PROFESSIONAL SPORTS REVIEW FROM THE WEEKEND

Just a few thoughts on sports from the weekend as I stayed pretty close to the television set for a change.

NHL
-Tried to watch Toronto and Ottawa Saturday night.  I experienced a few minutes before shutting it off.  The Leafs got a goal called back on goalie interference.  I can't figure it out.  It didn't look anything remotely close to interference to me.  And, even if the Toronto player made contact with the netminder, who cares?  Goalies have soooo much gear on, they can take the odd bump.  We've got forwards and defensemen taking one another's heads off.  A small bump to a goalie isn't going to hurt anyone.  Nevertheless, there was no interference in my mind at all.  It's hard enough to score goals in the NHL.  Let's make it harder.

I really like After Hours on Hockey Night In Canada.  The Ken Holland interview was good and Corey Schneider is an interesting guy.

There is a part of me that really wants to watch the NHL. I'm hoping the playoffs are good.  Usually the first round is.

NBA
-The Knicks/Celtics game was fantastic.  Those old guys from the Celtics made it interesting until the final moments and then Carmelo Anthony took the game over.  Carmelo gets criticized because he is a 'ball hog', but I enjoyed watching him.  I don't know how far the Knicks will go, but I'm interested to see.  Regardless, I don't think anyone in the East is even going to come close to challenging the Heat.

-The Golden State/Denver game was unbelievable. Andre Miller drove the basket with only 1.3 seconds left to give his team the win.  Amazing game.  Stephen Curry is quite a shooter for the Warriors.  I remember being captivated by him at Davidson a number of years ago during March Madness.  He got off to a cold start, but I suspect we'll hear from him before the series is over.

-Sunday's games weren't that interesting.  I watched a bit of Oklahoma City/Houston.  The Rockets looked big time overmatched.

MLB
-I've been a big Red Sox fan ever since I was a kid and I was totally disgusted at their season last year.  I'm not sure how much better they will be this year, but I don't think the effort will be questioned.  They got swept in a double header against Kansas City yesterday; but rookie pitcher Allen Webster looked good in game two.  He pitched six innings and gave up a couple of homers in the fifth, but was otherwise almost untouchable.  He was part of the Dodger trade last year that sent Crawford, Beckett, and A-Gone to Los Angeles.  It's amazing that the Bosox could get a couple of prospects in that deal in addition to dumping large salaries.

-I feel bad for the Toronto Blue Jays.  Having Jose Reyes on the shelf really hurts them and it appears as though some shoddy defense is going to be a downfall too.  Emilio Bonifacio isn't the versatile player fans thought he would be.  The pitching is starting to come around, however, and the season is still young.  Toronto is still my pick to win the division; but Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista have to start hitting for power and soon.