Last night, the Miami Heat took a commanding 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals over the Detroit Pistons with an 89-78 win in Miami.  Shaquille O’Neal scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds, but most important of all, is looking like the Shaq of old and not an old Shaq.  Proof of this came when Shaq blocked a shot, grabbed the looseball, and went coast-to-coast.  It reminded me of the few times Shaq did that during his days at LSU.  Nothing like watching a big man dribble the ball downcourt. In any case, Dwyane Wade led the Heat in scoring with 31 points and attacked the basket repeatedly as his 19 free throw attempts show.  The man just seems to do whatever he wants.  Detroit’s Tayshaun Prince paced a below-average Pistons offense with a mere 15 points.  The Pistons only shot 39.0% from the floor and have looked tired for long spurts during this series.  The Pistons hope to play inspired and revitalized ball on Wednesday when the series heads back to Motown for Game Five.  If the Pistons don’t, the Heat will head to the NBA Finals to face the winner of the following series…

*Tonight is Game Four between the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks and it will be a crucial game for both teams.  Should the Suns win, they’ll tie up the series at two games apiece.  However, it’s been rough going for the Suns who haven’t been scoring as much as they’re used to, especially without Raja Bell, who is out for tonight’s contest.  Bell not only brings offensive punch (something Leandro Barbosa is capable of, but just not now for some reason), but also defensive tenacity.  Hopefully for the Suns and their fans, Bell will be on the court as soon as possible.  If the Mavs win this game, they take a three games to one lead and head to Dallas for Game Five, which will be played on Thursday, to close out the series.  At this point, it seems like a done deal that the Suns will “set” if they lose tonight’s game.

Albert Pujols continues to hit homeruns and last’s night’s 3-run homer was the difference maker for his St. Louis Cardinals beating division foe, the Houston Astros 3-1.  Last night’s dinger was number 25 in only 51 games for Pujols.  So, yup, there is another homerun-related story to watch this season after Barry Bonds’ quest to pass the Babe is now accomplished.  However, the difference with this storyline is that people actually like Pujols.

*After going 5-0 with a 1.35 ERA in April, Greg Maddux tries to get one win in the month of May, a month that saw Maddux disintegrate to the point of bashing a bat into a water cooler in the dugout.  Greg Maddux?  Mr. Cool and Cerebral?  I guess a month in which Maddux is currently 0-4 with a 7.81 ERA will do that.  He deals tonight to the Cincinnati Reds.
*Among the callups of the Philadelphia Phillies’ Cole Hamels and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s Jered Weaver, the St. Louis Cardinals’ Anthony Reyes may be lost in that stud rookie pitcher mix.  However, make no mistakes, Reyes is a good one.  Tonight he’ll pitch his second game against the Houston Astros in St. Louis.  In his first game against the Kansas City Royals, Reyes went 5.2 innings, walked one and struck one out on his way to his first win this season.  A second one could be in order tonight against the ‘Stros.
*And what I said about Dan Haren of the Oakland Athletics in yesterday’s, yeah, I’m big enough of a man to say I was wrong… although he did have a ton of K’s!

*Tonight in the NHL, the Carolina Hurricanes look to close out the Eastern Conference series against the Buffalo Sabres and are counting on a rookie goalie, Cam Ward, to bring them closer to the Promised Land of a Stanley Cup.  The Hurricanes lead the series 3-2.  The puck drops tonight at 7:30pm.

Enjoy the games!