Red Wings outlast Blackhawks to take 1-0 Western Conference Finals lead

Two Original Six teams meeting in the Western Conference Finals is a special occurrence. But when those two teams happen to be the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks, consider it a bonus, especially since these bitter rivals have not met this late in the season since 1995.

Those at the game or at home watching could not have asked for a more physical, fast-paced game than what was offered as the Sunday matinee in Detroit. The Red Wings won 5-2, per the Detroit Free Press, taking a 1-0 lead in the battle -- er, series.

The visiting Hawks got on the board early with a backhanded goal by Adam Burish early in the first, but the Red Wings didn't wait long as Daniel Cleary tied it up 3 minutes later with a wrister.

The veteran-laden Wings proved to be too much, opening up the game with three unanswered goals in the third period punctuated by Henrik Zetterberg's empty-netter with under a minute to play.

Red Wings fans in Detroit Tweeted and rejoiced in their team's "dominating" performance:

1. 
   madcrayons Blackhawk DOWN! GO WINGS! #redwings 17 May 2009 from web
2. 
   Insanitiki Empty Net Goal! This GAME IS OVER!!!! WOOT! #redwings 17 May 2009 from TweetDeck
3. 
   zaldor Way to go Red Wings! They win game 1 of round 3 of Stanley Cup playoffs! 17 May 2009 from Twitterrific
4. 
   TomLeyden 7 Wins to Go: Red Wings take Game One of the Western Finals 5-2. Dan Cleary, Chris Osgood and Johan Franzen my three stars. 17 May 2009 from web
5. 
   iChilly REDWINGS DOMINATE the blackhawks!!! 17 May 2009 from TweetDeck

Those in Chicago were disappointed in their team's loss (as well the Cubs and White Sox), but have hope going forward. At least their Tweets said so:

1. 
   praying4ariot Ah well blackhawks played good...detroit was a little better...there are still more games it is best of 7 after all 17 May 2009 from txt
2. 
   MAmatz The blackhawks just broke my heart :( we are dead, so close. What is wrong with Chicago sports? 17 May 2009 from web
3. 
   MCapp22 Cubs, White Sox and Blackhawks all lost today. Not a good day for Chicago sports teams. : ( 17 May 2009 from web
4. 
   pinsuda Sad... #RedWings beat up the #BlackHawks with a final score of 5-2.. We'll just have to get them in the next game! 17 May 2009 from TweetDeck
5. 
   klyph oh well, it's only 1 game. Right, #blackhawks? Next game get some more offensive pressure, mmmkay? 17 May 2009 from TweetDeck

Blackhawks radio analyst Troy Murray (@muzz19) Tweeted his thoughts throughout the game from Joe Louis Arena.

1. 
   muzz19 At Joe Lewis! 17 May 2009 from txt
2. 
   muzz19 Players coming out for warm ups. . .lots of BHawk fans. 17 May 2009 from txt
3. 
   muzz19 Lets get ready to rumble!. . Game on! 17 May 2009 from txt
4. 
   muzz19 Good first 20 mins. . Burish line had lots of energy. Best line for Hawks! 17 May 2009 from txt
5. 
   muzz19 Khabby very good period. Too many mistakes in critical areas but only down by 1. 17 May 2009 from txt

Despite the loss, one Blackhawks fan (@stevewsop) had the opportunity to meet Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz, the man credited with building the storied franchise up again.

The series continues Tuesday night in Detroit at 7:30 EST. Buckle up!

Red Wings outlast Blackhawks to take 1-0 Western Conference Finals lead

Lakers Easily Put Away Rockets

What a difference a game makes.

The Los Angeles Lakers wasted no time putting the hammer down on the Houston Rockets in Game 7, winning 89-70 and moving on to face the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals.

Kobe Bryant had a quiet 14 points in just 33 minutes, and it was his supporting cast that stepped up in this do-or-die situation. Pau Gasol had a monster game (after his critics said he couldn't play in big games), scoring 21 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. Trevor Ariza scored 15 and Andrew Bynum had 14 for the Lakers.

No one was really able to get it going for the Rockets, whose leading scorer was Aaron Brooks with 13 points. Only two other Rockets scored in double digits. Ron Artest and Shane Battier combined for 10 points.

While Lakers fans (and basketball fans) were happy with the win, many did not have the same calm mentality that Phil Jackson had during this series:

1. 
   CornerEyeCrush At the Shack... Lakers won thank goddddddd!!!! 17 May 2009 from TwitterFon
2. 
   soopasims the lakers looked good today. Lets see how they fair against Denver. 17 May 2009 from mobile web
3. 
   DJSliick Hey I'm only Goin For The Lakers Cuz I wanna See Kobe an lebron heavy weight match 17 May 2009 from mobile web
4. 
   mychalbarr Rockets put in work this series though. Made all the Lakers and fans realize were not just gonna roll. People will play us tough 17 May 2009 from mobile web

Rockets fans were not too upset with the loss, especially because the team was without Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. The fans have good feelings about next year.

1. 
   Casper1983 So the Rockets lost... so what..... they made it past the first round... thats all we can ask from them.. they are still a young team.. 17 May 2009 from web
2. 
   RedenCanlas Good season for the rockets...if yao stays healthy we have a chance for a championship in 2010 17 May 2009 from txt
3. 
   W_Eagles45 Rockets lost, but that's alright...The LA Kobes won't get past the Nuggets anyways... 17 May 2009 from txt
4. 
   joellopez What a season the Rockets had! I'm proud to be a Rockets fan! Just wait until next year! 17 May 2009 from twitterfeed

Lakers Easily Put Away Rockets

Federer finally beats Nadal on clay

It's not exactly "back to the drawing board" for tennis star Rafael Nadal, after he lost 6-4, 6-4 to No. 1 Roger Federer in the final of the Madrid Open, but it does signal that Federer will not keel over and die when they play in the upcoming French Open-- the one tournament Federer has not won.

Per ESPN, the Spaniard Nadal's 33-match winning streak on clay was snapped in the process as Federer also ended a five-match losing streak to his rival.

Pro-Swiss tweeters are heralding the victory:

1. 
   formentipaolo Well done Roger Federer, classic straight set win over Rafael (not the turtle) Nadal, a new era of Borg Vs McEnroe upon us! 17 May 2009 from web
2. 
   abhinayverma Roger Federer beat Nadal in a final for the first time in two years. Seems its time for the Return of the King !!! 17 May 2009 from web
3. 
   van_l federer > nadal... finally! 17 May 2009 from web

The tweets coming from Rafa's camp were far less positive:

1. 
   lauriegforce Darn. I really wanted Rafael Nadal to win. 17 May 2009 from web
2. 
   NikkiDai Federer beats a tired Rafa, not quite 100% - this is a big deal? Fed will be crying again in Paris. 17 May 2009 from web
3. 
   iceydefeat Wow, just saw the recap of the Roger and Rafael tennis match. That was sad on Nadal's part. 17 May 2009 from web
4. 
   radosko @mckaycnn Rafa was mentally and physically tired after 4 hours yesterday. Roger had an easy draw with Americans who are bad on clay. 17 May 2009 from web in reply to mckaycnn

One lucky tennis Twitterer captured this pic during the tournament:

(Twitpic by @bossanova)

Federer finally beats Nadal on clay

LSU No. 1 seed in conference tourney with share of SEC crown

Not even a one hour, 57-minute weather delay Saturday could stop LSU's momentum.

Per NOLA.com, for the first time since 2003, the No. 2 LSU Tigers won the SEC conference. Ole Miss, who also has a 20-10 record, shares a piece of the conference crown, but the Tigers will have the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament since they hold the tiebreaker over the Rebels.

The conference title is LSU's 14th overall, tying Alabama for the most in SEC history.

[For video highlights of the game, visit The Advocate of Baton Rouge]

Going 5-for-6 Saturday, LSU left fielder Leon Landry helped lead his Tigers to a 15-4 win over the Bulldogs with his three home runs and seven RBIs. Also scoring for the Tigers were Ryan Schimpf's two-run double and Blake Dean's three-run homer. Adding another five runs in the eigth was right fielder Jared Mitchell with an RBI-triple, and second baseman DJ LeMahieu drove in Mitchell with a sacrfice fly.

Pitcher Nolan Cain, who relieved Austin Ross after the weather delay, only allowed three runs and five hits in his three innings.

The SEC tournament begins on Wednesday in Hoover, Ala.

1. 
   ptl1906 lsu baseball sec champs (ole miss doesn't count....lol)...http://bit.ly/2BuGB 17 May 2009 from web
2. 
   UKBIGBLUENATION Congrats LSU & Ole Miss - SECTalk Forums: Congrats UGA, GatorBait15, SEC Basketball Talk, 1, 03-16-2008 07:1.. http://bit.ly/89K4i 17 May 2009 from twitterfeed
3. 
   elizabeth_ah Woohoo! RT @LSUsports: Final score: LSU 15, Miss. State 4. Tigers are SEC champs and will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. 17 May 2009 from TwitterFon
4. 
   jccminden Congrats LSU... SEC champions in baseball and basketball. 17 May 2009 from web
5. 
   MartaR73 Congrats LSU baseball team SEC Champs! Now for the second season and (hopefully) a trip to Omaha for the College World Series! 17 May 2009 from web
6. 
   olmec26 Good day today - LSU baseball is SEC champs, LSU softball is in the Regional Final, and the Sox won - now, 3 hours of Survivor! 17 May 2009 from web

LSU No. 1 seed in conference tourney with share of SEC crown

Featured Twitpic - Tigers claim top spot in AL Central

Detroit hammered Oakland 9-1, powered by Ryan Burwell's three-run blast in the fifth inning. The win gave the Tigers sole possession of first place in the division.

Following Burwell's bomb, @armybrat485 loaded this twitpic of the celebration from Comerica Park.



"Home run #Tigers! Ryan Burwell with a 3-run bomb."

Featured Twitpic - Tigers claim top spot in AL Central