Actually, a couple of non-sports events lead my column this week. As succinctly as possible, I offer the royal wedding and 'SEAL Puts Two in Bin Laden' as things we either wildly cheered or simply felt great about. For all those Brits who roared their approval of William and Kate's kiss on the balcony, even Man United's victory over hated Chelsea failed to please so many so completely. As for that successful mission in Pakistan, it wasn't like landing on the moon, but here's betting you heard the world "we" a whoooole lot regarding prideful feelings, and Jon Stewart, you got it right brother.

While Osama obviously leads the LOSER portion of things, the LAKERS having 20-3s rained on them and getting bitch-slapped into "Will they demolish the team?"-dom made an epically close second. Only the 1985 'Boston Massacre', a 41 point loss that included Kevin McHale's close-lining of Kurt Rambis, ranks as a worse playoff kicking. Speaking of BOSTON, LeBron (6-16 shooting, 15 pts.) and Chris Bosh (neck pain) looked VERY mortal in balance to Rajon Rondo performing like Superman, coming back from as ugly an elbow dislocation as you could imagine after getting tied up with D-Wade. Kevin Garnett's 28 and 18, THAT'S how a winner does it, even if the Celts couldn't recreate that intensity Wednesday and were eliminated.

FYI-- The Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose was named MVP, and if you've had the opportunity to watch him put up 30-plus a couple times a week on drives to the hole or any other way he chooses to score, you know there isn't anyone who deserved it more.

Going to the post as a 20-1 shot, Animal Kingdom's win in the Kentucky Derby was a piece of work over an 18-strong field that looked like a small cavalry charge. Despite never having raced on dirt before, he sure looked impressive in pictures at the finish line. Same attaboy! feeling for first time winner Regan Smith, whose one-car operation (Furniture Row) took the checkered flag ahead of everyone else in the Southern 500 at Darlington but was effectively upstaged by Kyle Busch wrecking Kevin Harvick four laps from the end. Novak Djokovic's wins 7-5, 6-4 over Raffy Nadal, in Madrid, on clay??!! Usually snapping a 37-match streak on Nadal's best surface while extending your personal streak to 34 straight this year makes you a winner for sure, but I'm not sure anyone knows it happened...

As a Charlotte resident, I was proud of all the compliments given to the well-attended (and played in magnificent weather) Wells Fargo Championship, where Lucas Glover took an extra hole to beat Johnathan Byrd. You couldn't ask for a better finish on national TV than two "local boys" who played together collegiately at Clemson determining the victor, especially when crowd favorite Phil Michelson kept yanking drives into the gallery and wound up tied for ninth.

And did anyone else love (or cringe at) the notion of Coast Union (CA) getting beat by Cuyuma Valley (CA) 48-47 in a 4 hour marathon high school that was only the regulation seven innings? I umpired arc pitch in FL for three years and medium pitch in NY, so the idea that the Coast pitcher "only" gave up 10 hits but walked 36, tossed 25 wild pitches and HIT 12!! is mind numbing. I salute the fact that Coast is small and only had the nine players, but GEEZ!

Glenn S.