STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS UNDERWAY

It's the time if year that hockey fans have been waiting for. For the fourth year in a row, the Carolina Hurricanes have failed to make a postseason appearance. Even though the local team didn't make the playoffs, this year looks to be as entertaining as any of the previous playoff seasons in recent memory. Last night in the opening game of the playoffs, the Philadelphia Flyers travelled to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins. The Flyers started the game off with a 3-0 deficit. The Flyers scored four consecutive goals to defeat the Penguins 4-3 in overtime. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are off to a great start. Below are a preview of the matchups in the opening round. My pick to win the Cup: Pittsburgh Penguins.

Opening Round of Stanley Cup Playoffs:

Eastern Conference

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals
New Jersey Devils vs. Florida Panthers
New York Rangers vs. Ottawa Senators

Western Conference

Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Phoenix Coyotes
San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues
Detroit Red Wings vs. Nashville Predators

NEW YORK NIGHTMARE

For once it seems as though the spotlight in Major League Baseball is not on the New York Yankees. Going into the season, the spotlight has been on teams like the Angels who aquired arguably the best player in baseball in Albert Pujols, or the Miami Marlins who have an all new look in terms of uniforms, staff, and not to mention a brand new $515 million ballpark. A lot of attention is also focused on the Detroit Tigers who have aligned superstars Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. Meanwhile the Yankees were quiet this offseason with their biggest transaction coming in the form of aging outfielder Raul Ibanez. The Yankees started the season off the season on a three game losing streak. Last night, they finally got their first win against the Baltimore Orioles with a four hit performance by shortstop Derek Jeter. There are 158 games left in the season so Yankee fans shouldn't be too worried just yet.

DAVIS DOMINATES DANCE

WRITTEN MONDAY APRIL 3, 2012:

Last night, the Kentucky Wildcats eighth National Championship. The Wildcats took down fellow college basketball heavyweight the Kansas Jayhawks in a 67-59 win. Kentucky finished the season with a 38-2 record with their only losses coming to Indiana and Vanderbilt. Kentucky was lead all year by freshman phenomenon, Anthony Davis. Due to his stellar performance, Davis is believed to be the best candidate for the number one overall selection in the NBA Draft. Davis was also recently awarded the Naismith Award which is given annually to the most outstanding player in men's college basketball. Kentucky's National Championship also marked the first National Championship for coach John Calipari in his third appearance. This is Kentucky's first championship since 1998. The Wildcats are now one championship closer to the overall leader UCLA who has eleven.

Tebow In Flight

Yesterday, Tim Tebow was introduced to the New York media during a news conference which was broadcasted live on ESPN. He answered questions for about a half hour and left the Jets' practice facility promptly afterwards. This was the first time Tebow spoke publically after being traded by the Denver Broncos last week. Tebow fans have heavily criticized the Broncos organization for trading Tim Tebow after he 8-8 season after the team had gotten off to a 1-4 start. Tebow also lead them to a postseason victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Broncos decided to trade Tebow after acquiring future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning via free agency. Tebow seemed to be in his usual high spirits during his Monday press conference. There is a great deal of controversy pertaining to whether or not Tim Tebow will start over fellow Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez. When it's all said and done, there will always be Tebow fans and Tim Tebow will be a better person for the adversity he has been dealt.

Super Mario

For the past twelve seasons, Buffalo Bills fans have suffered through seasons of mediocrity and failure to make a playoff appearance. Many have considered the Bills the laughing stock of the NFL along with other teams such as the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns. However, last season, the Bills made significant strides towards improving their image and fan support. They ended the season with a 6-10 record but they proved to be a much improved and potentially good team for the near future. On Thursday, the Bills made another stride towards becoming the team they want to be. Bills' General Manager, Buddy Nix announced that the Bills had signed the top pass rusher and maybe the best free agent on the market in former Houston Texans defensive end, Mario Williams. It is reported that his contract is for six years and potentially $100 million with $50 million of that guaranteed. In his first six NFL seasons, Williams has recorded 53 sacks and 241 tackles. This signing will help the Bills get pressure on opposing quarterbacks especially considering that they play in the AFC East with an elite quarterback in Tom Brady. The Bills are looking good going into the 2012-13 season.

THEY'RE DANCING!!!

For the first time since 2006, the North Carolina State Wolfpack are back in the NCAA Tournament! The Pack failed to make all six NCAA Tournaments under their previous coach Sidney Lowe. However, this year the hiring of Coach Mark Gottfried has brought a buzz for college basketball back to Raleigh. Going into last weekend's ACC Tournament, State was on the bubble between making or not making it into the "Big Dance". It would have taken a valiant effort from the Wolfpack to persuade the selection committee to give them a seed in the Tournament.
On Thursday, the Pack played their first round game against the Boston College Eagles. NC State rode on the backs of Scott Wood (22 points) and CJ Leslie (11 points, 11 rebounds) to a 78-57 win to advance to play against the nationally ranked #17 Virginia Cavaliers in the second round. Once again it was Leslie coming up big with 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Pack to a 67-64 win. On Saturday, the Wolfpack advanced to face their arch rivals, the North Carolina Tar Heels. According to ESPN College Basketball analyst Jay Bilas, the Wolfpack would be safely in the NCAA Tournament as long as they played a tough, competitive game against the nationally ranked #4 power house. State didn't disappoint. CJ Leslie led the team with 22 points. Lorenzo Brown carried the pack into overtime after Leslie fouled out about midway through the second half. Though the officiating of this game was arguably the worst I've ever seen, the Wolfpack deserve a lot of credit for only losing by 2 points to arguably the best team in the nation.
As for the Pack in the NCAA Tournament, they make their first round appearance on Friday against San Diego State at 12:40 pm on truTV.
GO PACK GO!!!

NBA All Star Weekend

This weekend, the National Basketball Association held All Star Weekend 2012 in Orlando, Florida. All 30 NBA teams took a break from the stress that the regular season of the NBA brings. All Star Weekend is an event created to celebrate the talent of the NBA's best players and to give the fans an exciting, entertaining experience. All Star Weekend started on Friday night with the Celebrity All Star Game. Celebrities such as rapper J. Cole, comedian Kevin Hart, singer Ne-Yo, former NBA All Stars Mitch Richmond, Penny Hardaway, and more participated in the game. The MVP of the Celebrity All Star Game was Kevin Hart.
After the Celebrity All Star Game, the NBA held an event called the Rising Stars Challenge. In this event, the NBA's top rookies and sophomores are put into a draft pool and drafted by two coaches. This year, the two coaches were former NBA All Stars Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley. The game was won by the team coached by Charles Barkley.
On Saturday, the festivities continued with the Slam Dunk Contest (won by Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz), the 3-Point Contest (won by Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves), and the Skills Challenge (won by Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs).
Finally, to end All Star Weekend 2012, Orlando hosted the NBA All Star Game. The best players from the Western Conference teamed up to take on the best players from the Eastern Conference. The game was dictated early by a tremendous offensive performance by the Western Conference having scored 88 points in the first half (All Star Game Record). The game ended with the Western Conference edging out the Eastern Conference in a 152-149 win. Kevin Durant was named the MVP of the All Star Game with 36 points. LeBron James also scored 36 points. Kobe Bryant scored 27.

Out of GAS-ol?

As the NHL Trade Deadline quickly approaches, so does the NBA's. Ever since the 3 team trade between the Lakers, Hornets, and Rockets that would have sent Lakers Forward Pau Gasol to Houston failed, Gasol's play has been under a microscope. Kobe Bryant came out and publicly scrutinized the Lakers' management for the rumors surrounding Gasol. Kobe suggested that Gasol's performance on the court is being impacted negatively by the trade talk. "Pau, it's hard for Pau because of all this trade talk and all this other stuff, it's hard for him to kind of invest himself completely or immerse himself completely into games when he's hearing trade talk every other day. I wish management would come out and either trade him or not trade him" Bryant stated Monday. Last night, when the Lakers took the court against the reigning NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, it seemed as though Pau Gasol was feeling a large sense of relief. Pau scored 24 points on 11/18 shooting from the field with 9 assists in 39 minutes played. Pau led the Lakers to a 96-91 win over the Mavericks. It looks as though Gasol will likely stay with the Lakers if his performance continues on this trend.

Welcome To My Blog

This is my first post. To get started I want to talk about something that really excited me yesterday. My favorite hockey team, the Carolina Hurricanes, resigned my favorite player, Tuomo Ruutu. With the NHL Trade Deadline quickly approaching, Ruutu has been a name that executives and fans alike have tossed around the rumor mill. Many times throughout the previous weeks, it had been rumored that teams such as Vancouver, Chicago, and Pittsburgh have been interested in aquiring Ruutu before the Monday, February 27th deadline. However, on Wedenesday, the Hurricanes inked Ruutu to a new 4 year, $19 million deal taking Ruutu off the market until the 2015-16 season. Ruutu ranks second among Carolina players with 17 goals and fourth in points with 30 in 57 games played. With the signing of Tuomo Ruutu, the Hurricanes have solidified a core group of players including Cam Ward, Eric Staal, Tim Gleason, Jeff Skinner, Brandon Sutter, Jussi Jokinen, Joni Pitkanen, and Chad LaRose who are all signed to multi-year deals. With that said, the 'Canes are looking to improve their record and hopefully make a push to get into the playoffs. They currently sit at 15th in the Eastern Conference and are 8 points out of the final playoff spot. With the drama that the Ruutu trade rumors brought behind them, it's time to get back to business tonight with a home game against the Anaheim Ducks at 7:00 PM. You can watch the game live on Fox Sports Carolinas on Time Warner Cable or listen live on 99.9 FM The Fan, ESPN Radio. Let's Go Canes!