Armchair Weekend in Review (May 12-14, 2006)

by user JB82

Greetings from AWIR World Headquarters. Here's the latest from the weeekend that was...

NBA Playoffs from the Armchair

In what will probably go down as one of the more exciting finishes in the NBA Playoffs this year, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 104-103. The key to the finish was a muffed pass by Manu Ginobili from Robert Horry. Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points despite suffering a twisted ankle late in the game. As I write, the Mavs have a 2-1 lead in the series.

Tired of being knocked around by the defending Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons, LeBron James notched only his second triple-double and the Cleveland Cavaliers cruised to an 86-77 win. Hey, BronBron! 28 more of those and you'll be up there with Magic Johnson! [1]

Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat continue to "pants" the New Jersey Nets in their series. D-Wade recorded 27 points, but he wasn't alone. Antoine Walker and Udonis Haslem also played key roles in the Heat's clinching a 3 games to 1 lead.

NHL Playoffs from The Armchair

Do you believe?! DO YOU BELIEVE?! These guys are good – scary good!! – Buffalo Sabres play-by-play Rick Jeanerret after the Sabres' overtime series-clinching win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

Need I say more? Sabres won the series 4 games to 1. TALKIN' PROUD, TALKIN' PROUD!

Remember when the New Jersey Devils swept the New York Rangers out of the playoffs? You don't? Let me refresh your memory:

Sure enough, it did turn out well for the Devils. They managed to sweep the Rangers out of the playoffs. MSG Network tagged the Rangers' regular season a "Broadway Revival." If that's the case, then consider the playoffs a box-office bomb. –Armchair Weekend in Review (April 28-30, 2006)

The Rangers got the last laugh as the Devils held off what turned out to be the inevitable on Saturday only to get flat-out pasted by the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. With 2:12 to go in the game, the lights went out at RBC Arena. Symbolism, perhaps? You be the judge.

The United States and Canada have been on mostly friendly terms for the better part of a century. However, the nuthead fans of the San Jose Sharks decided to temporarily shake off the amity by booing a pre-game singing of the Canadian National Anthem. The Edmonton Oilers just happened to be the opposition on Sunday in San Jose, and the razzing of the hymn of their "home and native land" served as motivation for the team from the country that has given us Rush, Neil Young, Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne, Tim Horton's, The McKenzie Brothers, back bacon, Molson, Labbat Blue and, of course, hockey. The Oilers beat up on the Sharks and their hoser fans 6-3. The Edmontonians find themselves one win away from a place they have never been since the days of Mark Messier and Kevin Lowe: the Western Conference Finals. How you like those apples, eh?

MLB Weekend from the Armchair

First off, great gesture by MLB for letting the players use pink bats in honor of Mother's Day and to raise awarenes of breast cancer.

Randy Johnson gave New York Yankees fans an ugly outing not even a mother would love by serving up two home runs as the Oakland A's avoid the sweep 6-1. It was also the Bronx Bombers' first day loss.

The last time we heard from Doug Davis, he walked nine batters as the Milwaukee Brewers lost to the Cincinnati Reds 11-0. (cf. April 21-23 edition of the AWIR). On Sunday, Davis had a better performance, but was overshadowed by teammate Bill Hall's tenth-inning walk off homer in a 6-5 win over the New York Mets. It was a lost weekend for the Metropolitans, which was highlighted by a 9-8 win on Saturday that saw pitcher Duaner Sanchez and manager Willie Randolph get the gate and catcher Paul Lo Duca hit the game-winner over the fence.

It was also an eventful weekend for the Atlanta Braves, whose big moment came on Saturday with Jeff Francoeur's game-ending walk-of grand slam against the Washington Nationals. By the way, check out the article on ESPN's website about Adam LaRoche. Interesting read.

CHASING THE ASTERISK: Barry Bonds still sits on 713 HR
Stat line for the weekend: 0-8, 4 BB, 1 K

Odds & Sods

After seeing that there are some users from the UK, I should say congrats to Liverpool in clinching the 2005-2006 FA Cup.

Monday Extra

From fútbol to football: Best wishes for the future to Doug Flutie. The Comeback Kid has announced his retirement from pro football (American, that is) after many years in the game.

Greg Biffle gets his 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season turned around with a win at Darlington (SC) in the Dodge Charger 500.

GOOD NEWS: The New York Knicks bought out the remaining four years and $40 mil on Larry Brown's contract. BAD NEWS: Isiah Thomas named as his potential successor.

And finally...

That's all for this week. Until next time, let's all be good sports. This includes not booing another country's national anthem. Some food for thought for any Amerks headed to Germany for the World Cup next month. ;-)