Introduction

To start this blog off on the right foot I think it would be best to introduce myself and the ideas behind this blog.

My name is Nathan Brown and there is only one thing to know about me. I am passionate about very little. It hasn't always been this way, but as I have gotten older (not that I'm old) I seem to care about less and less. It must be the cynical old man that lives in me.

As far as this blog goes, it will be my weekly "take" on what has happened in the world of sports, one of my few passions. I will try to keep this as regular as possible, but if there are any big happenings such as Brett Favre decides to stay retired, (yeah right), I will probably post my opinion about that. This blog will mostly cover the "Big Four" sports in America. Also, I have never claimed to be a writer, speech would be more my medium, but I will keep this as entertaining as possible.

I have picked possibly the worst time of the year to start a sports blog. Right now we have two of the major four North American sports about to finish their finals in the next week or two and then we move on to the sports vacuum that is the summer.

However, as long as Manny Ramirez keeps talking we will have an entertaining summer.

"I didn't kill nobody, I didn't rape nobody, so that's it. I'm just going to come and play the game."

Manny was suspended for fifty games last month for violating Major League Baseball's substance abuse policy. He says nothing to the press for over a month and then comes up with that quote as his defense. Manny has always tried to portray himself as a bumbling fool who happens to be a great hitter, almost as if he were the Columbo of the MLB. With a quote like that it doesn't seem that this image will be changing anytime soon.

When you get caught taking a female fertility drug I don't really think comparing it to rape or murder is the right play in today's media environment. It's almost as if he's really expecting us all to give him credit for not committing either of those heinous crimes, pat him on the back, and send him back on the field after he serves his suspension.

Memo to Manny: I will never give you credit for not murdering or raping someone. The overwhelming majority of the American public have never murdered or raped and yet we still have to adhere to the drug policies at our respective places of employment. If I was working for Taco Bell and I failed a drug test they would not be lenient on me just because I didn't kill anybody. You have to wonder what it is like in the mind of a multi-millionaire celebrity.

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Last night, the best closer in the NBA couldn't close the game. Kobe scored 31 points last night. At first, you would think that he had done everything he could to win based off of that stat. It is a solid scoring night for anybody, especially in the finals. The problem came down to one thing in my mind, free throw shooting. To be sure, Kobe wasn't hitting his shot as well in the second half as he did in the first, but he missed 5 free throws for the game including one in the clutch. The impressive thing about the Lakers is even though Kobe was off in the second half they only lost by four.

Orlando shot an NBA finals record 62.5% from the field and barely won. That has to be disheartening for such a young and inexperienced team. They rebounded well from the crushing Game 2 overtime loss, but how much can they take? If Kobe had finished the game the way he started it Orlando would have lost. My prediction for the remainder of the series is profound: Lakers in six. I know I'm not going out on a limb with that, but that is the feeling I'm getting from the series.

There are only two things I believe that could stop my prediction from becoming reality:

Dwight Howard straps the team to his back just like he did against Boston and Cleveland.
or
The Lakers get complacent and melt down like they have repeatedly throughout the playoffs.

The main thing is that the Lakers offensive philosophy is more consistent than chucking up 30 three point shots in a game and hoping you hit 10. It is amazing that Orlando has made it this far with that game plan. Kobe will lead the Lakers to the championship, earn his fourth ring, and cement his legacy as being the only player in Jordan's league. The next five years will tell us if he can possibly surpass Jordan as the greatest of all time.

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Here's a fun fact: the Stanley Cup Finals are going to a seventh game. Be honest with yourself in response to the next question. Did you actually realize the Stanley Cup Finals were happening? My guess is unless you live in Detroit or Pittsburgh you probably didn't know. Heck, the only reason I even care is because it involves two sports cities I love to hate. I'm a Pacers fan and a Colts fan. My teams have repeatedly had their hearts ripped out by teams from those two cities and we even started a brawl in Detroit.

With everything in the previous paragraph being said...GO PENS! You might think I'm sucking up to my in-laws (they're from the Burgh), but really I just hate Detroit teams a little more than Pittsburgh. It's odd since I have lived in Detroit before and still have family there. My mind is telling me that the Penguins will get massacred on Friday, but my heart is pulling for them.

I have a couple of legitimate sports fan reasons for wanting to see this outcome. These two teams were in the finals last year with Detroit winning. I really just want to see something different happen as a casual NHL fan. My next reason has larger implications for the future of the NHL.

Sidney Crosby is one the best young players in the NHL and already has a fierce rivalry with Alex Ovechkin of the Capitols. Overall, I would say Ovechkin is by far the better player. This is why I want the Penguins to win. Crosby has made it to the finals two years in a row and knocked out the Caps on the way there this year. Winning the Cup before Ovechkin would certainly fuel the rivalry and help bring it to a new level. Since the lockout, hockey has lacked an identity and true stars to market.

Crosby winning a ring would help the NHL capitalize on individual star power similar to the way the NBA has done. When you think of the NBA what comes to mind? Kobe, Lebron, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony? The NBA promotes the individual over the team and has done so since Michael Jordan. This sort of marketing pushes merchandise sales and hypes match-ups like the prized Kobe v. Lebron. Friday night the Penguins will be competing for more than an old beat up piece of tin, they will likely be competing for the future of the NHL.