AND THEN SOME by Tannen

Sports cliches allow us a certain freedom to avoid specifics. He made the first down "and then some". Well, this was a heck of a weekend in sports "and then some". Nationally the focus was on Sunday's dueling Game 7's in the NBA with absolutely no drama but the surprise blowout in Boston as Orlando, and not the Celtics move on to face Cleveland in the East Finals. So much for those crybaby conspiracy theorists who insisted the NBA and networks would force Lebron against the defending champs. The Laker win went more to script providing limited reason to stay tuned. I didn't even change my 2pm tee time, but instead watched the 1st half and used my Comcast DVR to record the second. Obviously I just zoomed through seeing no need to hunker down as it was a route.
Saturday at Pimlico was historic as Rachel Alexandra beat the boys to the wire to become the 1st filly to win the Preakness since 1924. The late rush by Derby winner Mine That Bird showed the colt might have the edge in the much longer Belmont Stakes. If her handlers let her run, the stage is set for one of the great Triple Crown buildups that doesn't involve a potential Triple Crown winner.
On frozen pond, the Red Wings drew 1st blood in their NHL West Final opener as Blackhawk goalie Nikolai Khabibulin allowed a couple of soft goals early and was unable to survive the Detroit onslaught. I still think Chicago has a shot to upset the defending Cup champions, but they'll need a more consistent defensive effort and more heat on Wing netminder Chris Osgood.
Terrific, historic performance at Hayward Field as the Oregon men & women take home Pac 10 titles. The place was full and the legendary venue got mother nature to cooperate with magnificent weather. Congrats to Vin Lanana, Dan Steele, their staff and amazing athletes.
We'll get to lot's of baseball and decide whether Texas is real, the Yankees have a shot in the East, and all that good stuff. But from my chair, the big news about our national past time deciding to start World Series games about 40 minutes earlier than in past years. Why is this great? Stay tuned. Enjoy!