Leelanau Sports Guy at sportspig.com

I have to start with The Sports Dude! His predictions are insightful and very fun to read. Here’ links to some sportswriters picks for the Finals!!

The Sports Dude picks Pistons in 6

ESPN’s Mark Stein picks Spurs in 6

USA Today’s David Dupree picks Spurs in 6

MSNBC’s JT the Brick picks Spurs in 6

Detroit News staff predictions

Here’s the latest headlines, and of course my thoughts…

Michigan Softball tops UCLA for NCAA Title
Congrats to the Wolverines. Not only did they make history, but they were impressive doing it. Freshman Samantha Findlay blasted a three-run home run in the top of the 10th inning to give U-M a 4-1 victory in game 3 of the best of three series. The Wolverines are the first team east of the Mississippi River to win the title. Read about it in the Freep.

I think our new state motto might have to be “never give up”. With the Pistons coming back from a 3-2 games deficit and the Wolverines coming back against UCLA from a 1-0 game deficit, it just seems like the whole state is catching “comeback fever”!

Urbina traded to Phillies
I thought we might be able to get more for Urbina than that, but Placido Polanco will improve second base. With Omar Infante in a huge hitting slump, Polanco will step right in and provide solid defense and a good bat. He hit 17 homeruns last season and is currently hitting .316 this year. Read about it in the Freep.

NBA Finals
This should end up being a great series. Two very similar teams, coached by two coaches with every similar philosophies. The key for Detroit is containing Parker and Ginobili, and keeping their penetration to a minimum. The key for San Antonio is stopping Rip Hamilton, and not letting him get easy looks. Read about it at Yahoo! Sports.

NHL Lockout Update
Sounds like there is some good news from the NHL/Players Union talks and that they have reached an agreement on the salary cap issue. There are many more hurdles to overcome, but this is a good sign. Of course you have to wonder what has taken them so long, as they watch many fans of the sport lose interest. They had better hope they aren’t too late. Read about it at Yahoo! Sports.

With alot going on in the world of sports right now including the NBA Finals and Tiger Baseball, it’s easy to overlook women’s softball. But tonight you can tune in to ESPN at 7:30 PM (EST) and watch the Wolverines try to make history. After losing game 1 to UCLA, Michigan battled back to take a 5-2 win and tie the best-of-three series at 1-1. If the Wolverines can win, they would become the first school in the Eastern Time Zone to capture the NCAA Women’s Title. Here’s some articles below to catch up on what you have been missing.

Michigan on verge of making history – Ann Arbor News article by Corey Roepken

Marx, Merchant Power Michigan Past Bruins at WCWS – MGoBlue article by Rich Marion

Click here for a breakdown of the entire World Series

Former Traverse City Central and CMU star Jason Cairns was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the MLB amateur draft. Congrats to Jason and his family. Another “northern Michigan” star gets noticed, it’s great to see!

Here’s more info:

St. Louis selects Cairns in the eighth round – Record Eagle article by Jeff Peek

Click here for his CMU Baseball Bio

Here’s three recent articles from the Traverse City Record Eagle.

Michigan State coach says Spartans must stay healthy in 2005 – Record Eagle article by Dennis Chase

Cairns awaits his shot at pros – Record Eagle article by Mark Urban

Labor talks leave Lewis encouraged – Record Eagle article by Dennis Chase

My view: Health is the key word for Michigan State Football, and no player needs the healthy tag more than Drew Stanton. When he is on the field, he gives the Spartans a chance to win every game. He is the only experienced quarterback on the roster and is one of the team leaders. He is crucial to success in 2005.

Former Traverse City Central star Jason Cairns has finished up a successful college baseball career and now awaits the MLB draft. I don’t know much about him except what’s in this article. Give it a read and cheer him on!

The NHL. No idea if there is an end in sight, but talks seem to be going fairly well. Whether that translates into hockey again remains to be seen, but at least they are meeting and trying. Hopefully they haven’t permanently damaged their sport.

What a game! What a series! The Pistons were dominating down the stretch and were able to hold off the Heat to advance to the Finals for the second straight year. They will now face the Western Conference Champions San Antonio Spurs. It just doesn’t get any easier, first Shaq, and now Tim Duncan. First game is Thursday night on ABC, don’t miss it.

Here’s some articles about the game and the upcoming series…

These Finals are must-see – Yahoo! Sports article by Dan Wetzel

Detroit 88, Miami 82 (Recap) – Yahoo! Sports article by Chris Sheridan

Champs show their mettle – Freep article by Drew Sharp

Go West! Cold-bloodedly, Pistons eliminate the Heat – Freep article by Perry A. Farrell

My view: The two best “teams” in the NBA will square off in what could be another classic series. How the Pistons handle the speed and quickness of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. If they can stop penetration, it makes guarding Tim Duncan much easier. Rasheed Wallace will have to continue what he started in game 6 and play at a high level. He is the one Piston that creates major matchup problems because of his shooting range and quickness.

I also would like to give credit to Chancey Billups and Rip Hamilton. Both struggled early in this series, but both continued to play hard and eventually got on track. They will have to play at a high level for the Pistons to have a legitimate shot. Billups makes the Pistons go, and if he can control the tempo and Parker he can be the difference. He should be able to post Parker up anytime he wants and probably will quite often early in games.

My official prediction is Pistons in 6, but I know this is going to be a war.

A cool section on NBA.com that features tons of info about past NBA Finals. Reading about the 1989 and 1990 Finals sure brings back some great memories! Click the links below for a recap of the past championships!

1989 NBA Finals: Detroit 4, L.A. Lakers 0 – Waiting Game Ends for Impatient Pistons

1990 NBA Finals: Detroit 4, Portland 1 – Bad Boys Still the Best

2004 NBA Finals: Detroit 4, L.A. Lakers 1 – Motown back at No. 1!

My view: It didn’t get any better than beating the Lakers for the Pistons first title. The Lakers had broken Pistons fans hearts the year before in a classic 7-game series, remembered mostly for Isiah’s ankle injury, and what might have been for the Pistons. When the Pistons pulled off the repeat, Detroit was crazy with “Bad Boys” fever! I still remember those games as if they were yesterday. Hopefully the Pistons can gives us more memories tonight that we will never forget! Go Pistons!

Tonight’s the night, the season comes down to one final game. I still the think it comes down to Detroit, which team will show up. The Pistons of Game 6, dominating, punishing and quicker, or the Pistons of Game 5, sloppy, slow and mental? I do give the Heat some credit, but it’s Detroit’s game to win or lose.

Here’s some articles on the big game tonight…

Game 7! – Absolute Michigan article by Andrew McFarlane

Big Ben, your time is now! – Freep article by Mitch Albom

Time to turn off Heat, move on – Detroit News article by Bob Wojnowski

Pistons ready for challenge of winning Game 7 on road – MLive article by A. Sherrod Blakely

Here’s some recent articles I found at LionsFans.com that you don’t need a subscription to read (My nickname “Cheapskate”). I really liked the first one about Billy Sims.

LH Column: Billy’s Motown Debut – LionsFans.com article by Doug Warren

Mariucci: Edwards Not Excused – Lions Insider article by Mike Fowler

Two seasons into the Steve Mariucci Era – TFY Draft Preview article

Boss is Back: Bailey Will Return To Fulltime Duty – Scout.com article

Red Zone Production A Focus For Lions’ Staff – Scout.com article

A nice article from my local paper about Tom Izzo and the 2005-06 Spartans men’s hoops team. He was in Bellaire at his Celebrity Golf Challenge at The Chief.

MSU will be as talented next season – Record Eagle article by Dennis Chase

My view: He’s right. Not having the pressure of the senior class around will give Ager and Brown a chance to shine and be the stars. They showed signs of it last season and it will continue. With Paul Davis returning and Drew Neitzel gaining more experience, they will be one of the favorites for the Big Ten and NCAA titles. Health will be a key and also how much the incoming freshman can contribute. All in all, Izzo will have a very fun year!

Remember the name Tony Giarratano. The Tigers hope he will be part of their future. But on Wednesday he was a part of their present. In his major league debut, filling in for the injured Carlos Guillen, he was 2 for 3, started at shortstop, and drove in the tying run in the 7th to help the Tigers stop the Texas Rangers nine game winning streak.

Pudge’s Injury Update: This is why you love Pudge Rodriguez. Playing with a broken bone in his hand, he came through with his first hit against the Rangers this season. The Tigers could ill afford to lose Pudge and it looks like he is going to be able to keep playing as the bone heals.

Read more about Giarratano and the Tigers below…

Rookie sparks Tigers’ rally – Freep article by John Lowe

Tigers rally to beat Rangers – Detroit News article by Tom Gage

Despite broken bone in hand, Pudge plays on – MLive article by Danny Knobler

It was good to see the Pistons bounce back and respond with a dominating performance. And as usual with the Pistons it started with defense. Rip slowed Wade early and it allowed the Pistons to build a lead they would never give up.

The Tigers lost to the Rangers, but a bigger loss was losing Pudge with a hand injury. Not sure on his status yet. Pena was moved to Toledo and Chris Shelton called up. Shelton has been spectacular for Toledo so far this season, while Pena has been a big disappointment. A nice article below about Carlos Guillen and what he means to the Tigers.

And what’s this? Another NHL article? Just another update on the labor situation and their upcoming meetings. I’m not holding my breath.

Rip roarin’, Hamilton does it all as Pistons tie series at 2-2 – Freep article by Mitch Albom

Tigers lose Pudge in 8-2 loss to Texas – Freep article by Gene Guidi

Guillen is the Carlos to be concerned about – MLive article by Danny Knobler

Tigers option Pena to Toledo – MLB.com article by Jason Beck

Hope surrounds upcoming NHL talks – Article from the Canadian Press