Sport Sunday: Sidney Crosby in the pool, Rafa Nadal and the Old Dark Navy Blues

From: Speed o Rex

 The Pittsburgh Penguins could take all the glory tonight, at the Nashville Predators, in game 6 of the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup finals.  Pittsburgh leads the series, and could win it.  Nashville, though, wants to measure up to their name, and tie the series, which the Penguins lead 3-2.  This series has been about home field advantage, with the hosts winning each game.  Pittsburgh didn't disappoint the home crowds on Thursday, pulling out a win to get the go ahead game.  Penguins' Sidney Crosby has played aggressively in the series, and several altercations have broken out between him and Predators P.K. Subban.  "Still a lot of work to be done," Crosby said. "We know we're going to face a desperate team. We've already played two games there and know the atmosphere and know how much they feed off their fans. We've still got a lot of work to do there."  Crosby has been so invested in the action, that while on the bench Thursday night, he actually threw a water bottle onto the ice to protest a call.  The Penguins have a chance to win the fifth Stanley Cup in franchise history and capture the first back-to-back Cup wins in the salary-cap era (since 2005) when Game 6 travels to the madhouse in Nashville tonight.

 In France:  Roland Garros stadium will see an exciting French Open final between two veterans, Rafael Nadal vs. Stan Wawrinka.  Nadal, aiming to be the first man to ever win a grand slam singles title 10 times, has a perfect 9-0 record in his previous nine appearances in the closing match of the tournament, he absolutely dominated on clay from his premier at the highest levels until 2014. Wawrinka has a perfect record in grand slam finals. He is a bit older than Nadal, but in his career he has played three and won three.  He beat  an injured Nadal in the 2014 Australian Open, and he convincingly beat No 1 Andy Murray on Friday.  Wawrinka is strong both physically and mentally. He was the better player against Murray on Friday, and despite being a break up conspired to drop the first set. Nadal is the favorite, though, for Sundays meeting, but he faces in Wawrinka a very capable and strong opponent.

 In Bermuda, in America's Cup action, Sweden is in the middle of the "final" series of the round robin, facing New Zealand.  The winner of this final will meet the United States in the overall final when these nine days of racing are over.

 In Australia, in Football Action, today the featured match pits the Greater Western Sydney Giants against the Carlton Blues at the Etihad Stadium, home of Aussie Rules Football.  In this season, it seems nothing is certain.  The Giants sit atop the AFL ladder for the first time and have defeated the Blues in their past four encounters.  They are burdened under injuries, though, and are not playing at full strength.   Carlton, though is coming off a bye and so is rested and hopeful, despite losing the past three games. The Blues are a young team, and poorly placed, at 17th.  Every week, though, they seem to improve.  Carlton has not beat the Giants since 2013, but are primed to do so this afternoon.  How could you not love Carlton's fight song?

We are the Navy Blues

We are the Old Dark Navy Blues

We're the team that never lets you down

We're the only team old Carlton knows

With all the champions

They like to send us

We'll keep our end up

And they will know that they've been playing

Against the famous Old Dark Blues