When the Friday Night Lights fade and Saturday afternoon gives way to Sunday, a player has been in action for roughly ten years. This doesn't count Pop Warner though. Over the past few years, football has owned the sports and overall ratings, leaving baseball in the dust. The rise in the NFL's popularity has led some to call football America's new national past time. There are very few other sports that are televised nationally from high school (thanks ESPN) to the professional ranks. People even clamor to watch the draft.

Football has become big business. Still, in the rush to honor the sport a lot of those who paved the way have been left behind. The Hall of Fame was opened in 1963. Teams like Green Bay, however, have been in business since before the 1920's. This sets up a debate between generations and eras. This gap will no doubt be the hardest part of these debates.

Just like the MLB Faces, each teams face will be decided by debate. The space below will be reserved for arguments for a player, coach, or owner. I will use direct quotes in the descriptions. I will include my choice for my hometown team to get folks started. Remember, the person named doesn't need to be the best player or coach, just the person who epitomizes the team.

My pick for the Lions: Barry Sanders RB

The Lions are a long and storied franchise. Before they were incorporated into the NFL, the were regular contenders for the championship. Since joining the League, the Lions have lost their luster. An undersized, shifty running back out of Oklahoma State brought a measure of respectability back to Detroit. During a 10 year career that spanned the 1990's, the Lions made the playoffs 5 times. Sanders finished his career as arguably the best running back in the game. He racked up 15,269 yards and may have had the most rushing yards of all time had he not walked away from the game in 1998.

Spending Fathers day with my Grampy, my mom and Princess Katie...

Greetings from the Hoodwood, where family above all is the most cherished thing. Sports come and go, but family is the oneliest thing.

NBA: Spurs bombing the Heat to the brink

Before I start…the Spurs just made another 3 pointer. In any case, the Spurs and Heat have been trading off wins through the first five games of the NBA finals. After the Spurs won the first game, the wonks were just about creaming themselves lauding how the Spurs were finally going to be the team that were going to put the Heat in check. I was mildly annoyed at how these same wonks were discounting the Heat’s blowout game 2 win, actually chiding the Heat for “running up the score” in their wins in games 2 and 4. The Spurs were jacking up (and making) threes like they were going out of style led by legitimate Finals MVP candidate Danny Green making a mind blowing 25 3’s…that’s not a team total, gang. That’s Green by…him….self! And like I said it would be 2 weeks ago. The Finals is 3-2, and though the Spurs not the Heat are leading the series I am sure

NBA: The rumor mill spins faster. Could Doc and KG be headed to LA?

I detailed some of the wild machinations of the NBA coaching carousel last week, some have been filled in as former point guards take up the helm in Detroit and Brooklyn. Maurice Cheeks is well traveled having coached in Portland and Philly with limited success (I mean he was the coach of the so-called Jail Blazers) and will get a chance to revive the sorry Pistons. Jason Kidd will move right from the court to the first chair as head coach in Brooklyn, many people are puzzled that the well traveled Kidd will get a head coaching position with no experience. Especially with great assistant coaches waiting such as Brian Shaw who seems to be getting passed over for job after job. The job that seems to have the most intriguing subplots to it is with the Clippers and Celtics. It seems that Doc Rivers has taken a real interest in the position last held by Vinny Del Negro. The Celtics are steadfast in their refusal to allow the Clips to talk to Rivers who has three years left on his current contract in Beantown, The Celtics are coveting DeAndre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe. But the Clippers not looking at all like the easily suckered Clippers of old have steadfastly refused to part with Bledsoe. The Celtics and Clips are still trying to create a deal that will allow Rivers to go to LA and possibly with Kevin Garnett. The Clips are also said to be looking to make a deal that would move Blake Griffin to the Lakers for Dwight Howard. This is looking like this could be a tumultuous off-season and the Final aren’t even over.

NHL: This could be a classic

The Blackhawks won a 4 hour thriller in game 1 of the Stanley Cup and the Bruins parried with an OT win of their own in game 2. The Bruins, now with home ice advantage held it as they rode Tuukka Rask to a  pair of sharp 2-0 shutout in game 3. Im looking at this series like it just might be the sort of NHL classic that would be a nice coda to the truncated season that was pushed to the brink of non-existance just 6 months ago. The names that are playing aren’t really household names, but to the hardcore sports fan the names that are in the series are big enough. A pair of original six teams that are battling for the ultimate hockey prize. Im looking at this one going 7 and the 2-0 game 3 score might be looked at as the biggest blowout of the series. And these two teams are fast developing a healthy hatred for one another that will make this series more edgy as the games get more and more crucial

MLB: Basebrawling

The Dodgers and D’Backs are another pair of teams that are developing real dislike if almost hatred for one another. Look at the events of last week involving veterans like Zach Greinke and Ian Kennedy as well as rookie phenom Yasiel Puig. When Puig got hit in the face by a Kennedy pitch, Greinke was obliged to hit a Diamondback in kind. Though Greinke hit a D’Back with a pitch, plunking Miguel Montero it took four pitches to do so prompting both benches to clear.

Ian Kennedy then followed with this and were playing the feud!

Though the brawl was a bit silly, I thought it interesting in the number of former big-name players who are now coaches that were in the middle of the brawl. Kirk Gibson and Don Mattingly as the managers along with Don Baylor in the middle of the brawl. Mark McGwire and Matt Williams were all very heated, McGwire looked like he was in the middle of a serious roid rage as he and Williams tangled in this fight. The suspensions that were handed out were numerous and Kennedy got the brunt of the suspension getting a ten game dock. But the one that might have gotten away with a big part of the fight was Puig who was seen pounding the shit out of someone in that clip. I think that the bad blood between these two teams are far from over. Princess Katie jokingly said it looked like a brawl between the Bloods and Crips. These teams think of themselves as warriors and fighters the brawl seemed to be more pushing and shoving than a real knockdown bare knuckle fight.

Phat Dap/Head Slap

Phat Dap

To the management of 790-AM The Zone in Atlanta. They responded swiftly to the boneheaded antics of trio of sports radio talk show hosts. Nick Cellini, Steak Shapiro and Chris Dimino of the Atlanta Sports Talk station morning show thought it would be funny to mock someone with ALS. The jocks thought their bit mocking former Steve Gleason who is battling ALS was humorous. They found out quickly that not only was it not amusing but a fast track to the unemployment line. As someone who has worked in radio and in sports talk radio you always look for something topical and often times edgy, but this was crossing the line. Making fun of ALS is not funny…ever. Bully to the station management who was quick to repudiate the actions of these numbnuts and I hope they never work in this business again. Maybe Me, Sully and Mo could take over that show. We have a whole hell of a lot more common sense than these jackasses that rightfully got the gate.

Head Slap

A pair, first To MMA fighter Chael Sonnen who called LeBron James “a dork” in a recent taping of the Jim Rome TV show. Sonnen seems to think that winning a gold medal and an NBA title doesn’t qualify James as a world champion.

Im not a big Sonnen fan to begin with but his ripping on LeBron is pointless. Would he say the same thing against Kobe, Timmy D or Shaq? No? Advice to Sonnen stay in your lane.

Thats the view from the Hoodwood, until next post fellow Sports Fans!

I’m still trying to reconcile the difference between Fathers Day and Mothers Day.  Mother’s day is like an all weekend experience.  Mom sleeps in, breakfast is served (because she would DEMAND it), some school work is presented and several hundred dollars of jewelry is presented in a nice bag.  The whole day, if not entire weekend is all about MOM.  Father’s day is like a 10 minute window, where you’re awakened at 7 AM on a Sunday with cold scrambled eggs, a kids ass on your face (usually with at least one fart), and a bag of stuff you didn’t want.  “OH, thank you.  I’ve always wanted a ‘2004 Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cup Champions’ cap.  Didn’t I just see a bunch of those at the closeout store?”

At 7:10 AM, your “day” is over, you’ve got a new $5 necktie purchased at Big Lots, and a forehead that smells like ass.  I actually did get good stuff, in particular a sweet pair of Under Amour kicks. I'm thinking that is to say, "maybe you shold get back to the gym." By 7:30, I'm in the car heading to Dunkin Donuts to pick up some iced coffee for Mrs. Day's over.

I planned it correctly this year though.  I have a weeks’ vacation to burn, so I’m taking this week off.  Up at 7 on Sunday?  Fine, you know why?  Because I’m sleeping in on Monday, and again on Tuesday...and Wednesday...and Thursday...and Friday.  Of course, that only puts off all the work I’m doing in the yard.  Ask anyone here at the Gab, the best post Mo puts up all year is the post AFTER vacation.  The only question is, how much of that post is dedicated to Mo getting hurt?  Please post your over/under prediction below.  

I was exhausted by the time Bruins/Blackhawks went into the first intermission, so I clicked off the television with the score at 1-0 Chicago. I spent almost an entire hour with network news and still didn't learn the outcome to the game - why the hockey hate? I learned about the spelling fail at the "COLLLEGE World Series," and the NBA finals heading back to Florida for Game 5, but nothing on Lord Stanley's Cup. Disgraceful. I got the score from my Facebook feed on my way to Dunks. Oh, the humiliation.

This year, for Father’s Day, I got a bacon bookmark (I usually “read” audiobooks) and a book entitled “Assholes: A Theory.”  Now, don’t get me wrong.  It’s perfect.  That’s what worries me: my daughter, for the first time spending her own money on a present for me, nailed the perfect present, but it concerns me that she felt okay giving her old man a book with that title.  Christ, it wasn’t until I was in my 30’s and getting married for the second time that I shared “Life Sucks Then You Die” with MY dad, and at that point it was close to 20 years old (see about 1:29 in).  The man who had never uttered anything stronger than calling someone a “donkey” (e.g. “ass”) in front of me chuckled.  When I was a kid, I liked to rummage through my parents crap.  Well, buried at the bottom of my dad’s stuff was this bobblehead that looked like the San Diego Padres logo.  If you pushed the Padres’ head down, this colossal...um....member...popped out from under his robe.  I knew Dad was down with “Life Sucks” but it was just weird, you know, being all real with the man.

So, I’m going to the Red Sox/Rays game on Tuesday free.  No, it’s not a fathers day gift. This sales weasel  in my office couldn’t give the tickets away to not one, but TWO prospects, so he asked if I wanted to go.  It’s a 1 PM game on a Tuesday.  Not exactly a draw for the important business man.  But for me?  Perfect.    I love the Red Sox and I love Fenway.  Fenway is a shrine, no temple, to the baseball enthusiast and to the tourist alike.  However, despite the great proximity to the field, it’s a terrible place to see a game.  Poles, obstructed view seats, seats pointed in the wrong direction.  But, it’s my park, MY teams home field.  Fenway Park.  The Jake? Camden Yards?  Citi Field?  Forget it.  I’ll take Fenway anyday.  Those are better baseball stadia for sure, but they’re not Fenway.

The Red Sox weekend series with the Orioles didn’t start off too well, but that didn’t stop me from posting a picture of a dead oriole I took outside my office.  Nothing says, “I think you suck”  more than possessing a picture of your opponent’s mascot while dead.  Try pulling that with the Red Sox.  What are you going to do?  Go to a Walmart dumpster and look for overstock?  It works out nicely, really, when your team is named for laundry.  Socks no less.  Tell me, what modern expansion team would dare name themselves after an article of clothing.  You can’t  We have Sharks, and Marlins, and Panthers (two sets of Panthers, no less).  No jock straps, athletic supporters, or boxer briefs.  I’m betting “Polo Shirts” would work out nicely though.  Just think of the gear.  The logo could be some 1980’s DB with his collar popped.

At the beginning of the season I wondered who was going to finish in last place: the Yankees in their “larks” or the Red Sox in their diapers.  Well, almost 70 games into the season, the Yankees are in third place 3 GB.  There’s still a lot of fluidity there, but I’m happy it’s the old men and not the kids hitting the skids first.  Plenty of baseball left to play, but for now, I’m pleased as punch.  I know, I must be an a-hole.

Well folks, enjoy the rest of the week - I guess there's some basketball still being played, but I'm too wrapped up in NHL Stanley Cup to know what to say about that. Go B's and I'll see you back here next week.

Howdy, good morning and good day. Welcome Gabbers and others to my NASCAR updates and other fast stuff. Lots to talk about this week. Some sad stuff, eye rolling stuff, stuff to cheer about and race stuff mostly. Oh, before I forget...HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!!!

JASON LEFFLER KILLED IN SPRINT CAR 

That picture above is of Jason Leffler and Tony Stewart way back when they both were in the JGR stable. Tony's kind of skinny. Jason was killed Wednesday night at the Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey during a heat race. Fellow NASCAR driver Dave Blaney witnessed the wreck and said the way the car veered into the wall suggests that something broke. 

Autopsy results said he died from a blunt force neck injury. His team said he was wearing a Simpson Hybrid Head & Neck device which is one of 6 restraint systems approved for use by NASCAR.

Seems Jason was well liked by all. He didn't have a Cup ride this year but got a Start & Park ride last week at Pocono. He was not happy about the arrangement but drove the laps and parked. He's gone back to his dirt track roots and has been driving Winged Sprint cars most of this year.

He had 4 USAC Championships, 3 consecutive USAC Midget titles from 1997-1999 and won the USAC Silver Crown Championship in 1998. Unfortunately his dirt track experience didn't translate to NASCAR. He drove in the truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series but just didn't do as well there. He did have 2 Nationwide wins. One was Toyota's first win in Nationwide.

Tony Stewart said that he enjoyed talking to Jason about up coming races or the one they were in and would miss not being able to talk to him any more. Tony will race over 100 races this year between NASCAR and his Winged Sprint Car. Tony is one of the few drivers who doesn't have to worry about the sponsors telling him no to the extra racing.

Kasey Kahne said he had flown with Jason to Pocono last week. He owns Sprint Car teams but hasn't raced this year preferring to concentrate on his Cup ride. He had a meeting with the teams to make sure the cars were safe this week.

Kasey and Tony as well as other drivers feel the tracks and cars are as safe as they can be but accidents do happen. They don't plan on making too many changes if any. Most all drivers at Michigan this week agreed. It was an accident and racing is dangerous. 

Jason had LEFturn painted on his roof above the door of his race cars. He leaves behind a 5 year old son named Charlie Dean Leffler. This is just a sad day in racing. My condolences to the Leffler family. R.I.P Jason Leffler. You died doing something you loved which is more than most can say.

This would be Stewarts Winged Sprint Car.

CHASE ELLIOTT WINS POCONO ARCA 200

Bill Elliott's son Chase became the youngest driver at 17 years to win in the ARCA Series. He drove his #9 Aarons Dream Machine Hendrick Chevy to victory on June 8th. Chase said he got good advise from his dad who won here 5 times. He remembered being in victory lane with his dad so this was extra special that dad could be with him in victory lane for his win. Happy Fathers Day to Bill Elliott and congrats to his son Chase.

EDWARDS DRIVES HENRY'S FORD

Carl Edwards got to drive Sweepstakes. That's what Henry named his car. It was a 1901 Ford that Henry raced against another car on Oct 10, 1901 at a dirt horse racing track. He won the race. Carl said he got the car up to 20 -25 mph and was more scared than driving his car at 205 mph around Michigan Speedway. It was said that Henry got his car up to 73 mph. 

KESELOWSKI MAKING FRIENDS

Keselowski was at it again. Seems he was talking to the media and we all know how that goes. Keselowski made accusations that Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports have been stealing employees and information from other teams. Of course you know he got a response.

Gibbs response was that he was surprised and a bit upset. He said that Keselowski's comments were misguided and irresponsible and that he would do well to speak on subjects he is properly informed of. He feels he has a very good personal relationship with Roger Penske too. He said we look forward to competing with Brad in the future and hope he uses better judgment going forward.

Hendrick responded as well. He said that we hired the back up tire changer at Penske who's contract was up, a mechanic from the Penske team in the Nationwide Series and a few guys from the Penske engine shop that shut down. He said Brad forgot to mention the tire changer they got from him.

He feels that everything was done above board and that it is part of doing business in a competitive environment and that Roger would agree. He thinks that Brad should spend more time  focusing on his own program and less time making accusations and insinuations about other teams. He needs to represent himself and this sport with a little more class.

And to think Hendrick was trying to hire this guy a couple years ago. Yup. Making friends is what it's all about.

TRD TO UP ENGINE POWER FOR MICHIGAN

Last week in light of the 6 motors that went poooooof this season, Toyota dialed back the motors in the JGR and MWR camps to make sure the motors would make it through the race. Well they did and the highest Toyota finish was Kyle in 6th. So this week they're amping up the motors. Hamlin will be given extra because he sits 25th in points and needs W's and to get into the top 20 in points to make the Chase. Mark Martin will get all out power. Don't put him in your line up this week. I'm seeing a great big POOOOOOOOF in his future. Mark is hard on motors any way and so is Michigan. Kyle, Kenseth, Truex and Bowyer will get variations on the tweaking up of the motors. So we'll see how the track turns for Toyota Power this week.

POCONO RECAP

See that huge Lowes? Not only is it one of dads favorite places but that's your winner. The Jimmie and Chad Show was on. All Jimmie & Chad almost all race long. So how'd he get to victory lane? Lets check my notes.

At the drop of the green flag it's Jimmie on the pole and on the bottom lane. Edwards in 2nd spot takes the lead at the moment. By lap 2 Kahne has gone to the pits complaining of a possible drive train issue. By lap 5 he's in the garage getting a new trans and Jimmie's still 2nd.

Lap 17 sees Jimmie in 1st, Edwards, Dale Jr, Harvick and Kenseth

Lap 22 Khne is back on track and green flag pit stops are in progress. Jimmie leads after all are done and a reminder for all to go to QLRacing.com to enter the contest for getting your mortgage paid for a month if Ryan Newman comes in the top 5.

Lap 44 Jimmie leads, Danica is 25th and Hamlin is complaining about a delay when he shifts into 3rd.

Lap 65 is a caution. Somebody threw their blanket onto the track? That's a new one. Danica is the lucky dog. She had gone a lap down. Everybody pits except Newman and he now leads the restart but Jimmie takes it back. Everyone is told to save fuel.

Caution with 28 laps to go Montoya spins out and takes Kenseth with him. JERK!!!! That's my fantasy league he's messing with. Keselowski bumps into Stewart on the restart. They save it but Keselowski has fender damage.

With 23 laps to go another caution for Almirola getting into Blaney. And around they go.

Jimmie still out front and complaining of a vibration. 

With 13 to go another caution for Allmendinger in the #51. His left front tire has gone down. He gets down onto the apron and into the pits. Gordon complaining he's way too tight. Jimmie has a vibration and he's still in the lead.

With 7 to go Blaney goes into the wall and caution. On the restart Jimmie takes the lead again and Biffle flies up to 2nd. Poor Dale Jr. Just not enough to get the 48. 

Top 15 finishers - Johnson - Biffle - Dale Jr - Stewart - Newman - Kyle - Kurt - Hamlin - Harvick - Logano - Burton - Gordon - McMurray - Bowyer

MICHIGAN  INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY PREVIEW

EDWARDS has the pole this week. Roger Penske once owned this track from 1996-1999. It's a 2 mile lap around a repaved track. New pavement and a new car says throw out last years notes. Last years winner was Dale Jr. This is an endurance track. It eats motors. Mark Martin has 54 starts here. Jeff Gordon has 954 laps led here. Last year the cars were so fast that Goodyear brought 6 year old tires for the left side to slow them down. Didn't do much. We'll see high speeds and blown motors. And we;ll see Superman on Dale Jr's hood. 

Last years top 10 finishers - Dale Jr - Stewart - Kenseth - Biffle - Johnson - Gordon - Bowyer - Montoya - Ambrose - Harvick

​I'm afraid for the Toyota's this week. They'll need the speed to win. So Toyota better not skimp too much on the tweak up. Mark Martin is good on this track but I see a poof in his future and Hamlin too if he's not careful. The other Toyota's (Kenseth, Kyle, Truex & Bowyer) will be good but not fast enough.

Johnson is on a roll. 

Dale Jr has his Mr Steady Eddie title back.

The Roush crew of Biffle, Edwards and Stenhouse will be at or near the front. Look for Edwards or Biffle in the top 5 or W spot.

Stewart & Newman have shown some life. Pocono was a 4-5 finish. Looking good,

Logano starts 6th. He's coming off of a 10th at Pocono.Teammate Keselowski needs to stop running his jaw and concentrate on driving. He was 12th here last year. Not feeling a good finish this week.

McMurray had a 13th finish last week. He's getting closer. The HMS motors have really helped but bad luck has undone those awesome motors. Montoya too. They're both due for a top 10.

Kahne continues the erratic season. He's up and down as of now. A 34th place finish and 19 laps down is not good for Chase championships. I can't recommend this guy. He starts in the top 5 but.......

Gordon is another up and down driver this season. A 12th place finish does not a championship run make. He should do good here but again I can't recommend you pick him either.

C listers I'd recommend. David Ragan, Casey Mears, Ricky Stenhouse, and David Gilliland. Again expect about a 20th through 30th place finish. Stenhouse should do more. He's in power house equipment. This SHOULD be a good track for Danica. It's fast and she's supposed to be fast. She finished 29th at Pocono last week on the lead lap. 

So there you have it. Again I want to wish all the dads out there in Gabville a HAPPY FATHERS DAY. Hope it's a great day for grilling and chilling. And...

I'm outta here....

.

Happy Father's Day Weekend to all of you Dad's out there.  I hope everyone has a special day tomorrow with your families...for many of us, hours spent with Dad often meant something to do with sports.  Probably all of us Dad's spent some time doing what we see here...teaching a son or daughter to hit & throw.  If not that, then to shoot a hoop and play some sort of defense or maybe play "horse" or a lively game of one-on-one on a driveway hoop.  A lot of Dad's put in the extra hours as a youth coach of a baseball, basketball or soccer team.  If you haven't done it yet, you should give it a go.  Yes, you have to put up with pain in the ass parents who think their kid is going to be the next LeBron James, but when you look back on it, that's not what you remember.  You remember being there as your son or daughter made a play that they will never forget.  A lot of Dad's spend many hours watching youth baseball games...I kept score for my son's games up through Legion ball.  That was a lot of hours watching often tedious games go on forever...and I wouldn't give up one minute of it.  I coached basketball for my sons and daughter...watched lacrosse (no expertise there), did a couple of years of baseball as a coach before I decided I was better suited for the scorebook.  Now, I am trying to get them on the golf course - actually my daughter and son-in-law are taking me out next weekend - because it is still one game I can beat them at!  

In my view, Dad's and sports are forever linked.  We teach them how to play, get them to the game on time and then teach them who to root for.  (My brother-in-law who is Redskin Fan #1 has failed at this - his daughter has embraced the Ravens...nothing wrong with picking a winner!).  Now I can commiserate with my oldest son after another Caps flame out and we can debate the merits of RGIII playing too soon.  It's a tie that binds.  So we celebrate Dad's this weekend and we celebrate their connection to Sport.  So thanks Dad for taking the time to play catch, watch my games, take me to the ball park and the Redskins games and for buying Caps season tickets in 1974 (we were in the seats for Game 1, and we are still suffering...and no, you are not the reason that they lose.  No single fan can jinx a franchise!).    Thanks for playing catch with my kids, too...they will never forget the wiffle ball home runs over the fence or better yet over the house.  

Happy Father's Day to All!

Other sports news of the week....

U.S. Open has Phil Mickelson at the top of the leaderboard after 2 days at Merion.  

First things first...what is the deal with the wicker basket on top of the pin?  Nobody seems to know why they use them - only that they have been around for a long time.  It would seem like flags would be more helpful providing wind information, etc.,  but there you go...something unusual to think about.

So Phil has the early lead and is one of a couple of guys at -1 after two days.  The U.S. Open is really a battle of attrition.  Somehow even this incredibly short course at Merion is proving to be a match for the field of long hitting pros.  A bounce off the fairly and you are hitting out of 5 inch rough.  If you have never played in those conditions, you have no idea what a huge penalty that is.  I played two courses - Pebble Beach and Oak Hill - at tournament time and I have nothing but admiration for these guys that can actually get the ball to the green out of that grass.  For most of us, we need the one club not in the bag - the foot wedge - to get back into play.

Tiger is at +3 and four shots back, which does not seem like a huge problem, but on a course like this those strokes will not come easy.  My guess is that +4 will win the Open so that there is a lot of drama and players in contention starting tomorrow morning.  If you made the cut, you have a shot.   How about the amateur kid from Taiwan...he is even par?!  That would be something!  I'll root for nice - guy Phil and his beautiful family on Father's Day!

NBA Finals...for everyone who was hoping the Spurs were going to pull off the upset, I think Dwayne Wade stole that idea away with the big game 4 performance.  Now we are guaranteed of games in Miami and I do not see San Antonio pulling off the big upset on South Beach.

Stanley Cup Finals...I wish I could say I could stay awake through 3 OT's the other night, but I can't.  I woke up about 2 AM and had to flip to the NHL channel to get the final score.  That is a great start to these final between two classic NHL franchises.  Going back to the Original 6 days though, they were hardly dominant back in the day.  It was all Montreal all the time, and when it wasn't the Habs, it was the Leafs.  Sure the Bruins, Hawks and Red Wings popped in there and then there was the fluke Rangers win in '40, but for the most part, nostalgia about the Original 6 when it comes to Cups lies North of the Border.  For this series though, it is up for grabs right now.

Everyone have a great weekend!