The Coolest Coffee Table in the World

The hockey season doesn't start for another 50 days and I'm bored out of my mind. The Reds are tanking, and the Bengals aren't showing any signs of promise. The Blue Jackets on the other hand are about to ice the best team they've ever had (on paper) and I've never been more excited for NHL hockey in Columbus. So with this extended break in the news cycle, I thought I'd share the story of something I hold near and dear - my coffee table. 


One day, like any other day, I was sitting in my 8th grade study hall doing whatever it is 8th grade boys do (I know it wasn't studying) when I was introduced to something that would go on to have a deep and profound impact on my life - Ms. Ringo's penny hockey board.


Some rules for the uniniated: penny hockey is a children's game in which two players sit at opposite ends of a wooden box made with retaining edges, pegs, and then a penny sized hole at each end. The main objective is to slide a penny into the hole at the opposite end. First to 5 goals, 10 goals, whatever, wins.


As soon as this thing was brought out of the closet every dude in the study hall took to it. We abandoned "Oregon Trail" and penny hockey became our new obsession. We formed the National Penny Hockey Association or NPHA. We had player standings, power rankings, regular seasons, and weekly tournaments. We even had a league commissioner. It was the most fun you could have at school outside field day. (sidenote: remember field day?)


Fast forward 8 years to an older, wiser, fatter, hairier, junior-in-college version of me. I can remember exactly when and where the idea came to me. I was sitting in my History of Oil class (a fascinating class taught by one of Ohio University's best professors. Take it. I promise, you'll thank me) thinking about the Columbus Blue Jackets game from the night before. They had lost at Detroit. It was a particularly aggravating loss because Michael Peca had a chance to score the tying goal late for the Jackets, but missed a wide open net trying to switch from his backhand to his forehand.


It was at that moment that I thought back to my 8th grade study hall and penny hockey. Then it came. My idea hit me like a tidal wave of epiphany. **** - Penny hockey coffee table Blue Jackets! - ****


It was such a perfect idea that it came together almost instantly. I found the board in my parents' crawlspace, old wooden hockey sticks collected over 15 years of youth hockey participation made up the dashers, and my friends at Visionary Signs were kind enough to print my artwork for free.


The finished product looked as good as it did in my head.

It wasn't until I was finished that I even realized this thing had a more practical use - as the basis for a drinking game. I took it back to my house in Athens and it was there that my roommates and I, through much trial and error, developed the rules to "Beer Hockey".

Beer hockey is simple. It's like penny hockey, but everytime you finish a beer you get to place the empty can in front of your goal to use as a defender.  

So thanks, Ms. Ringo, for your penny hockey table, for letting us play with it instead of studying in study hall, for giving me the idea for the coolest coffee table ever built, and for giving me something to write about in the middle of the slowest month on the sports calendar. 

The Cincinnati (F)Reds

The "Freds" is a nickname my father has long used to refer to our household's favorite Major League Baseball team, the Cincinnati Reds. "Freds" simply means, "Fu*king Reds" and it's usually accompanied by at least four exclamation points sometimes while smashing a wooden hockey stick on a basketball pole in the backyard after Roy Halladay no-hits them in their first playoff game since 1995. That may or may not have happened.

Or it could stand as an expression on the name Fred and that people and characters named Fred tend to be bumbling dufuses. See: Fred Flintstone. I prefer "Fu*king Reds", but that's the beauty in the nickname. It can exist as clean or dirty at the same time.

Just like Fred Flintstone. Wilma!!

It's applicable for any situation in which the Reds manage to botch a game or it can be used to generalize a long grueling season, which up until last year was most of them. It works in any instance. "What time do the Freds lose today?", or "Who are the Freds losing to today?" or in twitter-speak, "I hate Francisco Cordero so much!!!!! #FReds".

2010 was a mostly Fred-free season. The team won games in every fashion and a magical presence seemed to permeate the locker-room. See: Jay Bruce's walkoff home run to clinch the division in October. That doesn't happen without some Harry Potter voodoo. This year that magic has inexplicably fallen on teams like the Pirates and the Indians. The Reds are dried out.

Maybe we spent it all?

The 2011 Reds, despite a nearly identical roster to 2010, lack that little extra indescribable quality that makes winning baseball teams winning baseball teams. So here we are, Freds again. 50-53 on the season and with the expectations placed on this team in spring training and with the cooky ways they've found to lose games, this may the Freddiest Reds team I've ever seen.

The good news is that there's ten weeks left in the season and the Redlegs are only 5 games out of first place. The National League Central is easily the worst division in baseball and we Reds fans should feel fortunate we're not in the East or West where we'd be a combined 93 games out to the Phillies and Giants (math may be inaccurate). Look at the NFL team Cincinnati has to look forward to and you'll see why we need the Reds to carry us to October.

5 games? Larger deficits have been overcome in shorter amounts of time by dozens of teams. We keep telling ourselves that they haven't played to their potential, that the 2010 Reds are going to show up any week now, that the starters are going to start going later, that the relievers are going to stop blowing leads, that the lineup is going to start delivering with runners in scoring position. The Brewers aren't that good, that the Cardinals lack bullpen, that Larussa is a maniac who does more harm than good, that the Pirates are gonna come back down to earth. That the Reds should waltz to the division title by default.

We keep telling ourselves those things, but it's late July and they're not here yet. Maybe this is our team. Maybe it's not going to get better. Maybe this year we're just back to being the "Freds".

Tell me I'm wrong.

"Will he touch it?"

With Vancouver up 3 games to 1 on San Jose and Boston leading Tampa Bay 3-2 the yearly question arises, will the captain of either team pick up the conference championship trophy? This year that decision will likely fall on Henrik Sedin of the Canucks and Zdeno Chara of the Bruins, but does evidence show that maybe they should embrace the moment and dance with the Clarence Campbell Bowl or Prince of Wales Trophy?

Here's a chart

Teams that refuse to touch the conference championship trophy are 5-6 in the finals. In years when one team picks up the trophy and the other doesn't, the team that celebrated with the trophy is 4-3. I'd embrace the moment and party with the trophy while I had the chance. Carpe diem. Seize the trophy.


Updated: Neither Henrik Sedin or Zdeno Chara picked up their respective conference trophy. Taking a page from the 2006 Hurricanes, the Bruins took a team picture surrounding the Prince of Wales Trophy, but not a single player touched it. Incidentally, both captains are European. Meaning, for just the second time ever a European captain will lift the Stanley Cup. Nik Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings was the first.

Columbus Blue Jackets Alternate Uniform Project

About a year ago when I heard the Blue Jackets were going to add an alternate jersey I became obsessed with the idea that the team would finally implement a primary logo using civil war soldier imagery in reference to their namesake. Instead of studying or reading or doing anything vaguely related to college schoolwork I spent an inordinate amount of time drawing an alternate logo for my favorite hockey team. Somehow I still ended up graduating. On time too. Go Bobcats!

This is that logo

          The 'C' stands for "Columbus"

For the record, his name is "Sgt. Atticus McArthur". If I were a Civil War buff, he'd be named after someone real, probably someone who actually had some historical influence and relevance to Columbus or Ohio, at the very least. Instead, he's named after a guy I made up.

Now that I look at it, I'm not going to pretend that I think this could've adorned the Blue Jackets' sweaters. I couldn't even figure out a good way to illustrate his eyes so I just let the cap cover them. One thing I am proud of though is that the left side of his face, minus the nose, is intentionally supposed to vaguely resemble the state of Ohio. It's one of those little subtle nuances that artists put into their work. This one is so subtle that it has to be pointed out to everyone.

I'm realistic about this now, but at the time, however, I had a horrible case of delusion. Delusions of grandeur, as they say. I imagined sharing the design with the internet, someone with the team catching wind of it and then showing it to CBJ brass. They'd say, "We love your design, and we'd like the team to wear it. Here's a 100 grand and the rights to all merchandise royalties. Also, we need a 5'10 left winger, how'd you like to suit up? We're playing Detroit tonight and we'd like you to whack Todd Bertuzzi in the face with your stick." 

Incredibly, the scenario didn't play out that way and like geocities or myspace, my designs were lost to the internet. Instead this is what the team went with: 

They hired a pro who ripped a soccer crest and stripped the uniform of red. But I spent a lot of time on my work and I'd like to share them. So here they are. (click to expand)

This was inspired by the Team USA jerseys and large block letters on the front of jerseys have been in vogue in the NHL recently.

Which would you prefer? What they actually went with, or mine? I guess I'd choose what they actually went with, but I'm self-disparaging that way.

And because I recently met someone who didn't believe that I used to play hockey, here's a picture of me playing hockey.

Whenever I tell people from small backwoods/hilljack towns that I played hockey they act like I told them that I walked on the moon or that I used to live in the white house. They're even more surprised to learn that my high school had an actual varsity ice hockey team. One day, this time of year will be filled with Blue Jackets playoff articles, but for right now, this will have to do. Thanks for reading.

Promising Start Turns Sour: The Story of the 2010-2011 Columbus Blue Jackets

I got a text at 3:30 from some college buddies saying they wanted to go to the game that night. I told them I’d meet them downtown so we could get in together. It wasn’t until 6:45 when I was told they hadn’t left Athens until 5:45. Athens is an hour and a half from Columbus. The puck drop was scheduled for 7:06 pm. They didn’t make it.

I found myself alone, downtown, wearing the new Columbus Blue Jackets third jersey. I must’ve looked lonely because a scalper zoned in on me like I was a prize buck.

“Single?!?!”

“Yeah, where’s the seat?”

“Four rows behind Steve Mason”

“how much?”

“uhh, $40?”

(inner monologue: Sean, you’re not in college anymore. You have a job. YES! Say yes) “uhhhh, yeeeee...sold”

Not bad for $40 scalp, eh?

By the time I walked into Nationwide Arena the game was already five minutes old and the Blue Jackets trailed the Phoenix Coyotes 2-0. I took my lonely ticket and sat with families and friends that I didn’t know. “Great, I’m the biggest loser in the arena and the Jackets are going to get blown out.” Fast forward to the third period and the Blue Jackets hold five unanswered goals, rookie Matt Calvert beams with only the second rookie hat trick in CBJ history, I charmed the guys around me, and the crowd is raucous. Raucous like the crowds of seasons 1, 2, and 3 before Columbus became jaded and tired of watching a lousy team.

The crowd was thirsty. Thirsty for more games like this one, thirsty for action in the Stanley Cup playoffs that seemingly every other fanbase gets to experience. It was a playoff atmosphere and the ‘W’ moved the Blue Jackets to within two points of only their second playoff berth. It was the best game I’d been to all season, and I went alone on a day when I had no intentions of watching NHL hockey. The best experiences are always the ones you don’t plan.

After the game the Jackets embarked on a road trip that we all knew would go a long way to determine their playoff fortunes. They went 0-3-2, and the negative momentum dropped them out of the hunt. They missed the playoffs for the ninth time in ten years.

The team jumped out to their best start ever. A 14-6 mark that sportscubstats.com gave a 96% chance of making the playoffs. Through all past NHL situations, and 1000 simulations, 96% of the teams who started 14-6 made the playoffs. We were the 4%. On the last day of November the Jackets played a home game against the Detroit Red Wings for first place in the Western Conference. We lost. A promising start turns sour can basically sum up the story of the 10 year history of the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

Highs

- November 17-20, 2010 California Sweep. Early in the season the Blue Jackets went out west and swept California for the first time. They took 3 games from the Kings, Ducks, and Sharks in a 4 day span. Rick Nash potted a hat-trick in the final game in San Jose. All three California teams qualified for the post-season, which incidentally is more playoffs teams than Canada had. 

- November 10, 2010 “Soccer-gate”. A lot of NHL teams warm up before the games by kicking a soccer ball in the tunnel under the stands. Blue Jackets alternate captain, RJ Umberger, started an altercation with the St. Louis Blues who he felt were too close to the Jackets’ locker-room. It almost came to blows before security broke it up. Umberger showed pride for the franchise that so many fans yearn for and the team backed him up by thumping the Blues 8-1.

- February 25, 2011 Aforementioned game against Phoenix. Matt Calvert scored a natural hat trick and the Blue Jackets came up big against a playoff team in a game they needed to win. It marked the 8^th win in the last ten games and those two points put the CBJ back into the playoff mix.

- February 8, 2011 4-1 win in Pittsburgh. Small revenge for the December game in Columbus.

Lows

- December 4, 2010. "The Penguins Game". An estimated 10,000 Penguins showed up to watch their team play at Nationwide Arena. Unfortunately for Blue Jackets fans, Nationwide Arena is in Columbus. It was bad enough that the Penguins fans took over the arena, but the Blue Jackets didn't show up either, losing 7-2. It was made even worse by the Penguins fans behavior who were the most obnoxious, boorish, drunk idiot visiting fans I've ever had to deal with. It's easily the worst game I can remember in ten years of going to Blue Jackets games.

- February 27 - March 7, 2011 "The Road Trip". The Jackets left for the last big road trip of the season with an 8-1-1 record in their last ten and two points out of a playoff spot. They returned with an 0-3-2 record on the trip recording two out of a possible ten points. It started with a third period collapse against Nashville (where they've lost 17 straight games), a shootout loss in Vancouver, a 4-2 loss in Edmonton (the worst team in the NHL), a 4-3 loss in Calgary, and a shootout loss in St. Louis. The 5 game roadie killed any momentum they had and delivered the blow that pretty much ended any chance of a playoff visit. 

MVP

Rick Nash 

This basically by default, but Nash is one of the best players in the world. He scored 32 goals, 34 assists for 66 points on the season and was a +2, a rarity in Columbus. All of that done with little to no help. This sounds like a broken record, but if the organization can find Nash a number one center, he'll reach his potential. Let's hope that happens before Nash runs out of prime years. He's 26 right now, but if he hangs on a little while longer, first round pick Ryan Johannsen should be in the NHL next few seasons and he has the skill to deliver the puck to Rick. 

Honorable Mention

RJ Umberger

Bright Spots

Matt Calvert 

Calvert showed signs of promise in his half season with the big club. He scored 11 goals with 9 assists. Calvert has the potential to develop into a top 6 forward. At the very least, he'll be a capable third liner in the NHL. 

Grant Clitsome

That's his real name. Clitsome came up mid season from Springfield of the AHL and instantly provided help on the blue line and showed signs of being that puck moving defenseman that every team is looking for. Clitsome had 19 points in 31 games, and was +2. All solid numbers for a defenseman, plus his name is Clitsome. His work on the power play is encouraging for a power play unit that ranked 29th in the league. Try to guess his nickname in the locker-room.

Scott Arniel

Arniel inherited a team with a lot of problems in his first season as a head coach in the NHL. The players seem to like him enough and his system is the kind that wins games in today's NHL. The problem is the Blue Jackets don't yet have the personnel to play the system, but Arniel has shown that he's willing to play to the style of what he has rather than trying to cram players into a system they aren't built for, which was the problem with old coach, Ken Hitchcock. 

Problems

Steve Mason

Nikita Filatov

Jake Voracek

The Blue Jackets aren't as far away from being a contender as some are choosing to believe, but it won't be easy. Conventional hockey wisdom says that you build from the net out. I disagree. I say you build from the blue line back and then work on your forwards. If you have a solid defensive corps then you can win a lot of games with an average goaltender. It's how the Red Wings were able to win all those years with Chris Osgood as their goalie. 

Steve Mason hasn't played well since winning rookie of the year, but part of the problem is a weak  Blue Jackets defense in front of him. Shoring up the D might take awhile because big time free agents seem allergic to Columbus, but there's pieces in the system that aren't too far from being competent NHL players, and Marc Methot and Grant Clitsome made big strides last year. 

Stanley Cup Playoffs Primer: Eastern Conference

Yesterday, we looked at the Western Conference's slate of playoff matchups. (Western Conference) Today, we're going to break down the inferior...I mean Eastern Conference playoffs. 

Washington vs. New York

It’s incredible that the Capitals are in the number one position. For much of the season they struggled to find their identity and the HBO documentary, “24-7 with the Penguins and Capitals” happened to catch the Caps at their darkest hour. The cameras showed up just in time to document the 9 game losing streak that was tormenting the Washington hockey team. Since beating Pittsburgh at the Winter Classic the season has looked up. The Capitals come in trying to shed the playoff chokers label. They’ve lost home game 7’s in each of the last 3 seasons. In the case of 2010 they were the President’s Trophy winners and held a 3 games to 1 lead on Montreal before blowing three straight.

The only team Washington’s beaten in the playoffs since Ovechkin’s arrival was the New York Rangers, and even that was a brutal 7 game series. New York snuck in on the last day of the season thanks to a loss by the Carolina Hurricanes, but the blue-shirts did go 3-1 against the Caps in the regular season.

Guys to Watch:

Washington

Alex Ovechkin – Ovechkin had a down year in production, but his mere presence on the ice changes the way other teams operate. The scurvy Russian will be an impact player with or without a boatload of points.

Jason Chimera – the former Blue Jackets’ great is the kind of role player who can make or break a playoff run. He’s huge, and one of the fastest skaters in the league. If he can help provide secondary scoring and shut down the energy line of the other team then the Capitals will have an improved chance of going deep.

Bruce Boudreau – The Capitals head coach gained fame during “24-7” for creative use of the ‘F’ word and indulging in a Miller Lite tallboy after the Winter Classic. Boudreau is one of the more entertaining coaches in the league, but if Washington fails to advance deep in the playoffs he could be sweating his job.

New York

Henrik Lundqvist – The Rangers goaltender is one of the best in the game. If he gets hot, the Capitals could be in trouble.

Sean Avery – the pest of all pests. There’s a rule about blocking a goaltender’s vision named in his honor. Avery can get under this skin of the Washington players and take them off of their game or at least try very hard, either way, it’ll be entertaining.

Philadelphia vs. Buffalo

A year ago the Flyers made the playoffs on the last day of the season thanks to a shootout victory over the Rangers. The Eastern Conference’s 7 seed then won three series before dropping the finals to the Blackhawks. Carrying that momentum the Flyers played most of the season in first place before going into coast-mode and falling behind Washington. Philadelphia has 3 solid defensive pairings that could all be the top pair on any team. They also have depth at forward, and a relatively unknown, but capable goalie in Sergei Bobrovsky.

The Sabres on the other side are on fire. 9-1-2 in their last 12 games took them from bubble playoff team to a team that may do some damage in the playoffs.

Guys to Watch:

Philadelphia

Chris Pronger – Pronger is no stranger to deep playoff runs. He helped Edmonton reach the finals in 06, won a cup with Anaheim in 07, and was a big part of the Flyers’ run last year. Pronger turns it on during the postseason and is not only a shut down D-man, but also a threat to score from the point on the power play.

Philadelphia forwards – the Flyers had 6 guys score more than 20 goals in the regular season. Shutting down the top two lines will be key to upsetting Philadelphia.

Buffalo

Ryan Miller – the team USA goalie, Miller will determine how far the Sabres go in the playoffs.

Boston vs. Montreal

This is an interesting matchup because Boston-Montreal is one of the game’s most historic rivalries and this will be the third time in 4 years that the two teams have met in the playoffs. Expect a very intense matchup.

The Bruins were a game away from the Eastern Conference finals last season…for four games. They led Philadelphia 3 games to none, blew games 4, 5, and 6. In game 7 they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in front of their home crowd, and in one of the all-time greatest choke jobs, gave up 4 goals in the second half of the game and lost the series. The sting of that series should be at the forefront of Bruins fans minds coming into this postseason and against last year’s Cinderella darlings, it’s important they don’t fall into the same trap again.

The Canadiens won two series last year as the 8 seed, both coming back from 3-1 deficits to take out Washington and Pittsburgh. They placed all of their chips on goaltender Carey Price and let playoff hero Jaroslav Halak walk to St. Louis. Can Montreal complete another surprising run or can perennial playoff contender Boston finally advance past the second round?

Guys to Watch:

Boston

Zdeno Chara – He’s a 6’10 Slovak, but his skills seem to have faded. Montreal’s quick forwards could take advantage of his slow skates.

Tim Thomas – the favorite to win the Vezina (best goalie), Thomas has played less than stellar in the playoffs in recent years. So Thomas goes, so go the Boston Bruins.

Montreal

Mike Camalleri – the University of Michigan product was a key player in the Canadiens ride to the conference finals last year. One of those players that seems to step up their game in the playoffs, Montreal will need him to come up big again.

PK Subban – Last year’s playoffs were his coming out party, and his first regular season this year showed he has the skills to be a superstar. The defenseman can snipe from the point on the power play or join the rush.

Carey Price – There may be no job in sports more demanding than Montreal Canadiens goaltender and early in his career it looked like Carey Price couldn’t deal with the pressure. This season he’s been the reason for the Canadiens’ success, but he still needs to prove that he can perform in the playoffs.

Pittsburgh vs. Tampa Bay

I’m not even going to try to be unbiased here. I’m rooting for Tampa Bay, which is hard because of the way their first year head coach, Guy Boucher, spurned the Blue Jackets offer to be the bench boss in Columbus. But Pittsburgh, and their fans, are responsible for the worst game I’ve ever been to in ten years of going to Blue Jackets games. (read about that here Sports Weekend From Hell). I can’t even try to be impartial towards that city or one of their teams.

The Penguins will probably have Sidney Crosby back, who hasn’t played since January 5 after sustaining a concussion. Crosby has been practicing in full contact drills without any ill side effects. It’s probably safe to say that he’ll be on the ice for the playoffs. The Penguins are also without Evgeni Malkin and have played just two games all season with their “big three” intact (Crosby, Malkin, Stall).

Tampa is making their first playoff appearance since 2007. They have a high powered power play and potent offense, but are weak on the back end and the question remains, will 41 year old goaltender Dwayne Roloson have enough in the tank for another playoff run?

Guys to Watch:

Pittsburgh

Sidney Crosby – Crosby is the best player in the world, but will he show any rust after not playing for 3 months?

Tampa Bay

Steve Stamkos – the number one overall pick from a few years ago has blossomed into a deadly sniper, especially on the power play.

Martin St. Louis – St. Louis is like 4’8, but incredibly skilled and in the latter part of his career is trying to win Tampa their second cup in franchise history.

Dwayne Roloson - If he doesn’t get hurt in game 1 of the 06 Finals, the 8 seed Oilers probably win the Stanley Cup with him. He’s a very capable goalie, but the Tampa defense will need him to make a lot of big saves on his own. He could be hung out to dry often and he’ll need to come up big if the Lightning have any hope of knocking off the Penguins. 

Stay tuned for more playoff coverage as they unfold. 

There you have it. If you agree, disagree, or have thoughts of your own. Share them with us at sportshatemeSHM@gmail.com OR follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/SeanofUnionBlue

Stanley Cup Playoffs Primer

Those of you who follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/SeanofUnionBlue) know that hockey is kinda my thing. I’d tweet all day-errday about hockey if I could (and some days I have), but I know most people only follow for the poop and fart jokes. Well it’s about to get even worse, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are upon us. The only way the playoffs could be any more awesome is if my Blue Jackets could figure out a way to qualify for them again; sports hate me.

I'm asking, how can you not love this?

 Judging by the numbers, and people literally telling me, I know that most of Sports Hate Me’s readers skip through the hockey stories I write. Well this article is designed to describe and educate so you know what the hell I’m talking about when I make a Twitter joke about Joe Thornton’s propensity to disappear in the playoffs or how the Coyotes are playing out their last days in Arizona.

I won’t be making picks. That never works out well and in a league where the 8 seed has beaten a 1 seed in three of the past five seasons, it’d almost be irresponsible to attempt to predict this beast.

So here it is, your Sports Hate Me Stanley Cup Playoffs primer starting with the Western Conference. 

Vancouver vs. Chicago

Despite winning their first President’s trophy (the trophy given to the team with the best regular season record in the NHL) in franchise history, Canucks fans have to be feeling some nervousness over facing a Blackhawks squad that has eliminated them in each of the past two seasons. The Blackhawks, the defending Stanley Cup Champions, squeaked into the playoffs on the last day of the season. Their championship roster was downsized with guys like Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, Andrew Ladd, and Ben Eager getting shipped out of town. Still, the core of Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Jonathon Toews, and Marian Hossa remains intact and this team could be a dangerous 8 seed.

Vancouver has lost a ton of man-games this season to its defensive corps making their finish in the standings even more impressive. Most of their defense is coming back healthy for the run, but perhaps the biggest blow was losing former Blue Jackets’ great and faceoff wizard, Manny Malhotra to an eye injury. Also, the playoffs can be an unpredictable time when Roberto Luongo is your goaltender. Which Roberto will show up is always in question. Here's something to keep in mind though, the Canucks led the league in goals scored, goals against, and power play percentage. They're dangerous. 

Guys to Watch:

Vancouver Canucks

The Sedin Twins - Henrik won the Hart Trophy for league MVP last season and his brother Daniel could do the same this year. Their olsen-like telekinesis has to be seen to be believed.

Ryan Kesler - The former Ohio State Buckeye was 4^th in goals and a +24 all while playing under the skin of opponents. He’s an agitator with top level talent. Kesler will be an impact player in every series the Canucks play.

Roberto Luongo - Will we see the Luongo who won a gold medal with team Canada or will we see the Luongo of playoffs gone by? An improved Canucks D should help alleviate some of the pressure on Roberto.

Chicago Blackhawks

Jonathon Toews – He was the Conn Smythe winner (playoff MVP, all the NHL trophies have cool old-timey names) a year ago, and makes an impact whether he’s scoring or not.

Patrick Kane – He scored the cup clinching goal last season and is always dangerous.

Blackhawk goaltenders – Marty Turco is over the hill and hasn’t played all that much this season. Corey Crawford is untested in the playoffs.

San Jose vs. Los Angeles

This is the playoff series these two franchises have been waiting for since San Jose came into the league 20 years ago. Norcal v. Socal. The Sharks are the team with endless potential that always seems to come up short in the playoffs. They shrugged a reputation for choking in the playoffs by reaching the conference finals last season, but were promptly swept by Chicago. Neither the boys in teal nor their fans will be pleased with anything but a cup championship.

The two basically split their season series and the Kings had only two fewer wins than San Jose, but 10 of their wins came via the shootout. Playoff games don’t end in shootouts so LA will need to figure out how to win games by putting the puck in the net in normal game situations.

Guys to Watch

San Jose Sharks

Joe Thornton – a reputation for fading in the playoffs that he earned while playing for Boston and then followed him to California will loom over every game he fails to score in. Can Thornton rise above it like he did last year or regress to previous seasons’ performances?

Logan Couture – the Sharks rookie is a strong candidate for rookie of the year and scored 32 goals on the season.

Antti Niemi – Niemi won a cup with Chicago last year, but a lot of critics credited the Blackhawks victory as  being despite Niemi rather than because of him. This season however, he had a fairly strong goals against average of 2.38. Plus, Niemi will look to end the Sharks tradition of poor goaltender play in the playoffs started by Evgeni Nabakov who is no longer with the team.

Los Angeles Kings

Anze Kopitar – what’s that? He’s not playing, oh…

Drew Doughty - The 21 year old defenseman played for team Canada in the Olympics and will log big minutes for the Kings.

Ryan Smyth – I don’t think there’s a more Canadian guy in the NHL today. His nose is crooked, he’s 35 years old, he was a big part of the Oilers surprise run in 06, and he’s got some of the best flow-bucket in the game today. (Flow bucket: when long hair flows out of your helmet aka "bucket")

Detroit vs. Phoenix

 Is it possible to have nobody win this one? The Red Wings are in the playoffs for the 20th straight season. It’s almost gotten to the point where Red Wings fans don’t even watch the regular season. In Detroit the regular season is referred to as, “6 month preseason”. What is there to know about the Red Wings? Well they have solid forwards, solid defense, solid goaltending and they somehow did this all without experiencing any down years, ever. They don’t rebuild, they reload. They are extremely annoying.

The Phoenix Coyotes are in embarrassing financial straits, have been league owned for two years now, and it’s likely as soon as the season’s over they’ll be moving back from whence they came, Winnipeg, Manitoba. That’s Canada. The Coyotes built an arena in Glendale, Arizona where no Phoenixites dare venture. Their attendance is second to last in the league despite being a playoff team these last two years. If Columbus had their success, Nationwide Arena would be sold out every night. The Coyotes are extremely annoying.

Guys to Watch:

Detroit Red Wings

Nik Lidstrom – the Defenseman for the Red Wings is like 50 years old, and still a solid contributor. I wouldn’t be surprised if he played another 5 years.

Johan Franzen/Tomas Holmstrom – these guys might as well be the same player. Both Swedish, both huge, both score a ton of goals seemingly by being huge and standing in front of the net. They’re the NHL equivalent of Shaq.

Pavel Datsyuk – one of the most stunningly talented players in the game. When he’s on the ice watch him with or without the puck. He has one of the best pairs of hands the game has ever seen.

Phoenix Coyotes

Shane Doan – the Coyotes captain has played his entire career with the Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets organization. No player in the league gets more excited or is more animated with facial expressions than Doan.

Paul Bissonnette – it may be hard to watch him play as it’s likely that he’ll be a healthy scratch in most of, if not all the Coyotes playoff games, but he's worth a follow on Twitter though, http://twitter.com/#!/BizNasty2point0. Easily one of the more entertaining athlete tweeters around. 

Anaheim vs. Nashville

The Ducks have the Rocket Richard trophy winner (most goals) in Corey Perry, and an impossible to hate Finn named Teemu Selanne. Selanne is 40 years old and was supposed to retire when the Ducks won the cup in 2007, but he decided there was still enough left in the tank to keep playing for another 4 years and possibly more. The endearing thing about Selanne is how much fun he has playing the game and at freaking 40 had a 30 goal season with a lot of those goals coming as the game winner or in the last two minutes of a contest. The Ducks could be the team that makes a surprise run.

The Nashville Predators are making their 6^th playoff appearance in 12 years of existence though they’re still looking for their first series win. The Predators have gotten back to the postseason despite not having anything that resembles a number one line. The Predators beat you with depth, defense, and goaltending. Don’t be surprised if the Predators make a deep playoff run.

Guys to Watch:

Anaheim Ducks

Teemu Selanne – the guy has a knack for coming up big in clutch situations. If the game is tied late or the Ducks trail by 1, then Selanne will be on the ice.

Ryan Getzlaf – the Ducks’ captain is the definition of power forward and was the spur that kicked the Ducks to the title in 07.

Bobby Ryan – Ryan was the guy taken right after Sidney Crosby. He was 8^th in goals and had a +15 on the season.

Corey Perry – He led the league in goals, but he’s also considered one of the games biggest irritants. The league should keep a running tally to see what happens more, goals scored or times a Predators punches him in the face.

Nashville Predators

Shea Weber – The Predators captain is the defenseman every team is looking for. He’s got size, skill, and a shot that could kill a guy.

Mike Fisher – Nashville picked up Fisher at the deadline and he’s provided some scoring and is fitting in nicely with the Predators system. More importantly, he’s married to Carrie Underwood so there’s probably going to be at least one crowd shot of Underwood at one of the games in Nashville.

That’s it for the Western Conference. Expect the Eastern Conference set to be out sometime on Tuesday.



There you have it. If you agree, disagree, or have thoughts of your own. Share them with us at sportshatemeSHM@gmail.com OR follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/SeanofUnionBlue

Lessons Football Could Learn From the NCAA Tournament

This year’s NCAA Tournament is EXACTLY why football needs a playoff.

Last week Connecticut beat Super-Cinderella Butler in what has been described as one of the worst basketball games ever. I wouldn’t know, I enjoyed it about as much as I enjoy any other basketball game. Uconn’s national title, as a 3 seed spawned the internet to ask this question, “Is Uconn really the best basketball team in the nation?” which last week existed as, “Are Butler, VCU, Uconn, and Kentucky the four best teams in the nation?” These questions were asked almost exclusively by fans of traditionally good teams that had been eliminated earlier in the tournament.

Reason for poor shooting performance against Uconn? Boogers.

To answer the questions, no, they aren’t the best basketball team in the nation, and no, those weren’t the four best teams in the final four, but that’s what makes the tournament great. Its excitement is built on the upsets and surprises. The massive single elimination tournament isn’t designed to find the best basketball team, it’s designed to find the National Champion. The national champion and the best team don’t need to be the same thing. Otherwise, what’s the point of a tournament at all? If we were looking for the best team then we should’ve just ended the season and given Ohio State a trophy, but it doesn’t work that way.

Furthermore, this argument only seems to surface when a 1 seed doesn’t win the NCAA Tournament. The Green Bay Packers were the wildcard and the San Francisco Giants weren't the number 1 seed in the National League. The Chicago Blackhawks weren’t the NHL’s best team a year ago, but they and the other teams mentioned were their league champions, and yet nobody seems to have a problem with that.

"But were they really the best team?" *nerd voice, sniffles, glasses push* 

So what’s this got to do with college football? Well for one, it’s well documented that college football uses a two team playoff whose participants are decided by computers, schedule strength, and conference politics. It’s not the worst way to determine a national champion (that was the old pre-BCS system), but it’s far from the best. Think of all the excitement we’re missing out on by only having one true playoff game. Consider that an 8 team tournament would deliver 8 teams, all capable of winning a playoff game, battling it out in true and meaningful postseason play through seven intense games (I think my math is correct there). I don’t understand how any fan of college football wouldn’t love to have that.

Once a playoff is adopted these years we currently live in will be looked back on not in a fond-nostalgic sense, but as the dark ages of college football, the “why did it take so long to go to a playoff” days of college football, the “what were we thinking” days of college football.

Proponents of the BCS generally spout the same arguments and each one has a very easy solution. I will try not to bore you with my own ideal playoff alignment, but for the sake of consistency, assume we’re operating under an 8 team playoff, and I’ll address each of these as they come.

This is what a BCS fan looks like

Silly Arguments Against a Playoff:
“The regular season will be ruined. Look at college basketball, nobody cares about the regular season.”
An unintended consequence of the 64 team tournament in basketball is that people generally don’t pay attention to the regular season because the games are less important. For a lot of top tier programs the regular season is a 4 month waiting period until the tournament. I won’t argue that fact at all. That’s very true. I also won't argue that the college football regular season is unbelievable and that every week is important. What I will argue is that basketball and football are two very different sports, and that a playoff wouldn't do any damage to the regular season.

I don’t see football’s regular season being affected in any way by the addition of a playoff. One, all of the anit-climacticy of basketball’s regular season is due to the large number of teams that get into the tourny and the high number of regular season games they play. Football will never play a 30+ game schedule or hold a 64 team tournament. The football tournament will be far more selective and as a result, regular season games will still matter. Two, if you limit playoff selection to only conference champions, then the regular season will be just as important. I like the idea that you shouldn't be able to win a national championship without winning your conference championship.

“The schedule would be too long”
Right now they play 12 games, and then a conference championship game, and then a bowl game, so 14 games in all. With an 8 team playoff replacing the bowls, the schedule would grow to 16 games…for two teams. Two out of the 100 something division 1 teams will play 2 additional games. That’s not bad at all.

“They’re college athletes, what about their studies? A playoff is one more step towards professionalism.”
Thanks Gordon Gee. Let’s not pretend that high level college football cares about the scholarship of its players. This point is often trumpeted by college presidents because they can hide their desire to earn money through the current bowl system under the guise of fear that the student athletes’ academics may be compromised.

Further, if we can send our basketball players around the country for four consecutive weekends (during finals, might I add), then why can’t we do the same with our football players?

“We’d still argue about the last team picked, just like we argue about who is number 2 now.”
Yeah, but the number 3 team in the country often has a very legitimate gripe on not getting a shot at the national championship. Does the number 9 team? I’d feel a lot better about denying a shot to the 9th best team than I do the third best team, who is often excused only because of strength of schedule (which scheduled years in advance is out of their control), and conference politics (also out of their control). The 2004 undefeated Auburn team that got snubbed from the National Championship game comes to mind.

“We’d lose the tradition of the bowls”
Newsflash, the tradition of the bowls is gone. That died with the addition of the BCS, and it was given a final blow when the National Championship became a separate game unto itself. Not a single bowl game means anything anymore. We like to think they do, but really they’re all meaningless exhibition games. Each and every one, from the Rose Bowl to the Kraft Bullshit Bowl, is all for naught.

If you really want to keep bowls around then you can still play them, but with teams outside the tournament, a veritable football NIT, if you will. Or, you use the major bowls as preliminary rounds of the playoff, with an alternating schedule for the national championship game.

All I know is, I watched the basketball tournament, and excluding a disappointing title game, saw the parity and excitement that comes with deciding the champion on the field of play. How any fan of college football wouldn't love to have that is beyond me.



There you have it. If you agree, disagree, or have thoughts of your own. Share them with us at sportshatemeSHM@gmail.com OR follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/SeanofUnionBlue