George's Blog

Things seem to be upside down in LaLa Land ... while the Lakers and the Clippers are both struggling in their second round NBA playoff series the Kings are rolling through the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Kings beat Phoenix last night and now hold a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference Final ... they are one win away from a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. The team that came into the playoffs as the eight seed in the west has shocked the world ... or more accurately has proven to us what we sometimes forget ... the fact that sometimes the second season can be entirely different from the first.
"Just get in baby ... then anything can happen." The Kings are 11-1 in the second season. Enough said ...

The Red Sox Cody Ross made amends last night. After he turned a routine fly ball into an ugly adventure on Wednesday night under the dome at Tampa Bay he bounced back with his bat last night, driving in four of Boston's five runs in a 5-3 win over the Rays. The Sox get a split with the Rays ... now it is into Philadelphia ... three with the Phillies ... and the hope is they don't have to worry about facing Jonathan Papelbon. Hey, if the Phils don't have the lead heading to the ninth there will not be a need to bring in their closer.

Oh, has anyone noticed the Yankees lately? They fell 4-1 in Toronto to the Jays last night ... two loses at Rogers Centre in which they were outscored by a combined score of 12-1. Sorry ... I just couldn't resist ...

Well that was what Celtics fans expected from this series ... for one night the 76ers looked like a team that had no business being on the floor with the Celts. But before you start booking time for the next round in these NBA Playoffs think back to games one and two. Game Four on Friday night may give us a clearer read ... if Boston beats Philly up again then maybe this will indeed be a shorter series. But off games one and two I'm still not convinced ... I still expected six ... maybe seven games.

Meanwhile in the Stanley Cup Playoffs the Rangers and Devils series is going to be a real battle ... Devils showed last night they could score on Henrik Lundquist and tied the series with a win at MSG. They'll head across the river into Jersey for games three and four. Despite the Devils efforts to try and make sure the tickets for those games are landing in the hands of Devils fans rest assured their will be a big presence of Rangers fans in Newark. These two teams are just seven miles apart. If ever there was a case where there really is no home ice advantage this is it. There will be four more close, intense, hard fought games and I'm sticking by my prediction that the NYR will win in six.
We'll talk Stanley Cup Playoffs with Castleton State hockey coach Alex Todd this morning on The Really Big Sports Show ... that is this morning at 9:00 on NSNradio.net .

A rainy day yesterday put a hold on most of the scheeduled high school baseball across Vermont ... jamming up the schedule as the teams turn down the stretch on the 2012 regular season. A day of rain means an unplanned, unwanted day off and takes away a valuable day off over the important final two weeks of the regular season. Pitching depth is going to be key as teams battle it out for playoff position.
Right now Brattleboro (10-1), CVU (9-1), Mt. Mansfield (9-2), and BFA-St. Albans (9-2) hold down the top four spots in the Division One VPA rankings, with Colchester (8-3), Mt. Anthony (8-3) and Essex (7-4) all holding out hope of climbing into the top four when the playoffs get underway two weeks down the road.

Okay, do we all believe in the LA Kings now? After two dominating wins in Phoenix, the team that came into the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the #8 seed in the west is now two wins away from making it to the finals. Night after night their opponents have tried everything ... last night the Coyotes tried the bully and beat them technique ... but nothing has worked. Home ice hasn't worked against them ... the Kings are unbeaten on the road in this playoff season. Now iss Phoenix going to beat them four out of the next five? I don't think so ...

NBA tonight ... Celtics in Philly for game three ... Lakers in Oklahoma City for game two. Make no mistake about it, Philly is going to be a long hard fight for Boston, but I would sure rather be in the Celtics sneaks than the Lakers! LA four and out? Could happen ...

Anyone who thought the Celtics were going to cruise past the 76ers in the second round of the NBA Playoffs got their second wakeup call last night ... Philly is younger ... they are quicker ... I still think the Celts have more talent but speed kills and so does sloppy play and Boston was sloppy last night as well.

The Red Sox have won four games in a row at home for the first time since last July ... John Lester tossed a complete game and the Sox rolled past Seattle last night at Fenway ... Boston is now 16-19 ... three games under .500 heading into the final game of the homestand this afternoon ... Tim Wakefield Day at Fenway.

Over the weekend ...
... the Red Sox won three games in a row ... decent pitching ... consistent hitting ... a start back in the right direction. As Dick Williams said in 1967 ... they'll win more than they lose.
... the Celtics took a one game to none lead on the Sixers ... it wasn't easy ... anyone who thought it would be hasn't been watching ... I said Celtics in five and I'll stick by that ... but look for five (or six or seven) very tough games.
... the Rangers nailed down their spot in the Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Finals ... did you realize that every Game Seven John Tortorella has ever coached in in the NHL has ended 2-1? Up next the Devils ... who NYR beat in the conference finals on route to The Cup in '94. This will be a tough intense series ... hey it should be it is the Stanley Cup semi-finals ... but the Rangers will take it in six and advance to meet the LA Kings the Stanley Cup Finals.

I'm tied up this morning and won't be able to make it to The Really Big Sports Show ... but fear not ... Jack Healey is standing by and the show will go on as scheduled this morning at nine on NSNradio.net .