THINKING OUT LOUD(in writing)

From now on Wednesdays are for random thoughts about sports or whatever pops into my questionable mind. I'll be kind of surprised if John Smoltz is able to revive his career. He's already had 4 surgical procedures on his throwing elbow, this next operation will be on his shoulder. The lock first ballot Hall of Famer is 41. He'll be missed from a sportsman's point of view. He was part of one of the great one way trades of all time. The Tigers dealt him to Atlanta just past the trade deadline in 1987 for Doyle Alexander. Alexander pitched his heart out down the stretch for Detroit going 9 & 0 and leading them into the ALCS, only to lose to the Twins. He retired after the 1989 season. Smoltzy was a core rotation guy for the Braves from 89 through 1999 when he was injured, had his elbow reconstructed and returned in a relief role in 2001. He became the regular closer the following year and went on a run saving 55, 45 and 44 games the next trio of seasons. The last 3 years he's been back in the rotation cranking out at least 200 innings per. This guy has been the ultimate team player and class act.
I'm not posting my NBA Finals prediction until after tomorrow's(Thur) show, but I'm taking the Lakers. Sure it's with my heart as I detest the Celtics, but I need to determine how many games. If LA takes game one, they might sweep.
We might crown a hockey champ tonight as Detroit is in Pittsburgh trying to wrap up the Stanley Cup. Still can't believe what I saw on Monday as the Wings took a 3-2 lead deep into the 3rd period only to give up a tying goal with 35 seconds left before succumbing in triple-overtime. They've really dominated play and like I mentioned on SportsTalk today, have been like a football team controlling time of possession and all the major stats but still haven't put this thing on ice. I've rarely seen a team at any level treasure the puck like this group.