The Fives: April 12th, 2010

Five observations from Sunday in sports…

1.    Nice to see Phil Mickelson win another green jacket yesterday.  While the focus has been on Tiger for the last five months, Phil has been dealing with a lot as well.  For him to really put some of that aside and see how well he played this weekend, it will be something that he and his family can carry with them as this year moves along.

2.     The NHL Playoffs started three days early as the Rangers and Flyers essentially played a play in game yesterday.  You could tell both teams had a playoff mentality as it was a low scoring, tight game.  If it wasn’t for the shootout, who knows how many overtimes it would have gone.

3.    Big effort by the Bulls on the road last night to take control of the 8th playoff spot in the East.  It’s just really tough for the Raptors right now, having to play big games like this, without their best player.  They can still make the postseason, but at this point, everything will have to break right for them.

4.    Now we can start to see why the Phillies were trying to get Roy Halladay.  To have a true workhorse at the top of that rotation, knowing that more times than not he can give you the kind of production he did on Sunday, is something that everyone in Philadelphia, teammates and fans both, should enjoy watching this season.

5.    While it may not be the same case with Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers owners made clear to everyone on the team that if you are not going to fit into the profile of the organization and their beliefs, they will move along without you.  Interesting that the Jets now have Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes, but will not have both of them on the field for the first month of the season.

Five top performances from Sunday…

1.    Phil Mickelson: a 5 under 67 in the final round of The Masters to win his 3rd green jacket

2.    Roy Halladay, Phillies SP: 0 runs on 7 hits with 8 K’s and a CG in PHI’s 2-1 win over HOU

3.    Sidney Crosby, Penguins C: 2 goals and 3 assists in PIT’s 6-5 OT win over NYI

4.    Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers G: 46 saves in NYR’s 2-1 SO loss to PHI

5.    Albert Pujols, Cardinals 1B: 3 for 5 with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs in STL’s 8-7 loss to MIL

Five events to watch on Monday…

1.    MLB: Nationals at Phillies, 3:00 PM (Defending NL champs open at home)

2.    MLB: Red Sox at Twins, 4:00 PM ESPN (1st official game at Target Field)

3.    NBA: Raptors at Pistons, 7:30 PM NBA TV (Toronto tries to keep slim playoff hopes alive)

4.    NBA: Thunder at Trail Blazers, 10:00 PM (More playoff positioning in the West)

5.    MLB: Pirates at Giants, 10:00 PM (Upstart Bucs continue West Coast trip in SF)

Have a good day.