Monday Musings: LeBron brings winter to Golden State, MacLean gets his perch back and it's about to go down in Vegas

It's arguable as to which game was more epic on Sunday night: The one of thrones or the one of NBA Finals. Seems fans of both basketball and warrior carnage got their fill. You know, that late-game LeBron James block on Golden State's Andre Iguodala was so forceful, so vicious, and so completely dominating, it could have been spliced right into a Game of Thrones death and destruction scene without anyone noticing.

Or perhaps even Thronies (that's what they're called, right?) would have watched it and labelled it quite unbelievable, even for a George R.R. Martin tale. At any rate, maybe the Golden State Warriors will be brought back to life in a later episode of the NBA.

So, it's Vegas is it? The NHL hands out its player awards in Las Vegas this Wednesday, in a splashy show at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The board of governors will meet as well to give the go ahead to an expansion team in the Nevada city. At least that's what they'd like you to believe. I don't - for a second - believe that all of this is not a grand bit of misdirection as part of an elaborate scheme by Bettman's Eleven to knock over a gambling joint. Probably one run by Andy Garcia. Watch for it all to go down during a Will Arnett magic number at the awards show. When you here Europe's "Final Countdown," that is the precise moment where NHL Vice President Colin Campbell will be bursting from a hand cart deep down inside a casino vault somewhere.

The NHL's Vegas venture means nothing without the right name. We're all hearing that the new team in Vegas is likely to be called the Black Knights, although I wouldn't put it past the dark forces at NHL head office being complete pricks to the people of Quebec City and naming the team the Vegas Nordiques. Black Knights is okay, I guess. But I think they're missing out on a real opportunity here by not calling the team the Las Vegas Here Until Seattle Builds A Proper Arenas. The NHL has a record of missteps in this area. If I'd had my way, the Nashville Predators would be called the Grand Ol' Ospreys and the Columbus Blue Jackets would be the Ohio State Puckeyes. Or Ohio Players. And the Arizona Coyotes would be the Winnipeg Jets.

By now I think we must have all seen video of that Welsh soccer fan at Euro 2016. That guy's emotions ran the gamut of heartbreak, to embarrassment and grudging acceptance, to elation. All in about thirty seconds. It's operatic, really. Watch it again and see if you don't agree that he goes from despondent 6-year-old who has just seen his helium-filled Finding Dory balloon sail off into the atmosphere above, to joyful 6-year-old who is now seeing mom come around the corner with an ice cream cone! Priceless stuff. And for some reason - which I cannot explain - it's even funnier to watch the video backwards (yes, someone posted it that way). Now all we need is for somebody to sync it up with Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" to see how that goes. Here's the back-in-time version of the video, which makes it look like happy soccer fan has just learned that Sepp Blatter is back on the scene.

THE LITTLE THINGS

Well done, Dustin Johnson. Now you can get your girlfriend's old man off your back about all the championship trophies he's got in his den. At least a little.

The "Crying Jordan" meme thing is played out. Way played out. Like, go ahead and paste Jordan's face over Fonzie's in mid-shark jump kinda played out.

Curling Canada has announced a new format for the Brier and Scotties, beginning in 2018. The fields will be expanded to sixteen teams, up from the current twelve. While some lament the loss of institutional tradition, I'd like them to further expand the  Brier field to 2,200 teams so I'd have a reasonable shot at a jacket.

From an ESPN story on NHL expansion to Las Vegas: "Bettman has said he doesn't worry about the league's product suffering from dilution." Sure. Why start now, I guess.

From the same report: The NHL would approve the Vegas expansion application "as long as organizers can come up with a $500 million fee." Well, I'm sure they have a solid plan. It's called the "c'mon, seven!" plan.

If you listen closely, on a day-to-day basis, somewhere along the line you'll hear a phrase that would make a dynamite name for a band or album. Or, at the very least, something you can use as a password for one of your many internet sign-in pages. This week's password suggestion: JoseBautista'sToe.

The CFL season kicks off this week. I think I'm ready. Yesterday, I came out of the grocery store carrying a loaf of bread like it was a football.

BUT SERIOUSLY...

If it is indeed true that Ron MacLean will be back as host of Hockey Night in Canada beginning next season (as is being reported by Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star), replacing George Stroumboulopoulos, it would seem that the ever-howling scorn of Twitter warriors has won the day. Ever since the man they call Strombo was named host of HNIC two seasons ago, Twitter could have dumped its little blue bird for a crossed pitchfork and torch logo.

It's all well and good if you didn't think Stroumboulopoulos' style and broadcast execution was a fit for Canada's flagship sports program. As much as I admire the man (full disclosure: Stroumboulopoulos and I worked together for a few years at one of Toronto's sports radio stations, The FAN 590, back in the 1990's) I wasn't feeling, this past season, that he was growing into the role. Nor did I feel - and this is equally important - that the program was evolving to suit him and the stated mandate of shaking up the way hockey games and their related stories were presented in this country. That's the way it was couched when Stroumboulopoulos was hired, don't forget. His vibe wasn't matching what we've been used to on Saturday nights and the program wasn't morphing to match what the host was putting out.

Strombo might not have been your cup of tea and that's fair. What is not fair is the insistence by some that he "didn't know anything about hockey." That's balderdash. He was as equipped to handle the role - knowledge wise - as most any are. He was hosting, for crying out loud, not coaching a team.

Haven't heard the last of George Stroumboulopoulos, that's for sure. He's a tremendously gifted broadcaster and will have choices of spots in which to land. And this new guy? MacLean? Yeah, he'll do just fine.