Greetings from Blog Land once again...My apologies for not writing sooner, things have been busy and interesting - I'll get to that later.

First off, most recently - the New York Rangers...what can I say, the NHL wanted Crosby in the finals. That's why they called a 4, yes a FOUR, minute penalty for high sticking with 1 minute left to go in the 3rd period, when the game was tied 2-2. However, during the 2nd period, no penalty was called when a Ranger bled all over the ice, after an obvious high stick foul. Congrats NHL, you will have Crosby in the finals, although Pittsburgh has a TV audience 1/5 the size of the Rangers, way to go...Too bad you didn't realize Crosby's contract with Nike means nothing for the NHL in general.

Moving on...the Yankees. Um, pitching anyone. Ian Kennedey is "surprised" that he went down to the minors?? He claims he was doing well? If 0-2 (not reflective of no-decisions) and an 8.37 ERA is considered good, Mussina and Pettie must be in contention for the Cy Young, and Wang must be going to the Hall of Fame. And let's not forget Phil Hughes - the crown jewel of the Yankees farm system. He's supposedly the reason why the Yankees didn't trade for Santana, or Harrin. He should be joining Kennedey, what with his 0-4, 9.00 ERA. For this post, I'll spare everyone with my rantings about Giambi, or Cano (who pitchers figured out can't hit curve balls). Bottom line - this is a third of fourth place team at best, and the Yankees are guilty of not acquiring adequate pitching in the offseason - while competitors such as Toronto and Baltimore built up good rotations. They are lucky that Detroit has been so terrible, and that the Red Sox have not run away with it yet. It seems New Yorkers are in for a long, hot summer of mediocre baseball.

Going further back...Happy Days Are Here! Isiah Thomas is no more, finally. Nobody has explained why he was allowed to keep his job not only after such a terrible record and waste of money on players like Curry and Marburry, but also after being found guilty of sexual harassment. Do you think he cares? Not really, since he getting paid every cent of his ridiculous contract. The Knicks became a laughing stock in basketball, and the sad part is that only 1 person has been dealt with for allowing that to happen. Dolan still owns the team, and he is hugely responsible.

March Madness sure was fun, especially if you picked UCONN to go to the Sweet 16, like most people did, along with Duke. Everyone is so amazed that the 4 number 1 seeds ended up in the Final Four. Why? That was easy after legitimate number 3 and 4 teams, such as Duke, UCONN, and Tennessee were outed by unheard of teams. USD? It was easy for teams like Kansas to blow by Davidson. Still, the final game lived up to the Hype - going to OT with an incredible 3 point shot. Those players who remain at Memphis better start practicing their foul shots NOW.

As for UCONN, the team I follow and root for - what can be said, except that they had zero intensity or momentum going into that game. It appears Thabeet is intent on staying for another year, but a lot can happen over the summer with agents whispering into your ear. Until David Stern raises the draft requirements to at least two years of college, it will be impossible for teams like UCONN or Kentucky to build programs. Rudy Gay anyone?

Manchester United nearly threw away the Premier League Title and also the UEFA cup, by drawing against Blackburn, and then against Barcelona at Nou Camp. But this past weekend they held up against West Ham with a 4-1 victory - which keeps them even with Chelsea for the league title. And Scholes saved them with a spectacular goal to send them to the final against Chelsea in Moscow on May 21 (I won't be in the office that day).

The Olympics kick off in August, in China. I'm so glad the US media has been so open to reporting the human rights abuses of China, and their wonderful reputation as the world's worst polluter and consumer of arms. Maybe it has something to with Nike and Walmart sponsoring TV slots on NBC, and pro-Athletes competing in the games. If you want to have the games in a country like China - fine, they were once held in Moscow, in the USSR. But at least report it fairly and detail the reasons for the protests - Darfur, Tibet, pollution, secret executions, over 40,000 protests a year inside China's borders.