Well looks like the playoffs have continued and things have not been exactly what everyone thought they would be... Or so I thought!  The Lakers get upset in the first game of round two, as well as the Celtics.  The Wings start the second round down two games to one, and the Bruins find themselves in a one-one tie with the Hurricanes.  Anyway, check out my take on things below, and some rumors and ideas that have been floating around on the internet!

Let's start with some NBA talk... The LA Lakers lost their first game of the second round to the Rockets, but me's thinking that the Rockets don't have enough to take down the colossal Lakers.  The Celtics went down a game in the second round, but seem to be all business now and have a commanding lead over the Magic in game two.  The Magic blew a pretty big lead in the first game of the series, so this may very well be a rest of series thing in which the Celtics just straight up dominating the rest of this matchup.  Denver, unlike a few other teams has been one of the biggest surprises in the playoffs thus far.  They have pretty much had a commanding lead over every single team they have played so far in the first two series (recall their 58 point victory over the New Orleans Hornets).  ATL looks like they are in some big trouble right now, finding it difficult to stick with the high-flying Cavs.  LeBron seems like he is all that and a bag of chips, but in reality, the dude is just bag (no chips included).  When he plays the way he does against Detroit & ATL against the Lakers, Nuggets or the Celtics.  Rumor's have been floating around the league and some have landed with the once dominant Detroit Pistons.  The Stones have been in rumor talks around the league stating that they will make a bid for trading with the Hornets for Chris Paul... YEA, THAT'S RIGHT!!! CP3!!!  Now the trade that they are talking about would make a lot of sense, seeing as the Hornets need to clear some cap, and the Pistons have a ton of cap room to accommodate the high-performing and paid superstar.  I think CP3 would have a nice look in a Red-White-Blue Detroit jersey, don't you think!?  Haha, we'll see what happens, it looks like there won't be much left from the '04 Championship team.  If you trade for CP3, your likely going to lose Hamilton and someone else.  This would in turn mean that you move Stuckey to shooting guard, and have CP3 take over your point guard duty.  We'll see what happens, only time will tell Piston fans.

Moving on to the NFL (we'll take a small break from the playoff talk for a bit).  It looks like Brett Favre will never retire.  News has come about that Mr. Favre is in talks with the Minnesota Vikings, a franchise deeply in need of a presence at QB.  Now I don't know what crack the people over in Minnesota are smoking, but it must be some heavy duty stuff!  To want to sign a 40+ year old QB, have him take your team, and turn it around, and lead them from just making the playoffs to a Super Bowl team is some way left ideas.  I guess I won't judge though, since they really don't have many options at QB... Jackson is only a good QB when you use the run game on a regular basis, and the guy they got from Houston is a decent dude, nothing special.  Then again, Favre does have the capability to throw a 30+ pass game, but he will only help if he can stay healthy all year.  I guess if Favre is making a return, Madden will have to come out of retirement and get back in the booth.  The Detroit Lions made some splashes today (and it is about gosh darn time, I mean you go 0-16 and make barely any moves... what's the deal!?).  Detroit native Larry Foote (who I am a big fan of) signed a one year deal with Detroit (which will potentially turn into more years if he plays well).  I like the signing, it is a huge step in the right direction for the 0-16 Lions.  I am glad that someone has figured out that the D sucks and that there is no O-Line at all.  Maybe they will win one game this season (but only because they signed Larry Foote).

Now to the NHL... Things are looking different, then again, the first round was a tell-tale sign that upsets were going to happen throughout the playoffs this year!  Let's start off with the Boston Bruins.  After manhandling their first round opponents, they took on the Hurricanes in the second round.  After two games, the teams are tied at one a piece (pending the game tonight, as it stands, the game is 2-2 with seconds left in the third... The Canes are known for last minute crazy goals!!!).  The Pens and Capitals series has been everything that a fan could want.  A high action, scoring, and hitting series that features two of the best in the NHL.  Games 1 & 2 were taken by the Capitals, and it as of right now, Game 3 is in overtime!  Some have compared Ovechkin and Crosby to NBA's Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.  The two young players are battling it out on the rink, and I am sure that the two of them will be having this whole rivalry thing for a very long time.  On we go to the Vancouver/Chicago series where Vancouver (no big surprise there) is up two games to one.  Should be interesting to see how much fight the Blackhawks have left, they have made it this far, let's hope they make a push for an upset and get the Canucks out of the playoffs. Luango has been insane in net for them, and looks like he will be tough to score on, no matter what team he faces.  And the last series of the NHL playoffs... The Wings are taking on the Ducks and unlike many thought, the DUCKS have a surprising 2-1 series lead over the powerful and high-scoring Wings.  Now I am not going to get into the whole debate about how a certain referree who was in the game screwed up a call and blew the game for the Wings, because that is neither here, nor there.  Game 4 is a must win for the Detroit Red Wings, and if they go down 3-1 tomorrow night, it will be another upset in the Ducks book.  I got a lot of faith and hope that the veteran Wings will get their mojo back and be able to put three or four past the young Hiller (goalie) of Anaheim.

And that concludes our... OH WAIT, BASEBALL!  Haha, well there really is not much to cover here, I will give you a standings update, whose where, and who's dominating the sport right now.  As of right now, in the American East, Toronto is in the lead followed by Boston, and then the Yankees (who were recently swept by the Sox, and have been having a pretty bad season for a team who is jacked with some pretty high profile players, remember though, it is only the beginning of the season).  In the AL Central, Kansas City (a huge surprise) is atop the standings in first followed by my Detroit Tigers and then Minnesota in third.  In the NL East, Philadelphia is on top, followed by the young gunning Marlins and the injury/poor pitching NY Mets.  In the AL West, Seattle is on top (after recently acquiring Ken Griffey Jr. in the offseason), followed by Texas.  The LA Angels are in third, and are definitely a team to keep an eye on, they are really solid, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them spring up in the standings.  In The NL Central, St. Louis is on top followed by Milwaukee and Cincinnati.  Lastly, in the NL West, the Dodgers are off to a great start and are 12-0 at home, and have already won 20 games!  They are ahead of the Giants (since when were they good?) who are ahead of San Diego.  Now for my Tigers talk, haha.  I don't have much to say, Nate Robertson needs to be either dropped, traded, sent down to the minors, are moved to the minor league coaching staff, I can't stand seeing him on the mound anymore.  Verlander needs to play like he did in his last outing, and some positives from pitching are the presence of Edwin Jackson and Porcello who won just last night.  Should be interesting to see what moves the Tigers make with their pitching, and from what I understand, the D-Train is in the process of making a comeback.  Apparently he threw a real solid game last night in the minors, and is definitely on his way back to being in tip-top shape.  Cabrera is still a boss, and Maggs needs to start hitting the ball, but other then that, the Tigers could be making a strong bid for the playoffs if Inge and other players keep playing the way they are!

UPDATE: Boston Bruins lost to the Hurricanes in OT last night, they lost the game 3-2, and the series is now in favor of the young and upset team of the playoffs, The Canes.  Along with that, the Capitals were unable to eek out a victory in OT against the young gunning Pens, who scored three goals, one big goal in OT giving them the win and cutting into the Capitals two game lead in the series.  In the NBA, The Lakers and The Celtics each got even, as each team won in their respective games, causing both series to be tied at one...  That's your sports update from last night!

There You Have It... Sports In A Nutshell For Ya!

Well if you are not from Michigan, then you probably are not familiar with the popular phrase "April in the D".  It really isn't a "Michigan" thing, and can be used in the context for all states that have three sports teams playing during April.  Anyway, I am going to cover some sports stuff, I just feel like there are certain things I need to get off my chest, and even though this is a MUSIC blog, I am sure we can all use a little change in topic every now and then...

Let's start off with the Stanley Cup chase that has currently been going on for the past couple of weeks.  The way things have been shaping up, this years winner is going to be a toss up (somewhat)!  I mean the underdog teams have been fighting hard, and they have been putting up a strong effort to overcome and be the top seeded teams playing in this years Cup tournament.  I would have to say that the most entertaining matchups thus far in the Stanley Cup chase would have to be the New Jersey Devils vs. The Carolina Hurricanes.  Why is this such a great series...?  I mean it has the makings of being great, it has been physical, intense, filled with tons of big hits and big scores!  The series as it stands is 2-2 which is a big surprise considering the Devils (in my opinion) are the significantly better team.  I guess every team is really on the same playing field once they hit the playoffs!  Another great series that is taking place is the New York Rangers vs. The Washington Capitals.  As that series stands, the Rangers have a 2-1 lead in games (and as the current game progresses, it would appear that they will be taking a 3-1 lead by the end of the night).  This is another surprise... Washington has built one of the more stabile and stronger teams in the league, and with Ovechkin, it is really hard to find and excuse for their lack of scoring.  Another great series that is taking place in the league is The Anaheim (Mighty) Ducks vs. The San Jose Sharks.  The Sharks are heavy favorites in this series, and in some sportscasters minds, are favorite to win the Cup this year.  

And onward to the series games that really have not been much of a surprise!  The Boston Bruins have not let down their fans, their towns, and their reputation thus far in the playoffs.  As it stands, they are winning their series against The Montreal Canadiens, 3-0.  There really is not much going on there, and it would appear that the Bruins will get the win tonight and advance in the playoffs (along with Vancouver, who beat the Blues in four straight... SAW THAT ONE COMING!).  In the other blowout matchups, you have the past Stanley Cup Champs, the Detroit Red Wings taking on The Columbus Blue Jackets.  The Wings are up in that series 3-0 as it stands tonight, with a big game in Columbus tomorrow night.  It will be a must win for the Jackets, as they are facing elimination from their first ever Stanley Cup bid.  The Wings seem to have everything on lockdown right now... The Jackets have scored two goals in the three games they have played, and have just been outplayed and out-skilled by the veteran Wings.  I have to give a hand to the Jackets though, they have been physical and given Detroit a taste of what is to come in the future rounds of the playoffs.  They are not a bad team, and I would expect them to make it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs next year!  My predicted NHL Finals series is: Boston Bruins vs. The Detroit Red Wings, with the Playoff MVP Award going to Chris Osgood of the Detroit Red Wings (also meaning that I think the Wings will go back to back and win the Stanley Cup for two straight years).

Moving onto a lot of peoples favorite sport, Basketball.  Right now the playoffs are a bit crazy, with a lot of teams making some strides against the higher seeded teams.  The Chicago Bulls upset the Boston Celtics in the first game at MSG, but the Celts took back a game with a last second shot by Ray Allen.  This matchup looks to be a good one, and if I was a betting man (which I am not), I would be putting it on Derrick Rose and the young up and coming Chicago Bulls.  We'll see how the rest of that series plays out, sure should be fun to watch!  Denver has taken a 1-0 lead on New Orleans, which was a big surprise to me, then again I am a huge Chauncey Billups fan, and I know him and his team are probably going to make some damage this year in the playoffs!  I guess this could be the year of upsets in the NBA Playoffs!  I know I will be keeping an eye on that series as it develops, and if you are an avid basketball fan, you should too!  Philly took a 1-0 lead on the Magic, but as I watch the game on tonight, it would appear that the Magic know what they are doing and should regain control of this series real soon.  ATL, like many other teams out there, has stunned many basketball fans, and have taken a 1-0 lead on the High-Flying Heat.  Wade has been tearing it up as of late, and even though Iggy's shot won the game for them in Game 1, I think the Heat are just going to straight up dominate the rest of the series, for the most part.

Now for the mismatches... LAL are up on the Jazz (can't say I didn't see that coming), and the Cavs are just destroying the Pistons and they are up in that series as well.  The San Antonio/Dallas series is going to be a heck of a series, and the Portland/Houston series will be another one to keep an eye on.  Otherwise, that sums up the first round of the playoffs thus far.  My predicted NBA Playoff Finals are: LA Lakers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, with the Lakers winning and Koby Bryant snagging the Playoffs MVP Award.

And onward we go!  I am not really going to get too involved with baseball, and it really is WAY to early to tell, but the Tigers are looking solid, I will cover more of their stuff as the season progresses, it is really too early to go in depth on any of that.

In other sports news...

• The Detroit Lions Are Working On Signing Matt Stafford, looks like the covetted QB will end up being Detroits next star/fart... I hope he works out, I liked the way he played in the NCAA, and if Detroit signs him, I would be hopeful that they would win at least ONE game next season, and not be the first team in NFL history to go 0-32 in two seasons. (Source: ESPN)
• Stafford has been heard saying the following about if he was drafted first overall by the Lions... I like the kid, I think things would work out well with him in Detroit, and I think he would be where the change will and should start from.  After they win a game... maybe they can add an offensive line, and if we get really lucky, maybe even a DEFENSIVE LINE!?  The Lions are in need of plenty of changes, but the fact that a young player coming out of college wants to play for an 0-16 team is amazing, kid has the right attitude, and I would much rather have him throwing to Calvin Johnson then the old timer Dante Cullpepper trying to bomb throws down the field.  ""That would be an honor to, obviously, be the No. 1 pick and be able to come to Detroit and hopefully turn it around and be a part of a regime that kind of brought [this organization] back to life," he also has stated that, "It would be a dream come true; it would be awesome for me, but if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen. Wherever I end up going, it's football and you've got to make the best of it." - Matt Stafford
• Looks like the Kansas Jayhawks will be the North Carolina Tar Heels of the tournament next year.  It is apparent that the Henry brothers have decided they want to go to Kansas instead of Memphis (due to the coaching change).  One brother was signed by the Yankees out of high school and won't have to worry about going to college there (at least money wise) because the Yanks are covering all the cost.  The other is going on some sort of scholarship I am sure.  As it stands, it seems that the Jayhawks will be the #1 team at the start of next season.  The two brothers are highly coveted ball players, should be interesting to see how they play in the Jayhawk system. (Source: ESPN)

That is all the sports coverage for right now... I'm all sported out right now!