Sunday, May 31, 2009

Bryan's (Late) Finals Prediction

I haven't posted to this blog in a while. It's the longest I've gone since posting since we started this thing some fifteen months ago. For this, you can thank the atrocious third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I know it wasn't really as bad as it seemed; after all, the Red Wings-Blackhawks series featured three overtime games. Truth be told, we were spoiled by a tremendous second round of playoff hockey. Nothing could have possibly topped that and, thankfully, none of the four teams involved bothered to try. We're in luck, though; if last year's Stanley Cup Final was any indication, we're in for a treat with this series.

Real quick, a word on the start of the Cup Final before my prediction. The NHL is perhaps the most oft-criticized league in all of professional sports, and we saw more examples of this as the conference finals drew to a close. Faced with the potential of a nine-day gap between rounds, the NHL bumped up its schedule a week, creating a much more manageable two-day gap. Of course, this invited media pundits to trash the NHL for kowtowing to NBC's scheduling whims.

What a load of crap. Yeah, NBC has control over the schedule. That's because they're essentially doing the NHL a favor by airing these playoff games on weeknights in June, when all their shows are in re-runs. NBC isn't paying a dime to air the Stanley Cup Finals. Instead, they're showcasing the shows that they're paying millions of dollars to produce. It's part of the way the game is played. But it beats the alternative of a deciding game being played on Versus - you can only imagine what people would be saying in that scenario.

As a hockey fan, I'm outraged that NBC thinks Conan O'Brien's new show is more important than the league I worship. At the same time, I have to give both NBC and the NHL a hand, because no other league would even dream of doing this. The NFL? They had initially taken away the extra week of Super Bowl hype, instead opting to air the Super Bowl the week after the conference championship games. They brought back that hype week just to get extra publicity - at the expense of the players' routines and preparation. The NBA promotes the start date of its' NBA Finals from the start of the playoffs and would never change it, lest they be accused of misleading its audience. As if casual fans circle the date of Game 1 of the NBA Finals and don't watch a second of playoff basketball until that date. And we all know how Major League Baseball feels about TV revenue, electing to start playoff games at Fox at 8:30* and ensuring that kids nationwide can't stay up to see the end of the season's most important games. 

* - I know MLB/Fox is currently making a huge deal about how they're going to be starting games before 8 PM for the first time in forever. What they don't tell you, though, is that these games will begin at 7:58 PM. And with pre-game ceremonies and all the usual World Series hoopla, I'll believe it when I see it.

That leaves the NHL - the same league that aired two Game 7s virtually simultaneously in both the first and second round so as not to put out the fans who paid good money for their tickets. They were much criticized for this as well; of course, most of the people doing the bashing are the same people who complain about the NFL's flex schedule and the TV-mandated late starting times of World Series and NBA Finals games. People should give the NHL credit for putting its fans first and capitalizing on an opportunity to serve its fans (and teams) better, instead of kissing the asses of TV executives like every other league does.

Anyway.

We have Detroit and Pittsburgh meeting in the Finals for the second straight year. Detroit is already up 1-0. For the purposes of the bet between Zach and myself, the best I can possibly do is tie. To accomplish this, I'd have to pick Detroit and not only be correct in the Red Wings winning, but also nail the correct number of games. If I pick Pittsburgh, I can't win no matter what.

So, what do I do? Pick Pittsburgh anyway. Pittsburgh in 6.

As they stand right now, the Red Wings remind me of the Devils teams of the past few years - just when you write them off, they find a new way to win. They're currently battling some serious injuries. Nicklas Lidstrom missed time against Chicago. Pavel Datsyuk didn't play last night and is out again tonight. How do they keep winning? Honestly, I have no idea. Common sense would dictate that they'll find a way to prevail in this series.

However, think about it. Can you even imagine a team losing to the same team in the finals two years in a row? Yes, I know the Buffalo Bills lost the Super Bowl to the Dallas Cowboys in consecutive years. But those are the Buffalo Bills. The Penguins won't be denied twice. Even though they lost last night, they have more skill than the Red Wings. Both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have shown they can take over games when necessary, and they're getting great play from guys like Ruslan Fedotenko and Bill Guerin. Plus, as great as Chris Osgood has been over his career, right now I trust Marc-Andre Fleury a little bit more.

So, Penguins in six. That means I lose the bet. It also means the Pens have to win four games out of the next five to advance. I think they can do it. Honestly, I was going to pick them to win in seven. But that'd mean they would be winning the Cup on the road, and there's something that's just not right about winning it on the road. They need to be at home when they hoist the Cup. I hope it works out for them.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Playoff Bet Update, Third Round...

The $100 playoff bet that Bryan and I made is in full swing going into the Finals. I am ahead 10-8 with one round left.

To recap, you get a point for successfully picking the team who wins the series; another point if you guess it in the correct number of games; and another point if it is an upset win.

Since neither Pittsburgh or Detroit were underdogs, no "upset points" were given out. And since both me and Bryan had the same picks (Penguins and Blackhawks, both in 6), we received the same amount of points, obviously (one point).

He had 7 in round 1, 0 in round 2, and 1 in round 3. I had 6-3-1.

So, my pick for the Finals is Penguins in 6. In fact, in every single round this year, I have had "Penguins in 6" as my choice. I actually only picked Detroit to win once, in the 2nd round against Anaheim, although I knew they were going to beat Columbus in Round 1, but I wanted to get upset points if they lost.

Regardless, this should be a good series. Better than the 3rd round, no doubt, and even better than last year. Last year, the Penguins were good but definitely beatable - the Rangers could have beaten them, and since Montreal was out, there was no other strong team in the East.

That said, Game 5 of last year's series, the triple overtime game where Petr Sykora scored the game-winner, was one of the best, if not the best non-Rangers game I have ever seen.

I'm looking forward to this series. TiVo has been put on notice.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

A Few Notes...

1) Tom Renney will be the assistant coach in Edmonton next season under Pat Quinn. Renney in Edmonton? Know what this means? Three more years of Jason Strudwick in an Oiler jersey.

2) Sergei Fedorov will be going to the KHL in Russia to play with his brother, Fedor, on the Metallurg Magnitogorsk. This puts to rest the commonly held theory that no one wanted to ever be on the same team as FedFed, as at least one person in the world does.

3) Years ago, people criticized Ronald Reagan for calling the Soviet Union "an Evil Empire," yet no one criticized them for actually being an evil empire. Yesterday, the NHL fined Joel Quenneville $10,000 for criticizing the officials. Quenneville questioned a penalty when the game was 2-0 which he said was the worst call in the history of the game. They fined him for saying something was wrong instead of investigating what went wrong and why the phantom call was made. Detroit scored on the ensuing power play and the game quickly got out of hand.

4) Can you imagine if both matchups end by tomorrow and we have 9 days off until the Stanley Cup Finals start? What a stark difference to the NBA, which plays Round 2 games in the West when Round 1 games in the East aren't even finished yet.

Nine days? Nine days? Nine days?! That's ridiculous! What "fringe fan" who has been interested in fast-paced Penguin/Hurricane games is going to even remember to watch again on a Saturday afternoon 9 days after the Conference Finals end!?

Of all the questionable decisions the NHL has made, this is up there as one of the worst. For Gary Bettman's sake, he better hope Carolina and Chicago get the comeback trains rolling.

Horrible. I know they want NBC to have the games on weekends, but still, there has to be someone over in the NHL offices who has a clue about how to run a league. Are the ratings on NBC on Sunday afternoon really that much higher than the Versus ratings on a Wednesday night? I would venture "not much" because the real fans watch no matter what channel it's on.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Boring...

Once again, the Conference Finals roll around and I tune out. Last year, Pittsburgh/Philadelphia and Dallas/Detroit did not hold my interest (until Dallas started a comeback that eventually failed). This year, neither series are keeping me that into it either as a repeat of the 2008 Finals seems inevitable.

The Penguins/Hurricanes series is definitely the better of the two, but the teams don't interest me much so I am not watching much, regardless of the score or how well Sidney Crosby performs.

Detroit/Chicago? If this were 1999 and Hugh Grant were here, he would say, "Fuhhgedaboudid." Borrrrring. This series was so hyped up going into it - Central Division rivalry; Old Guard vs. New Blood; Chelios returning to Chicago. And yet, they even make playoff overtime boring! This afternoon's game on NBC was such a blowout that even Mike Emerick wasn't excited, and his "interesting facts" seemed dull and forced.

Add to the fact that I don't particularly want any of these 4 teams to win the Cup. Detroit and Carolina have won recently, and I always like seeing new teams win. I can't reasonably make myself root for Pittsburgh or Crosby. And Chicago? I guess it would be nice if they won for the 7,600 fans who were going to games in 2003 to see a winner finally, but those other 13,000 fans who sell the place out sure seemed to have hopped on board at the right time (much like fans in Boston and Washington, as well).

Of course, I will be intently watching the next round, but once again, I am disappointed in the Conference Finals.

And I guess I will be rooting for the Penguins, solely so Gary Bettman gets his wish and the officials can go back to calling every game fairly, even those with the Penguins playing.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Bryan's Conference Finals Picks

So I went 0-for-4 in the second round. I suck. But hey, at least I had Pittsburgh-Washington and Boston-Carolina going seven. As they say, though, you don't get points for coming close. 

Time's running out. I need to pull off some big wins in this round or else I'm screwed. With that in mind, here are my picks for the conference finals.

Eastern Conference
(4) Pittsburgh vs. (6) Carolina - Pittsburgh in 6
The more I think about these teams, the more similar they become. So far, Pittsburgh has defeated a physical Flyers team and an offense-heavy Capitals team. They've shown they can play in any number of ways. Carolina, on the other hand, has defeated the defense-first Devils and the all-around brilliant Bruins. They, too, have had to adapt their style to win. This should be a great series featuring two well-rounded teams, not to mention two goaltenders who have been stellar so far. Both teams have plenty of recent playoff experience. Now, having said all of that, even though I like Ward better than Fleury, I'm going with Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby played at a ridiculously high level during the Capitals series and should be able to keep up his momentum against the Hurricanes. The Penguins have more talent and should be able to win this highly competitive series... but the Hurricanes have pulled wins out of nowhere a couple of times in these playoffs. I won't be surprised if they win. In the end, you know Gary Bettman and NBC will ensure that the Penguins advance.

Western Conference
(2) Detroit vs. (4) Chicago - Chicago in 6
Yes, I know the Red Wings are the defending Stanley Cup Champions. But did you see Chicago against the Canucks? They made Roberto Luongo look mortal; hell, they made him look awful. Experience might win a lot of battles, but don't underestimate youthful exuberance, particularly when it comes to the fans. There were empty seats at the Joe Louis Arena at Game 7 against Anaheim, partially because of the economy, partially because Red Wings fans are trained to expect a Stanley Cup every year. The United Center, on the other hand, has been absolutely boisterous. The playoffs are new to Blackhawks fans, and they're having the time of their lives during this playoff run. Let's not forget the obvious - these Blackhawks can score, Chris Osgood hasn't been great this year, and Nikolai Khabibulin is capable of stealing a game if he has to. Detroit will definitely play well in this series, but it just seems like a series Chicago is capable of winning.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Playoff Bet Update; Boston Commentary...

Well, first, an update on the playoff prediction bet between Bryan and myself.

He scored 0 points this round, much like I did last year in the 2nd round. He incorrectly chose Boston vs. Washington and Anaheim vs. Vancouver in the Conference Finals. Disappointing.

I scored 3 points, 2 for guessing Pittsburgh over Washington (1 point for the win, 1 because it was an upset), and 1 for Detroit over Anaheim.

My picks for next round? Pittsburgh in 6. Chicago in 6.

* * *

Two stats I heard that I thought were interesting...

- Carolina's last 4 playoff rounds went 7 games (Buffalo, Edmonton in '06; Devils, Bruins in '09). Cam Ward, for the record, is obviously 4-0 in those games.

- This was the 1st time since 2001 that 3 out of the 4 second round series went to 7 games, and it tied the 1986 record of 27 games in that round.

* * *

The Bruins had a dream season, and I would like to offer congratualtions to the 12,000 faithful fans who went to the games when they were on the playoff-bubble to past few years. To everyone else, well, you seemed to hop on the bandwagon at the right moment. Nice timing!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

It Was Sixteen Years Ago Today...

With three of the four second-round series in this year's playoffs going seven games (and two Game 7s being played tonight), I thought this would be a good time to revisit the Islanders' last appearance in the second round. Sixteen years ago on this day, David Volek's overtime goal led the Islanders to victory over the seemingly unbeatable Penguins. To this day - and maybe this is more depressing than anything else - this remains the unquestioned highlight of my life as a sports fan.

Last year, I commemorated the fifteenth anniversary of this event by writing this piece. Of all the blogs I've done here at The Rivalry, this one is my favorite. And since the Islanders didn't even come close to winning a playoff series this year, I figured I'd bring it up again. If we're still linking to this in five years because the Islanders still haven't won a playoff series, shoot me.

Reading this piece, it's funny how it not only stood up pretty well over a year, but became even more truthful - no matter which teams you like besides the Islanders. The Mets pulled off yet another September collapse. The Jets - after that insane Thursday night win over the Patriots, which is the only thing that even compares to Game 7 in '93 - choked down the stretch to miss the playoffs. Newcastle United, my favorite soccer team, has spent much of this year at the bottom of the Premier League table. The Giants fell apart after Plaxico Burress shot himself. The Knicks have been reduced to praying LeBron James will come to New York in July 2010. The Yankees missed the playoffs for the first time in thirteen years. Hell, even the Rangers got in on the act, blowing a 3-1 lead in the first round of the playoffs. And we don't need to get into the Devils' incomprehensible breakdown with two minutes left against Carolina two weeks ago. No matter how you slice it, nothing has happened in the past twelve months to make us forget the 1993 playoff run.

And that's just it. When you're an Islanders fan, your memories are pretty much all you have. People in my age group, those of us in our mid-20s, have the Easter Epic, the '93 playoffs, and the 2001-02 season. That's it. How sad is that? With the Islanders' future as unclear as it is, those of us who remember 1993 should cherish every memory. Volek's goal came at a time when Pat Riley's Knicks were in the playoffs as the top seed in the East. And yet, the Islanders still owned Long Island. Maybe we'll be fortunate enough to create some more of these memorable playoff moments on Long Island.


Monday, May 11, 2009

Blackhawks Win

The Chicago Blackhawks just defeated the Vancouver Canucks by a score of 7-5 to win their series and advance to the Western Conference championship.

Read that again.

Some people might have forgotten how truly awful the Blackhawks were in recent years. In 2005-06, the first year after the lockout, the Blackhawks had just 65 points. The next year, they improved to 71 points. Last year, they made a significant leap to 88 points with the addition of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, missing the playoffs by just three points. They finally hit the big-time this year, appearing in the Winter Classic, breaking the 100-point mark, and now they're four wins away from the Stanley Cup Final.

It was just two years ago, during that 71-point season, that the Blackhawks averaged 12,727 fans per home game. That's barely half of the United Center's capacity. This year? The Blackhawks led the league with 22,247 fans per game, including the Winter Classic. That's right - they nearly doubled their attendance in two years. With the playoffs, they've sold a million tickets this year. Every game at the United Center was sellout.

What's my point? It's simple. As bad as things are for the Islanders, they were probably just as bad for the Blackhawks just a few years ago. They weren't drawing. Their games weren't on TV. Even the patience of the diehards was being tested. Now, the Blackhawks are a model franchise in the NHL. Sure, some of that had to do with owner Rocky Wirtz making a lot of things right with the Chicago fanbase. But here, we have proof that it is possible to turn things around - and rather quickly at that.

In talking to people down the stretch, I'd expressed hope that the 2009-10 Islanders could resemble the 2007-08 Blackhawks. A team that is bursting with young talent and is starting to hang with the big boys. A team that might not be playoff-ready, but shows you they're worth watching. Most importantly, a team that gets the fans excited enough to come to games and lend their support. Only time will tell if the Islanders can reach these levels. As we can see, though, stranger things have happened.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Where Are The Now: Vladimir Konstantinov

I normally don't post links here, or ask you to check something out, but you have to take a look at this ESPN video on Vladimir Konstantinov.

Konstantinov, for those who don't know, was a defenseman on the Red Wings team that won the Stanley Cup in 1997. Six days later, the limousine he was in was in an accident and he was horribly injured.

Sit through the 15-second commercial and you'll find a great video that lasts about 5 minutes. It's very sad. I wouldn't be posting it on this website if I didn't think it was worth watching.

Where Are The Now: Vladimir Konstantinov

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Why Stay?...

For the past few months, I have been mulling around a question in my head...

Why Stay?

Why would the NHL even want to stay in Phoenix? The team averages under 15,000 fans per game, yet Gary Bettman keeps saying how committed the NHL is to hockey in Phoenix. In Hamilton, Ontario, 12,000 signed up for season tickets a few years ago without even having a team. They didn't just put their name on a list, they gave Jim Balsillie a deposit for them, hoping he would bring them a team.

But this isn't about Hamilton. You could easily replace Hamilton with Seattle, Toronto, Winnipeg, Kansas City, Quebec City, or (my personal choice) Las Vegas.

Why stay in Phoenix? The team is a drag to the owners of the teams who actually make money because of revenue sharing. It is an embarrassment to the league to have a team file bankruptcy.

Are the 14,632 fans they averaged last year really that important to the rest of the league? (By the way, their attendance is dwindling, the year before they averaged 14,820.)

Other cities are begging for teams. Balsillie is intent on moving them to Hamilton, which has been hockey-ready for years. Seattle just lost its basketball team, its football team is garbage, and its baseball team lost over 100 games last year. Las Vegas has said it wants a team, regardless of league. Same for Kansas City, who offered up their Sprint Center for free. Winnipeg wants their team back; Quebec is such a good market that it houses entire leagues in the city. A 2nd team in Toronto would do so good that the Maple Leafs actually had to nix the idea out of greed, not necessity.

Is Gary Bettman really that stubborn to admit his decision to grant a franchise to Phoenix was a mistake? I've made mistakes, and I admit them. Mine don't cost people millions of dollars.

Hockey in Arizona is a joke. For that matter, hockey in Miami and Atlanta is ridiculous also, but that's for another day.

Is it about expanding the game within the U.S.A.? There are better ways to do that then with a 25% empty building, and the four letters for that are E, S, P, and N.

There are probably 13,000 people who would actually care if a young-and-coming team left the desert. A ton more would care if Canada got another team.

Come on, Gary. Admit your mistake. Eat your crow. Stop backing the Coyotes. Sometimes, you have to kill your weakest link. Or at least move them to a place where people want them.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Coyotes File For Bankruptcy - And How It Affects The Islanders

Interesting news out of Phoenix today, as the Coyotes have apparently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and are awaiting a sale. Before the ink dried on the bankruptcy filing, Blackberry billionaire Jim Balsillie made an offer for $215 million - provided the Coyotes leave Phoenix and take up residence in Hamilton, Ontario. And the craziest part is, all of this could be happening before next season. The bankruptcy filing indicates that the Coyotes need to either be moved or be assured of staying by June 30, 2009 for purposes of next season's scheduling.

Most hockey fans know Balsillie has been in the business of buying NHL teams in the past. In 2006, he attempted to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins, a deal that fell through when it became known he intended to move the team. Undeterred, he made a deal to purchase the Nashville Predators a year later. Balsillie went as far as to procure deposits from 12,000 fans in Hamilton who would buy season tickets if the team moved. Again, plans to move the team became Balsillie's undoing, and the deal didn't work out. Now, he's at it again, this time with Phoenix.

Personally, I'd love to see this deal go through. Hockey is a Canadian game and there should be more than six NHL teams in Canada. The Copps Coliseum in Hamilton holds some significant history, as the greatest hockey ever played took place inside the building during the 1987 Canada Cup. In fact, Hamilton has been clamoring for an NHL team for decades; it'd be nice to see the city achieve its goal. Now, this isn't to say hockey can't work in Phoenix. But the truth is, the team is awful, the fanbase has become jaded and, while their arena might be new, Coyotes fans say it's in the middle of nowhere and is hard to get to. Clearly, this is not the best formula to develop a loyal fanbase.

So, what does all of this have to do with the Islanders? Quite a bit, actually. 

 - First and foremost, this is going to be a test of Gary Bettman's "I like all 30 clubs where they are" proclamation. If a team is going to move, it's the Coyotes. Conversely, if they stay put, odds are good the Islanders will remain on Long Island as well. 

 - Second, this will determine the going rate for a team with a ton of young stars, but has struggled on the ice and in the stands over the past decade. In addition, Balsillie's $215 bid doesn't take into account the 30-year lease the Coyotes have with the city of Glendale, who owns the Jobing.com Arena; the lease is said to include a $750 million payout to the city if the Coyotes leave town.
 
 - Lastly, speaking of arenas, it shows that new arenas don't mean much if the team under-performs and fans don't show up. Remember, the Jobing.com Arena is the centerpiece of the developing Westgate City Center, which features malls, restaurants, office space, and housing. Sound familiar?

Islanders fans, pay attention to how this unfolds. The Coyotes are hemorrhaging money. They are a historically bad team with a bad lease and a dwindling fanbase. They have no stars to lure in casual fans (aside from their coach/owner, Wayne Gretzky), but have plenty of top prospects that will blossom sooner rather than later. Their arena is part of a developmental project, albeit one that was already approved, but even the surrounding area hasn't been able to draw fans. There's a lot to be learned from the story of the Phoenix Coyotes. If anything, Islanders fans should be ecstatic that this is happening so that they know what to expect if Charles Wang is forced to move or sell the team. And again, if the Coyotes end up staying in Phoenix, it stands to reason that the Islanders will be sticking around as well.

A Vacation...

As the Rangers disappear, so do I.

Been watching a little of the NHL Playoffs (mainly Anaheim/Detroit). I'm rooting for Vancouver, even though I wouldn't be angry if Boston won.

Read about Markus Naslund retiring also. Some outlets (New York Times, for one) claim that if he didn't retire, he would've been bought out. The outcome of a buyout or a retirement would've been the same - him not on the ice - but now he saves the Rangers cap space (if my calculations are correct, about $1.3M per year is saved in cap space). Class act from a good guy. He could've done the scumbag think and taken the buyout like most people in NY would have done (Stephon Marbury, Alex Rodriguez, etc.), but he chose to go out on his own terms. It's just sad that the news of an upcoming (and unconfirmed) buyout had to leak.

Naslund had the will, but he didn't have the legs anymore. He tried every game, but his skills declined severely, from a career-high 104 in 2002-03, to 84, 79, 60, 55, and now 46. He did have a decent showing in 7 postseason games this year, going 1-2-3.

* * *

So what can the Rangers, saddled with 4 cumbersome contracts, do next season?

Of the pending UFAs, Blair Betts and Colton Orr should be invited back. Betts is the best penalty killer in the league and is good on faceoffs (49.3% this year, not great, but serviceable). Orr is needed so goons like Donald Brashear don't take liberties with Betts or Sean Avery. Nik Antropov should be back, I think. I know other fans don't agree, but I think he plays with a passion in NY and likes being a Ranger.

On D, Derek Morris and Paul Mara are UFAs. I like both of them, but there won't be room unless Wade Redden or Michal Rozsival get traded. Redden is nearly immovable, but Rozsival might be moved if the Rangers lose picks in the process.

Of the restricted free agents, a lot of people are torn on Nik Zherdev. I think he has all the talent in the world, but can he mine it? I wouldn't mind him coming back on a one-year deal, maybe to play with Artem Anisimov and Antropov, but if they let him go, fine. A friend of mine said it would be good if another team offers him a contract and the Rangers take the draft pick compensation.

Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky will obviously be re-signed. Corey Potter probably will, the be a 6th defenseman this year, or just to serve as a backup incase injuries occur.

Now, Fred Sjostrom and Lauri Korpikoski.

I vote in favor of Sjostrom. He is one of the fastest on the team, and he gives it his all every single shift, much like Petr Prucha did. Plus, him and Betts are a great tandem on the PK, and Sjostrom is so versatile, he can play 2nd line or 4th line.

Korpikoski? Dump him! I know the Rangers didn't have dynamic offensive skills this year, but he didn't help. I know he is a first-round pick a few years ago (in 2004), but who cares. Let him go. Either trade his rights on Draft Day for a pick or prospect, package him with someone, or let him walk.

That's all for tonight. I have in-depth thoughts on this, but they're still muddled right now.

For now, let's just enjoy the playoffs.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Charles Wang Opens The Books

You know things aren't quite right when the Islanders are front-page news a month after their season ends.

And yet, today, that's exactly what happened. Charles Wang launched his latest PR initiative yesterday, stating that if he had to do it over again, he wouldn't have bought the Islanders. Seeing as how he's lost nearly $300 million since buying the team a decade ago, I can't say I blame him.

Now, this shouldn't be interpreted as "regret", as many media outlets have described Wang's statement. Sure, part of him probably wishes he hadn't bought the team and assumed the Lighthouse would have been take care of years ago. But not unlike the exhibition game in Kansas City, this is mainly geared towards getting a reaction out of people. Islanders fans shouldn't panic; if anything, they should be more behind Wang than ever. Would any of us stick with the Islanders despite losing in excess of $20 million a year? Doubtful.

Wang has made it clear that if a resolution hasn't been reached by the start of next season, he will have to consider his options. Fair enough. But it'd be a shame if Charles Wang has to cut his very considerable losses and move the team due to politics.

Friday, May 1, 2009

It's Prediction Thursday!...

For the third time today, we will have a prediction themed post on this website. I guess that's what happens when both of your teams have officially emptied their respective lockers and have held exit interviews.

Based on my poor showing in my 2008-09 predictions, you should not put much stock into what I say. Also take into effect that last year, I predicted Montreal, the Rangers, Colorado, and San Jose to win the 2nd round and go into the Conference Finals. The correct winners were Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Dallas. Much like David Wright, I was 0-for-4.

Keep in mind that Game 1 of Vancouver/Chicago is in the books

Boston over Carolina in 5
Pittsburgh over Washington in 6
Detroit over Anaheim in 6
Vancouver over Chicago in 6

I hope I'm not selling Anaheim short again. I heard Gary Bettman's erection has not gone down since the Hurricanes beat the Devils to force a Penguins/Capitals series. I also hope that the officials go easy in said series. You know they're going to referee it so that it goes to 7 games, or atleast try to. And Pittsburgh will win, of course, because Gary Bettman said so.