Maddux Sports Blog

Here are some what I find to be surprising (sometimes pleasant, sometimes perplexing and sometimes funny) developments in the world of sports.

Stanley Cup Game 7

I honestly thought that the Penguins would be out by now, but they made is a real series. Can Hossa come through for Detroit? Can Crosby take the trophy for Pittsburgh? It has been a home series. Neither team has been able to steal one when visiting. In goal, Osgood had outperformed Fleury. In the playoffs, Osgood has a better save percentage and goals against average. But in the last game, Fleury gave up just one score, notching a .962 SV%, while Osgood gave uo two, earning a .935 SV%. It is gut-check time at the Joe Lewis Arena in Detroit. It should be a great one. There’s nothing like a game seven for the Stanley Cup.

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Los Angeles Lakers Thrashing of Orlando Magic

The Magic were certainly not very magical in the first game of the NBA Finals. Losing by 25, Orlando simply could not get the job done in Los Angeles. Of course, if they have any shot at the league crown, they must steal one at the Coliseum in LA. They have a chance on Sunday. If they can’t do it on Sunday, then this is a five-game series. There is no way that Orlando will be able to dig themselves out of a 2-0 hole versus the Lakers. The Lakers are not the Celtics or the Cavaliers. The Lakers are one of the most talented, skilled, deep team in the NBA. This entire series comes down to game two. The Lakers will take it.

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MLB is in high gear as is NASCAR and the PGA. Plus, the NBA and NHL playoffs are entering their final rounds. And sooner than later NFL and NCAA football will be prepping for another season. Here’s a look at what’s going on in the world of sports.

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It’s about freaking time that the Lakers looked like the Lakers. If it took them that long to get their act together this time, though, then I really have to wonder how they will fare against a tuned up and focused Denver team. They still obviously have to be the favorite, but the margin of error is much smaller than it has been so far, and they have been far from powerful up to this point.

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It is looking more and more like Oklahoma City made a monumentally bad decision. They were able to get Tyson Chandler from New Orleans for a steal, and he would have added some talent and stability to a team that is playing better than their record. But then the team doctors for the Thunder pulled an unexpected move and rejected the trade because of a case of turf toe and an ankle injury even though neither problem seemed serious. Since Chandler returned to New Orleans and to action he has met or exceeded his season (more…)

After blowing their chance to even the Stanley Cup final with Detroit at two games a piece on home ice despite scoring the first goal of the game on Saturday, Pittsburgh is in dire straits. They now have to head into the hostile Joe Louis Arena in Detroit to win a game from a team and a crowd that has won it all before and knows and loves the smell of blood in the water. The sportsbooks really don’t like their chances – Detroit is a very solid -230 favorite for game five. If they do manage to pull off a miraculous win tonight all they have to do is win two more in a row against the best team in the league and the hottest goaltender on the planet. Not an easy task for anyone, never mind a team that’s core is made up of guys that are too young to grow a playoff beard. Playoff peach fuzz reigns in Pittsburgh.

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I watched the hockey game tonight, and I was left stunned by what I saw. The Red Wings are freakishly good, and Pittsburgh is in serious trouble. The Penguins haven’t scored a goal yet in 120 minutes. Ouch. What is most amazing, and most contributes to the outcome, is that Detroit is just sticking to their game plan. Pittsburgh keeps doing stupid things to try to get Detroit mad, the Red Wings don’t respond, and Pittsburgh commits a penalty out of frustration. That would be great at the best of times, but it is especially effective because neither Sidney Crosby nor Evgeni Malkin kill penalties. The best possible way to neutralize those two is to keep them off the ice. I feel fairly sure that Pittsburgh will win game three at home, but this series so far is just testament to how good Detroit is. It also makes me think that the week off before the series was the worst possible thing that could have happened to the Pens – their young guys had too much time to sit around and freak themselves out by the immensity of what was in front of them. It’s clear that the team lacks a player in a central role who has been here before. Detroit – start planning your parade route.

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Mondays aren’t supposed to be busy days on the sports front, but this one certainly was. Here are five things that caught my eye today:

1. It was covered here by someone else earlier tonight, but I have to touch on Jon Lester again. Impressive on a couple of fronts – Boston having two no-hitters in less than a year, Jason Varitek catching both games, Lester’s story. It would be an even better story if it had have been against a major league team instead of the Triple-A adequate Kansas City Royals. Based on what I wrote here last week I’ll be taking a very close look at Lester next time out.

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1. There are only six guys in the majors with the last name Cabrera, but it seems like there are about 212. Every time I turn around another one is in the news. The latest did it in an impressive way – Cleveland second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera turned just the 14th unassisted triple play in major league history in the second game of a doubleheader against Toronto. He dove to catch a line drive, touched second for out number two, and the tagged Marco Scutaro, the guy who should own a hundred pizza places based on his name alone, to enter history. Troy Tulowitzki had one last season, and the previous unassisted play was in 2000.

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