The Starter

From the Rink...

• The Wings keep the Preds down on the road in the playoffs.  Nashville has never won a playoff game on the road in franchise history and the Wings kept it that way......barely.  Detroit won in OT after giving up the game tying goal with 42 seconds left.  If nothing else the Wings like to keep it close.  Look for them to close out the series on the road on Sunday.
• The defending champs stay alive with a 5-2 win at home last night against the Stars.  I still think they're delaying the inevitable, but it's good to see that the Ducks have a little fight left in them.
• Meanwhile, the Rangers do end the series against the Devils last night.  No big surprise even though it technically was an upset, 5 over 4.  Really though, that's about as a non upset as you can get when the seeds say otherwise.  NY is looking pretty good despite the efforts of Mr. Avery to eliminate all respect for the team.
• Three more series can end tonight.  Look for the Avs and Habs to close out those series, while the Caps will hold on for at least one more.

From the Hardwood....

• The playoffs start today. Why did they switch to 7 game series for the first round? Wake me up when the second round starts.
• Isaiah is done in NY. What a surprise. Does anyone actually think he will be doing anything in his advisors role? Me neither, talk about justifying a salary.
• Owners OK move for Sonics to move to OK. Another surprise. Who cares if the league has 41 years of history in the city? There's more money to be had elsewhere. I'm not saying OK City doesn't deserve a team, they certainly proved they did but isn't there another team that could go? cough...Clippers...cough.

Bears Linebacker Saga....

• First it was Urlacher wanting a new contract, then supposedly demanding a trade or threatening retirement.  He now denies either.  I suspected as much, but is he telling the truth or is he covering his ass in the PR world.  I think/hope for the former.
• Now, Lance Briggs is upset with his contract.  Yup, the same contract HE signed as FREE AGENT just a month ago.  This guy is a damn headcase.  The good news is that the Bears can cut their losses in 2 years with out much salary cap damage.  By then he'll be getting past his prime and they should have a replacement or two ready to go.