June 13th update

Mavericks defeat Heat 105-95 to win First Title

- Their leader and best player Dirk Nowitzki struggled in the first half, when he missed 11 of his 12 shots and only scored 3 points, but came through in the end as he has so often in this series, finishing with 21 points and a number of key, last-second shots. Nowitzki was blamed by many for losing the 2006 NBA Finals, also to the Heat, but this title should quell that criticism for good.

- Jason Terry, who had a game high 27 points in the clincher (tied for the most ever for a player coming off the bench in a title-clinching game) looks like he could be Mrs. Cleo's protege.

- It was also the first title for Jason Kidd who is #2 all-time in assists, #3 all-time in 3-pointers made and was 0 for 2 in previous trips to the NBA Finals (both with the New Jersey Nets).

- The Mavericks are now one of only 8 franchises to have won a title since 1984.


Canucks within one game of first Stanley Cup

- Friday night the Canucks won 1-0 as Luongo posted his second shut-out of the finals (Game 1 being the other) to give Vancouver a 3-2 series lead.

- Game 6 is tonight, with Vancouver looking to win the first Stanley Cup in their 41 year history.

- The Boston Bruins, who have scored 12 goals in the two games they have won while only scoring 2 in the three games they have lost, are back home hoping to avoid elimination and force a game 7.

June 8th update

Pryor to drop out of Ohio State
- Terrelle Pryor, the highly touted Ohio State Quarterback, has declared he will not return to school for his senior season as fallout over an NCAA investigation (and to a lesser extent badly timed traffic violations) continues to ravage one of the top collegiate football programs in the country

- The scandal, in which several OSU players used their popularity to get cheap or free goods and services from area businesses, has already led to the resignation of popular and successful coach Jim Tressel, who lied about knowledge of these incidents. Additionally, Pryor and 4 other teammates were already suspended for the first 5 games of the 2011-12 season.

- Pryor is expected to try and enter the NFL through its supplemental draft, a rarely-used secondary player selection process where players with sketchy histories have historically made their way into the professional football ranks.

- Despite being the quarterback at a major college program, a lot of NFL scouts feel that he will be a Wide Receiver in the NFL due to his athleticism and size.


Mavs tie NBA Finals 2-2 in another thriller
- The Dallas Mavericks tied the NBA Finals 2-2 with an 86-83 victory in what has become one of the most tightly contested series in recent memory.

- Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points including 10 in the 4th quarter despite having a high fever. He's drawing comparisons to Michael Jordan, who scored 37 points and led the Bulls to a win in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals despite playing with a 103 degree fever.

- Dwayne Wade came through with another big game but missed a potential game tying free throw with under a minute left and fumbled the inbounds pass on the final play of the game which led to a wild, missed 3 pointer by Mike Miller.

- Lebron James only scored 8 points, the first time he has failed to score in double digits in his playoff career.

- The last 26 times the NBA Finals has been tied at 2-2, the winner of game 5 has won the series 19 times.


Bruins crush Canucks to get on the board in Stanley Cup
- The Boston Bruins finally broke through the Vancouver Canucks defense and continued to pound the back of the net, winning game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals, 8-1, but in the process, they lost one of their best players for the rest of the series.

- A vicious, blindside hit on Bruins right wing Nathan Horton, the Bruins 4th leading scorer in the regular season, left him with a concussion and out of the rest of the Finals. Vancouver's Aaron Rome, who laid the hit, was suspended for 4 games which would cover the extent of the Finals as well. It's the first time a player has been suspended for more than 1 Stanley Cup Finals game.

- The Bruins finally broke through the Vancouver defense and continued to pound the back of the net, winning game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals, 8-1. Vancouver still holds a series lead of 2-1, but this win was desperately needed by the Bruins as 3-0 series deficits are rarely overcome.

- In their past 5 Stanley Cup appearances, the Bruins have only won a total of 5 games, never winning more than 2 games in any one series.