Predictions:

The Red Wings ability to play a fast or slow-paced game overwhelms the Penguins. Lindstrom and Rafalski shut down the Crosby, Dupuis, and Hossa Line. Osgood is the feel-good story of the year. too much going right for the Red Wings. Detroit in 5.

The Lakers rare mix of youth and experience overpower the aging Spurs. Phil Jackson is still an underrated coach and out-smarts Greg Popavich into the NBA Finals. Lakers in 6.

The Celtics problems on the road has to stop if they wish to beat the Pistons. If Chauncey Billups is healthy for Game 1 then look for Detroit to take this game in Boston since the Celtics will be fatigued from their latest 7-game series. Detroit in 6.

Lee Evans has been offered a new contract. i can't wait to see how he fits with James Hardy. as long as our O-Line stays healthy this may finally be the year the Bills are a threat in both the run and the pass. 

peace.

as the Olympics draw near in the Summer of '08 we will all miss the inclusion of Great Britain. but England has something else on their minds this summer. on May 21st, for the first time in Champions League history, the Final will take place between two English sides. on the pitch in Moscow, Russia will be the talent-filled Chelsea Blues against the fundamentally-sound Manchester United Red Devils.

for Chelsea the key will be what side of their striker, Didier Drogba will they get. at times he seems to be almost invisible. unhappy with the management, it has been noted that this will be Drogba's last campaign in the Blue, and his play sometime shows it. or they will get the Drogba that was full of life in the semifinal 2nd leg against Liverpool. i believe we will see the latter, i mean if a player doesn't play his heart out in the Final then what the hell is he doing out on the field? look for Nicolas Anelka to sub in early if Drogba goes into his lazy stupor. 

the key for Man U is going to be the play of their impressive mid-field. without a doubt Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best improvising players with the ball at his feet in the world. look for his free flowing play to expose holes in the Chelsea Defense for Tevez and Rooney to expose. also watch Canadian-born Owen Hargreaves on set-pieces that are within striking range.

oh and by the way i'm talking about football (soccer) if you didn't catch on to that.

peace.

so last night i was invited to a formal dance so i was unable to watch any sports. i missed the Jazz pull it together and win Game 3 against the Lakers. i also missed Malkin fire the puck past Biron to propel the 'Guins to a 4-2 victory.

However, what i did see was Richie Sexson (ex-Bison) charge the mound. the 6'8 Mariner was unhappy with a little chin music and decided to act. then he threw his helmet at the maybe 6'2 pitcher....his helmet! just run over and punch him in the face! well...he did that after, but there was no need to throw the helmet first. after the game "Big Sexy" himself said that throwing the helmet "was a chicken-shit move". i would have hoped he learned better brawl etiquette. 

peace.

"home is where the heart is"

that seems to be the case in this years NBA Playoffs. The Magic and Spurs both went home down 2-0 in their series and both defended their home courts beating the Pistons and Hornets, respectively. now the Cavaliers and Jazz hope to repeat those performances as they head home down 2-0. 

for the Cavaliers to win their better hope that the Cleveland atmosphere brings back Lebron's game. he has yet to make a jump shot outside of the paint in this series. he also has 17 turnovers so far which is the most in any two-game stretch in his career. granted, the Celtics have used Pierce and Posey well in defending the NBA's regular season scoring leader but, there comes a time when he has to start sinking some buckets.

the Jazz boasted the NBA's best home record in the regular season (33-4). so for them, they couldn't get out of LA fast enough and back to the Salt Lake. opposing them is the Lakers. in my mind LA is the team playing with the best chemistry this offseason. they are 6-0 in the playoffs so far and every time the Lakers have started the postseason 6-0 in their franchise history they have at least went to the NBA Finals. what i am intrigued by is how the team will rebound if they do come out flat and lose a game. will they keep pressing forward? or will they fall a few steps back? let's hope they haven't peaked too soon.

as far as the NHL Conference Finals go......the Red Wings are unbeatable. so far the Finals are looking like a marketing dream: the storied franchise of the Red Wings against the young, "amazing" Penguins. tonight it is Sidney and Co.'s time to hold up their end of the bargain and beat their cross-town rival Flyers in Game 1 at the Mellon Arena.

peace.

P.S. what has happened to Bobby Flay? i have seen maybe 6 or 7 throwdowns so far and he has only won one (the cupcake throwdown). and last night i saw him go down 55-48 in the Iron Chef America Battle Goat to a Spainard. come on Flay pull it together!

hockey is back tonight! but The Office is on the game can wait. let's see if Franzen can continue his magic. 

i seriously do not think the Lakers are going to lose a playoff game this entire postseason. they are just as committed to the defensive side as they are to the offensive.

the Bills were one of the 7 teams that the Patriots illegally recorded defensive signals from. i can now breathe a sigh of relief that every game we have ever lost to them was a complete fluke and this year year we will beat them in both games. i predict Lynch will go for over 100 yards in both games and James Hardy will have at least 4 touchdown catches.

and lastly, Roger Clemens will not be invited to play for the US Olympic Baseball Team....manager must not be a country fan.

peace.

rumor has it that Barry Melrose is returning to the bench to coach. and Paul Maurice has just been fired from the Toronto Maple Leafs. could it be that the Mullet-ed One will be coaching the blue and white?

i do not understand how Tim Wakefield throws a shutout. the man throws 60 mph and every time i watch him pitch his knuckleball always gets shelled. but it was the Detroit Tigers he faced and they can't even score in the Red Light District. so props to the old Buffalo Bison on his continued success. 

o by the way, Lebron was shut down in Game 1, who called that? the Celtics don't have the best defense in the league for nothing.

peace.

a horse racing expert on ESPN said yesterday that America is the only country where it is legal for a horse to take any type of medication prior to a race. naturally, if a horse feels that something is going wrong in their body they will slow down and stay safe. but these medicines make the pain non-existent so the horse pushes itself as hard as possible and has no idea that it might be hurting itself. hence what happened at the derby. why do i care so much about this?

what the eff Marvin Harrison? probably the last wide receiver i ever would have thought to be involved in something like this. 

as they continue to be the bottom-feeders of the American League East i will continue to support the Toronto Blue Jays. Dustin McGowan pitched 7 solid innings of shutout baseball and they are only one game under .500 (16-17). Matt Stairs got the only run in the game when he launched a solo shot over the wall at the Rogers Centre. Frank Thomas was cut from the team and Stairs replaced him as the DH, good move eh?

with no hockey on tonight i will watch the Cavs tip off against the Celtics. Celtics fresh off of their Game 7 beat down of the Atlanta Hawks want to show that losing all 3 road games was a fluke. Boston Three Party will have a big game at home and shut down Lebron.

peace.

on wgr550.com they have a poll that says, "what sports spectacle would you most like to attend?" and 22% said they would want to attend a major golf tournament. 20% (myself included) chose a World Cup Soccer Match. 

golf is fun to play. but come on, seriously? i really hope eric and i are able to get tickets to a Toronto FC match this summer.

last nights Sharks/Stars four overtime thriller was amazing. i agreed with the announcers, the score was only 2-1 but that was one of the most edge of your seat, action-packed games i have seen in some time. very few things can keep me awake until 2:30 a.m. and i was glad i woke up late for my class this morning because i was up late watching hockey. i feel bad for brian campbell. he led all players with over 60 mins of ice time and it was his trip that led to the Stars overtime goal. early rumors say he will be going to Ottawa next year. i think i might just cry.

peace.

there are enough websites that have information about who i am and what is going on in my life. this is solely going to be about sports and some of my opinions on them.

first off i have to tip my hat to the Philadelphia Flyers knocking off the #1 seed Canadians. of course being a Buffalo fan my whole life i hate the Flyers with a passion and should be disgusted they reached the spot the Sabres have reached the past two years. but this is not the team that i have come to hate. with Simon Gagne out for the year this is hardly the team we all loved to see at the bottom of the Eastern Conference last year. Marty Biron is playing solid hockey and they are using a balanced effort from all players to win hockey games. i give RJ Umberger all the credit in the world. 9 goals this postseason after 2 years ago having to be scraped off the ice at HSBC arena after Campbell leveled him at the blue line. and of course danny briere is still......yeah i never was a big fan when he was in Buffalo and nothing has changed there.

as for what happened at the Kentucky Derby...horse racing should end. this is the second year in a row a horse has been euthanized because of injuring themselves in a race. the whole idea (i thought) of horse racing was to show off the talents and attributes of the animal...clearly not what is happening. equestrian should be the norm instead.

let's go sharks! game 6 tonight i can't wait. the rangers have come back to tie the penguins in their game 5.  let's see if Sidney Crosby can step up and make the Eastern Conference Finals an all Pennsylvania affair. 

i dont know why but i have always been a Kobe Bryant fan. one of the few players who can back up their words with their play. he deserved his first MVP. 

peace.