Five things we learned from last weekend’s sporting events:
* It would be a bad thing if the Chicago Blackhawks came back from a 3-0 NHL first-round series deficit to defeat the Vancouver Canucks in seven games. That’s because it would be positive reinforcement for the Blackhawks management, who blew up the Stanley Cup champions and pieced together a team that squeaked into the No. 8 seed in the playoffs. The Blackhawks sent away many of the fan favorites within minutes of hoisting the Cup. You can call it smart management, but it sure alienated a lot of fans who had regained faith in the team.
* Any reaction to the Miami Heat falling to Philadelphia 76ers is overreaction. The Heat are not going to win every game, especially on the road. Miami will win Game 5 and I still like the Heat to win the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
* After nearly a month of baseball, the Cleveland Indians are for real. The telling number is the 4.56 runs a game they have scored in 23 games. Plus the recently regained veteran slugger Grady Sizemore.
* You have to wonder what it will take for the San Diego Padres to contend again. San Diego has one of the best ballparks in baseball but little else on the field. They have cut back on payroll after coming within two games of winning the National League West last year. They traded away their hometown star and top hitter, Adrian Gonzalez, during the offseason. This season they are tied for the second worst record in baseball (8-14). Oh, and they have the worst offense so far, scoring 63 runs in 22 games – 14 runs fewer than two other teams ahead of them.
* Carl Landry is making Pau Gasol look soft. Kobe Bryant is hobbling with an ankle injury. And Chris Paul is doing his best impression of Oscar Robertson. But the Los Angeles Lakers will find a way to pull out two of the next three games of their NBA Western Conference first-round series. And they’re still my pick to win the Western Conference.
