Women’s Tennis

Everybody was looking in disbelief what happened yesterday in Paris when the number 5 ranked Serena Williams got beaten by the 27^th ranked Katarina Srebotnik. To the russian, this is the biggest win of her carrer, she had won to a higher ranked tennist just once before she took on Williams, as she beat number 4 Amelie Mauresmo back in 2004 but in a smaller tourney at Zurich.

And this is the first time that Williams got out of the French Open so early in a grand slam tournament since 2006, and it became the only one of the high ranked women to exit the Roland Garros early as Maria Sharapova will meet Karin Knapp on the third round and Ana Ivanovic will go for the victory against Petra Cetkovska at the fourth round.

Men’s Tennis

Roger Federer took on Spain’s Albert Montanes and advanced to the third round to face Mario Ancic and 3 times French Open champion Rafael Nadal took on Jarkko Nieminen to make it to the fourth round.

Now, Federer is surely looking for revenge against Nadal, who has beat him in Roland Garros last two finals, and Nadal is looking to become the first tennist since Bjorn Borg to win 4 French Open titles in a row.

The rivalry from these two came from back in 2005, since then they have meet in 4 grand slam finals, two at the French Open for Nadal and two at Wimbledon for Federer.

Now, Rafael Nadal has being seeded as number two for 145 weeks, and Roger Federer has hold the number one position for 225 weeks, so in a certain way Federer is looking to validate that position against Nadal and acquire his first victory over him at Roland Garros.

The Penguins knew that maybe their only chance to be even with the Red Wings was to win at home, and so Pittsburgh bet it all on their 3 key offensive players: Sidney Crosby, Marian Hossa and Evgeni Malkin.

And the outcome was definitely a positive one for the Penguins since they acquire their first victory on their series against Detroit and now the series is 2-1 with one more game left to play at Mellon Arena.

Before the game from last night, Crosby hadn’t shown his true potential, but on game 3, he was up to the challenge and helped his team with two decisive goals on Penguins victory over Detroit by 3-2.

All in all, what has helped the Penguins at this playoffs are the games played at home, as of now, they have 17 straight wins at Mellon Arena, and certainly yesterday they took advantage of that and demonstrated that they are ready for game four on Saturday.

On the Red Wings side, Johan Franzen is back in shape and playing greatly, he had a goal last night and became the leader in scoring at this playoffs with 13, and so it seems like the six games that he was left out of competition due to injuries were mere vacations.

Now, the Red Wings will try to win this game in order to take a good lead and come back to Detroit with a clear advantage, but there is a reason why the Penguins are playing these Stanley Cup finals, so there is really not a favorite on the ice at this point, we will have to wait until Saturday to find out who’s the possible trophy holder.

The Red Sox still haven’t find the formula to end with a strike of losses in the road, the last one came yesterday when the Mariners took over Boston by 4-3. As of now, the Red Sox have lost 4 of their first 5 games from a 10-game road trip.

A low point for Boston was the injury suffered by Daisuke Matsuzaka, who had to leave Safeco Field at the fifth inning with shoulder fatigue. "He was examined by our medical people and we'll keep an eye on him. You're always going to err on the side of caution." Said Red Sox manager Terry Francona.

Yes the Mariners won, but there was more to celebrate than a single victory against the defending world series champions, as this was the end of a 7-game losing streak for Seattle, now the Mariners are looking forward to 8 more games at home in the coming days in order to come up with some more wins that is just what they need to lift up some spirits both from players and Seattle fans.

Well, you never know the outcome when these Mariners are facing the Red Sox, as even though Boston went further ahead to win last year’s championship, when it comes to the games against each other, Seattle won five of nine meetings at the 2007 season against Boston.

Yesterday Manny Ramirez hitted for the 499^th home run of his career at the top of the sixth inning, and so tonight, he will go into Safeco Field for the last match of a 3-game series against Seattle in order to become the 24^th player at the MLB to obtain 500 home runs in his career.

The Mariners have home advantage, and they will surely try to take advantage of that in order to win the series, and so Boston is struggling as they will be missing Matsuzaka for tonight’s game, but apart from that, have the game on TV tonight at 10:10 PM ET in order to check on Ramirez’s record breaking home run.

Why is this series between the Pistons and the Celtics so familiar to the one between Detroit and the Sixers? Well because it is almost a reflexion of what happened in that series as the Pistons splitted games with Philly for the first 4 matches, but then it was all about the Pistons and Detroit ended up winning the remaining games 5 and 6.

So the Celtics are hoping they won’t end up with the same fate as the Sixers, and basically if they want to keep on the fight against the current central division champs, they will need to work out their deffense and really start thinking as a playoff team.

One thing on the Celtics favor is that they have court advantage as they are playing game 5 at TD Banknorth Garden to then fly back to the motor city and back to Boston for game 7 if necessary, and so Detroit is forced to win another road game if they don’t want to play two more at Boston, so I guess both teams are struggling in their own particular way.

On game 3, Kevin Garnett show what kind of good player he can be, but on game four, he showed his other side, the one that has being a black shadow across his career in the NBA: his nervousness in decissive moments.

So I think that Boston has a slight advantage over the Pistons, but you never know what will really happen between these two teams that have a long history of direct rivalry that started with the Celtics team fro Larry Bird back in the late 1980’s, but interestingly, they both are match to 3 victories to the other at the playoff stages, and as a 7 game series, this is the 7^th time they have to face each other at this point, and the winner is yet to be defined.

Certainly no team has had it easier at this 2008 NBA Playoffs in what road games concerns, including the almighty Lakers, who are looking to defeat the Spurs on game 4 tomorrow at the AT&T Center in order to get a 3-1 lead in the series and fly back home for game 5 at the Staples Center, and so stablishing court advantage.

But looking at the 19-point difference that stablished the 103-84 victory in the Spurs favor on game 3 last night, I am not so sure that San Antonio is going to allow the Lakers to go with peace on their minds.

And again, Los Angeles lost because they showed a weak deffense, as Kobe Bryant kept the offensive live and well scoring 30 points, but the 30 from Manu Ginobili for the Spurs meant more than Kobe’s.

In part it was Lamar Odom’s fault, as he did not deliver in the same way as in game 2 where he managed to score 20 points, this time, and playing on the road, he could not get the best out of himself and ended with just 7 points.

If we compare this two teams, they both are quite powerful, but escentially different, since the Spurs are an old team, probably looking their last championship with the same players, while the Lakers is a team that is rejuvenated but lacking some experience due to the new blood, and so they both are very motivated, but for different reasons, as the Spurs are trying to prove that they still can deliver some good basketball, and the Lakers are eagering to dethrone the current champs, demonstrating that they are in better shape and have more conditions than San Antonio.

Lately all the talks have being around the future of OJ Mayo, and critics are almost sure that the Miami Heat will pick him instead of Michael Beasley.

Miami would be more interested in acquiring the number one prospect Derrick Rose, but Rose is probably the Bulls choice, and so the Heat is left with the decision of making it with the services of Beasley or Mayo, and having Dwayne Wade, they need someone to go along with him, and when comparing Beasley and Mayo, the lattest gets more chances of playing for Miami next season.

Now, Michael Beasley was consider a second pick on top of Mayo, but the tables are turning, and Beasley might as well end up as a third pick with the Timberwolves as his new home.

Back a few years ago, OJ Mayo was regarded as possibly the most talented player in high school all along through the United States, and that is precisely what brought some under-the-table deals that continued when he was playing for USC, in a clear violation of the league’s rules. And so if for some reason Miami picks Beasley, the Twolves are more likely to avoid Mayo as a third pick, since Minnesota is more interested in Brook Lopez, and so Mayo might end up in Seattle playing for the Sonics, or even as a fifth pick playing for the Grizlies.

It’s just too early to know what exactly is going to happen, we’ll have to wait until June to find out how current predictions will become true or what the changes would be.

As we all know, the Celtics have struggled all the way through this playoffs, and I am thinking about a possible reason: Kevin Garnett.

Garnett is an outstanding player, there is no doubt about that, but he certainly gets off himself when he’s feeling the pressure of the off-season. So yes, he’s surely a tremendous warrior, and it was a candidate for the 2008 MVP, but is he really a clutch? I don’t think so.

Kevin Garnett has had a glorious career, but individually speaking, as if we talk about his previous experiences with other teams, we can say that he gets all nervous when he knows that the weight of crucial victories is on his shoulders.

He gets compared alot to Tim Duncan, but there is a big difference between these two, as Duncan managed to take the Spurs to four titles, and Garnett just managed to take the Twolves to the Western conference finals in 2004, but then Minnesota switch the route of the glory for that one of deception, as they missed the next playoffs for 3 consecutive years.

And so, I would say that the Celtics could be more dependant on Paul Pierce now than on Kevin Garnett, and with Ray Allen going through a bad period, is not certain what will happen to Boston, though it seems like this is the best chance for Garnett to get a hold of a championship ring, and if he doesn’t manage to control himself and stay relax, he might as well be the one responsible for the Celtics fate.

Yesterday night at the TDBanknorth Garden it was all about a power struggle between the big men of both the Pistons and the Celtics, as Rasheed Wallace fought with Kevin Garnett in order to stop each other, but Garnett dictated the rules yesterday at Boston shooting for 26 points while Rasheed scored less than half that total and finished with 11 as he missed 9 of 12 shots.

And so the Celtics beat Detroit 88-79 on game 1 of their series for the Eastern Conference finals and now they must be thinking about what has lacked all along this playoffs in every single series: road wins. Boston needs to come up with one more victory playing at home and then try to beat the Pistons at the Palace in order to break the pattern that has prolonged their round of matches, first to the Hawks, as they had to play all 7 games, then they had to do the same against the Cavs in the second round of the playoffs, and surely they don’t want the Pistons around for so long.

Now, Detroit was thought to have a slight advantage since they had a full week of rest as they eliminated the Orlando Magic on May 13, and the Celtics had just one day off after erasing Cleveland from the map on May 18, but they missed their first chance of coming with a road victory that could have increased their chances, and they know that the power trio from Boston hasn’t being the same as Ray Allen is playing poorly and looking like if he had lost his confidence all through this playoffs, and so they are hoping that lack of points from Allen, who has averaged 26 through all the season and just 11 on the playoffs is what is going to give them the advantage tomorrow night.

Tonight the NBA underdogs will have a chance to make it with the services of the best coming out of the NCAA, as tonight the NBA draft lottery will take place at Secaucus, New Jersey.

The draft is being said to be full of talent, but the real deal and whom are expected to become All-Stars are Derrick Rose from Memphis and Michael Beasley from Kansas State.

The draft is designed so the teams that accumulated less wins in the season and those who could not make it to the playoffs have an opportunity to recrute players that can give a boost to their teams the coming season.

And so the Miami Heat is the team with the best chances of acquiring Rose, while the Sonics, a team that had a season to forget, will most likely make it with the services of Michael Beasley, who will go along great with Kevin Durant, the number one pick last year.

Another great prospects are Brook Lopez from Stanford and who might land at Minnesota to play with the Twolves, and OJ Mayo who is expected to play ball with the Grizzlies next season.

And let’s not forget about Eric Gordon, the Jr. who decided to drop Indiana University, in order to play in the big leagues as he’s looking for a higher level of competition. Gordon just played one year in Indiana, and now his chances of landing in Los Angeles to play with the Clippers are high.

Ok, last year the Cavs won their first conference championship for the team’s franchise, but this year they didn’t had so much luck as they were facing the team with the best winning record of the season: The Celtics.

Now everything is set for the Conference finals on the East, with the Celtics arriving after defeating Cleveland on game 7 of the semifinals, and the Pistons, who got their ticket before as they swept the Magic on just 5 games.

The Celtics will open this series at home, and court advantange is truly what has decided this NBA 2008 playoffs.

Paul Pierce was the decissive man yesterday night at the Garden since he managed to score 41 points, and on a game that was decided by deffense and low indivudual scorings, except for Pierce’s.

And apart from Pierce and Lebron James, who finished the game with 45 points, no other Celtic or Cavalier scored more than David West’s 15 points for Cleveland and Kevin Garnett’s 13 for Boston.

So, we got everything set for the East so far, and on the West, the Lakers got a ticket and are just waiting for the outcome of the Spurs-Hornets, whom will play their last game of the semifinals tonight at New Orleans, and so with some court advantange, the Hornets might overcome the reigning NBA champions and get a pass to face Los Angeles.

Playing at home and winning is what has being a constant at this 2008 NBA playoffs, only the Pistons won to the Magic playing at Orlando, and that is precisely what has them as the only team that has qualified for the Eastern Conference Finals.

Now we got the Spurs, who has tied a series that many considered it belonged to the Hornets, though that just might be true, since the last game of the series will be played at New Orleans as San Antonio managed to win yesterday’s game by 99-80 playing at home.

But there is something that might be worrying Hornets fans, and that is the result of a clash between Robert Horry and David West, who sent the lattest to the locker room as he received the worst outcome of that encounter since he was playing with an injured back, and while West was being helped to get out of the court, Spurs fans starting with the “Horry, Horry” chants, that caused Chris Paul to get upset about it.

"Our man gets hurt and they start chanting for Horry," Paul said.

On the game, Manu Ginobili leaded the scoring board for the Spurs with 25 while Tim Duncan, who was asked to controlled David West, ended with 20 points. And West was well nadled by Duncan, since he scored just a low 10 points, much different than his 38 on game 5, but team mate and former MVP candidate Chris Paul, did delivered greatly, as he finished with 21, and has averaged 27 on this playoffs.

The Hornets knows that they are dealing with the defending champs, so they are glad the they are finishing this series playing at home: “They’re the title holders, they weren’t going to lay down for us. Got to get ready. Thank God we get to go back to New Orleans.” Chris Paul said.

The Celtics won at the Garden yesterday, and took a 3-2 lead on their series to the Cavs, but now they are in the same position as the Lakers, who also won their match against the Jazz and left that series in equal terms, and so Boston would have to take a trip to Cleveland, where the Celtics lost games 3 and 4.

Last night’s final score was 96-89 with Paul Pierce shooting for 29, Kevin Garnett throwing for 26 points and team mate Rajon Rondo finished with 20 and 13 assists, while for the Cavs, Lebron James seemed unstopable and shot for 35 points and this only shows how weak this Cavaliers are playing lately.

"Whether we get 35 or 20 from James, it doesn't matter at this point, to lose the game ... that's what's more disappointing than anything else. Whether he gets this or that, I'm not really concerned, because he's going to contribute in other ways." Cavaliers Coach Mike Brown said.

The Celtics will have a hard time with the Cavs if, besides Lebron, other Cleveland players realize when they are right now, and where they can go, otherwise the Lakers will be Detroit’s next rival.

Next games:

6^th : Friday, May 16 @ Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland

If Necessary:

7^th : Sunday, May 18 @ TD Banknorth Garden, Boston

The Hornets doesn’t slow down and are one game short to upset the Spurs on game 5. And San Antonio hasn’t being that team that won the title last year, at least on this second round of the playoffs, proof of that is last night’s game which the Hornets won by a wide difference, exactly 22 points.

David West scored a game-high 38 points and team mate and former MVP contender Chris Paul hitted the net for 22 points and 14 assists for New Orleans, while a good Hornets deffense didn’t allowed Tim Duncan to shot for more than his low-10 points.

Tomorrow the Hornets are flying to San Antonio for game 6 of the series, and if they managed to take the Spurs down, it will be the first time in their franchise to make it to the 2008 NBA WesternConference Finals.

But experience is definitely on the Spurs side, and they need to take advantage of that if they want to force the younger Hornets to a 7^th game, San Antonio needs to find a way to deal with the monstrous deffense from New Orleans, and the Hornets just needs to keep playing at the same level and show the Spurs that their wins on this playoffs, which has being for more than 10 points each, are not just a coincidence.

This is probably an odd experience for David West, who grew up admiring David Robinson and the Spurs, and so to come up as San Antonio’s official executioner is something he will store in his mind for a long time, even more if the Spurs are staying at home for good after game six.

Cavs and Celtics, well both teams have made themselves respect in their courts, at first we thought Boston was heading to Cleveland to easily win game 3 and almost seal a ticket for the Eastern Conference finals, but the Cavs woke up from a nightmare that lasted 2 games and so now they are even in the series with the Celtics 2-2.

And Boston hasn’t being the almighty team we saw in the regular season since they barely made it to round two of the post season as they were forced to game 7 against the Hawks, now they are pushed at least to a sixth match to define the winner of this series.

Final score was 88-77 and Lebron James ended with 21 points, still a little low on his average, but certainly better than his performances on the Garden, while Wally Szczerbiak and Daniel Gibson shot for 14 each for the Cavs, and for the Celtics, none of their 3 All-Stars shot for more than 20, since Paul Pierce finished with 13 points, while Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett each had 15.

It certainly hasn’t being easy for the Celtics, whom are adding one more defeat on the road for a total of 5 on this playoffs, but now is game 5 in Boston, and so they have court advantage and the chance to take the lead on the series 3-2 to then take a trip to Cleveland for game 6, and if they are forced to a 7^th match, they still can make it back to the Garden for a victory that will send them to the NBA finals.

It was the Celtics whom were struggling against a smaller rival this playoffs, that was on the first round against the Hawks, now on other side of the fence, the Lakers are having a hard time against the Jazz at the Western Conference, and this time at the conference semifinals.

The Jazz made themselves respect at home and so tied the series at 2-2, now they will to Los Angeles to face the Lakers at Staples Center on game 5.

Deron Williams came as the man who fought for a well deserved victory ar Energy Solutions arena; he finished the game with 29 points,while team mate Carlos Boozer had 14 points, 12 of those in the second half, and for the Lakers, Kobe had 33 points, Lamar Odom 26 and Pau Gasol 23 in a game that Utah won at Over Time.

The Lakers have a little edge over the Jazz since this coming match on Wednesday gives Los Angeles court advantage, and the possibility to make it to 3-2 and be at one game of clasiffying for the finals, but the Jazz are inspired after two straight wins to a team that many would like to leave in the road, and so the Jazz will try to play with a strong deffense as they did in Utah in order to defeat the Lakers at their house.

Final score was Jazz 123, Lakers 115, and nothing has being finally said here, we’ll know better on Thursday morning.

A miracle is what the Spurs needed this time against the Hornets, and good fate was on their side since they avoided an almost killing 3-0 in the best-of-seven series with New Orleans.

Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili took the charge of the team and each scored 31 points that were decisive in their victory that leaves the series 2-1 with one more game to be played at San Antonio before going back to New Orleans Arena for game 5.

They must win this match if they want to outplayed the Hornets on their court. And Chris Paul still had a great night as he scored 35 points for New Orleans, but the Spurs were just a better team, and now they must be wondering what can they do to stop a player that finished second in the voting for the NBA MVP.

The Spurs knew that Paul is on fire right now, and so their strategy was to held Peja Stojakovic, and the man for the task was Bruce Owen, who did a good job and hold Stojakovic to only 8 points, much different than his 22 point average.

The Hornets are still leading the series, and I am still giving them more chances to making it to the conference finals than the Spurs. Why? Well because they have played outstandingly good and they surely are deserving the ticket more than San Antonio, that in despite of being a more complete team, has done less and hasn’t show last year’s potential.

It’s official, Dominic Rhodes is back with the Colts, but for how long... that remains to be seeing. Rhodes spent one season playing for the Raiders, but missed the first four games of the season due to violations to the NFL’s drug abuse policy, and this type of behaviour is what is keeping him away from a better contract, as all he got was $650,000 for one season, on which he will need to prove that he will follow rules this time.

And apart from that, competition is tough for him at the Colts, since Joseph Addai is the main runner for Indianapolis, while he will need to struggle against Kenton Keith and Mike Hart for a good chance of doing good.

Rhodes and Addai were the two runners that leaded the Colts to their first Super Bowl victory, and now he must feel like at home since he didn’t had a good season with the Raiders last year, he finished with 302 yards and only one touchdown, he hopes that will change now that he’s wearing a different uniform, the one that got him a championship ring.

He moved to another team in order to have more chances and play more regularly, and his future with Oakland was promising, but the four game suspension really threw Rhodes plan away, and so now he needs to stay clean or otherwise, if he got caught using illegal substances again, he will face a one year suspension.

The first four seeds in both conferences are playing this 2008 NBA playoffs semifinals, with clear favorites, The Celtics on the East and the Lakers on the West.

Let’s that a look at what is currently going on:

Eastern Conference:

The Celtics played a tight first game to the Cavs and won the first game of the series, while the Pistons playing at Detroit are leading their series to the Magic 2-0, and so the third seeded Orlando are forced to win this two coming games in order to stay alive, while the Cavs are not saying goodbye just yet... Yes, the Celtics knew their way over the Hawks, who forced them to game 7 to define the series, but that last game, we saw a different Celtics team, beating Atlanta with an ease that reminded us why they won 66 games on the regular season, and so they are playing more deffensively now that Lebron James are facing them, if they manage to keep him scoring low points, they won’t have the need to play another 7 to define this semifinals.

Picks:

Cavs vs Celtics: Celtics

Magic vs Pistons: Pistons

Conference final champions favorite: Celtics

Western Conference

Kobe Bryant just won his first MVP award in a 12 year run in the NBA playing for the first seeded Lakers, and that should bring more energy to his performance, which has being outstanding all along this 2008 NBA Playoffs, now Los Angeles are leading the series against the fourth seeded Jazz 1-0, and even though the Utah has come as one of the surprises of the post season, they have a rival that is going through an excellent moment. On the other side, the Hornets are leading their series against the reigning champions, the Spurs by 2-0, and Chris Paul, who finished second in the voting for the MVP is playing his best basketball against a team that many thought would have it easy against New Orleans, but that hasn’t being the case.

Picks:

Jazz vs Lakers: Lakers

Spurs vs Hornets: Hornets

Conference final champions favorite: Lakers

NBA finals favorite: Celtics

The Hornets, what can we say about em’, well, they are surely the best underdog team playing this NBA 2008 playoffs, as they have manage to make it to the semifinals, and are now 2 games away from sentencing the reigning champions, the Spurs.

And to come out from the dungeons would not be easy for the Spurs, as they haven’t managed to rise from a 2-0 deficit in the past, proof of that were the 2001 Western Conference finals when the Lakers swapt them.

I mean, when a team is put against the wall, is hard to tell if they have what it takes to start functioning better, specially when the team that is holding them is the one that beat one of the Texas 3, the Mavs, in the first round of the playoffs. And so far they are doing an excellent job against the best of those 3, the Spurs.

I had Kobe Bryant as the number one candidate for becoming this year’s MVP, which will come as his first since he started playing in the NBA, but now I have my doubts between him and Chris Paul, since his more-than- great performance yesterday at New Orleans when the Hornets beat the Spurs by 102 to 84.

Paul finished with 30 points and 12 assists while team mate Peja Stojakovic ended with 25 for the Hornets, and for the Spurs, Tim Duncan was restrained by an outstanding New Orleans deffense and so he managed to score only 18 points, much different than his 30 something average.

Is the Jazz a true rival for the Lakers? Is still early on this second round to know it, but as of yesterday, Los Angeles have won the first meeting by 109 to 98, and this is their 5th straight victory in the playoffs as they swept the Nuggets 4-0 in the first round.

Of course the Jazz is playing the Lakers because they have being an outstanding team, with Carlos Boozer taking the lead of the team, and with good offensive and deffensive strategies that has worked greatly to make them a team to be recognized.

Derek Fisher is probably satisfied to be playing at the other side of the fence this year, since he spent last season playing for the Jazz, but coming back to the Lakers, where he had some glorious years back to the Shaq era, is a big plus for him and the feeling of being playing the second round of the 2008 NBA playoffs is making him feel at home.

But what motivated him to come back to LA was his daughter’s recovery, since she’s dealing with a cancerous tumor in her left eye and medical facilities in Los Angeles were the best option for her, so coming back to that city it meant much more than pure straight hoops for Fisher, who walked away from a guaranteed $22 million contract in Utah, and signed with the Lakers for $14 million and 3 years. Fisher had a less-than-average night yesterday against the Jazz, since he finished with only 5 points, 6 assists and 6 steals.

Changing the subject, Kobe Bryant continued to lead the Lakers with 38 points and 7 assists, and the MVP chants from fans at the Staples Center could be heard from outside the arena. While Pau Gasol, the other ace on Los Angeles, finished with 18 points.

This series is just starting, but the Lakers are on fire, and to stop them, the Jazz is gonna have to deal with the fact that they are facing a bigger team, and find ways to stop Kobe, who could be the one that can seal Utah’s destiny for good on this playoffs.

The Rangers were facing elimination yesterday when they entered game 4, with the pressure of being 3-0 in the series against the Penguins, they knew they had to woke up in order to stay alive, and so they did and won a game that was essential for staying in the competition.

Though it’s just a small step, since the Penguins are leading the series 3-1, the victory came as a boost of vital energy for a team that it doesn’t seemed ready to say goodbye.

The big hero last night was Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr, who scored the 3 goals at the Madison Square Garden, and fans where chanting his name when he went to the locker room after the win.

In despite of being down in the series, fans and critics alike are agree about Jagr, he has being crutial in the playoffs, and mostly on this semifinal against the Penguins, and so he’s praised as one of the best in history, some people even expect his name to be added to the NHL hall of fame.

Jaromir Jagr is a 5 time scoring champion in the NHL and along with team mate Brendan Shanahan, who is a 3 time Stanley cup winner, the Rangers are ready to give a good fight and fight the odds, who are surely against them at this point.

The Hawks have being a good rival to the Celtics, one that manage to level things up at 2-2 in the first round of the 2008 NBA playoffs, but all in all, when a team takes a lead with one more victory and raise their numbers to a 3-2, it seems like there is nothing left for the other team, and the winner being the Celtics, we can pretty much say that the Hawks are truly pressured for a victory on game six.

The good thing for the Hawks is that tomorrow’s game is in Atlanta, and with their fan support they might as well put things even again, well, that is just in theory as with the Celtics playing the way they did in their 110-85 win yesterday at the Garden, Joe Johnson and company has alot to worry about.

Paul Pierce got 22, Kevin Garnett finished with 20 and Ray Allen scored for 19 points and so their victory for a difference of 25 points was not a surprise at all.

It looks the Celtics are waking up from a nightmare that had them wondering if the Hawks would be the ones who could put an end to their impressive run in the season, tomorrow we’ll see if that is true, as if the Hawks win this coming game, it will create sounds of alert around Boston.