After weeks of soul searching I am back. And because the sports world is so busy right now I couldn’t decide which story to write on. With that said, I am going to run through the sports world as a whole and let everyone know what I think about everything. By the way, I haven’t been soul searching at all. I finished school, went home for two weeks and relaxed, headed to Scottsdale, AZ for nine days for my brother’s wedding and then came back to Boston and helped move my girlfriend into her summer apartment. So without further ado, my thoughts.
Let’s start with two sports that are not mainstream sports except for this time of year. The NHL got their wish, big time. Sid the Kid and the Pittsburgh Penguins dominated the eastern conference with their dazzling offense and made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. Out west hockey town was rocking again as the Detroit Red Wings reached the Cup Finals and met up with the Penguins. This was the championship that the NHL needed and I have not seen any ratings but I would guess they are better then the past few years. Now, if the Penguins can use the momentum from their Game 5 win and carry it over to Game 6 and hopefully even a Game 7, then the NHL might be able to be considered an actual sport again.
The other sport catching top headlines this week is horse racing. And this time the headlines are not because a horse has died on the track. Big Brown will be running towards history this Saturday in the Belmont Stakes as he attempts to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978. Big Brown is a 2-5 favorite and in my mind is going to easily win this race.
How about that MMA last Saturday nigh? I am finally into this sport. My only problem with all this MMA is that there are different leagues and kinds of fighting. I didn’t know that until Saturday. I don’t care though because I will be watching this sport when I can and especially when Kimbo Slice is fighting. That guy is a bad man.
The NFL is right around the corner and it can’t come fast enough. We, as the fans, are starting to hear about mini-camps, position battles and of course, the argument about shortening the pre-season. The Cowboys are again making the most off-season noise but whether that will translate into a playoff win this year is yet to seen. The Giants are still waiting to hear from Michael Strahan about his plans for the upcoming season (rumor has it he wants more money and if the Giants are smart they will give it to him). And remember, it is never too early to prepare for Sunday’s and Monday Nights or beginning your fantasy research.
Last time I wrote we still considered baseball to be in the “early stages”. Now, we are over two months through the season and past the first checkpoint of the season, Memorial Day. The Rays and Cubs lead their league in record, Josh Hamilton has been the best player in baseball and Chase Utley has 21 homers. This season has been very strange so far. Now, the Red Sox are going to be without Ortiz for a month, if not more, the Yankees look to find consistency, the Tigers and Indians try and turn things around, the Mets look to become the team people thought they would be and the fans get to sit back and watch it all unfold with no idea how things will turn out. How about the possibility of the Yanks and Sox missing the playoffs while the Blue Jays and Rays both make it. It should be a very fun season to enjoy.
Ok, now that I have checked in on every sports story happening now I must get back, wait the NBA is still playing? I totally forgot about that. I guess the week layoff between the Conference Finals and the NBA Championship through me off. As you all know, I am kidding, I have been waiting for this series to start since Friday night. As a fan without a team invested in the series I couldn’t be more excited about these finals. I think this will be one of the best series we have seen in recent memory. With the 2-3-2 format in my mind working against the Lakers I see this as a very long series, 7 games to be exact. When you put Kobe Bryant in a Game 7 with the NBA Title on the line, I will not bet against him. I do not understand why everyone has been giving the Celtics no chance in this series but I give them a very good chance. The Playoffs have been slightly disappointing but I believe this series has been given to the fans for something to remember.
Now if you will allow me to get back to doing nothing with my life while I wait for my summer job to begin. I hope you all will enjoy the sports world like I will, even though 99% of people don’t have as much time as myself to watch sports.
