Loyal readers, here is your chance to get the discussion going. Let us know what is on your mind. Today is a great day for the Pine!
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Wallysays
I can only hope that the next round of the NHL playoffs is as compelling and dramatic as the first round. Hard to beat the NHL playoffs in terms of excitement compared to the other major sports … what do you guys think?
So … Bill … where are we on the Eastern Conference now? Do the first round results change your picks?
Mine haven’t changed for the Western Conference … Detroit, Vancouver and San Jose are all alive and kicking. And like two weeks ago … it’s hard not to think the RedWings will ultimately emerge (but I hate those guys as a Blackhawks fan, so hope I’m wrong … similar to my feelings for the Michigan Skunkbears).
bill ribassays
Wally,
I think it pretty much fell into place as I predicted, which is hard to believe because I never pick sports correctly. I did figure the Sabres to be winners, and they would have, if Philadelphia hadn’t played “prison rules” hockey. Like the Sabres announcer said in the first or second game, “there are more cheap shots here than a bar in Mexico during happy hour.” I had thought maybe the refs and the league, while allowing a bit more physical play, would cut down on that, but I was wrong.
But the Flyers will be playing Boston next, so they will be playing a tough team, more physical than Buffalo, so it should be interesting. Philly still has goalie problems, so I’d say Boston in 6.
As for the Washington – Tampa series, it will be a match of the goal scorers, Ovechkin and Semin vs Stamkos and Sr. Louis and Lecavalier and I’d give the edge to Tampa there, because despite the Caps’ goalie being on a hot streak at the moment, the rest of their defense is weak. Tampa in 7.
In the West, the Detroit San Jose series will be the one to watch, because I think Vancouver will teach Nashville how to lose in 4.
And on another note, the Mets have won 6 in a row.
Bill – I have been using that line around the house since I heard it. Rick Jeanneret is awesome: “Top shelf where mama hides the cookies!”
I didn’t realize until the Sabres-Flyers series how much resentment I had for the punks in orange. How about the goal in game six where a Flyer forward skates behind Miller and butt ends him in the back of the head?
I have to re-prioritize my cheering after round one: the Sabres are gone. The Habs and local boy Brian Gionta are gone. The Hawks are gone.
I am cheering for every series to go seven games for the rest of the playoffs.
Wallysays
Good analysis, Bill. I can’t argue with your picks in the East too much, although you might be going out on a limb picking Tampa … we’ll see. I kinda think it’ll be Boston in 7 and Washington in 6.
In the West, I’m going with Vancouver in 6 over Nashville … I think the Canucks are a better team but quite spent after barely squeaking by Chicago in a very full 7 games. On the other side, Detroit over San Jose barely in 7 games … with the winner of that series going on to win the West overall. Hope it’s the Sharks, but we’ll see.
Lastly, good for the Mets! I hate to see any team completely bury themselves right out of the gate (except the Yankmees), so glad to see Mets on a hot streak … may it continue. The three teams I root for on a daily basis … WhiteSox, Cubs and DisAstros … are really struggling. I’m going to see the Disastros play Milwaukee Saturday …. plenty of good seats still available! 😉
bill ribassays
Yeah Casey, you really have to watch the Flyers close for all the little stick whacks and all. I’m surprised Milller didn’t go all Billy Smith on guys like Richards or Carcillo. And that hit to Connolly, well, that should have been a suspension. Ah well, as long as the boys from beantown take them to the cleaners.
Bill, you need to get your metaphors (or analogies, or whatever word describes his comparisons) straight…do the Flyers play like prisoners or drunk Mexicans? C’mon…one or the other…can’t be both…well I suppose they could. 🙂
bill ribassays
Well, to be clear, I said they play “prison rules,” while the Sabres announcer did the Mexican reference, although what he said reinforces the cheap style of play the Flyers seem to endorse.
I’ll try to stick to one genre for references in the future, I swear. And if I could figure out how to put one of those yellow smiley faces in I would do that too.
I blame all the rain around here for my lack of lucidity.
Since we’re on the subject, for a wink and a smile, type a semi-colon (hmmm…what’s half of Bartolo Colon? Ramiro Pena?) followed by a close parenthesis. Like below, but again, without the spaces in the middle:
; )
Wallysays
Or, if you want to express your dismay … like after the Blackhawks, Rangers and Sabres were eliminated … type : ( and you’ll get this 🙁
Comes in handy far too often.
bill ribassays
Thanks guys. Although just assume I’m always cranky and never serious. If there’s a face for that, let me know.
We have flowers among the weeds! Congrats, Ian! (But how could you pick the Magic to win last night? jk)
Wallysays
Smitty —
I didn’t hear what Mel Kiper or Gruden had to say, but I was quite surprised to see Washington QB Jake Locker (#8 to Titans) drafted so high … and even before Mizzou’s QB Blaine Gabbert (#10 to Jags). And also quite surprised that FSU’s Christian Ponder went as high as he did (#12 to Vikings).
The two QBs I really like are Gabbert and TCU’s Andy Dalton … Dalton is still on the board ! Some lucky team is gonna nab him as a real high value pick.
Loyal readers, here is your chance to get the discussion going. Let us know what is on your mind. Today is a great day for the Pine!
I can only hope that the next round of the NHL playoffs is as compelling and dramatic as the first round. Hard to beat the NHL playoffs in terms of excitement compared to the other major sports … what do you guys think?
So … Bill … where are we on the Eastern Conference now? Do the first round results change your picks?
Mine haven’t changed for the Western Conference … Detroit, Vancouver and San Jose are all alive and kicking. And like two weeks ago … it’s hard not to think the RedWings will ultimately emerge (but I hate those guys as a Blackhawks fan, so hope I’m wrong … similar to my feelings for the Michigan Skunkbears).
Wally,
I think it pretty much fell into place as I predicted, which is hard to believe because I never pick sports correctly. I did figure the Sabres to be winners, and they would have, if Philadelphia hadn’t played “prison rules” hockey. Like the Sabres announcer said in the first or second game, “there are more cheap shots here than a bar in Mexico during happy hour.” I had thought maybe the refs and the league, while allowing a bit more physical play, would cut down on that, but I was wrong.
But the Flyers will be playing Boston next, so they will be playing a tough team, more physical than Buffalo, so it should be interesting. Philly still has goalie problems, so I’d say Boston in 6.
As for the Washington – Tampa series, it will be a match of the goal scorers, Ovechkin and Semin vs Stamkos and Sr. Louis and Lecavalier and I’d give the edge to Tampa there, because despite the Caps’ goalie being on a hot streak at the moment, the rest of their defense is weak. Tampa in 7.
In the West, the Detroit San Jose series will be the one to watch, because I think Vancouver will teach Nashville how to lose in 4.
And on another note, the Mets have won 6 in a row.
Bill – I have been using that line around the house since I heard it. Rick Jeanneret is awesome: “Top shelf where mama hides the cookies!”
I didn’t realize until the Sabres-Flyers series how much resentment I had for the punks in orange. How about the goal in game six where a Flyer forward skates behind Miller and butt ends him in the back of the head?
I have to re-prioritize my cheering after round one: the Sabres are gone. The Habs and local boy Brian Gionta are gone. The Hawks are gone.
I am cheering for every series to go seven games for the rest of the playoffs.
Good analysis, Bill. I can’t argue with your picks in the East too much, although you might be going out on a limb picking Tampa … we’ll see. I kinda think it’ll be Boston in 7 and Washington in 6.
In the West, I’m going with Vancouver in 6 over Nashville … I think the Canucks are a better team but quite spent after barely squeaking by Chicago in a very full 7 games. On the other side, Detroit over San Jose barely in 7 games … with the winner of that series going on to win the West overall. Hope it’s the Sharks, but we’ll see.
Lastly, good for the Mets! I hate to see any team completely bury themselves right out of the gate (except the Yankmees), so glad to see Mets on a hot streak … may it continue. The three teams I root for on a daily basis … WhiteSox, Cubs and DisAstros … are really struggling. I’m going to see the Disastros play Milwaukee Saturday …. plenty of good seats still available! 😉
Yeah Casey, you really have to watch the Flyers close for all the little stick whacks and all. I’m surprised Milller didn’t go all Billy Smith on guys like Richards or Carcillo. And that hit to Connolly, well, that should have been a suspension. Ah well, as long as the boys from beantown take them to the cleaners.
Bill, you need to get your metaphors (or analogies, or whatever word describes his comparisons) straight…do the Flyers play like prisoners or drunk Mexicans? C’mon…one or the other…can’t be both…well I suppose they could. 🙂
Well, to be clear, I said they play “prison rules,” while the Sabres announcer did the Mexican reference, although what he said reinforces the cheap style of play the Flyers seem to endorse.
I’ll try to stick to one genre for references in the future, I swear. And if I could figure out how to put one of those yellow smiley faces in I would do that too.
I blame all the rain around here for my lack of lucidity.
Type a colon (not Bartolo) followed by a close parenthesis and WordPress converts it to a smiley face.
So, that would be like below, but without the space in the middle:
: )
Since we’re on the subject, for a wink and a smile, type a semi-colon (hmmm…what’s half of Bartolo Colon? Ramiro Pena?) followed by a close parenthesis. Like below, but again, without the spaces in the middle:
; )
Or, if you want to express your dismay … like after the Blackhawks, Rangers and Sabres were eliminated … type : ( and you’ll get this 🙁
Comes in handy far too often.
Thanks guys. Although just assume I’m always cranky and never serious. If there’s a face for that, let me know.
I am happy for Bills fans – their front office didn’t have to tempt themselves with Cam Newton.
Does Jon Gruden actually give a dang about what Mel Kiper has to say?
Congrats go out to Ian Levy.
Check out the following links where Ian is quoted:
https://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2011/news/story?page=5-on-5-110428
https://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2011/04/27/stars-get-more-time-at-the-line/?mod=wsj_share_facebook
We have flowers among the weeds! Congrats, Ian! (But how could you pick the Magic to win last night? jk)
Smitty —
I didn’t hear what Mel Kiper or Gruden had to say, but I was quite surprised to see Washington QB Jake Locker (#8 to Titans) drafted so high … and even before Mizzou’s QB Blaine Gabbert (#10 to Jags). And also quite surprised that FSU’s Christian Ponder went as high as he did (#12 to Vikings).
The two QBs I really like are Gabbert and TCU’s Andy Dalton … Dalton is still on the board ! Some lucky team is gonna nab him as a real high value pick.