Buster Posey's injury

Buster Posey, catcher for the World Champion San Francisco Giants (27-22), was injured in an ugly collision in the 12th inning of last night's game with the Florida Marlins (29-19). Scott Cousins of the Marlins was attempting to score on a sacrifice fly ahead of the throw from Giants right fielder Nate Schierholtz. Posey couldn't handle the throw on a hop, and Cousins ran over him. Posey suffered a broken fibula as well as strained ligaments in his left ankle. It is estimated he will be out six to eight weeks, and possibly longer.

Posey, the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, would be a huge loss for the Giants on a number of different levels. He is a great hitter who is smart and hits for average and has a little pop in his bat. He is also a great catcher, doing a great job of calling pitches and knowing the tendencies of hitters. And as if that wasn't enough, he is a great clubhouse presence and a leader on the team at a young age.

Posey should be able to spend time with the team as he rehabilitates and still contribute in leadership roles, but he will be immensely missed on the field, especially as he was just starting to find his groove offensively and was in the midst of a double digit game hitting streak. Eli Whiteside will take over behind the plate in the interim. Whiteside is a solid catcher defensively and can hit occasionally, but his offensive skills are not that of Posey.

Hopefully the Giants can ride out this injury and stay in the race; I think they are capable of doing this for at least a little while. Despite the Marlins finishing off the three game sweep this afternoon at AT&T Park, the Giants still lead the National League West by 2 games over the Arizona Diamondbacks (25-24) and 2.5 games over the Colorado Rockies (24-24), who are playing right now (the Diamondbacks lead 3-1 in the top of the 6th inning in Denver).

A lot of people were proclaiming that the Rockies were going to run away with the division after they got off to such a hot start, but they have cooled off considerably since then and recently lost starting pitcher Jorge De La Rosa for the season to an injury. The Diamondbacks have been playing very well lately, but I still think they lack the pitching depth to stay in the race all year. The Posey injury hurts the Giants' chances, no question about it, but I still think it could be a close race in the West. Hopefully he isn't out for too long. The Giants travel to Milwaukee to face the Brewers (27-23), who are riding a six game winning streak, for three games this weekend.

Mavericks make big comeback, take 3-1 series lead

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-105 in overtime tonight in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals in Oklahoma City. The Thunder led by 15 points with under five minutes to go in regulation, but the Mavericks, who never led in regulation, came back to force overtime. The Mavericks now lead the series 3 games to 1.

Dirk Nowitzki led the charge down the stretch, proving again that he is a big-time, clutch player. He hit some seemingly impossible shots and did so a couple of times despite the Thunder committing to me what looked like blatant fouls (which were not called). Nowitzki was big-time and is starting to cement his legendary status. Nowitzki ended up with 40 points and again had a strong shooting percentage, going 12 for 20 (60 percent).

You just don't see comebacks like the one tonight. When a team is up by 15 points with under five minutes to go, especially at home, it's game over. That's what made all this so impressive. On top of that, this was a game the Thunder absolutely had to have; they should have been the more desperate team. In fact, they looked like their spirit was crushed even before the game ended. After Jason Kidd knocked down a 3 to put Dallas up by 3 late in overtime, Kevin Durant looked like the Thunder had already lost; he looked completely despondent in the time-out huddle. This game is a back-breaker; I don't see the series going back to Oklahoma City. Game 5 is Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in Dallas and can be seen on ESPN and espn3.com.

Lincecum pitches a gem

The World Champion San Francisco Giants (26-19) defeated the Oakland Athletics (22-24) by a score of 3-0 on Saturday afternoon at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Tim Lincecum pitched his fifth career complete-game shutout. Lincecum showed again why he is among the best in the game and why he has won two Cy Young awards. The Giants lead the Colorado Rockies (23-21) by 2.5 games in the National League West.

The Giants are looking good and are playing like the first-place team I expected them to be before the season started. The Rockies have a good team and particularly a couple of really good hitters, but I think the Giants are the better team overall based on their pitching staff from top to bottom. I expect it to be a relatively close race all summer, but I think the Giants will take the division. The Giants wrap up the bay-bridge series at 2:05 p.m. MT on MLB Extra Innings and mlb.tv.

The amazing Dirk Nowitzki

At left: Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks (left) goes up for a shot against the Thunder's Kendrick Perkins in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Nowitzki had 48 points.

If you missed Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals last night, well, you missed quite a show. The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 121-112. Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks dropped an incredible 48 points on the Thunder. The most amazing part of the whole thing is that he did it on 12-15 shooting from the field, an incredible 80 percent. And these were not only dunks and layups, but also a number of jumpshots, including those of the turnaround, fade-away variety. From the free-throw line, Nowitzki was 24-24, setting an NBA Playoffs record for number of free-throw attempts in a game without a miss.

Usually when a guy approaches 50 points, he takes a lot more than 15 shots from the field, which makes Nowitzki's performance truly one for the ages. I hope people recognize how dialed in he really was last night. Jason Terry continued his torrid postseason with 24 points on 50 percent shooting, including four 3-pointers, the last of which in the final minute put the game out of reach for good. Terry is a clutch player who has a knack for knocking down the big shot and has been referred to by Nowitzki as the team's "closer." Credit Terry for being big, but also Nowitzki for facilitating his teammates. J.J. Barea continued his strong play as well, chipping in 21 points of his own. Jason Kidd had 11 assists.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 40 points and had it not been for Nowitzki, he would have been the story of the game. Durant had an outstanding game, shooting 10-18 from the field and 18-19 from the foul line. Russell Westbrook, on the other hand, had a tough night, scoring 20 points, but doing so on just 3-15 shooting from the field. He had only 3 assists as the point guard. The Thunder are going to need improved play from Westbrook if they are going to win this series. The Mavericks guardline was significantly better than the Thunder's in Game 1.

Game 2 of this series is in Dallas tomorrow night at 7 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN and espn3.com. Meanwhile, Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals is tonight in Chicago at 6:30 p.m. MT and can be seen on TNT. The Bulls lead the Heat in that series, 1-0.

National FOX MLB broadcasts; World Champion Giants win in rain

The World Champion San Francisco Giants (22-17) defeated the Chicago Cubs (17-21) Saturday night at Wrigley Field by a score of 3-0 in a rain-shortened game that only got a few pitches into the top of the 7th inning.

Friday and Saturday night games are not allowed at Wrigley Field unless they are requested to be on national TV, as this one was by FOX Sports (allowing for it to be what is being reported as the first Saturday night game at Wrigley Field in 9 years). National TV being relative of course, since I, along with most of the country was force-fed the Red Sox (19-20)-Yankees (20-17) game. And since FOX has exclusive broadcast rights on Saturday, I was forbidden to watch the game live because of where I live. It didn't matter that I subscribe to MLB Extra Innings and mlb.tv. It seems really ridiculous to me, FOX and MLB should work out a way to let the games be seen out-of-market via subscription services. Anyway, enough of that for now.

In an ironic statistic, Ryan Vogelsong (3-0, 2.36 ERA) picked up his first career complete game shutout in the victory, even though he only pitched six innings. Vogelsong has been very, very solid for the Giants since coming up from Triple-A Fresno and has really been a good story to this point. I'm just glad the Giants got out of this game with a win as the conditions looked absolutely miserable for players and fans alike and clearly affected the fielding in particular on a number of plays. The Giants and Cubs close out this three game weekend series Sunday at 12:20 p.m. MT. The game will be televised nationally on WGN and can also be seen via MLB Extra Innings and mlb.tv.

Thunder, Grizz headed for Game 7

The (4) Oklahoma City Thunder and (8) Memphis Grizzlies are headed for a winner-take-all Game 7 tomorrow afternoon in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. The game is scheduled to tip off at 1:30 p.m. MT in Oklahoma City and will be televised nationally on ABC. This has been the most exciting series of the playoffs thus far, particularly the triple-overtime thriller in Game 4.

As I stated a few days ago, the first couple rounds of the NBA and NHL Playoffs are too drawn out for me, but when there is a Game 7 with everything on the line, it sure does make for an exciting game. We saw that on Thursday night in the NHL when the Sharks topped the Red Wings to advance to the Western Conference Finals. I believe we will see more of the same tomorrow in the NBA.

Kevin Durant had a poor Game 6, but I think he will bounce back at home in Game 7 and lift the Thunder to victory. That is, if his team remembers to get him the ball in key situations. That has been a problem at times in this series for the Thunder and I think it could hurt them in a decisive Game 7. When you have a superstar like Durant, get him the ball in the key spots and let him decide what to do with it from there. If they do that, I think the Thunder win.

The key for the Grizzlies will be Zach Randolph. Who would have thought he would have been the best low post presence in the playoffs so far? Certainly not me. However, that's exactly what he has been and he came up huge for Memphis last night in Game 6. The Thunder need to double-team him more and force the other guys on the floor to make plays because Randolph really has been playing that well. How Randolph performs will be a key for both teams. However, I think the Thunder having Durant and the home-court advantage will be enough to earn them a date with the (3) Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals. Check me out on Twitter for updates throughout the game tomorrow and I'll have some post-game analysis on here as well.

Sharks-Red Wings Game 7 tonight

Tonight in the second round of the NHL Playoffs, it's Game 7 between the (2) San Jose Sharks and the (3) Detroit Red Wings at 7 p.m. MT. The game will be televised on Versus. The Sharks captured the first three games of the series, but the Red Wings have come back to force a decisive Game 7. I'm not too big on the early rounds of the NHL or the NBA Playoffs because I think they are way too drawn out and that too many teams qualify. However, when you get a Game 7, it does peak my interest, particularly when it's between two good teams in a winner-take-all scenario. The winner moves on to the Western Conference Finals to face the (1) Vancouver Canucks.

It is clear that the Red Wings have all the momentum in the series right now and from all accounts I've heard, they played with a lot more heart and energy than the Sharks did in Game 6 in Detroit. However, the Sharks can look to the Canucks in the first round to know that it is possible to pull out a Game 7 at home. The Canucks had similarly blown a 3-0 series lead to the (8) Chicago Blackhawks. The Red Wings have been one of the premier teams in the NHL for some time now and I think they will come out hard. I think the Sharks will play better than they did in Game 6, but I think the Red Wings have momentum on their side and will pull it out tonight. Should be a fun one.

LeBron James comes up big and silences critics

What a night it was last night for LeBron James. His (2) Miami Heat closed out the (3) Boston Celtics in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, 4 games to 1, winning Game 5, 97-87. James had 33 points, but more importantly than that, hit two huge three-pointers down the stretch to cement the win.

James has taken a lot of criticism this year, particularly for how he handled his decision to leave Cleveland last summer. He was also critiqued for not coming through in the clutch, although I don't think that was an entirely fair rap on him.

I think the doubters can be silenced for now, though, as James hit all the big shots down the stretch in a key playoff game for the Heat. He was the guy they needed him to be. I also thought it was classy that he apologized to Cleveland for how everything went down last summer. James really is a great player and we'll see if he is able to obtain that elusive first championship this year.

I was hoping the Celtics would take this series, but the Heat simply look like a better team right now, particularly looking more poised down the stretch of Games 4 and 5 of the series. The Heat now await the winner of the (1) Bulls and (5) Hawks series, which the Bulls lead 3 games to 2. Game 6 of that series is tonight in Atlanta at 6 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN.

MLB and DUIs

There have been six Major League Baseball players this year that have been arrested for DUIs. The latest two have been pitcher Derek Lowe of the Atlanta Braves (20-16) and right fielder Shin-Soo Choo of the Cleveland Indians (22-11). Both were not held for lengthy periods of time. Lowe was allowed by the Braves to make his next start without missing any time. Choo was in the starting line-up for the Indians in their next game.

Both teams said they do not condone these type of actions, but said something like they were waiting for legal decisions before they take any further action. However, it seems to me that getting arrested is enough of a sign that someone is in the wrong. I find it disgraceful that neither of these players missed any time for their foolish and dangerous decisions. The message that is being sent is that winning is more important than public safety and that is just sad.