Why so Friendly?

Welcome back to another edition of Thoughts of a Sports Addict. The NBA lockout has gotten me thinking about what exactly is wrong with the NBA and why the game doesn't seem to be as loved today as it was back in the 1980's and 1990's. Don't get me wrong, the 90's brand of basketball was pretty bad, with lots of defense and a slow it down style that produced some dreadfully low final scores, but I think fans actually enjoyed it more. There is one simple reason for this and the root of the problem is unfortunately not going to change anytime soon. So why isn't the NBA as popular anymore?

The players are all friends.

Really, that's the reason that the NBA is failing right now. While everyone else is pointing towards collective bargaining and revenue sharing, I want to explore the problem of having AAU leagues, nationwide basketball camps, free agency, and an unequal college landscape. The NBA is devoid of real rivalries right now because all the players like each other. Sure there is the occasional outlier that no one likes or that has no real friends in the league that aren't on there own team, but for the most part all the guys in the NBA act like brothers in a fraternity.

Let's look at some of the biggest "rivalries" of the past few years and break them down. One of the biggest ones was the Celtics and the Cavaliers. Boston fans hated Lebron James, Cavs fans hated Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, but did the players really HATE each other? No, they didn't.

Maybe 20 years ago they would have, but in the age of AAU basketball Lebron was actually a former teammate of Leon Powe and Kendrick Perkins, two of the Celtics premier big men. Now I'm not saying that any of the three were holding anything back in the games between the two teams, but when you've been teammates with someone, it becomes much harder to play with that ruthless aggression that you should. Let's not forget that Delonte West was a Cavalier in those series, but was a former Celtic and would resign with Boston after leaving the Cavs.

Let's look at another rivalry, the Magic and the Hawks. Two teams in the same division that are supposed to be hated rivals. One problem with saying that, and that's that Dwight Howard was actually an AAU teammate of Josh Smith and Javaris Crittenton when they were all in high school and playing for the Atlanta Celtics. You're telling me that Dwight is going to be throwing elbows at someone that was one of his best friends in high school? I don't think so. He's going to play hard, but he's going to be holding something back, even if only subconsciously.

These aren't the only players that were on the same AAU teams. Kevin Durant and Ty Lawson were on the same team in their youth. Kevin Love, Brandon Jennings, and Chase Budinger were all part of the same team in their youth as well. Kobe Bryant and Richard Hamilton played together when they were both AAU players, while years later Greg Oden, Michael Conley Jr., Daquan Cook, and Josh McRoberts teamed up. That's not all though, we also had Eric Gordon playing with Derrick Rose for the Mean Streets Express. Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, and Elton Brand were all on a team from NYC back in the mid 90's. Keep in mind that these are just the people that were teammates on AAU teams, not including college teammates or NBA teammates that are now playing for different teams.

Back in the 1980's AAU was in its infancy, players participated in high school basketball and maybe some private leagues around the area the lived, but there was very little recruitment other than for college. There was no AAU team that had Larry Bird catching passes from Magic Johnson, which everyone should be thankful for, because the Lakers vs Celtics finals from the 1980's wouldn't be nearly as memorable if Bird and Magic had hugged and joked with each other after the games. After reading When the Game Was Ours, the excellent book by Jackie Macmullan, it becomes obvious that Larry Bird truly hated Magic Johnson when the two were playing against each other, and Magic felt the same way. That was the extra bit that made those series so memorable, it was obvious that both teams would do whatever it took to win the game.

Today, Chris Paul has opposing players over his house when they come to New Orleans so that they can hang out. Back in the 1980's Isaiah Thomas wasn't having opposing players over for a pregame meal and video game night, because he was too worried about how he was going to destroy them. The Bad Boy Pistons thrived on intimidation, and that's not present in todays game because the players have grown up together, played AAU together, gone to college together, and played professionally with each other. They all know and seem to be friendly with each other, and it's killing the game.

So for the good of the game, I hope that the stars stop teaming up and let rivalries build. The NBA needs less "Big 3's" and more stars staying with their team, trying to lead them to a title. The NBA, in my opinion, would be much better if free agency was eliminated and players had an incentive to stay with the team that drafted them. It would build up rivalries and breed genuine hatred between players, making for a better game.

And that's what I will always appreciate Ron Artest.....unless he's hitting shots against the Celtics.

Mr. 3000

Welcome back, this has been another wild week in the world of sports. The main topic of this weeks blog will be Derek Jeter and his journey to 3000 hits. As people who know me can tell you, the Yankees are not a team that I generally cheer for and in early October of 2003 they were the bane of my existence, but Derek Jeter is different. So this blog is dedicated to him and his career.

May 30th, 1995. I was 7 years old, Bill Clinton was the President, Shaq and the Magic battled Hakeem and the Rockets in the NBA Finals, and Derek Jeter recorded his first hit in the Major Leagues. It happened in Seattle against the Mariners when Jeter was only 20 years old. While most 20 year old young men are finishing up their sophomore year of college or maybe getting a raise for their second year at a job, Jeter had blazed through the minor leagues and was the number 9 hitter for the New York Yankees. Not to say that everything was easy for Jeter early on. His first year was mired in controversy as he hit a paltry .210 and then followed it up the next year by making 56, yes 56, errors. The Yankees were patient with Jeter though and he quickly became a cornerstone of the franchise.

In September of 2000, Jeter recorded his 1000th hit, a third of the way to the 3000 hit milestone. At this point in his career Jeter had already won the World Series 3 times and was on his way to a fourth. At the time it was a four horse race for the title of "Best Shortstop in the American League". If you remember, in addition to Jeter, there was also Nomar Garciaparra, Miguel Tejada, and Alex Rodriguez vying for the title. At the time Nomar was probably the best all around hitter of the four, while Rodriguez had the most power, and Tejada the best glove. But Jeter had something that the other three would have traded everything for, rings. Another player may have ended up being a case of the too much too soon trap (something I'll go into detail about further down the page), but Jeter has always showed wisdom and class beyond his years.

Jeter's 3000th hit came on a day that was perfect for him. He went five for five including the game winning homerun. He is one of only two players to ever have their 3000th hit be a homerun. As luck would have it for Jeter, the fan who caught the ball had the class to match Jeter. Most fans would have auctioned the ball off to the highest bidder or held the Yankees up for as much money as they could get, but the 24 year old cell phone salesman that caught it asked for nothing. He gave Jeter the ball because, as he said "Jeter deserved it". The Yankees appreciated the fans gesture and rewarded him with multiple autographed bats and jerseys, as well as tickets to every game for the rest of the year. Truly the perfect ending to the quest for 3000.

Let's take Jeter and compare him to someone else who got too much too soon, Lebron James. While Jeter was able to win championships early in his career, James was able to make more money than he could have ever imagined while becoming a polarizing figure for the NBA. They both were excellent candidates for the too much too soon trap, but Jeter was surrounded by older veterans who he could talk to and get advice from, men like Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neill, and Wade Boggs. Lebron was brought onto a team with Ricky Davis, Jeff McInnis, and Darius Miles, not exactly the group of players you want around your 18 year old star rookie. Not to make excuses for Lebron, but maybe that's why he never seemed to mature. Imagine if he had gone second in his draft and gotten to grow up on a team with Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, and Ben Wallace, needless to say things may have gone a little differently for him. Some of the greatest talents in all walks of life have suffered from the too much too soon trap, including Michael Jackson, Eddie Murphy, Vince Carter, and three quarters of the number 1 draft picks in NFL history. Thankfully Derek Jeter wasn't one of these cases.

The most impressive part of Derek Jeter's career isn't that he's gotten to 3000 hits, it's the way that he's done it. He is one of the few players in any sport that can claim no off field issues, he's never been arrested, cheated on his spouse, ripped teammates in the press, or embarrassed his team in any way. Much like Peyton Manning in football, there is just no good reason to hate the man, no matter what team he plays for. So congratulations Derek, even Red Sox fans are happy for you.....even if most of them won't admit it.

Now I need to go take a shower because saying so much good stuff about a Yankee has made me feel dirty. Thanks for reading, and remember to check out my past entries and follow me on twitter: @joshviola19.

The NBA: Where Lockouts Happen

Welcome back to another edition of Thoughts of Sports Addict, today I'm going to talk about the lockout in the NFL, the lockout in the NBA, and some other odds and ends in the sports world. As always, leave a comment to let me know what you think.

The NFL lockout started over a hundred days ago and is still going strong, albeit with a light now almost visible at the end of the tunnel. Since it has begun, the NFL lockout has provided fans with very little entertainment. NFL Live has turned into a show that is 90% lockout talk and 10% fantasy football, you either need to have passed the bar exam or be Matthew Berry to actually enjoy the show. In other NFL related news, 3 time Superbowl champion Tom Brady can be seen hanging out in Brazil rocking a pony tail and riding down water slides in the most effeminate way imaginable. Can we all now finally agree that Giselle Bundchen is the Yoko Ono of the New England Patriots? Before she came into Tom Brady's life he had a beard, short hair, and a game face that was matched by no one else in the NFL. Now he looks like this....

I can't be the only Patriot fan that has watched his entire career and can honestly say that they didn't see this coming. Somehow I can't see Joe Montana, John Elway, or dare I say it, Peyton Manning allowing themselves to get distracted like this and stop coming through in clutch situations. With all that said, lets hope Tom Brady was watching when Tim Thomas and the Bruins won the Stanley cup, because if he was I don't think there's any way that he didn't immediately go to the bathroom, grab a straight razor and shave his own head. Just in case he forgot, the Patriots are now the Boston team with the longest championship drought, so lets go Tom Terrific, it's time to lead us to another Superbowl.

The NBA has just entered into the infancy stage of its own lockout, and this one has no end in sight. Most experts agree that this lockout, unlike the NFL lockout, may take out the entire season. For NBA nuts like myself, they may just as well have said that Christmas had been cancelled. I love basketball, I love the NBA, and most of all I love the Celtics. Don't get me wrong, I like all sports and all the Boston teams, but the Celtics are by far my favorite. I watch all their preseason games, I watch all their regular season games, I get nervous for playoff games, and to be completely honest, I cried when they won the Eastern Conference championship in 2008. Sure it was great to watch the Red Sox win the World Series in 2004 and 2007, the Patriots win the Superbowl in 2001, 2003, and 2004, and the Bruins win the Stanley Cup this year, but none of those put me even close to tears. This NBA lockout has me very concerned that I may have seen the last game of the Big 3 era for the Celtics and that they're going to go out with a loss to Lebron James. If they do indeed miss the entire season, then Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen will both be free agents, unlikely to be resigned.

Taking the emotion out of it, the NBA lockout is happening because 22 of the 30 teams lost money this year and with a soft cap, the rich teams gain a competitive advantage and the equity of the league gets thrown off. Superstars have started joining forces and going to big market teams in order to win championships, which is killing the smaller markets. Teams like Sacramento, Milwaukee, and Charlotte, can never compete with the larger markets because superstars will never sign with them. The solution to this is a hard cap. A hard cap would be much like the NFL system where teams aren't allowed to go over a certain salary threshold. This would help the smaller markets because the superstars are money motivated and will go to where the money is, which means smaller markets can pull in superstars with more regularity. It will also prevent superstars from teaming up, unless they take very large pay cuts.

So right now, lockouts are the popular thing to do in sports. This fall, let's hope that both the NFL and the NBA are starting on time, because it will be a long winter without football or basketball. Thank God the Bruins are good, because hockey may be all we have.

ODDS AND ENDS

-Charlie Furbush, the pride of South Portland, makes his first start for the Tigers on July 4th. He has been sensational in relief for Detroit and hopefully can roll that momentum into his first major league start.

-The NBA draft happened amid the lockout talk last week. The big news was Kyrie Irving going first and Kawhi Leonard dropping all the way to 15. I think the guy to watch out for is Kemba Walker, he showed his true colors this year leading UCONN to a national championship. Another thing to remember is that if the NBA does lockout all year, we'll have 120+ rookies next year vying for the Rookie of the Year honors.

-The Red Sox have been surprisingly terrible at interleague play, dropping series to the Pirates and Phillies.

-The All Star rosters were announced today, and for the first time I have no complaints about either roster. I don't know if that's because I haven't been paying real close attention to baseball this year, or because the coaches, fans, and players did a good job. Either way I like it.

Well that's all for this week, be sure to leave a comment, and even follow me on twitter: @Joshviola19

Black and Gold

What a great decision to jump on the Bruins bandwagon this year. Usually when I jump on a team's bandwagon that ends up being the kiss of death, but apparently, just like everything else in hockey, this was different.

The Stanley Cup finals were incredible, mostly for Bruins fans, but even people that were just hockey fans and love to see great games. The games for the most part were exciting, suspenseful, and overall entertaining. I used to watch a hockey game and be bored after about five minutes, because I didn't understand the game and the scoring was too low. I didn't understand the beauty of the game and the skill it took to play it. Like just about every other bandwagon hockey fan, I would tune in and watch a big game every now and again, but I just couldn't make myself watch more than a game or two a year. Not having played the game, I didn't understand the rules, so when a whistle blew for something like icing, I had no idea what was going on. Hockey also features players who seem to have picked out the letters for their last name much in the same way a lottery might be drawn, by picking letters out of a bag and just putting them all together.

But this year was different. I tried to jump on the bandwagon last year, but two things were working against the Bruins. The first was that the Celtics made it all the way to the finals, so they were my main focus and also the Bruins blew a 3-0 series lead against the Flyers, disappointing me during my first full series of watching. This year everything fell perfectly into place for the Bruins and my fandom. The Celtics disappointingly bowed out in the second round of the playoffs, and the Bruins played perhaps the most exciting month and a half of hockey in the history of the NHL. Three game 7's, multiple overtime games, a goalie that was locked in for a solid month, and a team that was as gritty and hard nosed as any.

I'd love to talk about some of the great plays and games from this playoff run, but I think that would be an insult to the hardcore fans of the Bruins. I'd probably butcher explanations and completely miss the ideas behind doing certain things. It would be no different than a bandwagon basketball fan trying to analyze the Celtics. I will say this though, Brad Marchand is a guy that I hope is a Bruin for a long time. In my limited time watching the team, he has become a guy that I really enjoy watching and came up big in the biggest moment with two goals in game 7. Maybe he'll never be a star, but to make an NBA comparison, he could be the Robert Horry of the NHL. Also I'd like to mention Patrice Bergeron. When I first tried out being a hockey fan about 7 years ago, Bergeron was a rookie and in the game I watched he played great. From that point forward he was my favorite player on the team and someone that I always pulled for to win a Cup. Well, Wednesday night it was a really cool feeling to see him score a goal and then raise the cup, celebrating a championship that, after multiple concussions, I'm sure he thought might never come.

Anyways, that's really all I can say about the Bruins. They completed the grandslam of championships for Boston in this decade and Tim Thomas' playoff run ranks up their with David Ortiz's run in 2004 in terms of great playoff runs by Boston athletes. For me, this ranks behind the 2008 Celtics, 2004 Red Sox, and 2001 Patriots, as far as Boston championships go, but it was no less exciting than any of those three. I guess that's the perils of being a bandwagon fan, you love to see the team win, but it's always sweeter when you're with the team through the tough times. It's why nothing will surpass that 2008 Celtics title for me, I actually started to tear up watching Paul Pierce raise that Larry O'Brien trophy, it just meant so much after watching him struggle with bad teams for so long. Those are the sweetest moments for fans, and that's why I'm so happy for those hardcore Bruins fans who got to have that moment on Wednesday night. It may have come later for them than it did for any of the other Boston sports fans, but I guarantee it was every bit as sweet.

Other Stuff:

-The sports God's have apparently decided this is their year to act, because no "bad" people seem to be winning titles this year. Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers were able to beat Big Ben, rumored rapist, and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. Then Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs were able to overcome Lebron, who completely screwed Cleveland, and the Heat in the NBA Finals, and finally Tim Thomas and the Bruins were able to defeat Alex "The Biter" Burrows, Roberto Luongo and the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals.

-If you go back through my blogs, you'll see that I made my predictions for the NHL and NBA Finals before either started and I called both the winner and the amount of games it would take for both of them. Just saying, that's pretty impressive considering I was so far off throughout the other rounds of the NBA playoffs and that I only had watched hockey for a month.

Well thanks for reading. Hopefully with school ending these will be a bit more frequent.

Win or Lose Dirk is No Longer "Soft"

Welcome back to another edition of "Thoughts of a Sports Addict". This week I'm going to explore the revolution in the popular opinion of Dirk Nowitzki and what that means for other European players. Also a little tribute to Paul Pierce, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan for being part of an exclusive club, that Dirk is trying to join and that Lebron can never be a part of.

If I asked you a year ago what words came to mind when you thought of Dirk Nowitzki, what would they have been? Probably something like "soft", "choker", "typical European big man", "hates contact", "soft", "soft", "soft" and well you get the idea. Even though he has career averages of 23points, 8.4rebounds, 2.7assists, and 1 block, Dirk was always considered a "lesser" superstar by many people. Aside from one finals appearance in 2006, when he was a victim of the worst officiating in NBA history, the Mavs always seemed to run into the worst possible matchup in the playoffs. The 2007 Warriors may have been the epitome of this problem, as they were literally the only team in the Western Conference that had a chance against that Mavs team. That was Dirk's best year, he was named MVP and presented the trophy in a very awkward ceremony that took place after his team had been eliminated, and that Mavs team won a league best 67 games.

Dirk's other issue was that he was constantly being compared to the "other" great power forward in Texas, Tim Duncan. Duncan, as great a player as he is, always seemed to catch the lucky breaks that eluded Dirk his entire career. No break may have been luckier than when the Warriors knocked off that 2007 Mavs team and opened up the West for the Spurs. Fans all over saw Duncan winning championships while Dirk was constantly coming up short and assumed that it was because Duncan was a leader and Dirk was a soft, jump shooting big man who could never win a title. What people seemed to overlook is that Duncan had at different points, David Robinson, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker as teammates. Dirk was always trying to carry guys way past their prime or guys who were too young to really help. His best teammates have been Jason Terry, a slightly over the hill Michael Finley, and a not yet an MVP candidate Steve Nash.

This year Dirk has changed everyone's opinion. He's been anything but soft in the playoffs. While last year the playoff news was dominated by Lebron and LeElbow, this year has been about Dirk playing through a torn tendon in his non-shooting hand without any complaint or hesitation. It's been about Dirk leading a team of over-the-hill former all stars to the finals while playing the best basketball of his career. It's been about Dirk trying to outplay three of the best players in the league, all in their prime, and bring the Mavs their first title. He's earned my respect for how he's played this year, it's been a true pleasure to watch him get an edge and show the world that he belongs in the upper tier of superstars in the NBA. For future European big men, this is also a blessing, because Dirk has shown that just because they are good shooters, doesn't mean they're soft. He is changing the perception of European big men much like Vlade Divac, Drazen Petrovic, and Arvydas Sabonis showed that European's could hang with NBA guys almost 20 years ago.

Fun picture, check this out and tell me what the odds of this picture featuring two future MVP's was when it was taken?

So now onto the second part of what I want to talk about in this entry. I know you've all been anxiously waiting to see what group Paul Pierce, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan all belong to, and Dirk is trying to join that Lebron can never be in. Well the group is of current players that stayed with the team that drafted them and went on to win a championship and be the MVP of the finals. In the age of free agency and superstars getting traded to any team they want, it's rare for a guy to be with the same team his whole career. These three guys have all been in the league for over 10 years, all with the same team and all led that team to at least one championship. All also went through trials and tribulations to get to that moment, which makes it even better. Kobe had, mostly, self inflicted problems in his time with the Lakers. First he pushed Shaq out of town and then he had the rape case in Colorado, but through it all he stayed with the Lakers and is one of the most competitive players in league history. I'm not a fan, because he plays for the Lakers and because he just seems like a terrible teammate, but it can't be denied that he's one of the greatest to every play. It might be a surprise to some to see Tim Duncan, and tribulations mentioned in the same sentence, because Tim is such a class guy, but he almost ended up leaving the Spurs for Orlando to join Grant Hill. It was only at the last minute where he decided against it and went back to the Spurs. We all know what happened in Orlando, Grant Hill barely played because of injury, and Tracy Mcgrady turned into a superstar, but imagine how different it would have been if Tim Duncan was there. Paul Pierce is my favorite example of this. He came to Boston, was stabbed in the face in a Philly nightclub after his rookie year, but returned and played with a vengeance. Pierce then became a punk for a few seasons, and was very nearly traded for the 3rd pick in the 2005 draft (presumably so the Celtics could select Chris Paul). After the near trade, where Pierce actually refused to show up in Portland if the trade was completed, Paul turned into a mature superstar who played like he was proud to be a Celtic and really enjoyed carrying the team on his back every night. Speaking for every Boston fan, it was an honor to watch Paul Pierce grow up before our eyes and I know I wasn't the only Celtics' fan to tear up when I watched him celebrate with the Finals MVP award.

Fans of Boston, San Antonio, and the Lakers know how it feels to watch rookies grow into superstars and eventually win championships, and I for one hope that Dallas fans will get to have this same experience this year. Sorry Lebron, you blew it in Cleveland, have fun making memories for Dwyane Wade's team.

Well that's it for this week. Hope you enjoyed it. Leave a comment.

The NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, and more

Here we are in the best sports month of the year. June features the finals for both the NBA and the NHL, the Belmont Stakes, the U.S. Open, and intensified baseball division races. In this weeks blog entry, I'm going to break down the NBA Finals, NHL Finals, and then give my thoughts on a few other topics.

NBA FINALS

Dallas Mavericks over the Miami Heat

Have you ever seen the movie Jaws? You know the scene where Quint talks about being on the USS Indianapolis? If not here's the clip. Well if the refs screw Dirk out of the finals again, like they did in 2006, this is how I expect most all of his interviews to go after he retires. Of all the teams in the Eastern Conference, I think that this is the one that Dirk wanted to see the least. The psychological advantage that the Heat already have is enormous. So why am I predicting the Mavs to win? Well, it comes to down to a few main ideas.

1. The most important of which is that I don't think anyone can guard Dirk. He's one of the few players in the league that is completely unique, because he's a legit 7 feet tall and can shoot the three as well as anyone. The best chance the Heat have is to put Lebron on him and hope that Lebron can use his athleticism to contest Dirk's shot. In the past it has always been the bigger, super athletic guys that have been able to contain Dirk. Shawn Marion did a great job back when he was with Phoenix, but Marion is now Dirk's teammate.

2. Dwyane Wade is hurt. Wade hasn't complained, but it's been reported and can be seen that his shoulder is giving him trouble. Wade didn't play that well against Chicago and I think that having someone like Jason Kidd guarding him could actually be a big problem for Miami. Even in his advanced age, Kidd is still a good defender and will be able to contain Wade.

3. DESIRE. I'm so sick of hearing how much Lebron and Chris Bosh want a championship. The talking heads on ESPN talk about this all the time, like it's their God-Given right to be multi time champions. Lebron, Bosh, and Wade have been in the league for a combined 24 years and have 1 championship combined (Wade's 2006 title). Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, and Peja Stojakovic have a combined 62 years experience and no rings to show for it. Tell me which group probably wants it more. This Mavs team NEEDS to win now. The Heat want it, but the urgency just isn't there for them.

So my final pick.

Dallas over Miami in 6 games........I hope

NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS

Boston Bruins over Vancouver Canucks

DISCLAIMER: I have only been a hockey fan for a little over 3 weeks, so these predictions are probably terrible.

I became a hockey fan when my precious Celtics were knocked out of the NBA playoffs. The Boston Bruins were still in the hockey playoffs, and there is something that is just more exciting about playoff hockey than regular season hockey. Anyways, this particular Bruins team has me hooked on hockey right now. They have every ingredient of a successful and entertaining team. Let's start with the goaltender. Tim Thomas grew up extremely poor and has played all around the world. His incredible will and determination led the Bruins to signing him and his improvement has given him the opportunity to be the starter. He has been, unquestionably, the best goalie in the playoffs, even going so far as to guarantee the Bruins would beat the Lightning in the conference finals and coming through with a Game 7 shutout. The Bruins defense, from what I've seen, is pretty solid. With Chara and others on the defensive side of the ice, the Bruins leads are usually safe. On offense they have Nathan Horton, Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Tyler Seguin, and Patrice Bergeron as their big time players. Again, I'm not an expert on hockey by any means, but these guys have come through in every series so far and I have no reason to think that they'll let me down now.

I'll be honest, I probably couldn't name more than one guy on Vancouver's team, and I have never seen them play, but I like what I see from the Bruins.

Final Score

Bruins bring home the Stanley Cup in 7 games. Boston has a party.

Other Sports odds and ends:

-Congratulations to Charlie Furbush on making his big league debut with the Tigers. It was very surreal to see someone that I went to high school with pitching on a major league mound against the Red Sox. Making South Portland proud, keep up the great work.

-Speaking of the Red Sox, it looks like they're starting to roll. Everything is starting to come together for the Sox right now as the pitching has been excellent and the hitting timely. With everything else sports related going on now, it's tough to keep up with the Sox, but if they are lucky enough to still be playing in October, we might point to this as when they turned it around.

-Scottie Pippen called Lebron a "better basketball player" than Michael Jordan. Really? Really Scottie? You could probably say better than anyone else how good Michael was, but are you really going to put Lebron over him? Maybe you forgot about the six rings MJ won you or how he was the MVP in all six of those NBA Finals. Let's wait until Lebron wins at least a couple before we start to throw him into the "Best Player Ever" conversation.

-Fun fact about the Bruins: If they win the Stanley Cup, then the Patriots will be the Boston team with the longest Championship drought. It's been a pretty good past 10 years for New England sports.

Well thanks for reading, and as always please leave a comment telling me what you thought of it.

Good-Bye Macho Man

Thank you for the comments on my last entry, and I'd love see even more on this one.

Very few times in life do you meet someone or see someone on t.v. that you truly believe is going to live forever. You know that no one can live forever, but there's just something about the person that makes you believe they will never get older. It's usually a person that you don't see on a regular basis and maybe haven't seen in many years. You know the years are going by, but memories don't age, and every time you think of them they are the same age that you remember them at.

Macho Man Randy Savage was one of those guys for me. He was one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and someone that I grew up watching and idolizing. In my mind he will always look like this:

Unfortunately, people do age and Macho was no exception. Out of the public eye since 2004, he had stopped dying his beard and hair, dropped the flashy outfits and sunglasses, and ditched the cowboy hat. More recent pictures of Savage were less flattering with a clearly aged Savage, now 58, although he still had the charisma that made him famous. He now resembled Santa Clause more than the Macho Man I remembered.

After doing some digging, I found that this new Macho Man Randy Savage had just gotten married and was fully at peace with his life. For those of you that don't know, Savage's first wife was the First Lady of Wrestling Miss Elizabeth. The two were wrestling's perfect couple until their divorce in the early nineties. Unfortunately Miss Elizabeth would pass away in the early 2000's from an accidental drug overdose.

For over 30 years the Macho Man Randy Savage entertained me and millions of others around the world by sharing his incredible talents. Whether it was on the mic or in the ring, Randy Savage was world class and always a cut above the rest. He was one of the greatest characters in the history of professional wrestling, appreciated by more than just wrestling fans as evidenced by the respects paid by Sportscenter, PTI, Around the Horn, CNN, FoxNews, and many other national media outlets. A whole generation of kids grew up in the 80's and 90's watching the Macho Man, with his trademark catch phrase of "Oooooooohhh Yeahhhhhh" and his advice to everyone to "Snap into a Slim Jim". If you haven't tried to do an imitation of the Macho Man's trademark voice, then you're one of the few.

So now, I end this blog with some links to a sampling of some of the greatest hits of the Macho Man. First, his legendary match with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat at Wrestlemania III in front of 93,000 people. If matches aren't really your thing, check out some of his greatest promos. He pulled off the intense, crazy guy better than anyone. And as you can see, even 7 years after leaving the spotlight, and less than a year before his passing, the man still had it.

RIP Randy Poffo aka Macho Man Randy Savage. Thank you for making me believe in you when I was a little kid, you were the best.

Reunited.

P.S. The rumor is that Macho saved us from the Rapture that was supposed to happen Saturday.