat screen, and technically it's a pleasure. I can't believe I used to watch the games in the 1960s and '70s on Channel 9 on a 12-inch portable TV. I couldn't see the puck.
• Fox Sports Daybreak, with Andy Furman and yours truly, has picked up four new affiliates in recent months. Welcome New Orleans, Boston, Charlotte and Indianapolis!
Program notes:
Follow me on Twitter@ north2north, and listen to Fox Sports Daybreak with Andy Furman and myself from 5-8 a.m. Monday through Friday on Fox Sports radio, and check me out on iHeart radio or Foxsportsradio.com.
• North's column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.