I’m not revealing a dark secret when I say that hockey is often regarded as “Canadian.” Accordingly, Americans tend to avoid the sport. My theory with Americans is that they really enjoy rooting for Americans. Put gymnastics on TV on a Saturday in April and you’ll get a (-0.8) rating. But put it on during the Olympics and everyone is a Nastia Liukin fan. During the World Cup, everyone stops what they’re doing to watch the National team. Once the world cup is over?  MLS games draw worse ratings than strong man competitions.

Hockey is no different. We rallied around the US National team during the 2010 Winter Olympics. We were pained when they lost. Some of us more than others. When the NHL regular season resumed though, we all went back to comparing hockey to Canadian bacon and Alanis Morissette.

Little did most people realize, though, that two of the best players in the NHL are not only Americans, but also play on the same team. And a team based in the most American of cities: Los Angeles, California.

The LA Kings are captained by Dustin Brown, who, if you read the previously linked bit, you’ll know was already one of my favorite players. Brown, born in Ithaca, has owned the NHL playoffs thus far. He is an all-everything player.

Between the pipes is Jonathan Quick. Quick was the third goalie on the 2010 Olympic team. He didn’t play. Come 2014, he’ll be the starter. Quick is a Connecticut kid who went to UMass and at only 26 is one of the NHL’s best goalies.

Led by Quick and Brown, the Kings have been one of the most surprisingly dominant playoff teams in recent memory. The Kings barely qualified for the playoffs. Now, as the 8^th seed in the Western Conference, they’re one game away from the Stanley Cup Finals, this after a 2-1 win last night over Phoenix. Once they close out the Coyotes (and they will) the Kings will have defeated the top 3 overall seeds in the West. To this point, they’ve played a total of 12 games in the playoffs. They’ve won 11 of them.

So why not celebrate this team as though they were our national team. They epitomize team hockey. They’re fun to watch. And their two best players happen to be from a country that eats real bacon and got rid of “Jagged Little Pill” a long time ago.

Today, someone will have to break some unfortunate news to Dwyane Wade. When the Heat guard showed up to Not-Market Square Arena in Indianapolis last night, he assumed that the Heat would be scrimmaging the Pacers for a game tonight.

As it turns out, the NBA had scheduled an actual playoff game between the two teams. With Wade scoring a total of 5 points, the Heat were unable to score more than 80 points, en route to a 19 point loss. Miami now finds itself in a 2-1 hole to a team most people assumed they would sweep. Now, the young Pacers have won two games in a row from the Heat and could realistically head back to Miami with a chance to close out the series.

That is all.

Thankfully, for the Washington Nationals, they will not have to face the Pittsburgh Pirates again this season. More importantly, they will not have to face Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen again this season.  Following last night’s 5-3 Pirates win, McCutchen brought his season line against the Nats to this: .647 avg, 4 HR, 6 RBI.

The Nats loss, combined with an Atlanta victory has the teams see-sawing again. Atlanta enters the weekend with a ½ game lead on Washington.

The Nats will begin the home leg of the Beltway Series tonight at the Navy Yard. The Orioles comes in tied with Tampa for the AL East lead. They’ll send Jake Arrieta to the hill to oppose Edwin Jackson. Game time is 7:05 on the MASNs.

Of course, the NHL and NBA playoffs will continue. All of those are “games of the weekend.”  For something a little different:

Soccer: UEFA Champions League Final: Chelsea v. Bayern Munich (Saturday, 2:30 p.m./FOX)

MLB: The Nats/Orioles series is a good one. Also look for the Braves/Rays series. This is a potential World Series matchup.  The Friday and Sunday games provide very good pitching matchups as well. Plus you can watch the games best manager and its worst go head-to-head.

A safe weekend to all. Enjoy!

“Kobe is better than LeBron because Kobe is clutch.”

The above is what can best be described as “The Narrative.”  Kobe Bryant is clutch. He makes big shots when it matters most. LeBron James, as seen Tuesday night, passes first, second, third, and fourth. He doesn’t want to take the big shot. Kobe revels in the moment.

So, last night, with the Lakers up by 7 with 2 minutes to play, it was important to note, as an observer, that Kobe Bryant wasn’t clutch. At all. Kobe was held without a made shot for the final six minutes of the Lakers’ game against the Thunder. Two missed shots by Kobe. Two Lakers turnovers. And all of a sudden, a 7 point deficit for OKC becomes a 2 point lead.

On the final play of the game, Ron Metta World Artest Peace tried to get the ball to Kobe Bryant. Except Kobe couldn’t get himself free. And so the final shot of the game was taken by future NBA Hall-of-Famer Steve Blake, who dutifully missed a corner 3. OKC 2. LAL 0.

Oh, and about that clutch thing?  Kobe hasn’t hit a game-winning shot in the playoffs, inside of 20 seconds to play, in 6 years. 2006 against the Suns.

Also, the Boston Celtics beat the 76ers by 16 points. As they should have. Celtics lead 2-1.

The New York Rangers could not unclog the space in front of goalie Henrik Lundqvist last night, and thus fell to the New Jersey Devils 3-2, in a game filled with pucks bouncing crazily off of people standing in front of the net.

The series (tied at 1-1) will now shift all the way across the Hudson River to Newark for Game 3 tomorrow. The Rangers set out last night, bindles in tow, and began the long 3 hour walk and ferry ride between the two arenas.  Some Rangers players, not wanting to take the walk, used the beautiful and clean public transportation options in the New York/New Jersey area ((MTA! PATH!)  to journey across the river. Thankfully, no players have been diagnosed with dysentery, to this point, on their journey.

Bryce Harper was not able to hit a HR in his third consecutive game, however, the young star did deliver a first inning triple, jumpstarting the Nationals offense en route to a 7-4 victory.

In a save situation, manager Davey Johnson went back to Henry Rodriguez, following two consecutive disastrous appearances. In a much cleaner fashion than he has recently done, Henry closed out the game for his 9^thsave of the season.

With the Braves loss to Miami, Washington jumped back into first place in the NL East. They’ll wrap up their two-game set with the Pirates tonight with a very good pitching matchup. Jordan Zimmermann will look to build off of a great start against Cincinnati on Saturday. He’ll be opposed by the surging James McDonald, who appears to be reaching his potential as a solid #2 starter. Game time is 7:05 p.m.

Of course, there are playoff games tonight. Lineup here:

Heat @ Pacers (Series tied 1-1): 7:00 p.m./TNT

Clippers @ Spurs (SAS leads 1-0): 9:30 p.m./TNT

Coyotes @ Kings (LAK leads 2-0): 9:00 p.m./NBC Sports Network

Also, a (potentially) very good baseball game:

St. Louis Cardinals @ San Francisco Giants (3:45 p.m.). Adam Wainwright opposes Matt Cain 

When I was young, I had a collection of baseball blooper videos on VHS. The videos showed players losing their cool, umpires and managers arguing, and players goofing around in the clubhouse. Yesterday was kind of like a baseball blooper VHS.

The bloopers started in Philadelphia.  Home plate umpire Bob Davidson, the genial, friendly man that he is, decided to stand in the way of Phillies Catcher Brian Schneider, as he tried to track down a passed ball. Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel, from the dugout, shouted something to Davidson about getting out of the way. Davidson then began hurling curse words at Manuel, who he ejected from the game before he could get out of the dugout.

When Manuel did step forward, the two engaged in a 3 minute, F-word filled, spittle launching competition, using each other’s faces as targets.  

Meanwhile, in Washington, Stephen Strasburg’s groin was on fire.

Strasburg struggled through 4 innings against the AAA San Diego Padres. After the game, Manager Davey Johnson explained that the issue was that Strasburg “got some Hot Stuff” where you don’t want Hot Stuff.  To keep this safe for the kids, Hot Stuff is a topical cream used to relax muscles. It is generally not used to relax the human groin. Someone or something, accidentally  or not, applied the topical cream to the nether regions of the Nationals’ ace. Strasburg, when informed that Davey spilled the beans (pun intended) stated his desire to keep the details within the confines of the locker room.

Later that night, in Toronto, Blue Jays star prospect Brett Lawrie had two atrocious strike calls go against him in the bottom of the 9^th, with the Blue Jays trailing by one run. On the first of the two strikes, Rays closer Fernando Rodney threw a pitch to Thunder Bay that was called a strike. Lawrie, thinking it was a ball, started walking to first base. Because MLB umpires never hold a grudge, when the next pitch was high and outside, home-plate umpire Bill Miller emphatically called strike 3. Lawrie, in turn, took off his helmet and threw it violently into the dirt, causing it to bounce up and strike Miller.

It will be a busy day for the MLB Discipline Czar. Of course, the umpires will never face a suspension for their unprofessionalism. That would undermine the game or something. Manuel could (but probably won’t) see a one-gamer. Lawrie may get up to 20 games (more realistically, I’d say 10). And, personally, whomever rubbed Hot Stuff on Stephen Strasburg should be suspended for the season.

The Los Angeles Kings are very good.

LeBron James is a perfect teammate. LeBron wants so badly to get his teammates involved in the offense, that he would willingly give up the opportunity to win a game on his own, instead choosing to (twice) pass the ball to a not-necessarily-open teammate. That, my friends, is value.

If you can’t tell, the Heat lost last night, due in large part to missed free throws from James and his continued reluctance to drive in an open lane, inside of 10 seconds. The Pacers won 78-75, evening the series with Miami at 1-1.

In San Antonio, the Spurs did their best LA Kings impression and dominated the LA Clippers to take a 1-0 lead in their series, shutting down Chris Paul at every possible moment.

Despite playing what amounted to a minor league lineup yesterday, the Nats were (again) unable to sweep a series, falling to the San Diego Padres 6-1.  The Nats lone run came on Bryce Harper’s second HR in as many games.  The Padres got 8 solid innings from (not) future Cy Young Award-winner Anthony Bass.

The Nats will start a new 2-game series tonight, this time with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Erik Bedard will take the hill for the folks from Western PA, while Gio Gonzalez will look to continue his Cy Young-caliber season for Washington. Game time is 7:05.

Playoff lineup:

Celtics @ 76ers (Series tied 1-1): 7:00 p.m./TNT

Lakers @ Thunder (OKC up 1-0): 9:30 p.m./TNT

Devils @ Rangers (NYR up 1-0): 8:00 p.m./NBC Sports Network

The Los Angeles Anaheim Angels of Anaheim, California spent a lot of money in the offseason, primarily on two free agents. After 1/5 of the season, that investment hasn’t quite paid off.

Last night, the Angles were shut out for the 8^thtime in 36 games. It is believed that the all-time Major League record for run scoring futility is 33, held by the 1908 St. Louis Cardinals. This puts LAA on a pace to break that record.

Much of the blame, of course, falls on the $250 million shoulders of Albert Pujols, who is hitting .197/.235/.275 with just 1 HR. But the team has an average OBP of .299. That’s not good. At all. Especially when the team they’re chasing in the standings, the Texas Rangers, have a team OBP of .351. The Angels have hit a total of 31 HR (as a team). Josh Hamilton, of the Rangers, has 18.

The point? The Angels are more than just an Albert Pujols (the real one) away from contending, like everyone thought they would. It’s going to take a lot of Christopher Lloyd arm-flapping to get the job done.

The New York Rangers are good.

It took New York two 7-game series to get to the Eastern Conference Finals. After last night, it looks like the Rangers are itching for a shorter series, as they dominated the third period against the New Jersey Devils, en route to a 3-0 shutout. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist stopped each of the 21 shots that the Devils could muster.

A late, perhaps errant, whistle may have cost the Boston Celtics a chance to win the second game of their second round series with the Philadelphia 76ers last night.

With 10 seconds to play, an offensive foul was called on Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, as he moved to set a screen. It’s a move that happens in almost every late game situation and is rarely called. Last night was the exception.  The Sixers pulled out an 82-81 victory, stealing back home court advantage in the series.

In the Heartland, a much-hyped game between the Lakers and Thunder turned instead into a public shaming.

The Thunder used an explosive start to the second half to bury the Lakers in a deep hole that LA couldn’t have been bothered to pull itself out of. The final score of 119-90 wasn’t as indicative of the disparity between the two teams. Oklahoma City was fresher, certainly, after a 9-day layoff. But the Thunder looked hungrier than LA throughout. Oklahoma City looks to be on a  collision course with the Western Conference Finals.

Oh, and Ron Artest didn’t elbow anyone in the face. So that’s nice.

Bryce Harper! Bryce Harper! Bryce Harper!

As an act of atonement for a second inning error, Bryce Harper delivered his first Major League HR in the bottom of the 3^rdinning during last night’s game against the San Diego Padres. The hit was a deep blast to Centerfield off of a Tim Stauffer cutter. As Harper entered the dugout to high-fives, the fans began clamoring for a curtain call. The kid obliged, giving the vaunted double-point to the crowd.

The Nats entered the 9^th inning with an 8-5 lead, however another rocky appearance from Henry Rodriguez put that 8-5 lead in jeopardy. With the bases loaded and only 1 out, Manager Davey Johnson pulled his Closer and brought in Sean Burnett, who induced a double play to end the game.

The Nats (thanks to an Atlanta loss) find themselves back in first place in the National League East. The second, and final, game of their series with San Diego will be played in the daylight today. Stephen Strasburg will oppose Anthony Bass. Game time is 1:05 p.m.

With apologies to Josh Beckett, who will probably get in 9 holes before tonight’s start against Seattle….

LA Clippers @ San Antonio Spurs (9:30/TNT). The young Clippers (who aren’t actually that young) are coming off of a tough, physical 7-game series. The old Spurs (who aren’t actually that old) are coming off of a 4-game picnic. Rest did a lot of good for the Thunder. We’ll see if it does the Spurs good.

While you were nursing a hangover or perhaps at your local farmer’s market (*cough*), the most exciting finish in sports in a very long time was unfolding across the pond.

Manchester City entered yesterday’s final day of the Barclay’s Premier League (soccer…the one with the feet) in a tie with cross-town rival Manchester United for the League championship. City held the tiebreaker, but needed to match whatever United was able to do in Sunderland.

City led their opponent (Queens Park Rangers, themselves fighting to stave off relegation) 1-0 at halftime (just about the time some of us decided to go buy some locally grown, organic bok choy). However, a terrible mental lapse and an unmarked man in the 18-yard box led to two QPR goals. Meanwhile, up north, United was finishing off a 1-0 victory against Sunderland. City was assumed dead.

Just as the last scoop of dirt was to be poured upon City, though, the presumed corpse shot from its grave and buried a header into the back of the net. That goal drew the match even, but with United already having won, City needed to score another goal. The problem? Only about 1 minute of extra time remaining. The solution? Score.

City’s Sergio Aguero emerged from a muddled mess, about 15 yards from the QPR goal, dribbled to his right, and fired a laser into the back of the net. 3-2 City. At the buzzer. Game over. Season over. Years of torment and torture over.

(As the NHL and NBA playoffs get more interesting, I’ll update each daily here.)

The Washington Capitals stormed into Madison Square Garden on Saturday night and did what no team had done before them: they beat the New York Rangers, on the road, in a Game 7. 

That is what I would write if we lived in bizarro world. We do not. Accordingly, the New York Rangers will begin their Eastern Conference Finals series tonight with their cross-river rivals, the New Jersey Devils.

Last night, in the Desert Southwest (where hockey was invented by Eli Whitney in 1974) the LA Kings took a 1-0 series lead over the Phoenix Coyotes, winning 3-2. The Kings were led by their captain and the next American star in hockey (not a joke), Dustin Brown, who had a goal and an assist. The Kings are now 9-1 in this year’s NHL playoffs. Not bad for the 8^thseed in the Western Conference.

It’s good to be in LA. That holds true no matter what time of year it is. Beautiful people. In N’ Out Burger. Lovely weather. The beach (for some). A short drive to the desert (for others…me). Palm trees. Channing Tatum sightings. Yes, SoCal is the place to be.

You can now add sports to that list. The Clippers and Lakers both won deciding Game 7s this weekend (over the Grizzlies and Nuggets, respectively) to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals. The Lakers will face the Thunder while the Clippers will draw the Spurs.  They’ll of course join the Kings in the NHL, who are on a collision course toward the Stanley Cup Finals and the MLB’s best team (according to win pct.), the Los Angeles Dodgers. Finally, something good is happening in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, in places that are not Southern California, the Boston Celtics squeaked out a one-point victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.  Down in Flop City, the Heat beat the Pacers to go up 1-0 in their series. If you’re not already certain that we’ll get a Heat/Celtics Eastern Conference Finals, you’re fooling.

For about the 1039^th time this season, the Washington Nationals were unable to complete a series sweep, this time in spectacular fashion.

Leading 6-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth in Cincinnati, the Nats were 3 outs away from sweeping the Reds on the road. Closer Henry Rodriguez had to face the murderer’s row of Ryan Hanigan, Wilson Valdez, and Miguel Cairo.

Needless to say, things didn’t go so well. After a few walks, base hits, errant pitches, visits to the mound to check out the dirt situation, and two outs, in stepped Reds slugger Joey Votto, At that point in the game, Votto had already hit 2 home runs. With the bases loaded, Votto decided to make it 3, as he scorched a ball to deep CF, for the walk-off grand slam.

Oh, and Nationals Catcher Wilson Ramos tore his ACL on Saturday and is out for the season.

The Nats will (barring a likely rainout) begin a two-game set with the San Diego Padres tonight in DC. Ross Detwiler and Tim Stauffer will take the hill. Game time is 7:05, but I’m predicting a postponement.

I’m going to get a ribbing from my fellow Celtics fans (Game 2 against the 76ers is tonight at 7:00 p.m. on TNT),but I’m going to have to go with Game 1 between the Lakers and Thunder at 9:30 on TNT. Metta World Peace returns from suspension after elbowing James Harden in the head. Hmm…what team does James Harden play for again?

The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers took advantage of their home court advantages last night, in closing out their first round matchups.

The Celtics used a vintage performance from Kevin Garnett to beat the Hawks 83-80. Garnett, who, prior to the game, was called the “dirtiest player in the league” by Hawks owner  Michael Gearon, scored 28 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. Following the game, Garnett said his performance was a direct response to Gearon.

The Hawks came up short thanks in part to a missed free throw from Al Horford with 2 seconds to play. With a chance to tie the game, Horford missed his first of two free throws, following a Marquis Daniels foul. Up by 1, the Celtics got the ball to Paul Pierce (playing with a sprained MCL) who coolly hit both of his free throws.

The Celtics will now advance to the second round to play the Philadelphia 76ers, who closed out the Chicago Bulls 79-78.  I’d write more about this series, but I got to bed late last night and I don’t really want to fall asleep.

Meanwhile, with a sick Kobe Bryant, the Lakers were unable to close out the Denver Nuggets and will now head back to LA for a Game 7 on Saturday night.

No, I’m just kidding. There were no games last night. None tonight either. Because, you know, it’s good to have people forget about your sport during the playoffs.

Did you know that Major League pitcher Josh Beckett only gets 18 off days per season? 18!

Following a bit of a rough start last night (2 1/3 innings, 7 Earned Runs), Josh Beckett laid into The Man. In his postgame press conference, Beckett said he didn’t see what the big deal was with his golf playing (see yesterday’s Bulletin). After all, he only gets 18 days off per season.

Now, Beckett knowing that number means that he spent some amount of time yesterday, before his start, counting the number of days during the MLB regular season in which the Boston Red Sox did not have a game. So there’s that.

Beckett also seems to be forgetting that period of time between the World Series (not that Boston will have to worry about that this year) and the start of Spring Training (in mid-February). He doesn’t have to pitch much then.

In addition, he may be misremembering the 4 days between his individual starts. Granted,  a Major League pitcher has to get work in on those days, but it’s important to remember that “getting work in” includes a bullpen session, some strength and conditioning, and shagging fly balls during batting practice.

Josh Beckett may also be forgetting that he earns just south of $16 million annually.

Red Sox Nation will not be forgetting Josh Beckett’s comments.

Taking one game in a three-game series from the Pittsburgh Pirates is not necessarily something to be proud of.

That said, the Nationals managed to avoid a sweep last night, getting home runs from Roger Bernadina, Adam LaRoche, and Rick Ankiel. Stephen Strasburg did his job, striking out 13 Pirates hitters, earning his 3^rdwin of the season.

The Nationals, now sitting at 19-12 for the season, travel to the Queen City this weekend, for a  three-game set with the Cincinnati Reds. Gio Gonzalez takes the hill for the Nats tonight. He’ll be opposed by Mike Leake, whose last name is funny.  Game time is 7:05 p.m.

MLB: LA Angels @ Texas Rangers (8:00 p.m. Tonight/MLB Network). CJ Wilson returns to Texas to face the Rangers and Yu Darvish. This may be the most interesting pitching matchup we see all season in baseball.

NHL: Washington Capitals @ New York Rangers (7:30 p.m. Saturday/NBC Sports Network). Game 7.

NBA: Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Lakers (10:30 p.m. Saturday/TNT). Game 7. I fully expect a 40 point performance from Kobe Bryant.

Have a great weekend, all!

Alex Ovechkin scored less than two minutes into last night’s Game 6 and goalie Braden Holtby stopped 30 shots as the Washington Capitals forced a Game 7 in their Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup with the New York Rangers. And other long, uninterrupted sentences.

The Rangers handed Washington an early power play last night. The Capitals capitalized on Anton Stralman’s tripping penalty, when Nicklas Backstrom found Alex Ovechkin, who laced a one-timer past Henrik Lundqvist. The Capitals added a 2^nd period goal to take a 2-0 lead.

Rangers forward Marian Gaborik put a scare into the DC crowd when he scored a goal with a minute to play in the third, but Holtby and the Caps defense held the Rangers to just that one goal.

Saturday night, the Rangers will welcome the Capitals into Midtown Manhattan for Game 7.  The Capitals have already played in (and won) one Game 7 this playoffs. They’ll look to make it two after a few days of (much needed, but difficult to understand from a television standpoint) rest.

In what seems like the longest first round EVER, we have one more advancement and one more series heading toward a possible Game 7.

The Miami Heat closed out the New York Knicks last night behind a 29 point, 8 rebound, 7 assist game from LeBron James. The Heat will now wait for their second round opponent.

Out (sort of) West, the Memphis Grizzlies pushed the Clippers to a 6^th game, with a 12 point victory. Pau Gasol’s brother led Memphis with 23 points.

Going back to the first line in this bit, the Heat and Knicks played 5 games in their series. A series that began on April 28. It’s May 10. 11 days for 5 games. This needs fixing.

You’ll recall that last season, Red Sox pitcher and fried chicken-aficionado Josh Beckett  got himself in hot water (or hot grease). Beckett (along with teammates Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester) was accused of spending game days eating fatty food, drinking beer, and playing video games, rather than exercising and eating healthy. In short, they were role models for every Sophomore at Boston University.

The problem, of course, is that Beckett (and the others) is a professional athlete who is paid lots of money to perform at his peak. So the Red Sox brought in Bobby Valentine, a manager famous for holding his players accountable. The Red Sox clubhouse was apparently not happy. But that’s okay. They’d win games. And all would be well in Beantown…

Except, no. The Red Sox are terrible. Very terrible. And when teams are terrible, clubhouse friction becomes more visible.

Yesterday, Boston’s 98.5 FM (that’s something called a “radio station”) reported that just two days prior to missing a start with a sore lat muscle (in the back), Beckett was out golfing with Clay Buchholz. Boston manager Bobby Valentine was relatively dismissive of the report saying that golf is as synonymous with pitching as a curveball.

Still, this reeks of fried chicken for many in Red Sox Nation, who were already questioning Beckett’s commitment to the team and to his pitching. This, combined with the Red Sox lack of on-field ability, will simply draw more attention to the hottest soap opera in New England. So grab your favorite Heineken (mine is “Light”) and a bucket of extra crispy. Things are only going to get more dramatic.

They lost. Again. To the Pirates. Again.

Stephen Strasburg will try to salvage the series tonight when he faces Kevin Correia. Game at 7:05.

Three elimination games in the NBA tonight. As follows:

Chicago @ Philadelphia (PHI leads 3-2)….(7 p.m./NBA TV)

Atlanta @ Boston (BOS leads 3-2)….(8 p.m./TNT)

Los Angeles @ Denver (LAL leads 3-2)….(10:30/TNT)

Last night, in Baltimore, Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton became just the 16^th player in the history of Major League Baseball to hit 4 home runs in a single game. Hamilton also became the American League’s all-time, single game leader in total bases (with 18…Hamilton added a double in between his home runs).

The story of Josh Hamilton, the first-overall pick in the 1999 MLB Draft continues to get better. Most people are aware that after being drafted, Hamilton’s life spiraled out of control. He became addicted to drugs and alcohol and was suspended multiple times by Major League Baseball. Hamilton found God in the depths of his struggle and returned to baseball in 2007 and is now, very likely, the most feared hitter in the American League. His life is mostly on track (he has had two alcohol relapses, for which he has apologized). 

Hamilton currently leads the American League in each of the triple crown categories (Batting Avg, Home Runs, and Runs Batted In) and his Texas Rangers are a favorite to return to the World Series for the third consecutive year. Hamilton is a free agent after this season.

A number of Game 5s last night in both the NHL and NBA. The Indiana Pacers finished off the Orlando Magic in the NBA (winning their series 4-1). Over in the NHL, the New Jersey Devils defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in their Game 5, winning that series 4-1 and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.

A number of teams were not able to close out their series last night, however. That number is two. The Lakers and Celtics were both unable to close out their opponents. One team (the Lakers) were able to get a couple of last second shots off against Denver, but Kobe Bryant and Ramon Sessions both missed threes that would have sent the game to overtime. Meanwhile, in Atlanta, the Celtics could not get a single shot off in the game’s final 10 seconds and fell by one point to the Hawks.

There was also a game in Chicago. Two teams played. One won. The other lost. Life continued.

Adam LaRoche stepped to the plate in the Top of the 9^thinning last night with Ryan Zimmerman on base and the Nationals trailing by one run. LaRoche proceeded to deposit a Joel Hanrahan pitch deep into the Pittsburgh night. The Nationals led 4-3.

Enter Henry Rodriguez. The Nats closer has been unstoppable in Washington. Away from Washington, he cannot be stopped from blowing saves. Last night was no different. With pinch-hitter Alex Presley on 3^rd, following two wild pitches, Rodriguez, having only one pitch to throw, laid a fastball up in the zone that Pirates catcher Rod Barajas (a .127 hitter at the time) laced over the left-field wall. The Pirates won 5-4. Rodriguez blew another save on the road.

The Nats and Pirates continue their series tonight in Pittsburgh. Ross Detwiler will face Erik Bedard. Game time is 7:05. Folks in Washington might be a little busy though, because…

New York Rangers @ Washington Capitals (7:30/NBC Sports Network). The Capitals face elimination tonight in what has been the only close series in the NHL’s second round. The Rangers hold a two goal lead in the series. Only Game 1 was decided by more than one goal. Two games have gone to overtime (New York won both). In short, this should be a great game.

The 2011-12 Chicago Bulls.

They could also use Joakim Noah.

Missing their Point Guard (Rose-ACL tear) and starting Center (Noah-ankle), the Chicago Bulls fell into a 3-1 hole against the 8-seed Philadelphia 76ers yesterday. Rose, of course, is done for the playoffs. Noah is day-to-day, but with the injury to Rose, it’s clear that Chicago doesn’t want to risk Noah’s health in what is essentially a lost cause.

After finishing the regular season with the NBA’s best record, the Bulls have struggled to win in the absence of the reigning MVP, Rose. They managed to score just 74 and 82 points in both weekend games in Philadelphia and now return to Chicago for Game 5 on Tuesday, facing elimination.

In other NBA playoff news, the Lakers, Heat, Pacers, and Celtics all hold 3-1 leads in their individual series. The Spurs will look to sweep the Utah Jazz tonight, joining the Oklahoma City Thunder as the only teams to sweep their first round series. In tonight’s late game, the LA Clippers will look to take a commanding 3-1 lead on the Memphis Grizzlies in Los Angeles.

We’re one Phoenix Coyotes victory away from having a Los Angeles Kings vs. Phoenix Coyotes Western Conference Finals. And that will get GREAT ratings!!!!

The Kings completed a sweep of the St. Louis Blues yesterday and have now knocked out the regular season’s two best teams (only needing 9 games to do so). Phoenix will look to end their series with the Nashville Predators (surely an Original Six member of the NHL) tonight in the home of hockey, southern Arizona.

In the Eastern Conference, the New Jersey Devils moved to within one game of advancing to their conference’s Finals, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 last night.

Thankfully, there is at least one close series in the NHL with a big game later tonight. See below for details.

Last night in Washington DC, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels decided to channel his inner Bob Gibson, Gaylord Perry, and Old Hoss Radbourn. He decided that he was an “old school” baseball pitcher. Nevermind that his nickname in Philly is Hollywood and this image of him exists. Cole was tired of 19-year-old, Washington Nationals phenom, Bryce Harper hustling hard on every ball he hit. He had seen enough of Bryce Harper tarnishing OUR National Pastime by exhibiting one of the strongest outfield arms in baseball.  No more would Bryce Harper sully the game Cole Hamels loves so much by drawing walks and answering every question asked of him the right way since being called up to the Majors last week.

Cole Hamels will not stand for such disrespect of the game!

So, in the first inning, as Harper stepped into the batter’s box, Cole Hamels felt the spirit of Don Drysdale transfer into his own body. He stared Harper down and delivered a 92 MPH fastball into his back. A telegram, if you will, from all of the game’s past greats, telling the kid, “Hey, we’re tired of you disrespecting baseball by being so good at such a young age!”

And it was beautiful. The pitcher who had always done thingsin an old schoolway took Harper to school.

After the game, Hamels, in his old school way, told the press that he hit Harper intentionally. I mean, how old school is that???

The Nationals took 2 of 3 from the Phillies, but all that will be remembered from this series will be last night’s game. The Nats were drubbed 9-3, Jordan Zimmermann pitched his worst game since his Tommy John surgery, and Jayson Werth broke his left wrist. Other than that, things went great.

The Nats have today off to re-group and re-energize after a demoralizing defeat. They’ll travel to Pittsburgh today and begin a three-game series with the Pirates tomorrow.

Expect news about the extent of Werth’s injury to come later today.

Washington Capitals @ New York Rangers (7:30/NBC Sports Network). The series is knotted up at 2-games apiece. Neither team has much of an edge. Each game has been competitive. Tonight’s game is crucial for both clubs, but perhaps more so for the Rangers who cannot afford to head back to Washington needing to win two consecutive games in the series.

For a time yesterday, it appeared that the biggest baseball injury of the day would be Giants Third Baseman Pablo Sandoval’s broken hamate bone. That was, until the early evening in Kansas City.

Many relief pitchers will spend their time during batting practice catching fly balls. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera has made a 17 year habit of “shagging” fly balls before games. Until last night, no one really noticed.

While running back toward the centerfield wall, Rivera caught his foot on the warning track and twisted his knee. He fell to the ground, wincing in pain, clutching the knee. He was carted off the field and later diagnosed with a torn ACL. He will miss the rest of the 2012 season, one that many believe would be his final in Major League Baseball.

If it is, Rivera will retire as the greatest relief pitcher in history. His 608 career saves is the most in baseball history. For Rivera, though, it’s his more advanced statistics that tell the story. As a relief pitcher, his 58 wins above replacement put him as the 58^h most valuable pitcher in Major League Baseball history. The next closest relief pitcher to Rivera is Trevor Hoffman. He ranks 260^th. Rivera is second all-time in WHIP (Walks+Hits/Innings Pitched). He is 5^thall-time in K/BB ratio (Strikeouts/Walks). He is the career leader in adjusted ERA+ (don’t ask).  He is 4^th all-time in WPA (win probability added). He is simply the greatest relief pitcher we have ever seen. And that is to say nothing of his postseason dominance, in helping the Yankees win 4 World Series titles.

The knee injury is the most unfortunate way that the 42 year old pitcher’s career could end. There is a chance that Rivera could decide to come back next year. I have my doubts that a 42 year old will want to rehab from an ACL injury in time to pitch again next year. But we shall see.

In the interim, the Yankees will likely give the 9^thinning duties to current setup-man David Robertson, who has been excellent in his role, but is unproven as a closer, especially given the shoes he’ll have to fill.

Batting third in just his fifth Major League game, Bryce Harper drove in the game-winning run last night for the Nationals as they beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1 to earn a series victory.

The Diamondbacks could not solve Nationals starter Ross Detwiler early in the game and the young lefty only allowed 3 hits in the game. The bullpen (Ryan Mattheus, Tyler Clippard, and Henry Rodriguez) pitched 2 2/3 innings of  perfect baseball to preserve the victory.

The Nationals will welcome their unfriendly rival from Southeastern PA tonight for what should be a contentious three-game series. Your weekend pitching matchups:

Friday: Kyle Kendrick vs. Stephen Strasburg (7:05/MASN (locally),MLB Network (nationally))

Saturday: Vance Worley vs. Gio Gonzalez (1:05/MASN)

Sunday: Cole Hamels vs. Jordan Zimmermann (8:05/ESPN)

The Phillies enter the series 3.5 games behind Washington.

MLB: Phillies @ Nationals (Sunday at 8:05 p.m.)- A huge test for Nationals fans. Yes, you read that write. It’s the team’s first ESPN game in 4 years. They must take back the park.

NBA: Hawks @ Celtics (Tonight at 7:30 p.m.)- A crucial game for both clubs. Especially the Hawks who can’t afford to give additional momentum to Boston.

NHL: Rangers @ Capitals (Saturday at 12:30 p.m.)-See above. Substitute “Capitals” for “Hawks” and “New York” for “Boston.”

Soccer: Chelsea vs. Liverpool (FA Cup Final) (Saturday at 12:15 p.m.)-Two of the premier (see what I did there?) clubs in English football battle for the oldest cup championship in the world.

Horse Racing: Kentucky Derby (Saturday at 6:00 p.m.)-Horses run around a track. People in Kentucky get super drunk and bet on those horses. Hats.

A safe weekend to the readers. You all need a nickname. Discuss!