Stanley Cup Final Preview – Sports in Review

Dustin Brown wouldn't touch this one, he has his sights set on a bigger one...

 

Sorry to everyone but I have had quite a few things on my plate in the last few weeks and despite my best intentions to write several blogs, I haven’t. Totally my fault but I have a few I will be banging out in the next few days so let’s begin.

After one of the best playoffs we have ever seen, the Stanley Cup Finals are set. The Kings (who knocked off the Defending Champion Blackhawks in possibly the best 7 game series in recent memory) will play (or should I say DESTROY) the New York Rangers starting tomorrow night. Both teams played just about the maximum number of games possible in getting to the Finals with the Kings staving off elimination 7 times in playing and winning three 7 game series, while the Rangers had to do it 4 times in winning two of their own and then squeaking by the Habs in 6 (they would have lost that series is Carey Price didn’t have his knee hyper-extended accidentally on purpose by Chris Kreider).

The two teams have played a combined total of 41 out of a possible 42 games so neither team is healthier or better rested then the other. This series comes down to style of play and it should be obvious after the first 10 minutes tomorrow night just how over-matched the Rangers are in this series. The Kings are a team that just knows how to win and has everything in place to be battling for the Cup year in and year out for the next 3 years after this run ends with their 2^nd Championship. The Rangers don’t belong in the finals and that will be made very clear very “Quick”-ly. I say the Kings will win in 5 games with King Henrik stealing 1 game.

4th straight Finals Appearance, this will be his 3rd straight win

The NBA Final is also set now with a rematch between the Spurs and the Heat. I admit I lost track of the NBA playoffs after the embarrassing display by NBA officials in the first round match up between the Raptors and the Nets but it always just seemed to be destined that these 2 teams would be there in the end. Tony Parker is banged up which makes this a little easier to pick the Heat to three-peat. The big news will come in the off-season when LeBron decides to jump ship once again, terminating his deal at the perfect time to make himself even richer.

The possible landing spots for him are pretty obvious: LA (not with the Lakers though), the Knicks, Cleveland and (maybe I am the only one who thinks this but….wait for it) The Raptors! Yes, I would not rule out the possibility of Tim Leiweike pulling this one out of nowhere and landing LeBron in TO. I agree, total 100000 to 1 long shot here but why not? MLSE has the cash, they have the ‘cred with Drake, the All-Star Game is coming, the team itself is on the verge of becoming a contender….why not?

I may have come late to the party as this image was already available on Google....

On to Baseball as the calendar has flipped to June and the Blue Jays need to be discussed for the first time in nearly 20 years. Why? Because as I write this, they sit in the top perch in the AL East for the first time this late in a year since the 2000 season. Shocking really and their lead should grow from the 4 games it currently sits at as the Yankees are aging fast during the “Derek Jeter Tribute Tour” they call a season (injuries piling up), the Orioles don’t have enough pitching and may have lost Nelson Cruz for a few games after he was hit on the hand by a pitch on the weekend, the Red Sox have more injuries then you can count and seem intent on trying to manufacture a reason to clear their bench in the hopes that it would turn their season around (What was THAT Jonny Gomes? TOTAL BS on your part for going after Escobar in a 5 run game for stealing 3^rd. It wasn’t a blowout dude. That was uncalled for!), and the Rays are just not able to score enough runs to be a real threat, sitting last in the entire American League.

The team we thought they were last year, showed up a year later it would appear...

With ALL of that said, the Jays still need to add Jeff Samardzija from the Cubs in order to be considered a real World Series contender. At the same time, they need to do it without mortgaging the future because if what I am hearing is accurate, the Cubs first demands of Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman should have resulted in a dial tone from Double A. Sanchez should be considered an untouchable. There is no way the Jays can let their future Ace (Sanchez) go in any deal. Stroman, although impressive in his first start Saturday (I was there, he was lights out), should be included in a deal.

I would try to offer a package to the Cubs which would consist of Stroman, Colby Rasmus (Anthony Gose IS your centerfielder of the present AND future starting now!), and Adam Lind (you can then turnaround and sign Kendrys Morales who is a switch hitter and a better defender then Lind who dropped an easy out Saturday at first on a throw that was right on the mark by Juan Fransico) to try and pry away Samardzija. Sanchez may even be the answer to the #5 spot late in the year if JA Happ falters.

Samardzija is the last piece missing in turning this team into a true contender

But that’s just my 2 cents. Even if they do nothing, which they might, the Jays still will probably win the division. There are just too many injuries mounting on the teams in their division for any of them to be a real threat at the moment. If they build up a big enough lead by the All-Star Game, you might even start to see a team like the Rays go through a fire sale (David Price will be available) if their injuries continue to mount (Now last year’s Rookie of the Year winner, Will Myers is on the shelf with an injured wrist for at least 2 months).

The team that was going to win it all last year, looks better suited to do it this year. Crazy how that works.

Up next, a postmortem on the Leafs Season and what I think they need to do for next season.