5/28/07: The Week In Sports

May 28, 2007

Since it is the worst time of the year if you are a sports fan, let’s dedicate this week’s column with sports rarely discussed.
The battle for Lord Stanley’s Cup has begun, and for those who do not know, that is the trophy that is awarded to the National Hockey League champion.
This year’s crown will go to either the Ottawa Senators or the Anaheim Ducks (no longer Mighty.) It’s a gripping tale between two hockey hot-beds, Canada and Southern California. My guess, is that more people watched the Dancing With The Stars finale than those who will watch Anaheim win this series in six games.
Dario Franchitti, better known as husband to actress Ashley Judd, made a name for himself last Sunday. Franchitti collected a record $1.6 million purse for winning the 91st Indianapolis 500.
The annual Indy Car race was shortened 85 miles because of a drenched track. Well-known driver, Michael Andretti used his 13th place finish at the Brickyard as a reason to retire from track.
Rain also has caused delays across the Atlantic Ocean at the French Open. The red clay of Roland Garros offers overlooked excitement each year.
On the men’s side Roger Federer has been dominated lately and looks to be the early favorite of the 82 match event.
The Williams’ sisters, Venus and Serena, both survived early round matches and hope to have a rematch of the 2002 French Open final.
The Duke Blue Devils fell to John Hopkins University, 12-11 in last weekend’s NCAA Lacrosse Championships. Duke is a group that knows a little something about overcoming adversity.
The 12-11 loss? It hurts, but it's nothing compared with the hardships this program endured over the past year. This is a team that was one win away from a national title under a new coach and negative perceptions of the program.
Oregon State’s baseball team will definitely have a tough road back to Omaha, Nebraska to defend its College World Series title. The brackets for this year’s postseason were just released and the Beavers will travel to Virginia as a three seed in their region and open against second seeded and Big East conference champion, Rutgers.
OSU finished the regular season out of the top 25 poll for the first time all season after a disappointing Pac-Ten conference season. The Beav’s finished a dismal eighth out of nine schools in league play.
The College World Series is a phenomenal event to watch and the Vanderbilt Commodores enter as the tournament’s top seed. My favorite for tournament champion is the Florida State Seminoles, who host a regional against three fairly weak teams. My dark-horse is Oral Roberts.
The Golden Eagles made it to the Super-Regionals last season and should not be overwhelmed in an open Wichita regional. The Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina may be overlooked as well, even as the tenth ranked team of the country.
Well, I’m glad I could show a wide variety of sports that do not often get covered. Plus, it showed how vast my brain can be in the world of sports. It may be another long summer, but August is the Little League World Series, and we are only 90 days away from college football.