Posts Tagged ‘Sports’

Gord Tep’s 2010-2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions

The 2010-2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs start tomorrow, and I felt it would be appropriate to post my picks here on GordTep.com. In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a die-hard Ranger fan, but I am not letting that influence my predictions. The following predictions are based on countless hours of my life that I wasted all season, watching hockey games and reading up on all of the teams — and, of course, whatever my gut tells me will happen over the course of the next two months. I’m sure I should have some “forward looking statements” line to cover myself in case you put money on the teams I suggest will win. However, if you do win based on my calls, I want a cut.

To be fair, a vast majority of the games to which I? buy sports cards and? watch were strictly Eastern Conference match ups. So I will not be posting a detailed analysis of the West. While I don’t want to sell myself short and dismiss my Western picks as being devoid of value or substantive research, I just feel it’s best to simply post the result without a detailed analysis as they are more superficially selected than my Eastern predictions. So here’s what I’ve got for the first round.

Capitals vs. Rangers
Despite struggles chronicled in the HBO 24/7 specials, Washington actually had a heck of a year. However, New York really seemed to have them figured out. The 8-seed Rangers won the season series 3-1 against the Caps, which included 6-0 & 7-0 debacles. I see Henrik Lundqvist and Marc Staal shutting down Ovechkin, and Gaborik & Drury scoring when it counts the most. Rangers in 6

Flyers vs. Sabres
The Flyers have been in disarray as of late, but they’re too talented to get bumped out by Buffalo. The wild card for Buffalo is Ryan Miller because he is so much better than every goaltender the Flyers have. We also don’t know what factor Chris Pronger will play in this series for Philadelphia. While many others are open to an upset, I just don’t see it. Look for Briere to light the lamp at will against his former team. Flyers in 5

Bruins vs. Canadiens
These two teams have a storied rivalry that dates back to the Original 6 days, and we saw it reach new heights this season. Massive brawls that included goalie fights and suspensions will no doubt weigh heavily on the minds of both teams as they enter what will surely be a physically draining series. Though Tim Thomas had a phenomenal year statistically, I simply don’t see him as an elite goaltender and consider him on the same level as Carey Price. With that being said, I think the Bruins are a better team overall and that Zdeno Chara will log tons of ice time as the determining factor in what will surprisingly be a short series. Bruins in 5

Penguins vs. Lightning
Dan Bylsma is the consensus favorite for Coach of the Year based on how high the Pens managed to finish with all of their key injuries. The very fact that they were able to accomplish so much without Crosby and Malkin for extended periods of time really is quite remarkable, but I think Pittsburgh’s run ends in the first round. Tampa’s thrashing of Carolina on the last day of their season, in what was essentially a meaningless game, showed the synergy and fire this team has heading into the postseason. Lecavalier, Stamkos, St. Louis, and company will surely upset the Penguins. Lightning in 6

Canucks vs Blackhawks – Canucks in 5
Sharks vs. Kings
– Sharks in 4
Red Wings vs Coyotes
– Red Wings in 4
Ducks vs. Preds
– Ducks in 7

The NHL reseeds after each round so the following picks may be completely out of whack depending on who advances past the first round. That is, I could theoretically pick two teams to advance to the Conference Final that would actually play each other in the Conference semi-final should I fail to predict the other two series correctly. In any event, here’s a quick rundown of what I see transpiring the rest of the way.

Round 2:
Flyers over Rangers in 5
Bruins over Lightning in 6
Canucks over Ducks in 5

Wings over Sharks in 7

Conference Finals:
Flyers over Bruins in 6

Wings over Canucks in 7

Stanley Cup Finals:
Wings over Flyers in 5

If my Rangers are still alive after the first round, I might revisit my picks with a follow-up blog to provide some detail for how I believe the ensuing rounds will go. In any event, I see Detroit adding to their overwhelming amount of Championships with yet another this June. I hope I’m wrong though and it’s actually Rangers in 7!

Happy 10th Anniversary Grand Slam Single

Just a quick note to say that on this date 10 years ago, this happened:

It was, and still is, my all-time greatest moment as a Met fan. If you’re looking for me today, I’ll be sitting at home with the the Essential Games of Shea Stadium dvd collection, watching Disc 4: Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS.

Baseball is the only sport in which the team that is winning must continue to play the game. Every other sport allows the team that is winning to basically “ice” the game. In football, a team can take a knee. In basketball, a team can dribble out the clock. In hockey, a team can just skate around with the puck.

Baseball forces the winning team to continue to pitch and play defense, which means no game is over until the final out is made and that’s why baseball games are so popular and is difficult to get tickets, although sometimes you can go online to get redsox tickets for their games.

Ham City Kev’s 2009 MLB Post-Season predictions

Once I get started on baseball it’s hard to stop me, so I’ll try and keep this brief. First of all, congratulations Twins. That playoff was one for the ages. As Bob Murphy might have said, “this is heart-stopping baseball. Pulsating baseball. Nobody has sat down in the last 4 or 5 innings, incredible!”

Now, let’s talk playoffs. Things to look for:
1. Since the introduction of the Wild Card, only the legendary 1998 Yankees have had sole possession of the best overall regular-season record to go along with a World Series trophy. Will this trend continue, or are the 2009 Yankees that good?

2. In 2006, limping into the playoffs seemed to work for the Cardinals. Will history repeat for the 2009 group of Redbirds?

3. Can the Phils score enough runs to support their dogshit bullpen?

4. Should the Dodgers barely miss the World Series, can the Curse of Don Mattingly get national attention?

5. Can the Twins ride their ridiculous hot streak straight to the World Series like the 2007 Rockies did, or is their competition just too strong?

6a. Can the Angels finally beat the Red Sox in October?
6b. Can the Yankees finally beat the Angels in October?

With the Metsies long out of it, the question is who do I root for? Though I pretty much hate all other National League teams, anyone who has no personal stake in these playoffs should be rooting for the Rockies. If Bud Selig is greedy enough to allow World Series games in November (without the help of terrorism), then he deserves the headache coming to him when Coors Field is covered in 4 feet of snow come Game 3. In the American League I’d like to see the Twins get a shot to keep this decade’s list of Champions between 9 teams instead of 8. If the Angels win, fine. If the Red Sox win, fine–but seriously, fucking enough already.

Anyone but the fucking Yankees. They’ve had their century. Now, onto my official predictions (please note I’m predicting with my head, not my heart):

DIVISIONAL SERIES
Yankees over Twins in 3
Red Sox over Angels in 4

Cardinals over Dodgers in 4
Phillies over Rockies in 5

CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Yankees over Red Sox in 5
Cardinals over the Phillies in 4

WORLD SERIES
Yankees over Cardinals in 4

If I’m right, I feel awful sorry for Twins, Red Sox, and Cardinals fans who watch the Yankees win it on their turf, then go on to hear about how inferior they are from visiting douchebag Yankee fans as they exit their stadium–especially you poor Twins fans. Those fans can at least take solace that they aren’t Mets fans who have to put up with that shit on a daily basis–amongst many other headaches of course.

(for those wondering how good I am at predicting baseball, typically I’m either 90% right or 100% wrong, but it’s rarely in the middle. Just flip a coin. Shit, it’s baseball–I’m pretty sure odds makers do the same thing.)

Switch to our mobile site