Catching up

Apologies for the lack of blogging the last week and a half. I will be more consistent. As it has been some time since I was on here, I would like to catch up on the developments in sports during that time period.

First off, I was happy to see the Dallas Mavericks win the NBA Finals. Their zone defense seemed to be a riddle that the Heat couldn't solve with enough consistency throughout the series. Dirk Nowitzki was clutch down the stretch of the last few games and put up solid numbers the entire Finals. Jason Terry and the rest of the supporting cast really stepped it up the last three games of the series. I thought that was the key when Miami was up 2-1 and I thought it really swayed the series in Dallas' favor.

Dwyane Wade played outstanding the first three games of the series and played well the rest of the series, but not as well as he did in the 2006 NBA Finals. LeBron James had a poor series, particularly in the fourth quarters of games. He simply was not assertive enough when he had the ball. Chris Bosh played pretty well, but needed more from Wade and James. I think the Heat will be back next year and be a Finals contender again.

The Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup Final 4 games to 3 over the Vancouver Canucks, taking Game 7 by a 4-0 score in Vancouver. Before the series, I kind of wanted the Canucks to win, but the biting incident plus the Aaron Rome hit on Nathan Horton kind of pushed me more to the Bruins. Canucks fans booing during the U.S. National Anthem prior to Game 7 didn't help either. I realize there were some cheap plays on the part of the Bruins as well, but it didn't seem nearly as flagrant to me.

Roberto Luongo didn't measure up consistently enough in the Final as goaltender for the Canucks. He was absolutely destroyed all three games in Boston, which put too much pressure on the Canucks going back to home ice in Game 7. It's typically not a recipe for success if you just fall back on the attitude that you play well at home. The Bruins were in every game and looked like they wanted it more. Luongo said he would have made the save on the lone goal scored in Game 5 which was allowed by Bruins goalie Tim Thomas. Maybe he should have been more focused on the three he allowed in the first nine minutes of Game 6 or the three he allowed at home in Game 7.

It was a fun series to watch, but I do wish that Alex Burrows had been punished for his bite. The NHL has sent conflicting messages about these types of matters and needs to make sure this type of unsportsmanlike behavior is outlawed. I did think it was funny that Bruins players were taunting the Burrows and other Canucks by sticking fingers in their faces and asking if they wanted to bite them again.

The World Champion San Francisco Giants (39-30) just took two of three in Phoenix from the Arizona Diamondbacks (38-32) this week and hold a 1.5 game lead over the Snakes in the National League West. I think the Giants have the better team and will win the division. Remember when everyone said the Colorado Rockies (33-35) were going to run away with the division? Looks like that one's not going to happen. The Giants pitching staff will keep them in the race all season long and I believe will be enough to take the division crown for the second consecutive year.

Burrows takes bite out of Bruins

At left: Vancouver's Alex Burrows bites Boston's Patrice Bergeron during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. Burrows was not suspended for his actions.

The Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins resume the Stanley Cup Final tonight at 6 p.m. MT on Versus. The Canucks lead the series 2 games to none. The series has not been a good showing for the NHL so far. During a scrum in Game 1, Canucks forward Alex Burrows bit Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron. It was clearly a bite, I could see that on television. To back that up, it was plain to see that there was blood seeping through Bergeron's glove.

Worst of all, the NHL didn't suspend Burrows, saying there was not conclusive evidence to do so. That whole notion is ridiculous, the entire world could tell it was a bite. Worse yet for the NHL, Burrows scored 2 goals in Game 2, including the game-winner just seconds into overtime. This magnifies the problem. Burrows should not have been out there, he probably should have been suspended for at least the remainder of the series.

People have often considered the NHL less civilized than other sports. Normally, I don't quite buy those arguments because I believe some clean contact is part of the game and that guys typically aren't trying to seriously injure someone else. However, biting is frowned on in every sport. It has no place in hockey, or at least it shouldn't. The NHL failing to take action opens the door for other incidents such as this to occur. It's disgraceful to hockey and the league needs to work on cleaning up its image if it wants to grow in popularity. For an incident like this to be seen on national television and go unpunished is bad news for the NHL.

In fact, in Game 2, Canucks forward Maxim Lapierre taunted Bergeron by sticking his glove in his face, likely asking him if he wanted to take a bite out of it. Also in the game, Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid appeared to ask Burrows during a scrum "You gonna bite me?" The Canucks' image is tarnished, but it also appears that the Bruins may be letting that get into their heads. Even if the Canucks are making light of the situation, the Bruins need to focus on Game 3, which is a must-win game for them. I kind of hope that Boston can pull it out, I was sort of cheering for Vancouver, but the biting incident makes it harder to do so.

Canucks beat Blackhawks in thrilling fashion

The (1) Vancouver Canucks defeated the (8) Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 in overtime tonight in Game 7 of their first round playoff series. Alex Burrows scored the game-winner less than six minutes into the sudden death overtime period. This series was particularly exciting because the Canucks jumped out to a 3 games to none lead before the Blackhawks won Games 4 and 5 by five goals apiece and Game 6 in Chicago in an overtime thriller.

The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup last year and had defeated the Canucks in the playoffs the last two years. It would have been easy for the Canucks to think it was deja vu when the Blackhawks forced Game 7. However, they played hard and showed a lot of grit in getting the win.

The Blackhawks were not without grit themselves as they didn't seem interested in the series at all during the first three games before ratcheting things up and nearly coming up with an incredible series comeback. The Canucks led virtually the entire game tonight as Burrows scored not even three minutes into the game. The Blackhawks netted a pressure-packed goal from captain Jonathan Toews with under two minutes left in regulation to tie it and force overtime. Making it even more remarkable was that the goal was scored shorthanded. Toews' goal was one of the more spectacular hockey plays I've seen in a while, particularly considering the pressure of the circumstances as well as his team being down a man at the time.

This game and this series had everything if you ask me. Seeing how excited the Blackhawks were to tie the game showed how much it meant to them. And then seeing the elation from the Canucks and the entire arena in Vancouver when Burrows' second goal went in was something special. The Canucks had a great regular season but needed to get the Blackhawks monkey off their backs. The Hawks showed a lot of heart in attempting to defend their title. One of the Sedin brothers on the Canucks was asked after the game if it meant more that the win came against the Blackhawks and he admitted it did and that it was big for the team. I was happy to see a player acknowledge that there was a rivalry that had been brewing and that beating a particular team meant a lot to his team. I also enjoyed seeing that a bunch of the Blackhawks players were immediately consoling goalie Corey Crawford after the game-winning goal was scored (although Crawford shouldn't be expected to shoulder a lot of blame for that goal). Those guys showed a lot of character there. Just good stuff all around in Vancouver, really enjoyed watching it go down tonight.

The Canucks take on the (5) Nashville Predators in the second round. Elsewhere in the west the (2) San Jose Sharks will take on the (3) Detroit Red Wings in second round action. In the east, the (2) Philadelphia Flyers (defending Eastern Conference Champions) defeated the (7) Buffalo Sabres tonight 5-2 in Game 7 of their series. The (1) Washington Capitals have already dispatched the (8) New York Rangers 4 games to 1. The (3) Boston Bruins and (6) Montreal Canadiens go to Game 7 tomorrow night at 5 p.m. MT on Versus as do the (4) Pittsburgh Penguins and (5) Tampa Bay Lightning at 6 p.m. MT. I imagine Versus will have some bonus coverage of the Pens and Lightning as well. However, I'd be surprised if either of those Game 7s tops the excitement that was there with the Canucks and Blackhawks tonight.