6/7: Ducking My Predicted NHL Champ
8:45 p.m.
• So a day or so again, Mark Madden was commenting on Gary Sheffield’s words that Michael Wilbon pops wood over. He pretty much goofed on Gary, and this prompted some black callers to phone in and call him a RACIST. It was a nice switch from the Steeler fanboys that normally a call with their stupid thoughts. However, one guy was a notch above the rest. He bitched that Mark said Gary got away with what he said because he was black (or some similar complaint – all the callers sounded alike) and that if a white person would say something similar they wouldn’t get in trouble either. Madden started goofing on him, and the caller backed up his point by using DON IMUS and JOHN ROCKER as examples of whites that “didn’t get in trouble.”
And I watched a recent “Outside the Lines” episode on ESPN about sports talk radio, which mentioned that the average listener is more educated than one would think.
8:15 p.m.
• Let’s see how I did with my NHL playoff picks. I’m using my selections from the playoff tree after I discovered the league re-seeds its picks every round.
(1) Buffalo v. (8) NY Islanders. Buffalo in 5.
Result: Sabers in 5.
(2) New Jersey v. (7) Tampa Bay. Devils in 5.
Result: Devils in 6.
(3) Atlanta v. (6) NY Rangers. Rangers in 6.
Result: Rangers in 4.
(4) Ottawa v. (5) Shittsburgh. Senators in 7.
Result: Senators in 5.
(1) Detroit v. (8) Calgary. Detroit in 5.
Result: Wings in 6.
(2) Anaheim v. (7) Minnesota. Ducks in 6.
Result: Ducks in 5.
(3) Vancouver v. (6) Dallas. Stars in 6.
Result: Canucks in 7
(4) Nashville v. (5) San Jose. Predators in 7.
Result: Sharks in 5.
First Round: 6 for 8. Hey, seems like I somewhat know what I’m doing, especially if you ignore that 4/5 matchup in the West.
Second Round:
(1) Buffalo beats (6) Rangers in 5.
Result: Sabers in 6.
(4) Ottawa beats (2) Jersey in 6.
Result: Senators in 6.
(1) Detroit beats (6) Dallas in 5.
Sorta-Result: Wings beat Sharks in 6.
(4) Nashville beats (2) Anaheim in 7.
Sorta-Result: Not even close.
Third Round.
(1) Buffalo beats (4) Ottawa in 5.
Result: Sabers Senators in 5.
(
4) Nashville beats (1) Detroit in 7.
Sorta-Result: Ducks beat Wings in 6.
Stanley Cup.
(1) Buffalo beats (4) Nashville in 6.
Not-even-close Result: Man, that’s some good shit I’m smoking.
3 p.m.
• Well the Ducks won the Stanley Cup –– quack quack. From what I little I know of the NHL, it appeared from the start that the Ducks were the better team, and by winning in five games it appeared that way. I’m a little surprised Ottawa didn’t win another game or two, considering how well they seemed to play in the other playoff rounds. At least the final game was a blow-out. I’d feel bad for that Senator player who put the puck into his own net; if the Sens would have lost by just one goal, that player would have had to endure a long summer. I watched last night’s game and the one thing that always pains me is seeing the losing team just sit there on the ice while their opponents rejoice. Imagine going through as many as 28 postseason games only to fall short of getting to smooch Lord Stanley. On the other end of the spectrum, I also feel bad for baseball players who grind through 162 games in six months only to get eliminated in a best-of-five series in a wild-card round. At least with football you only play 16 games, so dropping a stinker in the playoffs would seem more tolerable. Then again, I don’t strap on the pads and beat the hell out of myself all year going against 300-lb linemen or psycho linebackers, so what do I know.
Last year I made a remark that it was nice to see Glenn Wesley finally get to lift the Stanley Cup, and this year it was Teemu Selanne’s turn. I don’t know much about the guy, but I remember him with the Winnipeg Jets. Uh, yay and stuff. I hope the NHL can get back on the radar when it comes to the sporting world –– this sport is too fun to watch to be brushed aside. Like I said above, I don’t religiously follow the NHL as much as I did when I was younger, but if a game is on I’ll have it on, even if I don’t recognize the players’ names.
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