The Braves' First Quarter: Encouraging signs?

I guess if something's going to dull the still healing wound that is both the Blackhawks and Bulls being eliminated much earlier than I'd anticipated, it might as well be good news about the Braves. Last year's disappointing finish began a pretty painful series of finishes to the respective campaigns from the Four Bs. So perhaps we're all due for a new cycle.

I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but it is important to remember that there are now two wild cards for the postseason, so sitting in first place after the first 41 games is certainly a good place to be. Still, my preseason picks to get into the playoffs from this division are currently in the bottom two spots instead, but I highly doubt that will stand for all that much longer. Nonetheless, the Braves rebounded quite nicely from starting the year 0-4 by winning something like 10 of their next 11.

It is largely a surprise to me that the it's the team's offense that has been propelling the success more than the pitching. The picture for this quarter's graphic comes from a wild win that happened the night of my birthday, no less. It was a wild back-and-forth with the Phillies that ended with Chipper hitting an 11th inning walk-off homer. If Atlanta continues to produce runs at this rate and the pitching indeed becomes more solid, then who's really to say what the limit is?

If the Braves can stay healthy, it certainly appears they can stay in the playoff conversation too.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Conference Finals Predictions: It's funny because I thought I couldn't do worse than last year

Sure enough, I did not get a single one of my picks right last round. While I have not been keeping up with the picks of others as diligently as I used to in the past, judging what I glanced at, it's not as though I'm the only one who did not foresee the first two rounds of the NHL playoffs unfolding like this.

The top-seeded New York Rangers have to be feeling pretty good about living up to the hype so far, and indeed the team's fans have to like the remaining competition. However, I've been among the many who've been fooled into thinking somebody's going to start lighting up Jonathan Quick and Mike Smith, the two goalies pictured in this post, sooner or later. So far, we've all been totally wrong and, as a result, when two of the best goalies in these playoffs meet in the Western Conference Finals, the winner's team won't just be playing for the Stanley Cup, but the winning goaltender will very likely be accepting the Conn Smythe.

It's been one of those rare years where every seeming underdog goes out and proves us observers and prognosticators wrong, but just for shits & giggles ...

Round Two NBA Playoffs Predictions: Suddenly less fun than previous round

The first round of the NBA Playoffs is not yet over, but the second round has already gotten underway. So I'll have to take a moment off from moping about the Bulls' bad fortune (and uncertain future) to begin making predictions for that next round.

No sense in being all salty, as surely I'll get some solid basketball viewing enjoyment from some other city's teams at some point here in the next couple weeks. In all honesty, it seems logical to assume that only another pair of catastrophic injuries to critical players can stop the Miami Heat from once again representing the Eastern Conference in this year's Finals. As for the West, well ... I'm still not so sure. Essentially between the top two seeds, but the possibility of that Western Conference Finals matchup is enticing.

Still, who's to say what can happen now? The eighth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers advanced despite being a pretty bad basketball team with a half-full arena, so maybe the clock has not yet struck midnight for that Cinderella (albeit one pretty ugly Cinderella). Maybe something in this round will have me less bitter come the start of the next one.

The Bulls' Fourth Quarter: Gosh, what could possibly go wrong?

Hey, look ... I'm not going to lie. The Bulls' regular season ended weeks ago and with today being the first Sunday in May, the team unbelievably might have a Final Thoughts column coming much sooner than expected. And if it happens within the next couple weeks here, as long as I'm behind, I might as well combine the Final Thoughts for both the Bulls and the Blackhawks into one post, because they're goddamn splitting images of disappointment. Welcome to summer, Chicago!

Realistically, every single time I have taken time out to focus on what the Bulls' record was at the quarter-marks of this shortened season, the question was always the same: Are they really going to be able to beat the Heat? Same question all year long.

So with the Bulls having indeed secured home with an impressive 50-16 record for the regular season, how was I feeling as we entered the playoffs? No more confident than I did last year, hence, the chosen image of the fingers (taken from here). Sure, the Sixers sounded like a far more favorable matchup than the Knicks in the first round, and maybe even the Pacers could be a bit more of a thorn in the side for Miami in the second round. 

But realistically, the team sort of stumble a bit in April to close out the year. Not only did the Bulls drop a game to the hated Heat, but they also got positively blown out by Oklahoma City, the likely team in waiting even if Chicago somehow got by Miami. 

Such talk of hypothetical Finals matchups is now, of course, silly. But they were fun to entertain back when, you know, the playoffs hadn't started yet.

Round Two NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions: Favorites Fall So Soon

So, much like those NBA picks I just published, thoughts and commentary here will be forthcoming. Same goes for how everyone has fared on their picks thus far, but for now, we'll just get to an overall recap of my predictions for this next round.

Round One NBA Playoffs Predictions: Let the real Heat-hating begin

After managing to throw together a 66-game regular season, the playoffs have finally arrived. Seeing as I'm trying to post these picks from the middle of Futt Buck, Texas, (on my phone, no less) thoughts will be non-exsistent this round. I still have to post the NHL picks too, after all.

Round One NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Predictions: Can't talk, hockey (for the next two or so months)

Yeah, so I would normally include the couple paragraphs build-up before the jump and then go to the graphics to accompany the picks, but I'm strapped for time right now and ... well, there was a little additional work that prevented me from offering the usual take on each series I was predicting the outcome for, but I would say that the picks this year were definitely on the safer side. Indeed, I couldn't bring myself to go against any of the teams that had more points in the regular season, so there's two predicted outcomes with lower seeds that, more or less, everybody else is picking.

So far, that logic is not looking especially sound, albeit only a game or two into any series. Still, probably because this is the first time in many years that I am living in a house with cable (or maybe because of the additional coverage provided by NBC's new channel, formerly known as Versus), the playoffs have effectively captured my undivided attention. This past Thursday night, with two opening games going into overtime—at the same time the Bulls and Heat were about to go into overtime—was an unbelievably thrilling night to be playing with the remote. And I have been—and likely, will be—staying up until damn near midnight watching the late games on the west coast. I never caught "March Madness," but I can't seem to shake whatever the hell I've got now.

The Blackhawks' Fourth Quarter: A six seed never felt so good

You know, if I'm looking back on these quarterly graphics many years down the road, I might wonder why I had an image of a celebratory Patrick Kane when the team had finished fourth in the division. Was that good enough to make the playoffs that year? I might wonder. There's probably going to be a wee bit of outcry for the league to change how they determine postseason seedings after how things turned out this year. Or maybe Gary Bettman will be able to use this as leverage to get the players union to reconsider that realignment deal. Or maybe nothing will change.

I'm almost certainly still going to be talking about this throughout the playoffs—of which, the Blackhawks, thankfully, will be a part. Despite that hideous purple tint to the record, that's still a 101-point team. Better yet, they completed this last quarter of the year completely without their captain, who's likely returning just in time for the first round of the playoffs.

And the weirdest thing of all is that I actually rooted for this near the end of the year. With the "Where-the-fuck-did-THEY-come-from" Blues clearly in line to win the division and the Predators comfortably locked into that apparent four-spot, why in the world wish for a first-round matchup with the team the Hawks lost four of six to this year—especially when you can have Detroit do that instead? Nashville would have been a disastrous opening round opponent, but instead Chicago draws the much more favorable matchup with Phoenix. Sure, fourth is a helluva lot lower than I had this team finishing when I made picks at the beginning of the year, but all things considered, it does not seem out of the question for this team to still make a legitimate run at the Cup.

2012 MLB Predictions: A week late?

Tonight was Opening Night. Well, here in the States, I mean. See, that photo on the right is from a pair of games Oakland and Seattle split to kick off the regular season ... in Japan.

If it was on TV, I didn't come across it, and if there was any attention given to it, I already forgot what was said. I know I typically try to post my picks before the first pitch is thrown, but as has been the story of late with BMC posts, I've just been busy. So there's a couple teams with one game under their belt already, which should really help me out in laying out my annual predictions for the 162-game season. Judging by recent years, I need all the help I can get.

Last year, I played it safe and was rewarded by having absolutely none of my playoff predictions—winners or losers in any specific round—be correct. Considering how memorable of a postseason it turned out to be, I wasn't left with much to complain about. Entering this year, it's hard to say there's a real consensus favorite, but I will say not too many people are picking the Cards to repeat. Oh, and we also have a new, ridiculous single-game Wild Card Playoff. 

One game. After 162. They're really doing this.

I'm quite positive I will be bitching about this throughout the playoffs, and maybe during the regular season—when I'm not expressing concern about how often Fredi González is using his three-headed closing monster. Or cheering it, maybe. I haven't decided yet.

The Bulls' Third Quarter: It is what it is ...

... and make no mistake, right now—the first team in the league to clinch a playoff berth, currently holding a two-game lead for the best record in the Eastern Conference and a one-game lead for best record overall ... oh, and 15-2 since the last time I did one of these—"it" is pretty damn good.

But with no big blockbuster addition made during the trading deadline and one of the off-season's supposedly key additions, Rip Hamilton, doing an imitation of Greg Oden imitating Mr. Glass, what exactly is supposed to be making us believe the same fate that met this team last season won't once again meet them in another conference finals elimination? This year, there is no magical Derrick Rose for MVP campaign to pin our hopes to, as though one point guard alone could overcome the Big Three from Miami. This year, you'd basically have to be insane not to award LeBron the MVP.

The Bulls did manage to win one game this past quarter against the Heat—without Rose, incredibly enough. And we did get that awesome shirt moment from that game. But still ... there's just the nagging feeling that what we're seeing this year just does not seem significantly improved enough from last year's product to make this fan believe the championship is quite within grasp yet.