WATERCOOLER CHAT: NHL PLAYOFF UPDATE, SHEFFIELD 500TH HR, YANKS FIRST WIN AT STADIUM
NHL
In the NHL playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins appear to be off on the right start. They opened the series against Philadelphia with a win, and seem to be pushing the Flyers to the brink. What’s hurt Philly so much is all the penalties, and it definitely cost them the game last night as they had two players in the penalty box during the overtime session. That gave the Penguins a 5 on 3 advantage in terms of players on the ice, and then Bill Guerin scored his second goal of the game to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead in the series. Pittsburgh 3, Philadelphia 2.
MLB
In baseball, the storied career of Gary Sheffield now has another asset to add. Sheffield blasted his 500th home run against Milwaukee yesterday to become the 25th player to reach 500 home-runs. Sheffield was always known to be a power hitter in the first stages of his career, which earned him a roster spot on the Yankees for quite a while. Now he’s on the Mets, and looks like he’s got some good baseball life left in him. And the Mets went on to win the game to boot. NY Mets 5, Milwaukee 4.
Elsewhere in baseball, the NY Yankees were still looking for their first win in the NEW Yankee Stadium. Cleveland had really turned it up a notch against them (basically because everyone wants to beat the Yankees, especially in their new expensive terrain). However, in the 8th inning, the hero, Derek Jeter crushed a home run to put the Yanks up one. Then, the veteran Mariano Rivera came in, iced the Indians in the top of the 9th, and nabbed the save. Yep, for you trivia buffs 50 years from now, the Yankees first win in the new Yankee stadium came against Cleveland. NY Yankees 6, Cleveland 5.
But, the Yankees better be careful, because it looks like the Boston Red Sox are starting to pull it together this season. They’ve been off to a slow start, and looked to break that yesterday against Baltimore. They were down seven runs, and looked horrific, but then rallied behind clutch home runs from J.D. Drew and Jason Bay. Now, they seemingly appear to be the Red Sox we all know and hate (well, if you’re a Yankee fan). The first showdown between the Red Sox and the Yankees in the new Yankee Stadium is going to be a grueling battle. Boston 10, Baltimore 8.
