1. FREENEY AS IN MEANIE.....At least the Chargers hope that's what they're getting after signing Dwight Freeney, the seven-time Pro Bowl free-agent to a two-year contract.....Needing help in the pass rush department, San Diego inked one of the best in the business, a player who has 107.5 career sacks, 44 forced fumbles and even three interceptions....In 11 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, Freeney was named All-Pro four times, and helped lead the Colts to a Super Bowl championship following the 2006 season......He has record seven double-digit sack seasons.....The question is does he have enough in the tank to give the Bolts a similar jolt on defense......Freeney had five sacks last season, his lowest total in six years.....
2. EXPERIENCE COUNTS......On one side, the San Antonio Spurs, four-time NBA champs and playing in the Western Conference finals for a second consecutive season....On the other side, the Mephis Grizzlies, first-time ever they have made it this far.....Predicitably, Game 1 of the NBA's Western Conference finals went the way of the Spurs, 105-83......San Antonio was up 31-14 at the end of the first quarter and that was all she wrote.....Kawhi Leonard, the former Aztec, had another big day, hitting 4-of-5 three-point shots and finishing with 18......Nevertheless, the series is hardly over......The Spurs won the first two games of last year's West finals, before losing four straight to Oklahoma City......
3. BACK-TO-BACK.....The Padres bounced back from a pair of losses to win the final two games of a four-game weekend set against the Washington Nationals, wrapping things up by tying a season-high for scoring in a 13-4 victory on Sunday.....On Saturday evening, Eric Stults pitched no-hit ball into the sixth as the Friars prevailed 2-1 against Cy Young candidate Jordan Zimmerman.....The Padres are 15-8 since April 24, and again are teasing the .500 mark, three games under at 20-23.....Heck, they're only 4 1/2 games behind first-place Arizona in the West.....But now the team with the NL's best record, the St. Louis Cardinals, come to town for three starting tonight with Jason Marquis facing rookie ace Shelby Miller......
4. ONCE BITTEN......By the Sharks, were the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, who dropped Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal, 2-1, in overtime at San Jose on Saturday night.....Despite the loss, the Kings still hold a 2-games-to-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, which continues tonight in San Jose with Game 4......Chicago and Detroit are even at a game apiece, with Game 3 slated for tonight in Detroit.....In the East, the Stanley Cup playoffs produced its first double-overtime game of this postseason last night in Ottawa, where the Senators out-lasted Pittsburgh, 2-1.....The Pens still lead the series, 2-1.....Boston beat New York, 5-2, to take a 2-0 series lead in that Eastern Semi......
5. A FORMALITY???.......Most would probably think so as the NBA's Eastern Conference finals get underway tonight in Miami with the defending champion and heavily-favored Heat entertaining the third-seeded Indiana Pacers.....Indy's tough defense subdued the Knicks in six, but few give the three-time ABA Champions (1970, 1972 and 1973 for those keeping track) much chance against LeBron James and Co.....Miami is 8-1 so far this postseason and has won 45 of its last 48 games overall.....But Indiana did take Miami to six games in last year's Eastern Conference semifinals......
dave smith 
Alex Kaseberg 
