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Since Memorial Day falls in May every year, there are always a variety of sporting events taking place. The NBA and NHL playoffs typically have at least one game on Memorial Day. The Major League Baseball season is always in its second full month in May. Today, we’ll have 11 MLB games on the schedule.
The Indy 500 is always held on Memorial Day weekend, usually the Sunday prior. The French Open is just usually getting started right around the Memorial Day holiday. While the U.S. enjoys a day off, sports bettors get right back to work on Memorial Day. There’s always a big enough card to make it worthwhile.
Throughout the years, there have been many memorable Memorial Day sporting events. This Memorial Day, ScoresAndStats takes some time to remember some of the best.
The Memorial Day Massacre – 1985
It has become known as the Memorial Day massacre, but it’s not a tragedy…unless you’re a Lakers fan. Back in 1984, the Boston Celtics beat the Lakers in the NBA Finals. In 1985, the two teams met again in the NBA Finals.
Game 1 of that series took place on Memorial Day. Boston would set a record, scoring 148 points in a 148-114 victory. The Celtics also set a record for most points in a half with 79. The 34-point victory became known as the Memorial Day massacre. Ultimately, the Lakers would come back and win the series.
Mike Likes Memorial Day
Michael Jordan liked Memorial Day. In 1991 on Memorial Day, Jordan scored 29 points to lead Chicago past the Detroit Pistons 115-94 to complete a series sweep. The Bulls had lost to the Pistons in each of the previous three postseasons. Jordan would go on to lead the Bulls to the first of his six NBA championships.
On Memorial Day in 1993, Jordan had 54 points in a win over the New York Knicks that tied that series at 2-2. The Bulls would win the next two games and win the series 4-2. Chicago would go on to win its third NBA title that year.
Jordan’s most memorable Memorial Day game came in 1996. His Airness put up 45 points in a Game 4 win that completed a sweep of Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals. It marked the last time Shaquille O’Neal would wear a Magic jersey.
Memorial Day No Hitter
Long before he became one of MLB’s all-time great closers, Dennis Eckersley was a starting pitcher. In 1977, his final season with the Cleveland Indians, Eckersley enjoyed his Memorial Day start against the Cleveland Indians.
Eckersley struck out 12, walked one, and pitched a Memorial Day no-hitter against the California Angels. It wasn’t until about a decade later that Eckersley would become one of the game’s dominant closers. He is one of just two MLB pitchers with a 20-win season and a 50-save season. John Smoltz is the other.
Hall of Famer Gets 1st Career Dinger
At the time in 1951, this future Hall of Famer had only played in three MLB games. Memorial Day that year would be his fourth. It would also be the game in which he would hit his first big league home run. It would be the first of many.
Playing for the New York Giants that day was a young outfielder named Willie Mays. His Memorial Day home run came against the Boston Braves and another future Hall of Famer – pitcher Warren Spahn. Mays would go on to hit 660 home runs, sixth-most in MLB history.
Leaderboard Shuffle
The handicappers here at ScoresAndStats are so good that we can shuffle them up from time to time and you’ll see a name that you recognize, but one that hasn’t cracked the Top 5 in a while. SWJ Sports is one of those. Scott at SWJ Sports came back with a vengeance yesterday and took the top spot on the board.
Also making appearances in the Top 5 after a hiatus were Madjack Sports and Frankie the Fan. That’s the beauty of joining ScoresAndStats or one of our sister sites, Sports Hub or Game Advisers. We’ve got so many talented handicappers to choose from. If you haven’t already, join now and reap the benefits of membership.
Let’s check out yesterday’s leaderboard.
- Winner, winner: SWJ Sports is back in the Top 5 and back in the top spot after hitting 9 of 13 picks. Scott added another $545 to the bankroll with yesterday’s performance.
- Hawk again: He was in yesterday’s Daily Report and he’s back for more. Mike Hawk went 6-1 yesterday and collected $520 in winnings. He’s now our No. 1 NHL capper over the last week and he’s up $985 over the last three days. I’ll take more of that please!
- The Fan: Frankie the Fan is back in the Top 5 after who knows what the heck he was doing. He went 8-3 on 11 picks yesterday and added a cool $401 to his bankroll. Frankie is up $536 for the week.
- Toni, Tone, Tonny: Tonny Ricci is as steady as they come. He delivers winners on a consistent basis and yesterday was no exception. Tonny hit all three of his picks to take home profits of $300. Over the last three days, Tonny is up $985.
- Madjack: Madjack Sports is back in the Top 5 with a 2-0 performance yesterday that netted $200. Madjack doubled up on the Cincinnati Reds, hitting the underdog on the moneyline at +185 and on the run line at +115.
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Memorial Day Sports Schedule
It’s Memorial Day and while the sports schedule isn’t what it was yesterday, there is still value out there. If you can’t find it, dive into our members’ area and check out how our handicappers are betting today. There’s enough on the schedule to find a few quality bets.
Here’s today’s sports schedule.
- NBA: It’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals and Boston could end the series with a win over Indiana. The Pacers lost for the first time at home this postseason in Game 3. If Indiana manages to pull off the upset, Game 5 will be back in Boston on Wednesday night.
- NHL: The Western Conference finals moves to Edmonton for Game 3 tonight. Dallas and Edmonton are tied at one game apiece. The Oilers are a -125 favorite tonight.
- MLB: There are 11 games on the baseball schedule. Since it is Memorial Day, 8 of the 11 games will start in the afternoon. Houston trails Seattle by 3.5 games in the AL West race. The two teams play tonight in Seattle. Game time is 9:40 p.m.
- Soccer: There is a big match in Germany today. Fortuna Dusseldorf faces VfL Bochum with the winner promoted to Bundesliga and the loser relegated to a lower division. Other than that, there are Saudi Pro League matches and a number of South American league matches.
- Tennis: The French Open continues. Men’s No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev plays in today’s first round. No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev is also in action today. On the women’s side, No. 1 Iga Swiatek has already won her first round match. Third-seeded Coco Gauff plays later today.
Sunday Recap
It’s been a Memorial Day weekend full of great sporting events. Last night, the Dallas Mavericks moved a step closer to the NBA Finals. We saw a repeat winner in the Indy 500 for the first time in a long time. The Atlanta Braves got more bad news and the Rangers got an unexpected win.
Here’s a recap of Sunday’s sports.
- Mavs win: Luka Doncic had 33 points and Dallas beat Minnesota 116-107 to take a 3-0 series lead in the Western Conference semifinals. Dallas can end the series at home on Tuesday night.
- Newgarden wins again: Josef Newgarden won his second consecutive Indy 500 yesterday. It was the first back-to-back winner at Indy in 22 years. Helio Castronoves was the last to do it.
- Acuna tears ACL: Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr., the reigning NL MVP, suffered a torn left ACL on a delayed steal attempt in the first inning of yesterday’s win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The injury comes just three years after Acuna tore the ACL in his right knee. He will miss the rest of the season.
- Rangers win: The New York Rangers led 4-2 heading into the third period. The home Florida Panthers then tied it up with two goals in the final period forcing overtime. Alex Wennberg’s goal at the 5:35 mark of overtime gave the Rangers the win and a 2-1 lead in the series. Game 4 is Tuesday in Florida.
