Pens prevail, Lakers lose, Strasburg goes #1

The Pittsburgh Penguins extended the Stanley Cup final last night by beating the Detroit Red Wings 2-1. Sure, its just one victory, but after suffering a 5-0 beatdown in Game 5, the Penguins looked dead. Now, thanks to some courageous play and good coaching by Danny B (head coach Dan Bylsma, that is) the series comes down to a winner take all Game 7 on Friday night. 

I am provoked to say good coaching on Bylsma's part because of the re-introduction of Petr Sykora into the Penguin lineup for Game 6. Sykora had been absent since the beginning of the Washington series, and the Pens had been cruising without him. However, after the Game 5 inplosion, Pittsburgh needed a spark, or at the very least a change. The Sykora move provided this, and the Pens wound up winning Game 6. Now I'm not saying Sykora is the reason the Pen

s won last night; I'm merely saying that the mental impact of him being on the bench cannot be understated. If I were Jordan Staal, Sid the Kid, or any other Pens player, I would see Sykora on the bench and say "alright, we are not the team that sucked it up in Game 5." That little bit of motivation would play a big role in my mind, and I'm sure it had a factor on the other Pens players last night.

I'm not a huge fan of the NBA. The only entertaining part of the NBA playoffs for me this year has been Dwight Howard's impression of his head coach, Stan Van Gundy (who, by the way, is an alum of SUNY Brockport. Gotta give props to my fellow alumnus). Anyway, all I'm gonna say is that I'm rooting for Orlando. Kobe just kinda rubs me the wrong way, and I can't find myself rooting for him. He's won three titles already - he doesn't need anymore. I hope that the Magic can battle back and even the series tomorrow night. 

Finally, Steven Strasburg was selected by the Washington Nationals with the #1 overall pick in the MLB draft last night. Here are some quick facts about Strasburg: His fastball has been clocked at 103mph. He went 13-1 for San Diego State this past season, and had nearly 200 strikeouts in just over 100 innings pitched. His ERA this past season was 1.32 (don't quote me on that one - I don't remember the exact decimals).

Those are crazy numbers. What is even more crazy is the the contract he may be signing later this summer. Strasburg's agent, the infamous Scott Boras, is already hyping his client and building him up as one-of-a-kind. 

Mark Prior received $10.5 million in 2001, which is currently the highest rookie payout in history. Boras is believed to be looking for several times that amount.

Here is what bothers me: Strasburg has not proven anything in the big leagues. He has not thrown a pitch in Washington. Sure, he has a huge amount of talent. But he's not proven. Why pay a guy millions and millions of dollars if he could potentially end up as a total bust? 

Strasburg SEEMS to be the lowest-risk player to come about in some time. But still, I'm all for a rookie contract cap (not just for baseball, but for all sports). Set a limit as to the amount of money a rookie can make during his first full season in the pros. Then, if he turns out to be the real deal, either give him a new contract, or provide incentive clauses that will reward the player for good performances. It makes more sense than giving an unproven kid millions upon millions of dollars that could potentially be flushed right down the drain.

Thats all for now. Stay tuned.