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SALT LAKE CITY — Three more stories from the world of sports in today’s From Left Field.
1. Cubs channel inner Ron Burgundy for Western road trip
It’s not completely abnormal to see a Joe Maddon-led team hit the road in weird attire. Maddon, from his time in Tampa and now in Chicago, has liked to keep things loose for his team during a long 162-game schedule.
As the Cubs began their West Coast swing at Los Angeles and San Diego, the team decided to hit the road in odd 1970s suits inspired mainly from the movie “Anchorman.”
The Cubs aren’t necessarily suffering from a spiritual and existential funk (they’ve won three in a row and four of their last five games), but they decided Thursday to go suit shopping anyway.
The end result was glorious.
Stay classy. pic.twitter.com/TE4FC2kSiZ — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 26, 2017
> We look good, we look very good! [pic.twitter.com/Vk22JckhYy](https://t.co/Vk22JckhYy) > > — Anthony Rizzo (@ARizzo44) [May 25, 2017](https://twitter.com/ARizzo44/status/867892946980306946)
> WHAMMY! [pic.twitter.com/sI76tXhBF0](https://t.co/sI76tXhBF0) > > — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) [May 25, 2017](https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/867865816460611584)
> 遠征に行ってきまぁす (o^^o) [pic.twitter.com/ki4SX7AqLI](https://t.co/ki4SX7AqLI) > > — KOJI UEHARA (@TeamUehara) [May 25, 2017](https://twitter.com/TeamUehara/status/867863732042567680)
Needless to say, the Cubs will be "keeping it classy" in San Diego.
2. Be like Mike
LeBron James is headed to his record seventh-straight NBA Finals as the Cleveland Cavaliers thumped the Boston Celtics Thursday to win the Eastern Conference Finals.
Ahead of them is a matchup with the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals for a third-straight year. James will be going for a second-straight NBA title and a fourth overall.
Thursday, James surpassed Michael Jordan as the NBA postseason all-time leading scorer.
History 🏆@KingJames finished with 35 points, eight assists, and eight rebounds while passing Michael Jordan for most career playoff points pic.twitter.com/i1jLMAE43Q — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 26, 2017
Afterward, he was asked by a reporter what that meant to him and he answered with one of the most genuine responses one could give in that moment.
He said everything he did as a kid was to be like Jordan. It’s why he wears No. 23, why he wore a wristband on his forearm and a whole bunch of things — even joking that he’s going bald like Jordan.
“I did everything that Mike did. I wanted to be Mike,” he said, adding he was blown away to be in the same category as him.
The full response — along with another response to a question about what it’s like to be influential for today’s kids — can be seen below. It also features some of the best reactions from his teammates in the background.
ICYMI: @KingJames weighed in on being compared to MJ and trying to "be like Mike." #NBAFinalspic.twitter.com/gJXe0p6ZZ4 — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 26, 2017
3\. Iowa’s baseball team up to funny antics ==========================================
The Big Ten baseball tournament began Thursday and Iowa defeated Maryland 9-8 in a thrilling first game.
However, the real winner is these interview video-bombs that occurred during and after the game, which included messing with the head coach and weightlifting players during a postgame interview.
Dugout antics with the #Hawkeyes@kylecrowl_12@ZachFricke16@Shane_Ritter10https://t.co/yVypXCq4XN — Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) May 25, 2017
> Chris Whelan 🗣 his impressive day at the dish, while the [@UIBaseball](https://twitter.com/UIBaseball) boys get some squats in in the background. 💪
