Man, June already?  Sorry, for not bringing your dose of TSTC yesterday, but I’m back today!  So, let’s get started!

NBA: Wow, how great did Dirk Nowitzki look last night against the Phoenix Suns?  The man was unstoppable and set a Dallas Mavericks playoff record for points in a game with 50.  Add in the 12 boards Nowitzki snagged and the boy worked hard in the Mavs 117-101 blowout victory, which put the Mavs up three games to two in the Western Conference Finals.  Ths Suns put in a good effort and actually put a run together in the fourth quarter, but then Nowitzki turned it up and seemingly couldn’t miss from the floor or charity stripe.  The series heads back to Phoenix for Game Six tomorrow and tips off at 8:30pm EST.

*In tonight’s Game Six, the Miami Heat could close out the Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons.  The task will potentially be easier than in Game Five, as tonight’s game will be played in Miami.  Last time, Pistons SF Tayshaun Prince scored a playoff career-high 29 points, which was a major factor in the Pistons 91-78 Game Five win.  But that was just one reason that led to the win; probably the most important difference is that the Pistons looked like the Pistons of old and played defense with relentless tenacity.  Did you see that Ben Wallace block on Shaquille O’Neal’s dunk attempt?  Nasty!  If the Pistons bring “the nasty” again tonight, homecourt advantage for the Heat may not matter.  It should be a good battle tonight.  The game starts at 8PM.

MLB: It’s official official - Roger Clemens will join the Houston Astros this season and should make his MLB debut this season on June 22 against the Minnesota Twins at home.  To prepare himself, Clemens will start at Single-A Lexington on June 6, Double-A Corpus Christi on June 11, and then Triple-A Round Rock on June 16.  If this move is enough to propel the Astros to the playoffs remains to be seen, but I’m looking forward to watching the Rocket do his thing.  It isn’t everyday that you get to watch a guaranteed first-ballot Hall of Famer who still performs at a high level.  Enjoy it while you can, folks.

* A couple of pitchers who have a good chance to make the Hall of Fame take the mound tonight to become the Majors first pitcher to nine wins.  The New York Mets’ Tom Glavine will try to accomplish the feat against the San Francisco Giants and Barry Bonds, who should play after resting his body the last few days.  Curt Schilling of the Boston Red Sox deals to the Detroit Tigers, who felt the wrath of another A.L. East opponent as the New York Yankees took three of four games in Motown recently.  The Tigers will definitely try to get back on track against Schilling.

* Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim rookie pitcher Jered Weaver will try to build on his MLB debut against the Baltimore Orioles when he went seven frames without giving up a run, striking out five and only walking one.  Weaver was highly touted coming out of Long Beach State just a couple of years ago and probably would have been the number one overall pick instead of 12th overall, but Scott Boras screwed that up.

*2005 Cy Young Runner-Up, Dontrelle Willis of the Florida Marlins looks to get back on a winning trend as he’s lost his past six decisions in a row.  However, it will be difficult to reverse that trend tonight as Willis and the Marlins head into the thin air of Colorado when they face the Rockies.  The Florida hitters won’t complain, but Willis just might.

NHL: Congratulations to the Carolina Hurricanes and the Edmonton Oilers who meet in the Stanley Cup Finals, which start on Monday at Carolina.  The two teams never met during the regular season, so this will be an interesting matchup to watch.

Enjoy the games!