how i'm gonna make some predictions here

so it's a pretty damn good sports weekend. so who else can you expect but me to stand on a soapbox from the comfort of my couch and proclaim to the world what i think will happen.

let's start with the biggie.

FLOYD MAYWEATHER vs. OSCAR DE LA HOYA

boxing promoters tend to exaggerate just a tad. i know, shocker, considering that promoting is their job, they need to make money, they love cameras and microphones, they're selling themselves just as much as anything and they are habitual liars.

however, this is indeed the fight of the decade.

you have the best fighter in the world taking on a legendary fighter who's taken on everybody. you have the guy who seems unbeatable taking on the guy who's beaten guys who seemed unbeatable. you have the guy looking for his signature fight against the guy who has made a living off of them.

the only caveat: you have a young mayweather taking on an old de la hoya. a mayweather that's younger and quicker than a sugar shane mosley who beat de la hoya twice. and de la hoya is not as young as the version of him who lost.

mayweather's better. de la hoya's worse. in theory.

still, i think it's gonna be competitive, just because de la hoya always seems to find a way. he really does. he's never been outclassed - even against hopkins, he was losing, but in it.

but i can't see how mayweather loses this. although, like i said, de la hoya always seems to find a way. and it usually comes after a left hook.

mayweather's too quick. he decisions de la hoya.


THE KENTUCKY DERBY

first:


place:


show:



RANGERS v. SABRES

no way the blueshirts lose this game. king henrik won't let them. sean avery won't let them. jaromir won't let them. and the garden won't let them. someone call rick tocchet and book this game as a gimme.

see you all in buffalo.

how it's been awhile, and i apologize

look, work's been kicking my ass. and when you throw in a hellacious travel schedule on top of that, i just haven't had the time to write and, actually, the content to make it entertaining.

now i'm able to fulfill the former. the latter i'm just gonna have to borrow.

so here's some stuff i came upon this week that i found entertaining or interesting:

there's sad, there's depression and then there's kermit the frog covering "hurt" by johnny cash via nine inch nails, which is both of those things taken to the highest hilarity.

the barbaro cheeto went for $70.

i had access to the much-rumored nike employee store in portland and came out $281 poorer. but much happier. especially with some yet-to-be-released air force one sport culture kicks on my dogs.



i took a listen to one of the best live cds i've turned my ears onto. check out "donny hathaway live". it was recorded at the troubadour in hollywood and also at the bitter end in new york. i've never been to the troubadour, but i've seen shows at the bitter end, and when i listened to the cd, i had that place in my mind: small, intimate, the audience one with the performer and with great acoustics. intimate. that's a great word for it. it's an intimate show with a brilliant singer and an audience willing to participate. really great stuff.

while i'm on music, did you ever take a good listen to the lyrics of "american girl" by tom petty? chuck klosterman wrote about it on his blog for espn, and when i took a look at them...wow. that's one of those songs that i never really knew the words so i sang the sounds. but now...whoa.

and in case you had any doubt, let sanjaya reign.