(Sham)Wow, More Round Two Predictions!
Posted by jtbourne on May 1, 2009 · 12 Comments
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Alright, time for a couple more predictions. I’m feeling spicy today though. Completely unrelated ramblings will be infused throughout my hockey thoughts for salt and pepper.
Let’s start with one: It appears the names ”sweet potato” and “yam” are opposite once you cross the Canada/US border. It’s either that, or nobody has any clue. For some reason, I feel like a lot of people will weigh in on this.
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Hockey! (2)The Detroit Red Wings vs. (8)The Anaheim (I-miss-the-Mighty) Ducks
On a subject I don’t normally use as a series decider, coaching: Mike Babcock is probably the best coach in the NHL. Serious but funny, smart and reasonable, this guy has done nothing but win. Sure, Carlyle has had his successes too, but I just don’t hear the positive things about him like I do Babcock.
Clearly, the Anaheim Ducks are a team on a roll with players that have won before. Both of these are huge factors, but since the Wings are defending Cup champs, the Ducks “having won before” plus is negated. Plus, the Wings are rolling alright too.
Here’s why the 
Red Wings are going to win – Neither goaltender is particularly impressive (unless you look at stats from round one, which I’m not, because I don’t think it’s all that telling), but the Red Wings have those shifty, nasty-talented Washington-esque crew of forwards who will generate creative scoring opportunities.
As much as Hiller has been making those basic saves, I don’t know if he’ll be able to answer the work of Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Fransen. I don’t see Osgood struggling as much with the simpler, more hard-nosed talent of Anaheim (and yes, I think Detroit has enough hard-nosed answers for Anaheims grit).
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Really, ShamWow guy? I know I’m the thousandth person to address him (didn’t he just get arrested or something?), but here’s what gets my goat about that ad.
“Olympic divers use it as a towel“
Wow, really? Olympic divers you say? They get especially wet too, right? Because they jump in that big water thing? Man, I better get one because I only get kinda wet, but they jump all the way in. Imagine what it could do for me!
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Ha, I think I need a ShamWow to wipe the dripping sarcasm off that last paragraph.
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(1)Boston vs (6)Carolina
The Carolina Carpet-Baggers are still in it?
No they’re not.
I have to check this on nhl.com.
Wow. Still in it. Okay…
I’m gonna take the 
Boston Bruins. Here’s why:
Admittedly, I think Carolina is better in net. After that, it’s not even close. The Bruins are crazy deep, listen to amount of quality forwards they have:
Phil Kessel, Chuck Kobasew, PJ Axellson, Marc Savard, Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron, Blake Wheeler, Michael Ryder and secondary names like Marco Sturm, Stephan Yelle, Sean Thornton, Mark Recchi and David Kreici.
For Carolina:
Rod Brind’Amour, Marc Stall, Ray Whitney and Tuomo Ruutu (barely in the top tier) headline a crew with secondary players Jussi Jokinen and… um… Sergei “AHL” Samsonov? I’m not trying to dog ‘em, they’re just not as deep.
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Big news sports fans. Drop in hockey coming up for J. Bourne. The kid needs to sweat, and I haven’t shot on a goaltender since my defensemen mistook my face for the net. Monday, 11:45. The story of my collapsing lungs to follow.
I'm a hockey player turned writer. After playing for Alaska Anchorage in the WCHA (NCAA), I carried on with an NHL tryout (New York Islanders in 2007) before spending a couple seasons in the AHL/ECHL (last year was 2008-09). My father, Bob Bourne, won four Stanley Cups with the Islanders in the '80's, as did my fiancee's dad, Clark Gillies. I'm now the web editor for theScore's hockey blog "Backhand Shelf."
How about a shout out for the B’s Bryon Bitz.. Bitzy, the man with no first name according to Tim Thomas (who has either taken one too many pucks to the head or didn’t make the most of his Vermont education).
Bitz was mid-season injury call-up and they just couldn’t send him down, but the Recchi pick-up kind of left him as the odd man out. Solid 3rd/4th line type of guy.. gutsy, good on the boards, hits, and chips in with a timely assist or goal, like in game 3 v. the Habs filling in for suspended Lucic. B’s are so deep they can’t get him into the playoff line-up. I hope they find a way to get him in for a few games.
I think the Van-Chi and Pitt-Was series should be fantastic, and like Chicago showed last night, if you have the lead, don’t blink.. all 4 teams have the offensive ability to come right back at you.
Pick-up hockey… I miss pick-up hockey, it has been 5 years since I last played. However, I’m soon to be moving to an area with 3 rinks. Now I just need a job to get the funds to play again.
If “yam” and “sweet potatoe” are opposite on different sides of the border, could you please clarify which one is which? I honestly hear it called both up here at nearly a 50/50 rate, though I was told once they actually are two different things….?
Also, I think my favorite Sham-WOW! (not sure if that’s how it is written, but it sure looks like how it would be) line is one that goes (something) like this: “It’s made in Germany – you know the Germans always make quality stuff!”. Um….
There are two different types of vegetables but here in U.S. the names are used interchangeably for either which is confusing.
I read once that it was a marketing thing in the South in the 19th Century–they started calling them “yams” because that sounded more exotic and therefore enticing than plain old “sweet potatoes,” and the two have been mixed up ever since.
Now I only really care because my sister offered to do some of my Thanksgiving cooking last year and I (foolishly) agreed and passed over some of my recipes–only to end up with bland, beige mush instead of my awesome mashed orange sweet potatoes with pecans dish.
I was bitchy and pointedly didn’t eat much. Gotta love family holidays!
Im speechless…”””Admittedly, I think Carolina is better in net”” who wrote this blog? are you friggen crazy? I have watched the Bruins play all year and the one of the biggest if not the biggest reason they are in the playoff is TIM THOMAS!!!!!! last year it was all TIM THOMAS!!!! the guy is FRIGGEN amazing … Did someone spike your PINK lemonade?????? hehehe
Looking forward to the drop-in report. Make that goalie cry.
Did you know Vince was multilingual?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veauQGzEf7Y
Have fun on Monday!
Yeah… my basic understanding is that the more-often used orange one is a sweet potato in Canada, and a yam in the US. The yellow is a yam in Canada, and a sweet potato in the US. No idea if that’s the case, but I know there’s a definite lack of consistency.
I tried to copy and paste a picture of Cam Ward with the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe, but wasn’t able to. The pictures make me speechless.
just discovered yer blog. not big on blogs, too many out there. gotta seperate the wheat from the chaft. but yours is funny and has real insight, not like so many hockey bloggers who probly don’t even play the damn game! i grew up watching hockey in the 70s and so am familiar with yer dad and that era. so refreshing to see some humour mixed in with hockey observations. one thing generally lacking in sports journo is humour. so go nuts! so far i have read and enjoyed much of your blog but i must disagree with you about the goalies in the bruins-canes series. tim thomas is the most fun goalie to watch in eons. and he’s got the best stats in the league this year. how fun!
Thanks man, and dont get me wrong: I love Tim Thomas – think he’s totally legit. But if I could pick my goalie to run a team through playoffs, how would you not take a 23 year old Stanley Cup Champion/Conn Smythe winner who’s a proven stud? Thomas is dynamite – I just gave the edge to Ward.
The difference is that a Sham-WOW can only dissolve a sweet potato, it can’t fully dissolve a yam.
Scam-WOW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm03Dgu_yXA