NHL Playoff Predictions - Round Two

I was four out of eight in the first round. No perfect predictions. Damn you, Philadelphia and Boston. I'm sorry, Detroit. Thank you for proving me wrong, Montreal.

And now, the second round:

Eastern Conference
Boston over Philadelphia in 6
Montreal over Pittsburgh in 7

Western Conference
Detroit over San Jose in 7
Chicago over Vancouver in 7

NOTES: I admit, my prediction for Pens/Habs is completely biased. But you never know. As long as Halak keeps his great play up, anything can happen. Everything is reset for each round. Stats go out the window....I'm not sold about San Jose. It's one thing to beat a young Colorado team. It's a whole different thing trying to beat the experienced Red Wings.....Luongo is good. But if you rattle his confidence, you can take advantage of him.....Bruins/Flyers can go either way.

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Round 2 Predictions

Lots to digest after last night. I'll save my official predictions for Friday. But I will give one prediction since Detroit/San Jose starts tonight:

Detroit over San Jose in 7

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BRAVO CANADIENS!

(I'm so happy they proved me wrong)

Is it too early to start the "Halak for Conn Smythe" campaign?

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As We Enter

This song has been playing in my head for the last two weeks:



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Re. Habs/Caps, Game 6

Wow! It's almost 2004 all over again.

The Habs are now 13 wins away from their 25th Coupe Stanley.

Too soon?

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The Baseball Leafs

Episode 24 of This Is Toronto is now available!

The Toronto Maple Leafs of the Intercounty Baseball League have been a part of the local sports scene since 1969. They are also one of the city's most successful franchises. Maple Leaf P.A. Announcer, Statistician and Fan 590 Sportscaster Roger Lajoie discusses the team and previews the 2010 IBL season.

www.thisistorontopodcast.blogspot.com

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Re. Habs/Caps, Game 4

I don't want to talk about it.

It takes 60 minutes (or more) to win a hockey game. Not 40.

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Re. Halak and Price

Halak or Price? Hmmm....maybe the Habs can synergize them?

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Re. The Hamilton Bulldogs

The Bulldogs are the Canadiens' minor league affiliate. They had a really good season. But for some reason, no one in Hamilton seems to care.

So I asked the following question:

What's wrong with hockey fans in Hamilton?

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NBA Playoff Predictions - Round One

Now that the Raptors won't be taking part, I don't have a lot of interest in the NBA playoffs. However, I will lay down some picks.

Eastern Conference

Cleveland in four
Orlando in five
Atlanta in six
Miami in six

Western Conference

Lakers in seven
San Antonio in seven
Phoenix in six
Denver in six

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Re. 2009-10 Toronto Raptors

Don't hate the Chicago Bulls. The Raptors brought this upon themselves. No excuses here.

It was a very exhausting season. Quite frankly, I don't want to write about it. I can't remember a more frustrating season than this one. It's funny because I think I said the same thing about the '09 Blue Jays.

The Raptors' season can be summed up in three acts:

Act. 1 - The Bad (Start of season to early December)

Act. 2 - The Good (Early December to the All-Star break)

Act. 3 - The Ugly (All-Star break to end of season)

It was a total meltdown.

Let the post-mortem begin.

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NHL Playoff Predictions - Round One

Yee-haw

Eastern Conference

Washington over Montreal in six
New Jersey over Philadelphia in seven
Buffalo over Boston in six
Pittsburgh over Ottawa in five

Western Conference

San Jose over Colorado in five
Chicago over Nashville in four
Vancouver over Los Angeles in four
Phoenix over Detroit in seven

NOTES: These are objective predictions. Subjectively, I'm rooting for my Habs. Part of me hopes I'm wrong about Washington/Montreal. The only way the Habs could win is if Halak stands on his head and the defense actually plays defense. The Habs would also have to take advantage of Theodore, who can be shaky at times...Looks like I'm a little more conservative with the East than I am with the West...Phoenix has crazy momentum, but getting past the Red Wings won't be easy...San Jose, don't let me down...Little worried about Chicago's goaltending, but I don't think it will hurt them.

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Re. Blue Jays Home Opener

I'll see you at the Home Opener. And to those who are planning to show up to Skydome wasted and/or planning to start crap and/or planning to throw things on the field: STAY AT HOME, POSERS!

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PS: I don't want to talk about the Raptors.

PPS: Playoff predictions coming soon.

Silver Screen L'Chaim

Episode #23 of This Is Toronto is now available!!!

This latest edition features a preview of the 18th annual Toronto Jewish Film Festival; Apr. 17-25

www.thisistorontopodcast.blogspot.com

NEXT EPISODE: Apr. 23, 2010

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Re. Bucks, Bulls and Raptors

I am sending a huge THANK YOU gift to the Milwaukee Bucks. After that, I'm going to try to figure out a way to correct Bosh's facial fracture and get him back here asap. Has anyone seen my roll of duct tape and my box of popsicle sticks?

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Re. Jason Frasor

Not to going to panic yet. Way too early to do that. I'm going to give him two more chances before I suggest a change. This isn't 2007 and he's not Mike Timlin. Hopefully, yesterday's game was a just a rarity.

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Canada and the AHL

I've been thinking a lot about the American Hockey League. There's something romantic about it. Fortunately, I've been able to put my thoughts down on paper.

Enjoy.

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And we have a roster

2010 Blue Jays

Rotation
1. Shaun Marcum
2. Brian Tallet
3. Ricky Romero
4. Brandon Morrow
5. Dana Eveland

Bullpen
1. Jason Frasor
2. Kevin Gregg
3. Scott Downs
4. Shawn Camp
5. Casey Janssen
6. Jeremy Accardo
7. Merkin Valdez

Lineup
1. Jose Bautista, RF
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Adam Lind, DH
4. Vernon Wells, CF
5. Lyle Overbay, 1B
6. Edwin Encarnacion, 3B
7. John Buck, C
8. Travis Snider, LF
9. Alex Gonzalez, SS

Bench
1. John McDonald, SS
2. Randy Ruiz, 1B/DH
3. Jose Molina, C
4. Mike McCoy, UTIL

- Not liking Tallet in the two-spot. He rarely pitches past five innings. I would've kept him at the 4 or 5 spot. Remember, Tallet in the rotation is only temporary.

- Skeptical about Dana Eveland. Spring Training is one thing, but the regular season is a whole different beast. However, I was skeptical last year when Romero made the team and look what happened there.

- Mike McCoy can play IF and OF. Perfect.

- Merkin Valdez. Don't really know what to expect. As long as he can give 1-2 solid innings, I'm happy.

That's all I've got for now.

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The Grudge

A little math equation for you:

Vince Carter + Tracy McGrady + Raptor fans = The Grudge

Enjoy.

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