Last night ESPN televised the National Spelling Bee Finals and I found myself switching back and forth between spelling and Game 5 of the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals.  I also found myself more invested in the Spelling Bee.  Arvind Mahankali spelling "knaidel" for all the knaidels was way more entertaining than anything LeBron did last night.  (So was the boss way he acted like he'd been there before by stoically celebrating his victory.)

The Spelling Bee got me thinking... one of the cool things ESPN has always done is televising non-traditional "sporting" events (I use sporting in quotes because I'm sure someone out there can make a logical argument for spellers as athletes given their concentration levels and skills in memorizing languages of origin.)  From Bristol's roots showing Aussie Rules football through Sumo Wrestling with Larry Beil and World's Strongest Man, ESPN's coverage of these events is in the fabric of the network's soul.  Here's our power rankings...

On Wednesday night, the Chicago Blackhawks prevailed in overtime over the Detroit Red Wings to advance to the Western Conference Finals. NBC Sports Network announced yesterday that the game was the highest rated NHL game ever for the network. Here is a quick rundown:

Jeff Van Gundy has been established as ESPN's lead NBA analyst for several years.  Van Gundy has blossomed into the lead role, showing a quirky sense of humor and affability that wasn't always on display on the sidelines.  And, unlike some analysts, JVG is not afraid to criticize the league or its high profile players.  He's one of the best analysts on television... but he may not be long for television.

With the NBA's coaching carousel in full swing, Van Gundy's name is again entering the fray as a potential candidate for top jobs.  On Thursday the NBA's top newsbreaker, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, reported the Clippers had reached out to Van Gundy to see if he was interested in replacing Vinny Del Negro...

The UFC will be launching its own dedicated channel in Mexico and the rest of Latin America near the end of 2013. 20 countries across Latin America, excluding Brazil, will have access to the network.

The network will be subscription based, and will show MMA programming 24/7, featuring fights from not only the UFC, but also their former competitors PRIDE, WEC, and Strikeforce. There will also be original programming on the network, including Spanish language reality shows. 

While this isn't going to have a huge effect on fans in America, it's a huge step forward for the UFC. There have been rumblings of a UFC Network being launched in America, potentially in the slot of Fuel before the conversion to Fox Sports 2 was announced. If the network in Latin America takes off, and there are reasons to believe that it will (mainly the fervor of Latin American fans for the sport of MMA), I'd expect the idea of a channel in America to start gaining steam, especially since the UFC has Fox's backing. The UFC already has a paid channel on Youtube (UFC Select) and a VOD service on their website (UFC.tv), and a network would be the next logical step for them.

[UFC]

I can think of a million different adjectives to describe a walk-off win.  Exciting, climactic, thrilling, enthralling, dramatic, significant, extraordinary, captivating, exhilirating, sensational, breathtaking, stirring, etc...

Pirates analyst Steve Blass decided to add another word into the lexicon and make it a million and one.  After Thursday night's 1-0 victory over the Tigers, Blass called it "kinky."

I love this.  It's almost as if in the euphoria of a walk-off victory, Blass' brain had nowhere else to go but to "kinky."  This is the "Mr. Strickland, I love you" of broadcasting moments.  Just imagine how wild and crazy things are going to get in Pittsburgh if the Pirates finally make the playoffs this year!

And to think, Russell Martin didn't even make the Top 10 of the Cougarlife.com hottest cub poll.  What could have been...

[Audio via Eye on Baseball]

All Times Eastern

College Baseball
NCAA Division I Tournament
Regionals

Tallahassee Regional, Tallahassee, FL
Alabama vs. Troy -- ESPNU, noon

Manhattan Regional, Manhattan, KS
Kansas State vs. Wichita State -- ESPNU, 3 p.m.

Columbia Regional, Columbia, SC
St. Louis vs. South Carolina -- ESPN2, 7 p.m.

Nashville Regional, Nashville, TN
East Tennessee State vs. Vanderbilt -- ESPNU, 7 p.m.

Fullerton Regional, Fullerton, CA
Cal State-Fullerton vs. Columbia -- ESPNU, 11 p.m.

ESPN Bases Loaded -- ESPNU, 6 p.m. & 10 p.m.

Yesterday, the story broke about the New York Rangers firing coach John Tortorella. WFAN has been taking credit for reporting the story first. Mike Francesa discussed the firing on his show Wednesday, then ripped ESPN for doing not crediting WFAN on its scoop. If you visit Awful Announcing regularly, you know about the issues regarding ESPN and "sources."

The NCAA Baseball Tournament doesn't get nearly as much love as its basketball counterpart, but the 64 team field is heaven for baseball junkies. ESPN and its various offshoot channels will be airing up to the maximum 153 games, from the Regionals this weekend to the College World Series later in June.

Eastern Conference Finals

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Boston Bruins

NBC/NBCSN: Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire (Behind the Glass)

Game 1: Saturday, June 1, @ Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh (NBC 8PM)
Game 2: Monday, June 3 @ Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh (NBCSN 8PM)
Game 3: Wednesday, June 5, @ TD Bank Garden, Boston (NBCSN 8PM)
Game 4: Friday, June 7, @ TD Bank Garden, Boston (NBCSN 8PM)
Game 5*: Sunday, June 9, @ Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh (NBCSN 8PM)
Game 6*: Tuesday, June 11, @ TD Bank Garden, Boston (NBCSN 8PM)
Game 7*: Wednesday, June 12, @ Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh (NBCSN TBA)

Western Conference Finals

Chicago Blackhawks vs Los Angeles Kings

NBC/NBCSN: Dave Strader, Darren Pang, Brian Engblom (Behind the Glass)

Game 1: Saturday, June 1, @ United Center, Chicago (NBSN 5PM)
Game 2: Sunday, June 2, @ United Center, Chicago (NBCSN 8PM)
Game 3: Tuesday, June 4, @ Staples Center, Los Angeles (NBCSN 9PM)
Game 4: Thursday, June 6, @ Staples Center, Los Angeles (NBCSN 9PM)
Game 5*: Saturday, June 8, @ United Center, Chicago (NBC 8PM)
Game 6*: Monday, June 10, @ Staples Center, Los Angeles (NBCSN 9PM)
Game 7*: Wednesday, June 12, @ United Center, Chicago (NBCSN TBA)

*If Necessary

H/T Sammy!

Tonight the NHL, NBA, and MLB take a backseat to the biggest sporting event in May - the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.  While ESPN didn't quite take our advice on fantasy Spelling Bee announcing pairings, they are doing something with the broadcast that could draw in a few more spelling aficionados to the telecast.  Throughout the bee, ESPN's online channel ESPN3 will be airing a "play along" version where viewers can test their own spelling knowledge and the words won't appear until the end of the spelling attempt...