Number 17
The NBA and the NHL both shared marquee matchups in their respective finals. The NBA finals series between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers has it all: a storied rivalry, star players and historic franchises.
The Celtics have shown the makings of a championship team all during the playoffs, showing commitment to winning by doing the little things needed and showing consistent resilience such as Boston’s incredible come-from-behind win in Game 4.
Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce got their long-awaited championship rings and they didn’t even have to wait until Game 7.
Respect your Elders
The Stanley Cup returned to ‘Hockeytown’ as the Detroit Redwings disposed of the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. The young Penguins often looked like boys playing against men, but Penguins fans should take note; the Edmonton Oilers dynasty of the 1980s didn’t start until they lost to the veteran New York Islanders in the 1983 finals.
Will the Penguins take their experience into next season? If so, Pittsburgh needs to re-sign key free agents such as hometown boy and emerging power forward Ryan Malone, the offensive talent Marian Hossa and the hard-hitting defenseman Brooks Orpik.
I don’t foresee Pittsburg being able to afford all three. Hossa will take the money of a larger market, and I predict Orpik going to the New York Rangers to add some more strength to their blue line. Malone, however, should remain in the black and gold next season.
Bling King
Washington Capitols’ Alexander Ovechkin taking home the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP was no surprise and was well deserved. Ovechkin is a dynamic young talent and perhaps Versus and NBC should pay more attention to him rather than to Sidney Crosby. The rest of the NHL awards were once again, predictable. How many years can Nicklas Lidstrom win the James Norris Memorial Trophy for leagues best defenseman? Martin Broduer had a solid regular season, but with his makeshift defense in front of him, he looked all too human in the New Jersey Devils’ first-round playoff loss to the New York Rangers.
Take that, Kung Fu Panda
Mixed martial arts continues to grow as EliteXC proves to be a solid ratings success on primetime television. Maybe Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White shouldn’t have played hardball with the major television networks because rival organizations like EliteXC are popping up everywhere.
At the same time, the name UFC has been branded so well, it doesn’t really matter who is fighting on the card as fans will still watch. When former stars Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture defect away from the UFC, many fighters will try to take their place in the spotlight.
These new MMA organizations can sign as many former UFC fighters as they want and UFC will still remain the top MMA company in the world.
Randolph for President
Perhaps former New York Mets manager Willie Randolph would have preferred a firing via MySpace rather than via phone at 3:15 a.m. This could have been what all those campaign commercials about "early morning phone calls" were talking about.
No, ‘Stros
What hurt Astros fans more – losing to the New York Yankees 13-0 Sunday or the jacked-up ticket prices their fans had to pay? While the fan wallets may be hurting, the Astros should use some of this extra inter-league money to pursue a big-time free agent in the next offseason.
