Big Win ... Perhaps More for the Habs?

I don't like making predictions when it comes to sports. Quite frankly, I don't have much faith in my ability to predict the future as evidenced by the fact that virtually every prediction I have ever made has been wrong. I distinctly remember saying to a good friend after Game 2 of the cup finals last year that "Pittsburgh is fucked". Sure enough, the Penguins came back and won it in seven games.

I'll admit it bugs me when people ask me who I think will win or who will score the first goal etc. because I will probably be wrong, and really, I don't care, I just want to enjoy the game. For the same reason I shy away from fantasy leagues and pools. I'm terrible at them and I don't care, I just want to enjoy the game(s). So when people ask me those kinds of questions, I come up with the most outlandish answers I can. Like the other day during the Penguins/Senators game when a friend asked me who I thought would score first, I responded without hesitation: "Marc-Andre Fleury". Needless to say, I was wrong about that one.

Even though it's only the end of the first round, I am going to make one, not because my extensive knowledge of the game tells me it is the most likely outcome, but because I'm getting a vibe, a vibe I have felt before while watching a team in the post-season.

I watched, with great interest, the Habs/Capitals series, not because I'm a fan of either team, but because I cannot stand the antics of Alexander Ovechkin and would have liked nothing more then to see him and the Capitals ousted in the first round. It wasn't looking good early on, but Canadiens goaltender Jaroslav Halak almost singlehandedly turned the series and just minutes ago delivered a Game 7 victory (happy early birthday to me, right?).

Even though it's early, there is a feeling that Montreal could be this years Cinderella story. Much like the Flames of 2004 and especially the Oilers of 2006, I'm getting this feeling that the Canadiens, after barely squeaking into the playoffs, may just surprise a lot of people and ride Halak deep into the playoffs much like Calgary rode Miikka Kiprusoff and Edmonton rode Dwayne Roloson all the way to the Cup Finals.

Other things are going Montreal's way aside from the hot goaltender. Defensemen Hal Gill and Josh Gorges are playing out of their minds shutting down the other teams offense. They are finding a way to get that first goal of the game. And when it's all said and done, they found a way to win not once, but twice when facing elimination against the most potent offensive team in the NHL.

So now that I've made that bold prediction, it's very likely the Canadiens will be swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sorry Habs fans.

-matt

The Long Ball

I am not a power hitter. And I probably never will be one. My game is to get on base and wreak havoc on the basepaths. I get a ton of hits, a few walks, and in the past three seasons of slo-pitch I have hit exactly zero home runs. And really at the end of the day (or ultimately, the end of the season), I'm fine with that.

That said, I have always wanted to hit one, just one, out of the park. I want to experience that feeling, even though I would probably shrug it off as no big deal as I do whenever I do anything spectacular on the ball field.

Yesterday at batting practice, I hit not one, but two balls out of Centennial Field. I freely admit that the first was helped by the wind blowing straight out to left field, but the second was described by my teammates as "a bomb". Right off the bat, I could tell it was gone.

Batting practice is one thing, when your own pitcher is lobbing in mozza balls, but it's nice to know that if I get the right pitch in game that I can take it out of the park. Maybe with a little luck (or a lot of wind), I'll be able to go into the home run trot I've been practicing all this time.

-matt

Street Hockey

Read this article today:

http://www.thepassinglane.ca/2010/04/rcmp-called-in-to-break-up-street-hockey-game.html

I have only one word: pathetic. Who in the hell calls the cops to break up a street hockey game?

So much is made about kids spending too much time in front of the television playing video games or watching TV. Not getting enough exercise. Being overweight. Not socializing enough. And then you see something like this. A group of neighbourhood kids addressing all four of those problems and what happens? A disgruntled neighbour calls the cops.

I agree 100% with some of the comments in this article saying that the RCMP officer should have manned up to whoever called in the complaint. Police officer these days have much more important things to do than to respond to complaints about kids playing street hockey, unless of course the kids are obstructing traffic or causing a problem. But 99% of the time, whenever the "CAR!" cry is yelled, the nets and all participants are off the street in about five seconds.

This takes me back to about 1990, when I was at that age where the afternoon street hockey games were everything; when every Saturday afternoon my friend across the street and I would knock on every neighbourhood kid's door whose name we knew, and called up every school friend we could to get a game going. Then we would gather on Sundial Drive in front of my house and play until it was either too dark to see the ball or until everyone got called inside by their parents.

This happened almost every Saturday until I was about 14 or 15 and all the kids moved away and I started high school (interestingly, this was also when I got fat; coincidence? I think not). Even when my friend's older brothers, the self-proclaimed trouble makers in the neighourhood, played, nothing malicious was ever done to the neighbours or their property and cars never had a problem getting past us. In all the years we played, I can't remember a single window, or anything else getting broken, and getting nothing but smiles and thumbs up from people as they passed us.

Even though my enthusiasm for street hockey has waned over the years, I would never even for a split second think of getting in the way of kids playing street hockey and having fun. Some of my fondest childhood memories come from those games on Sundial Drive, and I hope my kids will have the same experience growing up that I did.

This is what growing up in Canada is all about. Playing street hockey with the neighbourhood kids. My Canada includes street hockey.

-matt

Favourite Time of Year

As the stress of the end of school slowly melts away as one thing after another get crossed off my to do list, I've found myself in the thick of my favourite time of year.

The MLB season started a week and a half ago, and the NHL playoffs started yesterday. This leaves no shortage of either to watch and when I'm really bored ... well that's what the NBA playoffs are for. And if that's not relaxing enough, the month of April represents the lull between hockey and baseball. The lull when my body is no longer taking a pounding and I can actually sit back and relax without any lagging pain.

The little physical activity I tend to undertake at this time of year consists of riding my bike, my light workout I do after hockey season is done, and hitting balls with the boys on a sunny afternoon. Not quite the same as stopping pucks three times a week.

With only my honours thesis now on the do to list, it will not be long before I can fully immerse myself the excitement.

-matt

Mark Buehrle

This is the reason I love baseball:

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?affiliateId=CommentWidget&affiliateId=facebook_share&content_id=7282679

It is the most unpredictable game there is.

No wonder he won a gold glove last year.

-matt