For the past two months, we’ve been preoccupied with the NHL playoffs providing extensive coverage along with some NBA mixed in. We haven’t really given our assessment on other stuff going on. Now has come the time to put some of those thoughts down. So let’s get to it in no particular order:

1.In the end, Billy Donovan realized that making the big move to the NBA was all wrong. That maybe the comfort of Gainesville and the college game is where the former Providence long distance bomber under ex-coach Rick Pitino belonged. Sometimes, the mind has a funny way of working and it can play tricks. While the opportunity to coach a rising Orlando Magic team was a good one, maybe after taking the job last week the 42 year-old realized that what he had accomplished already with the Gators was plenty. Or maybe he stepped back and saw how the pros weren’t too kind to Pitino the second time around or Tim Floyd or Leonard Hamilton.

It might be basketball in the “purest form” as Billy The Kid mentioned last week but coaching in the NBA is a completely different animal than college, where there’s more of a chance to build a long lasting legacy such as Mike Krzyzewski with Duke.

And so maybe it just came down to the fact that Donovan realized he already had the best job. One he enjoyed and was extremely passionate about. Maybe for once the kids mattered more along with his family. And if that’s the case even after a John Kerry-esque few days which might have hurt his squeaky clean image, then good for him! He made the right decision and did the Magic a favor.

2.Speaking of the Magic, they’ll now turn to ex-Heat coach Stan Van Gundy. You remember him? The coach who did a solid job with the Heat before Shaq came and essentially along with Pat Riley forced him out. Not that we’re blaming the Diesel here. Riley is Benedict Arnold and pulled the strings by coming back when it was convenient to help get Miami their first NBA championship. And yes, he proved he still was a great coach but what he did to Van Gundy was always a travesty.

Now the brother of Jeff gets another crack with another team in Southern Florida. He’ll have Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson to work with coming off a first round sweep at the hands of Detroit. Now it will be his show to run without any distractions from the two-faced Riley who always only beated to his drum.

And maybe a chance for some sweet revenge for a likeable guy who we can’t help but pull for. Can you believe the nerve of Riley to hold the Magic up for compensation? The Heat will receive a 2007 second round pick at this year’s draft and future considerations just to get Van Gundy out of the final year of his contract.

We’ll say this for Riley. He might be a snake but you got to give him credit for holding up Orlando here and getting what he could for a guy who was basically sitting on the beach chair probably fishing.

It definitely should make for some interesting games between Miami and Orlando next year.

3.According to a report out of an Oregon paper, Kevin Durant was the only player at a workout who couldn’t bench press at least 185 pounds. The 18 year-old who made NCAA history by becoming the first freshman to take home AP Player of The Year honors is a very talented versatile small forward but if this is true, he definitely needs to get much stronger because going up against NBA big men is a much tougher prospect. Hopefully, this is a wakeup call for what is one of the most exciting players we’ve seen in a long time.

4.With each guy one match away from the most anticipated grand slam final rematch in a long time, you just hope that Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer get there for what should be a breathtaking clay court battle. But first, Nadal must get through fast riser Novak Djokovic and Federer the same against Nikolai Davydenko before it becomes reality. And remember, Roger finally got Rafa a month ago in three sets. But it does leave us wondering if the 10-time slam winner can get the best of Nadal in best three out of five to make history by completing the career Grand Slam. Or will Nadal three-peat and start up some Bjorn Borg comparisons? Doesn’t matter yet. First, they each must prevail in Roland Garros later today.

5.By helping lead his team to their first Stanley Cup, former Devil Scott Niedermayer became the only active player to win four Cups. Along with a Conn Smythe, a Norris and Olympic gold, the defenseman has built up quite a winning legacy. But to win that elusive fourth one while teaming up with younger brother Rob was extra special. It’s not often in sports that such a great thing happens where two brothers team up to win a championship. When one considers what he turned down from Lou Lamoriello to go across the coast to play with Rob, he took a big risk. But family meant more here than money. And don’t underestimate Niedermayer probably realizing he’d accomplished everything he could in New Jersey winning three Cups but probably never would’ve gotten out of Martin Brodeur’s shadow even if he’d stayed and won a couple of more.

Sometimes, there really are happy endings. Though there are probably plenty of Devil fans who would beg to differ at this point. Bottom line: Niedermayer is a winner and didn’t need his former boss or teammates to prove it.
6.As nice it was to see the Niedermayers have their special moment where Scott handed the Cup to Rob, probably the best part was watching Teemu Selanne lift the hardware after 15 years (14 seasons). He came into the league as a baby faced Finn who was an electric finisher, setting the league on fire en route to the Calder with a rookie record 76 goals and 132 points with the Winnipeg Jets. He had waited a long time. Seeing the wide grin and reactions was priceless. Great stuff from a likeable athlete towards the end of a brilliant career.

7.Just think. The next time someone discusses Michael Vick, it won’t be for his breathtaking runs. Suddenly, pitbulls have taken on a whole new meaning. What do you think Clinton Portis is thinking right about now? Did anyone say Wizard of Oz and Scare Crow here?
8.So it only took senile owner Charles Wang five seasons to realize his ridiculous 10-year $85 million investment in Alexei Yashin wasn’t working out. We wonder what it finally took. Was it the four first round playoff exits with their captain utterly silent symbolizing why he was such a failure in Ottawa? Or was it the two assists in his last 12 playoff games? Or was it the one good move the owner made hiring Ted Nolan, who isn’t a fool and knew he had to get rid of Yashin if the Islanders were to have any shot at bringing back Ryan Smyth and Jason Blake?

And the chapter has finally closed on one of the all-time duds. Just remember then GM Mike Milbury gave up Zdeno Chara and a first round pick which turned into Jason Spezza. Oh don’t worry. Wang’s only on the hook for a cool $17.6 million to complete the buyout. Ah. To be an athlete sometimes. At least Yashin showed up and played in games unlike Carl “DL” Pavano.

Final thought. My broadcast partner Gary Harding talked about Garth Snow on our NY Hockey Report show Wednesday night. Newsflash: Snow had nothing to do with this move and isn’t calling the shots. The owner is. And that means the Fishsticks’ problems aren’t over. Not by a long shot. Just wait and see.

9.Now that the Yankees have finally decided to show up and play a little, we’re going to find out if they can save their season. Even if it means Roger Clemens back in Pinstripes starting tomorrow against the Triple A Pirates. And it says here that if Joe Torre’s club can’t sweep Pittsburgh at The Stadium, they can forget about being taken seriously.

10.Have you ever seen a worse outfielder than Bobby Abreu? Just saying.

11.Jose Reyes is the most exciting player in the game. The way he can terrorize opposing pitchers on the basepaths is great theater. But he learned a valuable lesson the other night after swiping second for steal No.31 off 44 year-old veteran Jamie Moyer. Never underestimate those tricky southpaws.

12.Did the Mets really believe Moises Alou would stay healthy? When El Duque continues to defy logic even after a brief DL stint and then returns continuing to baffle batters, what does that tell them? Alou’s still a good hitter and definitely gave the Amazin’s a boost hitting behind David Wright but anyone could’ve told them he was only going to be good for 90 to 100 games. And now, with Endy Chavez out a few weeks due to a hamstring injury and Shawn Green finally close to returning, suddenly their outfield is a mess. It’s a lot different when you’re forced to start decent bench guys such as David Newhan and Ben Johnson.

13.Considering how hot he’s tearing it up with Texas, who thinks the Mets couldn’t use Victor Diaz right about now? Remember him?

14.It only took one injury riddled year for the Dolphins to essentially give up on Daunte Culpepper. And for what? A 35 year-old Trent Green. There’s got to be a lot of chuckling going on in Minnesota.

15.Watching Maria Sharapova get taken apart and essentially go through the motions in a blowout straight set semifinal loss to Ana Ivanovic was a lot like watching her blown out by Serena Williams at the Australian Open. Clay isn’t like other surfaces for the big hitters and requires a ton of running and being able to slide into your shots. Maybe that’s why America had such a pathetic showing in Paris with not one male player getting out of the opening round, making it just the third ever time that’s happened in the Open Era at a slam. It also would’ve been nice if Serena had given Justine Henin a better battle in the quarters a few days prior.

16.LeBron James is going to have to much better than the 14 and six turnovers on just 4-of-16 shooting if his Cavs are going to give Tim Duncan’s Spurs a series here. Do you think they’re going to be seeing Tony Parker in their sleep? Maybe he can get up and down that fast because of who he’s marrying a month from now. What does Eva Longoria think?

17.Who makes better videos? Fergie or Shakira? You decide.

18.The Ducks finished off all four of their opponents at the Honda Center and improved to 8-0 all-time in close out games. To borrow something we heard the other night, must’ve been the presence of Snoop Dogg. Seeing him in a Ducks jersey kind of takes us back to the days of “Gin and Juice” and “Murder Was The Case.”

The NHL wants to promote their sport and attract actual audiences. Have rappers such as Snoop pitch it. It would work too.

19.It’s too bad Lindsay Lohan is such a train wreck because she has talent.
20.Make me care about Paris Hilton.

21.Almot twenty years after he made the first Die Hard, here comes a 52 year-old Bruce Willis pulling off sorts of crazy stunts in Live Free or Die Hard as the comical John McClane. And you know it will still have some scenes worth talking about.

22.Is there ever a normal day in the life of A-Rod? That’s one of the things ex-Mets GM Steve Phillips has been proven right about. Who knew the circus existed in the Bronx and we’re not talking about The Boss here?

23.Five hundred career saves for Trevor Hoffman should seal what should be a first ballot entry into Cooperstown. And the best part is he did it almost exclusively with one team- saving 498 of them with the Padres after coming over from Florida in 1993 in exchange for Gary Sheffield. There he is 14 years later still closing out big games for a good San Diego team who will be in a tight three horse race for the NL West all season with the Dodgers and Diamondbacks. With 18 saves, the guy who comes out to Hell’s Bells is right up there with ML save leader Jose Valverde. It was nice to see the closer record the milestone in true fashion with a punchout.

24.This Chasing Aaron thing is taking a little longer than most thought considering the way Barry Bonds came out of the gate.

25.When Michelle Wie wins a significant LPGA event, that’s when she’ll be taken seriously. Not because of what Annika Sorenstram said.

26.If MLB is really expecting Jason Giambi to rat out peers, they’re in for a rude awakening. To be honest, this whole crusade by Bud Selig to apply pressure on the injured Yankee slugger is a joke. All because he made reference to taking steroids in a USA Today article and had the audacity to criticize baseball. Giambi was actually right and that’s why Selig got upset. If they really wanted to make an example of him, they should’ve done it a couple of years ago when the story first broke. They need to wake up.

27.After a splendid rendition of the national anthem before Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Jordin Sparks can sing for me anyday. Who knew that ex-Giant Phillipi’s daughter will probably have a better career than her Dad, who btw was a pretty good player and didn’t fall and slip like most of the Giants’ secondary when the game’s on the line.
28.Who would you rather have right now for a key at bat? Abreu or Sheffield? Case closed.

29.Find me five better clutch hitters than Chase Utley. Just ask Mets fans.

30.Every year, Vlad Guerrero flies under the radar and he’s only one of baseball’s most talented players who puts up big numbers year after year since entering the league a decade ago when he came up as a highly touted prospect with the Montreal Expos. And here he is on a very good first place Angels club delivering clutch hits such as the walkoff home run he had against the Orioles the other night and putting up another monster season. Maybe just once he’ll really be appreciated. And it’s not like he doesn’t have an MVP. He edged Sheffield a few years ago. But it always seems like he’s not getting the type of credit that the other big stars do.

Maybe it’s because of where he plays. But all he does is put up consistent numbers year in and year out without a peep. It’s about time people start taking a look.