MySportsSanctuary

No one had seen this coming. The beauty of sports was on display Saturday as the Pittsburgh Penguins exercised one of the hardest feats in sports by beating the Detroit Red Wings for the Stanley Cup. In Game Seven. On the road.

Yes on the road where all the stats and history stood in front of them like the Green Wall. In 1971 the Montreal Canadiens were the last NHL franchise to win a game seven on the road for the title. The Pittsburgh Pirates, ironically, was the last major sports team to accomplish the feat. And to add to the moment, their best player wasn’t even on the ice when the pulled off the miracle. Yes, it is sweet. The Red Wings was arguably the best team in hockey, but if you weren’t into historical revelations of game sevens, you can go back in this postseason and see that these same Penguins beat the Washington Capitals in Game Seven. On the road.

So how does this hiccup in history translate into maybe an omen to the NBA’s Orlando Magic? Down three games to one, they know the only way to win the series and bring home the trophy is to not only beat the clutch Los Angeles Lakers three straight times, but the last game, Game Seven, will be on the road.

You watch this series, and you can see that the Magic has what it takes to win those games. In fact, you could argue that they literally threw two of these games and could be up three to one. However, the Lakers took advantage and now sit one win away from the crown.

No one gave the Pens a shot and now the Magic chances are looking pessimistic. One thing Saturday showed us is that is why they play the game.

The finals in the NHL and NBA are set, one is already underway, and the Williams sisters are at it again at the French Open. Sort of.

Its déjà vu all over again. The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings part deux. Sidney Crosby and his teammates didn’t learn their lesson last year so they returned again to master it. The Red Wings recent domination is well documented. This is their six appearance in the Finals since the ’94-95 season, winning four championships. They beat down the Pens last time, and figure to do so again. However, Sid is a little more seasoned, he has help, and the Pens are coming off a shellacking of the ‘Canes. This year might be the year for the Kid, but I wouldn’t bet on it. They are already down a game.

Back to the soap opera known as the NBA Playoffs starring Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and a special appearance by…Superman himself Dwight Howard! The show’s headliners for the next couple of episodes were changed at the last minute. See Superman was only supposed to push Mr. James to the limit. He was to help create drama, action and excitement but was to fall in the end. When Mr. Howard gave an Oscar-winning performance in Game 6, propelling the Magic past the Cavs to advance to the NBA Finals, the script was shredded and for great reason. As I was watching the series, you know a team isn’t going to win if you are hoping they make a shot or stop the other team, and when you pray the other team misses. The Magic dismantled the Cavs in every phase of the game. As the NBA does a retake, I wonder if Superman will get a puppet too. Probably not.

Why are the Williams sisters making headlines? Well one is out which isn’t breaking news. Venus Williams hasn’t played well at Roland Garros in her career. Her straight set loss in the 3rd Round is a microcosm of her struggles. She hasn’t advanced past the 3rd in a couple of years, no titles, and only one final’s appearance back in 2002. You can’t really called it an upset with her play here and the growing talent pool, but it does make you scratch your head. Serena Williams is still charging for the title, with a little flair for the dramatic. Her three set victory against Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez was marred by a play in which Serena argued the ball struck Ms. Sanchez on the arm. According to tennis rules, if a ball strikes you, you lose a point. Maria disagreed, said it hit her racket. The network showed the replay, Serena called Maria a ‘cheat’, Maria declined comment and after all of that the Earth still spins on its axis. Thanks for playing.

As a sports fan, the week that past was a great one. The NBA is just soaking in the best start to both conference finals in recent memory. Interleague is back, and the NHL playoffs have been anything but dull so far.

The biggest story is the two tied NBA conference finals. The Nuggets manned up and canned the Lakers in Game 2, however Kobe Bryant has now mastered his Jordan acts, and took over in the 4th in Game 3 in Denver where the Nuggets haven’t lost since Jay Cutler left town. Okay not that far back, but it has been awhile. Travel to the Midwest and LeBron, wearing number 23, is improving his late game heroics like his idol and drilled a three at the buzzer to break the spell cast by the Magic. If they had gone down 0-2, I would have had a better chance at climbing Mt. Everest wearing pink biker shorts, a brown tank top and blue flip flops than they did at coming back and winning the series. I have to say that the games all have been competitive, dramatic, and best of all, entertaining.

With interleague opening its 2009 chapter, a couple of series catch my eye. The Philadelphia Phillies, going to homer happy Yankee Stadium, will face the ‘bombers’ in the truest sense of baseball. The Yanks are hot, the Phils are defending champs and no new steroid allegations of A-Rod yet. Randy Johnson going back to where he didn’t start his career, but where he made the name ‘The Unit’ part of everyday jargon to inch closer to that 300 victory plateau is very interesting. Angels and Dodgers, Red Sox and Mets are other series worth noting.

With the Pens and Sidney Crosby taking the Caps and Alex Ovechkin out, they look like a lock to steamroll the Hurricanes on their way to a second straight Stanley Cup appearance. That’s the good news. It looks like it will be against the team who beat them down the last time, the Detroit Red Wings, who are looking good as always in the playoffs. That’s the bad news. Can ‘The Kid’ get his team to the promise land? If the Red Wings are standing in the way, it will be tough sledding.