Take your time getting that Final started, NHL

First there was Chris Bosh selling a phantom blow and then last night, Lebron James acted like he got snipered when he wasn't even touched and then winked to his bench after drawing the foul. Stay classy, Lebron. The Heatles downed the Chicago Bulls last night thanks to an 18-3 run to close the game to complete a 4-1 series win. They'll get the Dallas Mavericks next in the NBA Final.

Hard not to figure out who is running the show in the NHL when the Stanley Cup Finals schedule gets announced by NBC and not the league. For the efforts of winning the President's Trophy and Western Conference, the Vancouver Canucks will have all their games - home included - starting at 5pm local time. That's a joke.   Also a joke: they're starting Wednesday, after the Eastern Conference sorts out its winner tonight in Boston.

After losing Wednesday, Toronto Blue Jays starter Jo-Jo Reyes has 28 consecutive winless starts dating back to June 13, 2008. Over that time period, 67 pitchers have won 28 or more games. The most wins since Reyes' last win: CC Sabathia has 58, Roy Halladay has 56, Jon Lester has 52, Justin Verlander is at 49, and surprising - to me anyways - Bronson Arroyo has 46.

What do Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwan, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant have in common?  Answer: one of them has been in the NBA Final since 1979.  And salary caps ensure parity.  Uh-huh.

Ian O'Conner, author of the new book on Derek Jeter, says the day the New York Yankees ask Derek Jeter to move from Short Stop is the day he retires. Don't be shy now, Brian Cashman.

The Boston Red Sox have 28 runs their last two games.  The San Diego Padres have 12 runs in their last 9 games.

NFL Commish Roger Goodell is still beating the drum of an 18-game NFL season, saying it is something season ticket holders want.  When season ticket holders are paying full ride for four pre-season games, of course they're going to want an 18-game, 2 pre-season package instead.  That's hardly sound surveying.

The Champions League final goes tomorrow and while the head says Barcelona, it isn't clear in my mind like it was weeks back.  I think Manchester United just might win this one, with a 2-1 scoreline in Edwin Van Der Sar's, and possibly Paul Scholes, swan song, though Scholes won't be starting if this article showing United's starting lineup is true.

The Wal-Mart Bounce.  There are no words.

The Mavs carry the hopes of sports fans everywhere

Check out the ink on Monta Ellis of the Golden State Warriors.  Wow.

Nice work by the knuckleheads at the Canadian Soccer Association - and what could we expect of them but stupidity? - in putting the safety of fans and players at risk by trying to force-fit the Canadian Championship at BMO Field last night in the middle of a torrential biblical downpour with lightning flashing last night. Guess they didn't notice the stands are, you know, metal.  The game was called with Vancouver leading 1-0, but wasn't an official game as it didn't reach the 75th minute, so will be replayed in full on July 2nd at BMO Field.

I made a crack on Twitter about it being hard for Buck Martinez to not trip over his words as it must be hard to speak with Jays dick in your mouth and I immediately get followed by somebody who has a site called "Buck Blunders".  Exactly how it sounds.  Remember when he was a great colour guy?  Was that real, or was that just Dan Shulman carrying him?

The Dallas Mavericks finished off the Oklahoma City Thunder - and you'll be hearing plenty from the Thunder the next few years - to take the West and await a date with most-likely Miami, where they'll carry the hopes of Heat Haters everywhere.

The Tampa Bay Lightning scored an impressive win over Boston last night to take their Eastern Conference championship to a 7th game tomorrow night.  Awesome run by Steve Yzerman's crew, and quite the turnaround no matter what they do tomorrow.  Martin St. Louis is a pint sized beast.

GBVH, brother of RM, son of Flicka, noted that in the Chicago-Miami game on Tuesday night, with four minutes left to play, the Vancouver-San Jose NHL game was intermission.  In the time it took to complete the four minutes of hoops and a five minute OT, the hockey game's third period had already begun and finished.  The forced drama of NBA timeouts is beyond ridiculous, and if I were to rank the worst things in sports, that would have to rank near the top of my list.

St. Louis Cardinal Albert Pujols has been top 3 in MVP voting in 8 of his first 10 seasons, with three wins, but only once has he been among even the National League's top-10 salaried players when he came in 9th in 2006.  He's not exactly having a contract year for the ages this year, is he?

Poor Andrea (that's pronounced: AN-dree-uh) Bargnani.  GM Brian Colangelo cracked him weeks back for his lack of effort on defence and in rebounding - shortcomings so obvious Stevie Wonder can see them -and Andrea's panties are in a bunch and he wouldn't mind moving to another team, preferably in a warmer climate.  Don't let the door hit you, plank.

Isn't it a bit odd that NHL players won't touch the Conference trophy but have zero problem putting on the Conference championship hats and t-shirts? Uh...ok.

Baseball is a cruel, vicious game.  Toronto Blue Jay starter Jo Jo Reyes is winless in 28 trips to the bump, but the Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Wilson Valdez picked up the "W" for the Phil's last night in a 19 inning win over the Cincinnati Reds.

It is worth noting that the San Francisco Giant fan beat into a coma by LA Dodgers fans on opening day won't have to worry about his kid's tuition for college: Barry Bonds will be taking care of it.  Good on you, BB.

Now former Chelsea manager - and how insane are they ditching that guy because they had the nerve to finish second in the EPL and bow out in the semis in the Champions League? - Carlo Ancelotti says he'd take Wayne Rooney over Lionel Messi.  I love Rooney, but that's another planet entirely as I'm not sure I've ever seen Messi have a bad game - quiet ones, sure - or do anything that hurt his team like virtually every other player - Rooney included - can and does.

Foo Fighters main man Dave Grohl does limericks at a show last week: There once was a hooker from Dallas, who used a dynamite stick as a phallus, they found her vagina in North Carolina, her asshole at Buckingham Palace.

Ivan Hrvatska is a big, big fan of the Vancouver Canucks, and has a remix of his 2008 classic saluting the team's playoff win.


Half-time at the Miami Heat-Chicago Bulls game.  Wonder what this cameraman was thinking of?

We're back!

After a couple weeks down after the birth of my awesome little boy - the second - we're back in business.  Man a lot happens in the course of a couple weeks! 

After Monday night's gag job, up 15 late in the fourth quarter and letting the Dallas Mavericks steal it, it is going to be real tough for the Oklahoma City Thunder to shake the name  "Chokelahoma City Blunder" loose.  Looking increasingly like the hopes of the world will be pinned on the Mavs to not let the Miami Heat win the title, with the Heat holding a big 3-1 lead over the Chicago Bulls in the East.


It took overtime and five mostly tough, tight games, but the Vancouver Canucks are back in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1994 and carrying the misguided hopes of a nation, from all I'm reading. The Sharks went out 3-2 in overtime last night and the Canucks will await the winner of the Boston-Tampa Bay series, which sits at 3-2 for the Beantowners right now.

With the sad death of Randy "Macho Man" Savage last week, over 25% of the WWE "superstars" that appeared at Wrestlemania 7 - because we hate Roman numerals on events - have now died, 14 of 51.  That was 20 year's ago, if you're wondering.  Crazy.  Savage was, for my money, one of the five best to ever grace the ring.  My other favs in no particular order: Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock.  I was torn between Bret Hart, Edge and The Rock for the fifth, but gave The Rock the nod on stronger stick work.  Add your five in the comments if you will.


That was an awesome Jose Canseco impression Jose Bautista pulled.  Relax people, I'm not going there, I'm referring to his play in the outfield last night that let not-exactly-fleet-footed Jorge Posada stretch a bottom of the 9th single into a double, allowing the Yanks to complete a rally from down 4-1 into a 5-4 win over Toronto.  Not sure how the Yanks are in first in the AL East, they've been mostly awful for three plus weeks.

Toronto FC host Vancouver Whitecaps tonight to decide the Nutrilite Canadian Championship after last week's 1-1 draw in Hongcouver.  I won't get into what that means for tonight - if you already care, you already know.

Only thing I'll say on Posada's episode last week is this: when Alex Rodriguez was dropped from clean-up to eighth in the playoffs a few years back - a far bigger drop than moving from 7th to 9th like Posada was asked to - he didn't ask for a day off or remove himself from the lineup.  And some still call Posada a team guy?  Please.  Stuns me that nobody mentioned this.

The San Francisco Giants have 13 wins at home this year, and seven of those have come on walk-offs.

It is Champions League week, the last big game on any club soccer calendar for this season, with Manchester United, EPL champions, facing Barcelona, La Liga champions, in London, England this Saturday.  Can't wait.  Legend Pele thinks that United's rising star Chicharito has a chance to be as good as Lionel Messi.  That's...something.

Kristian Jack at The Score reviews the EPL season that's now in the books, looking at each team and what their top players were, and who reasonable transfer targets might be.

Question: do you think the NFL players would rather see a more stringent labor deal, or seeing WADA handle drug testing, like the NFL is saying it might move towards for handling testing?  I'm guessing most would prefer the former.

This one makes my blood boil.  The Cincinnati Reds are likely moving to a dynamic ticket pricing system, the same type thing you see used by airlines that sees prices fluctuating on demand.  If that is a trend setter, and I would bet it is if it works, I shudder to think what that will do to ticket prices whenever an on sale date is hit.

Ninja Turtle Soup, from the good folks at Epic Meal Time, featuring the most amazing shredder/grater I've ever laid my eyes upon.


Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake are back with another awesome SNL Digital Short, reminding you of The Golden Rule: it's not gay in a three-way.

Blogger down!

Can't log into the site - looks like a network wide problem - so another day delay for the return of RM.