Get your Sport Maven Dog

There was a lot of action this past week, and a lot going on this upcoming week with playoffs and the such in full swing. Don't forget to put ketchup and mustard on your concession weenie this week, with the post of "ketchup" catching you up on the past weekend madness and the "mustard" to add spice to your weekly conversations on sports.

The Ketchup

A little Lakers and some Nuggets: Two great games this past weekend. The series is tied at 2-2 at the moment and is looking to extend through the full 7 games. Neither team seems at full advantage playing at home, although last nights game in Denver seemed to get and extra boost from the crowd to keep the Lakers at bay the entire time. The big news is that Carmelo Anthony was playing super crappy because of stomach problems and a sprained ankle; but the other players including J.R. Smith, Nene, Billups, Kenyon Martin... actually everyone played phenomenal. Game 5 is back in L.A. and has huge implications on who might take the series.

Add some Cavalier and a pinch of Magic: Tonight the Magic play the Cavaliers at 8:30pm in Orlando. The Magic have been playing well at home and are hoping to take a dominant 3-1 lead over the Cavs. Over the weekend, LeBron James hit a 3-pointer with1.0 seconds left on the clock in Cleveland. If it weren't for that shot, the Cavs, looking championship or broke, could have been staring at a 3-0 Magic series lead. Instead, if the Cavs win tonight, the series will tied at 2 and2 of the last 3 games in King LeBron's court (Cleveland).

Can you add a side of Red Wings and BlackHawks to the order?: Over the weekend, the Red Wings took a dominating 3-1 series lead over Chicago behind the magnificent play by Hossa and Fillpula during the playoffs. The Red Wings hope to finish of the Hawks Wednesday night during game 5 at home.

Hold the Hurricane this time but definitely load on the Pittsburgh: Penguins are dominating the Hurricanes and seem to have had a larger test while playing Ovechkin and the Capitals. The Hurricanes scoring at will and Fleury blocking everything in the net. Canes expected to pack it up tonight at home.

On the side fries, how much would it cost to cake on some of that NBA Lottery?: The LA Clippers have rights to the first pick in the upcoming NBA draft and are most likely going to take Blake Griffin although there might be some changes with Ricky Rubio and his agent trying to land him in L.A. Memphis has the second pick and Oklahoma City the 3rd.

Do you have any Orange slices?: Syracuse University destroyed Duke 17-7 and met Cornell in the National championship game. It took overtime to beat Cornell in 10-9, and claim their 11th National Championship and 5th under coach Jon Desko. Go Cuse!
The Mustard

Can I make the order Rachel Alexandra sized?: The Belmont Stakes is coming up in a few and owners of philly Rachel Alexandra are hesitant to place the female horse in the race citing that she is not ready and also has nothing to prove.

Can I get the secret Cleveland Indians and Ray sauce?: The Cleveland Indians scored 9 in the 8th and 9th innings last night to surprise the Tampa Bay Rays 11-10 last night in Cleveland. The Rays-indians will compete in a 4 game series. The Indians have not won in Cleveland since the 2005 season and have lost 14 in a row. Let me repeat that, 14 in a row in Cleveland.

I need a second order of the same for my friend Serena Williams: Serena Williams in action this week in the French Open as the #2 seed. She was beating Czech player Klara Zakopalova at the time of this posting. On Wednesday she and her sister compete in the first round of doubles in the 2009 french Open.

Good Week to be a Sports Fan

The last few weeks have been good to the sports fan. Almost all sports shared a little bit of the limelight and there has been a lot of action lately between the NHL playoffs, NBA playoffs, the MLB season, horse racing, Euro soccer Boxing, and NASCAR. Lets get you caught up on what is happening right now in each sport.

NBA Playoffs
The Conference Finals have been decided and are about to get underway. The last two teams representing the Eastern Conference are the #1 seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and the #3 Orlando Magic. The Cavs and LeBron James have swept two series so far in the playoffs, and look to try the same against the Magic. The Magic may prove a little more difficult for the Cavaliers than the others because the Magic are the only team in the league with a regular season winning record against the Cavs winning 2 of 3. Hedo Turkoglu matches up well against LeBron James and should be able to muscle him around more than others have. The two teams representing the West are the #1 seeded Los Angeles Lakers and the #2 Denver Nuggets. This will be a very physical series and the Nuggets strength is the Lakers weakness. The Nuggets have a point presence and the Lakers have shown this season that they are unable to guard against teams with a strong point. The Rockets took 3 of 7 from the Lakers with the use of Landry and Brooks controlling the point. The Nuggets have a much better point presence in Chauncy Billups and Dahntay Jones. The 4 teams features in the Conference Finals are all plaing their best basketball of the season and the games i will imagine will all carry to game 7's.

NHL Playoffs
The NHL is also down to it's Conference Finals with the East game pairing up The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Carolina Hurricanes; and the West hosting the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks. The Penguins have the playoffs equivilent of "Wayne Gretzsky" in Sidney Crosby and the leagues top goalie and will have it out against the NHL's best defense in the Hurricanes. Should be a great matchup. The Red Wings are playing magnificent hockey right now and won 4 of 6 regular season matches against the Hawks including embarrassing the Hawks during the outdoor Winter Classic at the beginning of the season. The Blackhawks are young, but have a lot of fire and are peaking at the right time. The offense led by Martin Havlot (who has scored 6 goals in the last 5 games), and Andrew Ladd could do some damage to the Red Wings.

MLB Season
The MLB season is beginning to mature and some teams are beginning to show their dominance in the league. There are players that are having a large impact on the teams that they are playing with and trades that have been paying off significantly. Raul Ibanez is playing his best ball for the Phillies and juan Pierre is playing well as Manny Ramirez's replacement. Evan Longoria continues to improve with each game and new stars are emerging in Brandon Inge and kansas City pitcher Zack Greinke who so far has pitched 60 innings and has a .60 ERA. See standing s here: MLB Standings

Horse Racing
The June 6th Belmont Stakes are upon us, the third leg of the Triple Crown. The Kentcky Derby was won by 'Mine that Bird' and the Preakness was won by horse 'Rachel Alexandra'. 'Mine That Bird' placed second in the Preakness Stakes and did not race in the Derby. 'Mine That Bird' is a Medaglia d'Oro filly and was the only female horse to race in the Derby. It is unsure whether 'Rachel Alexandra' will race in the Belmont Stakes; if she does, then there could be a possible exciting showdown.
Euro Soccer
The Championship Euro Final will match up the Manchester United and Barcelona on May 27th at 2:45pm ET. This matchup will pair the two biggest stars right now Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo.

NBA Playoff Festival 2009

The NBA playoffs began last Saturday (4/18) and we will take a look at the different 1st round match-ups and keys to victory for each team. Click here for playoff match-ups and bracket.

Eastern Conference

#1 Cleveland vs. #8 Detroit

Cleveland: The Cavs look great this season and are hungry for a championship. The fans and players will be disappointed with anything less than a championship. To beat Detroit, the Cavs will need to dominate inside the paint with Rasheed Wallace back in the lineup playing center.

Detroit: The Pistons have one of the deepest benches in the League and will have to wear down the Cavs in order to beat them. They don't have anyone who really matches up with LeBron, but if they can send in enough guys so that he always has pressure on him or is double teamed for most of the game, Lebron may find himself in a game where he begins to take poor shots from around the arc and making only half or fewer of what he usually does.

#4 Atlanta vs. #5 Miami

Atlanta: The Hawks have an amazing defense and match up well with the Heat's quick ofefnse. forcing turnovers by the Heat will lead to the hawks taking this series. the Hawks need a big series from Al Harford and Joe Johnson.

Miami: Miami has become pretty dependent on their star Wade to keep thier team in the running. If they get him the ball like they have been and feed him quick options and outlets, the team should click and will be unstoppable.

#3 Orlando vs. #6 Philadelphia

Orlando: The Magic are starting to get their team back from injuries and just in time for the playoffs. Once the Magic get back in sync as a team, they should be able to dominate the lack of depth and experience of the Sixers. Dwight Howard taking shots from inside and Lewis from around the preimeter could prove a deadly combo against the Sixers.

Philadelphia: To beat the Magic, the 76ers need to continue to look to their bench and wear down the Magic's starting 5. The Sixers bench is deeper than the Magic, and if they can survive the first three quarters, should be able to finish with the win.

#2 Boston vs. # 7 Chicago

Boston: Boston is at a disadvantage at the getgo with Garnett sidelined for the playoffs. Glen Davis fills in for his position pretty well but is a little slow when matched up against the speed of the Bulls center Joakim Noah. To beat the Bulls, the C's need to stick with their game and not get sucked into the scrappy quick ball of the Bulls.

Chicago: The Bulls lack experience in the playoffs and have been playing inconsistent ball. The Bulls need to look to the rookie phenom Derrick Rose to play well against the Celtics, but it will be interesting to see how Rose matches up opposite Rajon Rondo.

Western Conference

#1 Los Angeles vs. #8 Utah

Los Angeles: The Lakers are playing great ball right now period and should find themselves in the championship game this year. The Lakers match up the first round against a great but hurting Jazz team. The Jazz have played the Lakers well this season and have been one of the only teams to slow the Lakers in any regards. That is when the Jazz play at home of course. To beat the jazz, the Lakers have to win one in Salt Lake.

Utah: The Jazz took three from the Lakers last season in the playoffs and almost pulled the upset win. They are looking for revenge and are digging deep to find what they had at the beginning of this season and carrying it over into this game. The Jazz should beat the Lakers at home during the series and will have to have big games from their top players to match the energuy coming off the Laker bench.

#4 Portland vs. #5 Houston

Portland: The Trailblazers have a chance to rock the Rockets this series if they can play more aggressive than the other team. Putting pressure on Yao inside by Przybilla and Aldridge will wear yao down quickly and allow for the Blazers to force shots to be taken from the outside.

Houston: The Rockets can beat the Blazers if they play consistent basketball throughout the entire series. The Rockets have been known to slide if there is any indication that the team might not pull through with a series victory. If they pull ahead in the series, they should follow through in winning the series against the playoff inexperienced Blazers.

#3 San Antonio vs. #6 Dallas

San Antonio: San Antonio is the same San Antonio and the Mavs are the smae Mavericks. The Spurs are dangerous in the sense that they have tasted championship and know what it takes to get there. The Spurs need to play good defense and make sure that the Mavs shooters don't ever get the chance to heat up.

Dallas: The Mavericks have a good chance at beating the Spurs because they match-up well size wise and speedwise. The Mavericks have played poorly on the road and need to play well on the road to have a chance at this series. The Mavericks have a great bench and arguably the 6th man of the year in Jason Terry, who could provide a huge weapon against the defense of Tony Parker.

#2 Denver vs. #7 New Orleans

Denver: The Nuggets are on fire heading into the playoffs, with play from Billups and Anthony at their best. The Nugget bench is deep and the Nuggets are considered to have the best offense in the West. To beat the Horns, the Nuggets need to put pressure on Paul and do all they can to keep him under wraps. This will be one of the most exciting series in the playoffs.

New Orleans: The Hornets need Tyson Chandler to be healthy and play more minutes. He missed about a month and the Hornets have been feeling it without their big man. To knock off the Nuggets, the Hornets need to allow Paul to do his thing on defense against the potent Denver shooters and get Chandler the ball inside on offense.

Master Meltdown

The competition during the Master's this year was a little different than it has been in years previous. The main draw of the final round in the Master's tourney this year was not necessarily the matchup between Perry and Campbell, or the three way 2 hole playoff, but the excellent play by Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods who both came within a single stroke of claiming the lead for the "Green Jacket" heading into hole #15 - #17.

Kenny Perry, who held the lead going into the final two holes, needed pars or better to claim the title, bogeyed the last two holes to cause a 3-way tie for first. He previously played magnificently birdying 15 holes total over the weekend. The two bogeys at the end, gave Angel Cabrera (the eventual tourney winner) and Chad Campbell a shot for the prize in a 2 hole playoff match. Cabrera eventually won the Master's.

The following article/video are well done by Gene Wojciechowski from ESPN, giving a great summary of the final round at Augusta: Link

April 2K9

Recent Happenings:

1. The North Carolina Tar Heels won the NCAA National Championship against the Michigan State Spartans
   
2. The UConn Women's team won the National Championship with a perfect season and tourney (39-0) beating Louisville
   
3. Major League baseball began this week and the Marlins and Rangers are both surprise undefeated teams
4. In the NFL, the Bears traded for Jay Cutler and sent Orton and two draft picks to Denver.
   

Occurring Now:

1. Tiger is making his comeback at the Masters
   
2. NBA playoff seeding, The reguar season ends the 15th of April
   
3. 4 teams in the NHL battling it out for the West #7 and #8 slots. (Ducks, Blues, Thrashers, and Wild). The East is set and the regular season ends April 12th.
4. The current English Premier League Standings: Manchester United #1, Liverpool #2, Chelsea #3, Arsenal #4
   

In the Next Little While:

1. Sunday, April 12th, 3:30pmET Cavs vs. Celtics in what could potentially be the East title series match-up this season
   
2. Monday, April 13th, The Yankees-Rays series starts.
   
3. The WNBA season starts May 21st.

1. Watch NHL this weekend, it is one of the most exciting playoff races in recent years:
   

Nashville Thrashers vs. Minn Wild at 8ET 4/10/09
Blues vs. Blue Jackets 8:30ET 4/10/09
Stars vs. Ducks 10:00ET 4/10/09
Blues vs. Avalanche 5:00ET 4/12/09

March Round-Up

March Madness

NCAA- The Elite 8 match-ups are upon us and the teams left will make for some marquee games. Of the teams left, none can be considered "True Cinderellas". The teams that have made it this far are the teams that saw success throughout the season in the tougher conferences. Look for tomorrow's match-up between UNC and Oklahoma to be one for the ages on March 29th (5:05pm ET) with Missouri embarrassing Memphis during the Sweet 16.


NCAAW- The Women's tourney has been different than in previous years due to the scheduling of games. The NCAA went back to the 16 site format vs. previous years 8 site format. Because traditionally attendance to the games in the first few rounds have been particularly low, the association decided to name locations based on proximity of teams that qualified for the tourney for the first 2 rounds in hopes to get more people in seats at the games. Crowd attendance has increased as hoped, but teams closest to the location are getting the advantage having the games held in their home state. Needless to say, there have been some games where a team will have the majority of the fans in the stands while other teams are at a disadvantage playing in a hostile environment. Because of the additional home court aid to some teams, there have been some major upsets. #9 Michigan State beat #1 Duke in Lansing, Michigan during round 2 action. #7 Rutgers upset #2 Auburn in Piscataway NJ in the second round. Also, Oklahoma now has home court advantage up through the Final Four.

Check the bracket here for upcoming match-ups.

NIT- There are four teams left in the very competitive NIT Tourney. On March 31st the NIT semifinals will be held with #1 San Diego St. playing #3 Baylor and #2Notre Dame playing #2 Penn State. For a Wikipedia history of the NIT tourney click here.

World baseball Classic
Japan took home the championship in an extra-inning thriller vs. Cuba. The U.S. team was knocked out by Japan in the previous round semi-finals match. This is the second championship classic for the Japanese.
NBA
Teams are currently jockeying for playoff positioning. The Eastern Conference 8 teams are all but set except for the 8th seed Detroit is desperately trying to hold onto. Detroit has struggled through injuries with Wallace, Hamilton and Iverson all injured the past couple of weeks so the race for that 8th seed between Detroit, Charlotte and Milwaukee could be a good one. The West top 8 positions are also pretty solidified at this point with Phoenix and Dallas fighting for that 8th seed. The West teams below 9th are pretty far off. See standings here.

NHL
In NHL news, the playoff race is really tight especially in the Western Conference. in the West, there are still 7 teams with a chance to slide into the top 8 qualifying positions. Both Colorado and Edmonton have great shots with the majority of their remaining games being played at home replacing Nashville. There are 2 weeks left till Stanley Time.

Let the Madness Begin! Round 1... Fight!

The NCAA Men's basketball Tourney bracket was released Sunday, and now one of the best weeks in sports is upon us. There were a few surprises like VCU, Portland State, Oklahoma State, Boston College and Mississippi St. that barely made it in with the help of their respective conference tourneys and some teams that got their bubbles burst on Sunday; including Kentucky, St. Mary's, UNLV, Davidson, and Weber State.

This year will be one off the most competitive tournaments ever. Any team has the potential to knock off other teams the way that the season has been going. The four #1 seeds in the tournament are Louisville, UConn, Pittsburgh (Big East teams), and North Carolina, but the #2, #3, and #4 seeds all have been ranked in the top 10 at one point or another during the season.

First round games to make sure you watch (ordered from awesome to good):

Match-up, Location, and Time

• Utah St. vs. Marquette Boise, ID 3/20 @ 12:30pm

The game will be played in Boise, ID close to Utah State and Utah State dominated the WAC and most of the teams that it matched up against and finished with a solid record. USU is playing its best basketball of the season. Meanwhile Marquette has been mixing it up in the Big East Conference knocking off teams that underestimate their talent. Should be a great game and a huge upset if USU knocks off the #4 seed.

• Cleveland St. vs. Wake Forest Miami, FL 3/20 @ 9:40pm

Cleveland St. has had a fairy tale season emerging out of nowhere to dominate in the Horizon League and knock off some talented teams like Syracuse and Butler. Wake Forest has been playing fairly well also, especially earlier this season beating both conference foes Duke and North Carolina.

• Washington vs. Mississippi St. Portland, OR 3/19 @ 5:00pm

Mississippi St. is playing good ball right now and has a young and speedy team much like the build of Louisville's team. They just won the SEC tourney out of nowhere and are poised to win more games. Washington has had a great season and has a deep bench and lots of talented players who have been playing very consistent basketball.

• Ohio State vs. Sienna Dayton, OH 3/20 @ 9:40pm

Sienna from the Metro Atlantic Conf. played very well in the NCAA tournament last season and knocked off then #16 Vanderbilt in the first round. They haven't beat any strong teams this season though. OSU made it into the competitive Big Ten conference tournament championship but lost to Purdue.

• Portland St. vs. Xavier Boise, ID 3/20 @ 7:25pm
  

Xavier has a dominant big man team that should be interesting to watch against the feisty quick ball play of Portland St.

• Clemson vs. Michigan Kansas City, MO 3/19 @ 7:10pm

Two pretty evenly matched teams should make for a great game.

• BYU vs. Texas A&M Philadelphia, PA 3/19 @ 12:30pm

BYU is back for blood after getting knocked out of the Big Dance last year by the Aggies. BYU won the MWC but lost in the tourney to SDSU. A&M meanwhile, has played well but lost their last game at Texas Tech.

For a copy of the games and bracket check here: Bracket