Hockey, Not Basketball, Has Scorching Matchups

The hottest action this postseason is on ice. . . .

Seventeen NHL playoff games have gone into overtime. . . .

There have been a quadruple overtime, two triple overtimes, three double overtimes, superb goaltending, fierce checking, some pretty goals and plenty of surprises. . . .

Detroit’s 1-0 double-overtime win against St. Louis in the seventh game of their Western Conference semifinal series on Thursday, decided by Steve Yzerman’s blast from just inside the blue line, was as good as it gets in any sport. . . .

In contrast, the NBA playoffs have been tame. . . .

Game 1 of the ballyhooed Chicago-Orlando series was a dud. . . .

Someone should file a missing persons report on the Magic’s Horace Grant, Dennis Scott and Nick Anderson. . . .

The game was about as exciting as the NBA lottery that was conducted at halftime. . . .

The Philadelphia franchise, having just completed its 46th season, richly deserved the No. 1 pick over Toronto, which actually won the lottery but isn’t eligible to select first after one year in the league. . . .

All you needed to know about the sixth and decisive game of the Utah Jazz-San Antonio Spur series was that Adam Keefe outscored David Robinson. . . .

However, I still think Robinson often gets a bum rap. His supporting cast is not the best. . . .

Only one of Mike Piazza’s 11 home runs has been to left field. . . .

Piazza’s buddy, Eric Karros, never let his slump at the plate affect his fielding. Karros’ glove work this season has been better than ever. . . .

Included in the severance package former Angel president Richard Brown received from the new ownership was a lifetime pass to Disneyland. . . .

Hitting for the cycle--a single, double, triple and home run in the same game--is less common than pitching a no-hitter. . . .

John Mabry’s cycle for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday was the 212th in major league history. Dwight Gooden’s no-hitter for the New York Yankees against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday was the 218th. . . .

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Pat Day winning the Preakness aboard Louis Quatorze after Wayne Lukas replaced him on Prince Of Thieves with Jerry Bailey was great theater. . . .

However, Prince Of Thieves, who finished seventh, wouldn’t have won the race, no matter who rode him. . . .

After his front-running trip on Louis Quatorze, perhaps the veteran jockey will be able to shake his moniker of Pat “Wait All” Day. . . .

Favorite Cavonnier, who finished a distant fourth, looked as though his strong performance in the Kentucky Derby had taken a lot out of him. . . .

The sports talk show team of Chet Forte, who died of a heart attack Saturday at 60, and Steve Hartman made for good listening on XTRA. . . .

They never lacked opinions on the major topics of the day, but, despite being known as “The Loose Cannons,” seldom were outrageous. . . .

Forte, a 5-foot-9 guard who averaged 28.9 points a game for Columbia in 1957, should be remembered as one of the greatest college basketball players ever under 6 feet. . . .

Forte’s Lions played Fordham in an experimental game using a three-point line long before its time, and he shot the lights out. . . .

The most interesting thing about the announcement of the officials for the Julio Cesar Chavez-Oscar De La Hoya fight is that none of the three judges are from the United States or Mexico. . . .

Washed-up Thomas Hearns, 37, might fight Roy Jones Jr. That would be unfortunate. I feel the same way about a Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield match. . . .

Don King has offered Pernell Whitaker $4 million to fight Felix Trinidad in a welterweight title unification match. . . .

After watching her brother Carl Lewis finish a close second in outstanding time in the 100 meters at Atlanta on Saturday, TNT commentator Carol Lewis said, “The old man’s back.” . . .

Kickers aren’t supposed to be athletes, but Al Del Greco of the Houston Oilers won the NFL Cadillac golf championship for the fourth consecutive year. Then again, some people don’t think golfers are athletes. . . .

Thumbs up to Brett Favre for having the courage to admit that he is addicted to painkilling drugs. Now perhaps other NFL players with the same problem, and undoubtedly there are many, will seek help.