The NFL Lockout

As of yesterday the order that judge Susan Richard Nelson which lifted the lockout has been overturned by a federal court of appeals. I still do not believe that the owners are steadfast in preventing football from happening in order for them to make more money. I don't know what may be the true mindset of all involved, but I will say this, If the NFL season misses just one week They would potentially sacrifice billions in television money alone, now that is something to phone home about.

On to game Two, NBA Playoffs

Last nights game was pretty hard to swallow as the Yankees saw six double plays doom any hopes of another rally. It's was a tough go for the young right hander Ivan Nova as he could not shake his fifth inning struggles. It is still too early to see whether or not Nova can handle his first full big league season, but I am sure that he still has the vote of confidence form Joe Girardi. Freddy Garcia will finally make his Yankee debut as a starter today and one cannot help but worry that the 3 week lay over will have an affect on his performance. Hopefully that will not be that case.

The road to the NBA Finals gets underway as 8 teams from each conference will compete for the chance to be crowned world champions. I will say that several teams have a legitimate shot a making a run, more that in previous years; However that is not to say that there aren't any favorites. The Lakers have the aura of back to back titles to fall back on and seem poised for a three peat, but losing 5 of 7 to end the season may not help their chances, especially against a tough Memphis Grizzlies team with nothing to lose. For most of the year the Spurs defied the age bug and had many people including myself believe they were headed for championship glory; But they scuffled through April incurring injuries to key players which includes Manu Ginobili who got hurt an the seasons final day. The Spurs need to get healthy ASAP or it could be doomsday for the leagues most veteran heavy squad.

I would be lying if I were to tell you that the Miami Heat were not a favorite, in fact they should win it all accordinbg to all of the pre season speculators. The Heat are a great team on paper with championchip capabilities, but if there is one thing that was proven this year is that even with the big three, the Heat are vulnerable. Who knows how they will respond to this heightened atmosphere, but don't expect the Sixers to just lie down at the feet of the Bosh-Wade-James gang. Now is time for Mr James to prove he did not make a mistake by leaving his hometown, though every self respecting basketball fan is going to root against him.

Yankees/Orioles, Knicks Playoffs

After a good victory last night The Yankees will send Phil Hughes to the mound in the final game of the rain shortened series. Hughes has much to prove tonight as his drop in velocity and lack of conviction on his fastball. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild had in depth video session with Hughes and has discovered a flaw in his pitching motion that most likely has attributed to the 3 mph dip that every hitter has no problem taking a whack at. You have to believe that the fans are not going be nice if he struggles to find his pitches tonight, but I trust he will get things together because he's much better than his ERA shows.

This Sunday a momentous occasion will grace the televisions of New York Sports fans, The Knicks will play their first playoff game in years (10 years for those who discredit 2004). As far as the teams chances of success I think if they can work the ball effectively and show a bit of a defensive edge they a capable of putting up a great fight and possible upset of the Boston Celtics. It will be up the the New Knickerbockers, Chauncey Billups, Amare Stoudemire, and Carmelo Anthony, all whom have multiple games of playoff experience that will help guide the youngsters on how to handle the pressures of legitimate April basketball. It's going to be a tough task trying to knock off the defending Eastern conference champs, but this is a great test to find out what these Knicks are truly made of

On to the next game

The Yankees notched their first victory on the 2011 season with a 6-3 win over the Tigers. C.C. Sabathia may have not been perfect, but he was very respectable, especially since he has struggled on opening day for his career. Mark Teixeira is looking to have a better April than he had last year, which has become unfortunately habitual in his career. Opening looked like a great start for him, let's hope he can continue this through April and the rest of 2011. What was most impressive, and perhaps a sign of things to come, was the performance of the Yankee bullpen. The combination of Chamberlain, Soriano, and Rivera gave up no hits and 3 strikeouts in 3 innings of work. Performances like this show that there is reason to believe that this ultimately will become the strength of the team, which will separate them from the other ball clubs in the American league. As I have said before it will be a tough road to a division title, but it is a trek the Yankees are more than capable of making.