Happy Mothers' Day (with a sports report blended in)

Happy Mothers' Day to all of you mothers out there, especially to those who have meant a lot in my life...My Grandmothers, Barbara Gay (Nonni) and Marjorie Ploof (Mimi), who were there to take care of me throughout my life, whether it was at a family get together or an overnight stay.  I was happy to see Nonni today when I went in town and helped fix her TV boxes (long story short, my Dad and I got it taken care of).  Mimi passed away in 2005, but I really felt that she was with me today (guess it was because my dad and I had lunch at Beansie's Bus Stop today), and I will never forget her as long as I live.  And of course, a very happy mothers' day to my mom, Kelly Ploof, who has been with me through all the good times and bad.  Last year on Mothers' Day, my whole family celebrated it in Lyndonville as I got my Diploma at Lyndon State College after five grueling years.  It was a special time for me and for my Mom.  Mom, Nonni, I hope you had a great time today and Mimi, I wish you were here with us today.  You would've been happy for all of us.

Now that that's out of the way, I haven't been able to talk about sports for a while, so here goes nothing:

NHL:  The first round of the playoffs ends tomorrow night with now 2 game 7s:  one that should have happened and one that should have never happened, but I knew it would.  The Rangers evened their series with the Capitals tonight and the Maple Leafs did the same against the Bruins.  This gives both New York and Toronto the momentum for game 7 along with the back-to-back scenario, which could make for tough games in DC and beantown.  That momentum could lead to both Washington and Boston seeing its season end.  Ottawa, San Jose, Los Angeles, Chicago, Pittsburgh and the winner of tonight's Detroit/Anaheim game are waiting for round 2 to get started, but tomorrow night could be the best night of the playoffs.

NBA:  Second round action is fast and furious (especially in Miami and Chicago).  In the East, the Heat and Bulls are playing down and dirty in their series, and while Chicago took game 1, Miami is playing like the title team from last season.  The other series saw the Pacers take a 2-1 lead in their series against the Knicks and in both wins, New York's poor shooting was a key to their wins.

NBA II:  In the West, the Thunder are starting to miss Russell Westbrook in their losses against Memphis, leading to a 2-1 series lead for the Grizzlies, and the only series that has played 4 games is all even 2-2, with Golden State taking games 2 and 4; San Antonio took games 1 and 3 of the series that has seen stellar shooting and a double OT classic.

MLB:  What has happened to the Boston Red Sox?  At one point, they are in first place in their division; the next, they are right in the middle of the AL East standings.  Boston has lost 5 of their last 7 games against two sub-500 teams (Twins and Blue Jays).  Now they travel to Tampa for three against the Rays.  If they can't get out of this slump, a new saying might be started:  You can't win a division in April, but you can lose one in May.

MLB II:  Same division, different team:  How the heck are the Yankees in first place?  Simple:  Good Pitching (CC, Pettitte, Kuroda), Score in any fashion (not just the long ball, like in previous years), and let the walking retirement tour (Mariano) get the job done in the ninth (15/15).  Keep that up and we may be hearing the Yankees name again in October (just remember, it's only May).

Sports TV:  Last week on Facebook, I posted on my timeline two youtube videos about the TSN Sportscentre (SC) duo of Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole.  The reasoning for this is because they will be leaving TSN to join Fox Sports and its new network Fox Sports 1 in August.  After I first watched these videos, I just had to share them because the videos were hilarious.  For those who are wondering, here's another clip of them in action (sort of).  The new Fox Sports 1 will take over SPEED on August 17 and include Fox Sports Live (going against ESPN's SC), and a show starring Regis Philbin (yes, you saw that right, REEGE IS BACK...and talking sports).  Look for it soon.

That's the latest for tonight.  I'll be back soon and, once again, Happy Mothers' Day today.  Hope all you Mother's had a great day.