WHSAA

The Wyoming high school state track and field and soccer tournaments opened up on Thursday. Track and field is in Casper with the 3A and 4A soccer in Sheridan.

Paramount Pictures

With more than a century of history to its credit, baseball has inspired many movies. Few are as funny as ‘Major League,’ our Sports Movie of the Week.

In the 1989 film, the owner of the Cleveland Indians dies and leaves the perennially terrible franchise to his new bride, Rachel Phelps (Margaret Whitton), a former exotic dancer with little interest in baseball or Cleveland. Phelps conjures a plan to stock the Indians’ roster with terrible players who will lose enough games to allow her to move the team to Miami.

Phelps adds aging catcher Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger), middling prospects Ricky Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) and Willie Mays Hayes (Wesley Snipes) and power-hitting enigma Pedro Cerrano (Dennis Haysbert) to the other Cleveland players already under the direction of manager Lou Brown (James Gammon) with the hope they’ll finish last. The team struggles to play well at first, but once they discover Phelps’ motives they rally together to make baseball magic.

Five Reasons to Watch ‘Major League’

1. Every 10 minutes of screen time you’ll hear at least one line of dialogue that is still used for a laugh by present-day baseball fans, announcers and pundits nearly 25 years after the film’s original release.

2. Real life play-by-play guy Bob Uecker is cast as Indians’ announcer Harry Doyle, a caricatured version of himself and legendary Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray. While it’s not a stretch of his acting ability, Uecker’s delivery helps land some of the film’s biggest laughs.

3. To fans who may best know him from his role as President David Palmer on the Fox show ’24,’ Dennis Haysbert is nearly unrecognizable as slugging Pedro Cerrano, thanks to a goatee and a shaved head.

4. The Indians’ home game scenes were filmed at Milwaukee’s County Stadium, which has since been demolished. At the time the film was made, Cleveland played at Municipal Stadium, which has also since been razed.

5. Charlie Sheen was capable of throwing more than 85 miles per hour. He has since admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs to prepare for his role as a fast-throwing relief pitcher.

Click the play button to watch the original trailer of the film below:

The spring season is about to end, but until after the soccer champions are crowned.

All games will be played at the Big Horn Equestrian Center near Sheridan.

If games are tied after OT, there will be a shootout.

Class 4A:

Thursday, May 17th:

(#1W) Green River 3 (#4E) East 0 OT

(#3W) Kelly Walsh 6 (#2E) Central 1

(#3E) Laramie 1 (#2W) Rock Springs 0 Shootout: 3-1

(#1E) Sheridan 1 (#4W) Riverton 0

Friday, May 18th:

Consolation Round:

Central 3 East 2 – East Eliminated.

Riverton 1 Rock Springs 0 Rock Springs Eliminated.

Semi-Finals:

Green River vs. Kelly Walsh – 4:30pm

Laramie vs. Sheridan – 4:30pm

Saturday, May 19th:

Central vs. Riverton – 9am Consolation Championship

Green River/Kelly Walsh loser vs. Laramie/Sheridan loser – 11am 3rd Place Game

Green River/Kelly Walsh winner vs. Laramie/Sheridan winner – 4pm Championship

Class 3A:

Thursday, May 17th:

(#1 NW) Worland 5 Pinedale 0

(#1 SE) Lander 3 Star Valley 2 Shootout: 4-2

(#1 NE) Buffalo 3 Cody 2

(#1 SW) Jackson 4 Powell 2

Friday May 18th:

Consolation Round:

Star Valley 2 Pinedale 1 OT – Pinedale Eliminated.

Cody 2 Powell 1 – Powell Eliminated.

Semi-Finals:

Worland 3 Lander 1

Jackson 2 Buffalo 0

Saturday, May 19th:

Star Valley vs. Cody – 9am Consolation Championship

Lander vs. Buffalo – 11am 3rd Place Game

Worland vs. Jackson – Noon Championship

WyoPreps.com

Time to see which teams will be crowned state champions.

All games will be played at the Big Horn Equestrian Center near Sheridan.

If games are tied after OT, there will be a shootout:

4A:

Thursday,  March 17th:

(#4E) Laramie 5 (#1W) Kelly Walsh 3

(#2E) Central 2 (#3W) Green River 1

(#3E) Gillette 3 (#2W) Natrona 1

(#1E) Sheridan 5 (#4W) Riverton 0

Friday, May 18th:

Consolation Round:

Kelly Walsh 3 Green River 2 – Green River Eliminated.

Natrona 2 Riverton 0 – Riverton Eliminated.

Semi-Finals:

Central 2 Laramie 1

Sheridan 2 Gillette 1

Saturday, May 19th:

Kelly Walsh vs. Natrona – 9am Consolation Championship

Laramie vs. Gillette – 11am 3rd Place Game

Central vs. Sheridan – 2pm Championship

3A:

Thursday, May 17th:

(#1 NW) Cody 7 Pinedale 0

(#1 SE) Lander 3 Star Valley 2

(#1 NE) Buffalo 2 Torrington 1

(#1 SW) Jackson 1 Worland 0

Friday, May 18th:

Consolation Round:

Star Valley 6 Pinedale 2 – Pinedale Eliminated.

Torrington 1 Worland 0 – Worland Eliminated.

Semi-Finals:

Cody 5 Lander 0

Buffalo 3 Jackson 0

Saturday, May 19th:

Star Valley vs. Torrington – 9am Consolation Championship

Lander vs. Jackson – 11am 3rd Place Game

Cody vs. Buffalo – 10am Championship

WyoPreps.com

Casper Cutthroats

The boys of summer will soon be in Casper to play ball, but they also need a place to stay.

The Casper Cutthroats baseball team is looking for families that can host a player or two during the season.

Players will start arriving around May 25th, and those that can host will need to commit for a little more than 2 months.

Most of the players will have their own transportation to get to and from Mike Lansing Field.

The Cutthroats will provide season tickets to anyone who can help out.

Call April at 277-9159 for more information.

Lars Baron, Getty Images

On Sunday, May 20th, 2012 an annular solar eclipse will be seen across areas of the western United States. The full annular eclipse  begins over the western Pacific Ocean and will travel east at about 1,000 MPH across the ocean to the western U.S. before sunset. This will be the first central eclipse of the 21st century in the continental U.S., and the first annular in the continental U.S. eclipse since May 10th, 1994.

Here in Wyoming, we will see a partial solar eclipse (weather permitting), with 70-75% of the sun’s disc obscured at its peak at 7:30 PM. The event will begin a little after 6 PM and last through sunset. Sunset happens at 8:27 with the event ending at 8:30 PM. Find out more about the eclipse HERE.

The next major eclipse will be a total eclipse that will pass through central Wyoming on August 21st, 2017.

For safety in viewing, keep in mind that Looking directly at the sun without a proper solar filter can cause severe eye damage, including blindness; sunglasses do not provide sufficient protection.

Check out some solar eclipse viewing and safety tips here. And to create a pinhole projector for safe viewing click HERE.

K2Radio.com

Teams are starting to get more games in, now that the school year is near an end.

Here are the schedules and scores for the week.

Tuesday, May 15th:

Chadron, NE 18 Douglas Cats 1

Wednesday, May 16th:

Casper Oilers 20 Douglas Cats 2

Cheyenne Post 6 11 Wheatland Lobos 3

Gillette Roughriders 6 Rapid City, SD Post 22 3

Thursday, May 17th:

Evanston Outlaws 16 Green River Knights 8 (Non-Conference Game)

Friday, May 18th:

Spearfish, SD at Gillette Roughriders (DH)

Casper Oilers at Riverton Raiders

Saturday, May 19th:

Billings, MT Angels at Cody Cubs (DH)

Laramie Rangers at Casper Oilers

Laramie Rangers at Casper Drillers

Gillette Roughriders vs. North Platte, NE (at Scottsbluff, NE)

Gillette Roughriders at Scottsbluff, NE

Rawlins Generals at Riverton Raiders (DH)

Cheyenne Post 6 at Rapid City, SD Post 22 (DH)

Gillette Rustlers at Sheridan Troopers

Sunday, May 20th:

Cody Cubs at Douglas Cats (DH)

Cheyenne Post 6 at Rapid City, SD Post 22

Miles City, MT at Sheridan Troopers (DH)

WyoPreps.com

Ronald Martinez, Andy Lyons, Brett Deering, Harry How / Getty Images

While the NBA’s Eastern Conference semifinals got underway this weekend, the NBA’s Western Conference semifinals had to wait for two series to each get through a seventh game before the next round of the NBA playoffs were set. Here’s a preview of the Western Conference semifinals:

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (5) Los Angeles Clippers

Ronald Martinez, Andy Lyons / Getty Images

The top-seeded San Antonio Spurs wrapped up their first-round sweep of the Utah Jazz on May 7. Led by point guard Tony Parker, the Spurs have not lost since April 11 against the Lakers, a string of 14 straight games. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich uses his veteran players smartly, with the result being a balanced scoring attack. Spurs’ veterans Tim Duncan and Boris Diaw will be challenged by Clippers’ superstar forward Blake Griffin, while Parker will have to contend with Los Angeles point guard Chris Paul.

Both Griffin (left knee strain) and Paul (right hip flexor) have nagging injuries, which was part of the reason that the Clippers needed all seven games to eliminate the Memphis Grizzlies in their first-sound series. The 4-3 victory was only the third post-season series win in 41 years for the Clippers’ franchise. Reserves Nick Young and Kenyon Martin can produce big numbers for Los Angeles’ coach Vinnie Del Negro, while Manu Ginobili is a threat off the Spurs’ bench. San Antonio won the season series between these teams by a count of 2-1. Their first match-up is Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. EDT in San Antonio.

(2) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers

Brett Deering, Harry How / Getty Images

By sweeping the defending champion Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs, Oklahoma City stated its candidacy for the 2012 NBA title. Now, the Thunder must beat the Lakers, an NBA franchise that has won 16 titles. Forward Kevin Durant and guard Russell Westbrook give Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks two of the league’s most dynamic players. Los Angeles must find someone other than Kobe Bryant to score and defend against the Thunder’s talented duo. Coach Mike Brown’s Lakers were pushed to seven games against the Denver Nuggets, in part because Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol didn’t help Bryant enough on offense or defense.

Metta World Peace, who was suspended as a result of a flagrant, intentional elbow delivered to the head of Oklahoma City’s James Harden on April 22, gives Los Angeles additional defense and swagger. Role players like the Thunder’s Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins or the Lakers’ Ramon Sessions and Steve Blake could be the difference in advancing to the conference finals. Oklahoma City won the season series between the teams 2-1. Game one is Monday at 9:30 p.m. EDT in Oklahoma City. See the full series schedule.

Highlights of the Saturday, May 12th boys soccer 4A West Regional 3rd Place Game, between Kelly Walsh and Riverton.

Scroll down to watch the highlights of the game!

The Trojans score 2 minutes into the game, then added on 3 more goals in the 2nd half, to win the 3rd place game in the 4A West.

I got to hand it to this guy. He came prepared! Brought his own chair, brought his own concessions…now if only he would get rid of that book!

Kelly Walsh vs. Riverton in the 4A West Regional 3^rd Place Game…first half…Kelly Walsh wearing the white…and Patrick Cardinal did not waste much time. He takes the high road and finds the far side of the net to get the Trojans on the board, leading 1-to-nothing, and this game is only about 90 seconds old.

They would stay after it, and kept trying to strike from afar. Seth Romsa with a blast from 30 yards out..but Logan Ridgeway with a great block to deny the point. The senior for Riverton had some magnificent saves which you’ll see later, although he could not stop them all.

As for his Wolverine team-mates…offensively…not much to show. This is was their best shot as Tristan White and Shaydon Coulsen would try a 1-2 combination, however they needed more than that to get by Connor Diller, who had a pretty easy game in front of the net.

On the other end…KW was going back to work. Cardinal is looking for his 2^nd goal of the game…he’s got a shot, and he’ll get the ball past Ridgeway, however the goal-post would not budge, and more times than not…the ball will go the other way. Such was the case here.

Moving ahead…here comes the Trojan attack again…Seth Romsa is leading a fast-break, and Ridgeway had no choice but to come out and force the shot. Great block, but he’s not out of the woods just yet…the opposition will try to reset. Caleb Romsa is going to give it a try on the ground and Ridgeway will smother that ball before it could go any further. We did not get his save numbers, but I would imagine that they were pretty good.

Later…Kelly Walsh would try from the corner…Cardinal tries another shot through traffic and again Ridgeway throws himself into harm’s way to deflect the ball out of bounds and thankfully, Riverton was only down 1-zip going into halftime.

2^nd half…the Trojans would turn up the pressure and Ridgeway would respond to an extent. Caleb Romsa has a penalty kick try…access denied! That is hard to do at any level but as good as that was…sadly…things went downhill from there for the Wolverines.

Case in point…Caleb Romsa has had just about enough of all the blocks and rejections. This shot splits 2 defenders and it’s out of reach and into the net. That was a relief and the Trojans could breathe a little bit easier as they now have a 2-nothing advantage.

But they were not done…about 2 minutes later…Caleb was after more…this time he’ll go around the defense and get the shot off right before a sliding Ridgeway could disrupt it. The net is wide open and there’s another goal for the senior who has helped give his team a 3-zip lead at this point.

About 2 minutes to go…here comes more. Caleb is after the hat trick and he’s going to get it as all Ridgeway could do was watch that ball go right by him. That took care of that as Kelly Walsh would grab the number 3 seed out of the west heading into state tournament…beating Riverton, 4-nil.

WyoPreps.com

Here are the latest standings for games played up to and including May 13th:

Standings are based on a point system. Teams get 3 points for a win, and 1 for a tie.

4A East: (Conference record and points listed first, then overall record and points)

Sheridan…7-1-2, 23 points…14-1-2, 44 points

Laramie…6-3-1, 19 points…8-5-1, 25 points

Central…5-3-2, 17 points…10-5-2, 32 points

East…5-4-1, 16 points…9-5-1, 28 points

Gillette…4-6, 12 points…10-7, 30 points

South…0-10, 0 points…2-13, 6 points

4A West: (Conference record and points listed first, then overall record and points)

Natrona…7-1-2, 23 points…9-4-2, 29 points

Green River…6-2-2, 20 points…10-4-2, 29 points

Kelly Walsh…6-3-1, 19 points…11-5-1, 34 points

Riverton…5-3-2, 17 points…8-7-2, 26 points

Rock Springs 0-7-3, 3 points, 1-12-3, 6 points

Evanston…0-8-2, 2 points…3-9-4, 13 points

Class 3A Northeast: (Conference record and points listed first, then overall record and points)

Buffalo…4-0, 12 points…9-5, 27 points

Newcastle…2-2, 6 points…5-10, 15 points

Douglas…0-4, 0 points…0-14-2, 2 points

Class 3A Southeast: (Conference record and points listed first, then overall record and points)

Lander…4-0, 12 points…9-5-1, 28 points

Torrington…2-2, 6 points…7-8, 21 points

Rawlins…0-4, 0 points…1-13-1, 4 points

Class 3A Northwest: (Conference record and points listed first, then overall record and points)

Cody…4-0, 12 points…12-2-1, 37 points

Worland…2-2, 6 points…6-9-1, 18 points

Powell…0-4, 0 points…2-11, 6 points

Class 3A Southwest: (Conference record and points listed first, then overall record and points)

Jackson…3-0-1, 10 points, 9-4-1, 28 points

Star Valley…2-1-1, 7 points…7-3-3, 24 points

Pinedale…0-4, 0 points…5-8-1, 16 points

WyoPreps.com

Standings are based on a point system. Teams get 3 points for a win, and 1 for a tie.

These are the latest standings for games played up to and including May 13th.

4A East: (Conference record and points listed first, then overall record and points)

Sheridan…8-2, 24 points…14-2-1, 43 points

Laramie…7-2-1, 22 points…11-3-1, 34 points

Central…6-3-1, 19 points…11-5-1, 34 points

Gillette…4-6, 12 points…6-9, 18 points

East…4-6, 12 points…7-10, 21 points

South…0-10, 0 points…0-14-1, 1 point

4A West: (Conference record and points listed first, then overall record and points)

Rock Springs…8-2, 24 points…11-5-1, 34 points

Kelly Walsh…6-3-1, 19 points…9-5-2, 29 points

Green River…5-3-2, 17 points…8-7-2, 26 points

Riverton…3-5-2, 11 points, 5-10-2, 17 points

Evanston…2-6-2, 8 points…3-10-3, 12 points

Natrona…2-7-1, 7 points…2-11-1, 7 points

Class 3A Northeast: (Conference record and points listed first, then overall record and points)

Buffalo…4-0, 12 points…11-1-2, 35 points

Douglas…1-2-1, 4 point…3-12-1, 10 points

Newcastle…0-3-1, 1 point…0-9-3, 3 points

Class 3A Southeast: (Conference record and points listed first, then overall record and points)

Lander…3-1, 9 points…8-6-1, 25 points

Torrington…3-1, 9 points…9-6, 27 points

Rawlins…0-4, 0 points…3-11-2, 11 points

Class 3A Northwest: (Conference record and points listed first, then overall record and points)

Worland…3-0-1, 10 points…12-1-2, 38 points

Powell…2-2, 6 points…9-7, 27 points

Cody…0-3-1, 1 point…6-9-1, 19 points

Class 3A Southwest: (Conference record and points listed first, then overall record and points)

Jackson…4-0, 12 points…13-0-1, 40 points

Star Valley…2-2, 6 points…6-6-1, 19 points

Pinedale…0-4, 0 points…3-11, 9 points

WyoPreps.com

Mitchell Layton, Getty Images

Two divisional leaders – one in each league – began to pull away from the pack, while several big name hitters had huge weeks. Here’s what’s happening in Major League Baseball:

Josh Hamilton’s Incredible Week

Texas Rangers’ slugger Josh Hamilton has been unstoppable. Hamilton hit nine homers and drove in 18 runs during the past week, including a four-homer, eight-RBI night against the Orioles on Tuesday. With 18 home runs, 41 runs batted in and a .402 batting average on the season, Hamilton has large leads in all three American League statistical categories. If Hamilton maintains those leads, he would become the first MLB player since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 to win the Triple Crown. Better still, his team leads the American League West by five games.

John Axford Blows A Save

After converting 49 consecutive save opportunities, Milwaukee Brewers’ closer John Axford blew a save against the Chicago Cubs on Friday night. However, Axford didn’t have much time to mull over his poor performance. His pregnant wife, Nicole, had gone into contractions, and he left to be by her side. In the process, the colorful Brewers’ closer with the funky facial hair left a note behind for the media:

“I put my wife into contractions with my performance tonight! The streak is over so now you can talk about it. The luck I’ve had in the past didn’t show up tonight! All I can do is start another streak and keep my head up! Cliché… cliché… cliché… another cliché. Gotta go! Love, Ax.”

Axford’s wife and baby to-be are fine; it was just a scare. By the way, Milwaukee rallied for an 8-7 victory in the game thanks to Corey Hart’s RBI single in the 13th inning.

Andy Pettitte Loses His First Major League Start Since 2010

Making his first start since 2010, New York Yankees’ starting pitcher Andy Pettitte suffered the loss in his team’s 6-2 defeat to Seattle on Sunday. Pettite, who has 240 career wins, was not especially sharp, yielding four runs in 6.1 innings, including two home runs.

Play of the Week: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

After previously hitting two home runs in the game, Cincinnati Reds’ first baseman Joey Votto hit a walk-off grand slam to give his team a 9-6 win over the Washington Nationals on Sunday.

Upcoming Series To Watch: St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers

This three-game series between National League division leaders begins Friday at Dodger Stadium. With Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier each having MVP-level years thus far, the Dodgers have complied MLB’s best record (23-11). The defending world champion Cardinals (20-14) are getting exceptional starting pitching from Lance Lynn, Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook. These teams could certainly be poised to be National League Championship Series opponents come October.

Fantasy Player To Add: Will Middlebrooks, Boston Red Sox

After cranking his fourth home run on Sunday, Boston Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks is now hitting .310, with 13 runs batted in and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.070 in 10 games since being called up from the minor leagues. While Kevin Youkilis will retain the job as the starting third baseman when he is healthy, there’s no way Boston won’t keep Middlebrooks in the lineup. Pick him up.

Fantasy Player To Drop: Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays

Rays’ first baseman Carlos Pena swatted two doubles on Sunday in Tampa’s 9-8 win over Baltimore. Despite the productive day, Pena is 5 for 41 with 15 strikeouts in May. It’s time to find corner power somewhere else.

Other MLB news: Josh Beckett, Bryce Harper and Wilson Ramos

Red Sox starting pitcher Josh Beckett came under fire this week for playing golf the day after it was announced his next start would be skipped because of tightness in his lat muscle… Washington Nationals’ catcher Wilson Ramos tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on Saturday night. He may miss the remainder of the 2012 season. Backup Jesus Flores will replace him in the Washington lineup…Washington Nationals rookie phenom Bryce Harper decided to take out his frustration for making an out on Friday by hitting a clubhouse tunnel wall. Harper sustained a gash to his face when his bat ricocheted off the wall and hit him above his left eye. He isn’t expected to miss any time.

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

The Colorado Rockies lost to the LA Dodgers 11-5 Sunday afternoon. The Casper Oilers lost both ends of a doubleheader to Rapid City Sunday in American Legion baseball.

4A East at Cheyenne South: Laramie’s girls and the Gillette boys are team winners.     Click here for results

4A West at Riverton: The Kelly Walsh girls and Natrona boys won team titles in the West 4A.  

Click here for WEST 4A   results

3A East at Worland: Douglas swept the team titles in Worland.   Click here for results

3A West at Powell: The Cody girls and Jackson boys won team titles.    Click here for results

2A East at Cheyenne South: The Girls from Burns and the Boys from Saratoga were crowned Champions of the East in Cheyenne.     Click here for 2A East results

2A West at Riverton: Both Lovell teams would take titles in Riverton.

Click here for West 2A  results

1A East at Cheyenne South: Lingle’s boys and girls swept titles in Cheyenne   Click here for 1A East results

1A West at Riverton: The Cokeville girls and Snake River boys were crowned Regional Champions in Riverton.      Click here for 1A West  results

State Track and field begins on Thursday in Casper.   Heat and flight assignments have already been made by the WHSAA.   CLICK HERE FOR STATE TRACK

WyoPreps.com

andrein, Flickr

An Arizona high school baseball team forfeited its chance at a state championship — and its reason for doing so has people talking.

Our Lady of Sorrows Academy in Phoenix refused to face off with rival Mesa Preparatory Academy because Mesa has a girl on its team.

Mesa’s headmaster Robert Wagner said the trouble started when Our Lady of Sorrows learned 15-year-old Paige Sultzbach would play second base for Mesa’s squad in the championship game.

“They wouldn’t play the game as long as we had a girl on the team who was on the field. It violates their policy about boys playing against girls,” Wagner said. “It’s just unfortunate that our kids who are excited about playing don’t have the opportunity.”

An official at Our Lady of Sorrows said it had no choice. “Teaching our boys to treat ladies with deference, we choose not to place them in an athletic competition where proper boundaries can only be respected with difficulty … Our school aims to instill in our boys a profound respect for women and girls,” the unnamed official said.

But Paige’s mother, Pamela, doesn’t buy it. “This is not a contact sport, it shouldn’t be an issue,” she said. “It wasn’t that they were afraid they were going to hurt or injure her, it’s that (they believe) that a girl’s place is not on a field.”

The story calls to mind another incident in New York where a boy was tossed from a girls’ field hockey team because he’s considered too good. That 13-year-old is appealing the decision.

[ESPN]

Marc Serota, Mike Zarrilli, Drew Hallowell / Getty Images

After the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics each won Thursday night to close out their first round NBA playoff series, the next round of the NBA playoffs is set to begin this weekend. Meanwhile, two Western Conference first-round series (Clippers-Grizzlies and Lakers-Nuggets) have yet to be decided. Here’s a preview of the NBA’s Eastern Conference semifinals:

(2) Miami Heat vs. (3) Indiana Pacers

Marc Serota / Getty Images

As evidenced by their near-sweep of the New York Knicks in the first round, the Miami Heat are among the best teams in the NBA. Miami’s LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh knocked out the Knicks in five games with a stifling defense that never allowed New York to score more than 94 points in a game. The Heat will need that defense against a younger and very athletic Indiana team, led by Danny Granger and Paul George. The Pacers, who rolled over a depleted Orlando team 4-1 in the first round, will use All-Star center Roy Hibbert and forward David West to chip away defensively at Miami’s superstars. Indiana is 16-4 since April 1, but Miami went 3-1 against the Pacers during the regular season. The best-of-seven series starts Sunday at 3:30 p.m. EDT in Miami.

See the full series schedule.

(4) Boston Celtics vs. (8) Philadelphia 76ers

Mike Zarrilli, Drew Hallowell / Getty Images

Becoming just the fifth No. 8 seed in NBA history to defeat a No. 1 seed, the Philadelphia 76ers eliminated the injury-plagued Chicago Bulls 4-2 in the first-round of the NBA playoffs. 76ers’ point guard Jrue Holiday took full advantage of the absence of injured Chicago point guard Derek Rose in the final five games of the series, as he fueled the Philadelphia attack. Holiday will need to step up his game further against talented Boston point guard Rajon Rondo, who can stretch any defense. 76ers’ defenders Andre Iguodala and Spencer Hawes must contain Celtics’ scorers Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and force them to work hard on both ends of the floor. Philadelphia is more athletic and deeper than Boston, and the 76ers won the season series between the teams 2-1. However, the Atlanta Hawks were young and athletic, but Boston defeated them 4-2 in their first-round series. The Celtics also have home court advantage. The best-of-seven series starts Saturday at 8 p.m. EDT in Boston.

See the full series schedule.