The late spring into the early summer is a great time for professional sports. Here are a few observations regarding some of what’s happening in the NHL, NBA, NFL, NASCAR, PGA and MLB.

NHL

The Bruins are out and I’m pretty unhappy about that. The Canes will play the rejuvenated Pittsburgh Penguins. Look for the Penguins tp take the series. They’ve got Crosby, Malkin, Gonchar and Guerin. Who will they play for the Stanley Cup? I’m thinking that the Red Wings will beat the Blackhawks in their series. The final outcome—Detroit gets to dance with the Stanley Cup for the 12^th time. The Wings just have too much depth to be beat.

NASCAR

Kyle Bush leads the standings in the Sprint Cup Series with Carl Edwards just 208 points and Jimmie Johnson just 369 points behind. Bush notched three straight wins in March and another in May. The next race is in Charlotte on May 24 as NASCAR drivers race in the Coca-Cola 600 at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway loop. For a few years, this track favored Johnson. He owned it from 2003-2005.  Each of those years he won the race. Could this be Jimmie Johnson’s come back season at the Charlotte track?

MLB

The Toronto Blue Jays continue to be this unexpected offensive machine! They have scored 231 runs in 40 games and held opponents to 172 runs. The first stat is the best in MLB and the second is third best in the American League. The Blue Jays also have the pitcher with the most wins in MLB on their roster. Roy Halladay earned his eighth victory of this young season, making the Toronto Ace 8-1. He has a 2.78 ERA and 57 strikeouts. Presently, the Red Sox are three games back with a 22-16 record and the Yankees are 4.5 games behind the birds from Canada at 20- 17. By the way, watch out for Tampa Bay as they are a mere 6.5 games away from first. They have won three straight and the Yanks five in a row.

NBA

So now we know that in the East it is the Orlando Magic versus the Cleveland Cavaliers and in the West it’s the Denver Nuggets against the Los Angeles Lakers. Those are the match ups for the conference finals. The East should be won by LeBron James and the team from Cleveland. The Cavs are simply too good, too deep and too driven to be beaten. They are also more talented and healthy than the Magic. Who will win the West? I believe that it will be the Denver Nuggets. Looking at the rosters, the Los Angeles Lakers are more talented but the Nuggets play more as a team. Plus, Denver is a better defensive team. Denver meets Cleveland in the NBA Finals with the winner of the Larry Brown Trophy being the Cavs. 2009 will be the first time that the Cleveland franchise wins it all. Congratulations ahead of time!

PGA

The winner in this category goes to a real winner. Irishman James Lowry took the Irish Open on Sunday. There are a few elements of this story that are simply fantastic. The first is that Lowry is an amateur and the second is that he is from Ireland. The hometown boy angle is a real crowd pleaser. Way to go, Mr. James Lowry!

NFL

I have a few things to say about this league. First, I simply hope that the NFL rap sheet starts to get shorter. There are just too many stories about football players getting into all sorts of trouble. If I ran some stats, I’m sure that of all professional sports leagues in American that the NFL would hold first-place for most arrests. Second, I’m hoping players play and stop jabbering and showboating. Sure, I’m talking about one specific guy who now resides in Buffalo. I also hope that guys who have retired stay retired. I’m wishing Al Davis would go away. Finally, I’m hoping we see another rookie QB or two come to the forefront. In a few months the pre-season begins!

Enjoy this week in sports!