2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round One Update

West

Vancouver Canucks vs Los Angeles Kings     I picked: Canucks

The Kings lead the series 3 games to 1. The Canucks have replaced Luongo as their starting goaltender in favor of Corey Schneider and it looks to have worked. At least for one game. This series picks up again on Sunday in Vancouver.

St. Louis Blues vs San Jose Sharks     I picked Blues

The St. Louis Blues lead the series 3 games to 1. I haven't paid a lot of attention to this series. It's enough for me to know that the Blues are ahead and the Sharks are not.

Phoenix Coyotes vs Chicago Blackhawks   I picked Coyotes

The Coyotes lead the series 3 games to 1. This series has been exciting with the running of goalies, open ice head shots, and a @BizNasty being tossed out of the game for not having his jersey tied down. The Coyotes are on my short list of teams to root for. Can you imagine them winning the Cup this year then being sold and starting next year someplace else? Good Times.

Nashville Predators vs Detroit Red Wings     I picked Predators

The Nashville Predators lead the series 3 games to 1. This series has a lot riding on it for my family. Another hockey dad and I have put 50 push-ups from our kids on the outcome. So far Pekka Rinne has been spectacular in net for Nashville. If I had to pick out a prototype to use to build my ultimate goalie it would start with him. Hopefully Shea Weber can avoid throwing any more Red Wings into the turnbuckle and the Preds can finish this off tonight.

East

New York Rangers vs Ottawa Senators     I picked Rangers

This series is tied 2-2. I wasn't interested in this series to begin with. That's changed now that the Senators have risen up to win two games. Really physical series with lots of hitting, a couple of line brawls and a Brandon Dubinsky match penalty.

Boston Bruins vs Washington Capitals     I picked Bruins

This series is tied 2-2. Riding some hot goaltending by Braden Holtby, the Capitals are making this a series. The Bruins don't seem to be able to find the back of the net. It's a lot to ask of the 22 year old Holtby to carry this Capitals team much further in the playoffs, but a first round upset isn't out of the question. Look out Bruins.

Florida Panthers vs New Jersey Devils     I picked Devils

This series is tied 2-2. Martin Brodeur may be past his prime, but he still has the ability to rise to the occasion. He posted a shutout in game 4 to tie the series. I haven't seen any of these games, but it's good to hear that Marty is having some success in the post season.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Philadelphia Flyers     I picked Penguins

The Flyers lead this series 3 games to 1. If you like rough and tumble, high scoring games then this has been the series to watch. Lots of rough stuff before, between, and after the whistles. Big name goaltenders under-performing (I'm looking at you Fleury and Bryzgalov). It looked like the Flyers would walk away with this one until game four when the Penguins beat them 10-3. If any team can come back from 3 games down it would be the Penguins.

So far so good. The only pick I really want back is the Canucks over the Kings. I did not see that coming.

Round 1 Predictions For the NHL Playoffs

Tonight begins the race for Lord Stanley's Cup. My predictions for winners in round one are at the bottom in Red. If you think I got something wrong leave a comment below.

Seed	West		Seed	East
1	Vancouver Canucks		1	New York Rangers
2	St. Louis Blues		2	Boston Bruins
3	Phoenix Coyotes		3	Florida Panthers
4	Nashville Predators		4	Pittsburgh Penguins
5	Detroit Red Wings		5	Philadelphia Flyers
6	Chicago BlackHawks		6	New Jersey Devils
7	San Jose Sharks		7	Washington Capitals
8	Los Angeles Kings		8	Ottowa Senators
	Round 1
	West			East
	Vancouver Canucks			New York Rangers
	vs			vs
	Los Angeles Kings			Ottowa Senators
	St. Louis Blues			Boston Bruins
	vs			vs
	San Jose Sharks			Washington Capitals
	Phoenix Coyotes			Florida Panthers
	vs			vs
	Chicago BlackHawks			New Jersey Devils
	Nashville Predators			Pittsburgh Penguins
	vs			vs
	Detroit Red Wings			Philadelphia Flyers

What Does It Mean To Be A Fan?

What does it mean to be a fan? This was a discussion we had at Easter dinner yesterday afternoon. I can name for you the date and time that I became a sports fan. It was January 20, 1985 and my dad and I were driving home from Kennewick Wa, to Portland OR. Super Bowl XIX was being played between the San Fransisco 49ers and the Miami Dolphins. We picked up the game on our way out of town. I don't remember how many different stations we changed to on the trip home, but I got the chance to root for Joe Montana as he led the 49ers to a 38-16 victory.

I became a football fan on that day. The next year I rooted for the Seattle Seahawks and I have been ever since. Through ups and downs, thick and thin, I was there. Bo Jackson running over Brian Bosworth on Monday Night Football? I was there. Dave Krieg being sacked 7 times by Derrick Thomas setting the single game sack record? I was there. Ken Behring looking to move the team to Hollywood? I was there. Jeremy Stevens talking trash about Jerome Bettis in Super Bowl XL and then dropping every ball thrown his way in the game (including two in the endzone)? I was there. I was even there when they won their division with a 7-9 record, and then to ensure that they would get a horrible pick in the NFL entry draft, beat the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the playoffs.

You're asking what my point is and I'll tell you. Being a Seattle Seahawks fan this last 27 years has taught me heartbreak, pain, and suffering. I follow other sports as well to a lesser extent. I like the Portland Blazers, Seattle Mariners, and University of Oregon football. I also am a huge fan of the Portland Winterhawks. Do you know how many championships those teams have combined to win since I started watching them? Zero, Zilch, Nada.

The NHL playoffs start on Wednesday, April 11th. Why is that important? What's my NHL team? I don't have one. My favorite NHL team is the one that's going to win the game. I may pick a team to root for during a playoff series, but if they don't win, I'm picking up my pack and moving on. I now have reinforced ankles to accommodate the shameless bandwagon jumping I do. Last season during the Eastern Conference Finals I rooted like crazy for the Tampa Bay Lightning. When they lost in game 7 to the Boston Bruins, I turned around and rooted for the Bruins to beat the Canucks. When the Bruins beat the Canucks in game 7 of the Finals to win the cup, I jumped up and danced around. I had won. My team had beat the other team and won the Championship.

Ellen Etchingham has a great piece that posted today to the Backhand Shelf blog where she pleads for us all to be fans. To dedicate ourselves to a single team and experience the highs and lows that come with that single minded focus. I'm here to tell you that I've done that. A lot. Nothing so far has matched watching my Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cup. Was I long suffering? I was not. Am I rooting for the Bruins again this year? Not yet. Right now I've got my eyes on the Nashville Predators. I'll start with them and see what happens. The best part is that come June I know that My team is going to be lifting the Stanley Cup.

The 100 Best Songs of Ever

A complete, and utterly comprehensive list of the 100 best songs of all time. The list is in no particular order, and yes it does include every song on Led Zeppelin II. Please to enjoy if you can.

Grooveshark Playlist 100 Best Songs of Ever

Title	Artist	Album
Alive	Pearl Jam	Ten
Cocaine	Eric Clapton	Slowhand
Release	Pearl Jam	Ten
Help	The Beatles	Help
Running With The Devil	Van Halen	Van Halen I
Aint Talkin Bout Love	Van Halen	Van Halen I
Panama	Van Halen	1984
Drop Dead Legs	Van Halen	1984
Cabo Wabo	Van Halen	ou812
Poundcake	Van Halen	For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll)	AC/DC	High Voltage
T.N.T.	AC/DC	High Voltage
Can I Sit Next to You Girl	AC/DC	High Voltage
Ride On	AC/DC	Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Shot Down In Flames	AC/DC	Highway to Hell
If You Want Blood (You've Got It)	AC/DC	Highway to Hell
Night Prowler	AC/DC	Highway to Hell
Shoot to Thrill	AC/DC	Back in Black
Back in Black	AC/DC	Back in Black
Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution	AC/DC	Back in Black
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)	AC/DC	For Those About to Rock
Who Made Who	AC/DC	Who Made Who
Shake Your Foundation	AC/DC	Who Made Who
Thunderstruck	AC/DC	The Razors Edge
Twist and Shout	The Beatles	Please Please Me
Love Me Do	The Beatles	Please Please Me
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds	The Beatles	Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band
When I'm Sixty-Four	The Beatles	Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band
Helter Skelter	The Beatles	The White Album
Story Of My Life	Social Distortion	Social Distortion
Ball and Chain	Social Distortion	Social Distortion
Paradise City	Guns 'n Roses	Appetite For Destruction
Patience	Guns 'n Roses	G N' R Lies
Sweet Emotion	Aerosmith	Toys in the Attic
Dream On	Aerosmith	Aerosmith
Sweet Home Alabama	Lynnrd Skynnrd	Second Helping
Tuesday's Gone	Lynnrd Skynnrd	Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd
Simple Man	Lynnrd Skynnrd	Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd
Cinnamon Girl	Neil Young	Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
Heart of Gold	Neil Young	After the Gold Rush
Mr. Soul	Buffalo Springfield	Buffalo Springfield Again
Old Man	Neil Young	Harvest
Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)	Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble	Couldn't Stand the Weather
American Tune	Paul Simon	There Goes Rhymin Simon
Sharp Dressed Man	ZZ Top	Eliminator
La Grange	ZZ Top	Tres Hombres
Shake Your Rump	Beastie Boys	Paul's Boutique
Whole Lotta Love	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin II
What Is and What Should Never Be	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin II
The Lemon Song	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin II
Thank You	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin II
Heartbreaker	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin II
Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin II
Ramble On	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin II
Moby Dick	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin II
Bring It On Home	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin II
Gallows Pole	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin III
Tangerine	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin III
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin III
Good Times Bad Times	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin
I Can't Quit You Baby	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin
Your Time is Gonna Come	Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin
The Song Remains the Same	Led Zeppelin	Houses of the Holy
Dancing Days	Led Zeppelin	Houses of the Holy
The Ocean	Led Zeppelin	Houses of the Holy
In My Time of Dying	Led Zeppelin	Physical Graffiti
Houses of the Holy	Led Zeppelin	Physical Graffiti
In the Light	Led Zeppelin	Physical Graffiti
Down by the Seaside	Led Zeppelin	Physical Graffiti
Nobody's Fault but Mine	Led Zeppelin	Presence
In the Evening	Led Zeppelin	In Through the Out Door
Fool in the Rain	Led Zeppelin	In Through the Out Door
Hey Hey What Can I Do	Led Zeppelin	Coda
Seven Nation Army	White Stripes	Elephant
Desperate People	Living Colour	Vivid
Which Way to America	Living Colour	Vivid
Solace of You	Living Colour	Time's Up
Down In It	Nine Inch Nails	Pretty Hate Machine
Sleep Now in the Fire	Rage Against the Machine	The Battle of Los Angeles
Outshined	Soundgarden	BadMotorFinger
Slaves and Bulldozers	Soundgarden	BadMotorFinger
Searching With My Good Eye Closed	Soundgarden	BadMotorFinger
Seven Bridges Road	The Eagles	Eagles Live
Hotel California	The Eagles	Hotel California
Ripple	Grateful Dead	American Beauty
Friend of the Devil	Grateful Dead	American Beauty
No Woman, No Cry	Bob Marley	Legend
Stir It Up	Bob Marley	Legend
Redemption Song	Bob Marley	Legend
Toes	Zac Brown Band	The Foundation
Chicken Fried	Zac Brown Band	Home Grown
Where the Boat Leaves From/One Love	Zac Brown Band	Where the Boat Leaves From
Baba O'Riley	The Who	Who's Next
Won't Get Fooled Again	The Who	Who's Next
Behind Blue Eyes	The Who	Who's Next
Who Are You	The Who	Who Are You
No Excuses	Alice In Chains	Jar of Flies
Tones of Home	Blind Melon	Blind Melon
Brown Sugar	The Rolling Stones	Sticky Fingers

Portland Junior Hawks 2011-2012 Peewee House Playoffs

Here are some of Cam's highlights from this years Hockey Playoffs. Enjoy!

Thanks Be to You NBA Network

Happy Friday All! This is my first day of Christmas vacation. I walked the dog, got some breakfast and decided to sit down and relax. NBA network was showing  the Detroit Pistons Vs the Chicago Bulls from Christmas day 1990. The game was good. It really reminded me of just how good Michael Jordan was, and how annoying Bill Laimbeer was. Chuck Daly on Detroits bench, a young Phil Jackson wearing a bow tie, and Marv Alberts doing play by play.

The game was good, then they went to commercial. I tuned them out and read some email until some guy named Vince came on and started selling the Slap Chop. I think the line that really puts this over the top for me is at around the 35 second mark. "Stop having a boring tuna, stop having a boring life." Oh lord, please give me the strength to not strangle Vince if I ever see him in person.

During another break NBA network put on an ad for a product called Insta Slim. This is a tank top made out of an elastic, spandex type material that sucks in your gut for you. As a middle aged guy with a couple of extra pounds around my middle, and a desire for a fix that doesn't involve exercise or eating responsibly I was interested. I waited for it through the entire commercial and they didn't say it once. Not one time did they call this product what it was. A girdle. (I would also have accepted corset, though that would have been less accurate.) If they're not going to call it what it is, I'm not going to buy it.

As with so many other things, bad ad's on NBA network come in three's. The third one during this game was for a product called Max Tall Shoe Inserts. I was just sitting there minding my own business and I hear this from my TV, "Guys Pay Attention. How would you like to have an extra two inches?" (Go ahead and click the link it's right at the beginning of the video.) Yeah, that's all it took to drag me in. I thought the email spam I used to get in the 90's had migrated to the NBA Network. Turns out this product is for an insert you can put into your shoes to make yourself taller. According to the commercial this makes you more attractive to women, and men will listen to you more in business meetings.

Thanks NBA Network! It's been a long time since I've had my insecurities played on so obviously. For the record, I will not be buying any of these products...though that Slap Chop does look tempting.

Much Ado About Tebow

It's time for me to confess; I have been going out of my way to watch the Denver Broncos play since Tim Tebow was named the starter. Full disclosure, I am a Seattle Seahawks fan, and I've been watching the NFL since 1985. I referred to John Elway as Horse Face from then until his second Super Bowl win, and even passed that. It came out again today when I saw him watching his new star in action from a luxury box at Mile High Stadium. Long story short, I truly hate the Denver Broncos. So when I say that I'm going out of my way to watch the Denver Broncos I want you to understand how extraordinary that is.

Since being named the starter Tim Tebow has led the Broncos to a 7-1 record including 4th quarter comebacks over Miami, New York Jets, San Diego, Minnesota, and the latest victim Chicago. My personal favorite was the win over Kansas City where Tebow completed 2 of his 8 passes and still managed to win the game. A truly awful performance, but still must see TV.

The part that I'm enjoying the most is watching former players and coaches on the pre and post game shows. They seem to be about evenly split between Tebow haters and Tebow believers. Tom Jackson on ESPN has been waxing on about Tebow since his win over the Jets, and it's eating Keyshawn Johnson and Chris Carter alive. Over on NFL Network Warren Sapp is left shaking his head in disbelief. "Assignment football, that's all it is." Meaning that if everyone on the defense stays home and does their job Tebow's style of offense won't work. Less vocal, but almost as upset, is Marshall Faulk. He has been rendered almost silent.

 I'm guessing New England is going to go in to Denver next week and beat the snot out of the Broncos. Once that happens who knows what the next step is. The Broncos may collapse and miss the playoffs, but I hope they don't. I mean can you imagine if Denver wins out, gets a good seed going into the playoffs and makes it to the super big game? I'd watch every game, and when they met the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLVI, I'll be rooting for Green Bay... and Tim Tebow.

This Lady Can't Be Trusted

Found out today that before we were married my wife was a pretty fair hand driving a trailer. Now? "I've got you to do it for me" she says. After 18 years together, there's still more to learn. Lucky me.

Stuffed Spaghetti Sandwich

Here is my take on the Spaghetti Sandwich. I don't understand people who put spaghetti on conventional sliced bread. Don't they know that spaghetti is wriggly? It will escape the confines like sand between your fingers. Hollowed out French bread is the way to go!

Coonhound in a Recliner

Let Sleeping Dork Butts Lie

We recently got a brand new (to us) recliner and it's been a bit of a battle around the house to see who the new chair belongs to. I thought it belonged to me as I was carrying the base up the stairs, but when I went back out to grab the back our cat Sammy claimed it. That's alright. It's good for the cat to have somewhere to call her own. Our other cat Milo found that he could jump up on the back of the chair and make it rock back and forth. This was fantastic for Milo, not so good for Sammy. The best though was when the dog decided that he wanted his share of the chair.

Jaxonn may not look like it in the picture but he weighs in at just shy of 100 pounds. I'm not sure how he curls up that frame into a ball small enough to fit in the chair. I don't know for sure when he started to climb up into it, but now he'll walk over to the chair, paw it and look at me. The same as he does when he wants to get on the couch. (That's right, I make him ask up. I don't want him to take that privilege for granted, and I'm also a big meanie pants.)