I’ve tried voodoo dolls. I’ve tried playing with an Ouija board. I’ve gone to a tarot card reader and I even altered my picks so much so that I effectively lost the picks competition again this year. But its ok I thought, as long as Pittsburgh loses it will be all worth it. Well not only did I sacrifice my picks, but the Penguins are headed to the Cup for the second straight year. So hopefully, much like last year, the Red Wings will dominate the Pens again en route to another championship for HockeyTown.

I’ll be honest. I watched about two minutes combined of the Eastern Conference Finals. I figured it was wise to benefit my personal health and avoid watching the series altogether. Last Friday night I got that hockey itch and turned the game on, only to turn it off about 80 seconds later when Sidney Crosby had already put Pittsburgh up 1-0. What can I say? The Penguins are good. There, I hope everyone is happy.

(I still don't understand how changing a coach mid-season can be the real reason for this. I say they were tanking it till the switch was made.)

On the other hand it looks like the Hurricanes luck finally ran out. FINALLY. After several lucky wins and even more lucky bounces, karma finally caught up with the Canes. Lucky for them, nobody really cares.

The Blackhawks somewhat disappointed their fans, although I’m not sure if anybody really expected them to win. Their goaltending has been suspect for most of the post-season and a team like Detroit is way too good to not take advantage. Of course, it helps when Brian Campbell tries to be fancy and ends up giving away a game like he did in Game Two. I’m willing to bet the majority of ‘Hawks fans aren’t exactly celebrating Campbell’s big contract one season later.

So here we go; the end is finally near. One more series and we can officially put a wrap on the NHL season and move on to off-season activities. Free agency starts July 1^st and before we know it, pre-season will be in full swing. But before all that, let’s break down the Cup Finals between Detroit and Pittsburgh.

Forwards: Leading the way for Detroit has been Johan Franzen with 19 points in the playoffs. Henrik Zetterberg is following closely behind him with 18 points. Dan Cleary and Valtteri Filppula have 14 and Marian Hossa has tallied 12 points.

Pittsburgh has been led by the obvious tandem of Crosby and Malkin. Both players have 28 points and then there is a dramatic dropoff with Bill Guerin the next in line with 14. Chris Kunitz has 12 and Ruslan Fedotenko has 11.

Advantage: Push. Pittsburgh obviously has immediate impact. Crosby and Malkin are two of the top three players in the league right now. Detroit has an overall advantage in depth. Every single line they roll out has legit goal scorers, where as Pittsburgh is still letting Miroslav Satan’s corpse take the ice. Not to mention the fact that Marian Hossa plays for Detroit. He literally spurned Pittsburgh last off-season because he wanted a legit chance to win a Cup. Don’t think that won’t carry any weight in this series. He’ll be extra motivated to finally win, while Pittsburgh will want to prove him wrong. I have a bad feeling that karma will show it’s ugly head because of this.

Defense: Monitoring the blue line for Detroit is Nicklas Lidstrom (13 points), Brian Rafalski (8), Niklas Kronwall (7), Brad Stuart (7), Brett Lebda (6) and Jonathan Ericsson (5).

Pittsburgh lines up with Sergei Gonchar (12 points), Kris Letang (9), Mark Eaton (6), Brooks Orpik (4), Rob Scuderi (3) and Hal Gill (2).

Advantage: Detroit. Not only do they have more scoring power than Pittsburgh, they have a ton more experience. Look no further than Captain Nicklas Lidstrom. Assuming Detroit can stay healthy…well that’s another story.

Goaltending: Detroit comes into the series with Chris Osgood starting and former Penguin Ty Conklin riding the bench. I haven’t been very high on Osgood this season and with good reason, but he has done well enough to led the Wings this far. He has a 2.06 GAA and .925 save percentage so far in the playoffs to go along with his 12-4 record.

Pittsburgh has Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes. In between his over the top flashy saves, he has racked up a 12-5 record, 2.62 GAA and .906 save percentage. While he has been shaky at times this year, he seems to know when to step it up. Pittsburgh left him out to dry several times and he literally won them the game which is about all you can ask of a franchise goalie.

Advantage: Push. When I originally wrote the article I was going to give the advantage to Pittsburgh because Chris Osgood doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence. But after researching the numbers and realizing that Osgood has been better than Fleury in every category, I changed it to a push. Osgood still doesn’t fill me with confidence, but he must be doing something right.

Coaching: Mike Babcock is behind the bench for Detroit and Dan Bylsma is behind the bench for Pittsburgh. Babcock has an obvious advantage in terms of experience and championships; however Bylsma should get credit for getting Pittsburgh this far. When he initially took over in mid-season, the Penguins were on the outside of the playoffs looking in. That is quite a feat, but if you ask me I’m not overly impressed. I get the impression that Pittsburgh was essentially quitting on former coach Michel Therrien and that anybody could’ve came in and turned things around. I’ll be a believer if they win the Cup…and stay equally as dominant next season.

Advantage: Detroit

My Pick: Detroit in 6

After some rather anti-climatic Conference Finals series, the battle for the best trophy in all of sports is finally upon us. Pittsburgh and Detroit both managed to advance without facing too much opposition and will now go at it once again in a rematch of last year's Finals. This is the first time in 25 years that two teams have made it to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals appearances, and Pittsburgh will be trying desperately to provide a different outcome this time around.

Pittsburgh looks to have hit their full stride at this point, cruising by Carolina in a 4 game sweep that wasn't ever really close. The Penguins outscored the Hurricanes by a 20-9 margin and only game 1 had any real drama to it. Marc-Andre Fleury was the only goaltender of the 4 in the Conference Finals to not have won a Stanley Cup already, but he may have out performed all his counterparts. So far in 17 games of the postseason, his GAA is 2.62 and he has a save percentage of .906. Not stellar numbers at first glance, but when you consider how well the Penguins score the puck, it's been plenty good enough to get them back in the Finals. The race for the playoff scoring title has turned into a 2 horse show, and both those horses belong to Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin each have 28 points so far in the playoffs and nobody else is really even close. Crosby's points have come on 14 goals and 14 assists, while Malkin has 12 goals and 16 assists thus far. Pittsburgh's one downfall though might be that after those two, the scoring falls off dramatically. If Detroit can find a way to even slow those guys down, it might be enough to help them hoist yet another Cup.

Last year, the Penguins made it to the finals as a young, fairly inexperienced team. This year however, they're back and they know what to expect. This group would love nothing more to win the first Cup for Pittsburgh since their only previous wins in 91 and 92. The Penguins looked overwhelmed in the first 2 games of last year's Final, and it ultimately cost them as they recovered a little too late. I wouldn't expect the same to happen this time around. As for Detroit, last year's victory was the team's 11th Stanley Cup and another one this year would put them at half of the mark of Montreal's ridiculous 24 Cups. The Red Wings have proven to be one of the best run organizations in sports for years now and yet another Finals appearance just further proves that.

Detroit faced a very young Chicago team in the Western Conference Finals and didn't have too much of an issue getting past them, as they won the series in 5 games. The series was certainly closer than that in the East though, as 3 of the games were decided in overtime. 2 players top the list of scorers for Detroit as well, though they have a more balanced attack and have had a lot of secondary contributors. Johan Franzen has lead the way with 10 goals and 9 assists, while Henrik Zetterburg has chipped in with 9 of each. All playoffs long, people have pointed to Chris Osgood as the weak link of Detroit, and even I have been somewhat guilty of this. The fact is that it's just not the case though. Osgood comes into the Finals with a 2.06 GAA and a .925 save percentage, both of which are outstanding. Add to that the fact that Osgood has 3 Cup wins to his name, 2 of which he was the starter for, is 10th all time in NHL wins, and has a career playoff GAA of 2.11. Osgood has proven himself and deserves more credit than he gets.

Amongst the biggest keys heading into this series is the health of the Red Wings. 6 regular starters missed Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals for Detroit, yet they managed to walk away with the win. Andreas Lilja, Kris Draper, Tomas Kopecky, and Jonathan Ericsson were all out, but more notably, Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk both missed games 4 and 5 of that series. Lidstrom is perennially the best defenseman in the league, and while he's supposedly going to be back in time for Game 1 tomorrow, whether or not he's at 100% will be a big factor. Datsyuk doesn't appear to be in as good of shape at this point, and while he hasn't provided his usual scoring power in these playoffs (7 points, with only 1 goal), many forget that he is very talented defensively as well. Having him at his best to help try and slow down Crosby and Malkin would be a very important factor for Detroit.

The Red Wings have been getting offense from other players however as Johan Franzen, Dan Cleary and Valtteri Filppula have all stepped up their scoring efforts. Still, contributions from Datsyuk if he comes back and Henrik Zetterburg would certainly go a long ways towards Detroit capturing yet another Stanley Cup. Pittsburgh will need some more scoring from it's support as well though, as relying almost completely on Crosby and Malkin might not continue to work at this point. Players like Bill Guerin, Jordan Staal, Chris Kunitz, and Ruslan Fedotenko need to provide more scoring in support of the Penguins Big Two.

Special teams is another big key factor when looking at this series. Both these teams are dynamite on the power play, but Detroit in particular. The Red Wings have scored 19 times in 74 opportunities this postseason, for a success rate of 25.7%. Pittsburgh has converted 16 of 83 opportunities, scoring 19.3% of the time. 10 of those 16 goals for Pittsburgh have come from the Crosby/Malkin duo however, while Detroit's are much more spread out across the team. On the flip side of things though is where the story might be told. The Penguins have allowed 10 goals on the penalty kill through 61 opposition chances, good for a 83.6% success rate on the kill. Not stellar, but when you compare it to Detroit's penalty killing effort, it looks pretty good. The Red Wings have allowed 15 goals in 57 opportunities so far in the playoffs, killing only 73.7% of their penalties. Detroit simply must be better or must stay out of the box, or Pittsburgh is going to make them pay dearly. While I wouldn't want to give up many PP chances for Detroit if I were Pittsburgh either, they have to feel at least a little more comfortable with their ability to kill off any penalties.

Yet another key to this series, and a storyline which I'm sure television will play up to death is that of the Red Wings' forward Marian Hossa. Hossa was with the Penguins last season and despite a very healthy contract offer after the season, he decided to bolt town, declaring that the Penguins were a one trick pony of sorts and he wanted to go play for a Cup contender. He signed with Detroit, and now he faces his former mates with the biggest prize on the line. Hossa has been solid, but not stellar for Detroit this postseason, chipping in with 6 goals and 6 assists thus far. The capability is still there however as he scored 40 goals along with 31 assists in the regular season for the team. Pittsburgh surely would like to make Hossa regret his decision and I can think of no better way than to beat his new team for Lord Stanley's Cup. It'll be interesting to see how Hossa reacts to the pressure in this series.

Ultimately, this series is a matchup of two teams with outstanding scoring abilities mixed in with some goalies playing at a very high level. It's pretty much what you'd expect from the last two teams standing. How the keys I mentioned above play out will likely end up determining who gets to parade around the ultimate trophy, and in particular, I think the injury issues for Detroit might be the biggest factor of all. If perennial Norris Trophy winner Niklas Lidstrom returns and can play at his usual level and the same is true for Hart Trophy candidate Pavel Datsyuk, the Red Wings will be very tough for Pittsburgh to handle. However, if those guys can't return, or aren't playing close to 100%, the series may very well be the Penguins' to lose.

Since the Red Wings have always been my second favorite team behind Buffalo, along with the fact that I don't particularly care for Pittsburgh and especially Mr. Crosby, my heart tells me to take Detroit. However, I have a bad feeling about this series, and the injuries in particular concern me a lot, so my head says Pittsburgh is going to win. As much fun as it is to pick with my heart, I rarely ever do it...

Pittsburgh wins in 6 games.

In other news, you have may have noticed by now that our site officially has a new address. You can now find us at www.dandssports.com though our previous address will also redirect you to the proper location. Along with the official domain name, we're also toying with some other ideas on ways to change the site up some, so be on the lookout for that in the near future. Additionally, as always your feedback is greatly appreciated and if you have any suggestions for changes you'd like to see here, feel free to let us know. You can shoot us an email at feedback@dandssports.com. Devin will be by either tonight or tomorrow with his preview and picks, as well as updated standings for the prediction contest heading into the Finals. Be sure to check back!

It's time once again for the UFC to grace our presence with another pay per view card. UFC 98 takes place this Saturday night in Las Vegas and features a rather lackluster card to be quite honest. Beyond the co-main events, not much of consequence is happening on this card other than a bunch of fomer Ultimate Fighter cast members doing battle on the undercard. The event is headlined by a Light Heavyweight title fight between champion Rashad Evans and top contender Lyoto Machida. Additionally, former welterweight champions Matt Serra and Matt Hughes will finally do battle after a long standing grudge. I'm going to take a look at those two fights, so let's get started with the Serra/Hughes fight.

Matt Hughes vs. Matt "The Terra" Serra

Matt Hughes has been in the business for a very long time now and is widely recognized as the most dominant welterweight champion in UFC history. The fight against Matt Serra will be his 21st inside the Octagon and all indications are that it will also be his last. Hughes is a lock for the Hall of Fame and with the announcement that 2 more members will be added the weekend of UFC 100, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Hughes is one of them. Hughes' record stands at 42-7 but with 3 losses in his last 4 fights, injury problems, and the fact that he is now 35 years old, retirement surely seemson the horizon. After losing his last bout with Thiago Alves and tearing both his MCL and PCL in the process, Hughes commented that he had one last fight in him, that being this one against Matt Serra.

The list of men Hughes has beaten is literally a who's who of the welterweight division and his losses didn't exactly come to slouches either. Dennis Hallman (2x), BJ Penn, and Georges St. Pierre (2x) are among the very few to have taken victories over Hughes. A 2 time champ who successfully defended his title on 7 different occasions, Hughes would like to walk away from the sport with one last win, particularly over Serra after their ongoing war of words during the past 2 years. The two were coaches on Season 6 of The Ultimate Fighter and constantly exchanged words and generally showed a great deal of dislike for one another. The scheduled fight after the season was supposed to take place in late 2007, but Serra was forced to withdraw due to a severe back injury. St. Pierre stepped in as a replacement and tapped out Hughes to win an interim title. Serra recovered from his injuries and then faced St. Pierre to unify the titles, also losing. Hughes took the fight with Alves and hurt his knee in the process, thus pushing this fight back nearly 17 months until now.

Matt Serra is certainly an interesting story if nothing else. Serra sports a career record of just 9-5, but has a UFC Welterweight Title reign on his resume. Making his debut back at UFC 31 in 2001, Serra lost to Shonie Carter via the now infamous spinning backfist that has graced highlight reels throughout the decade. Going 4-4 in the UFC, Serra disappeared after a loss to Karo Parisyan at UFC 53, but resurfaced as a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback. That season, the show was comprised of former UFC fighters who had left the organization for various reasons, with a title shot promised to the winner of each weight class. Serra would go on to win the welterweight division by beating Chris Lytle in the Finale.

In one of the most surprising moments in UFC history, Serra cashed in his title shot at UFC 69 and defeated Georges St. Pierre to take home the belt. Serra would later lose in a rematch however. Since his return to the Octagon, Serra has only had those 3 fights I just mentioned in a nearly 2.5 year time span. A herniated disc forced him out of a fight with Matt Hughes after their stint coaching on The Ultimate Fighters 6th season, but they will finally due battle this weekend. Serra made it well known that he was not a fan of Hughes in the least while they were both on the show, and words have been exchanged ever since. Besides the obvious victory over St. Pierre, Serra's only other significant UFC win came against Yves Edwards at UFC 33. In addition to the St. Pierre and Parisyan losses, Din Thomas and BJ Penn have also taken decision victories from Serra.

Common Opponents

As always, I like to look at any common opponents two fighters have in their past as a way to try and guage how they might fair against one another. In the case of Hughes and Serra, several of those exist. Serra originally fought as a lightweight in the UFC, but since returning has moved up to the 170 lb. weight class. These two have a combined 5 fights against Georges St. Pierre as well as matchups against Chris Lytle and BJ Penn in their past. Serra lost a unanimous decision to BJ Penn back at UFC 39 in 2002 while Hughes also lost his first bout with Penn at UFC 46. That loss, by way of rear naked choke, cost Hughes the end of his first title reign after 5 successful defenses and also ended his 13 fight win streak. Hughes would get his revenge however, defeating BJ Penn via TKO at UFC 63 to retain the title he regained after Penn vacated it by leaving the UFC. Serra defeated Chris Lytle in the finals of TUF 4, winning by a majority decision in what was a very close bout. Lytle's next fight would come against Hughes at UFC 68 where he lost by way of unanimous decision. Hughes had a definitively easier time against Lytle than did Serra.

The fights against GSP perhaps tell the best story, since each fighter has dealt with him multiple times. Hughes first fought him for a vacant welterweight title at UFC 50, ultimately winning by armbar with just 1 second remaining in the first round. St. Pierre held the upper hand through the first round, but made a simple mistake which Hughes was a quick to capitalize on. The two would battle again at UFC 65, this time St. Pierre taking away Hughes' title via TKO in the 2nd round. St. Pierre would turn around and face Serra in his next fight at UFC 69 for his first title defense. Serra earned the shot via his TUF 4 victory and shocked the world by catching St. Pierre with some punches in the first and finishing him via TKO. The win was very surprising as GSP was considered the best in the weight class by far at that point and Serra wasn't expected to give him a challenge. It seemed as though St. Pierre underestimated the opposition and came in unprepared, costing him the belt. When Serra was unable to defend the title vs. Hughes due to injury, GSP filled in and defeated Hughes for an interim title via a submission win at UFC 79. Serra and St. Pierre would then meet again to unify the belts at UFC 83 in St. Pierre's hometown of Montreal. GSP easily put away Serra in the rematch, winning via TKO in the 2nd round.

When it comes to common opponents, Serra sports a record of 2-3, while Hughes went 3-3, however I'd say that Hughes had the more significant and more impressive victories in those matchups.

Predictions

I'd like to think I'm not biased in analyzing this fight, simply because I quite honestly don't care for either fighter in the least. That being said, Hughes is undeniably one of the UFC's all time best and through his lengthy career has really only lost to elite level opposition. Serra on the other hand has had a very mundane career, highlighted only by a title win, which many would call a fluke. They say anybody can win a title, but you're not a champion until you defend it, and Serra was never able to do that. If it weren't for that title win, Serra would likely have been dismissed from the UFC for a second time by now.

In terms of abilities, Serra has the advantage in jiu jitsu as a black belt under Renzo Gracie, and perhaps a small advantage in terms of punching power on the feet. Hughes is a vastly superior wrestler and probably has the better all around striking at this point. Serra likes to throw bombs from in close and try to catch his opponent, while Hughes doesn't swing for the fences, but stays in the face of his opposition, looking for an opportunity to take them to the mat and work the ground and pound that he's become famous for. Hughes' losses have all come by way of a finish, he's never lost a decision. Serra on the other hand has only finished 2 of his UFC fights, winning the rest via decision. This tells me Serra is not an aggressive fighter, and I don't think that strategy will hold up against Hughes.

Hughes wants to go out of the UFC on top of his game, and will look to take Serra to the mat at the first chance and pound away on him. Serra is very good from his back at working for submissions, but I expect Hughes to defend well and not give him much of an opening. I'd be surprised if this fight ended in any manner other than a TKO victory for Hughes. I think they'll take their time feeling each other out in the first, so I say it goes to the 2nd, but Hughes walks away with one last win.

"Sugar" Rashad Evans (UFC Light Heavyweight Champion) vs. Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida

The main event for UFC 98 features the first every title match between two undefeated fighters. Rashad Evans enters this fight at 13-0-1, fresh off a TKO victory over Forrest Griffin to capture the Light Heavyweight Title at UFC 92 in December. Evans was originally expected to fight Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 100 after Jackson defeated Keith Jardine at UFC 96, however the Frank Mir/Brock Lesnar title fight had to be moved from this card back to UFC 100 due to injuries. Since Jackson had surgery of his own, he was unable to fight at UFC 98 and Lyoto Machida was given the opportunity instead, though Rampage is expected to face the winner in an upcoming show.

Evans has yet to taste defeat as a professional, which includes 9 fights in the UFC, the first of which was a victory for The Ultimate Fighter 2's title in the heavyweight division. Evans promptly moved to his more natural weight class of 205 lbs. and has had great success since. Amongst the wins he has amassed, fighters such as Stephan Bonnar, Michael Bisping, and a shocking knockout of Chuck Liddell are included on the list. The lone blemish on Evans' record comes in the form of a draw against former Light Heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz at UFC 73. A close fight throughout, Ortiz was penalized a point for grabbing the fence multiple times, which ultimately lead to the scorecards resulting in a draw.

Evans was often criticized early in his career for not finishing fights, instead electing to use his wrestling skills to hold down his opponents and earn decision victories. He has changed that opinion in recent fights however as 4 of his last 6 fights ended in KO (3) or TKO (1) victories. Amongst those were a highlight reel head kick KO of Sean Salmon as well as a huge right hand to the jaw of Chuck Liddell, both of which won Knockout of the Night awards for Evans. With this fight, Evans attempts to do what nobody else has been able to as of late, defend the Light Heavyweight title. The previous two champs have each lost in their first defense, as the ultra competitive division continues to shuffle around.

Lyoto Machida has stepped into his own as of late and is finally being recognized as a top contender in the 205 lb. division. "The Dragon" sports an undefeated record of 14-0 including all 6 of his UFC fights. Amongst those he's defeated are Stephan Bonnar, Rich Franklin, BJ Penn, Tito Ortiz, and Thiago Silva. As one of the few fighters who have successfully transitioned the art of Karate into MMA, his style has often come under fire in the past. Machida is known for constantly moving away from opponents in his fights, but many fail to realize he also strikes very successfully when he does move in. In fact, Machida has never even lost a round on a scorecard during his time in the UFC. While he may not be the flashiest fighter out there, his style has certainly proven an effective one.

His early career victories over notable names are interesting ones. He defeated Bonnar via TKO due to a stoppage caused by a cut. Rich Franklin lost via TKO as well, that one due to a head kick followed by punches. The BJ Penn fight is an interesting one, as it was an open weight contest. Machida weighed 215 lbs. for the fight while Penn was just 187 lbs. Machida took the unanimous decision in that matchup. Since coming to the UFC, Lyoto has 4 unanimous decision victories, including a very one sided battle against Tito Ortiz, which sent Ortiz packing from the UFC. Machida was impressive with an anaconda choke over Sokoudjou at UFC 79, but even more impressive in winning Knockout of the Night honors with his KO via punch of Thiago Alves with one second left in the first round at UFC 94.

Common Opponents

Surprisingly, Evans and Machida already have 3 common opponents in their relatively young careers. Machida fought Stephan Bonnar in Brazil back in 2003, winning due to stoppage caused by a cut as I mentioned earlier, while Evans battled Bonnar at UFC Fight Night 5 in 2006, winning by way of majority decision. In April, 2006, Evans was victorious over Sam Hoger via split decision in his 2nd UFC fight. Machida faced Hoger in his Octagon debut at UFC 67 in February of '07. The most recent opponent the two have in common is also the most high profile name of the bunch. Evans battled Tito Ortiz to a draw as I mentioned above at UFC 73 in July of 2007, while Machida easily outpointed Ortiz en route to a unanimous decision in Ortiz' last UFC fight at UFC 84 in May of '08.

Machida's victories over similar competition were much more decisive than those of Rashad Evans, but this is one of those cases where it's hard to make a case that it matters heading into their fight. Evans has developed a great deal since most of those fights took place, earning his place as one of the UFC's elite and as a champion. While Machida has also improved, he was probably at a higher level of ability at the time of his fights to begin with.

Predictions

I've been thinking about this fight all week and I've really struggled to come to a conclusion thus far. Both have been criticized heavily in the past for not having exciting fights and being content with picking up decision victories. However, both have also begun to prove they can finish fights as of late, Evans in particular with several dominant knockouts in recent fights. Both men excel at striking, wich Machida being very tactical and picking his opposition apart with kicks and punches. Evans tends to just let his hands go, throwing punches with a nice flow and possessing deceptive power.

Evans is a wrestler by nature and has the ability to dictate where the fight goes because of that, often defaulting back to his wrestling skills if nothing else is working for him. Machida has some background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as he trains with the Black House camp in Rio, alongside Anderson Silva and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Both fighters like to counter strike and capitalize on the mistakes of their opponents, which means we could be in for a very boring fight. I expect a lot of cautious exchanges of striking, which over the course of a 5 round title fight will likely seem pretty dull. I'm going with a unanimous decision victory for Machida, with a lot of boos from those in attendance along the way. Hopefully, their new found knockout power will prove me wrong though and we'll see one of them finish off the other.

Full Fight Card:

Main Card Fights:
-Rashad Evans (16-0-1) vs. Lyoto Machida (14-0)
-Matt Hughes (42-7) vs. Matt Serra (11-5)
-Dan Miller (11-1) vs. Chael Sonnen (21-10-1)
-Sean Sherk (33-3-1) vs. Frankie Edgar (9-1)
-Drew McFedries (7-5) vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam (20-10)

Under Card Fights:
-Brock Larson (25-2) vs. Chris Wilson (14-5)
-Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-3) vs. Brandon Wolff (7-3)
-Tim Hague (9-1) vs. Patrick Barry (4-0)
-Phillipe Nover (7-1) vs. Kyle Bradley (13-6)
-Andre Gusmao (5-1) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (17-8-1)
-George Roop (10-5) vs. David Kaplan (3-3)

Another round is over in the NBA playoffs as we head towards the inevitable Lakers/Cavs showdown in the Finals. Sorry Denver and Orlando, it just isn’t in the cards this year. It was pre-determined before the playoffs even started that it would be a battle between Kobe and Lebron (and the other eight starters on the court). Before I get to my picks for the Conference Finals (even though I just made them), I have a few thoughts about the second round:

- Boston has been valiant in defending their title. They had an absolutely grueling season and post-season last year and followed it up this year with an even tougher slate. They battled through some horrendous injuries and found ways to win with Glen “Big Baby” Davis as the starter. Having an undeniable flair for drama, the Celtics feel inclined to take every series to a seventh game. While their season is over, I think it’s fair to applaud them on their effort. At least they defended their title with honor, something most teams don’t do.

- How can a league suffer through a referee/gambling scandal and still continue to trot out horrible officials for playoff games? It’s true that most sports suffer from spotty officiating, but they usually learn from their mistakes. The NBA continues to ignore the fact and everyone suffers. The Mavericks were screwed in Game 3 of their series which makes me wonder… Mark Cuban continues to bash the refs and draw the ire of David Stern, so is it really a coincidence that his team gets the brunt of this officiating? Also, the refs need to forget about the Pistons/Pacers fight and treat Ron Artest like any other player. I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw more overreacting than I saw from the officials in the Houston/LA series.

- During the regular season I would’ve said with quite a bit of confidence that LA could beat Cleveland in the Finals. Hell, I sat here and defended Kobe in an argument with Scott even though it was probably a dead end conversation. When the Finals take place, I’ll still pick LA because that’s who I’ll be rooting for and I’m not going to take back my words from previous blogs. But I will say right now, it probably won’t be pretty. The Cavs look like a fine oiled machine while the Lakers are a coin flip. One game they thrash the Rockets by 40, the next game they find themselves in a 17-1 hole in the first quarter. I was unaware that was even possible. Then again, who knows how the Cavs will do once they actually play an NBA team. So far they are 8-0 against the WNBA’s best this post-season.

Before we get to the picks, here are the standings after two rounds.

Devin (Cleveland, Denver, LA, Orlando in 7) –65 Points

Scott (Cleveland, LA, Orlando) – 45 Points

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Cleveland Cavaliers (1) vs Orlando Magic (3)

Like I previously stated, the Cavs have literally steam-rolled through the playoffs so far. Not only have they gone 8-0, but none of the games have even been a contest. While I think most of this is due to how good Cleveland is, some of it has to do with the garbage competition they have faced. Not many things in life are worse than the NBA’s Eastern Conference. Well, the Dave Matthews Band does rank pretty high on that list.

The Magic took Boston all the way to 7 games before finally ending their season. One could argue that Orlando should’ve ended that series in 5 games, but I guess it’s a moot point now that the series is over. I do find it funny that Patrick Ewing is trash talking and living vicariously through Dwight Howard, you know, since Ewing was such a championship player during his days.

This prediction is short and sweet, much like the series.

My Pick: Cleveland in 5

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Los Angeles Lakers (1) vs Denver Nuggets (2)

Just like the Eastern Conference, the top two teams in the West contain everyone’s favorite to win the Conference. The top two teams remain in the West which goes to show that regular season performance does matter in some sports. Somewhere someone in San Jose just started to cry again. The Denver crowd is surely going to harass Kobe to no end because of his...um…checkered history in the Colorado region. Call me crazy, but I don’t think it’s the best idea. Kobe is one of those players who seem to feed off of things like that. Don’t pour gasoline on the fire Denver.

The Nuggets have rolled through the post-season much like Cleveland, only they beat a few NBA teams along the way. Some people really thought Dallas would’ve put up more of a fight, although things could’ve been much closer had Game 3 been called correctly. I personally did think Denver would win, but I also didn’t think it would end in five games. Even more interesting than the games was the battle between Dallas owner Mark Cuban and Kenyon Martin’s mom. I’m not a fan of anything Dallas, but I have a ton of respect for Cuban. He is a great owner. What’s so bad about an owner actually giving a crap about his team? I see absolutely nothing wrong with it.

The Lakers haven’t exactly been world beaters in the playoffs so far, but I’m thinking they are just saving themselves up for the Finals. I figure if I tell myself that enough times, it might actually be true. I must say I love all the crap Kobe gets when the Lakers get beat, even though it’s usually because his surrounding cast sucked more “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist”. Much like the movie, the Lakers supporting cast has one role and doesn’t know when to step it up. Ah, good times.

My Pick: Lakers in 7

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Another round of the NBA Playoffs is in the books and we now know the last 4 teams standing. Devin will post his predictions in the next day or two, as well as give an update on the standings of our contest thus far, so be sure to check back for that. We have some intriguing matchups upon us as the Lakers and Nuggets do battle in the West, and in an exact opposite scenario from the NHL, instead of 2 of my least favorite teams doing battle in the East, the only 2 NBA teams I really give a damn about are going head to head with the Cavaliers facing off against the Magic. Let's get started shall we?

Western Conference Finals:
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (2) Denver Nuggets

Well, it only took until Game 7 before the Lakers realized that they were the far superior team in their series with Houston, but they got the job done with ease in that game and are moving on. Despite winning with ease, the Lakers really didn't impress me too much in Game 7 as they still didn't play to the level they are capable of, but instead, relied on Houston to meltdown and play some truly terrible basketball. If the Lakers would play up to their abilities, this shouldn't have been a series, even before Yao Ming was lost to injury. One of the biggest problem with the Lakers, and perhaps the reason a lot of people really dislike Los Angeles as a team, is the fact that have a high tendency to just take games off and coast through. I dislike this fact in the regular season, but really can't stand it in the playoffs.

Denver on the other hand has played some of the best basketball I've seen from any team in the postseason. I will freely admit at this point that I vastly underestimated their abilities and was a bit surprised at how they took care of Dallas with relative ease. I've gone on record before as not being a very big Carmelo Anthony fan, but he's been playing extremely well and looks more comfortable in his revised role with more help around him. Chauncey Billups is the biggest difference in this Denver team and past versions however. He runs the offense very effectively and can score the ball when it's needed as well. He has a calming veteran leadership quality to him that was severely lacking for the Nuggets the last few seasons. If their level of play keeps up against Los Angeles, we could have one heck of a series on our hands.

I've been thinking about this series since yesterday afternoon, and the more I analyze it, the more reasons I see why Denver could very well and maybe even should win a trip to the NBA Finals. First off, just look at the performances of the two teams coming into the series. Denver is on top of their game, playing fantastic basketball. Los Angeles on the other hand is playing Jekyll and Hyde, struggling against a team they should have put away with ease.

Next, most of the matchups seem to favor Denver. Derek Fisher and the revolving point guard crew for LA couldn't handle Aaron Brooks from Houston, and I think it goes without saying that Chauncey Billups is a fair amount better. Carmelo Anthony has been playing some of his best basketball to date, and while Trevor Ariza is a quality role player who does some of the intangible things very well, he's not going to shut down Anthony. On the other hand, Kobe Bryant should be primed to go off in this series. He hasn't played up to his capabilities so far in the playoffs and he's going to have Dahntay Jones on him this round. Jones is not a threat on the offensive end, so Kobe isn't going to have to play hard on defense, which means he'll have all sorts of energy when he has the ball in his hands.

Where it gets most interesting to me is with the big guys. Los Angeles has Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol up front, with an injured Lamar Odom thrown in the mix as well. Bynum has largely been invisible as of late, and Gasol, while a solid scoring threat, has been playing horrible defense. After Yao went down, Luis Scola went off in Games 5 and 6 with Gasol guarding him. No offense to Scola, but Kenyon Martin, Nene, and Chris Anderson would concern me more than him. None of those guys are offensive powerhouses, but they are hustle players who get easy baskets from time to time because of their effort. They also chase down rebounds and all three are monsters defensively. I see Gasol and Bynum struggling mightily in this series.

I really do think it's going to come down to Kobe, and the Lakers aren't usually at their best when Bryant is jacking up 30+ shots a game. As I said, I have a laundry list of reasons why the Nuggets should win this series... except their is a big, fat, hairy BUT lurking. Before the playoffs began, I said Lakers vs. Cavs in the finals, and I can't change that now. Television wants that matchup, fans want that matchup, and you know damn well that David Stern and the NBA want that matchup. Kobe vs. LeBron has been all over advertisements and everything else as of late, and the ratings for that series would probably top anything the NBA has mustered since that Jordan guy left the league.

Los Angeles in 7 games

Eastern Conference Finals:
(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (3) Orlando Magic

As I mentioned at the top of this post, this series is like the exact opposite of what is going on in the NHL's Eastern Conference. I've never been a big NBA fan and I haven't really followed any one team since my far younger days. I do however follows a few players in the league, and the 2 at the top of that list are LeBron James and Dwight Howard. I love both these guys and the energy and skills they bring, but mostly I love their enthusiasm and the fact that they both look to truly be enjoying the hell out of what they get paid a ton of money to go do. I doubt I'll miss a game of this series and those two are the main reason why.

Cleveland has plowed through the competition thus far and appears to be very focused on their goal of an NBA title. 8 games, 8 wins by double digits thus far. Their average margin of victory so far in the playoffs is nearly 17 points per game. Mr. James is currently averaging a mind boggling 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists per game and has shown no signs of slowing down at all. While he has been the main ingredient without doubt, the rest of the team has fulfilled their roles nicely as well, with Mo Williams and Delonte West both scoring in double figures. Add in Big Z and Anderson Varejao in the front court, and it's not hard to see why Cleveland is making it look so easy. I do believe they are in for a least a little bit of a challenge in the East Finals however.

Orlando has looked a little shaky at times through the first two rounds, but they've proven that they are contenders as well now. Knocking off the defending champions in a Game 7 on the road is not an easy task, but Orlando kind of made it look like it was. The Magic pulled out their best game of the playoffs just in time and ensured that there would be no repeat champion this year. They went to Dwight Howard in the middle early and when Boston shifted their defensive attention to him, the Magic started lighting it up from the outside. When Orlando is hitting the 3's at the level they are capable of, you'd be hard pressed to find a team that can stay with them. That's the problem with them however, it's hard to be consistent in draining shots from the outside night in and night out.

The Cavaliers have not been tested yet at all this postseason, and while I'm probably in the minority, I don't think the long layoff heading into this series with Orlando is going to help them much. Orlando just got themselves a big dose of momentum and they might be able to parlay that into stealing a game in Cleveland, which is obviously a difficult feat, considering the Cavs were 39-2 at home during the regular season.

Like in the West, the matchups by position in this series are interesting, and will ultimately tell the tale I believe. Rafer Alston has done an admirable job since taking over the point guard spot for Jameer Nelson at the All Star break, but I'd give the nod to Mo Williams heads up. Williams is a superior scorer and won't be relied on to run the offense as much as Alston does. Delonte West should be able to handle J.J. Redick with relative ease as well, and while Redick did a solid job on Ray Allen against Boston, West is tough to stop from getting to the basket. In the front court, Ilgauskas and Varejao have played well, but they will have their hands full with Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis. It'll be interesting to see how Cleveland decided to defend the pair, as Varejao has the energy to go at Howard and is a good defender, but he could find himself in foul trouble pretty easily as well. Howard is far more atheletic than Ilgauskas, but Z has size on his side too. As for Lewis, he likes to shoot from the outside, so one of those guys will have to step out on him, and I don't see Ilgauskas being able to do so.

Then of course there is the small forward matchup. Hedo Turkoglu was the star for Orlando in Game 7 against Boston. He shot the ball very well and was also able to create going to the basket and get to the foul line. That might be a little harder to do against LeBron James however. James is bigger, stronger, and more physical than anybody Hedo has faced so far in the playoffs. For all James talents, his defense sometimes gets underestimated, but look for him to shut down Turkoglu in this series. On the flip side, while Hedo is 6'10", that's about the only advantage he has in trying to guard James. LeBron is decidedly quicker and stronger and should be able to create shots for himself with relative ease. James is at his best going to the basket and there are few in the league that can slow him down. As long as he doesn't try to settle for being a jump shooter, he's going to get his.

Ultimately, while Lewis and Howard might create some problems for Cleveland and at least make the series interesting, the Cavaliers backcourt, along with LeBron will prove too much for the Magic to handle. I can see Orlando stealing 2 games in this series, but not much more than that. I believe this Cavs team is one of destiny, and it's not going to end in the East Finals.

Cleveland in 6 games.

While working out at the gym, a person needs to be in the right mindset. It’s the reason why so many people (including myself) create specific playlists on their MP3 player for the gym. If you’re not in the proper mindset, everything is thrown off. So imagine me working out at the gym on Wednesday night. I am resting in between sets of triceps dips and walk over to a treadmill with a television screen built in to check the score of the Pittsburgh/Washington game. I see there is over 17 minutes left in the second period and…it’s 4-0. Really? Is this a misprint? Did Washington really lie down and die in season ending loss to Pittsburgh? Unbelievable. Needless to say, it took me a while to get focused on the gym again.

I’ve had some more time to digest what went down in round two and here are some thoughts:

- Kudos to Pittsburgh for overcoming the 2-0 hole and winning the series.

- Picking Vancouver was a very un-wise move.

- Roberto Luongo might be the best goalie of our generation to never win a Cup unless he pulls a Hasek and heads for a winning team. Hey that reminds me, guess who is heading into a contract year next season? Guess who has a starting goalie who makes less than two million per season and by the end of next season will be ready for retirement/back-up role? If you guessed Roberto Luongo and the Detroit Red Wings, you’re absolutely correct. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

- It’s been a while since I’ve been torn between two teams quite like I was in the Boston/Carolina series. I dislike both teams so picking a team to root for was a lose/lose situation. When Carolina held a 3-1 series lead I was somewhat happy because it looked like Boston was going down in flames. I wasn’t exactly jumping at the thought of Boston winning because quite frankly, the city has had enough winning for the time being. Boston also has the most annoying announcers in the game. I’d rather listen to a Chinese broadcast of a Bruins game then the gang from NESN. But then I realized at the expense of the Bruins, the Hurricanes would be advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. All the NASCAR loving, non-hockey following fans known as the “Caniacs” would be in our lives for at least another two weeks. Combine that with the fact that I have to root for whoever was facing Pittsburgh in the next round and one could easily say I wasn’t looking forward to Game 7 of this series. And afterwards…I’m absolutely dreading the Eastern Conference Finals.

- I don’t get Anaheim. This isn’t the first time they have done this in the playoffs. It’s been re-hashed a million times so I won’t discuss it much further; just know that I don’t get this franchise at all. But seriously, if someone told me that Emilio Estevez was hired to be their new coach and Chris Pronger yelled out "Knucklepuck!" every time he shot, I wouldn't be surprised at all.

- I’m still jealous of Detroit. Even in the salary cap era, they just keep chugging along. If I were the GM of a team out of the playoffs, I’d be taking notes right now. (Hint, hint)

- I also have to give credit to the Chicago Blackhawks. I thought they were good enough for the second round but I definitely underestimated them. But just a note to all the Sabres fans up in arms right now, the ‘Hawks didn’t make it this far simply because of Brian Campbell. That’s a pretty ridiculous thought.

- Washington is never going to win a Stanley Cup with their current structure. Ever. Alexander Ovechkin is easily the most dynamic player in the game right now but he can’t do it all on his own. I know the Caps have several other good players like Niklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Alexander Semin, but it isn’t good enough. The reason Sidney Crosby and the Pens won this series is because of his supporting cast. Players like Malkin, Guerrin and Kunitz. Ovechkin has been putting the Caps on his back since he was drafted and while it’s good enough to win their division; it won’t result in a Stanley Cup anytime soon. The goaltending is also suspect. Granted Jose Theodore didn’t play in the series until it was over, the fact that Washington gave him the big deal and built around him was a huge mistake. Maybe Varlamov will turn out to be a franchise goaltender, but it’s far too early to figure that out.

- On a similar note, the Bruins aren’t winning a Cup anytime soon with Tim Thomas between the pipes. I’ve been beating this drum for a good part of the season and finally it’s somewhat justified. Hey, give the guy the Vezina, that’s great. But he isn’t what most are making him out to be. He makes some nice saves but he can't be counted on for the long haul. The guy didn’t even play in 60 regular season games for Boston this season and the backup put up similar numbers when he played. That tells me it’s the system more than the goalie. And for the record, if Tim Thomas starts for Team USA in the 2010 Olympics there should be a riot. In fact, I might be at the front of the pack for that one.

- The people who run the NHL (Gary Bettman) are going to be the downfall of this league. I personally think the NHL could easily compete on the level of the NBA, but not with Gary Bettman running things. I could go on and on about retraction or moving teams to a better market (move Phoenix already!) but I'll spare everyone from that. Just know that if I were running the league, four teams would immediately be contracted and several others would be put on notice.

But no, this rant is more directed towards the television coverage. When watching the NBA playoffs, there is a game on TNT, ESPN or ABC, followed the second half of the double-header. Makes sense. With the NHL, they have multiple games starting at a similar time so they overlap, and you can only see one of those games unless you've paid for NHL Center Ice. Granted I have Center Ice so this issue doesn't affect me, but I feel for those fans who are trying to get into the sport. How can two Game 7's be shown at the same time?? How is that good for the sport??? How many more question marks will I have to use to get my point across??????? Seriously, this is a prime example of bad business. Game 7's are a marquee match-up in any sport. It's what you want to showcase. The fact that the NHL ignores this defies logic. Oh yeah, and the one game that is on is still burried on Versus where some cable customers don't even get that without paying an extra fee. I can't get over this. It makes me question myself sometimes as a fan of the NHL.

Now that I’m done ranting, here are the standings halfway through our prediction contest.

Chuck: (Chicago in 6, Pittsburgh in 7, Detroit) 60 points total

Devin: (Pittsburgh in 7, Detroit) 40 points total

Scott: (Pittsburgh, Detroit) 40 points total

Brian: (Detroit) 25 points total

(Looks like Scott’s two year reign is officially over)

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Detroit Red Wings (2) vs Chicago Blackhawks (4)

This is going to be a great series. The Red Wings are practically limping out of their series with Anaheim after going the full seven, while Chicago ousted Vancouver in six and has been getting some much needed rest. Both teams are very familiar with each other and after facing off in the 2009 Winter Classic, they now get a crack at each other for a trip to the Stanley Cup.

During the 2008-09 regular season the Wings and Hawks met a total of six times. Detroit won four out of six games, although two of them went to a shoot-out. Something to note however, the Blackhawks won the last two meetings. I don’t mean to always talk about Buffalo but this reminds me of the 2005-06 season when Buffalo fell in the conference finals to Carolina. That entire season Ottawa dominated the Sabres in division play. But right near the end of the season the Sabres beat the Senators and it seemed to give them a new level of confidence. When they faced each other in the playoffs the Sabres did away with the Senators in five games. It was almost like that end of the season game was a turning point for the underdog Sabres. I figured it was something to note since the Blackhawks were currently 0-2-2 against Detroit this season before taking the final two games.

If I were a Red Wings fan I’d still be super nervous about having Chris Osgood in net. I know the guy has proven his worth, but there is something about him that gives me that uneasy feeling. If this series comes down to goaltending as the deciding factor, I’d have to give the edge to Chicago. Luckily for Detroit, I don’t think it will simply come down to goaltending.

I’ve been riding Detroit since the playoffs started and I really see no reason for me to change that pick now. They are the better team and more experienced when it comes down to these big games. It’s for that reason that I’m sticking with the Red Wings to win the Western Conference.

My Pick: Detroit in 6

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs Carolina Hurricanes (6)

Wow. I honestly can’t even think about this series right now. What are the odds that two of my most disliked franchises are facing off in the playoffs and no matter what, one of them has a shot at the Stanley Cup. I’ve been trying to think of the equivalent of this in other sports and I had the hardest time coming up with it. I guess the closest would be the Steelers and Dolphins facing each other in the AFC Championship. Although I don’t think even that correctly depicts how upsetting this series is. In a non-sports comparison, this series is like a 24 hour root canal or even worse, having to attend a Fall Out Boy concert.

My Pick: (gritting teeth as much as possible…putting head down in shame…fighting off violent thoughts…) Carolina in 7