Scripts » Raphael Assuncao 5 Michael McDonald 6 Eddie Wineland 7 Ta

This story was tired during round 2, but the media keeps hammering it like it has the narrative of a Philip Roth novel. The passing of St. Louis mother was tragic, as is any unexpected death. Or death in general. Death is tragic. Thats why tragedies end in death. This is a narrative trope older than the playoff beard. But did it "galvanize" the Rangers efforts? Perhaps. But when reporters answer their own questions by asking players, "Did the passing of Martys mum bring this team closer together?" the story is being written and not reported. Its one of the tragic flaws of sports journalism. Additionally, part of the story being left out is how St. Louis sulked like a petulant child when not named to Canadas Olympic team, played poorly when added to the squad justifying managements decision to leave him off in the first place as he did not fit into their system, and then forced his trade to New York. Good player and teammate? Maybe. Virtuous hero of a tragic narrative? Hardly.Celebrities(Source: FameFlynet Pictures)Welcome to TMZs NHL final. With the Stanley Cup being played in New York and Los Angeles, the opportunity presents itself for endless celeb spotting. Coverage will no doubt be tirelessly freckled with shots of Robert De Niro, Michael J. Fox, and Wayne Gretzkys daughter. "Oh hey, look! Its venerable character actor ?eljko Ivanek! He watches hockey just like a normal person!" I fully expect at least one, if not two, Scott Oake "Inside Hockey" features on Matthew Perrys beer league for displaced Canadians in L.A. If somehow Jay-Zed and Beyoncé make it rinkside, NHL media types might actually spontaneously combust, leaving a trail of iPhones and unwritten columns about who will play Marty St. Louis in the movie version of the postseason smoldering in the press box.Major Markets(Source: cgodley - Hollywood Reporter)Yes, L.A. and New York are the two largest media markets in the league, so ratings for this final should get a bump from years past, at least stateside. But in actuality, a Stanley Cup final on NBCSN 7 or whoever it is who televises hockey poorly in the United States these days still rates lower than a Reba marathon on CMT. Add in the fact that the NBA finals feature a rematch of last years epic Heat-Spurs series, a compelling Lebron as Jordan narrative, and the dichotomy of the Heats talents in South Beach and the Spurs team first philosophy, some Americans might not even find time to watch Reba. Certainly a major market clash is good for the NHL, and good for hockey. But it wont be the epic sea change in the sports national visibility and popularity that the media will portray it as.Canadians (Source: nhl.com/kings)In the absence of Canadian teams in the final, the nationalist hockey media will do its best to attach Canada to the series narrative as best they can. Theyll count the amount of Canadians on each team. Theyll do a feature on the Sutters, how theyre cheering on Darryl from Viking, but cant make it to the games because the spring crop needs a plantin. There will be mention of how many Canadian Olympians are on each team. Stephen Harper will somehow make an appearance. Therell be something about a loonie at centre ice. And, of course, the annual Bettman-MacLean smug-off where Ron will ask about Quebec City and Gary will wish he were still with the NBA. If it goes 7 games, the contrived Canadiana will get thicker than a beer commercial. The Unmentioned(Source: Dirk Shadd - Times)The final will be notable not just for the tired recycled stories of rounds past, but also the issues facing hockey that will not be mentioned. Sure, a wedding isnt the place to discuss your partners flaws, but during its second biggest moment of the year (to the inexplicably popular outdoor games) certainly some of the sports challenges could be included in the pre-game and intermission discourse. It would be interesting, and beneficial, to have the pundits debate why fighting barely exists in the playoffs yet is apparently crucial to the game, if Zenon Konopkas PED use is an isolated case or hockeys dirty little secret, or have an open dialogue about concussion protocol, or the lack thereof, especially in the postseason. And Dominic Moores story is a truly heartbreaking tale, but some moment should be found to mention how it has been ten years since Todd Bertuzzi ended his brothers career, how Dominic was at times ostracized from NHL circles because of it, and how the case has yet to go to trial. But, you know, Don Cherry trying to pronounce Anze Kopitar is interesting in its own way.The Stanley Cup final matchup promises an entertaining series. Both the Rangers and Kings are built around speed, hard forechecking, and timely goaltending. There will be plenty of stories that will grow organically. This is the beauty of sport; the story writes itself, and that story will be best told if its storytellers eschew the contrived and indulge in its evolution. Miami Heat Jerseys . Johns IceCaps erased an early two-goal deficit to come from behind and defeat the host Portland Pirates 5-4 on Saturday in American Hockey League action. Chris Bosh Jersey . -- Two nights after losing to the Eastern Conferences worst team, the Phoenix Coyotes handled the best. https://www.heatlockerroom.com/Bam-Adebayo-City-Edition-Jersey/ . The All Blacks played their best rugby of recent years when they beat South Africa 38-27 in Johannesburg two weeks ago, clinching the Rugby Championships in a match which has been hailed as one of the best ever played. Tyler Johnson Heat Jersey . Espanyol midfielder Sanchez intercepted Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizozs clearance and, having spotted a gap, risked using his less-favoured left foot to fire a beautifully precise long-range shot that bounced in from high up the near post in the 24th minute. Tyler Johnson Jersey . He insists hes not counting. "If youre thinking hits, youre not paying attention to wins," Altuve said Sunday after leading the Houston Astros past the Texas Rangers 3-2.Rankings were generated by a voting panel made up of media members. The media members were asked to vote for who they feel are the top fighters in the UFC by weight-class and pound-for-pound. A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC. A fighter can appear in more than one weight division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and therefore are not eligible for voting by weight-class. However, the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings. Rankings will be updated approximately 36 hours after each event. -- UFC.ca * Updated Monday, May 11 POUND-FOR-POUND RANK FIGHTER 1 Jose Aldo 2 Demetrious Johnson 3 Chris Weidman 4 Ronda Rousey 5 Cain Velasquez 6 TJ Dillashaw 7 Rafael dos Anjos 8 Robbie Lawler 9 Anderson Silva 10 Anthony Pettis 11 Renan Barao 12 Fabricio Werdum 13 Johny Hendricks 14 Vitor Belfort 15 Dominick Cruz HEAVYWEIGHT RANK FIGHTER C Cain Velasquez 1 (IC) Fabricio Werdum 2 Junior Dos Santos 3 Travis Browne 4 Stipe Miocic 5 Josh Barnett 6 Mark Hunt 7 Andrei Arlovski 8 Alistair Overeem 9 Ben Rothwell 10 Frank Mir 11 Roy Nelson 12 Matt Mitrione 13 Antonio Silva 14 Stefan Struve 15 Mirko Cro Cop LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT RANK FIGHTER 1 Anthony Johnson 2 Alexander Gustafsson 3 Daniel Cormier 4 Rashad Evans 5 Ryan Bader 6 Glover Teixeira 7 Ovince Saint Preux 8 Jimi Manuwa 9 Mauricio Rua 10 Rampage Jackson 11 Rafael Cavalcante 12 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira 13 Fabio Maldonado 14 Patrick Cummins 15 Jan Blachowicz MIDDLEWEIGHT RANK FIGHTER C Chris Weidman 1 Luke Rockhold 2 Jacare Souza 3 Vitor Belfort 4 Anderson Silva 5 Lyoto Machida 6 Yoel Romero 7 Gegard Mousasi 8 Tim Kennedy 9 Michael Bisping 10 Thales Leites 11 CB Dollaway 12 Costas Philippou 13 Tim Boetsch 14 Robert Whittaker 15 Roan Carneiro WELTERWEIGHT RANK FIGHTER C Robbie Lawler 1 Johny Hendricks 2 Rory MacDonald 3 Tyron Woodley 4 Carlos Condit 5 Matt Brown 6 Demian Maia 7 Tarec Saffiedine 8 Dong Hyun Kim 9 Jake Ellenberger 10 Kelvin Gastelum 11 Rick Story 12 Thiago Alves 13 Gunnar Nelson 14 Ryan LaFlare 15 Neil Magny LIGHTWEIGHT RANK FIGHTER C Rafael dos Anjos 1 Anthony Pettis 2 Khabib Nurmagomedov 3 Donald Cerrone 4 Gilbert Melendez 5 Michael Johnson 6 Benson Henderson 7 Edson Barboza 8 Myles Jury 9 Josh Thomson 10 Eddie Alvarez 11 Bobby Green 12 Tony Ferguson 13 Al Iaquinta 14 Beneil Dariush 15 Jorge Masvidal FEATHERWEIGHT RANK FIGHTER C Jose Aldo 1 Chad Mendes 2 Frankie Edgar 3 Conor McGregor 4 Ricardo Lamas 5 Max Holloway 6 Cub Swanson 7 Dennis Bermudez 8 Nik Lentz 9 Charles Oliveira 10 Clay Guida 11 Jeremy Stephens 12 Dennis Siver 13 Darren Elkins 14 Hacran Dias 15 Dustin Poirier BANTAMWEIGHT RANK FIGHTER C TJ Dillashaw 1 Renan Barao 2 Dominick Cruz 3 Urijah Faber 4 Raphael Assuncao 5 Michael McDonald 6 Eddie Wineland 7 Takeya Mizugaki 8 Aljamain Sterling 9 Johnny Eduardo 10 Bryan Caraway 11 Francisco Rivera 12 Iuri Alcantara 13 Frankie Saenz 14 Thomas Almeida 15 Erik Perez FLYWEIGHT RANK FIGHTER C Demetrious Johnson 1 John Dodson 2 Joseph Benavidez 3 Ian McCall 4 Jussier Formiga 5 John Moraga 6 John Lineker 7 Kyoji Horiguchi 8 Henry Cejudo 9 Zach Makovsky 10 Chris Cariaso 11 Dustin Ortiz 12 Wilson Reis 13 Timothy Elliott 14 Chico Camus 15 Brad Pickett WOMENS BANTAMWEIGHT RANK FIGHTER C Ronda Rousey 1 Cat Zingano 2 Miesha Tate 3 Alexis Davis 4 Sara McMann 5 Jessica Eye 6 Sarah Kaufman 7 Bethe Correia 8 Amanda Nunes 9 Liz Carmouche 10 Holly Holm 11 Marion Reneau 12 Julianna Pena 13 Jessica Andrade 14 Germaine de Randamie 15 Raquel Pennington WOMENS STRAWWEIGHT RANK FIGHTER C Joanna Jedrzejczyk 1 Carla Esparza 2 Claudia Gadelha 3 Jessica Penne 4 Rose Namajunas 5 Tecia Torres 6 Randa Markos 7 Paige VanZant 8 Maryna Moroz 9 Joanne Calderwood 10 Felice Herrig 11 Aisling Daly 12 Heather Clark 13 Juliana Lima 14 Angela Hill 15 Valerie Letourneau ' ' '