This And That

At the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs, I took the Chicago Blackhawks to play Boston. Looks like that isn't going to happen. Credit the Detroit Red Wings for playing the hockey that we are used to see them play. That team looked like they were going to be on the outside looking in come playoff time, but they have pulled it together and are arguably playing as if they could win the West. They are like the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA.....they keep getting older, but you just can't knock them off and if you do, you have to give one helluva effort.  Its even getting to the point that at one time I wanted them to lose, but now I have somewhat of a soft spot for them because they have that underdog label. Yes, Chicago can come back and win three straight to take the series in 7, but the Wings have all the momentum and the Hawks will need a huge effort just to send the series back to Detroit.

Is there any doubt that Mike Babcock is Canada's coach at the Winter Olympics if the NHL goes.

How does a city like Detroit that is just about broke manage to sell out 100 straight hockey games at the Joe Louis Arena? That is passion folks!

The Saskatoon Blades are out and wow, did they go out in ugly fashion. That was not the memory that the Blades wanted to leave with their fans as they get taken to school by London in the tie-breaker game of the Memorial Cup.  The knives will come out in full force now. When they won 18 games in a row, they were the toast of the town, but now their stock is lower than Enron. I'm guessing you will see a lot of blue seats on TV this weekend. I would hope a crowd of at least 11 thousand is there for the final. We'll see.

There's been a lot of chatter about the empty seats at CUC and whether or not this event has been supported by Saskatoon. The argument has been had on many levels. When its all said and done, I ask this question. Was the topic ever approached to tarp off the upper level of the rink and just sell seats in the lower bowl with the upper bowl being open only if the ticket demand was there? Doing that would have alleviated a lot of the questions being asked. If organizers didn't think they could sell out the facility, why not maximize what you have and sell 8-9 thousand seats nightly. Did greed come back to bite those responsible in the ass? Oh well, its too late to discuss that now.

Halifax Mooseheads forward Nathan McKinnon has been the best player at the Memorial Cup. Has he done enough though to surplant Seth Jones as the number one overall pick. Would Patrick Roy take another forward to add to the likes of Matt Duchene, Ryan O'Reilly and Gabriel Landeskog or does he take the potential franchise defenceman in Jones who has all the tools it would seem to have a long NHL career. McKinnon will give you more flash, but Jones is a blueliner that doesn't come along often. Its a tough choice, but I got to go with Jones.

I love the Eric Cartman chant of "Go Kings Go". I wish the Pats would find out who does that and what the cost is. The Brandt Centre would go nuts if Cartman started cheering "Go Pats Go".

Brent Hawkins is the new coach of the Regina Rage---Regina's entry in the Lingerie Football League. Hawkins' wife plays on that team. Would the coach dare bench his wife if she isn't playing well?

Former Baltimore Ravens and current FOX NFL analyst Tony Siragusa is hawking Depends to stop "leakage".  Depends needs to expand this campaign to Canada and find a retired defensive lineman that is in the media to sell the product. Who could they find?? Did Siragusa wear 96?

With the addition of Jermaine McElveen on Thursday, the Riders have given themselves some more depth on  the d-line. That d-line is said to be the weakest part of the team as they continue to look for a pass-rusher. What do you think? What position are the Riders weakest at going into camp? The roster they have assembled for the  upcoming season is an experienced one and one that should be more than capable of hosting a playoff game this year.

How long will be it until Alain Vigneault finds work? Is he Dallas-bound? Don't be surprised.

Access tried their hand at reality TV with "Lamb of Love". They should try again with "A Day at a 7-11":.

Like many, I park downtown in an Impark lot. There are some spots that are reserved so you obviously can't park in them and there is a sign up to let you know its reserved. The question I have is who has some of these spots and do they own a vehicle? Since I started at CKRM, there have been a couple of spots in the Impark lot on Rose Street across from the parkade that has a reserved sign there but there has never been a car there. This is either a gigantic waste of money from some company or some guy has really great hours as he gets to work after me and leaves before I do.

The major league baseball season is at the one quarter pole. I think its safe to say that the Jays have been one of the bigger disappointments, but not as disappointing as the Angels and Dodgers who have high payrolls.  There is talk that Toronto should perhaps trade off guys like Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion if they aren't in a position to take a run at a playoff spot by the all-star break. I say that is the wrong idea. As bad as they have been, they would be a lot better if Jose Reyes was playing all year. Yes, their pitching hasn't been great, but Reyes would have added some runs to that offence.

Speaking of disappointing, who does graphics at Fox Sports Kansas City. They put this dandy up on Thursday night. Can you spot the errors????





Good luck to Metro Regina reporter Jeff Mackey. He is headed back east to serve an internship with the Canadian Press. He helped give that paper some credibility and he put in many a solid day.

Its just a matter of time before Graham DeLaet wins on the PGA Tour and perhaps that time is coming up. He is two off the lead after one round of the Colonial. Who gave him his fashion advice though? I'm guessing he wasn't dressed like that playing the Weyburn Golf Club. I still think he needs something on his apparel to signify his Saskatchewan heritage whether it be the iconic /=S=/ or PotashCorp or something.

The WMBL season starts next week. That is a good thing!

Is it bad luck to be superstitious???

Have a good weekend!