From Brooms to Doom

The Orlando Magic went from 2 consecutive playoff round sweeps to a horrible series during which they barely looked like they had a chance. I can understand that the closer you get to the Finals, the better the competition, but damn. I’ll be the first to admit that Boston had us looking pretty sloppy. There were inconsistencies in foul calling between games in the series, and various issues all around, but generally, we just looked pretty bad. Boston took the first three games in a row, with only the 2^nd looking like an actual game. Losing at home really brought the confidence from the 2-round-sweep down, though the boys showed some fight when they were playing to stay alive in games 4 and 5. Game 7 was just not meant to be, though. Boston took an early lead and looked like they had things under control, while Orlando just couldn’t make up the difference. They gave it a good shot, but Boston will be going on to represent the East.

On the opposite coast, I was hoping the Suns could knock the Lakers out of contention. Steve Nash had been ridiculous through the whole playoffs, playing through a swollen-shut eye and a broken nose. I officially dubbed him the Black Knight of the NBA, as he wrote each injury off as only a flesh wound and played on like nothing had happened. Alas, the Suns’ playoff run was not meant to make it to the Finals either, as they fell to the Lakers in their Game 6. Though the difference was small and their resolve seemed stronger after Game 5, Ron Artest’s literally last second shot to get the win may have ultimately been the momentum killer. At least now with LA going into the Finals, I won’t feel bad about cheering for the Celtics. May Boston beat them decisively and in as few games as possible to shut them up at least a little bit.

As for hockey… Chicago beat San Jose, making it to the Stanley Cup Finals for the West, as I had predicted. I was conflicted on the East, as I like the Canadiens, but respect the Flyers, too. I have several friends who are fans of either team and would have been fine with either going on to represent our coast, which the Flyers will do after overcoming some crazy odds. Montreal was great beating the Caps and Pens, but when it came to getting past the crazy momentum of the Flyers, it was just too much. Both teams played well, and Leighton, former Canes backup goalie, has been great for Philly. Though my pick was either Chicago in 6, or Flyers in 7, I had to pick the latter as the only guy ahead of me in the Canes Playoff Pick’em mentioned Chicago going all the way. So, I’ll be cheering the Flyers on (even though they’re currently down 1-0 in the series, we’ve seen that doesn’t mean much) and hoping I can pull off a victory in the Pick’em Challenge my first year playing :)

NBA PS- Anybody else think it would be fun to see Phil Jackson go back to Chicago if LeBron meets him there? That could be fun to watch. I’m just sayin…