Round Three
Alright everyone, conference finals!
Despite being down to one game a night, I’ll still be in a committed relationship with my Sharp Aquos. Here’s what I see going down in part three of Stanley’s Saga:
(2)Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Chicago Blackhawks
I. Am. Pumped about this series. It could be a wonderful thriller - but here’s my concern:
It may not be that close.
For those of you who watch basketball, the defending camps are the Boston Celtics. This year, they’re minus KG and in general, not very good. But they keep that win-train packed with coal and cruise along nonetheless, because they’ve won before. You really do grow more comfortable in difficult situations when you’ve been through it before.
The Red Wings have the same knowledge and comfort, with the small difference that they’re really good. And well coached.
The hawks are well coached too, but man, do they seem fragile. Did anybody watch the interviews by the young guns talking about this series? These guys seemed more vulnerable than Luongo in a big game (ooooo, totally kidding Canucks fans, just thought I’d try to alienate another fan base).
The Hawks only chance to win is to get off to a great start in the series. If they fall behind, I don’t see them having the confidence to make the same bounce-back they did in the last round.
Sometimes when you know you’re up against a better team, the guys on the lesser team - when it’s just them and a buddy - will openly admit “we’re f***ed”.
Wings in five.
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (6)Carolina Whalers
Dear Matt (and the rest of the Canes fan),
Granted, your team had Ron Francis, the least-celebrated great player in NHL history (I dare anyone to argue that).
Beyond him, as you know, I find your team inherently unlikeable. I started out by refusing to comment on whatever series they were involved in. But now they’re in a third one. Sigh…
If they win the cup, I vow to write a long, scintillating piece for The Hockey News on how awesome they are, scintillation not included. Any other result… and I plan to continue to drag them through the mud. I just can’t help it.
Sincerely,
jb
This series:
Sadly, the Canes are nicely tailored for playoff hockey. The good news is, they were nicely tailored for playoff hockey in 90′s.
Yes, again, I will be betting against Carolina. It’s like “The Secret” – if I just keep sending out what I want, it will come to me. Did I reference “The Secret”? Yes. That’s how desperately I want Pittsburgh to win.
Fancy-pants Malkin is gonna wake up, and Sid is going to produce less, but regardless, he’s still a constant threat.
This series goes six, with the 
Pens taking it in front of Benedict Cower (or was it Bill?), and when that happens, I won’t have to carve my name next to “Brooks was here”.
Go Away's and Hurray's
Since day one of this years playoffs, I’ve been hating on the ‘Canes.
Today will be no different.
For one, I’m in no danger of upsetting any readers because nobody outside of Raleigh-Durham likes them. This year, they’ve taken their mediocre uni’s, players I don’t know and fans who think a red line is how you know your NASCAR engine is revving to high through Boston and New Jersey.
Impressive feats. They’ve hurt the leagues chances at an all-original six finals. They’ve crushed a Boston fan base who deserved some post-season success. And worst of all? They used to be the Hartford Whalers. I realize it’s cool now to claim you liked the Nordiques, Whalers and Jets, but I loathed every one of those teams.
So like I was saying, congrats to the Carolina Hurricanes.
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Good on ya Red Wings. There is more parity in hockey than baseball, basketball or football, and for the Wings to be this good for this long is a testament to their organization.
Someone is doing something right, especially when they continue to do it with a goaltender who finished this regular season 41st in GAA, and 45th in save percentaege. I literally had to hit “next” on the list of top 30 goaltenders to find his stats.
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So, I’ve had my first serious Obama disappointment. After all his campaigning about eliminating the stupid “don’t ask, don’t tell” military policy, he bailed and is continuing on with it, recently letting one of the US’s mere 54 Arabic translators go. As Jon Stewart mentioned, “near drowning 80-some people is morally justifiable for the military, but if you have a boyfriend… ho ho ho, time to go”.
“You can make ‘em talk, but you can’t make ‘em talk English.”
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I love The Roots as a band. Always have. Wasn’t sure what to make of them being on the Jimmy Fallon show, but now I’m sold. They make it tick.
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What the broken bats is going on with David Ortiz? Did he back off the “vitamin injections” with this new drug testing chaos? Homie went 0 for 7 last night, stranding TWELVE runners in a 5-4 Sox loss. That ain’t good.
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So, I’m a little concerned that as it gets to be summer, I’m going to hate my computer more. I gotta golf today. If you haven’t been to Kelowna, BC in the spring, you’re missing out.
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I think the hosts of Canada’s SportsCentre might be funnier than the US’s SportsCenter. Unless it’s Scott Van Pelt and Kenny Mayne, in which case nobody is funnier… but the most part, I’ll give the nod to Canada.
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Okay, that’s all for today folks! Hockey starts back up on Sunday, so in the meantime I’ll be keeping it random! Or will I….
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."
