Wednesday Morning Thoughts – May 6

There isn’t a bar in Calgary this morning that has a drop of tequila left.

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
The dispute with officiating during these playoffs, my goodness. When did it become soccer? That was a goal. Show me the camera angles from inside the post then to prove that it isn’t.

The Calgary Flames deserved to win that hockey game. They’ve improved greatly each night against the Ducks. And just when it looked like the universe was going to screw them, their hard work, determination and mental resilience carried them through to overtime and then victory.

Of course it was Johnny Hockey! At Christmas, most people thought this guy wasn’t good enough to stay up with the team. But that tying goal was pure class. Watching Joe Colborne score big playoff goals is what’s the playoffs are all about! Am I right? I think the Ducks win easily Friday night. But at least for one night the Red Mile got to enjoy the second round

The Blackhawks are just too good. Last night we saw the end of any threat from Minnesota, and confirmation that we won’t see Scott Darling again anytime soon. Just a week ago most people didn’t think Corey Crawford would ever play another game for Chicago. Now he is the first Hawks tender to pick up a shutout in three straight playoff seasons. And he’s getting the offensive support.

Paddy Kane is on that Ronaldo shit. It’s amazing that he’s even back in the lineup after that collarbone injury. Should’ve missed another two weeks, but he’s scoring goals for fun. 102 playoff points in 102 playoff games.

With the cap issues they are going to have next season and beyond, the guys in that room know this is their last chance to win the Cup.

NBA PLAYOFFS
Mike Conley: the new Rip Hamilton. Masked, and absolutely clutch in the playoffs. The Memphis Grizzlies played the perfect bounce back game. You won’t find the best team in the league turn over the ball more than 20 times very often. But the Grizzlies defense refused to let the Warriors play the game they wanted. I also loved watching Tony Allen chirp the benches and broadcast crew.

Sure the Wizards can’t win without John Wall. They’re 7-30 without him. But they sure played pretty well last night and going back to DC, will feel like they’ve got the momentum.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
I think Real Madrid have to be content with that result. Juventus could’ve bagged three in the first 15 minutes.

I really don’t know what to expect today. Isn’t it incredible that Pep Guardiola is overshadowing the super clash that is Barca v Bayern?

MLB
I guess it’s another one of those years when the St. Louis Cardinals are going to be the last National League team standing at the end of October. Last night’s 7-4 win over the Cubs put them off to a 20-6 start. The last time they did that? 1889. Seriously.

Monday Morning Thoughts – Apr. 27

To quote my friend and producer Thomas Dobby, “It’s insane that Toronto FC are the pride of Toronto sports right now.”

NBA PLAYOFFS

I sure don’t envy Masai Ujiri.

What a difference a couple of weeks makes. The Raptors went from being a team growing into themselves, to one likely going to be torn apart. And rightfully so. Last night’s effort was pathetic. I’m not even a Raps fan and it was painful for me to get through the highlight pack. There was no fight whatsoever. I guess every guy booked their early offseason holiday Saturday at shoot around. I sure hope they’re off to Dubai instead of Miami or Vegas because if they run into parts of We The North, it could get ugly very quickly.

The only part of the team that brought anything to the table last night were the fans standing outside the Air Canada Centre. If they beat the Wizards, as they should’ve, and get swept in the second round by the Bulls, Dwayne Casey is still the coach next season. He must have felt like his players fired him in the second quarter. The coach is always the fall guy. I don’t think it’s the right move, but I don’t know what else Ujiri can do.

If the playoffs started in November, the Cavs would’ve lost in the first round. But they’ve been marinating all season, and this was a perfect first round test. They faced just enough adversity to make them really work for it, even though winning the series was always an eventuality. Wonder how long Kevin Love‘s shoulder will keep him out. Big loss, and I agree with Love, a bush league move by Kelly Olynyk.

But gotta tip your hat to the Boston Celtics. They’ve been bad. They were over-matched countless times this season. But they never stopped fighting. I saw them lose to the New York Knicks at The Garden in December. The Knicks didn’t win again for a month. That was the kick in the ass Boston needed. Finishing the year by being swept by LeBron & Co. is nothing to feel bad about.

Where was this fight and determination by the Mavericks two games ago?

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

Slow clap for the Ottawa Senators. What an unbelievable season for a team that no one expected anything from. They were unlucky not to have tied the game last night. But for as frail as the Habs looked at times, they were always going to win the series in the end because Carey Price is the best goaltender in the game right now. Just give him the Vezina and the Hart already.

I’m glad the Minnesota Wild finished the Blues off yesterday. They’re the new San Jose Sharks. Stop wasting everyone’s time with stellar regular seasons only to implode in the playoffs. Figure it out! Give the Wild credit for doing so mid-season and sticking with Mike Yeo after his Phil Brown moment. And someone name a street in Minneapolis after GM Chuck Fletcher already for signing Devin Dubnyk. After this season, he’s going to get quite the raise on his $800,000 salary. I think the Oilers have good reason to invest in a good goalie…

I’d really like to see the New York Islanders beat the Capitals tonight. A Rangers/Isles second round series will be great for the rivalry. And it will be nice to see the Rangers pull the curtain down on the Nassau Coliseum.

The Wings wrap things up tonight in Detroit. And I like em to beat the Habs. In five.

MLB

It’s crazy to think that Alex Rodriguez is just one more homerun away from tying Willie Mays for fourth all-time. Crazy because I thought there was no way he’d play in the Major Leagues again. But good on him. Regardless of his indiscretions and incredibly hate-able personality, it is a truly remarkable feat.

After sweeping the Orioles, the Jays got their asses handed to them in Tampa. But the silver lining is that Baltimore beat the Red Sox 18-7 last night. There’s plenty of parity in the A.L. East. Aaron Sanchez starts against Joe Kelly tonight. Early 6pm starts all week at Fenway.

SOCCER THOUGHTS

For my Premier League take, click here.

Maybe Jozy Altidore really is worth $7 million. Credit to TFC for making me eat my words. I thought they’d come home in two weeks with only the three points from the season opening win to show for it. But they go into the Citrus Bowl and play their best game since Greg Vanney took over. The couldn’t have defended any better. Here’s to hoping they can play the same way in Philly on Saturday.

Bayern Munich clinched thier 25th Bundesliga title, and third straight, with four matches to spare. It was an eventuality they would win the league. Europe is still the measuring stick. Had they not overcome Porto in the quarterfinals, we’d be talking about “Pep‘s wasted season” despite yesterday’s domestic triumph. But now many have Bayern picked as the favourites to beat Barcelona in the semifinals. It’s funny how quickly things change in a short period of time, isn’t it?

Historic win for rarely talked about Torino. Nice to see Fabio Quagliarella score against Juve in the Torino derby. Why is Quags not in MLS? Montreal really that content with their frontline? C’mon Joey.