I can't figure out what the hubbub over the behavior of Ryan Braun is all about.

Seriously, is he the first guy to watch some of his home runs? Is it really any different than Sammy Sosa hopping out of the box every time he even hit a ball out of the infield?

Friday night in the eighth, Braun crushed a two-run home run to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead against their rival in front of a packed house that just so happened to have a number of enemy fans in the park. Is he not supposed to get excited?

He did nothing to show up the pitcher.

Is it any different than pitchers doing a little dance when they strike him out?

Does Braun carry himself with a little extra swagger? Of course, that is part of what makes him special and he doesn't apologize for it. He also takes care of his own business.

It's odd that nobody mentions that fact that Ryan Dempster purposely threw at his head (and connected). In the third inning on Saturday night -- after Braun ripped a double off of Dempster in the first -- he was hit in the forehead. Not in the butt or the back but in the head. Just because he had feigned a bunt attempt, does this make it fine that Dempster was throwing at his head?

So what does Braun do, might you ask?

He doesn't charge the mound or do anything demonstrative, he just stares at Dempster to let him know what was coming next -- a no-doubt bomb in the sixth along with another stare that was more than warranted for being hit in the forehead.

And Braun is the one being criticized for his antics?

There are 11 more games left with the Cubs, and this isn't going away. In fact, on WGN color man Bob Brenly even suggested that the Cubs should just hit Braun so they wouldn't have to waste the four pitches. That is pretty bold from a former manager, not to mention completely unprofessional.

It's wonderful to think that the tables have turned. The Brewers used to fear Sosa and he would continually make them pay. Now with the shoe on the other foot, the whining is incessant.

A tree falls in the forest

Only the serious sports fan even knows what channel the Versus Network is on. For the rest of you on Time Warner Cable it is channel 525 in HD, or 68 in low-def. If you get the chance check out the rest of the NHL playoffs, which have been fantastic.

A sport that is badly in need of a rebirth is getting one with some fantastic games. The games brightest stars, Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, have been exchanging haymakers for six wonderfully entertain games - with game seven coming up on Wednesday night after the Capitals dramatic overtime win on Monday.

Also the Chicago Blackhawks are in the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1995 after defeating the Vancouver Canucks 7-5 in a game that had five lead changes and constant action. Awaiting is a showdown with the Detroit Red Wings, if the Wings can put away upstart Anaheim.

If you haven't watched hockey lately (or never), I would suggest you give it a shot. A matchup of two of the original six teams will be intense. Also, a budding feud between the game's best players is just what the doctor ordered for a sport that needs to be shocked with the paddles.