What's on Tap This Weekend?

It's been far too long since I put one of these forecasts together for the weekend. You see, things have been busy. Work, rest, play ... it all gets in the way of this bloggy thing. I'll try to be better, really I will. But no promises.

So what's on tap this weekend? The PGA Tour makes a stop at Riviera for what used to be the LA Open but has been corporatized into the Northern Trust Open. Does anyone else think that an event in LA having the word "Northern" in the title seems a little wrong? Just me? Okay then. I would love to see Weir pull off a win in this one as he did in back to back years earlier this decade, but as of 10:30 this morning his round is in the tank and it's going to take a strong effort on the back just to make the cut. Looking further up the leaderboard, some names like Mickelson, Campbell, Scott and Harrington are in good shape to challenge on the weekend and I would give even odds for the winner to come out of that group. John Daly is up there too after the first day, but you can look for him to collapse in a drunken stupor before the tournament is through. Finally, Freddy Couples is also in great position after the first day, but sadly I'm not convinced that his back can hold up for the full four days. I'll keep my fingers crossed though!

In the NHL, the normally busy Saturday night has the surging Leafs hosting a Bruins team that is clinging to the eighth playoff spot in the East right now. I like the Leafs in this one. I think they're going to continue their surge right through the end of the season just to break all of their fans hearts again in the last game of the year and miss the playoffs again. I'd feel more sorry for their fans if I didn't carry such angst against them for past transgressions like Borschevsky scoring the OT winner in game seven back in 1993. Yeah ... I can hold a grudge. The Western game on Hockey Night in Canada this week will be the Oilers coming out here to Vancouver to face the Canucks. This one's tough to choose because neither team is playing that great, but the Canucks have been better at home than the Oilers have been on the road. Additionally, Edmonton hasn't had much success out here in recent years, so I'll take the Canucks in a close one.

Finally, Daytona is this weekend. I don't know a damn thing about Nascar because I didn't grow up in a Red State, but I might click over to this for five or ten minutes in the hope that I'll see a giant crash. Of course, if the crash is really spectacular, it'll probably be on Sportscenter, so perhaps I'll just tune in for the highlights! Have yourself a great weekend!