5 Things That I Am following This Week

1.  The NHL Draft - I love the NHL Draft.  The Maple Leafs fans that are always grumbling about their team's draft choices amongst themselves but loudly proclaim that this is the draft that will bring the rebirth of a Maple Leaf dynasty.  The rivals that poke and prod each other during the draft like the Canadiens and Bruins, Rangers and Devils, Blackhawks and Red Wings.  The trades that come during draft day.  The expectation of Free Agency in about a week and how your team drafting players plays into that.  The way that Gary Bettman gets booed.  The NBC Sports channel is carrying the draft live both Friday and Saturday.  And since it is true that Jordan Staal has said that he would like to team up with his brother Eric in Carolina, there might be another reason to watch the draft and see if the Hurricanes can pull off that trade with the Penguins.  The 10-year contract that the Penguins were willing to give to Jordan was rejected and this coming year is the last he is under contract.  Hopefully, this is the last year we see the Oilers having the #1 pick for a great while.

2.  The Saga Of Mike Miller.  This is the only positive that I see from Miami winning the title.  Miller grew up in Mitchell, SD.  50 Miles South of where I am from.  I am happy for him that he is now a World Champion.  And if this was his last hurrah because of all the injuries, then I stand up and applaud him.  He has done the state of South Dakota proud and is a great human being to boot.

3.  EURO 2012.  Rinaldo is showing why he is one of the top 5 players in the world.  He is willing Portugal into the Semifinals of the tournament.  Germany is looking like the top seed with Spain and Italy close behind.  Greece looks like they won't be able to stand up to the Germans, while Spain is favored vs. France and England is playing Italy in the Quarterfinals.  There have been 3 fines for teams.  England was fined over $6,000 for their fans trying to invade the pitch against Sweden.  The Croatian team was fined 65,000 Lira for their fans racially heckling a black player, and a Denmark Striker was fined 80,000 Lira for his underwear advertising.  You have had deaths of fans by drowning and stabbing, fans of teams rioting against each other and players becoming belligerent to each other during and after games.  And that has nothing to do with the English hooligans roaming around the countryside.  If there were more events like this throughout the soccer world, I would follow it much closer.

4.  F1 - Whether it is the mad scramble for the drivers championship or the revelation that Bernie Ecclestone bribed a German banker to sell part of a F1 team in 2005 for far below market value, it is just another week for the Big Boys of Open Wheel racing.  This weekend's European Grand Prix could be the race that we see a repeat winner for the 1st time in F1 this year.  Louis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and Sebastian Vettel are all within 3 points of the lead in the Season standings and there are rumors that Ferrari is looking at obtaining Vettel at year's end to team with Alonso in the Ferrari camp for at least 2013.  Parity has hit the F1 circuit and has produced one of the best years for it's racing in recent memory.

5.  Percy Harvin and whatever is wrong - In May, we had a happy Percy Harvin at Minnesota Vikings OTA's, saying that he was proud of his teammates in showing up to the voluntary workouts.  This week, we have him missing practice and demanding a trade.  And now he is blaming the media for all the speculation about what his future holds.  If you are not happy, then come out and say why and what you have told the team.  Otherwise, he needs to stop playing the childish games with the media and keep quiet about your displeasure.