Seldom have I seen such a swell of emails as came last night the hotter Game 6 in the incredible Chicago Bulls/Boston Celtics series. Yet another overtime game, the fourth in the series - this one a triple affair - that saw the Bulls escape with a 128-127 win despite Ray Allen's 51. If you haven't seen hilites, they're below. Expect to be hearing about this one 'round the water cooler today. Game 7 goes tomorrow...the Vancouver Canucks nearly blew a 3-0 lead in game one of their series last night, but Sammy Salo put them ahead for good and they downed the Chicago Black Hawks 5-3 to remain unbeaten in the playoffs...now comes word that Brett Favrehas hired a personal trainer to get him fit. Seriously, I know the world is fearing Swine Flu, terrorism and a collapsed economy, but I'd be most impressed if President Obama put an end to the joke that is Favre and tossed him in Guantanamo Bay or something. I'm betting there are more than a few Minnesota Vikings fans that agree too...Jaromir Jagr is still entertaining the idea of returning to the NHL and the Edmonton Oilers are his preferred destination. I'm expecting some comment from Bukkake on this one...speaking of Obama, found it odd yesterday to get an email from a guy I work with who has in his signature "Yes we can!" with credit to the source, especially given (1) we're in Canada and (2) nobody of the 6,000 people in my company has anything in their work email signature other than their contact information, maybe a privacy message and one about not printing the email if not needed. People are strange...the New York Rangers are interested in Martin St. Louis. Right, because they don't have enough undersized forwards...maybe it was lost in translation, or maybe it was years of (alleged) performance enhancing drugs have caused some "interal" changes, but David Ortiz said watching Pedro Martinez pitch earlier this year at the World Baseball Classicgave him "hot flashes". Suspect he meant "flashback"...guessing not too many would have pegged the Orlando Magic, minus Dwight Howard, to close out the Philadelphia 76ers last night, but they did just that, and may have saved Stan Van Jeremy (aka "The Master of Panic" as Shaq said) his job...if you haven't seen the latest Gillette ad with Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter and Roger Federer, take a peak here. Speaking of R.F., word is John McEnroe is interested in coaching him. Not sure what McEnroe - himself a great - could teach arguably the best of all the times, but it sure would be interesting. The coolest part of that is that a guy with McEnroe's resume is so willing to praise Federer. You don't see legends of any sport do that too often. Federer has not surprisingly politely declined and when I say surprising, I'm not sure if it is the politeness or the decline that is more surprising...back later with your PTP.
Nobody ever said sports were fair. The New York Rangers thoroughly deserved to win last night's game seven at Washington, but old war horse Sergei Fedorov had different ideas, scoring late in the third to put the Caps into the second round for the first time in 11 years. Up next is a date with the Pittsburgh Penguins - yep, Sid The Kid vs. Alexander The Great - that has to have Gary Bettman legitimately smiling...the other Eastern semi will see Boston face Carolina, who scored two goals late - including a couple uncharacteristic softies on Martin Brodeur - to knock the Devils out...May 8th can't come soon enough for the New York Yankees. Seems that's the date A-Rod will return, on the road at Baltimore...Phil Hughes - Hughesus if you prefer - pitched more innings last night filling in for Chien-Ming Wang than Wang has in three starts this year. The Yankees halted their losing streak with a 11-0 win at Detroit, on the strength of Hughes 2-hitter over 6 innings. Asked post-game about his time in the minors with Scranton, Hughes talked of how much he'd love to stay with the Yankees, despite being a huge fan of The Office and tracking down the sites from the show. Not making that up. Hughes, you may recall, ran a contest on his blog to guess his fav Office quote and gave away the game ball from his first playoff win...Barcelona went 50 games without being shut out but shut out they were yesterday as Chelsea looked to bar the doors and hold on for an ugly road draw. So much for the offensive show that Chelsea coach Guus Hiddink promised...it didn't take long for the New York Yankees to slash ticket prices for those mostly unused seats between the dugouts. They've been cut from $2675 to $1200 per game. Sign me up! Those who paid for seasons already will be refunded or credited. Still far overpriced, but good for them for recognizing things have changed since last year...from the Department of Bad Ideas: a White House hack authorizing a low flying 747 with a fighter jet tailing it over Manhatten as a photo op for Air Force One. Check out this video of Manhattenites freaking out...the other Champions League semi-final starts today with its first game, as Manchester United host Arsenal. I'm expecting a United win, frankly. Too much quality and Arsenal is too inconsistent...and that's all for the San Antonio Spurs, a rare first round victim...good of the Chicago Bulls to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with a late collapse and then overtime loss to give the Boston Celtics a 3-2 series lead...back with your PTP later, have a great Wednesday.
Check out this 4,800 calorie beast a minor league baseball team in Michigan is conjuring up: 1 pound of bread, five patties totally nearly two pounds, five slices of cheese, and a dollop of salsa, nacho cheese and Fritos. God bless America. Please, watch this video to see how it is made...either the entirety of the United States is terrified of the power of Barack Obama, or he's playing people to see if they take a joke seriously. After all, he couldn't have been serious about Congress looking at the Bowl Championship Series. What's next, have them tackle the NFL's overtime rules? The NHL shootout? I'm continually amazed at what is seen as a valuable use of time in an environment where the economy is crumbling globally...not only could the NFL move to 17 or 18 games, they might do it as soon as the 2011 season with the season starting in August. Now if only the NHL and NBA could trim their pre-season's to get things under way sooner and ending sooner. The world doesn't need NHL playoff hockey in June...it only took about a decade, and enough votes that it could've funded at least the lower bowl, but the Florida Marlins are finally getting their stadium, and it'll sit at the site of the now-imploded Orange Bowl...now that he's been accused of being a deadbeat dad, wonder if Toronto RaptorChris Bosh is thinking of skipping town? Or maybe he's just looking for a disguise. I suggest he go under cover as RuPaul...so Cleveland Brown Donte Stallworthhad enough time to flash his headlights at the man he ran down and killed last week, but not hit the brakes. Talk about a guy committed to running his routes...Stephen Brunt of the Globe & Mail told Prime Time Sports that Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett was in Waterloo recently, the same place a certain Jim Balsillie resides. Very interesting...further proof that fools never learn and that Isaiah Thomas can always fool somebody, he's being looked at for a front office job in the NBA. With the LA Clippers. Right, because that'll change things...next up in the "People I Hate" series: People Who Say "I could care less." Listen closely: if you're saying that without obvious sarcasm, that means YOU DO IN FACT CARE because it is possible for you to care less than you do. I'm continually amazed how often perfectly intelligent people get that one wrong in everyday life, on TV, in movies - wherever. Write that down, clown, does it look like that means you don't care?...March Madness resumes tonight and you can look forward to Duke going out to Villanova...have a great Thursday, back with your PTP later.
You can now call them the Sixburgh Steelers as the Super Bowl champs now have six of the trophies to top the rest of the league. It was a fantastic game virtually start to finish and particularly the fourth quarter. Maybe the best one yet? Ben Roethlesberger completed 70% of his passes and was money when needed most in the final drive. Is it me, or does every play Santonio Holmes makes seem huge? Not sure anyone would think the Steelers win a game in which they gave up 407 yards, but win they did...another season of the NFL come and gone in a flash. The beauty of the NFL is in its intensity - 5 months of meaningful games. By comparison, the NHL started a month later and is barely half way through its regular season. You simply cannot sustain attention for that long...destined to be the hottest selling jersey in the CFL: Saskatchewan Roughriders running back Justin Beaver...you'd think that Michael Phelps would know enough to not let a picture be taken while he's hitting a bong, no?...the Detroit Tigers are looking at trading a starting pitcher or two. I'd imagine you would, when they're virtually all garbage...wanna know what 1474 megapixels looks like? Check out this incredible picture of Barack Obama's inauguration, and zoom to any point in the picture. Crazy stuff...Toronto Raptors GM Bryan Colanagelo is denying a report from Stephen A. Smith- and we know what the "A" is for - that says Chris Bosh has told the team he will not be staying after his contract expires after next season. My guess is that Smith will end up being right, but doesn't have any actual information of substance. He's likely just playing the guessing game so he can end up saying "told you!" when Bosh leaves, which I think he will...Craig Hartsburg'sout as the Ottawa Senators coach and surprisingly, Pat Quinn isn't coming in, at least not yet. How a team with Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfreddson can't score is beyond me...word is Matt Casselcould be moved to Kansas City, where former New England Patriots personnel whiz Scott Pioli is now the general manager. Could he net the Pats a #1 pick? You'd think so, when Cassel is proven unlike everyone else in the top of the draft class the Chiefs might be looking at...Jamie Langenbrunner scored three game winners in multiple goal games last week. Impressive...New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs says Plaxico Burress cost the Giants a trip to the Super Bowl. That ought to do wonders for team chemistry if, as believed, Burress comes back...back with the PTP later. Have a great Monday.