The Blackhawks' Second Quarter: Pardon the Olympic Interruption

It certainly appears that this year's defense of the Stanley Cup will be nothing like the 2010-11 season in which the Blackhawks had to creep in after grabbing the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference. Unlike the fire sale that followed the 2010 Cup win, this year's team has been kept largely intact and is storming through the NHL 41 games into this season. Consider that Chicago has scored five or more goals in nearly half of their games this season.

Name a player on this team and chances are good that he is having a solid campaign thus far. When a waiter at a local restaurant saw my Blackhawks cap during a recent visit, he asked who my favorite player was. It had been a while since I'd been asked this and I had to think about it. Based upon the very Norris Trophy-worthy season he's having thus far, my reply was Duncan Keith. But it could have just as easily been Patrick Kane. Or Patrick Sharp. Hell, why not Brandon Saad?

Blah blah blah. In short, there isn't a whole helluva lot that 'Hawks fans shouldn't feel good about right now. The champs are playing like the best team in the league, and it once again remains very hard to imagine that any team is going to be able wo win a seven-game series against Chicago come April. If there is one worry, it is undoubtedly the penalty kill that currently ranks among the league's worst after going on an amazing streak of success in last year's playoffs. Then again, with the team scoring as often as it is right now, simply avoiding stupid penalties would seemingly be the easiest fix to that, ahem, "problem."

Oh, and then there's the whole three-week interruption we're about to go through for what I hope and fervently pray is the final NHL player participation in the Winter Olympics. In addition to the fatigue concerns and how the sudden time out of the country will affect the roll the Blackhawks have been on, there is as alawys just the overwhelming fear of a star player sustaining an injury. Sure, Chicago has more than enough contributors right now to possibly make up for the inevitable player loss or two that will happen between now and the playoffs, but I'd still prefer safe than sorry. And it's hard to ignore the fact that the last time there was a mid-season Olympics break, the 'Hawks won the Cup that year.

The Bulls' First Quarter: Well, that (de-)escalated quickly

I see no point in lying. I attempted to listen to the Bulls game last night, but only made it about two quarters in before I decided to watch TV instead. (This, for the record.) OK, I lasted less than two periods.

This is likely to be the story for the remainder of the season. Oh, sure. The Bulls could be hard-working and grindy enough to make the playoffs in an appalling Eastern Conference, but this season's hopes for any sort of deep playoff run were vanquished as soon as Derrick Rose—fresh off missing an entire season—went down a mere 10 games into this one. 

The Bulls quickly announced Rose would be out for the season. No playoffs, no nothing. Year over. End of story. Commence talking about the possible draft pick even though management will have to publicly dismiss any discussion about possible benefits of tanking.

It seemed we would get through another painfully disappointing regular season, but things were considerably worsened when Rose talked about a possible return if the "situation is right" in his first public comments.

*SIGH*

Which means for the rest of the year, the media is going to be obligated to have headlines just like these ones. I'm casting my vote early: He won't be back for the playoffs and I'm not holding out any hope for the team even he does. Like many of us thought, this year appears destined to come down to Miami and Indiana in the East, with the rest of the field being a sideshow.

The Bears' Third Quarter: Fading to Black

While not yet technically eliminated from the playoffs, it seems to be a safer assumption that this first season of the Trestman era will end immediately after Week 17. For me, it's more or less what I expected coming into this year, although the loss to the Vikings in Minnesota that concluded this most recent quarter of the season was more discouraging than anything I could have imagined. Much of the week on Chicago sports radio has been spent calling to question the logic of attempting a 47-yard field goal on second down in overtime. Indeed, for a guy who has seemingly been as smart and analytically aware as Marc Trestman has seemed to be all year long, his defense of the decision left a lot to be desired. Then again, perhaps a poor defense is the best summary of this Bears season.

The team continues to deal with a set of highly consequential injuries to arguably two of its most important players on the two sides of the ball in Cutler on offense and Briggs on defense. There's been plenty of bright spots on the offense this year (for once), what with Matt Forte's continuing efficiency, Alshon Jeffery breaking out, and Martellus Bennett being a tight end who can actually, you know, catch. Oh, and that McCown guy's been pretty effective too. The defense, however, is even more dreadful than my initial fears about depth led me to fear they would be. Never in my lifetime can I recall Chicago having a league worst run defense.

I don't doubt that the team will continue to battle in these final four games, what with the North being similarly pathetic and underwhelming. Oh, and Jay Cutler has a payday coming up.

The Blackhawks' First Quarter: Room for Improvement

There's better pictures out there of the championship baaner ceremony, but few of them fit very well in the quarterly graphic. So there ya go. (You can go here to watch the ceremony, or get a better range of images here.)

When the NHL dropped the puck on this 2013-14 season, it seemed to come up on a lot of people sooner than usual. That was partly because we were coming off a shortened season that didn't begin until January last time around and partly because this season did start a little sooner than usual thanks to the three-week interruption we'll get courtesy of the Homophobic Hockey Winter Olympics over on the other side of the planet. 

So whereas I was quite the dedicated fan last year who listened to or watched every single 'Hawks game, this season's competing with playoff baseball and regular season NFL as well as us finally cutting the cord with cable has ultimately seen me only pay passing attention to the developments of games I get in the form of various push notifications on my cell phone. And the one thing that has been an annoying constant thus far this season is being informed that Chicago will be up 2-0 or 3-0, but then later that evening I will be told to tune in because the game is tied and is going to overtime. Sure, the Blackhawks end up winning a majority of these contests (I'm a little stunned to read that the 'Hawks are 1.000 when leading after one and .917 when leading after two, but are 3-4 in overtime), but the defense late in games is my foremost concern. 

Some of that has to do with goaltending issues (possibly because of new equipment?), largely because Nikolai Khabibulin thus far has not shown any signs of being anywhere near the backup that Ray Emery was last year. However, another aspect concerns a penalty kill that has essentially been the complete opposite of the dominance showcased last year. Still, none of these are issues that cannot be corrected. 

And it's hard to complain too much when Chicago sits atop the division standings.

The Bears' Second Quarter: One Game Makes A World of Difference

Even during the conclusion to the last quarter of the season, there were signs that this year's Bears defense was going to be one that was going to struggle. Still, it was hard for me to imagine that Chicgao's D would be as awful as it has been, and things only got worse this past quarter when Lance Briggs became the latest player to sustain an injury. Oh, and Jay Cutler went down too.

I was preparing to search for a very frumpy-looking Marc Trestman photo to use for this quarter's graphic after the team suffered a convincing loss to New Orleans, came up with on the losing end of a shootout with the woeful Washington Redskins, and barely beat a then-winless New York Giants. Then suddenly, lo and behold, this past Monday night in a game that the rival Packers were supposed to basically have wrapped up by the end of the first half, an incredible thing happened: Green Bay's star quarterback was not only sacked, not only suffered an injury that forced him from the game, not only will miss several weeks of action, but all of this was the result of a play by much-maligned first round draft pick Shea McClellin.

Not only did the Bears pull off a stunning upset on Monday night to stay above .500, but Chicago now sits in a three-way tie for first place. With Jay Cutler expected to return in a matter of weeks, the playoffs still seem like a very real possibility for many fans. Perhaps that's fair, but I say slow down. After all, the Lions were my Super Bowl pick. Still, there is one Wild Card out there.

Final Thoughts on 2013 MLB Season: #BostonStrong, Pundits Weak

When a Nationals-Tigers World Series was more or less the consensus pick at the beginning of this season, I said in my predictions that it reminded me of 2011. I once again brought up a 2011 reference when the Braves concluded their third quarter. And so at year end, who should happen to win the whole thing? The team I picked to win it all in 2011, of course.

As I mentioned before, I was far from being the only person who didn't have either of these teams in the Fall Classic, seeing as none of the 63 "experts" recorded by PunditTracker had Boston or St. Louis. In fact, I was like most in relegating Boston to the basement of the American League East, so the fact that the Red Sox instead ended up winning it all is quite incredible. And while I wasn't really rooting for either one of these teams, I certainly did take some joy in knowing how miserable the loss made Cardinals fans. Thanks to the Baseball's Best Fans Twitter, we got to see every single racist, homophobic and plainly insensitive tweet from the St. Louis faithful, many of which referenced the Boston Marathon bombings (one particular lowlife actually got arrested). So I can wholeheartedly endorse the city finally getting to savor a championship, you know, considering the additional pain residents endured this past summer.

Final Thoughts on 2013 Atlanta Braves: Yet another early farewell

My skepticism about the Braves heading into this postseason appears to have been justified.  Sure, I was cheering for the thought of a possible Game 5 in Atlanta during what turned out to be the final game of the year in Los Angeles, but it was clear I had a bad feeling even when the Bravos were holding a lead going into the bottom of the eighth inning. Witness this tweet as Juan Uribe came to the plate with a man on:

Be careful. Uribe's a spoiler.
— excitable honky (@excitablehonky) October 8, 2013

Sure enough, you know how that turned out:

Juan Uribe's with a HUGE 2-run home run giving the #Dodgers the 4-3 lead over the #Braves in the bottom of the 8th #postsesason
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 8, 2013

And with that, the Braves suffered yet another immediate exit from the playoffs, leading to immediate criticism that Fredi Gonzalez should have brought in Craig Kimbrel for a two-inning save and that David Carpenter was somehow representative of a bullpen that couldn't be trusted. Hindsight, as the old saying goes, is always 20/20. Truth be told, there's no guarantee Kimbrel would have been able to get six outs instead of three, and Carpenter had earned his opportunity to be entrusted with the eighth inning opportunity.

And beyond the inevitable letdown of another first-round ouster, there appears to be the additional fact that just like we said goodbye to Chipper last year and Bobby two years before that, it seems likely that we may have seen Brian McCann in an Atlanta uniform for the last time too. While the Braves catcher made innumerable contributions to the team over the year and I suspected he would step up to become the new team leader, McCann instead this year became more responsible for helping Atlanta earn the reputation of the "baseball police" in MLB. Hopefully next year will provide more reasons for the team to be more like those clubs accused of celebrating too much, you know, the ones that actually advance in the playoffs.

2013-14 NBA Predictions: The Third Time's No Forgone Conclusion

When I made my NBA predictions a year ago, the Miami Heat were more or less already presumed 2013 NBA Champions. They were wire-to-wire frontrunners, and despite a couple close calls in the playoffs, they inevitably emerged as repeat champions. It makes perfect sense that they would begin this year again as the intital favorite to possible threepeat. 

I was initially going to subtitle this year's picks, "Who Will The Heat Beat This Year?" But truth be told, there's just so many things yet to be determined this year. Any number of rosters could look completely different by year's end. In addition to the fact that LeBron James is set to once again become a free agent once the season concludes, there will also be an NBA Draft class that is sure to make teams outside the playoff picture consider trading away assets to stockpile more picks. And while a threpeat isn't unheard of in the NBA, four consecutive Finals appearances is rather rare. 

In addition to the usual plethora of new faces in new places, there's questions about whether Pau Gasol ends the year as a Laker. What about Rajon Rondo? DeMarcus Cousins? A whole number of players could be likely to be moved, and a whole number of teams thinking they're only one piece away from contending—especially in the Western Conference—means that whatever I type now, I'm incredibly likely to have a completely different feeling come April about which team hoists the Larry O'Brien in June. 

I could really go balls out and predict who's going to end up where based on trades that haven't happened, but for now, this year's predictions represent my opinion based on the rosters as presently constructed. Which is to say that I'm nowhere near as confident as I might've been, say, last year.

2013 World Series Prediction: Battle for Team of the Century (Thus Far)

Aside from one series and a couple of games, my postseason picks this year have been fairly right on. Of course, seeing as we've wound up with the two best teams in baseball in this year's Fall Classic, it's not as though I really took any tremendous risks along the way. Additionally, I'm sure to note in my year-end Final Thoughts post that this year's conclusion is pretty far off from my original predictions before this season began. Then again, it looks like this was a series that absolutely no pundit saw coming at that point either.

As this season draws to a close, we're also left with a World Series that many fans simply have zero rooting interest in. As Will Leitch put it, many fans will be "cheering for the meteor." As Leitch also noted, the winner of this series will also be the first team to win three championships this century. Furthermore, it will also mean that these two teams have won half of the World Series titles over the past decade. So a lot of people can be forgiven for being tired of seeing either one of these stadiums of red-clad fans.

While I was tempted to create a graphic using some of the most egregious examples of obnoxious fandom from the Red Sox or the Cardinals, the truth is that we have been treated to some really good baseball in this year's playoffs and I'm looking forward to what should probably be a thrilling conclusion.

2012 League Championship Series Predictions: Meet the new Final Four, same as the old Final Four

My strategy of picking against my rooting interest proved to be fairly accurate, as I nailed not only the winners of three of the four series in the last round but the exact number of games too. My only miss was Oakland, a team that by now appears to be jockeying with my beloved Braves for postseason infutility. The final thoughts on this once again disappointing Atlanta season are forthcoming down the line, probably after I return from the vacation next weekend.

The downside to having as many teams I'm by no means a fan of advance last round means that, of course, my wife may finally have a point when breaking out the annual "You don't even like these teams" argument when I have any sports playoffs on TV. Still, I'm not about to tell her that and I'm more than likely still going to make playoff baseball appointment viewing since we are still given two fairly good matchups.

As you can tell by another vanilla graphic for this post, I still don't have the time to construct a more creative image to accompany this post—not that I've necessarily got any particularly compelling ideas dreamed up anyway. Unfortunately for me, these "final four" remaining teams are all quite familiar faces—well, logos, at least. Still, only one's going to be called champions this year, and damned if I'm not still interested to find out which club that will be. Perhaps I'll have developed a more passionate rooting interest by the time I'm posting my World Series picks.

The Bears' First Quarter: New Eras

For as long as I've been a Bears fan, the team's identity came largely from its defense. From fans to coaches, the football team has long lived in the enormous shadow cast by the 1985 World Champion defense. Ever since then, there's been constant whining about the improvements that need to be made to various components of the offense, but fans could always seem to take comfort in the quality of the team's defense.

Of course, it seems like I've been saying for the past few years that the defense is aging. The window was closing. And now this past off-season, iconic linebacker Brian Urlacher retired after the Bears supposedly "low-balled" him by giving him a modest offer. The amount is kind of trivial since in his previous season, the man did not really play like he did a decade ago in his youth. Oh, and no other team wanted him.

Meanwhile, the defensive-minded Lovie Smith didn't get an offer from anybody after being let go, and his replacement Marc Trestman has been referred to as a "quarterback whisperer" for the success he's had working with numerous top QBs around the NFL. This once again gave some Bears fans reason for optimism about the offensive prospects, for once. And now four games into Trestman's first season, it's still taking a little getting used to. The defense most certainly isn't as good as it has been in years past, but the offense may be more potent than its ever been. In today's NFL, that could make this team a real contender.

But it's not that easy, of course. Nothing ever is.

2013 Division Series Predictions: I hope I'm wrong about every one of these

With very few of my piss-poor initial predictions about this season still being possible outcomes, I suppose this is a round to finally change course and start expressing supposed confidence in a new outcome. That said, for this round at least, I'm invoking a strategy of going against what I want to see (depite being two for two in picking personally preferred teams thus far). Seeing as I usually pull for and find reasons to predict underdogs, I suppose that might make these picks on the safer side. 

While I will certainly be pulling for these series to have outcomes that allow me to continue to have real, genuine rooting interests, I fully expect my favorite teams to be promptly eliminated. In truth, this might be a good thing since the wife and I will be in New England in a second attempt to have our honeymoon right around the time of our one-year anniversary. And also around the time of possible Game 7s of the ALCS and NLCS. 

So yeah, at worst, I'm right on all counts and won't miss any games I care about. At best, the teams I like (namely a certain ball club from Atlanta) advance and my efforts to watch possible games in the next round while camped out in Maine could make for additional blogging material—when I have more time, of course (the transcribing needs to be done before we leave, so there). 

The Braves' Fourth Quarter: Oh, so that's what that felt like

There really can't be much to complain about when a Braves team that was widely expected to finish second to the Washington Nationals this year and settle for a Wild Card berth at best instead dominates pretty much from wire to wire in winning the team's first division title since 2005. Yeah, that's nowhere near the agony that, say, Pirates fans finally overcame this year, but it was certainly a pleasant surprise to see how successful Atlanta ended up being this year.

So what does it mean? Well, it means that there won't have to be a silly one-game playoff this year for the Bravos. However, because the team sort of limped across the finish line, the St. Louis Cardinals strode in and swiped home-field advantage, now setting up a less than desirable first round date with the Los Angeles Dodgers. While it's been a few years since the Braves got into the playoffs for an actual, you know, series, it's suddenly all coming back: the doubt, the worries, and the predominant sense of skepticism.

I'll dwell on that more in my Divisional Series picks tomorrow, but for now, I should really take a moment to appreciate how well this year turned out. Putting aside the disappointing (and expensively lackluster) performances of B.J. Upton and Dan Uggla, there was plenty to be happy about this year after all. I imagine whenever the Final Thoughts for this year's team go up, there will be much more praise for the pitching and other positional players as well as manager Fredi Gonzalez once the year concludes.

This has certainly been a very encouraging campaign that has restored a lot of faith about the long-term future of this team. Whether the team will prove to be strong enough for the immediate future is something we'll begin getting a better idea of tomorrow night. I'll certainly be hoping for the best.

2013 Wild Card Playoff Predictions: Keep the single-elimination fun going

As I said in my NHL predictions last night, I'm a little pressed for time right now. So my apologies for not customizing the little accompanying graphic a bit, but it's not like I had any great ideas at the moment anyway. Still, I can never pass up the opportunity for postseason picks, and after last night's tiebreaker game sent Tampa into the playoffs, the next two nights will see two more do-or-die games for four teams. It certainly should be fun, maybe even infuriating if there's another infield fly rule call.

2013-14 NHL Predictions: Lamest predictions ever

There was of course immediate fear that Sports Illustrated jinxed the Blackhawks season that begins tomorrow night when they put Patrick Kane on the cover and proclaimed Chicago would repeat as Stanley Cup Champions. The 'Hawks will hear over and over again how no team has repeated since the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings, although much like last year's defending champion Los Angeles Kings, there's good reason for optimism in the Windy City since (unlike the start to the 2010-11 season) many of the key players from last year's Cup run are still on the team. Oh, and as I recall it, the last time I posted a pre-season magazine issue with the Blackhawks on the cover, that was the previous year they won the Stanley Cup. 

After winning the Cup in late June, the off-season certainly felt quite short. On top of that, this is also another year in which the regular season will have an asinine three week-or-so interruption because of the Olympics. Of course, the last time there was an Olympics interlude, that was also the season the Blackhawks won the Cup in 2010. 

So there's certainly some encouraging signs on that front, but there's also a whole slew of other factors to consider—none of which I can say I'm adequately prepared for. While I actually paid attention to the NHL Draft this off-season, I've been fairly oblivious to other major moves and then there's the entire reshuffling and reorganizing of divisions that also affects the playoffs in ways that I'm not totally certain I completely understand yet. 

Still, the puck drops on another NHL season tomorrow and I'll throw my half-assed picks out there, not that I think I'll be taking any tremendous risks. 

Game No. 163 Prediction: This could have (should have?) worked out a lot differently

I don't know when I'll get time to reflect on my predictions from the beginning of this baseball season, but needless to say, very few of them seemed to be accurate. As it turns out this year, the regular season concluded with two teams left tied for the final Wild Card spot in the American League. Ironically, these same two teams were also involved in a fairly controversial game way back on April 8 in which home plate umpire Marty Foster called out Tampa batter Ben Zobrist on a Joe Nathan pitch that sure looked to be way low pretty outside. At the time, you could dismiss it as being just one game, but sure enough, here we are with those same to teams tied for the final postseason berth.

Oddly enough, the Cleveland Indians avoided a possible three-way tie for these final two spots by winning one more game this year. Of course, Cleveland was perhaps the recipient of an even more dubious call the following month when famed abomination of an umpire Angel Hernandez actually reviewed a home run call and opted not to make the correct ruling in an Indians game against the Oakland Athletics. Fortunately for the A's, they won the West by a comfortable margin and the game proved to be inconsequential. Still, had the right calls been made (GIFs available here and here), it could very likely be a different playoff scenario—one without a 163rd regular season game, perhaps.

Nonetheless, here we are. And of two teams that I had both making the playoffs this year, only one of the teams playing Monday night is going to live to fight another day.

2013 NFL Predictions: There's gotta be surprises somewhere

A whole variety of new faces in new places this season in the NFL, but what difference will that really make? Some of last season's strongest teams appear to have gotten even better and most of the initial picks I've seen thus far seem to have either the Broncos or the Patriots as the pretty clear favorites in the AFC. Over in the NFC, the opinion is a little more mixed, as the conference has a number of teams that could be contenders, but the Packers and the 49ers seem to be popular choices. 

This is now my fifth year of making NFL predictions, and my track record really isn't that great. Ever since the first year of making picks in 2009, the only season I had more than half the teams in their correct final spots, I've had a fairly lousy track record at doing this. Nonetheless, making predictions is more or less what this blog has become entirely dedicated to and I'm anxious to see how this NFL season plays out.

I'll attempt to take a few risks this year so this doesn't look like another version of the average of everybody else's predicted finishes, but ultimately I think that it's probably smarter to go with the consensus in the AFC and relegate the surprises to the NFC. That almost certainly means the opposite was true.

The Braves' Third Quarter: Memories of 2011

Considering it was less than two years ago that what seemed like a sure playoff berth in the third quarter instead ended up being a monumental collapse that year, it is hard for Braves fans—or at least this one—to begin making championship parade plans just yet. Even if the team did have a 14-game winning streak during this past quarter. And they have now won 17 of their past 19. 27-13 since the last time I did an update on this team.

But the Braves are a different beast than, say, the Blackhawks are when it comes to my Four Bs. Where I entered the most recent NHL Playoffs with enormous confidence and felt like a Stanley Cup was a very realistic goal, I remember full well that crazy shit happens in the baseball postseason. And while Atlanta has been playing out of their mind in so many respects, it just takes a couple guys going into a sudden slump to watch the whole dream vanish in a matter of three or four games.

Still, there is no denying that what the Braves have accomplished thus far this season has been remarkable. The East has not just been the complete disappointment of the Washington Nationals that many people expected to end up in the Fall Classic, but this Atlanta team has also been better than most anybody expected. If they can indeed maintain this level of play, then the team has as good an argument as anybody. While the use of the Tim Hudson season-ending injury in this third quarter graphic is very reminiscent of the Chipper Jones third quarter injury three years ago, the Braves have just continued to reach into the farm system and plug in another pitcher every time it seems that they have suffered a devastating loss. The depth club's depth has been nothing short of remarkable, and now with it seeming that a division title can be wrapped up much earlier in September than anybody could have possibly hoped for, there won't have to be any worry about overextending key players before the playoffs begin.

All things considered, everything looks quite golden for Atlanta ... for now.

The Braves' Second Quarter: Surprises Abound

When both Eric O'Flaherty and Jonny Venters suffered season-ending injuries, I thought that meant for sure that Atlanta's bullpen would inevitably be struggling throughout the season to hold leads and allow Craig Kimbrel to even have a reason to enter ballgames. As it turns out, the Braves arrived at the halfway point of the season with the best relief ERA in the majors (2.70). But the even bigger surprise is that Fredi seems to have learned from what many believe was the error of his ways a few years back when he seemingly exhausted the arms in his bullpen, as the amount of Atlanta's relief innings after 81 games was the fifth-fewest in Major League Baseball.

So midway into this 2013 season, the pitching has in fact been remarkably strong. That, of course, was the story throughout the 1990s, which could just as easily make the average Braves fan confident as it could skeptical. Still, with the second-best overall ERA (trailing only the remarkable Pittsburgh Pirates—whom you might recall I picked to win that division this year) in baseball, I'd be nuts to complain.

In addition to the pitching, the other pleasant surprise at this point would be that Atlanta is no longer in the lead for that team batting strikeout record that I thought they would eclipse this season. The Astros overtook the Braves in that category, and ended up only four behind where the 2010 Diamondbacks that own that dubious record were after 81 games. Of course, Atlanta's batters are indeed still striking out a lot, but they've been scoring and winning too. All things considered, it's hard to have asked for more at this point.

Final Thoughts on 2013 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks: A shortened season that produced even more memories

Oh, right. So this is what it was supposed to feel like. I guess I kinda forgot after two straight years of first round exits in the playoffs. None of that bullshit this year though, no sir.

I entered this year with my expectations for the Blackhawks somewhat tempered by the fact that the defending champion would be bringing back essentially the entire roster it won the Cup with in 2012—not to mention the fact that some of their players were getting about three more months of rest than Cup winners normally do. However, when Chicago came storming out of the gate and made through each of the first two quarters of this 48-game season without losing a single game in regulation, those expectations were raised about as high as they could be set by the time we got to the third and fourth quarters of the year.

Entering the playoffs as the top seed, anything less than winning the whole damn things seemed unacceptable. That said, this year's run did not seem to be quite the formality it felt like in 2010. I might be downplaying some of the more stressful moments from that postseason, but you could see supposed fans of the team this year leaping off the bandwagon at numerous times when Blackhawks trailed in games or series. Judging by the parade turnout yesterday, I think most of them came back. Maybe they now realize what fans in other cities learned this season the hard way: you can never count this team out.

Final Thoughts on 2013 NHL Season: All's (Really) Well That Ends (Really, Really) Well

It's still rather hard to believe that less than six months ago, many of us we're sitting here thinking that we were on the brink of seeing an entire NHL season wiped out for the second time in less than a decade. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, the puck dropped, and things could not have worked out more perfectly.

I will clearly get to my fawning Final Thoughts wrap-up of the beloved Blackhawks' season in the next post (hopefully tomorrow), but it's important to step back and look at the Playoffs and the entire season as a whole. It apparently wasn't just me who was enjoying the hockey this year. Following the conference finals, the playoffs were the second most-watched in 16 years. This year's Stanley Cup Final was the most watched on record (which, admittedly, only goes back to 1994), and the deciding Game 6 was the ninth-most watched game ever in the United States.

But let me not read too much into those numbers. It is customary for most hockey fans to complain about the lack of attention the sport is receiving, but if we can acknowledge that this cult sport remains fourth in popularity among the four major sports, those of us who did watch were royally treated these past two months. There were overtime games galore, a good number of competitive series and a Stanley Cup Final that at time seemed to be about as evenly matched as any I've ever seen. Much like last year's shortened NBA season, it felt as though this 48-game NHL campaign not only compelled viewers to pay closer attention during the regular season, but brought out another level of competitive spirit from the players as well. The end result is a conclusion so glorious, I suspect many might even forget there was a work stoppage in the first place.

Final Thoughts on 2012-13 NBA Season: Your Anti-LeBron Argument is Hereby Invalid

My pick for the NBA Finals last round made no secret about my borderline boredom with a majority of this year's playoffs, but I thought I made clear that I had pretty high expectations for the final series of this basketball season. Consider those expectations completely shattered. Decimated. What I just saw is certainly among the greatest NBA Finals of my lifetime, and I would not be surprised if in future posts I refer to it as the greatest of all time.

As the fact that I picked against Miami each of the past three years when predictions are made for the final round indicates, I have enjoyed rooting against the Heat as much as the next non-Floridian or Cleveland resident. You know that I was sharing some of the giddy joy in that bar on Tuesday night when the Spurs were less than a minute away from a fifth title. Alas, that legendary game bears so much resemblance to another Lone Star State Game 6 meltdown, the Texas Rangers twice being within one strike of winning the 2011 World Series. I'm relatively certain that at this rate, it's either going to be the Cowboys, the Texans or maybe even the Stars choking away a title in 2015.

While I think a good majority of this NBA season unfolded pretty much as expected, the way it finished was spectacular. And at this point, you are either ignorant or bitter to deny giving credit to the Miami team that ultimately delivered the championship it was favored to win all season long. This team has been a deserving favorite for the past three years, and—barring an unprecedented trade or dramatic overnight rebuilding of some other entire roster—will almost certainly be favorites next year and maybe three more after that. As I remarked to a co-worker today, now I guess I know how other fans in other cities felt during the Jordan years.

NHL Stanley Cup Final Prediction: More Than a Feeling

That title's play on the Boston song title was admittedly swiped form a Facebook post by 670 The Score's Nick Shepkowski. I'll elaborate on that when I get to my pick at the bottom of this post, but I need to take a moment to note that, Stanley Cup winner aside, the rest of my original preseason picks for winners and losers of the last round and now, hopefully, this round, have been right on. I will elaborate on that overall performance this year in the final NHL post of this season, when I am hopefully celebrating Chicago's second Stanley Cup in four years.

Rest assured, this time around is nowhere near the gimme that 2010 felt like when the Blackhawks drew the seventh-seeded Philadelphia Flyers. Indeed, the Boston Bruins have simply been playing lights-out hockey ever since the remarkable opening round Game 7 comeback against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Of course, they've been doing it in the Eastern Conference, so make of it what you will. Me? I've got my doubts. Of course, I'm a tad biased.

NBA Finals Prediction: The Big Finish

The hopes were so high as we entered the conference finals, and the dramatic conclusion to Game 1 in the East certainly gave lots of people reason to believe that we were finally, finally going to get some basketball that was worth tuning in for. And, well ... not so much. San Antonio quickly did away with Memphis and while Miami and Indiana indeed went seven games, the finale was a predominantly one-sided affair. Alas, we arrive at the final matchup of the NBA season, and this one should definitely make for a pretty riveting conclusion to what has otherwise been a pretty forgettable basketball postseason. With the exception of, say, the upstart Golden State Warriors, the NBA Playoffs has more or less gone as expected and completely paled in comparison to what's been going on over on the NBC Sports Network most every night. But hey, don't take my word for it:

The NHL playoffs have been exponentially better than the NBA playoffs this year.
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) May 22, 2013

As @danwetzel said, the NHL Playoffs have been miles more compelling than the NBA Playoffs this year. Not even close.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 22, 2013

Now, you're bound to hear some people complain that the Spurs are "boring," that the Thunder were the preferred opponent, that this year's playoffs suffered when some of the game's best point guards (Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose) were unable to compete. However, San Antonio has been exceeding expectations, and this year's Finals has a nice narrative. Tim Duncan, arguably the greatest power forward of all time, against LeBron James, perhaps the greatest player of all time, period. A Spurs team that has never won consecutive titles trying to deny a Heat team back-to-back championships. LeBron getting an opportunity to avenge being swept by San Antonio in the 2007 NBA Finals. And, of course, Gregg Popovich getting the opportunity to accept what will be David Stern's final Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy presentation less than a year after the commissioner levied a ridiculous fine against the team for resting star players in a nationally televised game against this same Miami team. Yep, should be fun.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Conference Finals Predictions: Familiar Faces

Before last night's Game 7 at the United Center, the five teams still remaining in the Stanley Cup Playoffs were also the last five winners of the coveted trophy. With the elimination of the Detroit Red Wings, the final four teams are, coincidentally, the last four Stanley Cup winners. If this manner holds in which the team with the longest period of time since its last championship is the next to be eliminated, then Pittsburgh would be the first club to fall in the upcoming round and Chicago would follow immediately after with Los Angles repeating as Cup winners by beating Boston. That, of course, would involve, both top seeds falling in this round, which is a scenario that I'm guessing not many people are ready to believe (or in my case, prefer).

Rest assured, if nothing else, both of these last two series before the 2013 Stanley Cup Final should be nothing less than more thrilling, must-see hockey, as has been more or less the standard established throughout this year's playoffs.

NBA Playoff Conference Finals Predictions: <=== I spelled "Conference" correctly this year

There was a typo in the title when I made the picks for this round last year, but let's see if I can get the picks right this year too. I predicted all four conference semifinals series correctly last round, pretty much reinforcing my notion that (with the exception of the surprising Golden State Warriors) things are pretty much going as expected in this year's NBA Playoffs. This round though? This is where my viewership should probably increase.

There is once again a certain sense that all four of the remaining teams have legitimate shots at advancing, and hence, winning the title. While the defending champions are certainly still the popular favorite, the Heat will get their biggest challenge yet in the Pacers and the Spurs-Grizzlies series could be considered a tossup. If nothing else, it should be two spirited series to determine who goes to this year's NBA Finals.

The Braves' First Quarter: And it all started so well ...

This season could not have gotten off to much better of a start than the way it did for the Braves, winning 12 of their first 13 games. Of course, since then? Well, 11-17 isn't quite as much to boast about. While Atlanta clings to first place, a mere game ahead of the Nationals, the 23-18 mark represents the lowest winning percentage of any of the current six division leader. Yes, that's right: Even lower than the woeful American League Central.

I could go on to lament that the Braves could slide out of the playoff picture entirely if caught by the Nats, but let us be honest: We're only 41 games into a very, very long season. Hell, the team slid to third place last year at the halfway point and still made the playoffs as a wild card. So it would rather premature to draw sweeping conclusions at this early point in the year.

As is always the case at this point of the season, we are reminded that there is still a lot of baseball yet to be played. And there is, more specifically, a lot more baseball to be played at the Ted, as Atlanta has played the least number of home games of any team in the league at this point. Furthermore, the club is in first place despite not having had their entire lineup play together in a single game yet this year. So, there's been some good (the explosive hitting of Justin Upton, the comeback story of Evan Gattis), some bad (the struggles of B.J. Upton, Jason Heyward and Dan Uggla), but ultimately, there is—as always—still a long way to go.

Final Thoughts on 2012-13 Chicago Bulls: Everybody Hurts

At long, long last, a very trying Bulls season concluded Wednesday night in Miami. While this campaign is destined to be remembered as "the year Derrick Rose didn't play a single game," the fact that this team not only made the playoffs but actually won a first-round series is a testament to the coaching abilities of Tom Thibodeau. Amazingly, Thibs finished eighth in the Coach of the Year voting, but he got maximum results from a minimal roster. And a banged up roster, at that. Nearly every member of this team battled through injuries while the league MVP from two seasons ago watched from the bench. 

There's certainly going to be people who have a hard time forgiving Rose for sitting out all year. How could he just sit and watch while teammates fought through their own pain and ailments? Couldn't he have played, even just for a few minutes, to energize his team and the hometown fans? Would it have made a difference? Much like the conclusion to the 2009-10 season, it felt like those holding out hope that Rose would return or that the remaining Bulls would overcome the odds were like poor ol' Candy.

Round Two NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions: The Agony and the Ecstasy

So I clearly made this little graphic before last night's Game 7s, otherwise I almost certainly would have used one of the many other Toronto images instead. And clearly the joy of those Lil Caps Fans was short-lived, although really no image captures the joy of playoff hockey quite as magnificently as that one. Either way, the opening round concluded and it did not disappoint. The 17 overtime games were a new record for the league, and five of the eight series saw the lower seeds advance.

I am fairly convinced at this point that the fortnight that makes up the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is my absolute favorite time of the sports calendar year. Fortunately, this year's playoffs did not see my favorite team get promptly eliminated. Thus, there is an even greater likelihood that I will be awake late at night and possibly leaping from the couch in delight. If last night's wild conclusion to the Leafs-Bruins demonstrated anything, it's that you can never really tell what's going to happen with these games. I was going to say we probably won't see anything like that again this postseason, but really ... all bets are off.

Round Two NBA Playoffs Predictions: Here's to your health

I think "painful" is a fair description of this NBA season based on the number of players who have missed time and will be out for the remainder of this year's playoffs. The Bulls, obviously, were without Derrick Rose's services all year, the Lakers that were expected to be a juggernaut this season instead lost the team's star Kobe Bryant late in the regular season, and now Oklahoma City is without Russell Westbrook. Even that omits Boston being without Rajon Rondo, Indiana missing Danny Granger and Denver losing Danilo Gallinari. Is there anybody I forgot?

Of course there is. Injuries are a part of sports, but they've taken on a seemingly more significant role in this NBA season. I have spent the past month arguing with my uncle about whether it was right for Gregg Popovich to send three stars home before a regular season game with the Heat. My logic was that he was entitled to do so because he was doing what he felt would help his team win an NBA Championship. And now with the rest of the league being so beat up, his decision could take on a greater significance if the Spurs do win it all—or hell, even if they make it to the Finals.

Right now, let us all just hope that there will be some stars remaining by the time we do get to the NBA Finals, whomever it is that proves healthy enough to make it there.

Round One NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Predictions: No Shortened Path Here

When the NHL lockout finally ended, this was the moment that I was perhaps most looking forward to, the one I would have missed the most had the season been lost. While I have been sort of half-viewing portions of the NBA Playoffs thus far, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are an entirely different beast this time of year. I cannot turn away from any game on television—even those not involving the beloved Blackhawks. Indeed, over the coming days, I am hoping to stay up until the wee hours of the morning to watch multiple-overtime contests. Even if there is no late-night hockey, some regular prime time or weekend afternoon playoff hockey should be every bit as satisfying.

In years way past, I used to be pretty good at the predicting business when it came to the NHL Playoffs, but my performance has left a lot to be desired for the last couple years. I will hope to post a more successful record this year, but more than anything, I am ultimately just hoping for a certain outcome.

The Blackhawks' Fourth Quarter: No complaints (... yet)

You know, way back like 100 days ago when I made my original predictions for this NHL season, I said that this year's Stanley Cup winner would be the first team in five years to also win the Presidents' Cup for the most regular season points. Of course, I was talking about the St. Louis Blues, but I'm sure going to hope I was right about that other part now that the Hawks went and secured not only the best record in their division and in the conference, but the entire league as well. So, pressure's on. 

This final graphic of the regular season contains the team picture from the 1990-91 season the Blackhawks last brought home a Presidents' Trophy. Lest you forget, the Chicago team that year was immediately shown the door by a Minnesota North Stars team that went on to lose that year's Stanley Cup to Pittsburgh. This year, the Blackhawks will open the playoffs with Minnesota's newest hockey incarnation, the Wild, and the Penguins are once again favorites in the East. Considering that three of the last four year's Presidents' Trophy winners have been first round exits, there's some mild concern coming from these bad memories.

That nonsense is just damn silly though. Count your fucking blessings, I say, that Chicago is meeting a Minnesota team that stumbled in to the postseason and just barely qualified ahead of a Columbus Blue Jackets team that is nothing like the wretched versions of years past. As it turns out, I think this year's Western Conference playoff picture shapes up very much in the Hawks' favor and there was very, very little during this 48-game season that would lead me to believe any other team in the league can win a seven-game series against them. I know the Hawks never played an Eastern Conference opponent this regular season, but that's not really all that concerning. Sorry.

Round One NBA Playoff Predictions: With Comments!

I apologize that this year's first round picks are pretty much the exact same picks I had last year, but my feelings throughout these playoffs are likely to be the same for as long as LeBron James is playing in Miami. Once again, the Heat are the clear favorites, and once again, the Thunder are the popular expectation to be the final and perhaps strongest challenger. While I was tempted to believe at one time that the Indiana Pacers might be able to give the champs a legitimate threat, but the entire Eastern Conference Playoffs feels like a month-long formality. 

That isn't to say that I don't think there won't be some excitement somewhere in this year's playoffs. Hell, there's a number of games out West that I think I'll be interested in catching. Oh, and yeah, the Bulls are in it. And I guess technically I'm expecting a couple upsets. 

As I probably made a little clear last night, my expectations are not very high for this year's Chicago team (although I think the other United Center resident should still be working there into June). While I'm certainly expecting a Heat repeat, I'm openly rooting for David Stern's final Larry O'Brien presentation be handing a fifth trophy to Gregg Popovich. Seeing as the wife hates the Spurs, that isn't likely to be too popular in my household, but hey, it's not my fault the Mavs season is over.

The Bulls' Fourth Quarter: Oh, the futility

At long last, the NBA regular season arrived at a somewhat merciful end. I will admit to watching some of the final night of action, games that had real seeding implications. For Bulls fans, we did not learn until the final night that Chicago gets to face a far more beatable Brooklyn team instead of a stronger Indiana squad in the first round of the playoffs. While the Nets certainly make for a more winnable series, what's really the reward? You get to be the next team to lose to the Heat? Yeah, maybe it won't be as embarrassing as getting pummeled in the Finals, but let's just say that I am not expecting to be asking to watch any Bulls games in June. Not even much of May. Certainly not without, well ... you know. That guy. 

There's a part of me that still quietly clings to the "Wouldn't it be cool" scenario in which Rose returns for the first game of the playoffs, the same point in the last season that was his last game. Or maybe Game 3, the first game in Chicago. No announcement, he's just suddenly in the starting lineup.

Of course, the reality is that you'll be watching the same group you've been seeing all year, still banged up and still grinding it out. Hell, even with Rose, that likely just means the team loses to Miami in five or six instead of four. There's admirable aspects to this year's Bulls team, but there just isn't much point beyond hoping for one playoff series win this year.

The Blackhawks' Third Quarter: What Me Worry? (Maybe a little ...)

All good things must come to an end, I suppose. Alas, the 'Hawks finally suffered a regulation loss—five of them, actually—during this last 12-game stretch. I believe the New York Times referred to their 6-5-1 record during this span as fairly "pedestrian," which seems fair. Still, Chicago remains atop the Western Conference (although the Anaheim Ducks are still right behind, and took all three meetings with the Blackhawks this year—more on that in a sec though), and is now tied with a Pittsburgh team that won every single game they played in March for the most points in the league. Entering this final stretch of the shortened season, the playoffs are all but a certainty, but that does not mean there aren't certain concerns that need to be addressed if Chicago is to bring home its second Stanley Cup in four years.

First (and foremost, in my mind) is the number of frightening late period/late game collapses. I haven't been keeping track, but there has been a disturbing number of goals allowed in the final two minutes of periods this year, and whereas this year began with me constantly expecting the Blackhawks to come back from one-goal deficits late in games, I now fear that they'll inevitably cough up any third period lead they have. This trend is most certainly not a good thing, and it needs to stop before the playoffs begin. Enter the playoffs with an inability to protect a lead, and a first-round exit is not out of the question.

And while I noted last quarter that Chicago had two of the best goaltenders in the league, there's the annual concern about whether Corey Crawford really is your "number one" guy in between the pipes. I'm a bit more skeptical about this issue (Antti Niemi was facing similar doubts toward the end of the 2010 regular season, but that turned out OK), but Crawford can't afford to allow the softies that helped Phoenix oust the 'Hawks last year. Emery is certainly more than capable as a backup right now, so it's not like we're stuck with a Huet-ish alternative here.

Similarly, there's been A LOT of venom directed at Dave Bolland, who has been basically invisible, borderline dead this season. It was kind of ironic that the goal that finally ended his more than month-long scoring drought didn't actually involve him taking a shot. Again, like the goalie situation, Bolland similarly struggled in the 2010 regular season before making an impact in the playoffs. A lot of the things he does to get under the skin of opponents does not come up on the stat sheet anyway, kind of like what he did to help set up this goal.

Finally, there's the underwhelming faceoff numbers, an issue that is supposedly addressed by the one notable trade Stan Bowman made before the deadline, acquiring Michal Handzus from San Jose. The Blackhawks didn't make any big-name moves like the arms race that is going on in the East between Boston and Pittsburgh, but I'm not sure they really needed to either. The team has been without the contributions of both Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp during these last dozen games, and those returns can only help.