Freddie Mitchell has lost his wings...

I sit here watching the Jays game on TV, I have the World Championships of Hockey going on in the Picture-in-Picture window, and as I open my internet explorer my homepage pops up... TSN. Yes I have a slight obsession with sports and so I decided to write a little blurb about the top 5 sports news stories I am following and my thoughts on them.

#5: Freddie Mitchell -Released by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Was it ever about Football Freddie? Known for his off the field antic's Freddie Mitchell took his show to a new level last season as a third or fourth option on the field for the Philadelphia Eagles. He had his 5 minutes of fame with the 4th down and 26 catch he made against the Packers a couple years ago but he tried to take it to far. The Eagles finally did the inevitable and that made my day. As a die hard eagles fan I can't say I remember much of what he did on the field but a lot off the field. Talking smack not only about opposing teams but his own teammates... that don't fly Freddie. Most people will only remember you for the infamous "FROHAWK" you sported in the playoffs and maybe some might even remember that 4th and 26 catch you made but for the most part all eagles fans let out a huge sigh in unison yesterday as the Eagles management cut off your wings and let you scamper away.

#4: New York Yankees: $200 million bust??

How much will it take till the teams of the city of New York realize that money does NOT always buy championships. The Yankees have done it for years, the Rangers tried it for a long time and only came out with 1 Stanley Cup and its been a while since the highly inflated payroll of the Knicks came through. These are team sports, you can buy talent but as we have seen you can't buy team chemistry. They might fire Torre or a pitching coach and a hitting coach but what will that really do? I know its early in the season but it has been a good minute since the Yankees won. Sure they always make the playoffs and sure there is always hope but they have lost that edge that took them over the top they have lost the love for the game. In a time where this sport is hurting from all the negative press on performance enhancing drugs here is a team that is nothing less than great on paper talent wise, but paper statistics don't win games; work ethic , heart and determination usually do. It may be a far stretch to assume the Yankees will miss the playoffs but it sure looking bad for them right about now!

#3: NBA Playoffs- Round 1 recap

The Heat sweep the Nets: Surprised? I think not.
The Suns sweep the Grizz: Surprised? A little bit...
The Pistons were too much for AI, Webber and the rooks. From my perspective the best thing that came out of this series was the play of Samuel Dalambert and the negative being one I have repeated over and over... C-Webb just don't got the juice in the knees to do his thang.
The Sonics just continue to prove that it aint just a fluke they are in the position they are. The Sacramento Kings just didn't have what it took but did they really think this team was the one to take them further than they had gone before? I doubt it.
The Spurs and the Nuggets was an interesting series. In the end.. defence prevailed. There was a lot of ugliness happening in this series, more fouls than all the Eastern conference games practically, some were legit some were phantom but this series to me depicted playoff basketball.. the fight and the grind to the end.
The Wizards and the Bulls was exciting but really I didn't think the bulls had a chance without Eddie curry. They have relied on interior scoring for the most part and the rest came from the 6th man of the year Ben Gordon but with the loss of Curry this series went 1 more game than I had predicted.
The Last two series will be decided tonight so for fun im going to make my prediction... Boston will win this one with the play of Pierce, Ricky Davis and Al Jefferson. Reggie its been great but your time is done and you will be remembered as one of the greatest. The Mav's/Rockets series I am not sure about basically I think it will come down to which teams superstars come through. If T-Mac and Yao have great games it is the rockets coming out on top and if Dirk and Finley can step up the Mav's have this in the bag. This is game 7.. this is what the playoffs are all about!

#2: World Championships of Hockey - Does anyone really care?

No NHL... Frustrated Fans... is this tournament a viable consolation for the lack of hockey this year? In my opinion... NO. As a fan of all sports, hockey included it was sad to see the state of the sport this year with the lockout. This sport was already hurting and this was a major blow... to regain a fan base in the state of Arizona, USA will not be an easy task. Sure a lot of Canadians may be watching this world championships on TV, all our local sports channels are hyping up the event but the bottom line is there will be no Stanley Cup handed out at the end of the day and there will be very little memory of this event two months down the road. The Stanley cup is so much more than just a prize, it has so much history. Each year the world championships are played and the players participating are mostly those who didn't make the playoffs in the NIL. Sure this year we are seeing some big names on the ice.. but truth is I don't want to see them on TV over in Europe.. I want to see them grinding it out with the best of the best in seven game playoff series. It just doesn't feel the same or even close to it!!

#1: Steve Nash = MVP - Sick Wicked and NASHty!!

WOW! That's the first word that comes to my mind every time I read the news about this years NBA MVP. Not because Idon't think he deserves it.. cuz he does.. he had my vote all season, but all the odds he defied to get it. He won it despite the fact that he was not the teams leading scorer and the last time that happened was back in 1972. He won it with his 11.5 assists per game... the highest since John Stockton in 1995 and those assists helped turn around a team 180 degrees. From a 50+ game losing season to a 60+ winning season now that's what I call a 'TURNAROUND" and sure, team chemistry has alot to do with their success, but the ball in Steve Nash's hands is what sets the motor running. He is the first Canadian to win this award and considering there are currently two active Canadians in the NBA that's huge! I am a fan of basketball and in all honestly watching the Phoenix Suns play this year was a treat. It wasn't Detroit basketball (the team I love to hate) but it was explosive and they did it as a team. Superstars are great but its when they gel with the team and make it a whole that creates winners. The role players fit their roles.. the starters did what they are supposed to and Nash helped them run the team like a well oiled machine. I do want to say, what Shaq accomplished in Miami will not be overlooked by me, but what Nash did in Phoenix was a little greater and alot more special, as very few times can a point guard have that much impact on this game as the past few years have been dominated by the big men. Congratulations Steve Nash.

"I always turn to the sports pages first, which record people's accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man's failures." - Earl Warren