SportSpectator Blog

June 15, Week in Sports

:: Lakers Win NBA Finals (Pro. Basketball)

:: Pittsburgh Penguins Win Stanley Cup (Pro. Hockey)

:: Tiger Prepares for U.S. Open (Golf)

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VALIDATION: KOBE, LAKERS WIN TITLE

On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship over the Orlando Magic after winning Game 5 of the Finals by a score of 99-86. This is the Lakers’ first championship title in seven years.

The Lakers are a powerhouse franchise, so their championship can hardly be considered surprising–especially since, at the beginning of the year, analysts across the board picked them as one of the favorites to win the Finals. And yet, this championship is just as much about Lakers guard Kobe Bryant as it is about the Lakers organization. Bryant has been criticized by many for never winning a championship without Shaq. Now, Bryant has silenced those critics by winning a championship ring “on his own,” and being named Finals MVP in the process.

This Finals series could have gone very differently, had the Orlando Magic executed better. The Magic will have a long off-season as they reflect on all the missed opportunities they during the championship. Missed shots, missed free throws, sloppy defense, and turnovers doomed this Orlando team, and made for a relatively easy victory for the Lakers.

Quote of the Week: “Kobe Bryant has the NBA title he needed most–the one without Shaq.” — Associated Press

Further Reading: “Seven Year Itch” — Associated Press, via ESPN

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PANIC IN DETROIT: PENGUINS TOPPLE RED WINGS IN GAME SEVEN

On Friday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins stunned the league by beating the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Pens came back from an 0-2 series deficit, and ultimately finished off the Red Wings in Detroit.

The Red Wings were favored in Game 7, mainly because they have been virtually unstoppable at home during the 2009 post-season. However, after a tightly played first period, Max Talbot of the Penguins scored two goals in the second period, and Detroit was in desperation mode for the rest of the game. Jonathan Ericsson of the Red Wings cut the Penguins’ lead to 2-1 with just 6 minutes left in the game, and as the final seconds ticked away, Detroit had an opportunity to tie the game. But Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made a diving save as time expired, and the Penguins became the Stanley Cup champions for the first time since 1992.

Since Friday’s victory, the main storyline has been the behavior of Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby after the game. Red Wing Kris Draper accused Crosby of “snubbing” Detroit captain Nick Lidstrom. Crosby, who shook hands with many of the Red Wings after he finished an on-ice celebration following the game, denied the insinuation that he had been a sore winner. The story is sure to fade quickly, though it certainly adds fuel to the fire for those within the league who already dislike Crosby.

Quote of the Week: ”The torch has been passed. From Mario Lemieux, the heart and soul of this franchise, to a new generation of wondrous talent. Let the dynasty talk begin. And, yes, a dynasty is in the offing.” — Bob Smizik, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Further Reading: “Well-dressed, clean-shaven no way to end it” — Mitch Albom, Detroit Free Press

TIGER, TIGER BURNING BRIGHT

This week marks the start of the U.S. Open, the second of the four major championships in professional golf. As with every year, the final round of the U.S. Open will be played on Father’s Day Sunday.

Of course, going into any major championship, the focus is on Tiger Woods. Tiger’s performance this year is especially anticipated since last year, his victory over Rocco Mediate at the U.S. Open was one of the greatest golf performances of all time. Now Woods is after his 15th major championship at Bethpage in New York. The last time they held the U.S. Open at Bethpage in 2002, Woods was the winner.

The media will also be focused on Phil Mickelson, the closest thing that Woods has to a rival. Mickelson recently announced that his wife Amy is suffering from breast cancer. His family’s plight has been highly publicized, so he is expected to be a fan favorite this weekend.

Quote of the Week: ”Woods is preparing to defend his title this week at Bethpage Black on Long Island…but he’ll forever be asked about the week in Southern California when he hobbled to victory on two stress fractures in his tibia and a knee that just more than a week later would be surgically reconstructed.” — Bob Hariq, ESPN.com

Further Reading: ”The Torrey Story ” — Bob Hariq, ESPN.com

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK

:: GOLF: The U.S. Open begins on Thursday of this week. The final round of the tournament will be played on Father’s Day Sunday.

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ALL-SPORTS UPDATE

ACTIVE SEASON

:: BASEBALL

MLB (Pro. Baseball): The 2009 season is underway, and it runs through October. [Official MLB Website]

:: BASKETBALL

NBA (Pro. Basketball): The 2008-09 NBA Finals are now over, with the Lakers defeating the Orlando Magic in win the title.  [Official NBA Website]

NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL (College): “The Tournament” is now over. The University of North Carolina won the 2009 national championship over Michigan State. [CBS Sports]

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:: FOOTBALL

NFL (Pro. Football): Now that the NFL Draft is over, things will be relatively quiet until training camp begins in the middle of July. [Official NFL Website]

NCAA FOOTBALL (College): The college football season is now over, with Florida defeating Oklahoma in the national championship game. [NCAA Football, ESPN]

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:: GOLF

MEN’S GOLF: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Major Championships: The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open (The British Open), and the PGA Championship. The U.S. Open will be played this week. [Official PGA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

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:: HOCKEY

NHL (Pro. Hockey): The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings to win the 20090 Stanley Cup.  [Official NHL Website]

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:: TENNIS

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. The next Grand Slam tournament is Wimbledon. [USTA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic

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April 13, Week in Sports

:: Angel Cabrera Wins the Masters  (Golf)

:: North Carolina Wins National Championship (College Basketball)

:: Angels Pitcher Murdered by Drunk Driver (Pro. Baseball)

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TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL

On Sunday afternoon, Angel Cabrera won the 2009 Masters at Augusta National. Cabrera is the first person from Argentina to ever win the Masters.

At the end of the final round, three players were tied for the lead–Cabrera, Chad Campbell, and Kenny Perry. Those three players then proceeded to compete in a sudden death playoff. Campbell was eliminated after the first hole, and Cabrera defeated Perry in the second hole to win the tournament. It was especially emotional for Perry, who played an exceptional tournament and led for almost the entire day on Sunday.

As always, on Sunday afternoon everyone was watching closely to see if Tiger Woods could make a comeback. Woods was paired with Phil Mickelson, and the two rivals both had an outstanding round–at one point pulling within one shot of the leader. However, both Woods and Mickelson made key mistakes down the stretch, knocking them out of contention.

Quote of the Week: “I felt that when Tiger and Phil were making a move, I had to make a move myself.” — Angel Cabrera

Further Reading: “Cabrera wins his first green jacket ” — Associated Press, via ESPN

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WELL-HEELED: UNC WINS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

The North Carolina Tar Heels won the national championship last Monday, defeating Michigan State by a score of 89-72. Winning the NCAA tournament is the greatest achievement in men’s college basketball.

It was hardly surprising to see the Tar Heels as the victors this year, since going into the season, they were ranked the best team in the country. Moreover, two of their best players, stars Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough, returned to the team instead of going to the NBA. While nobody expects Hansbrough to be anything more than a mediocre player in the NBA, Lawson truly matured as a player during this season, and he is now regarded as one of the best college players in the country. This was evident on Monday night, when Lawson set a first-half record for steals and scored a game-high 21 points. Michigan State seemed overmatched very early on in the game, and they never recovered.

North Carolina has now won the national championship five times, which puts them in a tie for third place with Indiana University. UCLA has had more success than any other program, with 11 national championship titles.

Quote of the Week: ”I think we lost the game in the first 10 minutes. We turned the ball over, and they hit every shot.” — Goran Suton, Michigan State player

Further Reading: “Carolina reign: Heels dominate Mich. State, claim national title ” — Marlen Garcia, USA Today

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TRAGEDY IN LOS ANGELES

Promising young pitcher Nick Adenhart and two of his friends died when their car was struck by a drunk driver on Wednesday night. The alleged drunk driver, Anthony Thomas Gallo, was charged with murder.

Adenhart was just 22 years old and this was going to be his first full year in the major leagues as a pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In fact, the rookie had been the starting pitcher for the Angels earlier on the night of the tragedy. It was his first start of the season and the best outing of his young career. Also killed in the crash were two of Adenhart’s friends, Courtney Frances Stewart and Henry Pearson. On Friday, Orange County prosecutors filed three murder charges against Gallo.

Adenhart’s death is the latest in a long string of tragedies for the Angels franchise, going back to the 1970s, when three Angels players were killed in car accidents. In 1978, outfielder Lyman Bostock was shot and killed, and a decade later, reliever Donnie Moore shot his wife (who survived), and then killed himself.

Quote of the Week: ”He felt like a major leaguer. His life’s goal was to be a major league baseball player, and he certainly achieved that standard.” Scott Boras, Adenhart’s agent

Further Reading: “Nick Adenhart, Angels pitcher, killed in Fullerton crash ” — Christopher Goffard and Christine Hanley

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK

:: PRO. BASKETBALL: The NBA playoffs begin on Saturday. Entering the playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers have the best record in the East, and the Los Angeles Lakers have the best record in the West.

:: HOCKEY: The Stanley Cup playoffs begin on Wednesday. The San Jose Sharks have the best record in the Western Conference, and the Boston Bruins have the best record in the Eastern Conference.

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ALL-SPORTS UPDATE

ACTIVE SEASON

:: BASEBALL

MLB (Pro. Baseball): The 2009 season is underway, and it runs through October. [Official MLB Website]

:: BASKETBALL

NBA (Pro. Basketball): The 2008-09 season is currently underway. The playoffs are scheduled to begin next Saturday.  [Official NBA Website]

NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL (College): “The Tournament” is now over. The University of North Carolina won the 2009 national championship over Michigan State. [CBS Sports]

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:: FOOTBALL

NFL (Pro. Football): Now that the Super Bowl is over, the next major NFL event is the draft, which takes place in late April. [Official NFL Website]

NCAA FOOTBALL (College): The college football season is now over, with Florida defeating Oklahoma in the national championship game. [NCAA Football, ESPN]

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:: GOLF

MEN’S GOLF: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Major Championships: The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open (The British Open), and the PGA Championship. The next Major Championship is the U.S. Open. [Official PGA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

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:: HOCKEY

NHL (Pro. Hockey): The Stanley Cup playoffs are currently underway.  [Official NHL Website]

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:: TENNIS

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. The next event is the French Open, which takes place in May. [USTA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic

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OFFSEASON

March 30, Week in Sports

:: NCAA TOURNAMENT DOWN TO “FINAL FOUR” TEAMS (College Basketball)

:: TIGER WOODS WINS ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL (Golf)

:: UCONN ACCUSED OF RECRUITING VIOLATIONS (College Basketball)

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FINALLY! FOUR TEAMS LEFT IN NCAA TOURNAMENT

The second weekend of the NCAA tournament has come to a close, and the field of 64 teams has been narrowed down to just four, known as the “Final Four”–UConn, Villanova, Michigan State, and North Carolina.

Two of the four teams–North Carolina and UConn–are one seeds in the tournament. Meanwhile, Pitt and Louisville, the two other one seeds, were eliminated by Villanova and Michigan State, respectively. In a year that has only seen a handful of truly great tournament games, perhaps the best of them all took place on Saturday night, when Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds muscled up a last second shot to knock off the Panthers. However, there were practically no memorable upsets from this year’s tournament–which is a shame, since other than office pools, one of the nation’s favorite parts of the tournament is rooting for the underdogs.

Within a week, two of these Final Four teams will be sent home. On Saturday, Michigan State plays UConn and North Carolina plays Villanova. The two teams that survive Saturday’s games will play for the national championship on Monday.

Quote of the Week: “It’s going to go down as one of the great games in NCAA tournament history, that’s for sure” — Seth Davis, CBS analyst, on the Pitt-Villanova game

Further Reading: “Pecking order hard to decipher in this year’s Final Four ” — Mike Lopresti, USA Today

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DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK
Tiger Woods, who recently returned from recovery from knee surgery, won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in dramatic fashion on Sunday afternoon. Once again, Woods drained an improbable putt on the green of the 72nd and final hole of the tournament to seal the victory.

Woods started the day five shots back, and by stealing the win he matched his career-best comeback, which came on the PGA tour in 2000. Today’s stunning finish came at the expense of Sean O’Hair, who was tied with Woods going into the final hole of the tournament. O’Hair went into Sunday’s round with a big lead, but like so many others before him, he was unable to prevent the onslaught of Woods, who is almost undoubtedly the most dominant athlete of his generation.

There were certainly analysts out there who doubted whether Woods had fully recovered from his surgery, but Woods put those fears to rest today. Next comes the big test for Tiger: is he sharp enough to win the Masters, the first Major Championship of the year, which starts in two weeks? One thing is for sure, all eyes will be on Tiger, and everyone will be expecting nothing less than the miraculous.

Quote of the Week: ”The guy is the greatest pressure putter who has ever played the game.” — Johnny Miller on Tiger Woods

Further Reading: “Tiger returns to winning at Bay Hill ” — Associated Press, via Golf.com

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SORRY, UCONN’T DO THAT…

According to a report released last week by Yahoo! Sports, the University of Connecticut–known as UConn–was guilty of major recruiting violations in the acquisition of former player Nate Miles. Getting busted for “recruiting violations” is a nightmare for any collegiate team, in that it often results in suspensions for coaches, limited recruiting allowances for years to come, and scholarship restrictions at the very least.

This comes at the worst possible time for UConn, who just reached the Final Four in the NCAA tournament. The goal of every college basketball team is to get to this point in the tournament, and for that moment to be tarnished by reports of recruiting violations is unfortunate for the Huskies. According to the report, Nate Miles came to UConn after being recruited by Josh Nochimson, a professional sports agent and former UConn student manager. Furthermore, Nochimson reportedly paid for food, lodging, and transportation for Miles during the recruitment process, and members of the UConn coaching staff knew what Nochimson was doing. After the initial Yahoo! report surfaced, other sources dug up even more damaging information. ESPN, for instance, discovered that Nochimson had committed similar infractions in the recruitment of at least one other player, and the Tampa Tribune claimed that Nochimson even paid for a knee surgery for Miles in 2007.

The reports so far have been extremely detailed, well-documented, and thorough, which means that an NCAA investigation is very likely. The kicker, for UConn, is that Nate Miles was expelled from the team for violating a restraining order before he even had a chance to play for the team.

Quote of the Week: ”I’ve heard the expression that clear skies don’t fear thunder. I feel very good after talking to my athletic director and talking to the people working on the situation right now. But could it be hurtful? Yeah, it could be hurtful.” — Jim Calhoun, UConn coach

Further Reading: “Probe: UConn violated NCAA rules ” — Adrian Wojnarowski and Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports

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 WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK

:: COLLEGE BASKETBALL: The NCAA Tournament has been narrowed down to four teams–the Final Four. The next round of the tournament will be played on Saturday when Michigan State plays UConn, and the University of North Carolina plays Villanova.

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ALL-SPORTS UPDATE

ACTIVE SEASON

 :: BASKETBALL

NBA (Pro. Basketball): The 2008-09 season is currently underway. It runs from late October to April of 2009, when the playoffs commence.  [Official NBA Website]

NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL (College): “The Tournament” is currently underway. Four teams, known as the “Final Four” are currently left in the tournament. [CBS Sports]

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:: FOOTBALL

NFL (Pro. Football): Now that the Super Bowl is over, the next major NFL event is the draft, which takes place in late April. [Official NFL Website]

NCAA FOOTBALL (College): The college football season is now over, with Florida defeating Oklahoma in the national championship game. [NCAA Football, ESPN]

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:: GOLF

MEN’S GOLF: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Major Championships: The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open (The British Open), and the PGA Championship. The Masters is scheduled for the first week of April. [Official PGA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

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:: HOCKEY

NHL (Pro. Hockey): The hockey season is currently underway and runs through April of 2009.  [Official NHL Website]

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:: TENNIS

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. The next event is the French Open, which takes place in May. [USTA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic

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OFFSEASON

:: BASEBALL

MLB (Pro. Baseball): The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in this year’s World Series. During the off-season, baseball news will focus on major trades and player signings. [Official MLB Website]

June 23, Week in Sports

:: CELTICS WIN NBA FINALS (Pro. Basketball)

:: TIGER WOODS INJURED, OUT FOR YEAR (Golf)

:: METS MANAGER WILLIE RANDOLPH FIRED (Pro. Baseball)

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WICKED AWESOME: CELTICS WIN CHAMPIONSHIP

Last week, the Boston Celtics became this year’s NBA champions, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in five games. It was the first time in 22 years that the Celtics have won the championship.

The Celtics, who acquired superstar Kevin Garnett in the off-season, were the league’s biggest story of the 2007 season, even before winning the championship. Just a year earlier, they had posted a miserable 24-58 record during the regular season, missing the playoffs. To bounce back from that season to win the championship is truly remarkable. The Lakers had an incredible season in their own right. But now, after getting blown out during the Finals, the questions surrounding the future of league MVP Kobe Bryant are sure to start up again.

Paul Pierce of the Celtics was the series MVP. This is the Celtics’ 17th championship in franchise history.

Quote of the Week: “They don’t hang up any other banners but championship banners here.” — Paul Pierce

Further Reading: “Celtics get NBA title No. 17” — Chris Sheridan, ESPN

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WOE IS WOODS: TIGER HURT, DONE FOR SEASON

Tiger Woods, coming off his epic victory at the U.S. Open, revealed last week that he was playing with a torn ligament in his left knee and a double stress fracture to boot. As a result, Woods will undergo surgery and miss the remaining tournaments this year.

It was no surprise that Woods was injured, especially given his grimacing and limping during the U.S. Open. However, the severity of Woods’ injury was not known before his announcement.

Woods’ absence will greatly affect the remainder of this year’s golf season. First off, the absence of the world’s top-ranked and most famous player will certainly negatively influence public interest in the game this year. But also, with Tiger off the course, there will be plenty of golfers looking to take advantage of a more level playing field.

Quote of the Week: “He’s been playing way less than 100 percent for a long, long, time.” — Hank Haney, Woods’ Coach

Further Reading: “For rest of 2008, possibilities are endless for players not named Tiger” — Jason Sobel, ESPN

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SO LONG, IT’S BEEN GOOD TO KNOW YA…

New York Mets manager Willie Randolph was fired late Monday night by Mets general manager Omar Minaya. The Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays also fired their skippers last week.

Randolph’s firing made sports headlines across the nation, in part because the New York Mets are one of the most popular teams in the country, but also because Randolph was dismissed in what seemed to be a particularly rude way. The Mets had just flown out to Los Angeles, where they won their game, when later that night Mets GM Minaya fired him, as well as the team’s pitching coach and first base coach. News of the firing became public after midnight, which is also unusual. In the end, Minaya was widely criticized for firing a coach who just set out on West coast trip and then announcing it in the dead of night.

However impolite the firing may have been, Randolph’s departure is not terribly surprising to anyone. While he has had some major success with the Mets organization, he was also at the helm during their historic collapse last year. This year, the Mets have struggled as well, sealing Randolph’s fate.

Quote of the Week: “Not the way I would have handled it. Bottom line, it is what it is.” — Willie Randolph, in reference to the way in which he was fired

Further Reading: “Mets End the Suspense for Randolph” — Ben Shpigel, New York Times

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK

:: BASKETBALL — The NBA Draft takes place on Wednesday. The big question is who the Chicago Bulls will take with the first overall pick–Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley.

:: TENNIS – Wimbledon, one of the biggest tournaments in professional tennis, is currently underway. It goes through July 6th.

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ALL-SPORTS UPDATE

ACTIVE SEASON

:: BASEBALL

MLB (Pro. Baseball): Baseball season is in full swing, but it is a long season, and teams tend to measure their success month by month. The All-Star break takes place the second week of July. By then, teams’ records will be a good indicator of how well they are performing this season. [Official MLB Website]

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:: GOLF

MEN’S GOLF: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Major Championships: The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open (The British Open), and the PGA Championship. Now that the U.S. Open is over, the next event is the Open (also known as the British Open), which is played in July. [Official PGA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

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:: TENNIS

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments of the year are the four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. Wimbledon is currently underway, running through July 6th. [USTA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic

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OFFSEASON

:: BASKETBALL

NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL (College): Now that the tournament is over, college basketball news will focus on which players leave their schools for the NBA, and which college teams land the premier high-school players for next season. [CBS Sports]

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:: FOOTBALL

NFL (Pro. Football): The pre-season begins in August, and the regular season begins in September. [Official NFL Website]

NCAA FOOTBALL (College): Practice sessions for college football begin in summer, and the regular season begins in August. [NCAA Football, ESPN]

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:: HOCKEY

NHL (Pro. Hockey): The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals, completing the 2007-08 season. [Official NHL Website]

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:: BASKETBALL

NBA (Pro. Basketball): The Celtics defeated the Lakers to win the NBA Finals, ending the 2008 season. [Official NBA Website]

June 16, Week in Sports

:: TIGER WOODS WINS U.S. OPEN (Golf)

:: LAKERS STAY ALIVE AGAINST CELTICS (Basketball)

:: KEN GRIFFEY JR. HITS HOME RUN NO. 600 (Pro. Baseball)

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TIGER, TIGER, BURNING BRIGHT

Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open on Monday afternoon, defeating underdog Rocco Mediate by one stroke in a playoff round. This is Woods’ 3rd U.S. Open title and 14th major championship.

It wasn’t easy for Woods, partly because he was hampered by a leg injury, but also because his opponent, Mediate, played five rounds of extraordinary golf. But the weekend ultimately belonged to Woods, who had half a dozen huge shots to add to the highlight reel. This included a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th and final hole on Sunday, which forced the playoff round on Monday.

Woods also birdied the 18th hole on Monday, forcing sudden death against Mediate, where Woods finally claimed the title.

Quote of the Week: “It just was an unbelievable week. I was up and down, up and down all week.” — Tiger Woods

Further Reading: “Legendary Roar” — ESPN news

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LAKERS HEAD BACK TO BOSTON, DOWN 3-2

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics on Sunday night by a score of 103-98. The Celtics are currently leading the Lakers 3-2 in the NBA Finals, which puts them one win away from taking the championship.

The Lakers have underperformed so far in the Finals series, surrendering big leads and missing critical shots late in the games. The Celtics have capitalized on those failures and had built up a strong 3-1 lead in the series going into Sunday. While the Lakers managed to stay alive in Game 5, they would have to win the next two games to take the series.

No team in Finals history has come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the championship.

Quote of the Week: “I know I didn’t want to see the Celtics celebrating [on] my home floor with champagne and all that crap,” Lakers forward Pau Gasol

Further Reading: “Lakers ready to make history?” — Marc Stein, ESPN

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“JUNIOR” HITS 600th DINGER

Last Monday, Ken Griffey Jr. hit the 600th home run of his career. Only five other players in major league history have hit more than 600 home runs.

Griffey’s accomplishment puts him in the company of Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Sammy Sosa–five of the most elite names in the history of the game. However, his achievement is perhaps even more significant because unlike Sosa and Bonds, Griffey has never been accused of using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs. In addition to his unimpeachable reputation, Griffey is one of the nicest guys in the game–a class act and fan favorite who many believe would have broken the all-time home run record were it not for the chronic injuries that plagued his career.

Quote of the Week: “I don’t think I touched any of the bases. I just sort of floated around.” — Ken Griffey Jr.

Further Reading: “Griffey’s feat demands only respect” — Paul Daugherty, USA Today

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK

:: BASKETBALL – The Celtics-Lakers series continues on Tuesday. If the Lakers can scrape out another win over the Celtics, it would force Game 7 on Thursday night.

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ALL-SPORTS UPDATE

ACTIVE SEASON

:: BASEBALL

MLB (Pro. Baseball): Baseball season is in full swing, but it is a long season, and teams tend to measure their success month by month. The All-Star break takes place the second week of July. By then, teams’ records will be a good indicator of how well they are performing this season. [Official MLB Website]

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:: BASKETBALL

NBA (Pro. Basketball): The NBA Finals, between the Lakers and the Celtics, continue this week. [Official NBA Website]

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:: GOLF

MEN’S GOLF: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Major Championships: The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open (The British Open), and the PGA Championship. Now that the U.S. Open is over, the next event is the Open (also known as the British Open), which is played in July. [Official PGA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

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:: TENNIS

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments of the year are the four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. The next event is Wimbledon, which runs from June 23rd to July 6th. [USTA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic

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OFFSEASON

:: BASKETBALL

NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL (College): Now that the tournament is over, college basketball news will focus on which players leave their schools for the NBA, and which college teams land the premier high-school players for next season. [CBS Sports]

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:: FOOTBALL

NFL (Pro. Football): The pre-season begins in August, and the regular season begins in September. [Official NFL Website]

NCAA FOOTBALL (College): Practice sessions for college football begin in summer, and the regular season begins in August. [NCAA Football, ESPN]

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:: HOCKEY

NHL (Pro. Hockey): The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals, completing the 2007-08 season. [Official NHL Website]