This Weekend in Sportsball

Trying something new this week--a little preview of the weekend in sports action, to help you not get sucked into brunch when there's a game to watch. (Or, to allow you to get sucked into brunch so you can beg off later to watch a game.) Send tips or just let us know what you think at sportseditor (at) seattlest (dot) com.

FRIDAY

*Stanley Cup Finals, Game 7
If you didn't watch a single hockey game all season, well, that worked out pretty well for you. This sixty minutes between Detroit and Pittsburgh will decide the NHL championship. 5 p.m., KONG.

Storm @ Minnesota
An early season battle for first vs. the 3-0 Lynx. Stopping Seimone Augustus, the league's third-leading scorer, will be job one for the Storm. Tanisha Wright will likely get the assignment. 5 p.m., LiveAccess (free webcast), 1150-AM.

M's @ Colorado
See how the M's bats perform against Rockies' ace Ubaldo Jimenez, the fastest starting pitcher in baseball. Jimenez' four-seam fastball, unlike our '99 Saturn, can reach 100 mph. 6:10 p.m., FSN, 710-AM.

SATURDAY

UW's Austin Abbott in the NCAA 1,500M final
The Huskies' Abbott (r.) set a school-record in the semis, running 1,500 meters in 3:39.63. (Damn.) Abbott's was the second-fastest qualifying time, the Chehalis native will try for a championship in the final, which will be his last college race. 11:21 a.m., KIRO-7, CBS All-Access (free webcast).
(Note: UW's Jordan Boase is also likely to make the 400M final at 10:12 a.m.--both will supposedly be televised live.)

M's @ Colorado
Erik Bedard makes his first career start in that pitcher's nightmare, Coors Field. Well, it's more of an unsettling dream now, as MLB now humidifies the baseballs to even up the hitter/pitcher battle. 5:10 p.m., FSN, 710-AM.

*Sounders vs. San Jose, Qwest Field
Besides being a must-win for the floundering Sounders, this is the first leg of the Heritage Cup, contested between teams that have the same names as their NASL predecessors. 7:30 p.m., KING-5, 97.3-FM.