My sports columnist alter ego, Dick Ballsey, is stepping up for another Blog:
(please note, to those of you who care, I write this BEFORE reading the Sports Guy's Thursday ESPN Page2 column)

In a rare display of sports symmetry both the NBA and the NHL have narrowed it down, as of last night, to their Final Four's. And, as always, patterns emerge:
1) the definite power emerges from the West, with the East seeingly playing for the "Happy to be here" Cup.
2) The Two Best Teams square off in the West, one of them being the Team That By All Means Should Win It (Detroit Red Wings, L.A. Lakers) vs. The Team That You Suspect Is Better (Colorado Avalanche, Sacto Kings).
3) The East features "We Had a Great Regular Season, but We're Probably Not Legit. Championship Contenders" (Toronto Maple Leafs -- who actually had the 2nd-best reg-season record in the East, but were seeded 4th, and New Jersey Nets) vs. "Nobody In Their Right Mind Would've Picked Us Before The Season, and You Suspect We're Poseur's That Would've Been Lost In the Shuffle If We Played In The West" (Boston Celtics, Carolina Hurricanes).

My picks:
NBA -- Lakers over Kings in 7; Nets over Celtics in 7 (Jason Kidd is just too good)
Lakers over Nets in 5

NHL -- Red Wings over Avalanche in 6; Maple Leafs over Hurricanes in 6
Red Wings over Leafs in 5

Didja notice?
Remember you read it here first: The Anaheim Angels are for Real. They followed the Horrible Start script (see, 2001 Oakland A's) and are now playing as well as anyone in MLB. One big difference, however, is that the A's last year didn't creep above .500 until about the All-Star break, then played out of their minds the rest of the way (helping keep the Mariners honest, even though there was a 15+ game cushion), this year the Angels have busted out and are already 6 games above .500, and "only" 4.5 back of the M's. The Angels may prove to be contenduh's in the end, with thier solid 5-man starting staff (as good as anyone's... and I'm looking at YOU Yankees, Mariners, and Red Sox!) and a productive lineup with power with guys like Troy Glaus, Darin Erstad, Garret Anderson, and Tim Salmon... and they aren't slouch's defensively, either. With the Yankees and Red Sox feasting on crappy teams in their division (Do they play Tampa Bay EVERY night????!!!) it may prove tough for the West runner-up to grab the wild-card, but it may just be that, like last year, the two best (regular season) teams in the AL come from the Left Coast.

Well, I haven't Blogged at all the last few days because I am avoiding the computer somewhat after Greg's hard drive crashed, and I lost tons and tons of files... I'm still a little irritated.

Sat. I went Orienteering with Tyler and his dad, and actually beat Tyler -- which isn't saying much this time seeing as how he did very poorly. The course was longer than most: 8 km compared to 4-6 km typically, and wasn't confined to city park, where what usually takes place is slightly modified trail running. It took place over by the Middle Fork Teanaway, just north of Cle Elum, over a large expanse of open pine forest and clear cuts, making for good navigation by topographical features and following bearings. I enjoyed it thoroughly, with the sunny weather and occasional views of the Stewart range, but got a little sunburned. I feel like I could have/should have done MUCH better, but I blame much of that on my fitness level, which could be/should be much higher.

Sunday was the usual Mother's Day activity at the 'Rents, where I helped BBQ some ribs, and did my best to act civilized and conversational.

I had another indoor game tonight, and we won easily, 12-7, despite not really playing at our best. In fact, I would say we were sloppy much of the game, but took advantage of a lot of goals on deflections and rebounds. It was the second straight game I felt like I didn't get any really good shots on goal -- although I did get one on a one-timer that dribbled through the goalie. I tried to be a playmaker and move the ball around, and created some good chances that way, but I just felt a little Off tonight. Oh well, we're still winning.

Real Madrid are the Champions of Europe
I repeat, Real Madrid are the Champions of Europe