Just When You Thought Finals Were Over...

For most of us who worry about such things, finals are over and summer has begun. We broke through the coffee-drinking, studying-til-we-cry induced stupor and are now in the clear. I had one particularly hard final and I was the last one out. My prof kindly reminded me "It's not how fast you finish, it's how well you finish."  Thank you, my patient readers, for cutting me some slack and allowing me to finish well. :)

There is a set of people who are just now skating through their finals: the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings, the competitors in this year's Stanley Cup Finals.

The Stanley Cup has been around since 1926. Interestingly, the same trophy originated as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup in 1892. Bet ya didn't know that one, did ya? Throw that one around the rink next chance you get. Unlike other trophies, the Stanley Cup is the same, actual cup every year. They inscribe the winners' names on the base of the cup. It's more than just a trophy. It's a legacy. The Devils have only won the Cup 3 times in their history, but that's 3 more than the LA Kings.

Neither team has a clear advantage in this series. Neither team has been to the Stanley Cup Finals a crazy amount of times. The Devils have been around a while as a team. The Kings have not. On the one hand, the Devils have won more games this season, but the Kings have held their opponents to fewer goals. The average age of the Kings current roster is 26; the Devils' age is 29. Do those 3 years matter? If so, which way? Youth and vitality versus Age and experience. It's hard to say.

It's too soon to tell, in my opinion. It may very well come down to who scores last or which team gets tired first or which team gets beaten up the worst. Hockey is not a race, it's a battle. You battle against the clock, the crowd, the refs, your opponents and yourself. This battle wins the war.

"It's not how fast you finish, it's how well you finish." 

Rain Delay

Ok, ok so it's not really raining, at least not from the sky.

It's raining blood, sweat, and tears form my eyes.

I'm a college student and we're coming up on finals for our semester and  I'm going to go insane. I'm already writing a lot for my classes, so I barely have time to write in my blog  D:

Hang in there, readers. I'll be back soon. In the meantime, here's a quick re-cap of things you can Google and feel sports smart until I get back on schedule.

>Perfect Game
>Stanley Cup Finals
> Olympic Qualifying

Hope you have a great week! 

Now I know! My ABC's!

It's baseball season, so I should probably talk about it, but where do I start? I'm sitting here in my pj's trying to write a sports blog entry on baseball-my personal favorite-and I don't have any idea where to begin! I don't want to do an opening week piece AFTER opening week. That's lame. I don't want to do an opening DAY bit because then I'd have to pick teams and all that and in baseball that's just not gonna happen for me. (Stick around for the Olympics or football season if you wanna see me pick sides.)  I'm thinking and thinking and finally it hits me...Start from the beginning. Do the ABC's of this week in baseball.

A- Aaron Rodriguez-or "A-Rod" as his fans like to call him hit yet another home run this week. OK, OK so it wasn't just any home rune, it was his 630th home run. The April 13th hit tied him for 5th place on the all-time home run record list alongside Ken Griffey, Jr. The Yankees' third-baseman is well on his way towards the top, but how high can he go? 4th wouldn't be too hard: 30 more would tie him with Willie Mays. But then you enter the 700- club. The top 3 belong to Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755), and Barry Bonds (762). Personally, I don't think A-rod is at that level of legend-ness yet and I don't know if he ever will be. I mean, to be one of the top 5 is already pretty big, but to make the top 3? REALLY? That's almost blasphemous. Almost. If it wasn't slightly plausible.

B- Josh Beckett. In 2011 he ended his season in the dog house with the fans and critics- especially those of the Red Sox, for whom he pitches. He play disappointingly and he acted, well, like a dog. He was sloppy and careless and left much to be desired. Last week's season debut didn't help him very much, either. 7 runs, 7 hits, 5 homers in less than 5 innings? Kind of a loser. But Friday's game against the Rays changed his luck. His chronic thumb injury seemed to let up and  he did a lot better: 1 run, 5 hits, a walk, and a strikeout in 8 innings? Kind of a winner. Is it too early/ too girly to call him Cinderella?

C- Cain. Matt Cain. The suave pitcher for the Giants deserves to be introduced like James Bond after his 1 hitter Friday afternoon. Striking out 11 Pirates looks- and probably feels- pretty darn good. Enough said. Let that just hang for a moment as you Google him...it's OK. The 27-year-old had his day in the sun and will probably have a lot more this season...just as long as it's his martinis and not his nerves that are shaken, not stirred.

Now YOU know your ABC's, but I won't ask you to sing them. 

Ladies...Let's Play Ball!

Let's get some basics out of the way... I'm a lady. I like to do my hair, put on cute skirts, and get all gussied-up. I like shopping. I like being tan. I like things that sparkle.

And I like sports.

I love cheering on my beloved Broncos as they get an interception and run 87 yards for a touchdown. I love watching someone get their first home run. I make my brackets. I get up early to watch the Olympics and the World Cup.

If you're anything like me, you're gonna really like this blog. Sports writers and commentators are great and all, but they're all guys. They analyze things way differently that we do, so I'm finally giving us "Sports Skirts" a voice.

So this is our kick-off, our first pitch, the gun shot, the tip-off. Join the action. To all my girls who can talk trash and stats and trades and picks with the best of 'em, this is for you.