Yao May Never Play Again....

The Houston Rockets could be in a lot of trouble if the speculations of Yao Ming's foot injury proves to be career-ending. Some think he may be back next year, but nothing is known for sure and anything can end up happening.

Just to put it into perspective, if Yao misses next season, much less the rest of his career, then the Rockets will be without a dominant center. Dikembe Mutombo has already retired.

There are no other centers currently listed on Houston's roster. In fact, there's no one listed over 7'0'', with the next tallest player being Carl Landry at 6'9''. That's extremely bad news for the Rockets.

With the loss of Yao Ming, the Rockets would instantly drop from the top four in the Western Conference to one of the bottom-dwellers. The Western Conference is just that strong.

The damage gets even worse than that on a broader scale. The NBA could lose millions on Yao Ming from the international perspective. Yao is easily the biggest foreign star in the league.

The Rockets have declined to comment on the speculations but they have said that they want to wait till all the facts get out.

There are some positive signs that seem to show that the injury won't be as severe as some people are saying. Yao has said that his foot hasn't been swelling and doesn't feel tender.

As of right now, all the Rockets can do is keep their fingers crossed that Yao's treatment is a success and that he's able to return, if not next season, then by 2010. If not, then it could be back to the cellar for a team that just started to get the taste of success again.

Mariano Rivera Gets Save No. 500

Mariano Rivera will probably remember Sunday's game against the New York Mets as not only the night where he got his 500th save, but also his first RBI.

Rivera became only the second member of the 500-save club, joining the Padres' Trevor Hoffman.

It remarkably only took him 13 years to reach that plateau, which is almost 40 saves a year. Hoffman also has had four more years to reach that mark.

If that wasn't enough, Rivera also picked up his first career RBI in the eighth inning by drawing a walk against one of baseball's other great closers, Francisco Rodriguez. The fact that two of baseball's best closers were facing head-to-head at the plate was a sight to see in itself.

What made the situation even funnier was the fact that the Yankees tried to fool the Mets that Rivera was on deck by putting someone else in the on-deck circle while Rivera hid in the dugout. Rodriguez threw a hard fastball right down the middle at Derek Jeter, and Jeter just laughed, probably in shock that the Mets actually fell for it.

It was an historic night for Rivera and in his post-game interview he proved to be nothing but a class act. The question was asked that if he thought there was anyone better than him at what he did. Oddly enough, he named several pitchers, including Trevor Hoffman and Francisco Rodriguez.

There couldn't be a better person to reach this milestone and the sports world definitely needs more Mariano Riveras in the world, even if he is a New York Yankee.

All-Time Saves Leaders (Active)

1. Trevor Hoffman-571
2. Mariano Rivera-500
3. Billy Wagner-385
4. Troy Percival-358
5. Jason Isringhausen-293
   

U.S. Loses to Mighty Brazil in Heartbreaker

The U.S. almost shocked the soccer world again on Sunday but instead ran out of gas in the 2nd half as Brazil won 3-2 for their second-straight Confederations Cup title.

Up until Sunday the U.S had never even been to a FIFA cup final, much less take a 2-0 lead at the half.

The U.S. showed a ton of heart and skill but lacked one thing that the Brazilians had plenty of in the 2nd half which was stamina. The Brazilians just seemed to be get faster and faster as the match rolled on while the Americans were slowing down.

Even though the Americans gave up a demanding two-goal lead in the 2nd half, there is still such a thing as a moral victory when you look back on this Confederations Cup run.

Going into this tournament U.S. soccer was a laughing stock among the international community, and now with the World Cup less than a year away, I have to think they'll take the U.S. more seriously now.

Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan did the scoring for the U.S. and both had excellent tournament that will play vital roles when the World Cup rolls around.

If you're a U.S. soccer fan you have to look at the glass half-full here and realize the U.S. exceeded almost everyone's expectations but probably their own and that the real deal still lies ahead, which is obviously the World Cup.

The Americans can take a lot from the Confederations Cup by learning from their mistakes and building off what worked for them.

The skies look sunny for U.S. soccer in the future after watching them contend with the best the world has to offer this past week. U-S-A!!! U-S-A!!!

Final Standings

1. Brazil -14 goals
2. USA- 8 goals
3. Spain- 11 goals
4. S. Africa- 4 goals
5. Egypt- 4 goals
6. Italy- 3 goals
7. Iraq- 0 goals
8. N. Zealand- 0 goals
   

Manny Goes Hitless Against the Sounds

One of the biggest names a Sounds player has pitched against suited up for the other team on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The suspended Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez got a gift from the league which allowed him to "rehab" in the minors for a couple game as his 50-game suspension for violating the substance abuse policy nears an end.

This didn't phase the Sounds at all.

Ramirez wen't a combined 0 for 3 with a strikeout and two groundouts. Oh yeah, he did manage to draw a walk as well.

I'm very proud of how the Sounds pitchers handled facing such a huge name who stepped into the batter's box. They handled the pressure well and kept the Sounds from getting embarrassed by a slugger that we all know is a pure specimen when he swings the bat.

This brings me to my next point which is why in the hell Manny Ramirez is even stepping onto a baseball field right now?

The guy was suspended and you're going to allow him to participate in minor league games to "rehab". What is he rehabbing, his cheating abilities?

He basically got an extended vacation and in the process got to be in the spotlight when he came to play for the Albuquerque Isotopes for two games. After all the town clearly loved him as they had over 15,000 fans the first game and over 13,000 the second game. Normally they average just a shade over 7,000.

So basically a cheater got his time in the sun, some batting practice before he comes back from his suspension, and got a few much needed strokes to his ego.

I hope you enjoyed it while you could, Manny, because that's the only ballpark outside of Dodger Stadium that's going to give you anything to smile about once you get back to the majors.

2009 NBA Draft: Winners and Losers

The 2009 NBA Draft kicked off Thursday night with Oklahoma's Blake Griffin getting picked first by the Clippers, surprising no one. However, the rest of day one proved to have its winners and losers.

Winners

1. Memphis Grizzlies- The Grizzlies are a good, young team who have a roster that is loaded with raw talent. This year marks two years in a row where they have had a solid draft. The Grizzlies had the 2nd overall pick in the draft and didn't waste it by directly picking their biggest area of concern, which was down low. Needless to say they took Hasheem Thabeet out of UCONN. Thabeet will make an instant impact on the Grizzlies' toughness down low. He may not provide instant production on the offensive end but that's OK because the Grizz already have some great offensive talent with OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay, and Marc Gasol. The Grizz also took Sam Young in Round 2, which to me is a huge steal. Young will be a great player off the bench in his rookie season which will add a balanced weapon to the roster.

Pick 1: Hasheem Thabeet (UCONN)
Pick 2: DeMarrre Carroll (Mizzou)
Pick 3: Sam Young (Pitt)
Overall Draft Grade: A+

2. San Antonio Spurs- All three of the Spurs picks on Day 1 were different positions, and they all came in the 2nd round. That didn't keep the Spurs from making some excellent picks, including Dejuan Blair out of Pittsburgh. We all know the style of play that the Spurs like to play, and Blair is going to fit in nicely with that style of tough, defensive-minded basketball. He's going to play great along the side of Tim Duncan. They also added a great three-point shooter in Jack McClinton. McClinton will be a great spark off the bench for the Spurs. Obviously the Spurs are doing something right each and every draft otherwise they wouldn't be a legitment threat for the Western Conference champions every year.

Pick 1: DeJuan Blair (Pitt)
Pick 2: Jack McClinton (Miami-Fla)
Pick 3: Nando De Colo (France)
Overall Draft Grade: A

3. Minnesota Timberwolves- Minnesota was definitely the most busy team having six picks today. They added a ton of talent on including the Spanish sensation Ricky Rubio. Rubio has a great chance at becoming the director of this team very soon. They're obviously ready to go another direction since they traded Randy Foye who was the point guard last season. The only question I have is why they took Jonny Flynn who is also a point guard. There's not room for both of them and all I can think is maybe they plan on trading one of them for something else. They also added some other great scorers in Wayne Ellington and Nick Calathes. I just have to wonder if they went a little to heavy on point guards. All in all still a good draft for the T'wolves who are clearly looking to a few seasons down the road instead of the immediate future.

Pick 1: Ricky Rubio (Spain)
Pick 2: Jonny Flynn (Syracuse)
Pick 3: Ty Lawson (N. Carolina) Traded to Denver
Pick 4: Wayne Ellington (N. Carolina)
Pick 5: Nick Calathes (Florida)
Pick 6: Henk Norel (Netherlands)
Overall Draft Grade: A-

Losers

1. Indiana Pacers- These guys took a huge gamble by selecting Tyler Hansbrough at No. 13 overall. There are a ton of question marks surrounding Hansbrough's game, which has been criticized as not being "NBA-ready" and yet they took him anyway. If Hansbrough proves to be a bust, then this draft will ultimately be a bust for the Pacers. I see Hansbrough being a Mark Madsen at best for his career, which is all well and good if you want that as your first pick. They also took AJ Price out of Connecticut, which also could end up being good or bad. Either way I think the Pacers could've done better.

Pick 1: Tyler Hansbrough (N. Carolina)
Pick 2: AJ Price (UCONN)
Overall Draft Grade: D

2. Milwaukee Bucks- This team had the worst draft by far. Their first pick was the No. 10 pick overall and they took Brandon Jennings out of Italy. This may end up alright but that's still a maybe. Sometimes foreign players look good overseas but don't end up looking so great when they get across the pond and play against NBA's best. Then they turn around and take another small guard in Jodie Meeks. Not to take anything away from Meeks's great season last year, but he left way too soon for the NBA and I don't think he's completely ready for the NBA. He fizzled out greatly towards the end of the season and was a very streaky performer. The Bucks can keep their finger crossed that this draft works out for them, but it just doesn't look to good from my perspective.

Pick 1: Brandon Jennings (Italy)
Pick 2: Jodie Meeks (Kentucky)
Overall Draft Grade: F

MLB Power Rankings: Week 11

1. Dodgers (47-24): Things just keep getting better and better for the Dodgers. Not only do they still have the best record in the majors but now Manny Ramirez is only a week or so away from rejoining them. Last week: 1

2. Red Sox (43-27): The Red Sox increased their lead in the AL East last week after going 5-2 and with the Yankees struggling. The Red Sox are probably the most balanced team in the majors which will prove to be very valuable when October rolls around. Last week: 2

3. Cardinals (40-32): The Cardinals have seemed to weather the storm that plagued them for the past two weeks. The Cards are finally starting to hit the ball as they averaged almost seven runs a game over the past week. Last week: NR

4. Tigers (39-31): The inconsistency continues for the Tigers. Now they're on a five-game winning streak after losing four-straight before that. The AL Central doesn't seem to be as tough as originally thought out to be so the Tigers should be able to win the division crown, but that's still a big "maybe". Last week: NR

5. Giants (38-32): It may have taken the Giants a while to get noticed, but I have definitely noticed that these guys might have a legitiment shot at the NL wild card. There's no starting rotation in the majors who can contend with the Giants starting rotation. That's exactly what you need in the postseason so don't count these guys out just because their hitting is anemic, even though it clearly is. Last week: NR

Almost In

Yankees (38-32): The wheels are slowly starting to fall off of the team that was playing extremely well just two weeks ago. A-rod isn't hitting anywhere near the level he was when he first returned and the rest of the lineup isn't hitting too much better.

Phillies (37-31): I may have jumped on the Phillies bandwagon too soon. They looked ridiculous last week in interleague play. They also have looked horrible at home with a 13-22 record. A World Series repeat is looking more and more unlikely every game.

Dropped from the rankings: Yankees (38-32), Phillies (37-31), Rangers (37-32)

U.S. Soccer Team Advances, But Not Without Controversy

The U.S. men's soccer team made one of the most unlikely advances in a tournament than I have ever seen any sports tournament on Sunday.

After starting the Confederations Cup with two losses, the U.S. had to defeat Egypt by three goals and needed Brazil to defeat Italy by three goals in order to avoid elimination. Ironically enough, it happened exactly the way it needed to for the U.S. to advance. The question is, was it really fair?

Brazil easily ran through Group B going undefeated. However, the U.S. lost to Italy to open up the Confederations Cup and still advanced over them despite having the same record. The rules decide tie-breakers by total number of goals rather than what we're use to in the states, which is whoever won head-to-head.

As happy as I was to see the U.S. move on, this does not seem fair to me the slightest bit. So what if we scored four goals during the course of the tournament and Italy only scored three. The bottom line is Italy beat us just a week prior to the U.S. advancing and they deserve to play Spain in the next round.

Either way, now the U.S. gets the gift of playing Spain, which didn't give up a single goal in their three games in Group A.

As long as the U.S. doesn't get embarrassed then they still have a lot to be proud of and should have a good idea of where the team is at as the World Cup gets closer and closer.

I may not agree with the rules, but I still can't help but chant...U-S-A, U-S-A!!!!!!

The U.S. Open Lives Up to the Drama

The 109th U.S. Open proved to be just as exciting as many others have been in the past. The leaderboard was jam packed going into the final round, but Tiger Woods wasn't really among them.

For much of the tournament it was a two-way duel between two unexpected guys; Lucas Glover and Ricky Barnes. Glover ended up taking home his first major by two strokes over Barnes.

Barnes at one point led Glover by six strokes in the third round before gradually dropping strokes and closing out at a respectable 2-under par for the championship.

There were a few faces that people did recognize, one of them being the gallery-favorite Phil Mickelson. The other familiar face was former number one ranked golfer in the world, David Duval. The two ended up finishing tied for second with Barnes, which were both great stories in their own separate ways.

We all know what Mickelson is going through with his wife Amy recently being diagnosed with breast cancer. Just about every fan in the gallery was cheering for Mickelson who came up just short in the end with a score of 2-under par.

David Duval had basically been in hibernation since winning the British Open over seven years ago. This weekend's finish marked the first Top 10 finish for him since 2002 in Las Vegas.

And then there was Tiger Woods. Tiger was easily the clear-cut favorite going into Thursday after winning his last event at the Memorial tournament, but another bad start for Tiger marked a comeback that was even too much for Tiger.

Tiger still only finished four strokes off the lead, which makes me think he would've won his 15th major if not for his opening round 4-over par. You also have to wonder if things would've been different for Tiger if he hadn't have had the bad luck of playing in horrible weather conditions on Thursday that others didn't have to face.

Another great U.S. Open championship is in the books and I can't wait for next year's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach!

U.S. Open Final Standings

1. Lucas Glover -4
T-2. Phil Mickelson -2
T-2. David Duval -2
T-2. Ricky Barnes -2
3. Ross Fisher -1
T-4. Tiger Woods E

Notables

T-10. Sergio Garcia +2
T-16. Retief Goosen +3
T-27. Vijay Singh +6

Same Face, New Place

There's a few quarterback heading into 2009 with a new team and a clean slate. Will they be successful or will the team that traded for them end up regretting it?

Matt Cassel (Chiefs)

Cassel looks to prove that last season's solid performance for the Patriots was no fluke and try to lead the Chiefs back to the postseason for the first time since the 2006-2007 season.

He filled in for the injured Tom Brady last season and almost got the Patriots into the postseason, carry them to an 11-5 record.

Don't expect Cassel to fade much next season. He'll improve the Chiefs offense and make them a seven to nine win team next season, but that probably won't be enough for the playoffs. The Chiefs lost Tony Gonzales so now their most productive wide receiver, outside of Dwayne Bowe, is Bobby Engram. Engram only had 489 yards last season and no touchdowns.

Jay Cutler (Bears)

Immediately when I saw this trade go down I thought it would be great for both the Bears and Jay Cutler.

The Bears are slowly on the rise and now Cutler has a great defense and a good rushing attack to compliment his passing game, a luxury he didn't have in Denver. This team is one star receiver away from being a force in the NFC and the Bears have to be aggressive this offseason in getting that receiver for Cutler.

Currently the Bears are a little thin at the receiver position, but not terrible. They drafted Oklahoma standout Juaquin Iglesias and still have Devin Hester who has improved his receiving skills.

Kyle Orton (Broncos)

Orton is inheriting a tough situation in Denver. I don't see this team going anywhere but down for the next few years. They have no running game, Brandon Marshall wants out, and they have a coach that has little experience in the NFL. Basically speaking, Orton has his work cut out for him.

He does have some solid receiving options in Eddie Royal and Brandon Stokley, but he has no defense to bail him out when he has a bad game like he did in Chicago. It could be a bumpy year for Orton in 2009.

Jeff Garcia (Raiders)

Garcia may be one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the game and now he's going to an offensively challenged team. If he figures out a way to turn this basement dwelling franchise around, it would be a great addition to an already solid career.

The offense actually looks a lot more promising than it has in a long time for the Raiders. We all know that Darren McFadden is a stud and he'll probably improve from last year's descent rookie performance.

As long as Javon Walker plays like he did a few seasons ago in Green Bay and receivers like Ashley Lelie and rookie Darrius Heyward-Bey but up solid numbers than this team can definitely improve from last season with Garcia at the helm.

The great thing about a quarterback like Jeff Garcia is that he makes other players around him better, just like he did in Philly and Tampa Bay.

Stallworth Gets 30-day Jail Sentence....And Much More

Donte Stallworth was sentenced to 30 days in jail for hitting a pedestrian with his car while being drunk in Miami. As weak as a 30-day jail sentence looks, Stallworth got a ton of other punishments for a crime that he wasn't completely at fault for.

Along with the 30 days in jail, Stallworth got eight years of probation, two years of house-arrest, a lifetime driver's license revocation, 1,000 hours of community service, and is also suspended indefinitely by the NFL without pay. All this for a tragedy that wasn't completely his fault.

The pedestrian that was hit ran across the street, outside of a crosswalk, to catch a bus. Eye-witness accounts show that Stallworth flashed his lights and that the pedestrian clearly jumped out in front of the Stallworth's moving vehicle.

As wrong as Stallworth was for drinking and driving, who's to say that a sober person wouldn't have made the same tragic mistake? Stallworth was approximately going 50 in a 40 mile per hour zone, which I'm guessing probably half of the population does everyday while sober.

Stallworth also immediately got out of his car after it happened, notified authorities, and has shown what I see as genuine remorse through this entire incident. He also had no previous criminal record before this occurred.

The public should stop convicting someone by only judging the crime instead of weighing out all of the facts.

The NFL did do the right thing by suspending Stallworth because obviously Stallworth needs time to deal with his drinking and attend counseling for his alcohol abuse.

No amount of jail-time would fix this situation. Stallworth already has the worst punishment of all that no other court can pass down. He played a role in someone's death and will have to deal with that for the rest of his life.

MLB Power Rankings: Week 10

1. Dodgers (43-22): Once again the Dodgers are on top after going 4-2 last week and taking two of three from the streaking Rangers. A big thanks should go to Dodgers' great pitching staff with an overall ERA of 3.72. Last week: 1

2. Red Sox (39-25): The Red Sox continue to be one of the most consistent teams in the AL. They've won six of their last seven which was against two worthy opponents; the Phillies and the Yankees. The AL East may not end up being as close of a race as we originally thought.
Last week: 4

3. Yankees (37-27): The Yanks have nothing to be upset over except for one major thing...they can't beat those dang Red Sox. They're now 0-8 to start the season against Boston which hasn't happened since Babe Ruth was still happily wearing a Boston uniform.
Last week: 2

4. Rangers (36-27): Look who just crashed the Top 5 party thanks to some great hitting by guys like Ian Kinsler (17 HR, 46 RBI) and Nelson Cruz (17 HR, 43 RBI). Now if they can just get Josh Hamilton back from injury then this team will be very dangerous coming out of the AL West. Last week: NR

5. Phillies (36-26): Once again the Phillies have hit a dry spell. They're 4-6 in their last ten games and the pitching has looked awful. They've already blown ten saves this season. Lucky for the Phillies the rest of the NL East hasn't looked any better. Last week: 3

Almost In:

Brewers (36-29): The Brewers fell out of the Top 5 but that's no reason to panic. They still look like a good pick to win the division. The pitching staff just obviously needs to get better.

Angels (35-29): Looks like the Angles aren't ready to let the Rangers run away with the division crown. They're coming off of impressive sweeps over the Padres and Giants in interleague play.

Dropped from the rankings: Brewers (36-29)

NBA Free Agents: Buy or Sell?

Some big named players are now free agents heading into the offseason and that begs the question of whether their teams should keep them or send them packing!

Hedo Turkoglu( Orl)

Turkoglu had his moments this season where he was greats and his moments where he was mediocre. Despite being a little inconsistent, Turkoglu is still a polished veteran who knows how to step up during the postseason. The Magic definitely need to keep a balanced veteran like Turkoglu around to make another championship run. Verdict: Buy


Lamar Odom (LAL)
This may be somewhat of a no-brainer, at least for me. Odom proved this season that he just wants to win, even if that means coming off the bench. Odom was one of the key ingredients in the Lakers championship this season. There's other players I would move out before I considered getting rid of Odom. Besides Kobe, he's arguably the second best player on that team and would be starter for any other team in the league. Verdict: Buy

Allen Iverson (Det)

As ESPN's Skip Bayless likes to call him, "Me Myself and Iverson" is slowly starting to take the same course that Stephon Marbury took. He did nothing to help the Piston's this season and proved to be more of a negative than a positive. Just look at how the Nuggets flourished after he left. The Pistons could get something good in return for Iverson as well. There's still plenty of desperate teams who would trade the bank for Iverson. Stick with Rodney Stuckey, who has proven he can be a solid point guard, and get Iverson out of the Motor City. Verdict: Sell

Shawn Marion (Tor)

Marion came over from the Heat late in the season and played 27 games for the Raptors. Even though his production has hindered slightly, the Raptors should still keep him. Outside of Chris Bosh, the Raptors have little to work with in the rebounding department. They need a solid player like Marion who can have an impact on the game in so many ways. The Raptors have to get consistent help for Bosh otherwise they'll continue to be an average team at best.
Verdict: Buy

Ron Artest (Hou)

I saved the toughest for last. Artest played a vital role in making the Rockets the third best team in the Western Conference. The problem was his offensive game went extremely cold when it mattered most. Artest is one of the best defenders in the league, no doubt about it. But this comes down to a choosing either Tracy McGrady or Ron Artest. There's not enough cap room to keep both. The Rockets were missing offense, not defense, in the postseason and T-Mac will provide that when he returns. As great as Artest was defensively, he's still has to go. Sorry Artest, it's only business. Verdict: Sell

Just Who is the Greatest Sports City?

After watching the Lakers win their 15th NBA title, I started wondering just what city is the greatest sports city of all-time. Here's my Top 5 based on the four major sports.

The rankings were based on teams from the four major sports (NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL). Championships and overall legacy of the team's in the respective city were the main criteria of the rankings.

1. Boston: 32 total championships (Celtics, 17; Red Sox, 7; Bruins, 5; Patriots, 3). No other city comes close to Boston on my list. The fact that all of their four franchises have been considered dynasties at some points speaks for itself. The millenium has been particularly kind to the city of Boston as all four teams have been good in their respective leagues.
2. Detroit: 18 total championships (Red Wings, 11; Tigers 4; Pistons, 3). The Lions almost kept them from grabbing the two-spot but you just can't deny the greatness of the Pistons and the Red Wings. The Tigers also have a lot of history and have been pretty solid since making their World Series run just a few seasons ago.
3. Pittsburgh: 14 total championships (Steelers, 6; Pirates, 5; Penguins, 3). The recent Stanley Cup heroics of the Penguins this season jumped them up to the three-spot. The Penguins have also been a solid franchise for the most part. The Steelers are arguably one of the best NFL franchises of all-time and the Pirates were once upon a time a good team....back in the 70's.
4. Los Angeles: 21 total championships (Lakers, 15; Dodgers, 6). We all know the legacy and prestige of the Lakers and the Dodgers. But outside of those two franchises, L.A. has little to brag about with their sports. The Clippers and the Kings have never been good and this city has never been able to support an NFL franchise. That kept them from being too far up the list.
5. Philadelphia: 7 total championships (76ers, 3; Phillies, 2; Flyers, 2). It was extremely difficult figuring out who got the final spot on the list. In the end I gave it to Philly because of their well-known, passionate fans who care so much about their teams. After all they did boo Santa one year because their team was playing so bad! The Sixers were one of the great teams back in the 70's and 80's and the Eagles have been very strong in the NFC over the past ten years. The Phillies and the Flyers have also always been solid teams overall. The Phillies are coming off a World Series title which also put Philly onto my list.

Honorable Mention:

• New York: You may be somewhat shocked that NYC didn't make it on the list, but when you really layout their teams, what have they accomplished? Outside of the Yankees, who buy their championships and still haven't won one since 2000, no other team really sticks out. The Knicks have been horrible for a long time now and their hockey teams are mediocre at best. Sorry, NYC!
• Dallas: I seriously considered putting Dallas at #5 instead of Philly, but the Cowboys just weren't enough. If I had a six-spot Dallas would definitely get it!
• Miami: The city of Miami has a few championships sprinkled over each sport but they've never been great outside of the Dolphins. Also, have you seen a Florida Marlins home-game because I think more people show up to Sounds games than Marlins games!
  

The Stanley Cup is Back in the Steel City

The Penguins did what no other team has done from any of the four major sports since 1979 on Friday night. Win a Game 7 on the road to take a championship.

So many people counted the Penguins out going into the series and most certainly did after that went down 2-0 heading back to Pittsburgh. Even ESPN's hockey analyst Barry Melrose.

This series proved that anything can happen if you make it to Game 7. The Penguins protected their home-ice throughout the series and laid it all out on the line during the final game.

Pittsburgh has now won three Stanley Cup titles, which is pretty impressive in itself. They won their other two in 1991 and 1992 behind Mario Lemieux.

The NHL has to be happy with getting a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup finals. The Red Wings and the Penguins now have an undeniable rivalry.

Evgeni Malkin, not Sidney Crosby, won the postseason MVP award. Crosby only had an ordinary series and I think Malkin definitely deserved the MVP honors. Malkin had 36 points in the postseason, including eight in the Stanley Cup finals.

Malkin may have won the postseason MVP, but my Game 7 MVP goes to Marc-Andre Fleury. This guy made pressure save after pressure save in the closing minutes of Friday night's game to secure the win.

The biggest save of them all came with just one second left as he snatched the point-blank shot away from veteran Nicklas Lidstrom. It's a good thing Fleury made that save, because I don't know how much gas Pittsburgh would have had left to close win the game in overtime. The momentum would've shifted completely over to Detroit.

There's no reason for me to think that these two teams won't meet again in the Stanley Cup finals. We could see a remake of the NBA's Lakers-Celtics rivalry if this pattern continues within the next couple of seasons.

Checking Out Some Sounds Baseball Tonight!

Nothing like going to baseball game on a summer night, even if it is just the Nashville Sounds.

They take on the Memphis Redbirds tonight. All I know about them is that they're in Nashville's division so that automatically makes it a pretty important game.

I've always loved going to a Sounds game whenever I can because you get a chance to see future potential stars of the MLB. Players like Ryan Braun, Russell Branyan, and Prince Fielder once called little ole' Greer Stadium home.

For all those who didn't know, the Milwaukee Brewers are the Sounds MLB affiliate so anyone on the Sounds roster has the possibility of playing for them at any time.

Here's a look at the PCL American North Division standings as of today:

1. Nashville (35-26)
   
2. Iowa (31-30) 4 GB
3. Memphis (30-30) 4.5 GB
4. Omaha (24-36) 10.5 GB
   

MLB Power Rankings: Week 9

1. Dodgers (39-20): The Dodgers have led the Power Rankings for three-straight weeks now and they deserve it. The fact that they continue to have the best record in the majors without Manny Ramirez is extremely impressive. They're coming off a four-game split with Philly which isn't all that bad. Last week: 1

2. Yankees (34-23): The Yankees continue to lead the AL East and they start a series with the Red Sox tonight. It's very important that they break this current slump they are in against the BoSox to legitimize their lead of the AL East right now. Last week: 2

3. Phillies (33-22): A pretty productive week for the Phillies that featured two wins against the Dodgers. They start a big series with the Mets tonight where they can extend their three-game division lead. Last week: NR

4. Red Sox (33-24): Boston continues to stay on the heels of the Yakees and they better. The Yankees are playing their best baseball of the season and the Red Sox have to keep up. I know it's only June but September can sneak up on you fast. The good news is that David Ortiz seems to finally be breaking out of his slump. Last week: 4

5. Brewers (33-24): The Brew Crew have slowed down a little bit but they have yet to collapse. They let the Marlins get the best of them taking three of four from them. They need to obviously avoid losing to the team they're suppose to beat. Last week: 3

Almost In:

Rangers (33-24): The Rangers just can't seem to crack the Top 5 this season. That's ok, though. They're swinging the bat great right now and if they keep this pace up they'll win the AL West easily.

Tigers (31-26): Could there be a team who has been more inconsistent than Detroit this season? If they don't start playing to their potential the Twins will take them over in the division. Keep an eye out for that.

Dropped from the Rankings: Tigers (31-26)

Kiffin Commits Another Recruiting Violation

Either Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin didn't do his homework on the NCAA rulebook or he's a cheater. Maybe even a little of both.

Either way, Kiffin recently committed his sixth recruiting violation since becoming the head coach of Tennessee football.

His latest violation was video taping by media outlets of his meetings with future recruits. The funny part is it was taped by ESPN cameras for Outside the Lines.

I might have to give Kiffin a free pass on this one. The fact that even ESPN may not have been aware of this rule is pretty funny.

Kiffin is setting himself up for more and more pressure going into the upcoming season. He already has to deal with the Florida Gators being furious after he called out their coach as a cheater. He has also lost several recruits during the offseason.

Who knows, maybe Kiffin will turn out to be a good NCAA coach who can return this spiraling program to prominence once again. One thing is for sure, he has to stop with all the violations before the NCAA gets involved with this and starts a serious investigation.

All these violations, which have all been secondary violations, may not end up hurting the football program in the long-run. It is getting them a lot of attention on a national level.

However, if UT follows up these troubling offseason with another poor season like 2008, then Kiffin could face an enormous amount of scrutiny from a fan-base that has little patience.

Stay tuned for my SEC football preview which will be in a couple of weeks!!!!

Do the Magic Have Anything Left?

The Magic have fought through adversity this entire season.

Everything from losing Jameer Nelson in the middle of the season, having Dwight Howard to suspended one game in the Philadelphia series, to being pushed to the brink by the Celtics and the Magic have still fought back every time.

Now they find themselves down 2-0 in the NBA finals to a Lakers team that seems almost mistake-free right now. If anyone come back from this two-game deficit, it's the Magic.

They're going to have to win both games in Orlando to have a chance at winning their first NBA title. Tuesday's Game 3 couldn't be a better time for the Magic to win their first NBA Finals game in franchise history. They're currently 0-6 all time in the NBA Finals.

It's very possible for Orlando to win both games at home. After all, they're one botched lay-up by Courtney Lee from this series being tied 1-1 and everything being completely different. Not to put too much emphasis on one play, but that missed lay-up may cost them the series considering how difficult it is to win on the road at this point in the playoffs.

Jameer Nelson's minutes have to be cut more in Game 3. Rafer Alston has only played 11 more minutes than Nelson in the first two games and that could be disrupting the chemistry that Orlando built in the first three rounds of the playoffs with Alston running the point. Don't try to fix what's not broken.

Alston has been unable to catch any sort of a rhythm offensively since Nelson has been sharing time with him. Alston is only shooting 3 of 17 from the field during this series. Nelson isn't doing much better shooting 4 of 12 from the field, which should be expected since he's been out for so long.

As I've said time and time again, never count the Magic out. This series is still very capable of going seven games.

Randy Johnson Gets Historic Win No. 300

Mother nature was the only thing that could've held back Randy Johnson's bid for win number 300 Thursday. It definitely wasn't going to be the Nationals.

Johnson became only the 24th pitcher and major league history to win 300 games, and only the sixth left-handed pitcher. Now the Giants just have to hope that win number 300 isn't his last.

On a rainy Thursday afternoon, Randy Johnson pitched a gem and left almost no doubt that he would reach the milestone. He pitched six innings and only gave up two hits and one unearned run.

The Giants bullpen almost blew it allowing the bases to be loaded in the eighth inning, but closer Brain Wilson got out of the jam by striking out Adam Dunn.

This is a great milestone for a pitcher that I think is extremely underrated. He may not be the same dominant pitcher who could strikeout 12 batters a game and think nothing of it, but he still manages games. Thursday was a great example of that.

2009 NBA Finals: David vs. Goliath

People have counted out the Orlando Magic this entire postseason, and that included myself. Even going into the opening round series against the Sixers I had my doubts about this team's toughness.

I stand corrected.

However, the Magic are going to have to prove me wrong one more time to win their first NBA championship because the Lakers just look too good for them in this series.

Throw everything out of the window when it comes to the Magic beating their first three teams of the playoffs, because the Lakers are far different than Philly, Boston, and most certainly Cleveland. The Lakers create many matchup problems for the Magic, much like the Magic did to the Cavs.

The obvious first question is who is going to guard Kobe? You can't double-team him heavily like you did against LeBron because Kobe will find his teammates who are very capable of beating you. Double-team Kobe and he's probably going dish it over to Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, or Trevor Ariza. Ariza has elevated his game tremendously this postseason and that could spell problems for Orlando.

Dwight Howard is also going to have a lot harder time having his way with Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom doing the defending down low. It's going to be critical that Howard hits his free throws at a high percentage because the Lakers aren't going to let him just cruise on in and get easy shots.

As gloomy as it might look for Orlando, I still can't count them out completely. This team lives and dies by the three and anything can happen when you're that kind of a team. If Orlando three's weren't falling in the Eastern Conference Finals, then Cleveland might be in the NBA Finals and not Orlando. It's a high risk, high reward proposition for Orlando.

Orlando will probably continue to be effective from behind the arc but it will only take them so far. Players like Mickael Pietrus, Rafer Alston, and Rashard Lewis are all going to have to carry the load on offense to beat the Lakers. It's possible, but it's going to be very tough.

In the end it's going to be a home team's series and this year's NBA Finals will go seven games. Orlando will enter Game 7 living and dying by the three-pointer and the Staples Center crowd will probably get to them. Besides Hedo Turkoglu, none of these perimeter shooter have ever been in this type of situation where the stakes are this high.

Kobe Bryant will not let the Lakers lose at home in Game 7. So the NBA shouldn't be too down on themselves for not getting a LeBron-Kobe NBA Finals, because this will still be a great series with plenty of drama and excitement.

LeBron Exhibited Bad Sportsmanship After Game 6 Loss

All athletes are taught from a young age to be good sports and to shake the other team's hands, even if you lose. LeBron must have skipped that part.

Professional athletes are suppose to be role models to young athletes all over the world. What is a young, aspiring Lebron fan suppose to think when he sees his idol storm off the court and not shake anyone's hand after losing? He's probably going to side with his role model and think it's OK to not shake the winning team's hand.

LeBron's excuse made me laugh even more: "It's hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them. I'm a winner." He also went on to say, "If somebody beats you up, you're not going to congratulate them."

Wow, really? That seems like bad sportsmanship 101 right there. I saw an interesting point in an ESPN.com forum that said that fighters in the UFC, arguably the fastest growing sport in the world, almost always shake each other's hands after a fight. LeBron wouldn't fair to well in that sport or any other sports where sportsmanship is important. I'm sure LeBron would have been more than happy to shake their hands if he would have been on the winning side.

LeBron couldn't even swallow his pride enough to shake his own Olympic teammate's hand after losing to his team. This shows me that LeBron still has a lot to growing up to do before I start putting him in the same group as Michael Jordan or even Kobe Bryant.

There's no denying that LeBron has probably the most talent the game has ever seen, but LeBron obviously has some maturing to do before he sees his first NBA championship.

MLB Power Rankings: Week 8

1. Dodgers (35-18): This team continues to have the best record in baseball and who knows where they would be if they hadn't lost Ramirez. When Ramirez gets back all of baseball better fear this team, if they aren't already. Last week: 1

2. Yankees (30-21): The Yanks went 17-11 in the month of May and now lead the AL East by one game. They still have to beat the Red Sox, which they have yet to do. The pitching is getting a lot better which is propelling this team right now. Last week: 5

3. Brewers (30-21): The Brewers continue to be consistent and win the divisional games. They're 22-9 against the NL Central which will come up huge in any tie-break scenarios at the end of the season. Last week: 3

4. Red Sox (29-22): The BoSox have now been in the Top 5 for five-straight weeks, but another sub-par week and this team may fall out of the Top 5, and more importantly fall further back from the dreaded Yankees. Last week: 2

5. Tigers (28-21): Motown's team is back again, but are they finally here to stay? The Tigers have seemed to have trouble strigging together consecutive wins all season. They're coming off of a four-game split with Baltimore, but you can't argue with that one the road. One player who has come back to his rookie form is Justin Verlander. He's won five of his last six starts and hasn't recorded a loss since April 17. Last week: NR

Almost In:

Phillies (29-20): If the Phillies played the Nationals every game, they would probably have the best record in baseball. Too bad when they play the good teams they seem to crumble. There's still plenty of time for things to get figured out in the city of brotherly love and they still lead the NL East by one game.

Cardinals (29-22): St. Louis has avoided the self-destruction that Toronto has recently gone through, but they're still not playing like they were early on in the season. They've got to start beating the teams they're suppose to beat, like the Giants who took two of three from them this week.

Dropped from the Rankings: Cardinals (29-22)