Got one series exactly right last round and erred on the other, leaving us with a Cup Final that's quite intriguing. Both of these teams have been picked by experts (and even non-experts like yours truly) in years past to hoist Lord Stanley, only to end up (2009 aside for Pittsburgh) coming up short. I can find reasons to be happy for either team here, but I'm largely rooting for the Sharks because that's the team without a single Cup win and numerous players deserving of having their names etched on it. For San Jose, this could very well likely be the last chance for many of the the team's players while I've got every reason to believe many Penguins will be back and contend again next year. Both goaltenders have been good, but I wouldn't call either unbeatable. Pittsburgh's forwards have been aggressive on the forecheck, but the Sharks have sparkled on the power play. I'm going back and forth as I type this, debating whether I side with what I believe is the probable favorite (the Penguins) or going with the team I'll actually be rooting for (San Jose). At 8-6 so far in these playoffs, it's not like I've got a perfect predictions mark on the line. So ...
Guess I can't blame any injuries on my incorrect guesses last round, as I only got two of the four series right. That brings me to 9-3 thus far in the playoffs with four of the series predicted in the right number of games. I did watch more of the second round than I did the first, and it seems likely that I'll probably find reason to watch even more in the conference finals. Well, in the West, at least. While the first round was something of a formality with a few competitive (but still pretty bad) series sprinkled in, the second round finally gave us the first compelling series with the otherwise favored Spurs being knocked off by the much more dangerous Thunder. We'll get what could possibly be another close series in the Western Conference, but the year indeed seems to be shaping up to live up to the subtitle of my pre-season NBA predictions post. Maybe we'll get some surprises this round, but my guess is that the best will not come until the last series of the year. And maybe that's exactly as it should be, seeing as I (and many others) had been thinking that a Golden State-San Antonio series this round (which obviously isn't happening) should have been the Finals.
I got three of my four second round predictions right, bringing my total for the playoffs to 7-5 with two series finally called in the correct number of games. So I'm above .500. While the Eastern Conference features the defending conference champion taking on a team that won a Stanley Cup seven years ago, the Western Conference features two perennially underachieving clubs that have routinely disappointed their fans. One team will finally break through and reach the Cup Final. Aside from maybe the Penguins, I don't think league executives are particularly excited about what any of these teams are going to do as far as bringing eyes to television sets. While people inclined to watch any kind of postseason hockey regardless of whom is involved (such as, you know, myself) can find reasons to be intrigued by the possibilities, I doubt the same can be said for most casual observers around the country. Both series this round have clear potential to be tightly fought contests that go the full maximum number of games, so perhaps there's a chance that highly-entertaining games lead to increased interest from the general public. Somehow, I doubt it though. Not when you've got a record-breaking NBA team and LeBron possibly about to meet over in the other league.
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, E-mail Me
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"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."
— Herbert Bayard Swope
That Ship Has Sailed
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At least, *that's what all the signs and rumors are pointing to*:
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*In a Hail Mary attempt to keep the Bears in Chicago, developers of the
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Casting bad joojoo on a jerk
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I had a trump voodoo doll years ago and gave it to the dog to chew up. I
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Skandiewrap, or More Than You Wanted to Know
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"You run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. You run
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The U.S. president first announced that there were no casualties from the
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Today a federal district judge granted Dexter Johnson's request for a stay
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On February 9th, Bret Stephens penned an Op-Ed for The New York Times
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Hello! My hubby talked me into posting on my blog. What.... it's been about
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All I have is my eye and a lens. I want to start a new life as a
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It Only Hurts When I think... I Think, OUCH!
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In this era of space-age technology and Velcro, you’d think that the
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The internet almost broke last week with the debut of the *Star Wars: The
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My new website is up! For all the latest information on myself and my
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I disappeared again. I feel as though I am just resurfacing. After the
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This past...
Dat dere orange spray tan
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Unnatural looking, streaks, overpriced, wears off in just a few days, weird
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Hibernation
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Thanks for dropping by!
I'm taking a break from blogging (or more to the point, taking a break from
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Oh dear
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I am not a patient person.
I couldn't finish the healing journey I had the other day.
I was taken to a deep blue pool and many of the gods and people I kne...
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As I mentioned in my last post, my writing was in the process of being
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60 Days of Art... round 2
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I missed last years 60 days of art by roughly 2 weeks. I'm going to try and
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I started July 30 with this version of Adam W...
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I saw this and this a while back but never shared it, since it's probably
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*He settled *Hoti*'s business--let it be!--*
* Properly based *Oun*--*
*Gave us the doctrine of the enclitic *De*,*
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*Pheasant Tale Fascinator by Arturo Rios*
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it's been a strange year.
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So after a long hiatus from the world of blogging...... I AM BACK!
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I bought the largest package of Italian sausage I had ever seen. Three
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I don't really know where to begin with this post because of how much life
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Finding The Flow To Let Yourself Go
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This is supposedly how you find your flow to let yourself go. The point is
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HOME PAGE:
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Click sequentially on the topics below to experience God's presence among
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Hello, everyone.
After 21 years, and almost 40 million posts (we'll have to check those
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Jesus Christ...Martin Luther King, Jr...Ken Lay
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Until I became a martyr recently, the only time my name was uttered in the
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when so...