The Penguins series win over the Rangers was a lot closer than it looked. Although the Pens won the series 4 games to 1, they won one game when the Rangers blew a 3-goal lead and another game in overtime. A few more bounces in the Rangers favor and it would have been a completely different story. So, don't give the Penguins the series over the Flyers just yet, It might be a real good one that goes six or seven games.
I can't tell just yet how good or bad the Erie Seawolves are going to be in 2008. Some nights they look real good, other nights not so good. One thing for sure, from a media standpoint, they don't compare to the Otters in terms of player availability or general cooperation. Not even close. In fact, sometimes the Seawolves organization is just downright aloof. I guess some in the organization feel they can live without media coverage and do just fine. Truth is, without some gimmick or giveaway, the Seawolves do not draw fans very well.
It's been a good spring for baseball and softball teams in terms of the weather. More games being played in April and early May in good weather as opposed to playing in 40-degree temperatures. Some say that is one reason there has only been one baseball team from our area to reach the state finals and no one has ever won a state title in baseball from this area. Maybe the good start to the spring weather will help them this season.
Kobe Bryant won the MVP and deserved it but how about LeBron James finishing fourth in the voting and he got only one first place vote. He carried the Cavs at some points during the season when they were injured or just after the big trade that changed half the roster. Kobe deserved the award, but LeBron deserved a little more respect.

As the NBA and NHL playoffs continue, it looks more and more like the city of Detroit could be celebrating two titles in the next month. The Pistons are in the Eastern Conference finals for the seventh year in a row, awaiting the winner of the Cavs/Celtics series while it appears the Red Wings and Penguins will be your Stanley Cup Finals matchup. While most favor the Red Wings in this series, don't look past the fact that the Penguins can play physical defensive hockey, the kind of hockey you need to beat a team like the Red Wings. As far as the Pistons, while the Celtics got most of the publicity during the season with the best record in the NBA, the Pistons might be the best team. No surprise if they win it all in the NBA.
Boston has the Pats and Red Sox, Detroit has the Pistons and Red Wings. Which would you choose to be the "City of Champions" ???
I wrote on some recent blogs about the River Rats and the Seawolves and some things I noticed about their operations and I did hear from both of them, which was the purpose of writing this blog in the first place. Get out info and opinions we can't do on TV. The River Rats assured me they are solidly in place in Erie and explained why they practice in Butler as oppossed to Erie (location of coach and some players was the reason) I still wish they would practice around here so we could do stories with them, like former Pitt QB Rod Rutherford being unbeaten (4-0) since coming to the Rats. When it comes to the Seawolves, they have been cooperative, however, some of the things we can or can't do as far as coverage of the team is out of my control anyway. But still, it was good to get some reaction and to feel that what we cover does mean something to those teams.

I had the pleasure of joining Franklin High School and head basketball Coach Bill Hager in their annual golf outing this past Saturday. It was cold, it was wet, it was windy but it was a lotta fun, as all golf outings are. My golf that day was not good. I never felt loose and I was cold and wet at the same time and once you start getting negative thoughts in your head while playing golf, you might as well not play, it's not pretty. Shooting myself that day would have been an improvement. But, as always, golf has a way to bring complete strangers together for a common cause. Sports photog Ben Raymond along with partners Joe and Dave from the local Franklin radio station, made it around the Sleepy Hollow Golf Course without too much damage but with a lot of shared memories and stories. Check out some of the photographs from our golf outing. (Joe is the one that is twisted around like a pretzel and hits the ball 300-plus yards) The money raised helps the Franklin basketball program send kids to camps and clinics and it's just one reason, along with the talents of Coach Hager, that makes the Franklin Knights always a competive team every season. This season, they expect some big things too.

No, it's not Christmas but this time of year the end of the school year reminds me of all the things we have covered concerning high school and college sports over the past eight to nine months. We get a little break from the high school sports until the football season revs up again in early August. Again, all the atheletes and teams made it a lot of fun. Cold Friday nights in November covering football, snowy trips around the county to catch some basketball highlights and watching the baseball and softball playoffs to finish it off. Not to mention everything in between from wrestling to golf to volleyball. Wow, when I think about, the number of events I get a chance to see during the course of an academic year is mind-boggling. Litterally, into the hundreds. But, the break is nice...a little vacation...some golf...and before you know it, football will be back. Stay tuned, we have some interesting plans for football at WSEE this fall.
I'll stick to my prediction I made two weeks ago on this blog that Detroit will win both an NBA and NHL title this spring. So far, so good. While the Pens are good, the Red Wings appear to be in a different class than the rest of the NHL in the type of players they bring in and the type of hockey they play.
Finally, as I write this...the Pirates have one more win this season than the Indians. Who would have predicted that back in late March. Plenty of the summer seasons left however. Pirates fans have to have something to hang on to.