The end is near

It's the beginning of the end for a few things in the NFL. SpyGate may finally be resolved now that Matt Walsh is going to come forward and talk to the league and possibly produce the tape of the Rams' final walkthrough. This had better be worth the wait but after hearing what his demands were to talk — assurance that the Patriots will not sue him and a free flight to New York — it has to be something big and juicy. Why else would he want immunity if there was nothing that could get him in legal trouble?

Commissioner Goodell has also stated that if Walsh can produce evidence of the Patriots further cheating, New England is going to be hit by more fines and levies. If their first penalty was any indication of how serious this "crime" is, the Patriots should get ready for a huge blow.

And, what we, as sports fans, are all looking forward to ending is the millions of mock drafts that flood the internet this time of the year. How many different opinions of what *might* happen do we need? One per publication is about as much I need.

Then, even when it's all over, we'll be mowed down by NBA draft mocks.

NFL Trade mania

Strip club owners in the Dallas-Fort Worth area should be either jumping for joy or cowering in fear today. Pacman Jones is a Cowboy. According to ESPN and The Associated Press, the Cowboys and Titans came to an agreement on a deal yesterday but the paperwork on it won't be filed with the league office until today. This addresses needs for both teams; Dallas gets a very good corner to flank Terrence Newman while the Titans get rid of Pacman. Now the only hurdle for Dallas is getting Jones reinstated.

The Chiefs ensured they had enough picks early in the draft to help their ongoing rebuilding cause by dealing away franchise defensive end Jared Allen to Minnesota. This move gives the Vikes a very good shot at winning the NFC North — which may be quite easy with Favre "retired" — and maybe even win 10-12 games next season. Many teams are going to be having fits trying to block the defensive line of Minny that already had two Pro Bowlers before landing Allen. They'll just have to see how far Adrian Peterson can carry them.

There's also some non-trade mania heating up:

Cincinnati has told Chad Johnson that he's not getting dealt and may be sitting out this season. Looks like opening his mouth severely back-fired for Ocho Cinco. The Bengals may be painting themselves into a corner as well; turning down a trade off from the Redskins that would have netted two first-round picks could really hurt in the long run.

Another receiver the 'Skins tried and failed to pull in was Arizona's Anquan Boldin who's a bit bitter over his contract situation. The Cardinals may have turned down Washington's advance but if Philly keeps on dangling surplus corner Lito Sheppard we could have a swap on the board.

Some quick April ramblings

Jake Long's going to be the first-overall pick on Saturday in the NFL draft. Moves like these (signing no. 1 picks before the draft) takes all the suspension and anticipation out seeing the commissioner walk to the podium. The least the could do is negotiate a deal and keep it quiet.

The Seahawks did the right thing by cutting Shaun Alexander. If you watched him at all last season, you could tell he wasn't the same back that ran all the way to a touchdown record and a Madden cover shot. So is this the worst case of the Madden jinx yet?

The Sharks are lucky Jeremy Roenick didn't retire last summer. His performance in game 7 last night was off the hook and a huge reason why San Jose won.

The NHL lost out on a ton of ratings by seeing Alex Ovechkin and his Capitals lose. Had Washington beaten the Flyers, Alex the Great would have been facing off of with Sid the Kid in round two. Hockey could have gained a lot more fans watching those two go at it.

Looks like C.C. Sabathia reads this blog. He finally stepped up his game and got back to his winning ways last night. Now, I'm just going to have to wait to see if he can keep up this form against non-Royals.

The Raptors are outmatched by the Magic. They can win one game but I'd doubt if they can take two. That might have been the worst play I've ever seen drawn up to end a game last night.

The Suns had better start turning up the Heat on the Spurs if they don't want to make an early exit. They have to play as hard as they did in game one opposed to how the started to fade down the stretch in game two if this series is going to live up to its billing.

And congratulations to Jay-Z and Beyonce for finally getting married. Those two have been together for what? like ten years?

Lucky Game 7s

It's starting to look like the only thing that the NHL has going for it is playoff game sevens. No league can build up to head more the NHL, not the NBA and not Major League Baseball; that's right, hockey actually wins at something.

The thing that makes an NHL game seven that much better than the rest of series-style playoff sports is the physicality of the game. In Basketball, you have intense matchups — some one-on-one throughout the series — but if you were to hit a guy, inflict some physicality, you'd be called for a foul. In baseball, there's no physicality except occasional dustups that are nothing special and series are more based on managing strategy than the other sports.

This is especially the case when it comes to one of the longest-running rivalries in sports like the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins. And, in a surprisingly predictable turn of events, the Canadiens put the beat down on Boston 5-0.
The rivalry will continue with the same result for decades.

Tonight, the lucky fans of hockey get two more game sevens. First Alex Ovechkin — the most electric player in the game — and his Capitals face off with the rough and tumble Flyers who are well on their way to getting back their image of low-life goons. Then, after east coast fans will probably be asleep, the Flames try to take down everyone's chic choice to win it all, San Jose.

And for the record, I'll only be watching because I've got work.

A quick look at the NBA's game 1s

There’s a few things you should be surprised by after this weekend’s NBA playoff opening games. The top seeds (Lakers and Celtics) rolled through their opponents. Orlando didn’t have too tough of a time with the Raptors while Dwight Howard put up a 25-22 game. And San Antonio and Phoenix played a great game that went into double OT before the Spurs made the Suns set.

Then there were some surprises. Philadelphia, who has looked frisky throughout the season, went into Detroit and beat a talented, deep team in a very close game. I don’t think there’s been this much happiness or optimism for Sixer fans since their finals appearance when Iverson was still carrying them. It surprised me that a team that people had started to write off - even if they were only a game out of first place – the Hornets, took it to the Mavs like they did. Maybe playoff experience and coaching matchups don’t matter that much.

One quick case of surprising some: LeBron and the Cavs beat the Wizards. A lot of people took the Wizards to win this series despite Cleveland having the best player (and not much else). We’ll have to see if King James can keep up the winning ways against a deep opponent.

And in case you’re one of the few people who care about who the Lakers play next round, the Jazz beat the Rockets in game 1.

Now we’ll see how every adapts to their opponents.