Front Row.com Blog

 In a new chapter of an old rivalry the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers will meet in the NBA Finals. The Lakers have dumped the San Antonio Spurs, who won’t get a chance at back to back championships (again), and the Celtics used consecutive come from behind wins to KO the Detroit Pistons.

After a shaky start in the playoffs against a Hawks team that wouldn’t quit, the Celtics seem to have found their stride. The team with the best record in the NBA is playing dogged and determined basketball. The Los Angeles Lakers on the other hand, are rallying around their point man, Kobe Bryant. It remains to be seen which will gain the upper hand.  

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 Les Miles, Head Coach of the LSU Tigers, is a proven commodity. He’s made the folks on the bayou forget about Nick Saban, won a BCS National Championship, and turned down overtures from his alma mater to remain in Baton Rouge. Now he’ll try to return to the BCS National Championship Game.

 It may be the biggest challenge Miles has faced yet. Heading into the season, the Tigers were considered in the Top 5 teams in the country. Now they’ve lost a talented and experienced quarterback in Ryan Perriloux and all bets are off. Experts will be watching spring training very closely to get a read on the returning SEC leaders. With Saban at Alabama grooming a contender, and creating an amazing rivalry, it’s going to be interesting in the SEC in 2008.

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 The Los Angeles Lakers are back in the NBA Finals, looking for trophy #15. It’s a convincing run these Lakers have put together, culminating in a come from behind win to knock the Spurs out in five games. Kobe Bryant, always the sparkplug for Phil Jackson, led the Lakers with 39 points. 17 of those came at crunch tme in the 4th quarter. The Lakers are back and looking like the teams of old.  

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 The adversity facing China is now twofold. Foremost has to be recovery efforts stemming from the massive earthquake which has ripped the country apart and the inevitable aftershocks which will probably continue for some time. It’s a new obstacle in what was supposed to be a showcase for the Chinese as they put on a good face for the Summer Olympics in Bejing.

 You can’t fight Mother Nature. As the recovery efforts continue the Chinese will no doubt continue to struggle, maintaining a sense of normalcy amidst the chaos. But the effort to keep the games on pace is perhaps even more vital than it was before the earthquake.  

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 Tiger Woods may be pulling the wool over the eyes of the golf world. After surgery on his knee in April, Woods is still limping around. Woods also withdrew from some upcoming tournaments claiming his knee wasn’t ready. HMMM. Could it be that the master of the mind game is setting up the rest of the pack, getting ready to lay the best U.S. Open golf of his career? Could be. In 2002, Woods won the Buick Invitational after surgery on the exact same knee. Eerie, huh?

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 Like the sand that keeps blowing into my eyes, my thoughts today range across a wide spectrum. Rather than focus, let’s just ramble.

Danica Patrick is even better looking when she’s mad, as evidenced by the shots of her at the Indy 500.

The Los Angeles Dodgers look like they have a winner in Kershaw.

Meanwhile, the Lakers got off to a great start, but don’t count the Spurs out yet.

Big Brown is said to be recovering and should be ready for Belmont and a shot at a Triple Crown.

I’ll be home in two weeks. Have me a shrimp PoBoy from Peck’s ready to go. Also, Mom’s Gumbo, Cathy’s breaded pork chops with white beans, just one more softball game for my daughter, the chance to see Josh laugh.

The Celtics continue to look non-dominant. While everyone holds their breath, waiting for the giant to topple, hedge your bets.

Kasey Kahne made me look good, a difficult task to put it mildly. The Best Buy 400 and Pocono 500 are races where he’ll have to have a good showing.

Why do the Miami Dolphins not like Jason Taylor?

Tags: Uncategorized, sports by edrouant
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 Big Brown now has his hoof stitched together with stainless steel wire. The repair seems to be holding according to his trainer, and Big Brown is ready to make his play for the Triple Crown. It seems strange to me that Big Brown is the first horse to have a shot at the TC since 1978. Seems like contenders come along about as often as quarterbacks like Vince Young.

 Speaking of Vince Young, there’s a story out on the wire that the Tennessee Titans quarterback contemplated retirement after his rookie season. For about 10 minutes.

What do I want for my R & R trip in June? U.S. Open golf tickets. Cathy are you reading this?

How is it that Roger Federer has never won the French Open? Ye gods.

Speaking of tennis, keep the late part of June to the early part of July open for Wimbledon. Mom, are you reading this?

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 By the time the Coca Cola 600 ends, we’ll have gone through about 1/3 of the NASCAR season. At this point, some of the leaders are beginning to emerge. While The Race for the Chase is still wide open, drivers trailing the pack by significant amounts should be thinking about kicking things into high gear. Guys like Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle can go a long way toward moving into the Top 10 with a good showing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

But the leaders can avoid a downfall with a good show also, so don’t expect any playing it safe. Dale Earnhardt Jr., currently in 3rd place in the standings, is dying (and long overdue) for a win. Earnhardt needs to avoid Kyle Busch. Jeff Burton, now at #2, could stake a claim to the lead in this race, but he’ll have to do better than his 24th place showing in the Coca Cola 600 of 2007. As May ends, June looms as a key month with the Best Buy 400, Pocono 500, LifeLock 400, Toyota Savemart 350, and Lenox Industrial Tools 301 on the schedule.  

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 The Detroit Pistons took another step in deflating the invincible air surrounding the Boston Celtics. The Eastern Conference is up for grabs again as the Celtics, winners of 60 odd NBA games in the regular season, fail to dominate in the playoffs. Detroit took a win in Boston last night, beating the Celtics 103-97 on the strength of Hamiltons 25 points. The series moves nack to Detroit now, and considering the success of home teams in these playoffs, that’s a definte advantage.  

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 Join me now for a trip back into the past when the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs were engaged in some epic NBA battles. How will we do it? By enjoying the Western Conference Finals where those same Lakers and Spurs are preparing to do battle. The Spurs earned their tickets by knocking off the upstart New Orleans Hornets in seven games. The Lakers put it to the Utah Jazz.

While some will say these aren’t the same Lakers, nor the same Spurs, does it really matter? Rivalries tend to transcend player changes and coaching changes don’t they? It is after all, cities that support NBA teams, and fans who live and breathe their loyalty at every game. Enjoy it Los Angeles. Enjoy it San Antonio. We in the rest of the NBA family envy you.

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