Pistons stop LeBron

The Pistons held true to their word and stifled King LeBron last night in their game one victory. James only managed 10 points — a playoff low— on 5-for-15 shooting. He almost managed a triple-double though and could’ve had it on a play that would’ve tied the game with seconds left.

LeBron drove with time winding down before being swarmed when he dished the ball outside to a wide open Donyell Marshall who proceeded to miss the 3-point attempt. It would’ve giving him his tenth assist to go with his 10 points and rebounds.

With the game that close, it’s fairly safe to say that even with all the pressure on the global icon, his team can still play put up a good game against an incredibly tough team. This series could very well be longer than anyone expected.

Goodbye Nash, Hello Finals!

With a win on Friday night the San Antonio Spurs bounced Shawn Marion’s Suns to insure a date with the Utah Jazz in the West finals. This move only decreases my interest in the playoffs because while i do have a certain dislike of Steve Nash, it would’ve been more interesting to watch the high scoring Suns move along rather than the defensive-minded Spurs. I’m also sure that even with a good match like the one we’ve been presented, people won’t tune into watch as much as they would’ve for Phoenix.

Questions should start popping up about why the Suns can’t win in the playoffs as well, seeing how they’ve failed to make the conference finals during Nash’s tenure. While it was fairly certain that the officials were against them during this series, it doesn’t excuse their previous short-comings. This should give some of the critics of the Dirk-over-Nash camp some ammo regarding playoff falters.

In the East, Detroit will have their hands full trying to contain LeBron James who is playing with more fire than I’ve seen before. Their tough defense might have a chance but it may prove more efficient to simply take away everyone else off this Cavs team that isn’t incredibly talented in the depth department.
Yesterday, in game 1 of the West finals, the Spurs did exactly what they’re capable of in beating the Jazz to draw first blood. This series almost seems like a foregone conclusion but the Jazz shouldn’t be counted out for a win or maybe two. I think we’re looking at a Spurs in 5 series win.

Interleague is wrap, for now...

With the marvel known as interleague play in the books after its first round of match ups and first string of “Why do we still have interleague?” articles, we’ve learned a few things.

The Mets are a lot better than the Yankees. Well, in all fairness, we already knew that but it should still be stated. The Yankees also managed to lose another pitcher to injury when Darrell Rasner injured his hand attempting to field a sharply hit ball. At least the Yanks were able to avoid the sweep by winning on Sunday night with another one of their long starters on the hill. Who said the Yankees farm system wasn’t deep?

Oakland is the better side of the bay. But we already knew that as well. They had to be better than the Giants who have turned into a side act for the Barry Bonds show nowadays. Even Barry Zito, who crossed the Bay for a $126 million deal, was shelled by his former club when he started on Saturday. Zito was hit up for 7 runs on 6 hits while walking 7 over four innings. The Giants were able to pick up a win on Sunday to avoid the sweep but it required Matt Morris to throw one hell of a gem to do so. Morris pitched a complete game while k’ing 9 and allowing 2 hits.

“The freeway series” is the worst name of the city series names. And with the Angels taking home the sweep, they can claim to be the kings of the L.A. baseball scene even if both teams are at the tops of their respective western divisions.

When your GM openly calls you embarrassing, you better come back with a win like the White Sox did on Sunday. They may still have lost the series to the Cubs in Wrigley field, but they still salvaged some pride. The thing is that their bullpen’s effort on Friday and Saturday (9 earned runs in 2 1/3 innings) was embarrassing, too bad it’s his job to get the guys to make it right.

Eww... Ottawa advances

Much to the dismay of most hockey fans, the Ottawa Senators went into Buffalo and took game 5, the series and the Prince of Wales trophy home with them. Daniel Alfredsson scored a weak goal 10 minutes into overtime to secure the victory. The shot went through a defenseman’s legs and didn’t give Ryan Miller much time to react.

With the West series still going on, the Sens will have some time to rest up before taking on either the Ducks or Red Wings who will, hopefully stand up a bit tougher than the Senators previous opponents who combined for a total of three wins.

With their overtime win yesterday afternoon the Ducks moved closer to the Stanley cup finals and a shot at taking down the vaunted Sens. The only problem is that despite being down 3-2 the Wings are playing a lot better hockey than Anaheim. It’s apparent when you look at the shot chance totals from the past two games. In fact, Selanne’s OT goal was the result of a careless give away and luck rather than any sort of real effort. With the odds against them, it may be tough for Detroit to advance but i wouldn’t go against them.