Penguins did some growing up on the way to the Cup

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

I'll be the first to admit it when I'm wrong.

The NHL indeed saved the best for last.

The series had everything you could possibly ask for in a playoff championship in any sport, including an underdog winner. While the Penguins always had the talent to defeat the mighty Red Wings, there was nothing but doubt surrounding their ability to pull off the series, especially after they got dominated in back-to-back 3-1 losses to start the series, then were trounced, 5-0 in Game 5.

There even had to be doubt when Sidney Crosby was unable to play most of Game 7 with an injury. But still, the Penguins showed that youthful resiliency that was the reason they made to the post season in the first place. Let's not forget that this was a team that was not assured a playoff spot with three quarters of the season done.

While the spotlight will go to the kids - Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury, this championship would not have been possible without the timely leadership of some of the veterans.

Maxime Talbot's two goals propelled the Pens to victory in Game 7, but let's not forget his other two-goal performance in a must-win Game 3 for Pittsburgh. And let us not forget the defensive heroics of Rob Scuderi, without which there would not have been a seventh game.

The knock on the Penguins going into the series was that it was Sid the Kid and Malkin and who else? Against a more complete team like Detriot, how did they stand a chance? With just Crosby and Malkin, they didn't. But the role players did the little things and they won the way you're supposed to win championships - as a team.

Lester takes a tough no decision as the Sox win in 13

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

As Chad would tell you, there's nothing worse than having your story all ready to go only to see the game sent to extra innings. Good bye story, and hello late night ballgame. That's what happened last night. John Lester was dominant for the 3rd straight start. He struck out 11, which made it the 3rd straight game he struck out at least 10 batters. He allowed 1 run on 2 hits in 7 innings. I was going to talk about how he out dueled Joe Blanton in a great 2-1 pitching duel. Thanks to Ramon Ramirez, I had to "rip" up that article and start from scratch. That's two straight bad outings for Ramon allowing 3 home runs over those two appearances.

The game was a good ol' fashion National League game though. Double switches galore, 4 pinch hitters, and12 total pitchers. It's one of the reasons why I love the Senior Circuit. It takes a better game manager to run an NL team. As you all know by now, last nights' game ended in 13 innings after the Sox scored 3 runs in the top of the 13th. You watched the game, so I don't need to run a full recap for you. What I would like to touch on are a few observations I had from the game.

- Red Sox pitchers held the Phillies scoreless for 11 of the 13 innings.

- Despite a few wildness problems, Daniel Bard had little to no trouble running down Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino. He is the closer of the future.

- Dustin Pedroia should be moved back to the 2nd slot in the batting order. This is not just because he went 0 for 7 last night. He's batted in the lead off spot for 11 games this season. He's only 8 for 47 with a .170 batting average at the lead off spot. He has an OBP of only .272. That is .147 points lower than his OBP in the number two slot. It's time to move Ellsbury back to lead off, Pedroia to 2nd and move Drew, Youkilis and Bay down to 3, 4, 5.

- I can't stand Shane Victorino, a.k.a. The Flyin' Hawaiian. He's such a pesky player that always seems to get a big hit or make a great catch. He didn't come through with the big hit in the 13th, but made an outstanding diving catch robbing Drew of a sure fire double or triple.