Finally back after a hiatus. Sorry folks.
Sunday: The NBA Finals Game 3 (ABC, 8 PM ET): The series was knotted up at two on Thursday night in
Oklahoma City and now the wheels have turned down to South Beach for the next
three games. LeBron James has played phenomenally for the first two games and was
arguably the reason that the Heat won Game 2. Dwyane Wade definitely stepped up
as well in the second game of this best-of-seven and the Heat will need all
that they can get from these two if they want to continue rolling. Don’t
discount the Thunder though, obviously, and scoring champion Kevin Durant and
Russell Westbrook. James Harden, someone who is probably going to get paid in the offseason, may once again be
the x-factor in this game. If the first two games have told us anything, you
won’t want to miss this one.
Monday: Croatia vs. Spain (ESPN, ESPN3.com,
ESPNDeportes, 2:45 PM ET): This is a
very important match to watch for in UEFA Euro 2012. If Spain and Croatia both
pick up two goals and tie it will get both teams in the quarterfinals. As of this
point these two teams are one and two respectively in their group, and have
both performed well in the tournament. Croatia is led by Mario Mandzukic who
has scored three goals in the tournament. He has been Croatia’s great striker
thus far and if Croatia wants to continue its success they will need to
continue relying on Mandzukic. For Spain all eyes are on David Silva who has
put up three assists thus far in the tournament. Fernando Torres has also,
controversially at that, has been a key player for Spain netting two goals thus
far in his two matches played.
Tuesday: College World Series: Florida St./Stony
Brook vs. UCLA/Arizona (ESPN, 8 PM ET): This matchup is to be determined based on the events that will transpire
later on this evening. Either way it sets up nicely for a do or die situation
for all four of these teams. The winner of FSU/Stony Brook tonight will take on
the loser of UCLA/Arizona in this affair, and all these situations set up nicely.
UCLA and Arizona have both played extremely well thus far and that’s why these
two teams are in Omaha, while Stony Brook thus far have been the biggest
surprise, probably, of the entire tournament. The Sea Wolves, if they can get
past the Seminoles, will once again need to try and shock the world on Tuesday
as they will face the big guns if they do in fact get to this point. Definitely
something to look out for if you’re into that sort of thing, of course.
Wednesday: Chicago Cubs vs. Chicago White Sox (WGN
America, 8:10 PM ET): Normally you
wouldn’t figure the Cubs would have a marquee matchup in the middle of June,
but this is a different case. If not only for the pitching matchup, this game
is sure to be fun to watch. Ryan Dempster who hasn’t allowed a run in his last
three outings will square off against Chris Sale who could be the early
favorite right now for the AL Cy Young. That is of course if Ryan Dempster at
this time is still a Cub. There have been rumors running rampant regarding Ryan
Dempster’s status as a member of the team and whether or not he’ll be traded. I
think he will be at some point, but it is unknown of course whether or not that
it will happen at this point. If he is a Cub, be sure to find a way to tune
into this one. It’ll be a dandy.
Thursday: Tampa Bay Rays vs. Washington Nationals
(SUN Sports, MASN, 7:05 ET): This
game is my MLB.tv Game of the Week. It’ll pit together two teams that have been
far from bad this season, in fact they have both been very good. The Washington
Nationals despite getting swept by the Yankees still remain the best team in
the NL East record-wise and they’ll trot out Cy Young candidate Gio Gonzalez
who has been marvelous this season. The Rays come to town boasting a third
place spot in the AL East as they have taken a bit of a tumble the last couple
of weeks, if not just because the Yankees have been rolling as of late. They’ll
send out southpaw Matt Moore whose stuff is superb when he’s on and this could
be , if all things go well for both these teams a possible World Series
preview.
Friday: Detroit Tigers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (FS
Detroit, ROOT Sports, 7:05 PM ET): This
game is one to watch because, well, I’ll be there myself along with my friend
Robert O’Neill, whom some of you probably know. The Pirates have been a
surprise once again for the second consecutive year, and by this time may be
looking to continue to close in on first place in the NL Central division. If
you hear anybody booing while AJ Burnett is on the mound, that’s probably me.
He’ll be taking on Doug Fister of the Tigers, who after his great work off the
trade deadline last year, has been less then stellar for Detroit this year.
Player on the offensive side of the field is Andrew McCutchen, who is shaping
up to be an MVP candidate this season as he leads the Pirates in most, if not
all, offensive categories.
Saturday: New York Yankees vs. New York Mets (FOX,
7:15 PM ET): Does it get much better
than the Subway Series? Not too often, at least from a Yankees or Mets fan
perspective. This one should prove to be no different given the Yankees’ torrid
run as of late, winning their last nine in a row and 19 of their last 23. They
usually find themselves dominating interleague play and this is generally when
they make their move and they have done just that as of late. Meanwhile the
Mets have been a fantastic story this season with their success, and even
though they have downsized a bit as of late, they’re only 4.5 games out of
first place at this juncture and continue to squabble for a Wild Card
opportunity. You can find this one on FOX Saturday night if you live in the
Tri-State area, and probably more areas of the country depending on your
region.
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