I missed the second round so here is your third round picks...

So I missed making my picks for the second round.  Friggin' Bettman and his idea to play the last game of the first round and then start the second round less than 24 hours later.  What was his rush?  He has never been in a hurry to get through the playoffs before, why start now?  I mean, game seven of the Sharks/Wings series is Wednesday and the first game of the Conference final is Sunday.  I can't wait for the annual ritual of booing  Bettman when he brings out the Stanley Cup.  I love that.  That is my favorite part of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Really.



Another reason why I missed the second round is McKenna had her 9th birthday and she had a big party planned so I had to try to juggle work and her party so I really had no time to get to this.  Plus, posting your picks after the round starts is a bit douchey.   So I just passed.

How were my stats from the first round?  Well let me tell you.  I went six out of the 8 series right so I was right on target.  I really think the Kings could have won that series but the pucks just did not bounce their way.  Oh well, I will get it right this round.  Believe it. 


WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS


Vancouver Canucks (1) vs. San Jose Sharks (2)

Had I picked in the second round I would have picked, reluctantly the Canuckleheads.  I know TT vetran Don Granato is scouting for this team and that they have a ton of talent but I just can't get behind this team.  They are those west coast granola eating hippies with those idiots who wear those Green Leotards to the games.  I hate those guys.  Really, you pay huge bucks on Stanley Cup Playoff tickets to watch a game through green fabric.  You suck and so does your team.  The Sedin sisters have yet to show up and I don't think they will in the Conference Final or, god forbid they get there, the Stanley Cup Final.

That said, I kind of hate to get behind one of these southern teams in a market where they like hockey, but not really.  Since it is the only show in town, at least until the Minnesota viqueens move there and become the San Jose Orca's, so they get behind them.  The still are not the most educated hockey fans.  Their team on the other hand is skilled and tough as nails.  I like Thornton and Pavelensikeynov, or whatever his name is.  I spent some time in San Jose covering the Oilers back in 2006.  Love the town.  Great city.  The rink is nice also.  So therefore I will pick the lesser of two evils, Sorry Donnie I just can't do it.  I am going to take the Sharks in 6.

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Boston Bruins (3) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (8)

Wow, can you believe it?  Tampa Bay in the final.  They just kicked the holy living crap out of the Capitals.  Ovetchkin could not even will his team to ONE FREAKING GAME.  Probably cost me some money in the CBC hockey playoff pool.  Stupid Capitals.   Dwayne Roloson, former Edmonton Oiler, and a TT veteran has been standing on his head.  He has been playing amazing.  Probably inspired by Aaron Rodgers and the WORLD CHAMPION GREEN BAY PACKERS.  If you are a regular here at TundraTalk you know that Roli is a HUGE Packer fan.  I used to record the Packer games for him on DVD on the days that the Oilers played on Sunday so he could watch it on the plane in between tilts.  Tampa also has huge talent on their roster.  St. Louis, Lecavalier, Stamkos, the list goes on and on.  They also have some grit and right now it looks as if they have the killer instinct.  BUT, and this is a huge BUT.  They have to face the Boston Bruins.  Boston has been my favorite to win it all this year and they definitely have their work cut out for them in this series.  Boston is tough, has skill, and also has a goalie that is playing out of his ass.  Tim Thomas in the last series played as if he was going to whip Philly himself and the other guys on the ice were just his extras.  He played awesome.

So what do I see for the Conference Final?  Contrary to popular belief I see lots of scoring.  I think a few of these games could get out of hand.  This is going to be ultra physical with Boston winning most of the battles in deep and along the boards.  I think Tampa has the edge on skill, but after a game or two of getting beat up by Chara they will not be able to finish.  I love Roloson so I would not be surprised if he does not have a great series and steal it but Tampa also has against it my bias as a southern team.  So I think this one will go the distance but Boston just is too tough, Boston in 7.

McKenna Rules

Well there you have it.  My picks for the third round.  Enjoy, call your bookie, and bet the house.

Check this picture of McKenna at flag football.  She is definitely on the right team.

Messier Day Two...

Mark Messier Day is gone and behind us. Along with NHL Trade Deadline Day. Man what a cluster yesterday. Lots of standing around and waiting for something to happen. On Sportsnet, Cory's network, it is treated like a party. They had the Hansens Brothers on and the Deal or no Deal girls to announce the trades. It was a good show. Lots of fun. Cory and Gene did live hits all day long. Darren Pang did lives for TSN all day long right in front of the Oilers door. Everyone trying to outdo eachother and get the big scoop first.



It looked like we were going to get thru the deadline and not have to do any chasing or running around but BLAM right at deadline Ryan Smyth was traded to the Islanders. Heart and Soul of the team traded on Messier day. Like a punch in the gut to all the Oiler fans. Needless to say it was like throwing a hand grenade in the room and everyone runs off trying to find Ryan. Of course they were harassed at home and no comment was the norm.



We went live a couple of times during the day. The picture on the right is a shot of our 4pm live from the bowl of the rink. Lot's of work for about 3 minutes of airtime. I shared with you in the last post about all the rumors of celebrities that might be in town for the big game. None of them showed up for practice that day. Some old time Oilers did, but no Hollywood types. I still have game time to get a brush with greatness shot. I have my camera ready for anytime. Cory is still trying to get his holy grail. A shot with Wayne Gretzky. We were determined to get it today, but we were set back when we heard that he was not going to be here til later. He was too busy trading half his team away.



Speaking of trading away, here is a pic of Georges Laraque, former Oiler and now former Coyote, now a Pittsburgh Penquin. Traded to a contender. Nice...


So we get to game time and it is a who's who of Oiler greats in the building. Now you can see Gretz in the pic above, but the guy with his head the shot blocked out Fuhr, Kurri is in there somewhere, Coffey was close by also. It was crazy. Marty McSorley, Dave Semenko, Kenny 'The Rat' Linesman, and Dave Hunter were also around.



It was, as I was discussing it with Mark Sholtz, a power summit that when they were all together lead to a tremor in the force. It was amazing to just walk around underneath the bleachers and everywhere you looked was a Oiler great. Glen Sather was there also. Of course everyone's favorite punching bag Gary Bettman was there too.

Gametime finally came and we rushed upstairs to the press box to get good seat for the ceremony. We tried to sit at center ice but got booted. We then opted to position ourselves on the catwalk so when someone takes a pic of the banner being raised that we would maybe be seen in the background. I am always thinking. They ran a great video of Messier and all the things he has accomplished and then the moment arrived when he came out on the ice. CARRYING THE STANLEY CUP. Fricking awesome.



There was a bunch of speeches and then Messier took the stage and spoke. Lots of tears and great memories. I almost got the man tears going, but since I did not have any real attachment to this team and Messier it was just a peripheral man tear occurance, not a legitimate. If you know man tears you know what that means, if you don't, you really aren't a man in touch with his feelings.



Anyway, the ceremony was great, about an 45 minutes worth. The Oilers were wearing the throwback jerseys in honor of Messier. They all wore number 11 in warmups. Of course that is so they can sell them later to idiots for big bucks. Speaking of memoribilia I heard that in Messier's dressing room they had four 8 foot tables full of stuff that he signed while he was here. They had sticks, pucks, shirts, pictures, you name it they had it for him to autograph. We estimated that there was probably around 2 million dollars worth of stuff. Amazing.



So Cory, knowing what he does, managed to get a few pics put on those tables. Remember the pic of Mark at the podium in front of his Mark Messier Trail sign from the last blog? I gots a few of those signed and a pic from the Heritage Classic for Jay Carton, of the Edmonton Carton's. Hauser, one of them is on it's way pal. Enjoy. Merry Christmas my friend, Merry Christmas.

For each person who came to the game they gave out a miniature replica of the Messier Banner, with of course the obligitory Rexall logo on it. Gotta make money somehow right? So Mr. Hauser that is coming your way also. I always take care of my boys.



It was a long day, but not a bad day at the office with lots of things going on. Wait, did Chris get his brush with greatness pic. Was he shut out? No way my friend, I got two. First off, I managed to shoot a picture of Steve, the guy who carries the cup. I was willing to settle with that. Not a bad get. Really. He has his own Mastercard commercial, he gets to spend all his time with the Stanley Cup, and he is a nice guy. Not bad.



Then as I was walking away I saw this dude doing an interview with the Phoenix station. Phonenix? Is there anyone, other than Canadians who know who he is? Well, is there anyone in Phoenix, other than Canadians, watching Coyotes hockey? I guess I have a point. So anyway, Cory walks by and we grab the camera and each snap a pic with the frontman for Canada's greatest band, the Tragically Hip. That's right the man who sings for one of my favorite bands. I was geeked. This is the one I wanted, not Cuba Gooding, although that would have been good, Gord Downie. Sweet. I will leave this long post with a pic of me and Gord. Cory is over there at the Brush with Greatness picture of the week.









Messier Jersey Retirement one on Vimeo





Messier Jersey Retirement two on Vimeo