Way to go Sidney Crosby! Not only are you the youngest ever to captain a Stanley Cup Champion Club, but you dared to stare down an old tradition and you won anyway! In the spring of 2008, Crosby's Penguins were Eastern Conference Champions and following long held hockey tradition, Sid the Kid did NOT touch the Prince of Whales trophy awarded to winners. You know the story, the Penguins then lost to eventual Stanley Cup champion Detroit.

Fast forward to this spring, when Crosby boldly grabbed the Prince of Whales, held it high for all to see and simply said not touching the darn thing didn't help his Pens win last year, so maybe letting his fingers do the walking could change their fate. Boy did it. I don't know if the trophy touching led to Stanley Cup hoisting, but its pretty cool. A piece of advice Sid, you're 21 now and its okay if you move out of super Mario's house:)

The Hangover

Everything you've heard about The Hangover is right! Laugh out loud funny, even better than Old School! My personal gauge for how good a comedy is, well its pretty simple. The less snacks I consume at the movies, the better the flick because I'm simply too busy laughing to eat. During The Hangover I was only able to eat a few Raisenettes(sp)! Since I'm a company gal, make it part of a double feature with Disney Pixar's UP and it will be a win/win for everybody! Until the next time, may your favorite team give you reason to cheer!

A funny thing happened while the Kobe/Lebron Nike MVP Muppet campaign started picking up steam. A couple of wrenches in the works, i.e. the Magic and Nuggets. Not that King James isn't Muppet worthy, with his trio of 40 point plus efforts in the eastern conference finals. Impressive, but they've all been posted in Cavaliers losses. Now with Cleveland down 3 games to 1 and since only 8 teams have come back from such a deficit to advance in the NBA playoffs, well…enjoy #23 in Muppet form while you can. As for #24, his Lakers are in a little bit better position. It’s a best of 3 against Denver and LA still has home court, but let's face it, this is anybody's series. So "Muppet" Kobe better take a break from looking for his 3 Championship rings and starting raising the level of his teammates play as he chases number 4 and his FIRST without Shaq! I wonder if the folks at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon are ready to start rolling out Hedo and Nene Muppets for the NBA Finals. No Hedo and Nene don't have the MVP things going, but they could be the guys balling in mid June. I'm just saying, if Nike can't have the real Jordan for these finals, maybe the so-called "Turkish Jordan" aka Hedo Turkoglu will fit the bill:) Until the next time, may your favorite team give you reason to cheer!

Now that March Madness is in our collective rear view mirror and Mike Golic's legs are as smooth as a baby's backside we can all concentrate on really important stuff like the ESPN urban legend of the umpire fantasy league. In an effort to separate rumor from reality, I tried to infiltrate said fantasy league and draft a quintet of hopefully short tempered big league umps. You see the goal in this alleged fantasy league is to have ones staff of umpires rack up the most ejections over the course of a season. A clear indication, many here at the World Wide Leader may have a little too much time on their hands, in addition to a crazy obsession with our nations pastime. While I can neither confirm or deny the existence of said league and the participation of at least a half dozen SportsCenter anchors, and several Baseball Tonight contributors, I can say with absolute certainty there is a wealth of statistical information on the internet which can help you start an umpire league of your own. Key, is to make sure your umpire of choice scatters his ejections over the course of a season. Don't be sucked in by an umpires big number of 6 or 8 ejections, if upon closer examination that big number was achieved in 1 or 2 games. It would be a waste of a pick. Also, its not a bad idea to select at least one crew chief for balance. Good luck with umpire fantasy leagues in your neck of the woods! If I get closer to confirming the existence of said league here on the ESPN campus, I'll let you know. Until the next time, may your favorite team give you reason to cheer!

Over the holidays, a friend brought over a trivia video game called Buzz, and I've been hooked ever since. This game originated over in the UK and is just awesome. Navigating through a variety of trivia questions, contestants can simply earn points and steal points from other players. My two favorite phases of the game include, answering questions right in hopes of not being the player holding a bomb set to explode. In that phase, you can only loose points if your competition takes too long to answer correctly and sticks you with the explosive. Then there is the sequence I find most vexing, the pie phase. Be first to get a question right and you can pie your opponent in the face. 2 pies and you're out of the round. Thing is, I wind up hitting myself with pies at an alarming rate. Turns out, I'm not the only one who can't put the Buzz controller down. Lebron James himself was playing Buzz during the NBA's all-star weekend. Of course my PS3 looks nothing like Lebron's. His is Gold, with the face of a lion on it and the words, King James. I bet he's got this whole pie aiming thing down. A word of caution, Lebron and all of the top athletes better moderate their gaming a little better than me. Gamers thumb is now an official injury like carpel tunnel. I can still muddle thru my gig with the repetitive stress injury, but guys like Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and friends better beware. Until the next time, may your team give you reason to cheer!

Now that I've had a few days to mull over Alex Rodriguez's admission of using performance enhancing drugs while he was with the Texas Rangers, I've drawn a couple of conclusions. First, I don't believe for one nano-second A-rod didn't know exactly what was being put into his body or by whom. Steroids stacking at the highest levels required help way beyond number 13's expertise. Second, now that Rodriguez has kind of admitted to using performance enhancers, I say kind of because the admission lacked major details….I think everybody should just go ahead and come clean. Be it Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa OR anyone who feels so inclined, let's just clear the air once and for all. We, as fans won't be able to get past the dark cloud of the steroid era in baseball, unless we know for sure, it's indeed dissipating. Steroids admissions would help us all move on and enjoy the game we love. I leave you with this final thought. I'm not sure what's more disturbing….the fact that some of the games greatest players have likely been on the juice, or the fact the guy who seemed a little "off" when he blew the whistle, Jose Canseco was right all along after all. Until the next time may your favorite team give you reason to cheer!

*Great to be a Florida Gator* So sorry, its been so long since my last post. Over the last several weeks, I managed to use vacation time to check things off of my sports "bucket-list." Tops on the list, attending a BCS title game. Hanging out in Miami during the first week in January is never a bad thing and the fact Oklahoma and Florida really put on a show, was AWESOME! You always hear analysts talking about the eyeball test….with my eyeballs I saw first hand what an amazing leader Timmy Tebow is on the field, and how at 80-85% percent healthy Percy Harvin is a truly gifted athlete. I also witnessed Brandon Spikes tenacious defense, leadership and bone-crushing hits. Charlie Strong's defense is not going to miss a beat, with Spikes coming back for his senior season. The loss of offensive coordinator Dan Mullen to Mississippi State will hurt the Gators, but for the first time in awhile, it looks like college football has a legitimate shot to have a repeat champion. When it comes to fan support, well Gator Nation has this whole tailgate thing down to an art form. From the grills fired up and the sound systems rocking, it was easy to get swept up in the excitement. I knew I happened upon the premier tailgate when the ultimate Gator, Erin Andrews and her sister Kendra walked up to say hi. It's so funny, in TV with some of our reporters its like we know each other, without actually ever meeting in person. Erin of course was mobbed be people wanting pictures and she couldn't have been more gracious. Her sister is a model and more than holds her own hanging out with EA in the looks department, plus she's really nice too. Inside Dolphin stadium, the game was, as you know, tremendous. If you ever get the chance to see a game there, do it. The facility has a pair of state of the art HD jumbo-trons. I felt like I was watching the game at home at times because those screens are so incredibly clear! Many thanks to my friends, Dan and Megan and their total hook-up for the ultimate national title game experience. Now, if someone could help me get that, "it's great to be a Florida Gator" tune out of my head, I could really concentrate on being back in snowy and frigid Bristol, CT. Until the next time, may your favorite team give you reason to cheer!

So I'm at work reading through this thing we call the Hot List, a list compiled by the ESPN assignment desk of the day's top stories, and I see a headline about the Stars Sean Avery getting suspended. When I get to the why, my eyebrows went to full arch. Avery, out for at least 2 skates and possibly more, disciplined for making what NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman called "inappropriate public comments, not pertaining to the game." Avery, going out of his way to smear his former girlfriend actress Elisha Cuthbert of TV's "24" and the movie "Old School" because Cuthbert's moved on and his dating Calgary defenseman Dion Phaneuf. (And at least 1 more NHL player - good for her, those guys are amazing athletes!) Yes, Avery issued a public apology for making disparaging remarks about Cuthbert's dating habits, but his public and embarrassing display is a reminder….men can act like knuckleheads when the Jealousy Monster rears its head. Good for the NHL on the Avery discipline front and for Dallas Stars ownership supporting the league one thousand percent. Hockey doesn't need to get bogged down with jilted boyfriend drama off the ice, when the action on it is so good. The Stars are staring up at the NHL best Sharks in the Pacific division and are already at a double digit deficit in the win column to San Jose. So Avery, please build a bridge and get over yourself and your former girlfriend too - your team doesn't need this silly distraction. Until the next time, may your favorite team give you reason to cheer!

*Rotten Apple Cup* Rivalry week really doesn't have the same zip Huskies/Cougars usually offers, but its historic none the less. According to our friends at the Elias Sports Bureau, Saturday's Apple Cup at Martin Stadium will be the first game in Pac 10 HISTORY featuring a pair of 10-loss teams. Last weekend, lame duck coach, Tyrone Willingham and his Dawgs earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first club in Washington football to go oh-fer on the home slate at Husky Stadium. As the nations LONE winless team, U-dub continues to rack up marks of futility that will likely never be matched. So you would think this Cougar fan would have decent hopes for a 2nd 'W' in what can only be called an AWFUL Coug season against the Huskies this Saturday. Sadly, I have a really bad feeling about this one. WSU's total defense ranks 112th in the nation and Wazzu was just shut out for the 3rd time this season, courtesy Arizona State. Head coach Paul Wulff said after the 31 to nothing Sun Devils beat down quote, 'I thought the game was a little closer than the score in terms of how we played.' CLOSER? Really?? Come on! Hopefully 'closer' in the Apple Cup means the Cougars actually score points, let alone win. My prediction for a final score, Cougars 3-Huskies 2. *Titans Worth Remembering* Tennessee is at 10 and oh and counting. I just love how Jeff Fisher's team just motors along without hype and fanfare. This time last year, everywhere you looked it was the "Patriots Pursuit of Perfection." New England had its own tab identifier on the ESPNews bottom line. No such mention for these 10 and oh Titans. Just this simple acknowledgement…. these guys could not only run the table, but eclipse the record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game season set by the 2000 Ravens who went on to win Super Bowl XXXV. Tennessee's surrendered 131 points to date, that Baltimore team only yielded 165. Until the next time, may your favorite team give you reason to cheer :)

*Peter Is A Rock Star.* Lucky to have tickets for ALCS game 5 at Fenway Park, not only did I witness one of the greatest comebacks in baseball post-season history, I got to watch a hall of famer at work. Seated just a couple of rows behind Baseball Tonight's Peter Gammons, I quickly learned first hand how wildly popular my colleague is. While working mind you, with scorecard handy and everything, Peter was constantly approached by fans for autographs and pictures. He couldn't have been more gracious, always with a smile and sharing a kind word, Peter was the picture of old and new school cool. He never turned anyone away and made several people's day. It got me thinking about my recent trip to Cooperstown, and seeing autographed baseballs with Peter's signature on them going for $75 a piece. After watching him work and relate to all who approached him, I think those baseball's may not be priced high enough. As I sit and type this blog, I do so with thanks to Mr. Gammons. His notes column in the Boston Globe, was actually a blog BEFORE the internet. His collections of random musings, about a variety of interesting points in the sports world, set the gold standard for sharing sports news and information. I am proud and lucky to call Peter Gammons a colleague and a friend. *Yes, WAZZU is that bad!* Monday, here in the newsroom, Scott Van Pelt approached me and gave me this look of sympathy…... mindful I love my Washington State teams and am physically pained by what is happening this year in the Palouse. While offering his deepest condolences, Scottie also warned me he's going to bang on the Cougs HARD on his radio show later this week, so I am using the forum to beat him to the punch. Yes, sports fans, Washington State University Football is the WORST in FBS history. Not once, not twice but now 4 times thanks to Saturdays 69 to nothing beat down courtesy USC, the Cougars have let the opposition hang at least 60 on them! Which means, Tony Bennett's basketball team at WSU is BETTER at keeping the opposition from reaching the 60 point threshold than the football team is. Now, going into that game I knew it was going to be bad, because I had a feeling Trojans head coach Pete Carroll would gladly use the oh-so weak Coug defense to pile up points and shore up the Trojans stock on the eve of the first BCS Standings….but even I didn't know it would be that AWFUL. I'm screaming at the TV like a lunatic, begging anyone in Crimson and Gray to PLEASE make a tackle, ANYONE. Yet, there was no takedown to take away the anxiety of witnessing the worst loss in Washington State University HISTORY. They've been playing football, since 1894 - a span of 1 hundred and fourteen years and Saturday was easily the most embarrassing. The fact, the Cougs were able to beat Portland State for their lone win this season, may indeed be proof of a higher or divine power. Of course, adding to the intense injury of the loss, the insult of being held scoreless. Something that hadn't happened for a span of 280 games - the last blanking, way back in 1984! Bless head coach Paul Wulff's heart. He's trying to run a spread offense with only 1 athlete on the roster with the skill position tools to make it happen. Brandon Gibson, a massively talented wide receiver, has no one who can really get him the ball. The kid on the brink of setting total catches and receiving yards records at WSU - had 1 catch for no gain against the Trojans. He's a senior with all-world talent who may get overlooked in Aprils NFL draft, IF people can't remember he was a Pac-10 offensive force in 2007. A first team All-Pac 10 selection in 2007, Gibson led the league in receiving yards with 1 thousand 1 hundred and 80, and a sick yards per catch average of 17.6. So yes, Scottie WSU football is the worst ever and that may cost the best receiver who's ever put on a Cougar uniform. Until the next time, may your favorite team give you reason to cheer!

*New Pain for a New Mariners Fan* To know me, is to know, despite being separated by 3,000 miles, my world revolves around my 7 year old nephew Branden. Before the Mariners debacle of a season was too painful to bear in person, I flew to Seattle this past May to take my nephew to his very first Mariners game. We had a blast! After the snacks ran out and the sugar wore off around the 5th inning, Branden really got into the game. He even asked what the big E-7 on the jumbotron meant when the White Sox made an error. Aunt Cindy explained each player has a number on the field and just 1 inning later when Raul Ibanez made a great catch in left, Branden screamed, "7 made the catch, 7 made the catch!" Ibanez then proceeded to launch a tape measure shot to right, (an estimated 443 feet), just as I was explaining to Branden how good a home run sounds coming off the bat! Much to my delight, the Mariners actually won that day and Branden's fandom was off to a great start. After the game, we picked up a foam finger and a Mariners zip-up sweatshirt for the boy to remember the awesome day. Fast forward to the Monday AFTER the M's finished their season with a mere 61 wins with Branden wearing the zip-up Mariners sweatshirt when a 6th grader screams at him, "The Mariners are so terrible they can't even lose right!" My nephew called me to ask why in the world this kid, he really didn't know was yelling at him about "our" team. I had to gently explain the kid was probably a fan too and just upset about the fact Seattle finishing the season with a 3 game sweep of Oakland, cost us the number 1 overall draft pick because the Washington Nationals finished with a worse record. Branden exclaimed, "some poor team was worse than ours Auntie? Wow, I feel bad for those National fans." While Branden was feeling bad for the Nats, I couldn't help but feel really good about laying the foundation for not only a good but even compassionate M's fan. Not that I'm all sugar & spice and everything nice. You see, when I made plans to attend that game, back on Mother's day with my sister Kim and my nephew, I specifically purchased tickets on the first base line so I could SCREAM at now former Mariner Richie Sexson for not being able to bat his weight! Of course my sister was totally panicky about the high likelihood of me letting salty language fly, despite my nephews presence. Of course, big Sexy got himself suspended for fighting, so it was Miguel Cairo at first, crisis averted. Hopefully when Branden is a little older, he won't be quite as out of hand in the fanatic department as his sports crazed Auntie Cindy. *Rays can Break the Bank in Vegas* According to those who run the show in Las Vegas……back in March the Rays were 150 to 1 long shots to win the World Series, 75 to 1 to win the AL Pennant. MGM sportsbook director Jay Rood tells Vegas Watch, Sin City will take the biggest hit if Tampa wins the pennant, and the smallest blow if the Angels get to the Fall Classic. Incredible when you consider, Baseball Prospectus predicted the Rays could win as many as 88 games---they were only off by 9 victories! May which ever team you root for, give you reason to smile. Hope you'll join David Lloyd and I for SportsCenter Saturday and Sunday morning! Until the next time, Cheers!