Let's Have a Rematch!!

It is not very often that there is a rematch in a championship game and the last time it happened in the NHL was in 1983 and 1984 where the teams split the Stanley Cup with the Islanders winning it one year and the Oilers the other. Last year, Detroit handled the Pens winning 4-2 and during the offseason received one of the Pens' forwards.

This year is going to be a great series. Both teams are playing great hockey and working as a team. The Wings are a little banged up with some injuries and have been complaining that they didn't get enough rest before the start of the finals. The Wings do have home ice advantge and that will play a big role as they are dynamite in Joe Louis Arena.

I think that as of right now the Pens are playing better hockey. They outplayed the Canes in every game of their last series. Crosby and Malkin have this team on the right path to come away as Stanley Cup Champions this year. It is going to be a great series. The Wings are one of the best teams that hockey has seen and they have a few players that are going for their fifth Stanley Cup. The Wings by far are the veterans, but the Pens do have the experience of last year and are playing better.

It is going to be fun to see how this series rolls out and don't be surprised if it goes to 7 games. My prediction is 4-3 for the Pens. These are my two favorite teams in the NHL, but I hope that Pittsburgh wins because Detroit wins it too often. I just hope for a good series.

Are the Cavs' in Trouble?

Who would have thought that the cavs would be down 3-1 against the Magic in the Conference Finals. At most we thought 2-2, since the Cavs' were so good at home during the regular season only losing twice. The Magic have just outplayed them and out hustled them. The Cavs' have not been rebounding nor playing defense and late in the game they stand around on offense and watch LeBron do his thing.

There are a few reasons why I think the Cavs' still have a legitimate chance at winning this series. The odds are definately against them as only 8 teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the series., but who better than LeBron and the Cavs' to be the 9th team. It is going to be an uphill battle but it is not impossible. When you have MVP on your team and arguably the best player in the league, there is always a chance.

As for the Magic, they live and die by the three and that showed yesterday as they made 11 more three-pointers than the Cavs'. The Magic went 17-38 from three-point range shooting 44%. However, the Magic are not going shoot that well every night and that is when they lose. They are not smart enough to constantly feed Dwight Howard the ball and continue to shoot the three whether or not they are feeling it. If the Cavs' can capitalize when the Magic are not shooting well, then they could have a blowout win.

Another reason, of course is LeBron James. He has not played his best in this series so far, yeah he is scoring a lot but has had many costly turnovers late in the game. Also his teammates have not been helping him like they were during the season and their first two playoff series.

I would not count out the Cavs' just yet, all they need is one decent victory that is not on a last second shot to get their confidence back and when that happens, look out Magic. The Magic are a young team and the Cavs' have been to the Finals before, so they know what it takes to pull it out. May the best team win!!

How Sweep It Is

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been playing excellent Hockey and that shows with the sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes that was completed last night. The Pens outplayed them in every single game. This series really wasn't that close. The Pens outscored the Canes 20-9 on the series, with three wins by a margin of at least three goals.

There was a time this year that everyone lost hope in the Pens. They were out of the playoff race sitting in tenth place and they switched coaches about mid-way through the season. However, since then they have been playing incredible hockey and it has paid off as they now await to see who they will face in the Stanley Cup Finals.

There is a chance that we could see a repeat of last year, if Detroit were to make it. The Pens await the winner of the Detroit-Chicago series and that currently sits at 3-1 in favor of Detroit. The Pens have one of the best if not the best player in the NHL in Sidney Crosby and he has been stellar this postseason, not only scoring, but invovling his teammates. MY prediction is that the Pens win the Stanley Cup, beating the Red Wings in seven games. The Finals is going to be a great series to watch.

T R I V I A Did You Know??

As we are deep into the NBA playoffs, I have decided to do the trivia and question on the playoffs!

PLAYOFF RECORDS

Michael Jordan scored 63 points in a 2 OT game against Boston in 1986. An NBA record.

Michael Jordan had 60 consecutive games of 20 or more points. Three better than Kareem who was in second.

Elgin Baylor with 11, holds the record more most consecutive 30 point games.

Karl Malone holds the record for most made free-throws in a game without a miss at 18.

Wilt Chamberlain grabbed 41 rebounds against Boston in 1967 to set the NBA record for most in one game.

John Stockton and Magic Johnson are tied at 24 for most assists in one game.

Allen Iverson holds the record for most steals in a single game at 10.


Did you know that Robert Horry holds the record for most playoff games played at 244 and the Michael Jordan scored 10 or more points in every playoff game of his career which has the total of 179.

Who are the oldest and youngest players in NBA history(not just playoffs) to record a triple-double?

MLB Interleague

MLB interleague play has begun. I have always enjoyed interleague play because there are usually more exciting games and we get to see different teams play ecah other instead of being stuck watching the same teams play over and over. There are a few interesting matchups. The Mets versus the Red Sox as well as the Phillies against the Yanks.

There are a few things that can be learned from interleague play. We get to see the teams who are really contenders and know how teams will fare if they make the playoffs. Baseball plays a lot of games, but most of them are against the same old teams. Within a division the teams play one another on average of 18 times. So in the AL East the five teams will on average play their division in 90 games, that is more than half of their games. For me as a baseball fan, I get tired of seeing the same teams play over and over. Interleague is a nice break to see some good action with teams that don't know each other very well.

The baseball season has had some surprises this year. The Jays are looking good and after 45 games are in first in the AL East. The Dodgers have done rather well since the departure of Ramirez and started the season out by setting a new record for consecutive home wins to start a season with 13 and still currently hold the MLB best home record at 17-3.

There have been a few disappointments especially with the Indians they are currently in last in their division. The Rays have not started like they finished last season and are going to have an extremely hard uphill battle just to make the playoffs. The Braves were said to be better than they are showing as well as the Cubbies. However, it is still early and there is a lot of baseball to be played. May the best team win! Go Giants!!

All Knotted Up

The Lakers-Nuggets series is shaping up to be a great one and it is even better with players like Kobe and Carmelo going at it one on one. We all knew that this was going to be a great series and that it has been after two games. Thursday night, the Nuggets shifted roles and came back from a double-digit deficit to win the game. After making their way back into the game and eventually taking a big lead they let the Lakers back in, but they held their cool and were able to sneak out of the Staples Center with a win.

The Lakers are a team that plays when they want to and when they do, they are almost unbeatable. The problem is that they don't play that way every night. That is how they played against Houston. When they wanted to, they destroyed them and other nights got destroyed. If they do that in this series then they will find themselves going home after 5 maybe 6 games. The Nuggets are playing really great ball right now and are firing on all cylinders. The Lakers can't afford to take a night off against this team and if they do, they will surely pay.

It is going to be exciting to see how the Lakers react after their loss and being in Denver, where the Nuggets have played great basketball this postseason. I think that the Lakers will gain back home court advantage but look for it in game 4. I think that the Lakers will win the series in 7 games, but it will be a dogfight and a battle.

Denver can't get full of themselves for winning a game in L.A. and that could be a problem because they are a young team, but with a veteran leader like Billups, I don't see that happening. The Lakers are good at humbling people after losing a game. We saw that in both of their first two series against the Jazz and the Rockets. May the best team win and as a fan I can only hope for a great series and for it to come down to the wire in a game 7.

Anything Carolina can do, Pittsburgh can do better!

Game 2 in the Pitt-Carolina series started out with a bang. There were 5 goals scored in the first period. The Pens started out with the first goal and not long after the Canes tied it back up and thats how the first period went the the score being 3-2 for the Canes at the break. Early on in the second the Pens tied it up and then took the lead just to have it evened again not much time after that. When the game was tied up at 4-4 Malkin took over scoring two goals within a 4 minute span.

The game ended at 7-4 for the Pens who now have a 2-0 lead as the series makes its way to Carolina's ice. Hockey is thriving right now with the playoffs. The conference finals on both sides have had some great games and exciting action on the ice and most important there have been goals. Goals are what people want to see, too many people think that hockey is boring and that they never see the goals. This postseason has been phenomenal in every series. There have been numerous game 7's and great hockey to watch.

I know that the Stanley Cup Finals is going to be exciting as can be and there is a chance of having a rematch of last year with the Pens and the Red Wings. Congrats to hockey for living up to what so many people enjoy watching and playing. GO Pens and Wings!