Stanley Cup starts, Serena's French ends

Stanley Cup Finals start tonight

- The LA Kings continue their storybook run tonight against their final opponent this season, the New Jersey Devils. The #8 seeded Kings have made quick work of all their opponents on their way to the Stanley Cup Finals. They defeated the #1 Seed Vancouver Canucks, St Louis Blues and Phoenix Coyotes, losing only 2 games total in the playoffs.
- The Devils took a slightly more circuitous route, going to 6 or more games in two of their three series. They defeated the #1 ranked New York Rangers in the conference finals. In the 6th game, the Devils defeated the Rangers in overtime on a goal by Devils' rookie Adam Henrique. This heart stopping series gave fans of both teams and hockey fans in general all the excitement they could have asked for.
- The Kings enter the finals as a the betting favorite even though they will be traveling to New Jersey for the first two games of the series. Both teams are riding hot goal tenders, the Kings Jonathan Quick is a surprise star, while his counterpart, Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur is the all-time leader in wins in the NHL and a sure fire Hall of Famer.


Serena ousted in first round

- A day after Andy Roddick, arguably the most well-known American male playing in the French Open lost to a far lower ranked player, #5 Serena Williams followed suit losing to 111th ranked Virginie Razzano by a score of 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
- Serena may have taken her opponent for granted, even after losing the second set.  She fell behind 5-0 in set #3 before she staged a rally, winning the next 3 games until an epic 9th game that took a total of 23 minutes and had more than 30 point (most tennis games have anywhere from 4 and 6 points).
- While it may come as little consolation to Serena, it was a fantastic story for Razzano, who recently suffered major tragedy in her personal life as her longtime coach and fiance, Stephane Vidal, died of a brain tumor almost exactly one year ago.
- Williams had been 46-0 in the first round of Grand Slam Events and has won 13 titles.
- Both Razzano and Mahut, who beat Roddick, are French, and were cheered on vigorously by the partisan crowd during their upsets.

Emotional Indy 500 and French Open Shocker

Dario Franchitti wins the Indy 500

• Dario Franchitti, the Scottish Indy Car driver, won an emotional Indianapolis 500. The race came seven months after one of his best friends, Dan Wheldon, died in the last race of the 2011 race season. Franchitti and his wife, actress Ashley Judd, temporarily moved to Florida to be with Wheldon’s family after his death.
• Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan finished second and third respectively, to make it a top 3 of Wheldon’s best friends on the Indy car circuit. Wheldon won the Indy 500 last year. It was Franchitti’s third victory in the biggest race of the Indy Car season. Franchitti embraced Wheldon’s widow, Susie, in victory lane, and then Franchitti, Susie Wheldon and Judd took a victory lap.
• Franchitti battled with Takuma Sato on the last lap of the race. Sato attempted a pass but caught his wheel and spun out, and ended up finishing 17th.

French Open Starts with Shocker

• The second tennis Grand Slam of the season kicked off in Paris on Sunday, and it came with a big shocker that puts the US contingent at a big loss.
• Andy Roddick was defeated by Nicholas Mahut winning only one set against the 88^th ranked player in the world. Mahut is best known for his marathon 3-day match at Wimbledon against John Isner in 2010.
• On the Women’s side of the bracket, Venus Williams continues her comeback from injuries defeating 19-year old Paula Ormaechea in 3 sets to move onto the second round of the tournament. The women’s draw stayed pretty much true to form with no major upsets.

Indy 500 and Eastern Conference Basketball

Indy 500 on Sunday

- The 94th running of the Indy 500 will take place Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which seats over 257'000 people.  That number makes the stadium the second largest city in the state of Indiana on race days, and that's not even including the 150'000 or so that can fit into the infield.
- Ryan Briscoe will be the pole sitter (starting in the lead) but he will not have to compete against last year's winner, Dan Wheldon, who tragically passed away in a crash in Las Vegas last year.

-AJ Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears are tied for the lead in all-time wins at The 500 with 4 apiece.



Celtics, 76ers to play Game 7 Saturday

- The bottom-seeded Philadelphia 76ers have already defeated the top-seeded Chicago Bulls in this year's NBA playoffs.  Now they're one win away from defeating the legendary Boston Celtics.  Boston couldn't stop Jrue Holiday (who may have been motivated by legendary 76ers guard Allen Iverson's appearance at the game) from repeatedly driving to the rim and Holiday's teammates helped as well as 5 76ers scored more than 10 points.  Only 2 Celtics (Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett) did the same
- Game 7 will be in Boston and the Celtics are 17-4 at home in Game 7's, but one of the four losses came to Philadelphia in 1982.  Additionally, the Celtics lost a game 7 on the road in L.A. despite leading for much of the game.

Heat make Conference Finals

- The Miami Heat defeated the Indianapolis Pacers 105-93 in Game 6 of their series to win the extremely physical series 4 to 2. The Pacers had a 9 point lead in Game 3 of the series, at which point they had a 2-1 lead in the series. From that point on the Heat, lead by Lebron James on Dwyane Wade, went on a tear.
- In the final game of the series James scored 28 points, while Wade poured in 41. Wade's 26 points in the first half tie a franchise record for points in the first half.
- The Heat will move on to face the the winner of the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers and the first two games will be in Miami no matter which opponent they face.

NBA Playoffs moving along

East is Heating up

- The Eastern conference semifinals features two teams with tons of playoff experience (the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics) going against two teams with essentially none (the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers) but that doesn't mean those teams, especially the Pacers, are acting like they're simply a roadblock for the higher profile teams. 
- On Tuesday night the Pacers lost their second straight game, falling behind in the series 3-2 after another big game from Lebron James and Dwayne Wade.  But the score (115-83 Miami) wasn't the only thing that had Indiana GM and NBA executive of the year/former superstar Larry Bird all riled up.  "I can't believe my team went soft. S-O-F-T," Bird told the Indianapolis Star. "I'm disappointed. I never thought it would happen."
- Bird was mainly upset about the fact that two hard flagrant fouls, one against Lance Stephenson and one against Tyler Hansbrough (not quite on the level of this play against Hansbrough, but same ballpark) and that his team seemed to fold afterwards instead of rallying and playing tough.  It also didn't help that two of Indiana's best players in Danny Granger and David West got hurt, or that a couple of Miami's supplementary players like Shane Battier and Mario Chalmers finally began to help the Heat's dynamic duo of Wade and James, but Bird was understandably livid at what he perceived to be a lack of heart and effort from Indiana.
- Bird has done this before.  After losing Game 3 of the 1984 NBA Finals, Bird publicly called his teammates "sissies," and they responded by winning Game 4 and the series.  He's obviously hoping for a similar result in this series.
- The Celtics and 76ers play Game 6 in Philly tonight with Boston holding a 3-2 lead.  We'll talk more about this series on Friday.


The West is Set

- While the four teams left in the Eastern Conference continue to battle it out for spots in the Eastern Conference Finals, the two series in the West figured themselves out, with only one extra game.
- The San Antonio Spurs made quick work of the Los Angeles Clippers winning four straight games, by a total of 46 points. The Spurs have won 18 straight games, including their 8 playoff games and are looking dominant. They are playing a style of basketball that is unusual in the NBA today without a single dominant player, instead employing 3 future Hall of Famers on the down sides of their careers, as well as a handful of replacement level player to fill out their roster.
- The Spurs will move on to face the Oklahoma City Thunder, who beat the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 in their best of 7 series. The Thunder relied on their big three players, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden (who combined for 70 points in Game 5) to shut out the Lakers, who go back to LA searching for answers on the long term plan for the team.

Kerry Wood retires

Kerry Wood retires

- The sad story of Kerry Wood's baseball career came to a close over the weekend, as he abruptly retired after facing one hitter, Dayan Viciedo, leaving to a standing ovation.  Wood came onto the season in 1998 with the Chicago Cubs already drawing comparisons to Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, as he was a hard-throwing Texan who struck out hitters left and right.  But not even the most optimistic fan could have guessed what he'd do in his fifth major league start.
- On May 6, 1998 against a Houston Astros lineup that sported potential Hall of Famers Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio as well as longtime star and eventual teammate Moises Alou, Wood gave up only 1 hit, and 0 runs while striking out 20.  It tied the all-time record for strike outs in a single 9-inning game and if you saw it, you'd think the hitters were all blindfolded. 
- The masterpiece, called by some the greatest pitching performance ever, sent fans into a frenzy and after finishing the season 13-6 with a mind-boggling 12.6 strikeouts per 9 innings, he won the NL Rookie of the Year award.  However, here's where the story gets sad.  Due to the Cubs mismanagement of Wood (having him throw too many pitches), as well as his own poor mechanics (putting too much torque on his arm) he tore his elbow and missed the entire 1999 season, a sign of things to come.  Although he returned and had a few more good seasons he would never win more than 14 games in a season, always struggling with nagging injuries and inconsistency.  Similar things happened to fellow Cubs pitching phenom Mark Prior who along with Wood is credited with a plethora of new unofficial guidelines designed to protect and preserve the careers of young pitchers.


Side note: The only other player I can think of who retired mid-game was John Kruk, who singled in a game for the Chicago White Sox, then told the first base coach to take him out of the game because he was retiring.


Triple Crown in Sight

- The winner of the Kentucky Derby, I'll Have Another, edged out favorite Bodemeister in this year's Preakness Stakes. I'll Have Another will race in the Belmont Stakes on June 9th trying to become the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to win all three legs of the triple crown.
- Bodemeister led most of the race, even as close as the 100 yard mark. I'll Have Another, who was never further back than 5th, had a late night surge to beat out the three horses in between him and Bodemeister, and eventually went neck-and-neck with Bodemeister for the last 50 yards.  Racing analysts were impressed by I'll Have Another's win because Bodemeister, a speed horse, was supposed to have a big advantage in the shorter Preakness Stakes.
- I'll Have Another went on to win though, securing a thrilling last second victory by a nose. As we mentioned Friday, since Affirmed won all three races, 11 horses have won the first two races and lost (or didn't race) in the Belmont. I'll Have Another will have to fend off Bodemeister and the rest of the field in the longest of all the Triple Crown races.

One entry to Stanley Cup almost set, Preakness this weekend

The Kings of L.A?

- Many people would tell you that the Lakers are the unquestioned favorite sports team in the greater Los Angeles area, and probably in the whole state of California.  However things don't look good for the Lakers right now, down 2-0 to the Oklahoma City Thunder after blowing a 7 point lead in the final 2 minutes.  Things also don't look good for the Clippers, who are down 2-0 to the San Antonio Spurs. 
- The only playoff games L.A. fans may have to watch in a week or so quite possibly may be the Stanley Cup Finals.  The L.A. Kings are beating the Phoenix Coyotes 3-0 in the Western Conference Finals after Dwight King scored a goal early in the final period for the final margin in a 2-1 win Thursday.  The Kings need only one more win to compete for Lord Stanley's Cup, probably the most famous trophy in sports, against either the New York Rangers or the New Jersey Devils (that series is tied 1-1).
- It will probably be a relief for the event planners at the Staples Center (the arena that hosts the Lakers, Clippers and Kings) if only one of those teams continues beyond this round of the playoffs.



Second Leg of Triple Crown

- The horse racing world will again congregate for one of the three biggest horse races of the year. After meeting for the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, this week's race is the Preakness near Baltimore MD.
- "I'll Have Another" won the Kentucky Derby, is the horse with a chance to win the triple crown (if he wins the Preakness and Belmont in a few weeks).  The last of the 11 total Triple Crown winners was Affirmed in 1978, but since then 11 horses have won the first two races only to fall short in the Belmont.
- "I'll Have Another" has the second best odds to win the Preakness. The second place finisher of the Derby, Bodemiester (who led for a majority of the Derby), is the betting favorite.

Indy Shocks and Bolt Bolts

Indiana Pacers Defeat Heat

• The Indiana Pacers defeated the Miami Heat yesterday 78-75 in a game that once again threw Lebron James' late game efforts into question. Down 2 with about 40 seconds left in the game, James deferred to Dwayne Wade twice, not making much of an attempt to try to tie the game.
• The Pacers, who are expected by most experts to lose this series, tied up the best-of-seven series at 1. They were led by David West who scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. James lead the Heat with 28 points, but needed 30. For all the heat (pun fully intended) he has received for disappearing at the end of games, James led the Heat in points (28), rebounds (9), assists (5) and steals (6). Miami was without the third member of the "big 3," Chris Bosh, who is sidelined indefinitely with an strained lower abdominal muscle. His absence has forced James to play out of position.
• The Pacers excelled due to a well balanced team effort (6 players scored 8 or more points) and a voracious defensive effort forcing the heat to shoot only 35% and only 6% (1 for 16) from the three point line. If the Pacers want to continue to extend the series, they must continue this defensive effort.

Usain Bolt Breaks Up to Prep for England

• In an admittedly light news day here at Sportico, lets take a look at an interesting human interest story. Usain Bolt has broken up with his Canadian born fashion designer, Lubica Slovak, 28, in order to focus on training for the Summer Olympics. As far as breakup excuses go, we feel this one is significantly more legitimate than, "It's not you, it's me" and "I think we're moving too fast, let's take a break."
• Bolt is the world record holder for the 100-meter dash, and is considered the fastest man in the world. He won three gold medals in the Beijing in 2008 and is expected to contend for 4 medals in London this year.
• Look for more Olympic news in the coming weeks as we get ready for the 2012 London games!

L.A. teams advance, ManCity wins EPL

English Premier League Champion Crowned

• The champion of the English Premier League was crowned on Sunday, and the trophy will be going back to Manchester. However, for the first time since 1968 that championship team is Manchester City, not their more famous cross-town rivals Manchester United. And Man City won their game in the most impressive of fashions.
• Going into injury time (the last few minutes added to the end of the game) City was actually down 2-1 to their opponents the Queens Park Rangers. After City’s Edin Dzeko scored in the second minute of injury time to tie the game, Sergio Aguero (the son-in-law of soccer great Diego Maradona) snuck his way through the Park Ranger defense and blasted home the game winner. Aguero ripped his shirt off, in shades of Brandi Chastain, and was mobbed by his teammates.
• City was purchased in the late 90s by Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi, and began a slow and arduous climb from the third tier of the EPL. This title is a reflection of the time and almost $1 billion (yes with a 'B') that Mansour has poured into making Manchester City a viable soccer power.


Clips, Lakers both win Game 7's

• The two best series of the first round of the NBA playoffs involved two teams from the same city, the Lakers and the less famous of the Staples Center tenants, the Clippers (notice a pattern with our posts today?).
• The Lakers had to survive brilliant play from Ty Lawson all series long and a big game 7 from Al Harrington to move on where they will play the Oklahoma City Thunder next.  Metta World Peace returned from a 7 game suspension that he incurred against the Thunder no less, to bother Nuggets leading scorer Danilo Galinari into a miserable shooting game.
• The Clippers won on Sunday after pulling away in the 4th quarter, winning only their 3rd playoff series in the last 41 years (just for reference, the Lakers have won the Western Conference 7 times just since 2000, which means that you have to win 3 playoff series in each of those seasons).  As he has all series long, Chris Paul led the Clippers, scoring 19 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.  The Clippers now go on to face Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs.
• Fatigue might be a bit of an issue in round 2, as both L.A. teams won while playing the maximum 7 games while both of their opponents won while playing the minimum 4 games.

May 11th Update

Bulls lose, Celtics win, Lakers will play game 7

• The defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks are already out, having been swept 4-0. Now the team with the best record, the Chicago Bulls, have been eliminated as well. The Bulls, who lost reigning MVP Derrick Rose to an ACL tear late in game 1 and then lost center Joakim Noah as well, were in a good position to win Game 6 after Omer Asik was fouled with 7 seconds left and the Bulls already leading by 1. But Asik missed both free throws, Andre Iguodala grabbed the rebound got fouled and made both of his free throws and just like that the 76ers were in round 2 for the first time in 8 years.
• The 76ers are only the 5th 8 seed ever to beat a 1 seed although this is the second consecutive year it's happened, as the 8th seeded Memphos Grizzlies beat the San Antonio Spurs last year. Taking advantage of the ailing Bulls, the 76ers may have gotten lucky. They move on to play the Boston Celtics in the second round.
• The L.A. Lakers probably knew they were in trouble when Kobe Bryant contracted a stomach bug and claimed that his hotel room looked like something out of 'The Exorcist,' but Bryant played well on offense scoring 31 points. The issue is that Nuggets star PG Ty Lawson was unstoppable scoring 32 (and much more efficiently than Kobe, he shot a mind-boggling 72%) dishing out 6 assists and not giving up a single turnover.

Game 7 tonight in the NHL

• 3 of the 4 teams in the NHL semi-finals are set. The final one will be decided tonight (or potential early tomorrow morning) when the Washington Capitals travel to New York to take on the Rangers.
• The Rangers came into the playoffs with the best record in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals, who have been the #1 team in the conference for the last few years, were the #7 seed this year. The Capitals took a different approach to this season, where, instead of over exerting themselves in the regular season, just focused on getting in and going for the bigger prize, a championship.
• The Rangers and Capitals have traded wins throughout the series, if the pattern holds true to form the Rangers will win, but these two evenly matched teams will likely not end this series in such an easy way.

May 9th Update

Hamilton has decent game

- Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton went up to bat five times Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles. In his third at bat Hamilton doubled to right field, a decent result for most hitters.  Hamilton however, is the reigning A.L. MVP and is definitely not most hitters.  The double was the only time in his 5 at-bats that he did not hit a home run, tying a record set by 15 other Major Leaguers with 4 HR in a single game.
- Each of Hamilton's home runs came with one man on base giving Hamilton 8 runs batted in, the most for any player this season. Hamilton's power surge lead the Rangers to a 10-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
- Hamilton's outburst is the most home runs since Carlos Delgado hit 4 home runs for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2003. The big game catapulted out of a tie with Yankees' outfielder Curtis Granderson for the Major League lead in home runs, with 14. The 8 RBI's extended his lead over Blue Jays' Edwin Encarnacion for the major league leader in this category too.
- Oh and if our title threw you off, we meant that Hamilton had a decent game the way that there's a decent amount of water in the pacific ocean or how Starbucks sells a decent amount of coffee every year.   Guess we need a thesaurus.


Teams staying alive in NBA playoffs

- Tuesday night had a chance to be historic.  No time before in NBA history had 4 different teams lost a best of 7 series on the same night but all 4 series that were played last night had 1 team leading 3-1.  In the end though, most of the losing teams were able to quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail, "I'm not dead yet!  Cough, cough... I'm getting better," as they fended off elimination for one more game.
- The Chicago Bulls won easily, the Atlanta Hawks won a nailbiter and the Denver Nuggets almost gave up a late lead but still won.  Only the Orlando Magic, who were seemingly doomed as soon as superstar Dwight Howard announced he would miss the entire playoffs following a back surgery, saw their season end last night.
- The only 2 series going on tonight are the mismatch between the dominant Miami Heat and the injured/inconsistent New York Knicks and the terrific Memphis Grizzlies-L.A. Clippers matchup.
- The #1 and #2 seeds in the West, Tim Duncan's San Antonio Spurs and Kevin Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder both swept their opening series 4-0 and are waiting for their next opponents. 

Knicks, Kings win. Pujols goes deep

Kings continue shocking run

• The number 8 seed in the NHL playoffs is supposed to be an afterthought, little more than a minor hurdle for the powerhouse teams to eliminate. However, the LA Kings have turned that notion on its head this year. After defeating the #1 seeded Vancouver Canucks, the Kings turned their sights to the #2 seeded St Louis Blues. The Kings swept the Blues winning all four games in their series to become the first 8th ranked team to beat the #1 and #2 seed in NHL history.
• The other series in the west is at its tipping point with the Phoenix Coyotes leading the Nashville Predators 3-1. This leads to a likely Western Conference final of Los Angeles vs Phoenix, as hockey traditionalists roll over in their graves.
• The Eastern conference is loaded with both more traditional hockey teams, and with more competitive series. The New York Rangers and Washington Capitals will play game 5 tonight in a 2-2 series. Last night the New Jersey Devils defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 to take a 3-1 series lead.




Pujols's wait is (finally) over

• Los Angeles Angels 1st baseman Albert Pujols hit his first home run of the season in his 111th at bat of the season. The 110 at bats prior to the home run were the longest homerless start to a season for a player with 400 or more home runs.
• Pujols signed a gargantuan 10-year $240 million contract in the offseason to move from the St Louis Cardinals to the Angels, and was expected to be a big bat in the middle of the Angels lineup. His struggles have been one of the biggest story lines to start the season.
• The Angels had given Pujols the game off on Saturday to try and get him some rest and take his mind off of baseball for a day. He responded quickly to the rest by crushing a 2-2 pitch by Toronto starter Drew Hutchinson into the left field bleachers. Pujols told the media that he felt a big burden off of him and that he is looking forward to helping the Angels without being a distraction.


Knicks win a playoff game

• The New York Knicks defeated the Miami Heat 89-87 on Sunday to stay alive in the playoffs and live to fight another day.  Why is that such a big deal?  Well, the Knicks had lost their last 13 consecutive playoff games, an all-time NBA record.  To put that in perspective, the last time the Knicks won a single playoff game was 4'024 days ago.  The 9/11 attacks had not yet occurred.  George W. Bush was just beginning his first term as president.  Knicks star Jeremy Lin (who has not played in over month because of an injury) was 12 years old and in middle school.
• Carmelo Anthony scored 41 points, Amar'e Stoudemire had 20 and 10 rebounds and the Knicks had to hold their breath has Dwayne Wade, famous for his buzzer beating shots, clanked a potential game winning 3 pointer off the rim as time expired. 
• The Knicks now face the unenviable task of going to Miami and needing to win 2 games there, plus another one in New York to win the series.  Given the fact that they're playing against two of the games best players in Wade and Lebron James, that seems very unlikely.  But no matter what happens for the rest of this series, as least the Knicks got one win, and that's more than they've been able to accomplish for a while.

May 4th Post

Junior Seau Found Dead

• Former NFL Linebacker Junior Seau, 43, was found dead in his apartment by his girlfriend on Tuesday. The circumstances surrounding his death are suspicious but the police have said they are investigating it like a suicide.
• Seau was one of the greatest linebackers in the history of the NFL. He was made the pro-bowl 12 times in his 20 year career. He was a linebacker on the all-1990's team, and will soon be inducted to the Hall of Fame. He played 10 years with the San Diego Chargers, followed by 7 years with the Miami Dolphins and finished up his career with 3 years as a New England Patriots.
• As mentioned above, the circumstances of his death are still under investigation. However the way it happened sounds very similar to that of former Chicago Bears great Dave Duerson, and of three hockey payers who took their own lives in the past 18 months. All four of those player's deaths have been linked to the after effects of concussions suffered while playing.
• Whatever the reasons, Seau will be missed. He is remembered as a widely loved and respected player. He is survived by three children an ex-wife and a girflriend. Former teammate and current ESPN analyst Marcellus Wiley delivered a heartfelt/heartbreaking insight into what may have allowed Seau to be so troubled without anyone really knowing (If you don't have time to watch the video, the cliffnotes are essentially that Seau habitually hid any weaknesses from his friends and loved ones). The greatest tragedy is that Seau was so loved, any one of a handful of people would have dropped whatever they were doing to help him and get him back on the right track, if only they'd known what was happening.

Suggs, Rivera suffer major injuries

• Two of the best players in their individual sports, Terrell Suggs of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens and Mariano Rivera of the MLB's New York Yankees suffered devastating injuries, neither of which was sustained while playing a game.
• Suggs tore his ACL and will miss the entire 2012 season. Last year he led the NFL in sacks, was the NFL's defensive player of the year and led the Ravens right to the brink of the Super Bowl before they lost a heartbreaking game to the New England Patriots. While not as well known as teammates Ed Reed or Ray Lewis, Suggs was probably the best player on the Ravens before this happened.
• Rivera, the all-time leader in saves, was doing his pregame ritual of catching fly balls during batting practice before the Yankees' game against the Kansas City Royals. While tracking a fly ball off of the bat of newly acquired Jayson Nix. When he reached the warning track (the dirt buffer between the outfield grass and the outfield wall) his knee buckled. Rivera collapsed and had to be carted off the the field. He was later relieved to have an ACL tear and will likely miss the rest of the season. The 39 year old Rivera, who is widely known for being a phenomenal athlete, was rumored to be seriously considering retirement at the end of this season. This injury could be the end of a career for the greatest closer in MLB history.

Injuries the story so far in NBA playoffs

• The first round of the NBA playoffs started this past weekend. The biggest story were the major players who were hurt for the rest of the playoffs. The smallest of the injuries were those of the LA Clippers' Caron Butler and the New York Knicks' Iman Shumpert. Butler fractured his left hand during the first game of the Clippers playoffs against the Memphis Grizzlies. Butler is a strong starter for LA, but he will be replaced by Nick Young who has the ability to score at will when he is hot.
• The New York Knicks have had their share of injuries this season, the biggest being the injury of Jeremy Lin. However, when Shumpert tore his ACL and meniscus in one of his knees, it was bigger than it may appear because Shumpert was one of the Knicks best defenders, which is something they’ve lacked in the first two games against their first round opponents, the Wade-Lebron led Miami Heat. As for Lin, he is expected to try to make his return for the Knicks in game 4. At the current pace of this series, that may be too little too late.
• The biggest injury was that of Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose. Rose tore his ACL, all but killing the Bulls championship aspirations and guaranteeing the Heat another final’s appearance. Rose is the Bulls best player and was the MVP of the league last year. Rose is also going to miss the Summer Olympics. Rose would be one of the USA’s best players, and his loss will be huge. That, along with the injury to Dwight Howard, will make the USA’s gold medal defense much more difficult.


Mayweather claims fighting Pac-Man a health risk

• Many people have been calling Floyd Mayweather Jr. a coward for some time now.  Whether it was the aggressive, derogatory tone he took toward Larry Merchant, a man around 50 years older than him, the sucker punch knock out of Victor Ortiz, or just his unwillingness to give boxing fans a "Fight of the Century" between himself and Manny Pacquiao, he's not a very popular guy. 
• While the undefeated Mayweather had his supporters, his credibility took a major hit this week when he admitted that fighting his chief rival would be a health risk and that he was scared for his ability to make money if he were to be too badly injured against Pacquiao.  He also insinuated that Pacquaio, a renaissance man who is an elected official in the Philippines and has also dabbled in music, is taking steroids.
• Mayweather, realizing that his comments would cause some backlash said: "This is how the world is, you get writers saying, 'Floyd is scared'.  No, Floyd cares about his family. Floyd is smart. You all know for a fact I'm not scared. You all know that." Keep telling yourself that Floyd.  It may be the only way you convince anyone, yourself included, that you're not simply running and hiding from a probable loss.