CWS Tournament

UC IRVINE BRACKET

1) UC Irvine (43-13)

4) Fresno State (32-28)----------------->

3) San Diego State (40-21)

2) Virginia (43-12-1)

---------------------->

1) Mississippi (40-17)

4) Monmouth (32-23)------------------->

3) Western Kentucky (39-18)

2) Missouri (34-25)

1) Rice (39-15)

4) Sam Houston St. (36-22)-------------->

3) Xavier (38-19)

2) Kansas State (41-16-1)

----------------------->

1) LSU (46-16)

4) Southern U. (30-15)------------------->

3) Baylor (29-24)

2) Minnesota (38-17)

I saved you all the best for last! After careful research and crunching my numbers I finally figured out where I am going with the loaded UC Irvine Bracket. LSU is college baseball and they have not disappointed me in the least with their stellar play all season long in the stocked SEC. Honestly who would want to face this team in June? Where do I begin to talk about the #3 overall seed in the tournament? Only one player in their starting line up is batting under .300. Starting pitcher Louis Coleman, probably gets the least amount of love as far as stud pitchers are concerned and he has 11 victories and 2 CG. This team rarely plays small ball, wondering why...they stole 103 bases this season. My match up with Rice is a tough call, only because I picked both teams in my pre-season picks to advance to Omaha. Though Rice is a very good team and should push the Tigers to the brink of the 3 game of the Super Regionals, LSU will advance to Omaha. I got a chance to watch a very good Mississippi team in action this year at Gainesville. I was very impressed, even though their All-American pitcher, Scott Bittle was less than par on that day. Their starting line up is very balanced and defense is as stellar as it can get. Centerfielder and lead off man Jordan Henry gets the offense going with his .347 average, an OBP of .477, and 34-40 stolen base rate. Now to the best Regional Bracket in the tournament. UC Irvine has been atop all the polls for the last three weeks and then they get slapped right in the mouth for doing so in the Regionals. They received the #6 overall seed, face the defending champs in the first game (Fresno State), has the nation's best pitcher (Stephen Strasburg) and the ACC Champs (Virginia) in the other match up. You know what though, I still think that they can advance. But, Virginia is the hottest team entering the field with consecutive victories over North Carolina twice and Georgia Tech to win the ACC Tournament. I can't stear away from the Anteaters though. Loaded with All-Americans UC Irvine is destined to get back to Omaha this season. I just noticed that I again put all the #1 seeds to the Supers. Probably not going to happen. A couple of sleeper teams you should look out for if the #1's do end up going down are Baylor, Minnesota, Western Kentucky, and definitely Fresno State. So it's a wrap! Here are my final two teams to advance...

Omaha Bound:

UC Irvine

LSU

Recap my final 8:

Texas

Miami

Arizona St

UNC

Cal St Fullerton

Ohio State

UC Irvine

LSU

CWS Tournament

CAL ST FULLERTON BRACKET

1) Cal St Fullerton (42-14)

4) Utah (26-29)-------------------------->

3) Gonzaga (35-16)

2) Ga. Southern (42-15)

--------------------------->

1) Louisville (44-15)

4) Indiana (32-25)----------------------->

3) Vanderbilt (34-25)

2) Middle Tennessee (43-16)

1) Florida State (42-16)

4) Marist (31-26)------------------------>

3) Ohio State (40-17)

2) Georgia (37-22)

----------------------->

1) Oklahoma (41-18)

4) Wichita State (30-25)----------------->

3) Washington State (31-23)

2) Arkansas (34-22)

My upset special bracket. Cal State Fullerton is the overall #2 seed in the tournament, and they are the only top seed that I have any confidence in during Regional play in this part of the bracket. The Titans played who they had to play in conference play this season and did their job. But, they also posted victories against many top 25 teams including Arizona State, UC Irvine, San Diego State, and the sweeping of 2 seed Oral Roberts. No matter who they play in the Super Regionals they will advance to the College World Series. Who they will play is the question. Many experts are saying if anyone is going to pull a Fresno State this year it will be Indiana. I would have to agree, but I love Vanderbilt advancing to play the Titans instead. The Commodores use a balanced offensive attack with speed on the bases which starts with Connecticut's own, freshman Jason Esposito and his 20 out of 24 stolen base attempts. In the more intriguing bottom part of the bracket I love both #1 seeds going down. Ohio State has been the class of the Big Ten this season with much surprise. So what does the NCAA do? They give them a 3 seed in Florida State's bracket, fuel for the fire I say. Ohio State isn't too strong with their offense so what wins them games is the pitching which starts with Alex Wimmers (9-1, 131 SO, 2.68) and ends with Jake Hale (16 S, 1.21). Arkansas should have won the SEC this season in my opinion, but just came up short. This Razorback team is very dangerous and could really turn some heads if they play good ball early. They defeated the overall #8 seed Florida 5 times this season, 5! Their pitching is quite suspect with four of their starters not having an ERA under 3.90. Offensively they are very balanced with freshman 3B Zack Cox really stepping up as of late. Remember his name when it's all said and done, this kid has serious power which he displayed in the SEC Tournament. The Arkansas/Ohio State match up in the Supers was a tough call, but I am going to stay with my guts and put a Big Ten school in Omaha. So here's my CWS picks...

Omaha Bound:

Cal State Fullerton

Ohio State

CWS Tournament

ARIZONA STATE BRACKET

1) Arizona State (44-12)

4) Kent State (42-15)--------------------->

3) Cal Poly (37-19)

2) Oral Roberts (31-13)

----------------------------->

1) Clemson (40-19)

4) Tenn. Tech (30-22-1)------------------>

3) Oklahoma St. (32-22)

2) Alabama (37-19)

1) East Carolina (42-17)

4) Binghamton (29-20)------------------->

3) George Mason (42-12)

2) South Carolina (38-21)

------------------------------->

1) North Carolina (42-16)

4) Dartmouth (27-16)-------------------->

3) Kansas (37-22)

2) Coastal Carolina (46-14)

It's very simple in the Arizona State bracket. The schools hosting, should come out victorious. East Carolina was my only question mark, but after failing miserably in last year's CWS I expect the Pirates to come out swinging and marching to the Super Regionals against Dustin Ackley and the North Carolina Tarheels. For those of you not knowing Ackley, let me be the first to tell you that he is the best offensive player in college baseball this year and could be the 2nd overall pick in the MLB Draft. The Tarheels are poised for another nice CWS title run after closely failing the previous 3 seasons (2nd, 2nd, and 3rd). They also have 4 stud starting pitchers that had 27 combined victories this year in Brian Moran, Adam Warren, Alex White, and Matt Harvey which will bring them back to Omaha. In the top portion of the bracket the Sundevils should ease their way to the Supers while Clemson's run could be a little more tricky. The Tigers have an interesting bracket with Alabama, a SEC stud, and an Oklahoma State team looking to prove everyone wrong by sneaking their way into the field of 64. Clemson has one of the more balanced teams entering the tournament with players that hit for average and power and a very deep pitching staff starting with Casey Harmon and his near 7-1 strikeout to walk ratio. When Clemson does indeed get by their Regional round they will definitely get swept by a very, very good Arizona State team. The Sundevils, 5th overall seed in the tournament, are absolutely loaded with offense starting with Jason Kipnis (.380/14/65). So there you have my easiest bracket which could end poorly. So here's my final prediction for the Arizona State Bracket...

Omaha Bound:

Arizona State

North Carolina

500 posts

For two years to keep in touch with my buddies up north, I have been writing on this blog. Some haven't been pretty. Some still haven't been finished. And some have been just down right stupid. But writing on The Nutz has filled a space that was missing when I moved down to the Sunshine State. Even though I have very few readers you all make it worth my time, though most of my posts have everything to do with me and sports. With buying a house in the future and school coming in 3 months, I don't know how much time I will have on the computer. But I will keep working hard for your enjoyment. Here is the first video I ever posted on The Nutz, enjoy!

CWS Tournament

CWS Bracket

The seedings are in. All they have to do now is play. The defending champions, Fresno State sneaked their way back into the field with a great conference tournament. My pre-season predictions weren't all that great, but I still have 7 of 8 teams left to advance to Omaha. The tournament begins this Friday with four teams trying to knock each other out in a double elimination round play. I left you all a bracket in case you were interested how this thing really works. For the next 4 days I will be giving you my predictions for each region (1 of 4 sides of the bracket). For your own information, I am naming the brackets on who the highest seeded team is. This is the best time of the year if your a true baseball fan. Even though the toughest thing to do is picking teams for the CWS...Let's get right to the proclaimed Seth Davis of college baseball's picks...

TEXAS REGION

1) Texas (41-13-1)

4) Army (34-19)---------------------------------------->

3) Boston College (33-24)

2) Texas State (41-15)

---------------------------->

1) TCU (36-16)

4) Wright St. (33-28)------------------------------------>

3) Oregon St. (35-17)

2) Texas A&M (36-22)

1) Georgia Tech (35-17-1)

4) Georgia St. (39-20)------------------------------------>

3) Southern Miss. (35-23)

2) Elon (40-16)

----------------------------->

1) Florida (39-20)

4) Bethune-Cookman (32-26)---------------------------->

3) Jacksonville (36-20)

2) Miami (36-20)

Texas received the overall #1 ranking for the CWS. Hense the easy schedule in the Regional round. The Gators received the #8 overall ranking but must get through all Florida schools to advance to the Super Regional, won't be a easy task in the least. Since the Gators got offered to host a Regional round, my father is actually trying to get tickets as we speak, unfortunately a man named Chad will be down in Orlando this weekend so I told him I couldn't go. Even though a 4 seed did win the National Championship last season, I am not finding too many upsets in the first round of this bracket. I really like Texas and GT to breeze through their Regions to the Supers as 1 seeds, both are way to talented for their other matchups. I had Texas A&M advance to the Championship game in my preseason picks but I can't seem to get them past Texas in the Supers so, count on the Longhorns to advance to the CWS. I can't pick Florida over Miami, can't do it. Even though the Hurricanes have had a less than stellar regular season, at least for their standards, I think that they can sneak their way out of Gainesville to the Super Regional round against the Yellowjackets. Now this is really where I am tossed. GT is one of the hottest teams entering the CWS and split the regular season series with Miami 2-2. Let's face it, I am going to go with Miami because of their name...plain and simple. So here are your two teams heading to Omaha in the Texas Region:

Omaha Bound:

Texas Longhorns

Miami Hurricanes

Could This Be The One?

I put a bid on my first house on Saturday. Will find out if they except my offer tomorrow. More info to come later.

NCAA Selection Show

The complete pairings for the NCAA Baseball 2009 field will be announced during Monday's The Road to Omaha selection show (ESPN, 12:30 p.m. ET). Look out for random blogs today on the NCAA Baseball season during the day tomorrow!

Random Thoughts Today

Wow, what a week. For once, while I have been in the state of Florida, it has felt like Connecticut. Here's some thoughts for the week...

Rain. It hasn't stopped. I'm talking constant water flowing from the sky for days like the CT. And I have been working in it. I am talking getting soaked on 4-wheelers picking up debris, cutting down branches, and making the parks and trails as safe as possible for my community. It has been pretty brutal! I was asked to work a 24 hour shift yesterday, but by the time I got back to the shop they told me to go home and get some sleep. Thank god! The rain has stopped for now but suppose to continue in some spots throughout the weekend. I haven't seen the sun since Sunday morning...unbelievable.

Damn those Magic! Not only did they pull off a win last night they had to steal since the Cavs are coming off a long layoff. But the "O" fans at work haven't stopped letting me have it about the Celtics. Now they are talking swept of the Cavs. Give me a break! I dunno where these fans come from, but they are starting to piss me off. Not to mention that the Magic continue to amaze me with their tenacious defense and ability to throw the pick and roll as well as the inside/outside game the teams are having trouble defending. I don't usually rout for Lebron James because of the Jordan comparisons but please Lebron put an end to the Magic fans season.

I just read Jake Peavy to the White Sox possibly. If Peavy goes to the AL, he is on my trade block immediately. He will never be able to handle the line-ups in the AL...ever!

How selfish are we (or me)? Phil Mickelson's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and he will be leaving the tour to tend to her and their family. I'm a huge Phil fan, even though he tends to piss me off more than make me smile. It's going to be hard to watch the Majors now and see how Phil botches up another Major Championship. Certainly is a terrible situation, and I don't know if I enjoy watching Phil hold up a trophy at the end of a tournament or seeing his wife in HD.

Finally, buying a house f'n blows!

Monday's Sports Quiz

Since last week's 1st quiz was pretty difficult I decided to lower my standards this week. These questions are fairly easy, so don't think for a second that I am being hard on all of you. Here's The Nutz Sports Quiz #2...

1) Who did the Detroit Tigers defeat in the 1984 World Series?

2) How many times did Don Mattingly win the American League Batting Title?

3) Hasheem Thabeet became the 6th UCONN Husky to win the Big East Player of the Year Award, who were the other 5?

4) There are 2 active NBA players with multiple NBA MVP Awards, who are they?

5) In the 2004 NFL Draft the San Diego Chargers traded #1 overall pick Eli Manning to the New York Giants for their draft pick, Phillip Rivers. What pick was Rivers drafted by the Giants?

Answers

1) Who are the only players with 10+ NBA Championships?

Bill Russell was the easy choice. Russell ended his career with 11 championships. The other was a little more difficult. Sam Jones who also played for the Celtics finished his career with 10 titles.

2) What pick was Tim Lincecum in the 2006 MLB Draft?

Lincecum was selected 10 overall in the 2006 Draft. Notable players selected before Lincecum were: Evan Longoria (3), Brandon Morrow (5), and Clayton Kershaw (7).

3) Out of his 99 rushing touchdowns, how many touchdowns over 50 yards did Barry Sanders have in his career?

Sanders finished his career with 15 rushing touchdowns over 50 yards which is a NFL record.

4) Out of the 12 players on the 1992 Dream Team roster, how many never won a NBA Championship?

6 players: Chris Mullin, Patrick Ewing, Christian Laettner, Karl Malone, John Stockton, and Charles Barkley

5) Which team has the most losses in Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament history?

Kentucky...they have the most games played in the NCAA Tournament as a program but also have the most losses (45).

Thanks for playing more questions coming tomorrow. It was a tough first quiz, here's the grades:

Toe: 0/5

Pitbull: 1/5

Random Thoughts Today

Yea I'm a slacker! Been really slacking on my "Best Draft Picks by Your Team" blog. But I do I an excuse. I have been pretty busy, trying to better my situation in the F.L.A. Lots of goings on in the world of sports, here is a brief recap of what has been going on in the world of Deez.

Yep, your boy is trying to buy a house! My own house. Like...it'll be all mine! I have to take advantage of the rates and the cost of homes. All of you in the north really have no idea how much i can get a good home for right now. I'm talking homes for 95,000 that were built in the last 10 years. Plus, with the 8000 dollar tax credit for 1st time home owners, I'd be an idiot not to try to buy right now. In addition, I forgot to mention that my parents are living in the Sunshine State now (if I haven't mentioned that before). So I have been really going hard at homes right now; short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, and regular sales. Hopefully sometime in the next two months I will have my house, but I am trying to be as patient as possible.

What a hockey game last night, huh? It took me one period to try to find something else on the tube being that the game was over before it even started. The Penguins were dominate from the start and didn't allow Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals any room to come back in the game. Thanks NHL for wasting my time, again you lose and us fans that try to be casual fans win. NHL Hockey is for the hockey lovers and that's not for me.

The Celtics are looking to close out the series against the Magic tonight, something that I certainly didn't think was possible with 10 seconds left in game 4. The Magic have really choked their way into this situation in my opinion. But, the southern hicks that are die hard fans say, "Man...their playing in the 'O' tonight, it's do or die man, their ain't no way the Magic are goin down tonight man, ain't no chance!" Ok, well if they do at least they can shut it until football season because southern hicks could give two shits about baseball unless of course a Florida team is in the playoffs.

I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but I am a new subscriber to Sporting News magazine and I absolutely love it. This newest addition though bothered me a little. This week they published the biggest rivalries in each of the 50 states. In state rivals no matter the sport, high school, college, or professional. Awesome idea right! Just wait til all of you Connecticut folks here who they think is your biggest in-state rival. Are you ready for this. Bridgeport vs. Hartford AHL hockey! Come on! First of all this rivalry has only gone on for 8 years. Secondly, I know for a fact that you could find a high school rivalry ten times better than this one. What a joke! Connecticut colleges need to start stepping up there game. I realize I live in a much bigger state now, but come on AHL hockey owns the states best rivalry. I think that's worse than Kansas' rivalry, which is two community college basketball programs that date back to 1929.

That's all I have, have a great rest of the week!

Well, the Time Has Finally Come!

I am going to watch a NHL Hockey game tonight.

Like, actually watch it. Like, in about 10 minutes the game is going to start and I am going to watch a hockey game on television. Am I wrong?

I am still confused about the rules in hockey, but I have found myself this week wondering, "Who won the Pittsburgh/Washington game?". And now, tonight, is game 7! I don't think I could have picked a better day to watch a hockey game again. Two of the best players in the game are facing each other in a win and advance game. Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Captials and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins are arguably the best in the game. If there is ever a time for the NHL to get that "casual fan", tonight is the night. And I am going to admit to all of my readers (about 4), that I am going to watch an NHL Hockey game tonight. The game is about to start so I am going to search for a pic to post with the blog and sit my ass down with a bottle of wine and watch some ice hockey!

Monday's Sports Quiz

I have been getting great sports questions from my buddy Jeremy lately that baffles me. Especially when I don't know the answer. I can't ask him anything about MLB baseball because he knows the answer right away. Blows my mind! Today let's see how my readers can do. You might have to check these on the Internet but at least try to answer them on your own. Winner gets a free tour of my new home whenever that happens. Good Luck!

1) Who are the only players with 10+ NBA Championships?

2) What pick was Tim Lincecum in the 2006 MLB Draft?

3) Out of his 99 rushing touchdowns, how many touchdowns over 50 yards did Barry Sanders have in his career?

4) Out of the 12 players on the 1992 Dream Team roster, how many never won a NBA Championship?

5) Which team has the most losses in Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament history?

The Future Phenom?

This week's back page of ESPN The Magazine, Rick Reilly came through with another excellent story. Pat Verditte is a 23-year-old pitcher for the Charleston Riverdogs, the single-A club for the Yankees. But, he is not your ordinary pitcher. Verditte throws lefty and righty. Above is an 8 minute video of this kid facing a switch batter in a game. It's pretty funny. After this game there was a new rule which most minor league umpires call the: "Verditte rule". This rule now states that at the start of the at-bat the pitcher must declare his throwing arm, which then the batter can pick his side, and allowing both players to switch only once during the at-bat. This kid throw about 90 mph righty, and has 4 pitches from both arms. Last season he earned 23 saves with a 0.83 ERA. Why is he still in A-ball concerns me. But, after Riley's article this week and could turn some heads and start pushing this kid up a couple of levels. An absolute great story!

TPC hourly posts.......(yeah, I'm bored)

3:00....

It seemed like the players out on the course were playing well prior to NBC turning on the cameras. The wind is starting to pick up, but come on!!! It's been an ugly first hour. Ben Crane looks strong except for that missed birdie at 3. Woods and Cejka are playing the worst golf I've seen since my outing last week. If they keep it up it will be Crane or Poulter or maybe Stenson in the end. Another (cough, cough) great weekend for Mickelson. Way to go Phil!!

4:23....

Sorry, caught alittle Golf nap. Henrik Stenson now leads...Cejka is going to be an Amateur after this round. Tiger isn't much better. I'm rooting for Woody Austin right now who barely made the cut.

5:06....

The Americans are falling. It looks like Stenson has the poise to win after the birdie on 13. Shane Battier has more 3's right now than Tiger has fairways hit. With 7 holes left its going to take a miracle for Tiger to take this. Neighbor Jim Furyk finished strong at 6 under. I don't think that is enough though. Cejka is starting to turn it around on the back 9. Maybe I can write about John Mallinger next hour.

6:08....
Henrik stays dry he'll win it. I think if Tiger didn't fall out of the gate, Stenson wouldn't be so comfortable right now. I'm not a big fan of Kevin Na. Every miss hit is not his fault "I can't believe it went that far", "I can't believe it broke that much"....Kevin, you put in a great weekend, but your not that good. He's about as annoying as these little black bugs mating everywhere!

6:23....

Sweden prevails.

Another Steamy Sunday at TPC

Being in the neighborhood I feel like it's an obligation of mine to write about The Players Championship. German Alex Cejka looks to hold a 5 shot lead heading into Sunday. The question is will he hold it being in the final pairing with Tiger Woods on Sunday? I'm not too sure he will. Yesterday, he was able to contain his lead and play solid golf with few watching him and most of the spectators were following Tiger. Today, with Tiger he will have most of the gallery on him. And with Tiger showing glimpses of being back to his old self it's going to be an extremely hot Sunday afternoon for him. With the 90 degree temperature and the dry course a round in the red is going to be hard to come by. With that said Cejka will need to keep his pace, keep chomping on his gum, and shoot an even par round today to win the championship. If he drops one look for a playoff round with Tiger. Which we all can figure out what will happen then. They only other player I see possibly being there at the end is Ian Poulter with his solid mid-range game that you need for this course. Poulter could stick around, but he is also one of those players that when things go bad they really go bad. So if he is not around the top of the leaderboard Sunday he'll probably shoot about a 79. Another player that could be there at the end if the leaderboard really struggles today is Kenny Perry at 4 under starting the day. So enjoy your Sunday watching the beautiful North Florida weather and the roars at 17. It should be an exciting finish Sunday.

Guess Who's Goin' Dancing in March?

The NCAA Selection Committee had a selection show on Monday night, May 4. No, it wasn't televised. No, it had nothing to do with #1 seeds. And no, the final selections not invited didn't get to enter another tournament. Nope, this selection committee had the honor of drawing the first names out of the big box on who wins the rights to get not only discounted tickets for the first weekend games at the sites of the NCAA Tournament in March, but be able to have the choice of the "best available" seats listed before tickets go on sale in June. And guess whos name was chosen for the 1st round (both sessions) and 2nd round games in Jacksonville, Florida for the 2010 NCAA Tournament? YES, IT WAS YOURS TRULY!!!

I can not believe my luck! Tuesday morning I was notified of being selected via email. I thought that I was still asleep. I only put my name in the big box about a month and a half ago for shits and giggles, not even thinking I was really going to win. Then Sunday, May 3 came and I told my father and brother, "Hey those tickets are being drawn for the tournament tomorrow.". So the tickets were able to be purchased at 10:00 am today (which is bullshit, some people do work for a living). I went online first thing when I got home and immediately checked the "best available tickets". Most of the best ones were already gone. By the time I researched 6 more times for other locations, the best available seats had changed again. So for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament bracket located in Jacksonville, my brother (i hope) and myself will be attending 6 games for a grand total of...$216 dollars a ticket! Are you f'n kidding me? Oh, yea...I forgot to mention that we will be 6 rows from the court to the left of one of the baskets. FOR SIX GAMES OF THE NCAA TOURNAMENT!

Sorry to be so excited about this, but this has always been one of those sporting events I have always wanted to attend. Being such a huge college basketball fan, all my buddies down here know how great of a thing this is for me. And I am sure that my buddies up north will definitely feel the same, probably with a little hate involved though. I am so thrilled I have no idea what to do right now. Well, first things first...I am going to finish off my coronas while looking at the best teams for college basketball next season. R U Serious, the NCAA Tournament?

Don't forget...

It's Cinco De Mayo!!!

Weekend Wrap Up

What a weekend it was in the sports world! One of the best that I can remember. A couple of game 7s, boxing, The Kentucky Derby, and lots of Major League Baseball. Let's take a look at my view from the weekend that was.

One of the most exciting horse races I have ever seen happened on Saturday night at Churchill Downs. Mine that Bird, the 50-1 shot, went from last to first. Riding the rail with such grace and speed on the muddy track and became the longest shot to win the Kentucky Derby since 1913. In 2007, Mind that Bird was purchased for $9,500 and slipped into the field of 19 horses last minute. It truly was a site to see this awesome horse make a run for the roses. It was really something out of the movie Seabiscuit after the victory making a victory trot in front of the gallery. I don't believe that this colt has a chance in the Preakness, but we will have to see for sure.

There were a few game 7s in the NBA playoffs this past weekend. One series was the strangest series I have ever seen, the other was the best 1st round series I have ever seen. The Miami Heat/Atlanta Hawks series was as strange of a series that you will ever see. Not one game out of 7 games was a close one. They weren't even fun games to watch, with Atlanta pulling out the game 7 and advancing to the 2nd round. Now in the other series it was quite the opposite. The Celtics and Bulls played in one of the best 7 game series in the history of the NBA Playoffs. Seven total overtimes in the first 6 games and the Celts were determined not to make it a close one in game 7 by eliminating a very good and very young Bulls squad. Next up for the injury ridden Boston team is Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.

Is there anyone out there that believes like I do that Manny Pacquiao is one of the best fighters of all time. Let's not take anything away from what kind of boxer you believe Ricky Hatton is or was on Saturday night. I really can't remember a boxer of my lifetime with the speed, the drive, and the power that a boxer of his caliber has. I firmly believe when Mayweather wins his next fight he is going to have to carefully decide if he really wants to fight boxing's best pound for pound man in Pacquiao. Because honestly, I really don't think that he wants to get in the ring with that man.

In case you guys were wondering, the NHL's best players are squaring off in the playoffs right now. With the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby facing the Washington Capitols and Alex Ovechkin. If there ever was a time to start watching this sport, now is the time and this is the series!

Carl Crawford might be on the verge for more historical feats this season after converting on 6 stolen bases against the Red Sox yesterday. He is currently 17 for 17 this season with the Rays having played in only 26 games so far. Is 100 steals a possibility? I think yes!

Way Too Easy

Manny Pacquiao is one of the best fighters of my generation. Another unbelievable performance last night!

Random Thoughts Today

I gotta say first that I am sorry for the lack of posts this past week. Tomorrow's post will give a illustration why. Since I have to work early in the a.m. tomorrow I have some extra time to give you my thoughts for the week. I hope that all my readers from the great state of Connecticut are enjoy some early heat. Here's a couple of thoughts before a very entertaining sports weekend.

You know what sucks about Ray Allen? He is my favorite UCONN Husky of All-Time. But unfortunately I am not alone, and that's what sucks. I got a chance to meet Ray at a UCONN practice my senior year in high school. He signed a couple of things for me and was really a down to earth guy and fool around with all of us during his free time. From that point on I can not root for the guy. He does everything right. Works hard on both ends of the courts, shoots the rock like nobody I have ever seen, and is down right a good dude. He is one of the few players in the NBA since the departure of Michael Jordan that I check on and see how he has been doing. And when he became a Celtic, I thought...this is awesome! Allen put on a show for the ages last night against the Bulls. He hit for 51 points in a defeat, the largest point total for a player on a losing team since...his Airness' 63. As much as I needed my sleep last night, I couldn't shut the tv off because I was waiting for how Ray was going to awe me again. So like I said, I hate that I like Ray Allen, because the rest of Husky nation feels the same, but I guess I really can't be mad at that.

Josh Beckett really hasn't been the same since his suspension. Granted, the Tampa Bay Rays have own the Red Sox the last two years but something is definitely up with Beckett. He sucks! He can't get batters chasing those pitches he was so successful with during his career. I personally think that he might be all done, he might be approaching the point in his career where it starts to fall apart. Almost like somebody that played for the Sox and lost whatever he had and went elsewhere. Another Roger Clemens anyone?

I have seen Role Models, The Wrestler, Doubt, and Seven Pounds the last two weeks. And I can honestly say that I don't think that I have gone through a stretch of movies like this where I have enjoy each one. I received Frost/Nixon yesterday on my Netflix and am about to pop it into the dvd player. I really recommend all of these films to all of you, even though I have heard mixed reviews about Will Smith's latest movie, I still think that it is a must see.

My fantasy baseball teams are driving me crazy and it's only the start of May.

This weekend is loaded with must see sports tv. And besides the Game 7 game between the Bulls and Celtics, the Kentucky Derby will be taking over Saturday. This weekend marks the anniversary of the "Night Train" in Las Vegas. I wish I could remember a little more of that weekend but I am always reminded by my boy Jon Fid on how awesome I was. Enjoy the weekend!