Ok then.....nobody's perfect!

24 hours ago, all seemed right in the sports world....today, reality set in.

Shahar Peer, Israeli tennis teen sensation, bowed out of the fourth round of the French Open, losing a tough 3 set match to former tennis queen Martina Hingis. This marks the furthest an Israeli woman has survived in a Grand Slam event, the last being Anna Smashnova in 1998. Who eliminated Smashnova 8 years ago? Martina Hingis....

And yet I am still quite proud of Peer's performance, and my expectations for her career are high. We will hear of her again, and she will, eventually, win a Grand Slam. Yasher Koach, Shahar!!!

Now to hockey....Oilers blew a 3-0 lead last night, and even worse, Dwayne Roloson suffered a season ending knee injury with 6 minutes to go in the game (picture above). Roloson, picked up at the trade deadline by savvy GM MacTavish, was the difference maker for the Oilers this postseason. Now, with backup Ty Conklin in nets, it seems the Carolina Hurricanes are in excellent position to win their first Stanley Cup in the franchise's history.

With role players like Recchi and Weight (picked up at the trade deadline), and the off season signing of defending Cup champ Cory Stillman, coupled with the excellent play of rookie netminder Cam Ward, it seems only a matter of time before Rod Brindamour and company hoist Lord Stanley's Cup. While I have a deep disdain for the club (they knocked out the Habs after going down 2-0), it just goes to show that the best teams win the championship, not the teams with the best players.

While nothing in hockey is a guarantee, look for the 'Canes to take care of business promptly.

And even if the Oilers get swept(not gonna happen, but even if they do), they still had an amazing run, and lots to look forward to for next year. The front office in Edmonton always claimed that they would succeed under a salary cap system; a system that "leveled the playing field", and their continued success has proved themselves right. Good on them...and good on the "New NHL"!!!

Later, I will comment on this proposed "Peace Plan" (authored by terrorists like Marwan Barghouti) that the media has grasped as the last chance for an end to the conflict in Israel. While at face value it seems like a nice plan, anyone who actually reads it will know how wrong that assumption is.....but I'll leave that to later.