While You Were Sleeping...

It’s not just you. Only the other night I was watching Game Seven of the Mavs/Spurs series and thought, “Damn, these NBA playoffs have been crazy!” From the opening round Cavs/Wizards action to the soap opera-ish Suns/Lakers series, the hardwood gods have blessed us all. (Really, is going to sleep at 2AM that bad?) But in the midst of all the falling in love with Dirk and falling back out of it with Kobe, other things have transpired in Section C of your morning paper. Here’s just a sampling of recent things you may have missed: Houston, Detroit has a solution- So, the Chris Shelton homer-a-night project didn’t pan out. Big friggin’ deal. The kid is still cracking it a .317 clip. Jim Leyland’s got bigger things to concern himself with than home run trots anyways; the Tigers are in first place around Memorial Day for the first time since ’93. Motown haters will point out that Detroit’s only beaten inferior opponents (34 of first 44 games vs. sub-.500 teams). But dang, just two years, they couldn’t beat the Albuquerque Isotopes. And while you’re handing out props, how about a few kind words for Wandy Rodriquez (6-2) and Roy Oswalt (5-3), two Houston hurlers who are tossing wonderfully in the Rocket’s absence? The whole “Should I, Shouldn’t I” shenanigan was old before it started. If these guys keep pitching like this, Roger Clemens should do the Astros front-office a favor and say “I won’t.”

Must-See MWSN- This could be huge. Nah, I’m not talking about the potentiality of a Colorado State/New Mexico pigskin classic. It’s the Mountain West Sports Network’s concept of independence that’s so groundbreaking. Fed up with ESPN’s half-hearted handling of midweek football games, BYU, Air Force and the like went out on their own and formed a regional network that, starting this coming fall, will showcase football, basketball and other sports on its own terms. And get this: the Big Ten is contemplating doing the same thing in ’07. Guess it’s back to The Amazing Race re-runs on Tuesday.

Hockey for Losers- The four teams left in the Stanley Cup playoffs –Edmonton, Anaheim, Carolina and Buffalo- have a combined population of about 2.2 million, roughly the size of metro Atlanta. Even with the relatively small number of fans (and long faces on NBC execs projecting ratings), it must be noted that these unlikely four are doing something we haven’t seen on the ice in a long time. (Quick: Name the last time YOU saw a No. 2, 4, 6 and 8 seed in the conference finals?) Edmonton will likely cruise into the final round. Carolina and Buffalo are battling for a chance to meet the Oilers there. If George Mason was a Cinderella, these three are lil’ zambonis that can.