Sport-Blog.com

By Ed Jennett


Apparently the offensive genius of Wayne Gretzky is contagious. Although Phoenix Coyotes Assistant Coach Rich Tocchet has yet to be arraigned, and Janet Jones Gretzky has yet to be charged with anything, both have taken the offensive against the state of New Jersey and may sue for $50 million each. In two separate notices, attorneys for the pair named the New Jersey Department of Law and the New Jersey State Police for allegedly leaking information to the media regarding conversations that had been recorded. Notices often are precursors to a lawsuit. The notices were filed earlier this month in the state capitol of Trenton, New Jersey.

Both Tocchet and Jones Gretzky contend that their reputations were damaged by state officials. In February authorities in New Jersey announced charges against Tocchet, a state trooper in New Jersey (James J. Harney), and another New Jersey man (James A. Ulmer), alleging that they ran a nationwide sports gambling ring. It is also alleged that Jones Gretzky placed large bets through Tocchet. While Jones Gretzky has not been charged with a crime, it is expected that she will be subpoenaed to testify in front of a grand jury. Jones Gretzky is married to Gretzky and Tocchet worked as an assistant under Gretzky, who is the Head Coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, before taking a leave of absence in February. Tocchet, who is a former National Hockey League player, is also friends with Gretzky. Through a spokesperson, Jones Gretzky has stated that Gretzky has never placed a wager with Tocchet. However Jones Gretzky has not addressed whether she has ever made a wager with Tocchet.

According to the New Jersey State Police, the wagers exceeded $1.7 million during a five-week investigation period before the Super Bowl. Most of the bets were placed on professional football.

In his notice, Tocchet specifies that he will seek $50 million due to the damage the leaks have done to his reputation, his current salary loss, the loss of the chance for future employment as a head coach in the NHL, and the loss of future endorsement opportunities. The notice of Tocchet cites 10 news stories where some of the contents of recorded conversations were reported publicly.

In the notice of Jones Gretzky, it is stated that she has lost business opportunities and has also suffered significant damage to her reputation. It has been claimed by sources that Jones Gretzky bet $75,000 on the Super Bowl and $500,000 in total wagers.

According to their attorneys, Tocchet and Jones Gretzky have two years to file their lawsuits. The attorneys added that their clients may also eventually choose not to sue.

There is a popular theory in the hockey community that the reason for the leaks is that law enforcement officials were trying to draw attention away from the fact that a state trooper (Harney) is the other main defendant in the case.

Back on March 15, New Jersey State Attorney General Zulima Farber said in an interview with the Associated Press that authorities would convene a grand jury to hear evidence regarding the case within months. When contacted by the Associated Press about the notices, the office of the New Jersey State Attorney General did not respond to questions regarding when a grand jury will be called.

The NHL hired an independent investigator in order to conduct its own investigation of the alleged gambling syndicate operated by Tocchet. Although the investigation is still ongoing, the initial focus was not on the gambling habits of NHL players, but rather on what connection players may have had to the Tocchet scandal. According to the results of the initial investigation, the Tocchet scandal only extends to a group of friends and associates that are close with the former player.

So far, the independent investigation has yet to discover any one associated with the league that bet on NHL games. Because the NHLPA was aware of the investigations, representatives of the union were on hand for the interviews. Nearly four dozen NHL players and team officials have been interviewed in the independent investigation so far.

Supposedly the union is not concerned that the scandal involves any players betting on hockey games. The union is also supposedly not concerned that the gambling problem is widespread. The independent investigation of the NHL has also resulted in information leaking that the amounts of money that were bet on football games were actually much lower than initially reported.

The investigators of the NHL have not yet interviewed the six to 12 individuals that are closest to the criminal investigation. While the NHL is not legally prohibited from interviewing the group, the league is waiting to be granted permission from New Jersey prosecutors in order to maintain a good working relationship between the law enforcement involved with the case and the NHL. New Jersey officials have not yet granted permission to the investigators of the league. The interviews of the NHL focused on players and team officials who are not considered part of the core group and are one or two steps removed from the core group. They are part of the investigation because it is believed they might have had a relationship with Tocchet or others who were believed to be wagering with Tocchet.

Currently the league policy on gambling prohibits gambling on any NHL game, but does not prohibit gambling on other sports. However there is a general morality clause that prohibits players from conduct that is detrimental to the best interests of their teams. Both NHLPA executive director Ted Saskin and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly have said that there are not any current plans to change the policy. It is possible however that the policy could be changed depending on the results of the Tocchet criminal trial.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has forbidden Tocchet from having contact with any league personnel. Gretzky has not been implicated in the investigation. The Phoenix Coyotes are apparently satisfied that he will not be, as Gretzky has agreed to a five-year contract to remain as head coach, putting an end to speculation that has lingered since the end of the regular season that he would not coach the club again next year. Gretzky is also a minority owner of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Most people view bowling as just a fun activity to participate in once in a while. For them, bowling consists of going out with friends or family and renting or borrowing any equipment they might need, such as shoes or bowling balls. There are quite a few out there, however, who take bowling a lot more seriously. These are the people who join leagues, bowl at least three games per week, and practice whenever possible. If you're this type of bowler, then obviously a house ball and rented shoes aren't going to help you improve your scores. Instead, this is a short list of the equipment that every serious bowler should make an effort to acquire.

First and foremost, a serious bowler needs his or her own bowling ball. House bowling balls are usually old, worn, and not very well cared for. They may even have chips or gouges in them from years and years of rough handling. This type of ball is okay to use if you're just hanging out with your friends on a Friday night, but if you're in a bowling league, then you'll definitely want to have a ball of your own. One reason for this is that the chips and gouges in house bowling balls often lead to unpredictable, inconsistent movement. In other words, this type of ball is very difficult to control. When you have your own bowling ball, you can take care of it to make sure that it remains in pristine condition for as long as possible. This will allow you to exercise more control over your shots, which in turn improves your accuracy and your final score. So even if you decide that you really don't need any of the other equipment listed here, you should at least make sure you have your own bowling ball.

Another item that every serious bowler should have is a sturdy gear bag. This might sound obvious, but you'd be surprised at how many bowlers entrust their ball and other equipment to bags of shoddy construction. There are two main reasons that you should get a good bowling bag. The first is to protect the equipment that you put in there. Bowling balls are heavy, and people drop their bags a lot more often than you think. If that happens, you want to be sure that your equipment will survive unscathed. A second reason to invest in a good gear bag is that it will allow you to keep everything organized. Bowlers can accumulate a lot of equipment over time, and this equipment tends to just get thrown haphazardly into their bowling bags. That doesn't seem like such a big deal -- until you need to find a particular item quickly. A bowling bag that has separate compartments for your miscellaneous items can help you get (and stay) organized so that you can focus on bowling rather than on digging through your stuff for lost items.

A third item that serious bowlers ought to have is their own pair of bowling shoes. Although the bowling shoes you wear can affect your performance at times, I'm recommending their purchase more for the sake of convenience than for improving your average. There's actually nothing wrong with the shoes that you rent from the bowling alley as far as performance goes. But if you're a serious bowler, you simply can't run the risk of showing up for your league only to find out that there aren't any more shoes available in your size. You'd be much better off investing in your own pair of shoes so that you never have to worry about this kind of thing again.

Those are the major pieces of equipment that every serious bowler really should have at his or her disposal. In addition, I can also recommend several other items that you should keep in your bag at all times so that you can use them whenever necessary. The first of these is a small container of baby powder. Baby powder helps smooth things over and reduces friction, which is perfect for bowling. So if your shoes are sticking to the lanes and you're not sliding enough, or if your fingers are sticking a bit in the ball and aren't coming out smoothly, then you can just sprinkle on some baby powder to take care of the problem.

A second miscellaneous item that you should keep with you is a rosin bag. Rosin bags are used for the opposite reason that baby powder is used. So if you're having problems with sliding too much on the lanes, or if the ball is slipping out of your grip, then you should use rosin to help your shoes or fingers stick.

Finally, every bowler should have a hand towel in his or her gear bag. It is possible to use a regular hand towel out of your linen closet if you have to, but it would be far better to purchase a towel made specifically for bowlers. That's because bowling towels are made to remove the oil and dirt from your ball quickly and efficiently. This is important for getting consistent movement when you roll the ball, so don't underestimate the impact of a good towel.

We all know that there are no guarantees in bowling. However, I think it's pretty safe to say that having all the equipment listed in this article will help you get better scores than you could get with borrowed or rented equipment. So check your gear bag now to make sure you have everything you need!

I graduated from high school just about 15 years ago. I went to a pretty big school with a student body of nearly 3,000, and my school was considered one of the most progressive in the state of Illinois as far as the curriculum was concerned. For example, instead of offering just the standard French and Spanish foreign language classes, my school also offered Japanese, Latin, Russian, Italian, and German. Instead of offering just one academic track in core classes (such as English, science, and math), my school offered three: one for gifted students, one for average students, and one for students who needed extra help.

Nevertheless, as progressive as my high school was, the athletic curriculum was really lacking in variety. This applied not only to physical education (PE) classes, but also to the school-sponsored sports teams. Thus, even though many other area high schools at that time had lacrosse, field hockey, ice hockey, bowling, marching band, and golf teams, my school stuck to more "traditional" sports such as football, baseball, softball, soccer, and basketball. PE was pretty much the same story. The students had to choose a single class to take for each semester, and the choices were limited to what would be considered traditional sports.

So you can imagine my surprise when I discovered that there are many more sports options available to high school students today compared to just 15 years ago, both in terms of PE classes and school-sponsored athletic teams. And of course, if you're a sports fan like I am, this is definitely a good trend.

One of the stories making the rounds on the AP wire these days is the fact that some public schools are branching out into sports and activities that are not considered mainstream. For example, the AP story focused on a school that offers skateboarding as a PE class. I've also read about high schools offering PE classes in yoga, pilates, and even hip-hop dancing. As far as school-sponsored sports go, I've read about some schools in California where students can earn a letter in motocross, and other schools where students can do the same in snowboarding.

As I said above, I think this is a positive trend that I hope will have a big impact on many generations of future students. When it comes to sports and activities, everyone has different tastes and preferences, and it's only fair that students have an opportunity to explore their abilities even if that means breaking away from the mainstream in order to do so.

You can never tell how well a kid will do in a certain sport based solely on their performance in a different sport. For example, when I was growing up, I excelled at softball, basketball, and badminton. But I couldn't play soccer, golf, tennis, or volleyball to save my life. So when I was in high school, I made a niche for myself as an athlete by playing on the softball, basketball, and badminton teams. I earned letters in those sports, developed long-lasting friendships, and was able to enjoy positive competition in a supervised setting.

But what if my school didn't offer the sports that I was good at? What if my school only had tennis instead of badminton, field hockey instead of softball, and volleyball instead of basketball? What would I have done in that case? Well, my high school existence would have altered greatly, that's for sure. Instead of being part of the athletic crowd, I would have had to establish myself with a different group. Maybe I never would have found my niche at all, and that would have made my high school years much harder to bear.

And that's precisely why it's important for schools to offer as much of a variety in their athletic curriculum as possible. The kid who is labeled an outcast because he can't play baseball or football might very well be the next Tony Hawk on a skateboard or Ricky Carmichael on a motocross bike. But if he doesn't have the same free access to coaching and practice facilities as the kid who plays baseball and football, then he'll likely never develop his talent beyond a very basic level. So I for one am glad to see schools embracing non-traditional sports and activities. Hopefully, the trend will become even more widespread in the near future.

By Ed Jennett


Although neither one would want to say it, they are clearly better off as opponents then they were as teammates. Since leaving the Dallas Mavericks as a free agent to return to the Phoenix Suns All-Star PG Steve Nash has won back to back NBA Regular Season MVP Awards and led his new (old) team to back to back appearances in the Western Conference Finals. His best friend, Dallas Mavericks All-Star PF Dirk Nowitzki, has also thrived. The Mavericks replaced the pass-first Nash with a shoot-first point guard, Jason Terry. This change forced Nowitzki to learn how to create his own shot. He was also forced to take on more of a leadership role. When Dallas made the decision to waive SG Michael Finley, the third member of The Big Three with the one-time waiver exemption, Nowitzki became the undisputed leader of the club.

Nowitzki led the Mavericks to an exciting seven game series victory over the defending World Champion San Antonio Spurs in the second round. The two Texas teams had the most evenly contested series of the first two rounds and either team could have advanced to the Western Conference Finals. In fact, the Spurs probably should still be fighting for a chance to defend their championship. San Antonio lost Game 7 in overtime after SG Manu Ginobili failed to score after driving to the basket in the closing seconds and then PF Tim Duncan was unable to score on a put back or draw a foul. Spurs Head Coach Greg Popovich made a tactical error by drawing up the final play for Ginobili. The final play of regulation should have been drawn up for Duncan, who finished the game with a playoff career-high 41 points, along with 15 rebounds and six assists. Duncan was being guarded by Nowitzki who was clearly overmatched and the other four Spurs on the court at the time were all shooters, so they should have been able to make an open shot if their man left to double Duncan.

San Antonio attempted to go back to Duncan in overtime, but Mavericks Head Coach Avery Johnson had C DeSagana Diop guarding him. The shot-blocking specialist used his length to force Duncan into taking bad shots during the overtime session and the Spurs season was over.

Phoenix advanced to the Western Conference Finals by making the other half of the city of Los Angeles hate them. Just as they did against the Lakers in the first round, the Suns needed the full seven games to eliminate the Clippers in the second round. This time however the Suns were the ones who had to hold off a late-series rally after taking a 3-2 lead on the Clippers. If this series goes all seven games the Suns will not be able to rely on homecourt advantage in the final game. Despite Phoenix being the second seed due to winning the Pacific Division, Dallas has homecourt advantage due to having a better regular season record, 60-22 to 54-28.

Although Nash was impressive in winning consecutive Regular Season MVP awards, Nowitzki was just as impressive. The Suns were without All-Star PF/C Amare Stoudemire for almost the entire season, but Nash still had All-Star SF/PF Shawn Marion to help him. While Nowitzki has a strong supporting cast, none of his teammates are close to being as good as Marion.

Both players have followed up MVP-caliber regular season performances with spectacular performances in the playoffs as well. After averaging 18 points and 10 assists in the regular season, Nash is averaging 20 points and 10 assists through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Nowitzki has stepped up his production to average 28 points and 11 rebounds through rounds one and two. These are improvements over the impressive 26 points and nine rebounds that he averaged during the regular season.

This is the second year in a row that the Suns have advanced to the Western Conference Finals. Last year they were overpowered by the larger and defensive-minded San Antonio Spurs and lost in five games. The state motto of Texas will apply in this series as well. Just as they were a year ago, the Suns will be overpowered by a larger and better defensive team. The Mavericks are not at the level of the Spurs or the Detroit Pistons in terms of defensive prowess, but they are much better under Johnson than they were under previous Head Coach Don Nelson. Despite the offseason additions of tough defensive-minded players SG Raja Bell and PF/C Kurt Thomas (who is expected to return to action after being out with a foot injury since the end of February) Phoenix is still a weak defensive club. The Suns allowed opponents to average 102.8 points per game in the regular season, and so far have allowed their playoff opponents to average 106.9 points per game. Defense still win championships, even if the teams playing are the high scoring, running and gunning, Suns and Mavericks.

Prediction: (4) Dallas over (2) Phoenix in 6 games

By Ed Jennett


It may have taken them longer than they would have liked, and longer than they expected, but the Detroit Pistons finally held up their end. After falling behind 3-2 and needing the full seven games to eliminate the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Pistons are back in the Eastern Conference Finals. Detroit needs to make the most of this opportunity, as their hard fought victory was just a temporary delay in the ascent of the Cavaliers and, more specifically, their superstar SF LeBron James. King James nearly led the Cavaliers to a huge upset in his first postseason appearance. The next time these teams face one another in the playoffs the result may be different and it will not be viewed as an upset. It will be viewed as the inevitable having happened.

This year however, it is the Pistons moving on to the next round. Detroit faces their Eastern Conference Finals opponents from a year ago, the Miami Heat. After losing Game 1 of their second round series against the New Jersey Nets at home, Miami won four straight to send the Nets sulking back to the swamps of New Jersey. The convincing victory was shocking, as most experts believed that the Nets had vastly improved from a year ago when they were swept out of the playoffs in the first round by Miami. Improved or not, the Nets were like the majority of the teams in the NBA, they had no answer for the dynamic duo of the Heat, C Shaquille O'Neal and SG Dwayne Wade.

Detroit had an answer for the two superstars last year. The stifling defense of the Pistons carried them to a thrilling seven game victory over. That past success does not guarantee success this postseason though. One key factor in that series was Wade missing Game 6 due to injury and then being ineffective in his Game 7 return. Miami is healthy and well-rested heading into this series.

Detroit is still very good defensively, but they are not the same team that they were a year ago. The mastermind of the defense that defeated Superman and The Flash was then-Head Coach Larry Brown, who forced the Pistons to fire him last offseason so he could take a higher paying job with his hometown team the New York Knicks.

Brown was replaced by longtime former Minnesota Head Coach Flip Saunders, who is considered to be an offensive genius. The Pistons were a better club during the regular season, but regular season success is not what the club is seeking. The team from Motown is seeking its second championship in three seasons, but Saunders has not had much success in the postseason. He only guided Minnesota out of the first round once, during the 2004 playoffs where they lost to O'Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers then lost to the Brown-led Pistons in the NBA Finals.

The Miami Heat has had a coaching change as well. Head Coach Stan Van Gundy supposedly resigned earlier this season so he could spend more time with his family. It is believed that he was actually forced out by his replacement, Heat President Pat Riley. Van Gundy was clearly out coached by Brown in the Finals last year and that had to have been a factor in the decision for Riley to return to the bench as Head Coach. Postseason success has followed Riley wherever he has gone as a coach. Riley led the Lakers to four championships, led the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals in consecutive years, and led Miami to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1997.

Another difference in this version of the Detroit-Miami Finals is home court advantage. Last year the Heat had it, this year the Pistons have it. Home court advantage may not matter with these teams however, as Detroit won Game 7 in Miami a year ago. In fact, if the Pistons are not careful, having the home court advantage could turn into a disadvantage for them. Before Game 7 against the Cavaliers, Saunders and many of the Detroit players seemed overconfident and appeared to believe that just having the home court advantage would be enough to get them past Cleveland.

Fortunately for Detroit, the only player who did not seem to buy into this misguided philosophy was C Ben Wallace. The All-Star center and four-time Defensive Player of the Year will be the primary defender on O’Neal, so he will have to be prepared to play at his best in every game regardless of the location.

Despite the defensive prowess of Wallace, the main reason Detroit has had success against O'Neal this past two postseasons is because of the team defense that they played. While Wallace was the main defender of O'Neal, other Pistons also guarded him. Detroit also double-teamed O'Neal very well. This defense was drawn up by Brown though.

The x-factor of this series will not be a player, a building, or a city. It will be an intangible. That intangible is luck. Although the Pistons have clearly been a great team these past few seasons, they have also clearly been an incredibly lucky one. While having the best starting five (C Ben Wallace, PF Rasheed Wallace, SF Tayshaun Prince, SG Richard Hamilton, and PG Chauncey Billups) in basketball is not lucky, always having them available is. Pistons GM Joe Dumars is responsible for bringing all five players to Detroit, but the squad has been lucky that they have been so remarkably healthy, especially since the Detroit bench is shockingly weak. Luck, and health, definitely were important factors last year, because if Wade had been healthy it would have been much more difficult for the Pistons to have won Games 6 and 7.

Luck was also on the side of the Pistons when they faced the Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals. While the Pistons were the picture of harmony, the feud between Lakers superstars O'Neal and SG Kobe Bryant was at its worst. The two were also not getting along with Head Coach Phil Jackson. Los Angeles was falling apart and both O'Neal and Jackson left the team that offseason. The lucky and opportunistic Pistons easily defeated the Lakers in five games to win the NBA Championship.

No one is always lucky, and luck may have finally run out for Detroit. Riley, O'Neal, and Wade all get along with one another. O'Neal and Wade are healthy and well-rested due to quickly dispatching the Nets. The Pistons should not expect luck to be a factor in the Eastern Conference Finals this year. What they should expect is the same result as last year, the road team winning Game 7 and advancing to the NBA Finals.

Prediction: Miami (2) over Detroit (1) in 7 games

By Ed Jennett


If the Stanley Cup Playoffs were a movie, the theme would have to be believe in yourself. That would be because no one else believed that any of the teams that made it to the Final Four would have done so when the season began. In fact most experts predicted that the Eastern Conference Finalists, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Buffalo Sabres, would not even make the playoffs. While the Western Conference Finalists flipped the script as well both the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and the Edmonton Oilers were considered probable playoff teams, their success is not as surprising.

The new rules following the NHL lockout did not just lead to a more exciting on-ice product. The rule changes have also led to a changing of the guard as all four finalists were built for, and play, the fast paced game that league had in mind. This speed-based style lead to early eliminations for their list of victims, which is comprised of most of the recent perennial powerhouses: Detroit, Colorado, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Ottawa. The only traditionally favored club that was not knocked off by one of the semi-finalists was Dallas. The Stars were eliminated in the first round by Colorado.

Another similarity in the two series is that they each feature a battle of a northern/traditional hockey city versus a sun-belt/non-traditional hockey city. Hockey purists should prepare to become upset while watching the Stanley Cup Finals this year. An all sun-belt Finals is on the way.

(2) Hurricanes vs. (4) Sabres

It is a rarity in sports. A Cinderella team against another Cinderella team. The upstart Hurricanes versus the shocking Sabres. The clock will strike midnight and the ball will finally have to end for one of them.

Both clubs feature young goalies (Cam Ward of Carolina and Ryan Miller of Buffalo) that look like veterans. While they are quick and offensive minded, the teams also pay attention to the defensive side of the game. Although this series, unlike the Western Conference Finals, does not feature any big-name defensemen, the D-men for both sides will quickly jump into the play if the opportunity to do so presents itself.

The similarities will make for a tight series, which will give Carolina an edge. The Hurricanes have gone 5-2 after surrendering the first goal of the game. So they have the resiliency to come out ahead in the tough battles that are ahead of them with Buffalo. Even more impressively, Carolina gets better as the games goes on. In the final game of the New Jersey series they trailed 1-0 and failed to register a shot on goal until halfway through the first period. The Hurricanes rallied back to win the game 4-1.

Center Eric Staal of Carolina is the only superstar on either team and the only player on either side capable of taking over a game. Having a game breaker such as Staal will certainly give an edge to Carolina if any of the games go into overtime, where the teams are a combined 7-0 in the playoffs. The series should go the full seven games which also benefits the Hurricanes since they have the home-ice advantage.

Prediction: Carolina in 7 games


(6) Mighty Ducks vs. (8) Oilers

It is appropriate that in a Final Four that looks like it is directly from a Hollywood script that the team that got its name from a successful Hollywood movie would be involved. Also appropriately, the Western Conference Finals features two teams that are just as similar as the clubs in the Eastern Conference Finals.

There are a few things that distinguish this side of the bracket however. The Western Finalists have made yet another script change by being the most physical teams left in the postseason. Traditionally the Eastern Conference has been more physical than the Western Conference. Anaheim and Edmonton both feature superstar defensemen in Scott Neidermeyer and Chris Pronger, respectively. Pronger leads all skaters in the playoffs in ice time, with Niedermeyer coming in second. The talented two-some has also led their teams as the clear-cut best players on their respective squads.
As the only Canadian team remaining in the playoffs, Edmonton carries the pressure of representing an entire country. The flip side to that is the Oilers also have the support of an entire country, which will translate to a much better advantage in their games at home. Anaheim does have the home-ice advantage in the series, however.

In two final similarities to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Western Conference Finals will take the full seven games and end with the home team advancing. That is the only ending that makes sense, since Hollywood is located in Southern California, not Western Canada.

Prediction: Mighty Ducks in 7 games

Team Makita Suzuki's Ricky Carmichael capped one of the most exciting Supercross seasons in recent history by winning finishing in second place at the final round in Las Vegas, thereby securing the 14th AMA title of his career. The championship was bittersweet to most fans, as it was accompanied by Carmichael's announcement that he will run a limited schedule next year. Yes, folks, Carmichael is going on the partial retirement plan that is all the rage with top riders these days.

Nevertheless, there was still time to soak up the ambiance of Sin City and Carmichael's latest Supercross championship. It was an eventful season marked by lots of drama, both on the track and off, and will be remembered as the year that James Stewart finally came into his own on the big bikes, as well as the controversy that derisively became known as "fuel-gate" on Internet message boards. But more importantly, it will be remembered as another classic Carmichael championship, one in which the 26-year-old Florida native jumped out to an early series lead, and then rode conservatively for the remaining rounds to secure the title. While this conservative riding method causes some fans to complain about a lack of battles on the track, it is an M.O. that has worked well for Carmichael for the last three seasons. And in the end, no one will remember how he won his championships, they'll just remember that he won.

This year, things weren't easy on Carmichael. Coming into Las Vegas, a total of just 5 points separated Carmichael, Stewart, and Chad Reed of Team Yamaha. Any one of those three could have come out of Vegas as the new champion based on different scenarios. For Stewart, it would have meant winning the race and hoping Carmichael and Reed finished third or worse. For Carmichael it meant finishing at least in second place. And for Reed, it meant having to win, and hoping that both Carmichael and Stewart finished fourth or worse. Those were all very plausible scenarios, so the crowd was on edge the whole time.

Stewart jumped out to the early lead with the holeshot, and then just kept on going. He soon checked out, which left the only real drama behind him with Carmichael and Reed. Stewart fans were no doubt hoping that Carmichael and Reed would battle so hard that they would end up taking each other out, thereby opening the door for Stewart's championship. While things did get pretty close in the fight for second place, and while the riders were clearly pushing themselves to the limit, everyone managed to stay up on two wheels. When Carmichael crossed the finish line in second place, the AMA SX championship was his.

Through the first few rounds of the season, it appeared as though Carmichael might run away with the championship. Stewart won the opening race at Anaheim I, but then Carmichael came back and strung together two consecutive victories while Stewart finished in third place two times. Meanwhile, Reed was quietly putting together some solid rides of his own, taking second place four times in the first five races. However, most of the attention was squarely focused on Stewart and Carmichael, so Reed's accomplishments were going unnoticed.

That is, until Round 7 in St. Louis, where things started to unravel for Carmichael and Suzuki. Carmichael experienced an uncharacteristic mechanical failure in St. Louis that forced him to pull off the track in the Main Event after having put just one lap in the books. This meant that Carmichael would finish with a single point, and gave both Stewart and Reed golden opportunities to make up 24 points (since the winner gets 25 points) in the championship standings. Stewart soon had troubles of his own, and ended up in 17th place for the evening, which netted the young Kawasaki rider a mere four points. Reed wasted no time in capitalizing on his competitors' bad luck. The 2004 Supercross champion took home the win, and in the process put himself right back into the thick of things. Reed turned what had been a 15-point deficit into a 9-point lead just like that, and the series suddenly had a whole new look to it.

Then, news of Team Suzuki's alleged use of out-of-spec fuel surfaced, and the points landscape changed yet again. In keeping with the severity of penalties assessed in past years, AMA Supercross series manager Steve Whitelock docked Carmichael 25 points. This loss, coupled with the 1-point effort in St. Louis, effectively eliminated Carmichael from the title hunt. However, Suzuki appealed the decision, and the AMA, in conjunction with the FIM, reversed the ruling and gave Carmichael his points back. Instead, Team Suzuki was fined $25,000, and the sanctioning bodies promised they would be reviewing the way fuel samples are collected and tested.

Reed and Stewart supporters naturally cried foul at this reversal, pointing out that Carmichael forced the AMA's hand by essentially threatening to stop racing the series if he didn't get his points back. What happened was that during a subsequent press conference, Carmichael (not so subtly) hinted that since there wasn't any chance of him surmounting such a great points deficit with just half of the series remaining, that there would be no reason for him to continue racing Supercross and risk injury. He would rather start preparing for the outdoor series if the penalty were to stand.

However, as things usually do in professional sports, the controversy blew over after a couple of weeks, and people stopped mentioning it as a turning point in the series. Most everyone turned their attention back to racing, and watched Stewart go on an extended hot streak. Stewart, whom many had started to count out of the series, won five of the last six races to make it close and finish just two points behind Carmichael in the overall standings. In fact, Stewart's late-season charge was enough to secure the World Supercross GP championship. In case you're not familiar with the structure of AMA Supercross these days, there's a new series-within-a-series format, with two titles on the line during the season instead of just one. The AMA championship remains the more prestigious of the two, but that could change in the years to come.

No matter who your favorite rider is, I think it's safe to say that any true fan of Supercross racing had to be satisfied with the way the 2006 series played out. There have been many past series where the championship has effectively been determined well in advance of the final round. But this time, there were three deserving competitors poised to win it all in Vegas. It doesn't get much better than that!

Being the mother of a three-year-old toddler who constantly keeps me on the move, I couldn't ask for a better Mother's Day present than having my husband take our son out all day long. That gave me a whole day to enjoy things that I rarely ever encounter anymore: peace, quiet, and relaxation. As part of my big day, I ordered a pizza and had it delivered just in time to catch a couple of ballgames on TV. Imagine my surprise when I saw many Major League baseball players wearing pink wristbands and even hitting with pink bats!

I knew right away that this had to be some kind of promotion for Mother's Day, and I was correct. I listened to what the announcers had to say about the subject, then went on the Internet to get even more information. I was very impressed with what I discovered.

Of course, almost everyone knows that a pink ribbon symbolizes a person's support for the fight against breast cancer. The pink bats and wristbands were a part of Major League Baseball's weeklong commitment to raise awareness and support for the Breast Cancer Foundation. The idea was proposed to commissioner Bud Selig, and reportedly gained widespread approval among players. Since breast cancer affects so many women across the country and around the world, it is no surprise that several pro players have lost loved ones to the disease. The players were eager to do something that would not only honor their own mothers, but also help women everywhere. Thus the pink accessories campaign was launched.

In addition to players wearing pink wristbands, all active personnel in major league ballparks also wore them during the campaign. Plus, all bases and home plate were inscribed with the pink ribbon logo. Some sluggers, like Jim Thome of the Chicago White Sox, David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox, and Jason LaRue of the Cincinnati Reds were among those who opted to use specially dyed pink bats produced by Louisville Slugger. According to published reports, Louisville Slugger manufactured approximately 400 of the special edition bats for use by players sponsored by that company.

After the campaign ends, a majority of the pink items (especially the bats, bases, and home plates) will be autographed by Major League Baseball's top stars, and when will be auctioned off to the public. All of the proceeds from auctioned items will go directly to the Breast Cancer Foundation.

It was kind of weird seeing these players using pink bats. They looked so incongruous up there in the hands of huge, scowling men intent on hitting the ball as hard as they could. But after a few innings, I got used to it, and rather liked the change of pace from the regular brown and black bats that we usually see. Of course, since the players had to receive special permission from the commissioner's office in order to use these pink bats, it's highly doubtful that we'll see any during other times of the season. But it was a fun campaign to witness, particularly on Mother's Day.

I have to say that as a woman and a mother, I really appreciated this caring and compassionate gesture from Major League Baseball. All professional sports have been dealing with something of a public backlash recently as fans come to view athletes as overpaid, greedy, and extremely selfish. Baseball in particular has had a big image problem for the past few years in light of the steroid scandal that just won't go away. I think that a campaign like this one is a step in the right direction, and will result in lots of good PR for the league and its players.

From what I've read, the public response to the pink bats, wristbands, and ribbons has been tremendous. We still have to wait a while to see how much money the auctions raise for the Breast Cancer Foundation, but I'm guessing that it will be in the tens of thousands of dollars range. This would be a great result for everyone concerned. I hope Major League Baseball decides to make this an annual promotion to honor women everywhere. Something like that would make me a diehard fan again!

By Ed Jennett


The man in charge said that changes are coming. But he neglected to say if he will be among them. After the regular season ended Phoenix Coyotes Head Coach Wayne Gretzky, who is also a managing partner of the team, promised that there would be personnel changes. While he declined to announce whether or not he would step down as coach, Gretzky did say that he planned to announce his decision on the matter in mid-May. This has led to speculation that Gretzky would not return as coach next season, since he could have simply ended all rumors by stating that he would coach the team next year.

The Phoenix Coyotes have not won a playoff series since 1987, which was when the team was still the Winnipeg Jets.

As a player, Gretzky won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers, made a fifth trip to the Stanley Cup Finals as a member of the Los Angeles Kings, and played in 208 career playoff games.

When the regular season ended, Gretzky characterized it as a disappointment because the club did not make the playoffs.

The Coyotes believed that they were good enough to make it to the postseason this year. However they finished a game under .500 with a 38-39-5 record, which left them in 12th place in the Western Conference and 14 points out of the last playoff seed.

Problems began for Phoenix in the preseason and continued throughout the year. Goaltender Brian Bucher was injured in the first game of the preseason. Future Hall-of-Fame right wing Brett Hull decided to retire five games into the regular season. The Coyotes were never able to replace the leadership and scoring punch that he was expected to provide. The club also received another huge set back in February when talented left wing Ladislav Nagy was injured.

The low point of the season also took place in February when assistant coach Rick Tocchet was arrested in February for allegedly running an illegal sports gambling ring. The embarrassing scandal quickly expanded and involved Gretzky when it became known that his wife Janet Jones Gretzky had placed bets with the gambling ring.

Gretzky plans to return to Phoenix soon to attend pre-draft meetings with scouts for the team. Whether he plans to return to coaching Phoenix remains to be seen.

Bottom-feeding teams such as Phoenix are not the only ones expected to make changes this summer after a disappointing end to their season. After finishing first overall in the regular season, the Detroit Red Wings were eliminated in the first round by the Edmonton Oilers. Being successful over the last several years has appeared to catch up with the Wings, who were out performed by the younger and hungrier Oilers.

Detroit Captain C Steve Yzerman is expected to announce his retirement soon. But he is not the only veteran who will sever ties with the Motown team this year. LW Brendan Shanahan and D Chris Chelios will both probably leave via unrestricted free agency this summer. While they have been huge contributors to the success of the team, the club clearly must get younger and could use the additional salary cap space. Detroit might have over $20 million in cap space this offseason, but a large portion of that will be used to re-sign unrestricted free agent D Nicklas Lidstrom. Another portion of that cap space could be used for a new starting goaltender. Incumbent G Manny Legace is another unrestricted free agent and may not be brought back. If he does return to Detroit, Legace will most likely be the backup goalie.

One strong possibility to start in net for Detroit next year is G Jean-Sebastien Giguere of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Giguerre played exceptionally well for Red Wings Head Coach Mike Babcock in 2003 when Babcock guided Anaheim to the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals.

Another high priced, veteran-filled club that will be looking to make changes will be the Philadelphia Flyers. Philadelphia was eliminated in the first round by the younger and faster Buffalo Sabres. Flyers GM Bob Clarke made the controversial decision to sign hulking defensemen Derian Hatcher and Mike Rathje last offseason despite the new rules of the NHL that were designed to make the game faster. Both players had difficulties against the Sabres.

Because Philadelphia has always been a big spender the team will not have a lot of salary cap/roster flexibility this offseason. A possible solution would be to trade incumbent starting goalie Robert Esche to a team that needs goaltending help. Backup G Antero Niittymaki appears ready to become a full time starter, so Esche is expendable.

By Ed Jennett


The first round of the NBA Playoffs only supplied one surprise, the depleted Phoenix Suns defeating the Los Angeles Lakers after falling behind 3-1 in the series. Every other series reached an obvious conclusion. While the lack of upsets may have lead to a predictable first round of playoff basketball, it has also lead to a much more competitive second round:


Eastern Conference


(1) Detroit versus (4) Cleveland

If he really is the next Michael Jordan, then this series had to happen. LeBron James had to face, and lose to, the Detroit Pistons in order to learn how to become a champion. On his way to winning his first championship in 1991, Jordan and the Chicago Bulls eliminated their Central Division rival, and the defending NBA Champion, the Detroit Pistons. The 2006 version of the Pistons is the defending Eastern Conference Champion, and finished with the best record in the regular season. There is no chance that King James and the Cleveland Cavaliers win this series and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. But this series isn’t really about that, because no one thinks Cleveland can advance against Detroit.

What the series is really about is that once again Detroit is delaying an inevitable reign while trying to win another title. But the game within the games is that James and the Cavs will learn what it takes to win in the playoffs and what they must do in order to defeat Detroit on their way to the first NBA championship in franchise history.

Prediction: Detroit in 6 games


(2) Miami versus (3) New Jersey

Will it be the Shaquille O’Neal of old or old Shaquille O’Neal? Which one shows up for the second round series between the Miami Heat and the New Jersey Nets will determine which team advances to the Eastern Conference Finals to face the Detroit Pistons. All-Star SG Vince Carter was dominant for New Jersey in the opening round series against the Pacers. But when O’Neal is on his game he is still the most dominant player in the league. The Nets will look to rotate emerging C Nenad Krstic, PF/C Jason Collins, and PF/C Cliff Robisnon on O’Neal, with the key to that strategy being keeping Krstic out of foul trouble. If Krstic can stay on the floor his outside shooting game will cause match up problems for whoever is guarding him, whether it is O’Neal, Miami backup center Alonzo Mourning, or Heat power forwards Udonis Haslem and Antoine Walker.

Carter will have the difficult task of guarding one of the few players in the league even more electrifying than he is, fellow All-Star SG Dwyane Wade. This will wear Carter down and take away the best offensive weapon of the Nets. New Jersey will be far more competitive this year than they were a year ago in getting swept out in the first round. But they will still be sent home for the summer by the Heat.

Prediction: Miami in 7 games


Western Conference


(1) San Antonio versus (4) Dallas

Due to the playoff seeding of the NBA, the two best teams in the Western Conference face each other in the second round. San Antonio and Dallas fought for the Midwest Division Championship all season and ended up as the only teams in the Western Conference to win at least 60 games. San Antonio finished with 63 victories, three ahead of their interstate rival.

The series will be eerily similar to the first round series of the Mavericks. Both clubs are lead by All-Star power forwards, with one clearly having the edge over the other. In this series though, the Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki will be outclassed by his counter point Tim Duncan. While Nowitzki was a regular season MVP candidate this year, Duncan is a previous regular season and NBA Finals MVP winner. The other difference in the series is that unlike Memphis, which failed to put a solid supporting cast around Pau Gasol, Dallas has given Nowitzki a talented and deep team to lead.

Just as it was last season, the hard work of the Spurs in the regular season will be a post season factor. This year however, having home court advantage in the final game of the series will help San Antonio much earlier in their postseason run. Home court and the championship experience of the Spurs will be the deciding factors in the last game of this close match up.

Prediction: San Antonio in 7 games


(2) Phoenix versus (6) Los Angeles Clippers

In a bizarre twist of fate, the Phoenix Suns will play all of their road games in the second round in the same building that all of their road games in the first round were held, the Staples Center. By rallying from a 3-1 deficit against the Lakers, the Suns thwarted a possible hall-way series between the Clippers and Lakers. Since the Clippers have never advanced to the second round of the playoffs before it is highly unlikely that they care Phoenix ruined the potential Battle for Los Angeles though.

The Suns may feel that they are destined to make it to the Western Conference Finals again since they are only the eighth team in NBA history to win a playoff series after trailing 3-1. But Phoenix is without All-Star PF/C Amare Stoudemire and PF/C Kurt Thomas, who was acquired last offseason to improve the defense of the club, especially in the playoffs. The Suns will definitely miss their talent and size, as they will be overmatched in the interior by the Clippers All-Star power forward Elton Brand and underrated center Chris Kaman. While Phoenix small forwards All-Star Shawn Marion and Most Improved Player of the Year Boris Diaw are both very good defenders, they will be out of position and overmatched in this series while trying to guard the big men of the Clippers. The Suns only chance to advance is to make this series a running game and hope that the Clippers cannot keep up with them.

Prediction: Los Angeles Clippers in 6 games

By Ed Jennett


Toward the end of the regular season, Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said something that had to make every Timberwolf fan cringe. That he could not envision trading All-Star power forward Kevin Garnett. No Minnesota fan would want to see that happen, which is why they had to cringe when they heard the comments of Taylor.

Steve Francis. Baron Davis. Vince Carter. These three All-Stars were all traded within the last two seasons. The deals all took place after their teams said they would not be traded. It looks like Garnett will increase this distinguished list to 4-for-4.

KG has not requested a trade, yet. But he has said that he would like to speak with Minnesota management during the offseason about the direction of the team. The Timberwolves have missed the playoffs the last two years after finally advancing past the first round of the playoffs and making it to the Western Conference Finals. Garnett wants to be assured by management that the team will make the necessary moves this summer to become a contender again next season.

It is highly unlikely that Minnesota would be able to convince KG of this. That is because it is highly unlikely that the Timberwolves would be capable of making moves that would make the club a contender again that quickly. Garnett is the best trading asset of the team, so it unrealistic for anyone to think that any trade (or trades) could be made that could return the team to contending status fast enough to make him happy.

Since it is very unlikely that his request to make the team a contender will be granted, it is very likely that Garnett will request to be traded this offseason. Most teams would love to acquire a player as talented as KG, but the list of teams that will actually be in the running for his services will be whittled down for numerous reasons.

Garnett has three years remaining on his contract (at $20, $22, and $24 million respectively) and will seek one last large extension after that. He turns 30 later this month, so that is a huge financial commitment/risk. The massive contract of KG will also take up a great deal of the salary cap of his next team, which could potentially make it difficult to build a contender around him. A team willing to go over the cap to do so would also risk having to pay the luxury tax. Unless a team is significantly under the salary cap, the club attempting to acquire Garnett would have to come close to matching his salary to send back to Minnesota or another club in a multiple-team deal.

Combining his gargantuan salary with the fact that KG is one of the best players in the league makes it virtually impossible for the Timberwolves to get equal value. So Minnesota would be stuck having to take the best offer available. There is also the factor of Minnesota not sending Garnett to a team he does not want to play for. Since he was the face of the franchise for the past 11 seasons, it is doubtful that the Timberwolves would trade Garnett somewhere he does not want to go. Finally, teams prefer to send their star players to the opposing conference, so Garnett will most likely wind up in the Eastern Conference next season.

The Indiana Pacers could become the favorite to land Garnett if they decide to trade All-Star PF/C Jermaine O’Neal. There have been rumors for months that the Pacers would blow up the team this offseason and that O’Neal would be the first to go. The talented big man is two years younger than KG and would give the team a greater window of opportunity to build around an elite big man. There is almost no chance of the Timberwolves acquiring a better player.

The Chicago Bulls have numerous assets and the cap space to make a trade for Garnett. Although they have one of the top picks in the draft via the Knicks, the draft is weak, so it will not be as valuable as it would be in other years. Chicago also has its own first round pick as well as several talented young players. That pick will be in the middle of the draft however, and the Bulls young talent was only good enough for the team to sneak into the playoffs in the weak East and lose in the first round. KG attended high school in Illinois, so the Bulls will most likely be on the list of teams that he would like to play for.

The New York Knicks will definitely be on the list of teams that Garnett would like to play for. The Knicks were awful this season but their best player is former Timbevolves PG All-Star Stephon Marbury. After feuding for years over the way Marbury departed Minnesota, Garnett and his former teammate have renewed their close friendship. New York has the assets to make several different proposals for KG. All-Star PG Steve Francis could be paired with either of the Knicks future All-Star big men, PF Channing Frye or C Eddy Curry. Other possibilities include pairing Frye with the expiring contract of SF Jalen Rose and pairing Curry with the expiring contract of PF Maurice Taylor. The Knicks will most likely use their expiring contracts and two-late first round draft picks to try to create a multiple team deal to land Garnett in order to keep their best players to build a contender around Garnett. One target for a multiple-team deal is Portland. The Blazers are desperate for expiring contracts in exchange for talented, but troubled, young forwards (PF) Zach Randolph and (SF) Darius Miles, and former All-Star C Theo Ratliff.

The New Jersey Nets are also interested in acquiring Garnett. However they are the least likely club to make a deal for KG because they would, and should, be reluctant to break up their talented core of PG Jason Kidd, SG Vince Carter, SF Richard Jefferson, and C Nenad Krstic. Any trade for KG would require the Nets surrendering at least one of their Big Four, since no one else on the roster has any trade value.

The Golden State Warriors are the most likely Western Conference team to trade for Garnett. The Warriors have a high lottery pick and are loaded with young players to send to Minnesota in a package for Garnett. Golden State can build a package around PF Troy Murphy and try to keep All-Star PG Baron Davis and SG Jason Richardson out of the trade. That duo combined with KG would make the Warriors contenders.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the other Western Conference team with a chance of acquiring Garnett. KG has an offseason home in Malibu and would form the best duo in the league with All-Star SG Kobe Bryant. That pairing with Head Coach Phil Jackson (and playing in Los Angeles) would have players clamoring for the mid-level exception of the Lakers, so the club would be able to create a legitimate contender for next season.

Teams in search of a discount should contact the Denver Nuggets immediately. Disgruntled power forward Kenyon Martin may have a maximum contract, but he can definitely be had at a minimum price this offseason.

The Nuggets aggressively shopped K-Mart to the entire league before the trading deadline, but were unable to find a taker whom they could work out a deal with. The New York Knicks were the only team interested in Martin, but a deal could not be made because Denver insisted on acquiring rookie power forward Channing Frye in the transaction. The Nuggets wanted to swap Martin and point guard Earl Watson for Frye and the expiring contract of PG/SG/SF Anfernee Hardaway. Denver also tried to trade Martin to New York in a three-team deal with Orlando that would have sent Hardaway to the Magic and PG/SG Steve Francis to Denver. Francis had no interest in playing for the Nuggets and was eventually traded to the Knicks for Hardaway and small forward Trevor Ariza.

K-Mart probably ended his stay in Denver with his latest, and most likely last, blow up at Nuggets Head Coach George Karl during half time of the Game 2 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Martin was furious that he was not getting a lot of minutes while his team was losing and cursed out Karl and some of his teammates. Karl did not play Martin in the second half. The Nuggets then suspended Martin indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team. Denver eventually shortened the suspension to the rest of the series against the Clippers, which became a three-game suspension when the Nuggets were eliminated in five games.

The intense and belligerent Martin was even more moody this season than usual due to struggling with recovering from microfracture surgery on his left knee last May. Because of his health problems, Martin missed a lot of games this season and Karl often limited his minutes when he did play. The two often clashed during the season and Karl considered Martin to be a locker room cancer. K-Mart had a reputation for hating practice from his days with the New Jersey Nets and regularly began sitting out practices this year because of his knee.

Denver will be desperate to dump Martin this summer. There are two teams that most likely will be desperate for him. Ironically those teams are the New Jersey Nets and the New York Knicks.

If Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves is available this offseason he will be the primary target of both clubs. If Jermaine O’Neal is made available by the Indiana Pacers this summer he will be the secondary target of the Knicks. Either big man would be difficult to acquire however. So both teams could end up competing for the service of Martin.
The two most pressing needs of the Nuggets this offseason are outside shooting and being able to re-sign their free agents. New Jersey could put together a package of their current starting power forward (and former teammate of Martin) Jason Collins, rookie shooting guard Antoine Wright, and salary cap filler to exchange for Martin. K-Mart would be a great complement to outside shooting center Nenad Krstic, who excels offensively but struggles defensively.

Martin would also be a great complement to the Knicks starting center, Eddy Curry. Curry is a dominant low-post scorer, but like Krstic he only excels on offense and struggles on defense. The Knicks have a few different proposals they could make to help satisfy either of the offseason goals of the Nuggets.

New York can send Denver a shooter by packaging backup power forward Malik Rose with shooting guard Quentin Richardson. Rose and Richardson both have big contracts, but they end in two years and four years respectively, while Martin has five years left on his contract. If Denver would prefer an expiring contract to free up money to-resign their free agent big men this summer (Nene and Francisco Elson) and eventually sign small forward Carmelo Anthony to a contract extension, the Knicks have two to possibly trade them.

The expiring contract of power forward of Maurice Taylor is slightly less than the contract of K-Mart, making a one-for-one trade a possibility. The expiring contract of Jalen Rose is so huge that Denver would have to include at least a second player for the trade to work under the salary cap. One possibility would be for the Nuggets to include small forward Ruben Patterson. Patterson has been a close friend of Martin since they were teammates at the University of Cincinnati, and like Martin is also a well-known trouble maker and defensive-minded player. The Nuggets would most likely be thrilled to ship out Patterson since he spoke out in defense of his long-time friend immediately after the suspension.

If either trade for an expiring contract were to take place the Nuggets would also feel more comfortable using their mid-level exception to sign free agent shooting guard Ronald Murray, whom they are rumored to be interested in.

By Ed Jennett

The Eastern and Western Conferences have been vastly different over the last several years. Defensive, smash-mouth hockey has been the style of the East. Offensive, fast hockey has been the name of the game in the West. The trend of the conferences being polar opposites continued in the first round of the playoffs this year.

The higher seeds of the East did what was expected of them and advanced to round two. Every higher seed in the West on the other hand was upset in the first round. This sets up a second round that features the expected match ups in one conference and unexpected battles caused by upsets in the other.


Eastern Conference


(1) Ottawa vs. (4) Buffalo

After facing each other eight times in the regular season because the new NHL schedules concentrate on divisional play, the top two teams in the Northeast Division will meet a minimum of four more times this year. The Ottawa Senators have home ice throughout the rest of the playoffs in part because they won their regular season series against the Buffalo Sabres five games to three. Ottawa finished the regular season with 113 points, just three ahead of the 110 points earned by Buffalo.

Both clubs feature high-scoring attacks and lead the first round in scoring with the Senators averaging 4.6 goals in their five games against Tampa and the Sabres averaging 4.5 goals in their six games against Philadelphia. The difference is the distribution of the offense. Ottawa has been carried by three players this offseason. Forwards Martin Havlat, Dany Heatley, and Jason Spezza have combined for 30 points while their teammates have combined for 33 points. No other Senator has more than six points. The Sabres have five players averaging at least a point per game and have eight players with two or more goals.

The series will obviously be close, but just as they did in the regular season, the Senators will prevail.

Prediction: Ottawa in 7


(2) Carolina vs. (3) New Jersey

Defense will be the key to the other Eastern Conference second round series. After losing the Games 1 and 2 of their first round series with the Montreal Canadiens, the Carolina Hurricanes allowed only five goals in the next four games to win the series in six. The New Jersey Devils however were even more impressive in allowing only four goals while sweeping the rival New York Rangers in the first round. New Jersey had also won 11 straight games to finish the regular season.

Defense and winning streaks are not the only things that the teams have in common. Both clubs are four lines deep, with two scoring lines, a checking line, and a physical line. The major difference in the series is goaltending. Carolina rookie goalie Cam Ward has been impressive since taking over veteran goalie Martin Gerber. After Gerber was in net for the first two games, Ward took over to start Game 3 and the Hurricanes have not lost since. Ward had a save percentage over .940 and a goals against under 1.50 in the four games that he played. His Devils counterpart Martin Brodeur was even more impressive in holding the Rangers to only four goals in the first round. But Brodeur is looking forward to other number fours this post season. The four series wins he needs to become a four-time Stanley Cup Winner.

Prediction: New Jersey in 6


Western Conference


(5) San Jose vs. (8) Edmonton

The Edmonton Oilers were supposed to give the Detroit Red Wings a fight in the first round, but they weren’t supposed to win it. Now Edmonton has to deal with two let downs. The first is playing the San Jose Sharks after eliminating the first-place Red Wings. The second is playing the San Jose Sharks after the rival Calgary Flames were eliminated by Anaheim. Since Calgary and Edmonton would have been the highest and lowest remaining seeds respectively, they would have faced off in the second round.

The key player in this series will be San Jose center Joe Thornton. While a member of the Boston Bruins, Thornton would disappear in the playoffs, as did most of his teammates. If Thornton and his explosive line mate Jonathan Cheechoo can recapture the magic they had in the regular season, San Jose may be on its way to the Western Conference Finals. If they cannot, this series will be dominated by the Edmonton duo of defenseman Chris Pronger and goaltender Dwayne Roloson. Pronger and Roloson were the best players in Edmonton/Detroit series and will have an easy time shutting down San Jose if the two Sharks stars are not at their best.

Prediction: Edmonton in 6


(6) Anaheim vs. (7) Colorado

Will the real Jose Theodore please stand up? The Avalanche goalie was unimpressive during the regular season, but seems to have (finally) found his game in the playoffs. Theodore made 50 saves in the series clinching victory over the Dallas Stars and appears ready to provide Colorado with the same postseason heroics that he gave the Montreal Canadiens. That is unless he reverts back to his poor play of the first three games of the series, when he allowed nine goals on 65 shots, resulting in a .878 save percentage.

Fortunately, unlike his time in Montreal, Theodore will not have to carry this team. This Colorado club is lead by team captain Joe Sakic and his wingers Milan Hejduk and Andre Brunette. The top line of the Avalanche scored the big goals that sent the second –seeded Stars searching for their golf clubs and fishing poles. The trio is tied for the team scoring lead with seven points each.

Anaheim has a goaltender that has led the team to the Stanley Cup Finals in J.S. Giguire. But Colorado will most likely not have to face him, at least not at the beginning of the series. Rookie Ilja Bryzgalov should get the start since he successfully manned the nets when the Ducks faced elimination in Games 6 and 7. Bryzgalov allowed only one goal in Game 6 and shutout Calgary in the deciding Game 7. The big game situations that he experienced will be needed in this series.

The teams played four times during the regular season and each game was decided by one goal. Colorado won three out of the four contests, including one overtime victory.

Prediction: Colorado in 7

When it comes to the topic of college costs, most people immediately think of skyrocketing tuition charges that are the norm at a majority of campuses across the country. But in the case of prominent student athletes the costs can be significantly greater than the $20,000 to $30,000 per year price tag at the most expensive schools. Take former Trojans quarterback Matt Leinart, for instance. His senior year at USC cost him a whopping $10 million, even though he only took one class. How can that be? Well, his NFL stock took an unexpected dive in the days leading up to the draft. Let's take a look at how this all played out.

When Leinart ended the 2004 college football season, he was pretty much on top of the world. He had just finished leading the Trojans to their second consecutive national championship by posting a 13-0 record on the season, including a 55-19 whipping of the Oklahoma Sooners for the title. Leinart threw for 332 yards and 5 touchdowns in that Orange Bowl victory, setting a new record for TD passes in the process. This performance on the national stage capped off a fantastic year for Leinart, in which he also won the Heisman Trophy, which is awarded to the nation's best football player. Leinart, a junior at the time, could have declared for the NFL draft at that point.

Had he declared, he would almost certainly have been the number one overall pick, meaning that he would now be a member of the San Francisco 49ers organization. Instead, Leinart chose to return to USC for one more year in order to try for an unprecedented third national championship in a row, and perhaps, a second Heisman. With Leinart out of the draft, the top choice in 2005 turned out to be quarterback Alex Smith of Utah. Smith ended up signing the richest rookie contract in NFL history, a six-year deal that could be worth as much as $57 million with bonuses and incentives. A good percentage of that money, $24 million, is guaranteed. So even if Smith turns out to be a bust as a professional, he will walk away from the game a very rich man.

Leinart held a press conference and laid out his reasons for wanting to return to USC. He still had some goals that he wanted to accomplish, and he was simply having too much fun leading the college lifestyle to give it up for a job in the NFL. Leinart would need to take only one class (ballroom dancing), so he would pretty much have lots of time to devote to football. Immediately after the announcement was made, I applauded his decision and wished more athletes would follow his example and finish their degrees before turning pro.

During Leinart's senior season, he didn't make any costly errors or sustain any major injuries that would threaten his position at the NFL draft. He actually passed for more yards in 2005 than he did in 2004, and again led USC to an undefeated regular season. However, the Trojans ended up losing to Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns in the Rose Bowl, a game in which Young clearly outplayed Leinart. If I had to try to pinpoint a time when Leinart's stock began to fall, I would say it happened soon after the Rose Bowl.

But Young would have his fair share of offseason problems, not the least of which was the now-infamous Wonderlic test score disaster. Most mock drafts had Young listed as the third-overall pick prior to the test score leak. Afterwards, Young had dropped as far as seventh on many lists. Leinart had no such troubles, and reportedly performed well in workouts and during team interviews. So far so good.

Soon, however, teams began questioning Leinart's commitment to professional football. During his four years at USC, Leinart was pretty much treated as an A-list celebrity. He was used to hanging out with other young stars from the entertainment industry, and was used to the glitz and glamour that go along with being on the rise in Los Angeles. It was rumored that Leinart couldn't even walk across the USC campus without bodyguards to help clear the way for him. Not every young man receives that kind of attention, and it's easy to see how someone like Leinart could get used to -- and indeed, crave -- the spotlight.

So NFL general managers and team owners had to start asking themselves: How would Leinart respond to playing in a small market like New Orleans, or even worse, Nashville, which is the home of the Tennessee Titans. The concern was that Leinart would be too distracted with his pals back in L.A. and wouldn't devote 100 percent of his attention to football.

As a result, Leinart went from being the projected number two pick overall (behind teammate Reggie Bush) to third or fourth. Even that wasn't too bad, all things considered. So imagine everyone's surprise when draft day rolled around and Leinart ended up waiting around in the Green Room for what had to seem like an eternity. The Arizona Cardinals finally put an end to his agony by drafting him with the 10th pick.

As the 10th overall pick, Leinart's first contract will be nowhere near as lucrative as it would have been had he gone in, say, the top three. Of course, the details of Leinart's contract haven't been worked out yet, so anything can happen. But generally speaking, Leinart's contract will be an 8 or 10 percent increase over the contract that the number 10 player signed last year. Plus, Leinart should get a bit more right off the bat since he's a quarterback. Overall, though, the consensus is that Leinart will fall about $10 million short in terms of guaranteed money this year versus what he would have made had he gone to the NFL last year.

Despite the way things turned out, I still stand by my initial feeling that Leinart made the right decision by returning to school for his senior year. Little did I -- or anyone else, for that matter -- know that the monetary costs would be in the 8-figure range. Ten million dollars is a sum of money that most average people don't have a chance of making in their lifetimes, so it may seem that Leinart made a colossal mistake. But there's no question in my mind that by the time Leinart is done playing football, $10 million will be a mere after thought to him. In other words, over the course of his career, he'll likely make that figure 10 times over, and won't even remember the cost of his final year at USC.

All season long, a full 82 games worth of basketball are played to determine essentially three key things. Who will be in the playoffs, who will play whom, and who will have the advantage of the home court during a specific series.

The theory is that the regular season separates the wheat from the chaff and provides the better teams a significant advantage come playoff time. Finish first and you not only have home court advantage throughout the conference playoffs, you have the good fortune to play the lowest seeded team in the conference in the first round. Of course, if you finish ninth or worst, well you just go home.

As that first round of playoff games reaches the midway point, the results have been striking. The general consensus of the higher seeds and the home court providing an advantage has simply not been apparent in either the Eastern of Western Conference.

In the East, the number one seeded Pistons and number two seeded Heat at least have utilized the home court advantage thus far with each team winning on its own turf. But the Pistons promptly dropped game three in Milwaukee while the Heat lost games three and four in Chicago. The Pistons have a chance this evening to make a statement and go up three to one in their series by winning game four in Milwaukee but the seventh seeded Bulls have everyone thinking that the Heat is now beatable. Certainly Miami looked slow and old in games three and four, a sign perhaps that the long NBA season was getting to them while the Bulls and their younger legs were looking stronger with each game. So much for the 82 game theory.

The third seeded Nets and fourth seeded Cavaliers both appear to have their hands full with the sixth seeded Pacers and fifth seeded Wizards respectively. Each series stands at two games apiece and each team is one and one on their home court. Despite the seeding, both of these series appear to be true toss ups at this point with any pair of the two teams emerging victorious.

It is easily conceivable that the Pistons, the number one seed could be joined in round two by the fifth seeded Wizards, sixth seeded Pacers and seventh seeded Bulls. Adding to that improbability is the fact that both the Pacers and the Bulls entered the playoffs having one just 50% of their games during the regular season.

Though things are strange in the East, it gets even more bizarre when we head West. First of all, like the Heat, the number one seeded Spurs have kept the home court advantage but then promptly lost games three and four to the eighth seeded Kings, allowing Sacramento to draw even on the series. Bad boy Ron Artest guaranteed a Kings victory in the matchup and after being suspended for game two for his game one conduct, one of the game's greatest competitors has led the Kings back from the brink of elimination. Still, everyone looks for the Spurs to close this out, just like everyone expects the Pistons, but no one expected this series to be two games apiece four games in.

Only the Mavericks seem to be in total control in round one when looking at all eight series. Dallas came back from a substantial deficit in game three to knock off the playoff-plagued Grizzlies, moving up three games to none. The results are a clear indication that Dallas is not really a fourth seed and the notion that they will have to potentially play the Spurs in round two continues to have everyone gasping.

From there, it gets totally improbable. The seventh seeded Lakers used a last minute game winner from Kobe Bryant to move into a three games to one lead over the number two ranked Suns. The Lakers stole game two in Phoenix, then held at home in games three and four. Perhaps most importantly for Kobe, the playoffs may be his final coming out, provided he could actually lead the Lakers deep into the playoffs.

At the same time as the Lakers have surprised the Suns, the sixth seeded Clippers are on the verge of ending their playoff futility, up three games to one against the third ranked Nuggets. The Clips have used balanced scoring to pave the way for their potential first round upset and the possibility that the teams with the two best records in the West could play in round two for the right to play the winner of the series between the sixth seeded Clippers and seventh seeded Lakers. At least LA would be buzzing with excitement.

The results of the series thus far have brought some real excitement to the NBA's second season. But if the leadership of the NBA is looking for regular season relevance, the early returns on the playoffs thus far are not helping convince anyone that the 82 game season has a whole lot of meaning at this time of the year.