Dwight Howard dominates Cavs, leads Magic to first Finals appearance since 1995...

Dwight Howard showed why he is Superman by making 12-16 free throws and scoring 40 points to go with 14 rebounds in leading the Orlando Magic to a 103-90 victory over the NBA's MVP Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to advance to face the L.A. Lakers in the NBA Finals. Rashard Lewis chipped in 18 points and the Orlando bench outplayed the Cavs en route to ending Cleveland's dream season. Lebron James put in his worse game of the series with only 25 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds, but it wasn't his fault the team lost, Mo Williams once again disappeared scoring only 17 points and Delonte West had 22 but on only 9-19 shooting. The Cavs came in with the best defense in league but they could not defend the paint and when they tried to the Magic burned them from beyond the arc this time making 12-3 pointers. The Cavs have some things to address now in the off season, Mo Williams was supposed to be James' sidekick but he disappeared when it mattered most. Cleveland needs to find a more athletic big man who can hang with Howard and also instill fear on the defensive end. Cavs fans got to overzealous already anointing themselves as Champs after beating two injury plagued teams that weren't that good to begin with, and Cavs fans should know better than that. Game 1 of the NBA Finals starts Thursday in L.A.
MAGIC WIN SERIES 4-2 OVER THE CAVALIERS

Red Wings get lucky, outlast the Pens 3-1 in Game 1...

On a night filled with star power the best player on the ice neutralized all the star power and Chris Osgood stopped 31 shots for the Detroit Red Wings to give them a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Brad Stuart got things going for the Wings in a tough physical back and forth first period when he missed a shot wide of the net but it bounced off the boards and trickled in the net underneath Marc-Andre Fleury to give Detroit a 1-0 lead. Ruslan Fedotenko would tie things up for the Pens on a rebound from an Evgeni Malkin shot where Fedotenko tapped the puck away from Osgood and flicked it up over his shoulder to even the score with less than 2 minutes in the first. In the second period the Pens out shot, outhit, and flat out out played the Red Wings but it was all for not because the Wings picked up their second straight fluky goal with a minute left in the period when again a shot went wide and bounced off the boards and squeaked past Fleury, Johan Franzen's goal gave Detroit a 2-1 lead. The Red Wings got their insurance goal less than three minutes into the third when rookie Justin Abdelkader grabbed the puck out the air in front of the Penguins goal, set it down and fired it pass Fleury for a 3-1 lead. Both Fleury and center Justin Stahl lost the puck when it was in the air and had no idea Abdelkater had it until it was too late. A combination of Detroit's suffocating defense and spectacular net minding from Osgood would seal the Pens fate to a Game 1 loss. Pittsburgh had plenty of scoring chances, Evgeni Malkin had a one-on-one with Osgood and couldn't put it in, Crosby had a nice move spinning in front of the net a firing one off but Osgood used skill and some luck on the play to deny him, and Fedotenko had a nice opportunity but thanks to Osgood they weren't good enough. The most telling stat of this game was Detroit's dominance on the face off 39-16, the Wings are the best on the face off but the Pens came in winning a high percentage so I thought maybe they would be closer in that category. The Penguins won't have much time to think about the loss because Game 2 is 21 hours after Game 1. If Pittsburgh can win some more face offs and capitalize on their scoring chances they will get right back in this series.
DETROIT LEADS SERIES 1-0 OVER PITTSBURGH

GO PENGUINS!

Where Caucasian happens...

I thought this was pretty funny. I love Kanye West and this is a good spoof on the lack of white people in the NBA.

Lebron James finally shows up, Cavs win 112-102...

Lebron James recorded his fourth career playoff triple double en route to the Cleveland Cavaliers keeping their playoff lives alive by defeating the Orlando Magic 112-102. James did all he could last night to keep the Cavs alive, he scored 37 points to go along with a ho-hum 14 rebounds and 12 assists. Mo Williams actually decided to show up and recorded 24 points on 7-14 shooting including going 6-9 from beyond the arc. Williams is the X-factor in this series, if he can continue to make his shots the Cavs will push this series to 7 and with them having home court, they will probably win. The entire team shot better with Delonte West and Zydrunas Ilgauskas scoring 13 and 16 respectively, but the biggest contribution came from the bench and Daniel Gibson who shot 3-4 from the 3pt line for 11 points total. Superman Dwight Howard continued his dominance throwing down 24 points and 10 rebounds but he fouled out with 2:22 left in the game while trying to defend Lebron. Hedo Turkgolu lead the Magic with 29 points, but Orlando got little help elsewhere with Rashard Lewis only scoring 15 and Mickael Pietrus putting in 13. The Cavs blew another huge lead which until this series was unusual for them but a lot of it has to do with poor offense contributing to their poor defense. When they rush shots and don't run set plays the Cavs are in trouble and don't rotate on the perimeter to the open man and they have been burned by the 3pt shot. I don't think the Cavs have what it takes to win in Orlando so this series will be done tomorrow.
MAGIC LEADS SERIES 3-2 OVER THE CAVALIERS

The Stanley Cup Finals matchup is set, Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Detroit Red Wings Part 2....

With Detroit's 2-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks last night it setup the rematch from last years Stanley Cup Finals. This should be an exciting match up with a few interesting subplots. The first little subplot is with Marian Hossa spurning the Penguins long term contract offer to sign a one year deal with the Red Wings. Hossa felt like he had a better chance of winning a Cup with the Wings than with Pens, which normally I would give that to you but look at the success he had last year with The Pens and he only played a couple of months with them. So essentially Hossa took experience and depth over talent and long term security, so it will be interesting to see if the Pens try harder to prove Hossa wrong, or if Hossa will try harder to make himself look better. The other subplot is the scheduling of the series, the first two games are Saturday and Sunday so NBC can carry both games. The schedule should work in favor of the Penguins because they have had an extra day to rest and have already played back-to-back games during the playoffs. The Wings were already beat up during their last series and with the little rest they have no time to recover, but then again this is the Detroit Red Wings and they are a machine and will just plug guys in and not lose any production. The Penguins are coming in playing an entirely different style of game than last year's squad and the newer additions(Guerin, Kunitz, and Adams) have had a productive postseason working alongside of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Pittsburgh had a tougher road to this year's Finals than last year, but Detroit has looked like the unstoppable team knocking off two of their toughest rivals in back-to-back series. The Pens will benefit from last years Cup run and they have a faster more open offense but they can still play defense once they get the lead. The Red Wings play the style of game that can take away the speed and quickness of Pittsburgh with their puck control offense and constant fore checking on defense. I think this series will go 6 or 7 games with a few going into overtime, which will be good for the NHL. The series kicks off in Detroit on Saturday night and Game 2 will be less than 24 hours later.

GO PENGUINS!

Magic seize control of series knocking off the Cavs 116-114 in overtime...

Dwight Howard continued his domination of the Cleveland Cavaliers by scoring 10 points in the overtime and leading the Orlando Magic to a 3-1 series lead with a 116-114 overtime thrilling win. Howard scored 27 points to go with 14 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks and he made his free throws going 7-9. The Magic once again got an all around team effort with the team making 17 of 38 three pointers and five players scoring in double figures. Rafer Alston scored 26 points, Rashard Lewis contributed 17, but the biggest contribution came from Mickeal Pietrus who had 17 points on 5-11 3pt shooting. Lebron James carried the Cavs as far as he could once again scoring 44 points to go along with 12 boards, and 7 assists, but he missed what would have been the game winning three point shot as time was expiring. To get to that point the Cavs had to rally from 10 down in the OT and James did it all himself, making a left handed scoop, nailed two free throws, and sank a three with a hand in his face in front of the Orlando bench. James turned the ball over eight times and shot 4-10 from beyond the arc but got very little help elsewhere with only three others scoring in double figures. Mo Williams scored 18 points but all of which were scored before the fourth quarter. Delonte West had 17 points and seven assists for his best game of the series and Zydrunas Ilgauskas chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds but did very little to help stop SuperMan Dwight Howard. Howard joined an elite group averaging 20 points and 15 rebounds during these playoffs, Shaq and Tim Duncan were the others to do it and they won championships in those years. The Cavs are done, they may win tomorrow night but they will not get back home to Cleveland for a Game 7. If for some reason this series ends up going to a seventh game then the Magic better pray that they have more tricks up their sleeve because Lebron will not let that team loose a Game 7 on his home court.
MAGIC LEADS SERIES 3-1 OVER THE CAVS

Penguins sweep Canes, advance to second straight Stanley Cup Finals...

For the second straight game the Pittsburgh Penguins spotted the Carolina Hurricanes the first goal, they then weathered the storm and eliminated the Canes 4-1 to win the Eastern Conference Championship. Eric Stahl scored the only goal of the game when he beat Marc-Andre Fleury to the left post of the net and squeezed the puck through for a 1-0 lead. The Pens top stars were quieted the entire night but the role players stepped up and took the load off of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin with Ruslan Fedotenko evening the game at 1. Off of a lazy turnover Maxime Talbot scored a crazy goal when he had a 2-on-1 and shot the puck which deflected off a Canes defenseman's stick and flew in the air and landed perfectly over the glove of Cam Ward and into the net for what would turn out to be the game winning goal. Talbot's goal marked the 5th time in the series that Pittsburgh scored with less than two minutes left in a period. In the second period Crosby set up veteran Bill Guerin for a score and a 3-1 lead and Crosby picked up his second assist of the night feeding Craig Adams for an empty-net goal and a 4-1 victory. The Crosby assist extended his point streak to six straight games. For the first time all series the Canes out shot Pittsburgh but Fleury stopped 30 of those 31 shots on goal, Ward stopped 20 of 24 in the losing effort. The Penguins are the first team since the 1984 Edmonton Oilers to return to the Stanley Cup Finals after losing the previous year. The Pens are probably going to have a long layoff before they take the ice again with the Finals scheduled to start on June 5, unless the Red Wings can wrap up their series tonight.
PENGUINS SWEEP SERIES 4-0 OVER THE HURRICANES

GO PENGUINS!

Nuggets blow out Lakers 120-101, even series at 2....

Carmelo Anthony was sick but The Denver Nuggets overcame Anthony's ailments and routed the Los Angeles Lakers 120-101 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. Anthony was throwing up before the game, needed an IV at halftime and sprained his ankle in the first quarter and started the night going 0-10 from the field and finishing with 15 points on 3-16 shooting. Big Shot Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith both finished with 24 points to lead the Nuggets to even the series at 2 and to improve their home playoff record to 7-1. Denver finished with seven players scoring in double figures, with Kenyon Martin(13points and 15 rebounds) and Nene(14 points and 13 rebounds) each recording a double-double. The Nuggets out rebounded the Lakers 58-40 with Martin, Nene, and Chris Anderson combining to out rebound the entire L.A. team 42-40. Kobe Bryant played a well rounded game scoring 34 points to go with 7 rebounds and 5 assists, but the Lakers got little help elsewhere. Pau Gasol chipped in 21 points with 10 rebounds and Andrew Bynum scored 14, but their bench was outscored 42-24. This type of performance has been consistent with what the Lakers have done so far in the playoffs, they don't show up about every third game and it seems like they think once a game gets a little out of hand they always have home court advantage and they will get them next game. Phil Jackson is working his media mojo once again saying,"Basketball is a game where the aggressor gets the advantage. And tonight we didn't know what a foul was and what wasn't a foul." Jackson also complained by stating, "Start of the game, we got guys knocked around going to the basket, they said, 'We're going to get those things go.' By the end of the ballgame little fouls were being called all over the place." There were a of total 84 free throws shot in the game with the Nuggets having the one sided advantage 49-35. Game 5 is Wednesday in Los Angeles.
NUGGETS AND LAKERS SERIES TIED AT 2

Howard leads Magic to 99-89 victory, take a 2-1 series lead...

Lebron James showed why he was the MVP, too bad the rest of the team didn't show up because the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Orlando Magic 99-89 and they now trail in the series 2-1. Lebron James scored 41 points, 9 assists, 7 boards, 2 steals, and 1 block but once again the rest of the team couldn't get any offensive flow with Mo Williams, Delonte West, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas combining to shoot 13-37 for 36 points. The Orlando Magic got an all round team effort with five players scoring in double figures and their bench out scoring the Cavs bench 20-8. Dwight Howard who is usually bad from the free throw line went 14-19 to give him 24 points to lead the Magic, who have dominated Cleveland as of late beating them six of the last eight times in Orlando. This was a physical game with a flagrant foul, two technical fouls, 58 personal fouls called and 86 free throws attempted and the Cavs Mo Williams had to get four stitches under his left eye by an elbow from Anthony Johnson. The Cavs appear to be in serious trouble now because the Magic have out muscled them and beat them up and it looks like the Cavs can't handle it. The Magic have to win on Tuesday if they really want to take control of this series because if they go back to Cleveland tied at 2 they could be in trouble facing the best home team in the NBA.
MAGIC LEAD SERIES 2-1 OVER THE CAVS

Malkin and Co. steam roll the Hurricanes, take 3-0 series lead...

The Carolina Hurricanes scored the first goal but the Pittsburgh Penguins rebounded with back-to-back goals 30 seconds apart from Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby and coasted to a 6-2 victory in Game 3. Matt Cullen got things started for the desperate Canes scoring four minutes into the first period, bringing the raucous crowd to their feet and giving them hope of being able to contain the Pens. Two minutes later Evgeni Malkin quieted the crowd by picking up his first goal of the game on a Sidney Crosby assisted power play goal and tying the game at one. With less than a minute left in the first Sid the Kid scored to put the Pens ahead and 30 seconds later Malkin scored his second goal of the game and giving him his sixth straight multi-point game and giving the Pens 3-1 lead. The second period was quiet with no scoring but in the third Sergei Samsonov gave the Hurricanes a little bit of hope scoring two minutes in but they never got any real momentum going and were unable to the puck into the net again. Evgeni Malkin picked up his third point of the game giving Ruslan Fedotenko a nice setup, passing the puck between his legs so Fedotenko could wrist it pass Cam Ward for a 4-2 lead. Craig Adams picked up an empty-net goal and Bill Guerin scored on power play goal with only seconds left in the game. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 32 shots for the Pens and Carolina goalie Cam Ward stopped 34 shots. Crosby(14) and Malkin(12) are only two goals away from breaking the record for most postseason goals scored by teammates. Only two teams in history have come back from a 3-0 deficit and the last was the 1975 New York Islanders who did it against the Penguins. The Pens have dominated this series but they need to keep the pressure on and take this series on Tuesday so they can rest up and get Sergei Gonchar ready for whoever in the Stanley Cup Finals.
PENGUINS LEAD SERIES 3-0 OVER HURRICANES

GO PENGUINS!

James nails game winning buzzer beating 3pt shot, evens series at 1...

The Cleveland Cavaliers blew another double digit halftime lead but this this time Lebron James took the game winning shot and nailed a buzzer beating 3 point shot to put the Cavs over the Orlando Magic 96-95. With only a second left in the game, James took an inbounds pass from Mo Williams and chucked up a three from the top of the key over Hedo Turkoglu and erased memories of Michael Jordan's game winning shot against the Cavs in the 1989 playoffs. The Cavs lead by as many as 23 points in the first half and 12 at half time, but an inconsistent offense lead to poor defense and the Magic had the lead with one second left. Hedo Turkoglu gave the Magic and 95-93 lead off of a 12 foot jumper in the key, but he couldn't handle the MVP on the last possession of the game. James finished 27th 30 point game which is the most among active players since 2006 in the postseason, he also finished with four boards and five assists. Dwight Howard recorded his 15th straight postseason double-double finishing with 10 and 15 rebounds, but Howard was in foul trouble most of the night missing the majority of the third quarter with four fouls. Aside from James the Cavs offense shot horribly once again with Williams(19 points), Delonte West(12 points), and Zydrunas Ilgauskas(12 points) going a combined 16-41 from the field 2-12 from beyond the three point line. The Cavs got some help from their bench with Sasha Pavlovic scoring 9 points, but so far Coach Brown has not utilized his bench efficiently with Daniel Gibson(3 minutes in Game 1) and Wally Szczerbiak(13 minutes in Game 1) not playing at all and Joe Smith(15 minutes in Game1) only getting nine minutes in this game, he is going to wear his team out if they go seven games or beyond. All in all the Cavs are lucky to be where they are right now but at the same time if they can consistently keep up their first half defensive intensity they would have a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 is Sunday in Orlando.
SERIES TIED AT 1-1

Malkin records first career playoff hat trick during a 7-4 rout of the Canes....

Evgeni Malkin finally woke up in the playoffs record his first career playoff hat trick in leading the Pittsburgh penguins to 7-4 rout of the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Sidney Crosby scored the first goal of the game for a record tying sixth time this postseason less than two minutes into the game. A couple of minutes later the Canes would tie it up on a Chad LaRose goal. Malkin recorded his first goal of the night but Carolina scored 2 unanswered goals to end the first period. In the second Maxime Talbot and Chris Kunitz would put the Penguins ahead going into the third period, with Talbot scoring the game tying goal and Kunitz put the Pens ahead with only seconds left in the period. In the third the Canes would not go away tying the game once again this time the goal came from Patrick Eaves. Malkin put the Pens ahead for good while picking up his second goal of the game and four minutes later Malkin recorded his first career playoff hat trick on an unassisted goal to put Pittsburgh ahead for good. MMMMRRRRR.Kennedy, Tyler Kennedy picked up an empty net goal to make the final score 7-4. Malkin's parents were in attendance once again and it is amazing what he has been able to do with his parents in attending the game. Last year with his parents at the games he had a stretch at the end of the season where he carried the team into the playoffs, this year he had a similar stretch again helping the team make the playoffs, and then of course last night he had the hat trick. The Pens have pretty much dominated this series but the are going to be tested more so over the next few games with them traveling to Carolina. Game 3 is tomorrow night.
PENGUINS LEAD SERIES 2-0 OVER HURRICANES

GO PENGUINS!

Cavs fans fear not...

Last night the Cleveland Cavaliers lost their first playoff game this year and couldn't handle the pressure of being tested but fear not... you still have Lebron James. Dwight Howard scored 30 points in leading the Orlando Magic from a 15 point halftime deficit to knock off the Cavs 107-106. Rashard Lewis scored 22 points including knocking down the game winning 3 point shot with 14.7 seconds left handing the Cavs only their third loss in 46 games at home. Lebron James filled up the stat sheet once again with 49 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 blocks and two steals but passed up the game winning shot after knifing through the lane and passing it to an open Mo Williams who passed to an open Delonte West who missed the shot. If Lebron would have kept the ball he would have either made the shot or been fouled and had a chance to tie it at the line, but instead he passed it and they lost. How many times is James going to get burned by his teammates before he learns his lesson, it actually reminded me of the last time the Cavs made the Finals and The Spurs only guarded James because no one else could make a shot. But Cavs fans fear not... You had an 11 day layoff and still played good enough to win, it's a seven game series and you have home court in game 7, Williams, West, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas went a combined 15-43 from the field and a terrible 5-16 from beyond the arc. The Cavs still have the core players from the Finals team in Sasha Pavlovic, Anderson Varejao, Daniel Gibson, Big Z, and oh yeah the best player in the league Lebron James. If Lebron keeps the ball the Cavs either win or at least send it overtime. I still the Cavs will win in 6 but hopefully this loss will put things in perspective for Cavs fans... Yes your good but you're not unbeatable.
ORLANDO LEADS SERIES 1-0 OVER CLEVELAND

Yes Michael Vick should be allowed in NFL again...

Michael Vick has paid his debt to society(or will in about two months) and he should be allowed to play in the NFL again, just not this year. Vick so far on paper has done all the right things like not getting into trouble while in prison and he has recently reached out to the National Humane Society to work with them to prevent dog fighting. If Vick was smart he would sit this year out and use the extra time to reconnect with his family and also rework his image. With the year off Vick could re establish himself in the community by reaching out to the youth and publicly work with the humane society and other organizations to help with animal abuse. The PR nightmare that would ensue if he were to come back this year would be lessened by the fact that he had the year off and was rehabbing his image putting forth the right words and efforts and would make him more enticing to teams because some of the wounds will hopefully have healed. The other and less important reason Vick should take a year off is because he will be getting out in July and will not have much time to get back into football shape and he would be behind the 8ball on learning his new offense. I'm sure Vick worked out while in prison but that does not compare to competing against other people and facing live competition. When Vick is let back into the league there will be a small market for him for a couple of reasons.... the first being do you trust him enough to run your team. Sure Vick was a winner when he was healthy, but that was because he was able to be Michael Vick and let him make plays, it wasn't always pretty but he won. So who is going to give that kind of freedom to a guy who was locked up for the last 2 and a half years. So if you don't want him at QB then where do you put him wr, or rb, that is the big question. He would fit perfectly into the "wildcat formation" but very few teams would want to deal with that kind of publicity.... but there is one team who is looking for any kind of publicity especially the kind that lets people forget about an 0-16 season....

Fleury out duels Ward giving the Penguins a 1-0 series lead...

When the series started few thought Marc-Andre Fleury would outplay Cam Ward but that is exactly what happened as Fleury guided the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Miroslav Satan scored first for the Pens mid way through the first period for his first playoff goal of the year. 90 seconds later Evgeni Malkin joined teammate Sidney Crosby as the only players with 20 plus points in the postseason by putting the puck in the net for a 2-0 Penguins lead. Chad LaRose broke up the shutout in the second for the Hurricanes who have lost the first game in each of their last five playoff series only to go on and win them in seven games. Crosby and Malkin each picked up an assist on a Phillipe Boucher power play goal that would prove to be the winning goal. The Canes put the pressure on late picking up their own power play goal with less than 2 minutes to play but Fleury snuffed out any hope after that and secured the win in Game 1. The Penguins played really well in this game the only thing they should work on is concentrating for the entire 60 minutes and next time it won't be so close.
PITTSBURGH LEADS SERIES 1-0 OVER CAROLINA

GO PENGUINS!

Penguins get home ice in Eastern Conference Finals....

With the Pittsburgh Penguins taking care of business on Wednesday and the Carolina Hurricanes finishing off the top seeded Bruins the pieces fell in place for the Penguins to have home ice advantage in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Pens were dominate at home towards the end of the season and that momentum carried over into the playoffs with them only losing two games. The Pens are making their second consecutive trip to the Eastern Finals for only their second time in team history...the other time the Pens were repeat champions in the early 1990's. The Pens and Canes spilt the season series 2-2 with both teams winning on the road. The Canes have had a difficult run through the playoffs so far needing to win both of their series on the road in Game 7's. Carolina knocked off the third seeded New York Rangers in 7 games and took an early 2-0 series lead over Boston before blowing the lead and needing to win in the seventh game. The Penguins discarded division rival Philadelphia in 6 games and got all they could handle for Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals before blowing them out in Game 7 on the road. I think this years Penguins team is better than last years due to the experience of making the Stanley Cup Finals, making the coaching change to a more wide open offense, and getting Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz who have played with the top two lines and have given the Pens some much needed production. I am looking forward to a rematch of last years Stanley Cup finals with Detroit Red Wings. I know I shouldn't sleep on the Canes because this team has a lot of the players from the team that won the Cup in 2006 but I think Pittsburgh is a determined team of destiny, with all the pieces falling into place for this team to rally like they did at the end of the season and for things to work out like they did for them getting the home ice for this round. Pittsburgh will win the series in 7 games.

GO PENGUINS!

R.I.P. Wayman Tisdale....

I started doing a morning jazz show about 5 months ago, and while I was a little skeptic about how it was going to go I'm definitely glad I chose to do the show. I got the oppurtunity to listen to Wayman Tisdale's music and it was awesome. He is one of my favorite smooth jazz artists and it is sad knowing he won't be making music anymore. Tisdale died of cancer today at the young age of 44. I originally knew about Wayman as a basketball player because he was in the NBA around the time I started watching and he was the epitome of a self less team player and he had a smooth stroke. Tisdale graduated from Oklahoma as the all-time leading scorer and rebounder and as a 3 time all american and was also a gold medalist on the 1984 Olympics basketball team. For the full story click here

Mick Foley...

On May 15 and 16 Mick Foley will be at the Motor City Comic book convention in Novi, Michigan. He will be appearing with his newly won TNA Heavyweight Championship belt to sign autographs and greet the fans. I had a chance to chat with Mick about the upcoming Motor City ComicCon and also somethings about his illustrious wrestling career. I hope you guys will enjoy it as much as I did conducting the interview. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think!

When has the Super Bowl ever been about the fans?...

I have no problem with the NFL trying to play an additional game over in England. I thinks its good exposure for the game because it lets the people of England know that not all of our athletes are immature little babies. I'm glad to that the NFL is sending over good representatives of league in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New England Patriots, these two teams over the last few years have been competitive teams with very few off the field problems. The bad part is that whoever plays loses a home game, which screws the fans, and the teams don't get much of a bye week because they have to travel back home and get ready for their next opponent. I do have a problem with Commissioner Goodell trying to put the Super Bowl over there though. Let's face it the Super Bowl has never been about the fans other than we get to watch it, but the real reason for the Super Bowl is to appease the advertisers, and by moving the SB to England would further prove that point. Since Goodell has taken over he has done everything possible to make as much money as possible even if it hurts the fans or the overall quality of the league. There's nothing wrong with trying to make money but when you start to ruin the overall quality of the game it's time to stop.

Penguins lose in overtime head back to Washington for Game 7...

In probably the most anticipated playoff series in the NHL's history it would be fitting that it would go seven games. Last night the Pittsburgh Penguins jumped out to an early 1-0 lead but eventually lost the lead only to tie it up with four minutes left in regulation, but then they looked to be out played by the Washington Capitals in overtime losing a face off and giving up the game winning goal to lose 5-4. The Penguins jumped on top with a Bill Guerin goal in the first but in the second the Capitals took the lead on back to back goals. The Pens would pick up a power play goal with only 30 seconds remaining in the period to tie things up heading into the third period. Kris Letang picked up another power play goal to put the Pens up 3-2. Then Marc-Andre Fleury would fall apart for Pittsburgh giving up two goals in a 24 second period early in third period giving the Caps a 4-3 advantage and that brief collapse by Fleury looked to shift the momentum in the favor of the Capitals because they played suffocating defense pretty much the rest of the way. Sidney Crosby tied the game at four all with four minutes to go in regulation giving him his 10th goal of the postseason. In the extra period the Capitals dominated from the opening face off to the final goal, controlling the puck, out hitting the Pens, and getting shots on goal, which lead to the Pens downfall. Washington won the face off in Pittsburgh territory which set up Dave Steckel's game winning goal and the NHL's dream of a Game 7. The Penguins dominated early but the Caps seem to have taken the momentum from them and are in a really good position to win the series now. It's frustrating when you can wrap up the series at home and you blow it knowing you have to try and steal another game on the road. Hopefully Fleury and the Pens can regroup and come out strong in Game 7 or else they will be in for a long off season.
SERIES TIED AT 3-3 BETWEEN THE PENGUINS AND CAPITALS

GO PENGUINS!

Cavs fans need to settle down...

I know Cleveland Cavaliers fans have a road that looks good leading to the NBA finals but you guys need to settle down. First of all the Cavs have not been tested so far in the postseason and how will they respond to a tough physical team during a 7 game series. Secondly Cleveland fans must have short term memory problems because The Indians thought it was a fore gone conclusion that they would be in the World Series before they choked to The Red Sox, or that the Indians had the series pretty much locked up against the Marlins and blew 10 years before that, and don't forget about the fumble or the drive. Thirdly, the Cavs destroyed an 8th seeded Detroit team that wasn't at full strength(A.I. was on injured reserve) and now they are destroying a team that can't win on the road at full strength let alone with 2 of their 4 top players on the bench. Point number four, anything can happen between now and the Finals, Lebron could get hurt, Mo Williams' shot could disappear, or Big Z could revert to his form from a few years ago where he is injury plagued. I'm rooting for the Cavs, that team deserves a championship and it looks like they might but it is never a fore gone conclusion that they will win it all. Look at last years New England Patriots, they dominated the regular season and playoffs and they choked in the Super Bowl. Cleveland fans need to remember who they are rooting for and realize that they are just on missed shot or turnover away from all this hype going away. Oh yeah and it looks like the Denver Nuggets might be on their way to ruining the LA Lakers Cavs Finals and who would know better how to stop James then MR. Big Shot Billups who was on the same Pistons teams that owned Lebron for three years. Anyway I hope the Cavs can pull it off because Lebron James is the man but let them get to the Conference Finals before you anoint anything from Cleveland as a winner.

Dodgers lose ManRam for 50 games due to falied drug test...

Los Angeles Dodger star Manny Ramirez failed a drug test and will be suspended for 50 games. That is a huge blow to the Dodgers and it obviously sucks for ManRam. Now I like Manny for the most part because when motivated he is an awesome ball player who has fun but I also think he is a jackass for doing stupid things like pushing a team ticket distributor to the ground or flailing about in the out field trying to field a fly ball. This really sucks for him even-though he says it was not steroids but there are reports that say he's wrong. His response makes me think one of two things, either he is sincere and honest, or he thinks by admitting to it right away that it will blow over quickly. If he did fail for steroids it will be another sad day for baseball and it will be hard for them to recover from two of there top 10 players being on steroids. This is just another reason why I don't care much for baseball.

Malkin wakes up Penguins for a 3-2 overtime victory....

The Pittsburgh Penguins got there much needed win over the Washington Capitals 3-2 last night to avoid a 3-0 series hole.The Caps Alex Ovechkin picked up his eighth goal of the playoffs a minute and a half into the game to give the road team the first goal in every game so far in the series. Ruslan Fedotenko would tie the game up for the Penguins eight minutes later to end a bad beginning to the game in which the Pens looked overwhelmed and ready to call it a series. Evgeni Malkin woke up and scored his first goal of the series off a Sidney Crosby pass set up on a power play to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead. Malkin, who lead the league in points, is having another sluggish postseason which is resembling last year when he was non existent done the stretch. Washington would even things up forcing overtime when the Pens committed only their second penalty of the game and gave the Caps a power play with less than a two minutes left in regulation. Crosby would get his second point of the night by winning a face off in the extra period and feeding it to Mark Eaton for the game winner. Marc-Andre Fleury only faced 23 shots but he came through when they really needed them. The Pens had 42 shots on goal which I love but you really need to see more points on that many shots. Pittsburgh really needed the win and after a while they finally got things going in their favor. So far the story of the series has been about who has gotten the most breaks and while early on they went in favor of Washington, hopefully last night can correct that for the Pens. Game 4 is Friday and in a weird twist Game 5 is on Saturday so whoever wins Friday will probably be at a disadvantage because the loser has less time to dwell on it.
CAPITALS LEAD SERIES 2-1 OVER THE PENGUINS

GO PENGUINS!

Lakers lose home court advantage to Rockets...

A funny thing happened along the way to the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Finals, the Houston Rockets showed that they too want a shot at the Cavs. Last night the Houston Rockets stole home court advantage from the Los Angeles Lakers 100-92 in Game 1. Kobe missed practice on Sunday with flu like symptoms but it didn't really show in his game as he finished with 32 points, 8 boards, and four assists. Kobe hoisted up 31 shots which is never good for the Lakers but he didn't get much help else where with only three other players scoring in double figures. The Rockets showed the heart and determination that they have lacked over the years when it comes playoff time. It's funny people thought the Rockets were dumb for going after Ron Artest but the gamble has paid huge dividends because he has taken up the mantle of being the number two guy in Houston behind Yao Ming. Artest finished with 21 points and seven assists along with Yao's double-double of 28 points and 10 rebounds despite missing some time due to a collision with Kobe. Yao eventually shook off the collision closing the game out with 8 points including knocking down some clutch free throws to seal the win. The Lakers need to wake up and realize that they are in the playoffs now and not the regular season because they don't look anywhere near as dominant as they did last year and this year they have more experience together and a healthy Andrew Bynum. If the Lakers are going to uphold there end of the bargain for the NBA's dream finals then Phil Jackson needs to start motivating these guy to play to their potential.

Despite Crosby's hat trick Penguins lose to Capitals 4-3...

The Washington Capitals defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 last night to take a 2-0 series lead as they shift back to Pittsburgh. Alex Ovechkin lead the Caps as he picked up his first career playoff hat trick including huge goals to tie the game, take the lead, and seal the deal. Sidney Crosby struck first once again giving the Pens an early 1-0 for the second straight game on a power play goal but Ovechkin responded to tie the game just two minutes into the second period. Crosby was not to be upstaged as scored his 7th goal of the playoffs to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead. The Caps would tie it at 2 with just five minutes left in the preiod. The Pens committed a penalty to give Washington a power play and Ovechkin made them pay ripping a one timer from the right of Marc-Andre Fleury to break the tie. Ovechkin would rip another past Fleury for his first career playoff hat trick. Crosby would also record his first career playoff hat trick when he scored on power play with only 30 seconds left and it was to little too late because the Caps held on for the 4-3 win and a 2-0 series lead. I don't normally put blame on anyone but Fleury needs to step up big time, all the goals he gave up to Ovechkin were shots that he had a clear view on and there was little to no traffic in front of him. I know Malkin had a lazy penalty that lead directly to a goal but the other three were inexcusable. Hats off to the defense of the Capitals because they have suffocated the Penguins power play forcing them into a putrid 2-12 in the series. I have not lost hope yet because the Penguins have played them tight and if they an get a few breaks they will be right back in the series. Game 3 is Wednesday in Pittsburgh.
CAPITALS LEAD SERIES 2-0 OVER PENGUINS

GO PENGUINS!

Lebron James is the 2009 NBA MVP...

Cleveland Cavaliers star Lebron James is expected to be announced as the NBA's Most Valuable Player for this season and let me just say...it's about time! Lebron has been the most complete player in the league since his sophomore year in the league. The only problem I have with him winning it now is that he has a really good supporting cast that match his skills, when in years past he was the team and the only reason they were any good. Kobe Bryant has an All-Star caliber team around him already, plus he scores 40 plus points but that's usually it, he doesn't pass and doesn't really rebound. Dwayne Wade had a lesser talented team, but DWade only showed up for the second half of the season and he couldn't even get his team to win a road playoff game this year. If Lebron was not on the Cavs they would not be the #1 seeded team overall and they would have had a tough time getting into the playoffs. I really like Lebron he seems like a humble guy who doesn't have the character issues that most NBAers have and he loves giving back to his community, whether it's the 60 minutes interview conducted in the gym at Akron St. Vincent-St.Mary or holding his press conference when he accepts the MVP award. Hats off to the NBA for finally getting it right that the MVP award goes to the Most Valuable Player to his team and not the best scorer in the league. Congratulations Lebron James and I hope you bring a championship to the city of Cleveland.

Bulls go down in Game 7...

Game 7 over the Chicago Bulls. Ben Gordon finished with 33 points including a weird scoring error when he was credited with a two pointer after clearly making a three point basket in the second quarter. Then in fourth quarter the referees finally credited Gordon with a three cutting the Celtics lead to three. But it was too little too late because Boston made their last 11 free throws in the last two minutes to advance to the next round. Derrick Rose never found his magic from Game 1 where he scored 36 points, he had a solid series the only thing he really needs to work on is his ball control. Rose turned the ball over way too much and he needs to make better decisions when trying to feed the post. Joakim Noah turned in another solid performance with a game high 15 rebounds and seven points. The Chicago Bulls can hold their heads high after taking the defending NBA Champions to seven games and hopefully they can use it as a learning experience. The only problem really facing this team in the off-season, which happens to be the same problem over the last few years, is whether they can resign Ben Gordon to a long term deal. I really hope they can get it done but it looks like Gordon improved his free agency status after nailing clutch shot after clutch shot in the playoffs. If the Bulls can resign Gordon and find someone who will trade with them for Kirk Hinrich the Bulls should be poised to return to the post-season once again.
CELTICS WIN SERIES 4-3 OVER THE BULLS

GO BULLS!

Washington defeat Pittsburgh 3-2 in Game 1...

The Washington Capitals fell behind early but rebounded to take a 1-0 series lead with a 3-2 victory. Sidney Crosby gave the Pittsburgh Penguins a 1-0 lead only 4 minutes into the game but the Caps would close out the second half of the first period scoring two goals including an Alex Ovechkin goal during a 5-on-3. Evgeni Malkin set up the tying goal feeding Mark Eaton for a goal mid way through the game. Moments later Washington goalie Simeon Varlamov made a game changing save on a Crosby shot. Sid the Kid and Chris Kunitz had a 2-on-1 and Kunitz set Crosby up with a shot on Varlamov who was out of position, but he was able to get his stick right on the goal line forcing the puck in the opposite direction denying Crosby his second goal of the game. The Caps scored the go ahead goal only a minute into the third and the Penguins were not able to get anything going losing Game 1 3-2. The Pens were 0-6 on the power play making them 1-18 in their last five games with the man advantage. The Penguins were right there with the Caps the entire game but they just couldn't muster up enough to win the game. Hopefully they will rebound and win Game 2 on Monday.
WASHINGTON LEADS SERIES 1-0 OVER PITTSBURGH

GO PENGUINS!

So Amazing...

Last night the Chicago Bulls defeated the Boston Celtics in a triple overtime thriller 128-127. Rookie of the year Derrick Rose finally one upped Rajon Rondo blocking what would have been his game winning shot in the third overtime sealing the improbable victory for the Bulls. This is what the NBA playoffs are all about, laying it all on the line to just live another day. Counter punching counter punches, big shots, huge defensive plays, hard fouls, bad blood, and a David vs. Goliath match up all make the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics the most entertaining playoff series that we have seen in quite some time. No matter what happens Saturday in Game 7 this series will probably go down as the best playoffs series ever, which will be disappointing for the NBA unless they get their Lebron vs Kobe NBA Finals. The Bulls and Celtics have played in the most overtime periods(7) in NBA playoff history and there is still another game to go, so who knows what wackiness will ensue. This series has epitomized the NBA's ad campaign of "where amazing happens," with so many buzzer beater shots in huge clutch situations to force overtime or to win the game in every game but 1, that is truly amazing. I know if Kevin Garnett was playing in this series it would have ended in five or six games, but you can't take anything away from this Chicago team. Look what they have overcome this year to get where they are at they have a rookie head coach, rookie starting point guard, injuries to key stars, an always evolving lineup, and low expectations, and what do they get for all that... a date with defending NBA Champions. Going into this series no one gave the Bulls a chance, myself included, but they have fought tooth and nail to take the world champions to Game 7. In a time when seven game series go to seven games with the home team winning every game by an average of at least ten points, it's refreshing to see two teams leave it all on the floor every minute of every game just so they can live to fight another day. No matter what happens in Game 7 it is a win-win situation for all parties involved, but hopefully Chicago can pull it off one more time.

GO BULLS!