Spring Sports Monitor

NBA

These were my predictions:

Rockets, Lakers, Mavs, Spurs; Lakers-Spurs; Spurs.

Also-Ran Conference:
Celtics, Pistons, Wizards, Raptors (want and think); Celtics-Pistons; Celtics.

Those looking for a Celtics-Lakers rematch (last of the many was some 15 years ago?) will have to wait until Andrew Bynum reaches his full power (2010?)

And in the Finals: Celtics over Spurs, Celtics over anyone else, then Spurs, Pistons, and Hornets.


None of the important picks lost--the fact they were challenged means nothing negative, really. The ones I got wrong (half of them) didn't figure to be important. Have to give a tip of the hat to the Rockets and Hawks, who came back strong after early setbacks to make their defeats contested ones. No tip to Raptors or Mavericks; Wizards showed some signs of life until Arenas pulled out.

Chelsea

The Blue Lions (never heard them called that, though there is a lion in the picture on their seal) grind on with a 2-0 road win over Newcastle (not really so easy). ManU. can still wrap up the Premiership through the tiebreaker with a win at Wigan (who I believe is now safe from relegation) in the last game. So that second-place finish looks pretty likely.

There may still be some serious consolation in Moscow--better be, if you're an Avram Grant fan. I think the team has ended up playing pretty well for him after a difficult start, when Mourinho pulled out in the midst of the early season. Immediately the team had to go to Manchester and lost to the Devils, in the rain, 2-0. It's been a long way back uphill since then, and they're within sight of the summit. Just getting to the Champions League final this year breaks new ground for the club.

Baseball

Through about one-sixth of the season, nothing has happened, except the Diamondbacks have been pretty insistent about pointing out how I overlooked them, unreasonably, in my preseason forecasts. Nobody else really has shone or permanently damaged their chances. Parity seems to be the order of the day, perhaps this year in both leagues. Good for them--it certainly seems to be working in the pro basketball league.