It has to be admitted that I am not a huge sports fan. My parents were/are not very in to sports, so I had not influence there. Being on the chubbier side most of my life, gym class was more a source of embarrassment than enjoyment for me. Sure, I went to a couple homecoming games in high school to try and be in with the in crowd, but I was more focused on the guys than the game and, ultimately, I was, am and will always be a nerd, so that just wasn't my scene.
Flash forward to a few years ago and I discover hockey. I mean, I previously was vaguely aware of its existence;
The Mighty Ducks was a good movie series, right? At least it had the talented eye-candy that is Joshua Jackson, but I digress. A now good friend of mine is a die hard hockey fan; like, has played since he was a kid, continues to play recreationally, has three kids playing (one of whom is a total rock star goalie) and even keeps up on the international teams. Thus, as tends to happen in friendship, his passion began to rub off on me. Now, it's not a huge hobby for me and I'm still learning the different calls, rules, players and trying to remember what all the stats mean, but I really do enjoy it even without that knowledge. Ultimately I've come to determine that hockey is one of the more challenging among sports that requires a multitude of skills, focus and endurance on the part of the players. That, in addition to my observation that hockey seems to be the only major league sport played in the U.S. that A) didn't "originate" here and B) is not only played internationally, but also actively welcomes players from around the world to play in the league, combine to make hockey, IMHO, the most bad-ass of sports. The action, the rivalries, the fights, its just exciting!
So. Here we are and, after a disgustingly long lock out, we finally had a (very) short season and are now into playoffs of Lord Stanley's Cup! W00t! Yeah, yeah I'm a little late coming in here, but A) I have a life and B) the inspiration for this blog/design project came after the playoffs had already started, thus requiring some time to complete. Below is the bitchin' bracket that I've fashioned up in Photoshop (thanks to sportslogos.net for most of the team logos). The little puck under each team shows how many playoff games they've won - notice the Vancouver Canucks (or Canuckleheads as my friend calls them) has no puck because they have not won a game. I'll update this each day as the quarter finals progress. I've also circled the teams I'm rooting for to win, which were of course chosen based on my own odd favoring system and some trace knowledge of team prowess.
 |
| Final scores of the 2013 Stanley Cup Conference Quarterfinals! |
MY PICKS
In the Western Conference we have:
- #1 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #8 Minnesota Wild - Totes going with the Blackhawks here. I do try to root for the home team, and the Wild did pick up some great payers this year, but they just don't have it this time around, especially not to beat out the 'hawks.
- #2 Anaheim Ducks vs. #7 Detroit Red Wings - I have no legit reason for choosing the Wings here other than they are the older team with a better, more classic logo. Yep, there's my design nerd coming out.
- #3 Vancouver Canucks vs. #6 San Jose Sharks - Sharks. By and large, they have just bee playing better than the Canucks this year, even if they didn't have the points to make the higher conference ranking. I also have to admit some credit to my friend's preference in this match up.
- #4 St Louis Blues vs. #5 Los Angeles Kings - I'm going with the Kings on this one. My first reason is that they took the Cup last year. My second reason is that Wil Wheaton is a hockey fan, who lives in LA and thus roots for the Kings. Yep, I'm a nerd like that. I also recognize that this reasoning likely puts me on Sheldon Cooper's hit list.
And in the Eastern Conference:
- #1 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #8 New York Islanders - Islanders. Why? Because Cindy Crysby is a schmuck. Period. And I will root for any team opposing him. I would root for the Austrian Hitlers if it was a team opposing that tool. Go Islanders!
- #2 Montreal Canadiens vs. #7 Ottawa Senators - I'm going with the Senators here purely on the basis of they have a cooler name and logo. Oh, and 7 is my lucky number, I think that played into the initial selection too.
- #3 Washington Capitals vs. #6 New York Rangers - I went with the Rangers on this one. I genuinely dislike that the Caps don't have much in the way of a logo and while Ovechkin is a very solid player, he's always struck me as a bit of an egotistical tool. No Crysby, mind you, but just rubs me wrong.
- #4 Boston Bruins vs. #5 Toronto Maple Leafs - I have to go Boston here. It is a town I've always wanted, full of awesome history and significance for the U.S. It's a team that stands out in my mind for its history in the sport and clout in the league. I also totally prefer the black and yellow color combo to blue and white...maybe its a bit of Hufflepuff in me.
* Update 5/7 * - Okay, so I fell asleep last night before updating the bracket. Oops. Good news is, all my boys came up golden last night! The Blackhawks and Senators are both up to 3 games; Islanders are tied 2-2 with the Pens now; and even after the Canucks finally began to make a showing and put some fight into it, it was too little too late and the Sharks chomped 'em, making a 4 game sweep of the quarter finals series. Good night indeed. I promise to update the bracket after tonight's games.
*Update 5/8* - Life got busy and I didn't get to watch much of the games tonight. Thankfully I discovered the handy NHL app last week and could keep up on all the goals and such while I was out running errands. My boys in Boston pulled off another win bringing them up to 3-1 over the Maple Leafs - mmm, mapley delicious victory; LA Kings also boost up with a third game win over St Louis; The Rangers evened up the score with Washington; finally, in the can't-win-'em-all category, the Red Wings fell to the Ducks in OT...fowl I cry! It was still a good hat trick of wins for my bracket though.
*Update 5/9* - Bummer of the evening is that the Penguins took game 5, setting them at 3-2 against the Islanders. That said, Tomas Vokoun stepped into the net for the Pens tonight (instead of their usual Marc-Andre Fleury) and completely shutout the Islanders clearly lending to their win tonight. Pretty damn impressive. Crysby can still suck eggs. In better news, Chicago Blackhawks beat out MN Wild and took game 5 advancing them to the conference semifinals. I'm a bit bummed to have the home team out of the running, but I expected it all along. Next year boys. Also, it was so awesome to have Harding starting even after being taken out so early in the last game. Finally the Ottawa Senators also advanced to the semis, beating out the Canadiens in their game 5. So a pretty decent night, even if my picks didn't take a hat-trick of wins.
*Update 5/11* - Well assballs. After an intense game, the Islanders fell to the Pens in OT, sending the Pens (along with Crysby) into the semifinals. I wanted fish sticks dammit! I missed the games yesterday as I had plans, but was both happy and disappointed with the results. On the the down side, The Maple Leafs beat the Bruins, ruining what cold have been Boston's advancement to the semis. Also bummed that Washington took a win over the Rangers. On the upside, the Kings advanced to the semis. Also, I'm optimistic for tomorrow's games; Boston has won both of the previous games while in Toronto, meaning they could likely take over Toronto tomorrow. The Rangers, meantime, do better when as home, which is where tomorrow's action will happen meaning we could very likely see this match-up pushed to a game 7 on Monday eve. The more (hockey) the merrier :)
*Update 5/12* - Happy Mother's Day hockey fans! Well, Boston lost in Toronto, but that means a game 7 tomorrow night - w00t! Also, the Rangers proved me right, beating the Capitals and pushing a game 7 tomorrow night in D.C. Lastly, I called it bitches! Detroit defeated the Ducks, completing the line-up of the Western Conference Semifinalss; Red Wings will play the Blackhawks (an original 6 match-up no less!) and, last year's cup winners, the LA Kings will square off against the San Jose Sharks. This is going to be exciting!
*Update 5/13* - DAMN did Boston rock it! Coming from behind like that was brilliant! I'm playing some Dropkick Murphies for them right not :) It should be noted that the Rangers overpowered the Capitals as well. This means that all but one of my picks moved forward to the semifinals. Friggin Penguins stole my perfect score, but they'll get theirs in the semis, and then there will be fish sticks for all!!! Mwahahahaaaa! See you in the semis lovlies!
