NHL playoff update #1

Here is everything you need to know about last night's round one/game one playoff game between the St. Louis Blues and the Los Angeles Kings--

• The Blues dominated the game from almost the very start-- physically, in time of possession, and in terms of shots and scoring opportunities.
• Despite this, the Blues managed only one goal-- by Alexander Steen in the first period.
• Predictably, the Kings did put together a brief bit of attacking pressure right at the end of the game. And, also predicatably, they scored (a goal by Justin Williams with 31.6 seconds left-- click here for video).
• The Kings dominated the early part of overtime.
• When Kevin Shattenkirk got a double minor high sticking penalty midway through the first overtime, I assumed the game was about to be over.
• It was, in fact, over, less than a minute later, on Steen's shorthanded goal (see video below).

Game two is tomorrow night. Just in case you want to watch Steen's game-winning goal over and over again, here it is--

World Cup Update #2: Highlights so far

What's wrong with this picture?

On the Sports Illustrated for kids website SIKids.com, there is a photo display of World Cup X Factors-- players who may make the difference for their team in the 2010 World Cup. The photo above is captioned "Kaka". Can you tell what is wrong with this picture?

Champions League update: Mind-boggling mistakes lead to mind-boggling goals

Porto 2 - Arsenal 1

Porto's first goal was nothing more than a single mistake by the goalkeeper, Lukasz Fabianski. Porto's second goal was a bit more complicated, because it involved multiple mistakes. Arsenal defender Sol Campbell's back pass to the keeper was picked up by Fabianski (one mistake), which resulted in an indirect free kick for Porto. Fabianski then handed the ball directly to the referee (yet another mistake) who allowed Porto to quickly restart the game and score.

Bayern Munich 2 - Fiorentina 1

In the Bayern Munich-Fiorentina match, the mistakes all belong to the referee and linesman. On Bayern Munich's first goal, the referee had called a penalty before the ball went in the net, so he disallowed the initial goal. Luckily for everyone involved, the subsequent penalty was made, so the score turned out 1-0 as it should have. Bayern Munich's second goal is even simpler-- the fault lies completely with the linesman, who failed to call Klose offside.

Two nights in a row Jeff Francoeur failed to catch a fly ball

Two nights in a row newly-acquired Mets outfielder Jeff Francoeur failed to catch a fly ball, and two nights in a row the New York Mets lost to the Washington Nationals.

For more information about Jeff Francoeur, here is a link to his official website.

What I saw last night (4-22-08)

Champions League: For those of you who missed it, it was actually a rather boring game. Liverpool were leading 1-0 in the dying minutes of injury time when their midfielder John Arne Riise scored on a beautiful diving header that he nailed past the goalie and into the top of the net. Unfortunately, it was his into his own goal.

Liverpool 1 - Chelsea 1

Flyers 3 - Caps 2 (OT): I hate having to work - makes me miss all the best hockey games.

Sharks 5 - Flames 3: San Jose scored four goals in a little over eight minutes in the 2nd period, and that was pretty much it. On to the next round!