Who cares about basketball and baseball these days? One sport is just a third into its season of overlong guaranteed contracts. The other sport is entering its last two weeks of controversial officiating and aura of executive office predestination. On a brighter note, many sports continue to shine.
Last week saw tremendous NHL action. The New Jersey Devils finished off the more talented New York Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings crushed the more talented Phoenix Coyotes. Playoff action in the NHL is nonstop, and rabid fans, unlike their NBA counterparts, have no need to raise an eyebrow over lopsided, biased officiating. Why? There is none. Are a few calls blown from time to time? Yes. However, there are no disturbing trends or patterns of inconsistency favoring the more popular teams, or teams with endorsement kings like LeBron James.
Last week saw the return of another king, Tiger Woods. He humbled the competition at the Jack Nicklaus-chaired Memorial in Ohio. On Sunday, Woods' playing partner, Rickie Fowler, couldn't even break 80. And Fowler's a top 20 golfer. The mystique may not be all the way back, but it's back at least in part. Tiger's spending 10 days preparing for the U. S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, a course he knows very well.
Last week also saw the Chip Ganassi team rolling on in IZOD Indycar competition. The Detroit Grand Prix saw a switch of the top two at Indy a week before, with Scott Dixon taking the checkered flag and his teammate Dario Franchitti nailing second.
The French Open saw the Williams sisters both lose in the first week. It also saw the normally stoic Roger Federer lose his temper as he advanced to the quarterfinals and the methodical Maria Sharapova overcome some slow starts as she advanced to the semifinals.
This weekend has some great sports viewing on tap, even with the premier event drained of drama due to injury. I'll Have Another will not compete in the Belmont Stakes Saturday because of swelling in a front left leg tendon. Thus, there will be no Triple Crown winner for at least another year. Was the favored horse overtrained? Did the banning of his nasal strip for the Belmont have anything to do with his leg injury, with less effective breathing causing a misstep? Who knows? The race will still be great, but it will not be epic. The horse racing industry loses another potential shot in the arm.
With the Devils finally winning a game, the NHL championship series returns to Jersey with the Kings still up, 3-1. It's unlikely the Kings will lose the series, but they could lose another game.
The St. Jude's Classic PGA event in Memphis has its own drama, even with Mickelson and Woods abstaining. Will Rory McIlroy set the stage for an epic U.S. Open showdown with Woods by winning his own American tune-up event? McIlroy missed three consecutive cuts on the European tour, but he has displayed good form so far in Memphis.
Who will win the French Open? Will older war horses Federer and Sharapova prevail in a triumph of patience and tenacity over the youth and quickness of Djokovic and Errani on the red clay of Roland Garros? Set your DVR's and find out.
Oh, there's an Eastern Conference final game seven between the Celtics and the Heat in the NBA, but only a fool would doubt its outcome and actually watch all two hours of action. Just fast forward to the trophy ceremony, where a carefully cultivated new and improved good-guy-imaged LeBron James will thank the city of Cleveland for his professional start.
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