Baltimore Oriole Adam Jones - seen at left - was detained by Canada Customs who have taken to holding back any athletes with criminal records.  Wonder who they got him mixed up with?  Hmmm.

The Stanley Cup Final starts tonight with Chicago hosting Philadelphia, two teams that were 26th and dead last just three seasons ago.  There ought to be a lot of post-whistle trash talk as both feature some yappy players. Between the two, 29 of the 40 players that closed out their respective conference championships are Canadian born, so expect Don Cherry at his nauseating finest. Who wins? I've got Chicago in six. You?

UFC 114 goes tonight in Las Vegas, with a juicy main event of blood rivals Quinton "Rampage" Jackson facing Rashad Evans.  This one ought to be nasty given the venom each have been spewing about each other for over a year now.  I'm going to call Rampage to win by knockout, but no result would surprise me.

Toronto FC travel to San Jose to face the Earthquakes. With a week between games, it'll be interesting to see if TFC retain momentum. Methinks they win 2-0, even on the road where few MLS teams are tearing it up.

The NBA's top free agents this off-season - no need to name them again and add nauseum - are said to be ready to hold a summit to discuss their plans.  Sounds like Dirk Nowitzki will be among them as well, as he's likely to opt out of his Dallas Mavericks contract.

Steve Nash is promising the Phoenix Suns win today to force a Game 7.  Often, I find guys making "guarantees" annoying, largely because unlike Joe Namath or Mark Messier, they so often don't come through, but I'd really like to see this one happen.  Nash rules.  The winner of the Western Conference will move on to face the Boston Celtics, the surprise representative of the East.  The Celts closed off Orlando last night.

My hatred of Wince Carturd for his Toronto Raptors days has been well documented over the years, but honestly, he may have been supplanted by Hedo Turkoglu, who is trying to justify his unavailability for a game this season because he had a sore tummy and was later seen out on the town.  Funny that despite talking of how he was only at the venue he was photographed in for 15 or 20 minutes and left, he doesn't say he went home.  Hedon't now wants out of Toronto.  Here's hoping it happens.  Thanks to GBV for the linkage.

The Boston Red Sox through 49 Games in 2009 were 28-21 with 256 runs for and 229 against. This year, through 49 they are 27-22 with 255 runs scored and 238 against, aided by a couple solid weeks.  That said, two straight losses to the Kansas City Royals have a way of killing some of that momentum.

The Philadelphia Phillies were first team in modern history to go five straight games without scoring against the opposing team's starter. Seems impossible for any team, nevermind one with as many weapons as they've got.

Before passing away yesterday, Gary Coleman had fallen and hurt his head. So much for "the bigger they are..."
Best wishes to long time reader Boris D on the day of his nuptials.  All the best, my friend.

Beer isn't only for drinking.  You can also catch a baseball with it first, and then drink it, like this Chicago Cubs fan did this week.  Awesome.