Musings from a Sleep Deprieved, Less than Neutral Sports Addict

Hang a banner in Philly we had a night without fan incident.

So sick of the LeBron James elbow. I had a problem with the injury when it first reared it's ugly head in the clinching game of the first round series with the Bulls. If you have to resort to shooting important free throws with your off hand in the closing minutes, shouldn't you have checked yourself out when the other team is purposely fouling? How do Cav's head coach Mike Brown, and LBJ not discuss the injury at some length over the past week? Aren't there certain sets or assignments Cleveland wants to avoid with respect to the King's elbow, or certain situations James feels more comfortable playing in? I don't understand how the lines of communication are not open regarding the injury within the organization. Highly unprofessional for Brown to avoid the situation, with a championship on the line involving the best player in the NBA. I hope he is playing coy with the media, my gut tells me Brown is not.

Seems to me whatever situation Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy fell into on draft day would have been spun as a "perfect situation" by NFL reporters and experts.

Tuesday in Montreal the Penguins put on a clinic for "How to win in the playoffs." Those are the games championship caliber teams win in the postseason on multiple occasions. Pittsburgh stepped outside their comfort zone to capture a tough game on the road. That is why the young Penguins have rings, and a shot at the repeat.

Roy Halladay is mesmerizing to watch pitch, even when he is off his game (which doesn't happen much) he is still better than 95% of the pitchers out there. Catch him today against the Cardinals, the Pujols/Halladay matchup is even worth the price of admission the Mets and Yankees are charging.

My first issue with the "Los Suns" jerseys or any "Los" jersey (Spurs, Bulls, Heat) for that matter is (unless I am missing something) the uniform doesn't have the article "The" normally, making the concept seem a bit forced. Secondly, sports is an escape we as fans use to get away from politics and the rigors of life, World Cup excluded of course, thats filled with all kinds of political drama. Why did Suns owner, Robert Sarver have to use a playoff game as a medium to shove yet another political agenda down our throats.

We are only 35 days away from the tournament so special it can only be played every four years. There is no sporting drama better than the World Cup. The intensity is high, the passion runs red hot, the world stops and provides the stage where players truly become immortal.

Speaking of the world stopping how does Ty friggin' Wigginton have 9 Home Runs on May 6th? Next someone will tell me Andruw Jones has nine also; c'mon who honestly knew Jones was still active, and on the White Sox?

Another gem from the Bruins marketing department (Missed it in my links on Tuesday). Someone needs to give those guys a raise.

Love the trade talks already starting up about Seattle lefty Cliff Lee, he has two starts under his belt in the Emerald City and the season is 27 games young. If a deal does go down eventually, how ironic would it be if he went back to the Phillies, or if he was traded to one of their prime opponents in the NL, and helped take the Phils out? Personally, I am rooting for the latter.

Bengals are interested in aquiring Pac-Man Jones, guess Mike Brown is trying to reclaim the Band of Bad Boys title back from their AFC North Division rival Steelers. Honestly why are the Bengals even dipping their franchise's big toe in these waters, Jones was a serviceable NFL DB two years ago, but certainly not worth the huge risk. We aren't talking about Deion Sanders or Mel Blount for that matter.

Finally, my thoughts and prayers to the family of Yeardley Love and the UVA community, too many tragedies have struck the Commonwealth of Virginia over the past few years.

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Super Fantastic, Number One-All Time Playoff Hockey Links

1.) Habs fans put forth a better effort than "Bowser" and the Caps Rap:



Props for rocking the Expos gear (great hats) and working Youppi into the mix.

2.) As Jack Edwards would say "How's this for irony".



and here is the corresponding article from CSNNE.

3.) One level headed Wings fan is more than I thought existed.

For the full Red Wings tin-foil hat party breakdown roll on over to Puck Daddy. As a Sharks fan noted in the comments section, "Oh boy, here we go. Bring on the short bus and unload all the excuses now, boys."

4.) Is hockey overcoming football in Pittsburgh with the recent bad behavior among the Steelers, particularly from the face of their franchise?



Never good to be referenced in an Eminem song, Big Ben. (I know it's not hockey, forgive me.)











5. I fully endorse this slogan, living currently in the city of brotherly love:



6.) If this is a temper tantrum what do you call this:



Someone told Tuuka that Wookies don't exist and the Millenium Falcon is a junker.


7.) I guess you deserve a photo shop expo when you share company with Mario Lemieux:



8. ) At least he didn't throw up on someone, isn't that the new standard in Philly (again not hockey but always nice to poke fun at William Penn's home town).



9.) Yea this trade will happen:




10.) Can anyone take an article seriously that spells Canadiens, "Canadians":


11.) Imagine if a full bottle of Crown Royal had been thrown on a 17-year old kid in Philly, I think ESPN may have exploded. (Thanks to Mark Trible for this one)

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Previewing Lord Stanley’s Playoff (Part One - Eastern Conference)

The big boys douse you with all kinds of stats and interesting nuggets of knowledge, I am here to just give my opinion. Here is my preview of the greatest playoff tournament in sports, except for of course Women’s College Basketball.

Eastern Conference

(1) Washington vs. (8) Montreal

Washington fans are (President’s) Cup Crazy, meaning they Googled what that trophy was three months ago; in a month they find out what happens to those who possess it in the postseason. Not yet though, Caps in 5, only drama in this one is how fast Texas Ted strokes his fan base's ego by saying they are louder and more awesome than Habs fans.

(2) New Jersey vs. (7) Philadelphia

Set the alarm clock if you’re watching this one and need to get up for work the next day. Yes this is the NHL equivalent to a Nascar race with Jersey clogging up the neutral zone and trapping like it's Return of the Jedi. The whole rivalry angle could be played up, if Devils fans consisted of more people than the cast of Jersey Shore. Flyers won the season series 5-1 and some of those games weren’t even close, Flyers in Six.

(3) Buffalo vs. (6) Boston

If you like goalie match ups and tight low scoring games Bob Barker wants you to come on down. This will be a fun hockey series to watch for a true hockey aficionado, stellar goaltending with Miller and Rask/Thomas, division rivals, well played systematic defense. Buffalo was 2-2-2 in the season series and four of the games were decided by one goal, with one decided in a shoot out. My gut tells me Boston wins this one in 7.

(4) Pittsburgh vs. (5) Ottawa

Playing for the third time in four years, with neither previous series being all that close, this go around has the feeling of a really bad movie that keeps getting made over and over again, think Saw 1 - 112. The Penguins have too much depth and are a seasoned playoff team going against a playoff virgin in Senators goaltender Brian Elliott. Unless Elliott plays lights out and Ottawa gets huge production out of Alfredsson, Fisher and Spezza expect a quick one, Penguins in 5.

Five Predictions For the East

1. Nicklas Backstrom has more points in the postseason than Ovechkin because he is a better all around hockey player.

2. Kovalchuk continues his playoff disappearing act.

3. Capitals win the series, but Theodore looks shaky especially in the games at Montreal and a goalie controversy emerges in our Nation's Capital.

4. Jordan Staal has three goals and five points in the first round.

5. Senators hopefully never do anything like this ever again.