BASKETBALL

In the NBA, with the fall of LeBron, it was the #2 seed Orlando v. the #4 seed Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals.  The Magic have been on a week of rest after sweeping Atlanta in the second round.  Would they be ready for red-hot Boston?  Would Boston be fatigued after a grueling battle with the Cavs?  Also, the Magic have been on a 14-game winning streak dating back thru the regular season.  Thus, a lot was on the line in Game 1.

Well, the game started out all Celtics.  These guys came to play and now seem to be on a championship bound mission.  The lead kept growing in the 3rd quarter with Paul Pierce hitting shot after shot after SHOT.  He couldn’t miss and finished the game with 22 points.  But, the Magic would battle back.  Vince Carter had a great night with 23 points, but the Celtics were able to contain Magic superstar Dwight Howard (held to 13 points) and hold on for the Game 1 victory.  The Celtics are on a tear right now and look like an experienced team that knows how to win a championship.  Boston 92, Orlando 88.

HOCKEY

The seemingly unstoppable #8 seed Montreal Canadians were ready for their next victim in the Eastern Conference finals.  They beat the #1 seed Washington Capitals in the first round, the #2 seed and defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round and would now face a hungry Philadelphia Flyers team.  Well, the Canadians have been winning with their defense… but it certainly wasn’t on display Sunday.  The Flyers scored, count ’em, 6 goals on Montreal and basically made the announcement that they had no intention of falling prey to this team.  We’ll see how this series pans out.  Philadelphia 6, Montreal 0.

HORSE RACING

Finally, Saturday marked the second leg in horse racing’s Triple Crown.  The favorite in the Kentucky Derby, Lookin’ At Lucky, didn’t even come in the top 3 in that race.  Could he rebound at the Preakness?  The answer:  definitely.  Lookin’ At Lucky showed he was championship caliber all the way winning the 135th annual Preakness.  That’s the 5th Preakness win for trainer Bob Baffert. Unfortunately though, we will not see a Triple Crown winner  again this year. A horse has to win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes (in two week) to be one of the elusive Triple Crown winners (last time we had one was in 1978 with a horse named Affirmed). Super Saver won the Kentucky Derby, and now with Lookin’ at Lucky winning the Preakness, we will have to wait another year for a new batch of three year olds to attempt this monumental feat .