Bruins throttle Canucks

Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals saw things get real ugly in more ways than one.  First, Boston Bruin playoff stud Nathan Horton was stretchered out after a nasty blind side hit from Vancouver Canuck Aaron Rome. If you didn't see the hit - what rock are you living under?  Here it is again.  Nasty.  Had to laugh that post-game, Don Cherry said Rome would get a game.  I've got my money on rest of the series, with 5-10 games to go next season.  Of course, when Ron MacLean said between periods that Horton was "moving his extremities" when he left the building, Cherry added he was "moving his hands and legs too" so you can see what his thoughts are worth.  And no, he wasn't being funny.  Horton's playoffs are over with a bad concussion.

Of course, the other key way the game got nasty was on the scoreboard: the Bruins pasted the Canucks 8-1 after the Horton hit rallied them.  Down the stretch, predictably, things got testy as they tend to do in blowouts, and players were getting tossed left and right and Milan Lucic, among others, even waved a pair of fingers in the face of Game 1 biter and all round dirt merchant Alex Burrows. There was a whole lot of hate on last night, and the Bruins took more than a few runs at the Sedin twins.  Game 4 goes tomorrow and it should be quite interesting, a lot more interesting than the first couple games were anyway.  Up today, Rome is on the carpet with the league.  Damien Cox speculated that he might get a game, five, or twenty...or Horton might get a delay of game penalty, such being the logic of NHL discipline.  Solid.

The last year before this the active leader in wins as a pitcher had under 200 wins? How' bout 1879.

The NFL is prepared for a season as short as eight weeks?  What would they do, just play divisional opponents?  That'd be a real credible Super Bowl winner.

In Dirk Nowitzki's 1998 NBA Draft, six of the top 20 picks were white Americans. None made an All-Star Game.  Dirk and the Dallas Mavs host Miami tonight in Game 4 of their final series.

Great story on Cincinnati Red Brandon Phillips.  A 14-year old suggested to Phillips on Twitter that he should come out and watch his team play that night and with the Reds off that day, Phillips surprised the boy and his team with an appearance.  Very cool.

If you're like me, this will stun you.  The nickname for Boston Bruin Nathan Horton, as confirmed by coach Claude Julien, is...believe it or not..."Horty".

Why I sometimes hate NL baseball: LA Dodgers pitcher Ted Lilly is now on an 0-42 run at the plate.

The Gold Cup is in full swing, the North and Central American regional tourney.  Canada faces the host U.S. in Detroit at Ford Field tonight.  Uncle Sam's Army will be in a surly mood I'm sure after they were pounded 4-0 by world champion Spain on the weekend, but Canada has been known to surprise in this tourney.  8pm kickoff on SportsNet One.

The Cleveland Indians are sliding badly, having dropped five straight.  Not good timing, with the rest of the division riding streaks of a game (Chicago and KC), three games (Detroit) and five games (Minnesota).  The slide has seen the hot New York Yankees move into top spot in the AL.  Not bad when the Yankees offence - homers aside - has yet to really get going this year.