Album Reviews: The Arcs, Da' T.R.U.T.H., Medium Build, Sam Smith

 

Electrophonic Chronic by The Arcs

The Arcs started as a side project for the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach.  They put out an album back in 2015 and were working on this album back in 2018 when their drummer, Richard Swift, died.  They regrouped last year to finish up the album and it came out this January.  It's a fun album and an easy listen.  Would be a good album for a road trip.  

June Madness

We've got college baseball all over the place -- well, at least all over the South -- today.  The NCAA Baseball Tournament has kicked off at 16 regional locations, and there's a lot of drama headed our way.

So far, Kentucky has beaten Ball State 4-0 in the Lexington Regional.  Texas Tech has beaten UConn 3-2 in the Gainesville Regional.  Lots of other teams are playing on ESPNU and ESPN Plus.

Memorial Day Countdown

Every year on Memorial Day Weekend, WBIG-FM (100.3 on your FM dial), counts down the top 500 rock songs of all time.  We just heard Number 46, which was "People Are Strange," by the Doors.  Now we have Number 45, which is "Piano Man," by Billy Joel.

NBA Update

After getting off to a slow start, the Eastern Conference Final has become very dramatic.  Here are the results so far (home teams listed first):

May 17:  Boston 116 - 123 Miami

May 19:  Boston 105 - 111 Miami

May 21:  Miami 128 - 102 Boston

At this point, of course, most people thought the Celtics were finished.  No team in NBA history has made up a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs.  But then this happened:

May 23:  Miami 99 - 116 Boston

May 25:  Boston 110 - 97 Miami

Suddenly, Miami led by only 3-2, and was under big pressure to close out the Celtics in Game Six in Miami.  With three seconds left, Jimmy Butler made three free throws in a row to put Miami up 103-102.  The Celtics took a jump shot one second left that missed -- but no one blocked out Derrick White, and he got a put back at the buzzer to force Game Seven:

May 27:  Miami 103 - 104 Boston

And so, for the second year in a row, Boston and Miami will meet in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Finals.  The last time this happened was in 1981 and 1982, when the Celtics and the 76ers met in back-to-back Game Sevens.  I hope teenage fans today enjoy these series as much as I enjoyed those series.

Game Seven will take place in Boston on Memorial Day.  The winner will face Denver in the NBA Finals, which will begin on Thursday, June 1.

College Baseball Update

The weather in Birmingham was remarkably clear after the first day, and the Vanderbilt Commodores rolled to their fourth SEC Tournament title.  Here were the scores (seedings in parentheses):

Tuesday, May 23:

(6) S. Carolina 9, (11) Georgia 0 (Georgia eliminated)

(10) Texas A & M 3, (7) Tennessee 0 (Tennessee eliminated)

(9) Alabama 4, (8) Kentucky 0 (Kentucky eliminated)

(5) Auburn 10, (12) Missouri 4 (Missouri eliminated)

Wednesday, May 24:

(3) Louisiana St. 10, (6) S. Carolina 3

(2) Arkansas 6, (10) Texas A & M 5 (11 innings)

(1) Florida 7, (9) Alabama 6 (11 innings)

(4) Vanderbilt 6, (5) Auburn 4

Thursday, May 25:

(10) Texas A & M 5, (6) S. Carolina 0 (S. Carolina eliminated)

(9) Alabama 7, (5) Auburn 4 (Auburn eliminated)

(2) Arkansas 5, (3) Louisiana St. 4

(1) Florida 6, (4) Vanderbilt 3

Friday, May 26:

(10) Texas A & M 5, (3) Louisiana St. 4 (Louisiana St. eliminated)

(4) Vanderbilt 9, (9) Alabama 2 (Alabama eliminated)

Saturday, May 27:

(10) Texas A & M 5, (2) Arkansas 4 (Arkansas eliminated)

(4) Vanderbilt 11, (1) Florida 6 (Florida eliminated)

Sunday, May 28:

(4) Vanderbilt 10, (10) Texas A & M 4 (Texas A & M eliminated)

In other news, Western beat Florida Atlantic 9-7 on Friday, but were eliminated by Dallas Baptist 5-0 on Saturday.  The C-USA title went to Charlotte, which beat Dallas Baptist 5-2 in the championship.

Meanwhile, here are the pairings for the first round of the KHSAA Baseball Championship, which begins in Lexington on Thursday, June 1:

Bullitt East v. Lou. Eastern

Shelby Co. v. McCracken Co.

Raceland v. Lex. Catholic

Beechwood v. Owensboro Apollo

Pikeville v. Harrison Co.

Pulaski Co. v. Henderson Co.

Whitley Co. v. LaRue Co.

Breathitt Co. v. S. Warren