A Chance to Repeat

Yes I am back from my weekend away and ready to get back into the sports wire. Let me start by congratulating Roger Federer on his completion of the career Grand Slam by winning his first French Open. This is quite an accomplishment considering the last person to accomplish this was Andre Agassi in 1999. Not even Pete Sampras accomplished the feat.

In NBA news the first two games of the NBA Finals have concluded with the Lakers coming out the victors in both. Game 1 was a perfect example of a young team, Orlando, getting nervous and choking under pressure. The Magic shot a horrendous 29.9% from the field. Game 2 at least provided some excitement with overtime. Courtney Lee was just inches away from winning the game in the waning seconds of regulation before a crushing defeat in the extra session. This may seem like a bit of a stretch but, I feel that a lot of the reason for Orlando's struggles is Jameer Nelson. Now don't get me wrong Nelson is an All-star caliber point guard but he is coming off shoulder surgery and hasn't played since early February. Having someone that hasn't been through the playoffs with the team and is cold often times messes with the flow, which I believe is the case with Jameer and the Orlando Magic. Considering the fact that Rafer Alston has held down the fort so well, I believe that playing Nelson is a mistake. Hopefully the Magic can come back strong at home and even out the series a bit. I still think Orlando in 6 but if they hope to accomplish that they will have to get tougher.

Alright now onto the main event. Tomorrow night the Detroit Red Wings will have the chance to do something that no team has done since the same Detroit Red Wings did it in 1998. That is they hope to close out the Pittsburgh Penguins and repeat as Stanley Cup Champions. Heading into game 6 I feel that Detroit has the momentum and needs to keep their proverbial foot on the gas. Game 5 of the series was by far the most one sided match-up of the Finals as Detroit basically just took it to Pittsburgh in the 5-0 victory at the Joe. The Penguins' frustration was evident especially during the second and third periods when players like Crosby and Malkin to cheap shots at the Red Wing players. The Penguins will really need to take control early in the game tomorrow or I think they will unravel much like they did in game 5. Hopefully Detroit can put a goal or two in early to make sure the Penguins can't push this thing to game 7. I believe that the Wings will hoist The Cup tomorrow night in a 4-1 victory with Osgood taking home the Conn Smythe. I have a feeling I'll have good news to post tomorrow.

Also, one of my main focuses for the next two days will be to crank out that Mock Draft. Tomorrow should be a fun day of number crunching, article reading and knowledge exercising.