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So here are again. Just as basically everyone expected, Cleveland and Golden State. Hoo boy, haven't these NBA Playoffs been exciting? No, they haven't? Of course they haven't. Two months delaying the inevitable is fucking boring. Sue me.
Depending on what your school of though is, you're either really looking forward to these Finals, or you gave up caring a while ago. Last year's Game 7 remains one of the greatest I've ever seen, but I simply do not see how we're going to get any kind of repeat of that.
Yes, LeBron is gonna LeBron. Still, he's only one guy. The Warriors have multiple stars. You're basically picking a team based on one man or the other based on its seeming army of weapons. I know what I'm anticipating.
"Hey, where's that usual stupid graphic you do for these posts, D. Rock?" Well, funny you bring that up, because apparently when you buy Microsoft Office for your new laptop, it's only for a limited time and then you have to buy some new plan or something that allows you be raped once a year or assaulted to a lesser degree every month. Neat! UPDATE: Fixed, obviously.
Anyway, the graphic will have to wait until tomorrow morning when I'm at my work computer where my employer doesn't deal with bullshit like this. I'll probably regret the P.K. Subban picture I chose once again, having dismissed its poor quality initially as a non-issue, because, c'mon, the Predators will be gone in the first round.
Instead, Nashville sits here four wins away from its first Stanley Cup. That is something I believe I both predicted and said I would openly root for to happen this year after the Blackhawks got ousted. Only one little problem with that now though: The last hurdle to get over is the defending champion.
Many of us dismissed the likelihood of a Penguins repeat because the prospect of running the gauntlet again simply seemed all so unlikely, what with having to play two 100+ point teams in the first two rounds an all. But Pittsburgh hasn't shown any signs of slowdown this postseason, even with the loss of Kris Letang. So I'm having second thoughts here.
Oh, I nailed my picks last round, bringing me to 10-4 this playoff season now with three series predicted in the exact number of games.
And at long last, we have finally arrived at the final stage before the NBA Finals in which we will be told that one of four matchups will be possible. In truth, we all know we're probably going to get the same Finals we got last year.
Forgive my cynicism, but we'll be lucky if one of these series proves to be competitive. You might notice that there's still five players in color in the graphic here, because the final game of the second round will tip (I believe) after the first game of this third round. NBA Playoffs always gotta be messing with my predictions schedule.
Anyway, I went 2-1 so far in the last round, bringing me to ... 9-2? Seriously, just get us to the Finals. Then you'll have my attention, NBA. Until then, I can't think of a moment in these playoffs that really stands out as something I couldn't have missed.
Got three of the four series right last round, although the only one I got the length right for was the one I got the winner wrong. So that brings me to a record of 8-4 so far this postseason and ensures a better than .500 record regardless of how my final three picks turn out. If you care.
What we're left with now must be giving the execs in the NHL some cold sweats. TV numbers are likely to be down with a Cup Final featuring possibly a Canadian team or a small-market American team with little to no national following (well, maybe Pittsburgh gooses the numbers). This isn't to say there isn't the potential for some compelling hockey.
I'm not going to wait to read previews about either of these next two series. I've got my mind made up as to who will be playing for the right to hoist Lord Stanley, although I can fully admit that I won't be the least bit surprised if I'm wrong on both of this round's predictions. Unlike the inevitable predictability of the NBA Playoffs, the hockey playoffs this year have seen some astonishing upsets that have defied a lot of conventional logic. My beloved Blackhawks are obviously the prime example here, but the continuing success of the Ottawa Senators remains truly remarkable.
I got seven of my eight first round predictions right, but only one in the correct number of games. While I've heard that this year's playoffs have been pretty good, I admit that I personally have been more attached to playoff hockey games and have only as a result watched a select few NBA games. For the most part, the first part confirmed my belief that such a round was more of a formality for most teams.
This round offers four series that all have interesting aspects, but I would say I'm only really going to be compelled to actively seek out and set aside time for the Texas series. The other three don't instill much hope from me, either because the outcome seems so obvious or I'm just not that into either of the teams.
Anyway, I don't even feel much of any kind of rooting interest right now, so I assume that I'll be just pulling for underdogs the rest of the way to subvert the seemingly automatic Golden State title. At this point, every basketball game just sort of delays the inevitable.
I know well enough that crazy things happen in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the last round came as a bit of a surprise to even myself. Sure, I got five of the eight series outcomes correct, but two of the three incorrect predictions were also designated as my second- and third-most confident picks. So, you know, oops.
Now that my Stanley Cup Bracket contest entry is trash (so much for a Blackhawks-Bruins Cup Final rematch), I guess that leaves me without much of a rooting interest. I imagine that the inevitable Pittsburgh-Washington series is deservingly going to get a majority of the attention this round, but I'm not entirely sold on the idea that the winner of that one ends up hoisting Lord Stanley.
I'd say that I would probably be fine any on of three remaining teams winning it all, although I'll probably grumble or be disinterested if one of the other five ends up becoming champions. So who am I rooting for, you ask?
Well, let's get to my picks and see if you can figure it out.
It's become fairly standard practice around these parts for me to kind of dismiss the first round of two of the NBA Playoffs since most every series seems to have a rather one-sided outcome, although I'm sure I'll probably mention multiple times this year how much I enjoyed last year's Game 7 of the NBA Finals (seriously, like best-ever type stuff for any sport). I guess this year's festivities are kicking off this weekend, so I'm cranking out my throwaway picks for the first round here with not a single upset.
A couple years ago, I got all eight of the first round series correct, but you have to seemingly try really hard to pick most basketball playoff series incorrectly. I guess there's some theoretical potential for my preseason Warriors-Cavs rematch to come undone, but let's just say I'm not completely sold on any of the possible alternatives. The Celtics as a top seed in the East seem to be a team that's going to have more success in the regular season than the playoffs, and the Spurs are always formidable contenders in the West although it's just hard to see how even San Antonio can stop a Golden State team that's going to have Kevin Durant again.
Yes, hockey will still take priority for this viewer on any given night, but here's how I'm guessing the first round is going to shake out. Just to make things different, I'm going to use some old school logos.
Well, it looks as though my shortened thoughts on the NHL at the beginning of the year got most of the obvious playoff teams right, but my predicted Stanley Cup winner was unable to even qualify for the the postseason. The upside, of course, is that my beloved Chicago Blackhawks finished with the best record in the Western Conference and are the presumptive favorites to win it all. What could possibly go wrong?
Looking over the matchups we did get this postseason, it seems like people might want to prepare for the possibility of coaches meeting their former teams in the playoffs this year. The first round opens with Todd McLellan and the young Oilers of Edmonton facing McLellan's previous team, the defending conference champion San Jose Sharks. The next round could see Claude Julien and the Montréal Canadiens meeting the team that fired Julien mid-season, the Boston Bruins. Wouldn't it be odd if Bruce Boudreau and the Minnesota Wild met his prior club, the Anaheim Ducks, in the Western Conference Finals? And maybe even Barry Trotz can finally carry the Washington Capitals all the way to the Stanley Cup Final to play against ... Nashville?
OK, last one (or two) are probably bullshit, but those are the ones that emerged for me. Hopefully I develop more compelling insights next round.
Oh, right. Today's Opening Day. You know, baseball predictions. Remember how I used to lay out the little hats and everything when making these annual predictions? Yeah, well I don't feel compelled to do that again (yet).
Instead, seeing as I'm never right when it comes to Major League Baseball, I'll just pick the teams I'll be actively rooting against all year long to play in this year's World Series with the Boston Red Sox beating the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both teams will win their respective divisions, with the other division winners being the Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians, and Houston Astros. The Wild Card teams will be the Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, and ... oh, let's say the Miami Marlins.
Fear not, hockey and basketball playoff predictions (with fun graphics!) are not far away.
Alas, it appears my pre-season prediction of a Patriots-Packers Super Bowl, while close, was not meant to be. Got one of two right last weekend, bringing me to 6-4 for the playoffs and making this final prediction relatively meaningless. I mean, if you don't count the fact that I picked the Patriots to win it all at the beginning of the year. Again.
The past year in the sporting world has seem some unlikely and historically long-suffering franchises finally win championships. So if you're buying into whatever worked for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Cubs working here, then the Atlanta Falcons are about to win their first title. That's certainly what I'm rooting for. Do I think that's what will actually happen though?
I've always had some kind of unexplained soft spot for pro sports teams in Atlanta. For the most part, it's just the Braves thanks to my childhood admiration of Hank Aaron and Dale Murphy. But I always rooted for the Falcons when they weren't playing the Bears and I remember doing the "Dirty Bird" with friends when the team last got to the Super Bowl what feels like just a few years ago but was actually nearly two decades.
We've been treated to what, one competitive game in these playoffs? The NFL is overdue for a barn-burner. Let's hope this season ends on a high note.
So here are again. Just as basically everyone expected, Cleveland and Golden State. Hoo boy, haven't these NBA Playoffs been exciting? No, they haven't? Of course they haven't. Two months delaying the inevitable is fucking boring. Sue me.
