Postseason Push - NHL

Today, we begin a 3-part series that will examine the NHL, NBA, and NCAA. Teams in each league look to close out their seasons successfully; clubs atop divisions are vying to cement high seeds, while teams on the bubble are hoping make a strong playoff push. We'll begin with hockey.

NHL teams have somewhere between 18 and 22 games remaining, which means an individual team has the potential to pick up 36 to 44 points in the next six weeks. The West is currently the more competitive conference, and is shaping up for a finish reminiscent to that of the Eastern Conference in 2010 (remember Flyers-Rangers settling the last playoff spot in a final-game shootout??)

In the West, teams 6 through 11 are separated by just 2 points. The Eastern Conference, however, is also quite competitive, as Buffalo, Toronto, and Atlanta are all within close striking distance of 8th place Carolina.

Here is a look at the standings:

Eastern Conference
1. Philadelphia (86 pts)
2. Tampa Bay (81 pts)
3. Boston (79 pts)
4. Pittsburgh (80 pts)
5. Washington (76 pts)
6. Montreal (73 pts)
7. NY Rangers (70 pts)
8. Carolina (67 pts)

On the outside looking in: Buffalo (-2 pts), Toronto (-4 pts), Atlanta (-4 pts), Florida (-8 pts), New Jersey (-9 pts)
Time to call it a season: NY Islanders, Ottawa

Western Conference
1. Vancouver (87 pts)
2. Detroit (82 pts)
3. San Jose (78 pts)
4. Phoenix (76 pts)
5. Los Angeles (74 pts)
6. Calgary (73 pts)
7. Minnesota (72 pts)
8. Dallas (72 pts)

On the outside looking in: Chicago (-0 pts), Nashville (-0 pts), Anaheim (-1 pt), Columbus (-4 pts), St. Louis (-7 pts)
Time to make April vacation plans: Colorado, Edmonton

Predictions


Cup Favorites: Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings
-The Flyers are scary good this season, as shown by their impressive 86 points. The only team with more is Vancouver, but I still like the Red Wings to win the west. Why??? Because it's hockey. Never pick against the Red Wings


Biggest Threats To The Cup Favorites: Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks
-Despite having only the fourth best record in the conference, Boston's +46 goal differential is tops in the East. Vancouver's record and +58 goal differential (!!!) are the best in the league.

Don't Be Surprised If They Blow It: Montreal Canadians, Phoenix Coyotes
-Montreal is rich with hockey tradition, but this year's team lacks punch. Their 165 goals for is the worst amongst the top 8 teams in the East. Carey Price has been a middle-of-the-pack goalie in GAA and Save %, and he might not be able to deliver the Halak magic that the Canadians got last year. The Coyotes are in fourth place, but are only 4 points away from missing the playoffs. And their -2 goal differential has to be a cause for concern.

Don't Be Surprised If They Make It: Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks
-Sure, it's a bit of a cop out to go with the #9 teams in both cases. But Ryan Miller is a great goalie who can turn it on when the team needs it, and Chicago has some of the most prolific scorers in the game. I can't see either of these teams missing the postseason.

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'Melo Finally Traded; Knicks Now 4th Best Team in the East

What can I say? I'm a fan of throwback videogames.

After an entire season of anticipation, Carmelo Anthony finally got traded on Monday, and will be a New York Knickerbocker for the next few months. Cool, I guess. 'Melo (F) will be heading to NYC along with Chauncey Billups (G), Shelden Williams (F), Anthony Carter (G), and Renaldo Balkman (F). The Knicks had to give up Raymond Felton (G), Danilo Gallinari (F), Wilson Chandler (F), Timofey Mozgov (F/C), $3 million, a 2011 first-round pick, a 2011 second-round pick, and a 2012 second-round pick.

Now let's take a look at the Knicks starting five:
PG: Chauncey Billups
SG: Landry Fields
SF: Carmelo Anthony
PF: Amar'e Stoudemire
C: Renaldo Balkman/Ronny Turiaf (?)

Knicks fans are loving their chances. There was even a Black and Yellow Remix made about the trade (real original). But why? While the East may not be as deep as the West is, it is very talented at the top. Compare the Knicks starting five to that of some of the other top teams in the East:
              Celtics                    Heat                    Bulls                  Magic                 Hawks
PG   Rajon Rondo       Mario Chalmers      Derrick Rose      Jameer Nelson       Mike Bibby
SG   Ray Allen             Dwayne Wade       Keith Bogans    Jason Richardson     Joe Johnson
SF   Paul Pierce            LeBron James         Luol Deng        Hedo Turkoglu        Josh Smith
PF   Kevin Garnett         Chris Bosh         Carlos Boozer       Brandon Bass        Al Horford
C   Kendrick Perkins  Zdyrunas Ilgauskas   Joakim Noah     Dwight Howard     Zaza Pachulia

Now after seeing all this, how much better to the Knicks look than the rest of these teams? The answer is not much. Also, consider that the Knicks now have very little depth coming off of the bench, much like the Heat. I'm not saying that they won't be good, but to expect the Knicks to come back from being a team barely over .500 (28-26, 12GB of the Celtics for the Atlantic Division/Eastern Conference) to a favorite is nonsense. Have fun with 'Melo while he's in New York, but don't get too excited for the first or second round exit.

NFL CBA: Time To Panic?

Pretty much, yeah.

Negotiations are moving slowly, as fans begin to accept a work stoppage as an inevitability. It's a shame, really, but that's part of the nature of bargaining. The players attain their maximum leverage right before a work stoppage. Because of this, and the fact that the issues are quite contentious, it is extremely unlikely that we'll see any tangible progress until August approaches.

When we see headlines like this, it's easy to realize that the situation is becoming dire. The main issue, of course, is the division of money. Players want a roughly 50-50 split, while owners only want the players to get about 40% of revenues. In a league that pulls in over $7 billion per season, a difference in 10% means hundreds of millions of dollars.

When the dust settles, we will almost certainly see a rookie pay scale. (Always sell out the new employees, right?) But the idea of an 18-game season as a means of generating new revenue streams seems like an impracticality.

Finger pointing can go either way; it's easy to want to blame the players AND the owners for what seems like excessive greed. Still, with so much cash at stake, it isn't hard to see why progress has been so difficult.

Hopefully, teams can reach an agreement in which both sides feel like winners. If they can't - and they almost certainly can't - fans will inevitably end up on the losing side.

Here's to hoping.



(Sidenote: I sure am glad this NFLPA ad didn't make it on the air during the Super Bowl. What a terrible commercial.)

Crazy Dunks

In honor of the dunk contest, I give you: Crazy Dunks

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