Weekly Sports Stroll

Alright, I just wanted to address a few of the week's subjects in a post that we'll for now call "Weekly Sports Stroll."

For The Record-While golf may have been hit somewhat by this financial crisis, it was probably hurt more by the absence of the greatest golfer to ever walk the earth, Tiger Woods. Next week Tiger makes his return, fans of the US Open champion should be pleased, but the PGA should be ecstatic.

For The Record-My heart leaped when Kevin Garnett ushered himself to the bench after injuring his knee. The season and the chance to repeat flashed before my eyes. I certainly don't think the path to the title will be any easier this year, but without Garnett, the Celtics' chances are abysmal. Rondo was great in the loss to Utah, but Pierce struggled and fouls plagued the entire front court...

For The Record-I'm glad to see Charles Barkley back at TNT. I found the interactions between Chris Webber, Kenny Smith, and Gary Payton to be humorous, but Chuck always is so candid and was dearly missed.

For The Record-Phoenix's hiring of Terry Porter, a defensive minded coach, for the personell that they had may have been the wrong decision, but so far, firing him seems to be the right decision. The Suns are red hot, having won 3 straight games. However, with Stoudamire out now for an extended period of time, Shaq and Steve Nash have to get back to playing great basketball. Shaq has been pretty good this year, and it appears that the Suns are having a lot more fun playing basketball. With exciting players like Leandro Barbosa, the Suns run and gun offense has made them one of the funnest teams to watch in the Association.

For The Record-L'histoire se joue ici - agree or disagree? I have to vehemently disagree. You would think being 21 points behind the first place Bruins is bad, but then the turmoil with Alexei Kovalev and this new saga with the Kostitsyans arises and things have gone from bad to worse for the Habs. The squad is struggling to maintain its standing in the playoff hunt, and if another showdown with the Bruins happens, expect the Bad News Bruins to make history of this year's Habs.

For The Record-I am glad that the Bruins don't have to go to Europe to start next season. Having seen the toll that it took on the Red Sox opening in Japan, I can only say that the extra mileage is not welcome especially in a game that is so physical. While it's a great opportunity for the four clubs to expand into Europe (especially the Red Wings who feature five prominent Swedes in Johan Franzen, Tomas Holmstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Mikael Samuelson and Nicklas Lidstrom), I think the costs may outweigh the benefits in this case.

For The Record-I'm glad that Leach got a five year extension. He really deserved it. If Texas Tech had let him go, it would've been one of the worst mistakes a school has ever made. He put them on the map.

For The Record-Great to hear that Michigan lowered their ticket prices for next year considering the economic crisis that has hit hard areas around Ann Arbor. However, I would pay that $1.43 extra a game for a team that performs better on the field.

For The Record-Carlos Tevez looks to be on his way out of Manchester United at the end of this season. I see him as a tremendous fit at Barcelona over the Arsenal trio of Van Persie, Adebayor, and Fabregas because of his partnership with Lionel Messi for the Argentinian National Team. At the same time, the idea of a Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc central midfield blows my mind as well, but I would hope that that doesn't happen any time soon.

For The Record-Speaking of Arsenal, it seems many of their players are getting healthy soon. They are playing more inspired now, and with Arshavin debuting tomorrow, Walcott and Eduardo returning in a couple weeks, Rosicky and Cesc set to return in a month, all of a sudden, things are looking bright at the Emirates. As of now, the Gunners find themselves 5 points behind Chelsea and 7 points behind Aston Villa in qualifying for Champions League play, but with the new inspired football they are playing, I expect them to overtake Chelsea for the Champions League.

For The Record's play of the week: Alex Ovechkin's ridiculous goal