Cleaning out the notebook...
On Friday night, former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Bobby Lashley moved his record to 3-0 in mixed martial arts with a 24-second win over veteran Mike Cook.
Cook came to the ring wearing a lucha libre mask, mocking Lashley and his past in the WWE.
Lashley would not touch gloves when the match began. Soon after, the bout was over.
The 6-foot-3, 249-pound Lashley won his first MMA bout in 41 seconds over Joshua Franklin and his second by decision over Jason Guida. Lashley's next bout will come against 6-4, 345-pound Bob Sapp, a former player in the NFL, in Biloxi, Miss., on June 27.
McHale's Wolves?
It looks as if the Minnesota Timberwolves will sign Portland's Tom Penn as their new head of basketball operations and pave the way for Kevin McHale to remain as their head coach.
There is a catch.
McHale wants a two-year deal, while the Timberwolves would rather give him a one-year deal and then have Penn re-evaluate for the second year.
What does it matter?
Contracts for coaches in the NBA are about as good as contracts for coaches in the NHL: They are good for nothing.
An owner can fire a coach at any time, so I guess the big difference is the fact that if the T-wolves want to fire McHale after the first year of his new contract, it could cost them more money due to the fact he has a two-year deal in hand.
Streak snapped
Ryan Zimmerman's 30-game hitting streak was fun to watch. The potential all-star third baseman has carried a sizzling hot bat so far this season for a team that is far from sizzling.
In Saturday's first game of a scheduled day-night doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies, Zimmerman blasted his ninth home run of the season en route to a 2-for-4 day, with two RBI.
Entering Saturday night's half of the doubleheader, Zimmerman was batting .366.
Stone cold
Boston Red Sox David Ortiz has been benched for this weekend's series with the Seattle Mariners.
Ortiz has batted 158 times so far this season, with no home runs and a dismal .208 batting average.
Game 7 x 2
The NBA will have two series decided by a Game 7 showdown today, with the Los Angeles Lakers playing host to the Houston Rockets at 3:30 p.m., on ABC and the Orlando Magic visiting the Boston Celtics at 8 p.m., on TNT.
The two teams which played for last year's NBA title are on the verge of being eliminated from this year's playoffs.
It would be a very big upset if the Rockets pull it off in the Western Conference, while the Magic could very well oust the Celtics today, despite the game being played in Beantown.
The Denver Nuggets in the West and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East await today's winners.
And speaking of the Cavs, did you know they are 8-0 in this year's first two rounds of the playoffs?
The Cavs swept Detroit and Atlanta on their way to the Eastern Conference Finals.
I still think the Cavs and Lakers will face each other for this year's crown.
Jeff Christian is a freelance columnist and he appears in The News & Messenger each Sunday. You can reach him at christianjeff@rocketmail.com.
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