Often times during the summer (hopefully weekly) I'll post some of my ramblings. Basically they are just some thoughts I have on certain topics but I don't have nearly enough to say about each to write an entire article. Maybe soon I'll be up to speed with technology and can post a video version of my ramblings.

Los Angeles Lakers – 2009 NBA Champs

Well, the day has finally come. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to their first Championship since the departure of Shaquille O'Neal. I'm not about to sit here and tell you that he did it all himself because he had plenty of help with Gasol, Ariza, Fisher and Odom. I’m just saying it was nice to see him finally win one on his own so the people who always claimed he couldn’t win without Shaq can move on to another tired and useless argument. And as predicted, Shaq wasted no time in busting out the “Shaq how does my ass taste” line via Twitter.

Only a few hours after losing in the Finals, Magic guard Hedo Turkoglu announced that he’ll opt out of his contract to hit free agency. Smart move? I don’t think so. For as many good shots as he made in the playoffs, he was equally as awkward on defense and taking the ball into the paint. He also didn’t put up mind blowing numbers for someone who played as many minutes as he did. I really think he is best suited staying in Orlando but what do I know? Maybe playing for Stan Van Gundy is really that bad.

On the same weekend, rumors surfaced again that Shaq himself might be shipped off to Cleveland. I said a few weeks ago during the Lakers game that the Cavs would've rolled the Magic had they pulled the trigger on this deal before the trade deadline, so obviously it makes sense to do it now. I kind of hope it happens. But only so I can have the argument that Lebron can only win it with Shaq. Oh the irony. On a similar note, what would this say about Shaq’s legacy if he were to win the title in Cleveland? He would’ve played with Kobe, D-Wade and Lebron in helping them get their first title.

Red Wings lose at home in Game 7

The Penguins pulled off the impossible and won on the road in Game 7 to capture their first Stanley Cup since the early 90’s. Nevermind all this nonsense about Sidney Crosby not shaking hands because that is exactly what it is: nonsense. The kid is 21 years old and was celebrating a Stanley Cup victory. I think the Red Wings really need to relax when it comes to that.

Evgeni Malkin won the Conn Smythe trophy and it was well deserved. I mean, he is the best player on the Penguins. Of course, Crosby’s stellar three point performance in seven Stanley Cup games was pretty solid. I’m just asking, when is the last time the captain of the Stanley Cup champs only tallied three points in the entire series? People want to talk about Marian Hossa disappearing for Detroit, but Crosby would be just as guilty (in this series).

I don’t know what to think about Marian Hossa. The irony of him leaving Pittsburgh to win in Detroit only to lose to Pittsburgh might rank as the highest event in the history of the irony scale. I didn’t understand when people who don’t follow hockey thought it would be funny to see him lose. Trust me, I was surrounded by people like that. You never see a professional athlete turn down millions and millions of guaranteed dollars for a chance to win a championship so I was applauding what he did. What if he suffered a career altering injury this season in Detroit? He would’ve lost around 50 million dollars in the process. For once a professional athlete left guaranteed money on the table to win a title when most athletes play for the money instead and yet he got burned in the deal.

The Coyotes aren't moving to Hamilton anytime soon

I'm all for this move. I keep hearing these stories about how a team in Hamilton would hurt the Sabres, but I guess I'm not seeing it. Fans of the Sabres will still go see the games and support the team. I don't see actual fans of the Sabres selling out if a team comes into Hamilton but I guess I can't argue with some of the experts that have researched the topic in depth.

Regardless, the Coyotes have to be moved or contracted. The NHL failed miserably in trying to expand the game into markets that aren't interested in hockey. They need to accept the fact that it is a regional sport and go to the markets that have a desire for an NHL franchise. While looking up information on this topic, I came across the fact that Winnipeg has since built a new arena that would be ideal for a new NHL franchise. So give the Coyotes back and everyone is happy.

While I understand the fact that Jim Balsillie wants an NHL franchise in Hamilton, he has a better chance at purchasing the Coytoes and moving them back to Winnipeg. It's still in Cananda and he'll still make a ton of money in the long run, so I really don't see what the big deal is. Something needs to be resolved though because having hockey in Phoenix is a waste of everyone's time.

Briere being shopping by the Flyers

In this article, it is noted that after only two seasons in Philly, the Flyers are trying to shop Danny Briere and get out of his insane contract. So far neither Montreal or LA seems interested. I find this story especially interesting after dealing with people ripping Buffalo for letting him walk two years ago. Maybe the Sabres knew what they were doing? Maybe they knew he wasn't worth that much money? I don't know, seems like it to me. Have fun with that Philly. The Sabres might be “cheap”, but at least they can manage a cap. Oh yeah, have fun with Ray Emery too!

The Charlotte Bobcats are for sale…and broke?

The Bobcats are the current reason that I’m without an NBA team. I never had an emotional attachment to them and I just couldn’t continue to follow a team that had zero interest in winning, competing or doing anything relevant in the NBA. The faster this team moves or contracts from the NBA, the better.

Now they won’t even fund a summer league team because they are broke. Sorry, I’m not buying it. They never spend money on players to be competitive, so where is that money going? Owner Bob Johnson begged and pleaded with David Stern to get a new NBA franchise in Charlotte and effectively ran it into the ground in less than 10 years. Impressive feat if you ask me.

Meanwhile people in Seattle are still in need of a team. They had theirs ripped away from them and will have to watch the OKC Thunder become a competitive team within the next two years. I say the solution to this problem is to move Charlotte to Seattle and never have another NBA franchise in Charlotte. It has failed two times now and enough is enough. Hell, I’ll become a fan if they move to Seattle. It seems like the win-win for all sides.

NFL Off-Season News

- Brett Favre is coming back. Who cares? He’s washed up and screwing over the Packers organization (again). I can’t wait to see him fail in Minnesota just like he did in New York. I’d write more but I don’t want my blood pressure to rise anymore than it already has.

- Vince Young is an idiot. I’ve said this since the day he was drafted, but he isn’t that good of an NFL quarterback. Sure he had a great rookie season but that was because teams didn’t know how to defend a guy who could run the way he could. Teams adjust in the off-season and things balance out going forward. He lost his job to Kerry Collins. He thought about quitting football (multiple times). Now he is acting like something is owed to him? Eh, good luck with that. I can’t see many people jumping at the thought of VY starting at QB for them.

- The Rams are for sale. People in St Louis are acting like they care, but I highly doubt they do. They won a Super Bowl this decade and yet the dome is never full for games. I know they struggled last season but the attendance in St Louis was terrible. I’ve been watching the Bills struggle for a decade now and the team still sells out almost every home game. If the St Louis fans care so much, they should probably show it by supporting the team when they aren’t winning the Super Bowl.

The Washington Nationals - Why?

Can we just have them removed from the league? I heard all these stories from people living in the area that they will be competitive again once they get their new ballpark and that clearly hasn’t happened. They have less people at their park than most AA clubs do at theirs. It's embarrassing to the Nationals and the city of Washington DC. Now they plan on ruining the career of Stephen Strasburg. I feel bad for the kid. Well, as bad as I can feel considering he'll be making millions of dollars to play a game. But still, you get my point. They have already been moved once so I say we just contract them now and be done with it. I'll celebrate the day that sports leagues realize that having more teams in more cities isn't always the best solution.

NHL Free Agency Starts Soon

July 1^st to be exact. I'll be coming out with some rankings for the upcoming free agents in the next few weeks. I'll start with the goalies, and then move to the defensemen and finally the forwards. Should be an interesting few months before the new season starts.

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!