Good Times Grimes

Blackhawks are out. Only 3 first-round series still going: Florida-New Jersey, Ottawa-New York Rangers, Washington-Boston.

Haven't got an answer for you there. The helmets are pretty strong, but there will always be concussion issues as it is a contact sport. I think they need to enforce having face shields or at the least visors to prevent facial injuries from stray sticks and pucks. It is a step up on what they had 50 years ago though. Imagine being a goalie and playing without a helmet? Insane! Check out this image of Taylor Hall. He stepped on a puck during warmup and fell over, slid into his team mate (knocking him over) and got cut on the face by another player's skate who was jumping trying to avoid them. http://i.thestar.com/images/62/0c/fa9961884d66829095ec95e2ef1e.jpeg

Just as long as Ottawa don't win it I'll be happy. I think I'll follow Los Angeles simply because they upset the Canucks and have an exciting young team. Bruins came close to losing yesterday. It wouldn't come as a big surprise to see them go back-to-back though. I also don't mind St. Louis because I admire the way that they have rebuilt their team over the last couple of years.

That's true, but it won't stop him being targeted by the opposition. The harsh suspensions don't deter some from hitting others illegally because it is the job that their coach sends them out to do. For some of them this is the only trait that keeps them getting games. It's a shame that such a good end to the regular season was put to waste. The Penguins probably have the best roster in the league, their goaltending just let them down in the playoffs.

I think that everybody's team in this thread is out. That was quick haha!

I feel bad for him because he is targeted by opposition players all the time, and the number of concussions he has received has had a huge impact on his (still young) career. He is by far the greatest talent going around the NHL, and I love him when the Olympics comes around and he's on my team. He just tends to always (IMO) berate the refs and ask them for penalties that aren't there. I agree that it wouldn't bother me if he were on my team, so hopefully his concussion problems are behind him and he gets traded to the Leafs in the offseason (one can dream...)

Penguins are out. By far the best series I've seen...it had everything.

I'm sorry. I fully respect how good he is. By far the most skilled player in the game. He just tends to be a bit of a favourite with the refs. Similar to one C Judd.

Haha schadenfreude is part of being a Leafs fan. Well aware that we're crap, and the joys that we do get are seeing other teams fail as well. I'm a fan of upsets though. If the Leafs aren't in I go for the underdogs. And anyone playing Ottawa.

Sharks lost 3-1 tonight and are out. Washington beat Boston to take a 3-2 lead, and Ottawa is on the verge of knocking out the Rangers after winning 3-2 on the road. Florida beat New Jersey 3-0 and are one win away from the conference semi-finals. Game 5 of Chicago and PHX has just started. It would be interesting if neither Vancouver or Boston made it past the first round of the playoffs. I wonder when the last time was that neither of the previous year's finalists advanced past Round 1.

Amazing! A 30 year old with a record of 11-10 prior to today, and owned in less than 2% of all fantasy leagues. Can't imagine anyone would ever have picked him to do that!

The Blue Jays turned their first triple play in 33 years last night against the KC Royals. The first I've ever seen; pretty exciting stuff.

Ugh don't tell me you're a fan of crybaby Crosby! On another note: Lidstrom may have played his final game after the Predators eliminated the Wings last night. St Louis could finish off San Jose tonight in Game 5 while Phoenix could eliminate Chicago. Does anyone have any thoughts on Raffi Torres' 25 game suspension? Here's a video for those who haven't seen the incident:

Yep, lot's of unlucky/bad mistakes. My personal favourite is this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PAQQyNw1lg

Big night tonight. Canucks win to stay alive. Series now 3-1 for L.A. and heading back to Vancouver for Game 5. Senators win 3-2 in overtime. Series is now 2-2 heading back to New York. Pittsburgh thumps the Flyers 10-3 to make the series 3-1 in Philadelphia's favour. Heading back to Pittsburgh for Game 5. The other series are: St Louis leading San Jose 2-1. Game 4 in the Shark Tank tomorrow. Phoenix leading Chicago 2-1. Game 4 in Chicago tomorrow. Nashville leading Detroit 3-1 with a chance to win the series on Friday at home. Reigning champion Boston leading 2-1 over Washington with Game 4 in Washington tomorrow night. Finally, Florida and New Jersey (probably the least eventful of all so far) NJ have a chance to tie the series at 2 at home tomorrow night. My picks for the winners of this round (I know it's a bit late but I'll do it at the start of Round 2) L.A Kings New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers St Louis Blues Chicago Blackhawks Nashville Predators Boston Bruins Florida Panthers

That is too bad! Sounds like you're pretty lucky to have a friend with connections. I've been to about 6 games in the past three seasons. Not very many considering there have been 123 home games in that time. I can't stand how in Toronto businesses get a hold of the tickets and use them all to entertain clients-- it means that real fans don't get many opportunities to go out to games. The upside of the Leafs not making the playoffs in so long is that people are more willing to sell their tickets and make a profit rather than attend and see a losing team. So if you're desperate to get to a game you can sit in the nosebleeds and pay $140! Hopefully the Sharks can finally deliver this year. I've often picked them to win the cup only to see them go out in the first couple of weeks of the playoffs. Who do you think is going to win it all this year? That Canucks/Kings game should be a good one to watch. I would be surprised if the Kings could pull off the sweep. I think Vancouver will win the next two games and L.A. will win the series in Game 6. Penguins are up 9-3 at the moment in Game 4 at the end of the 2nd period. That series has been so high scoring and unpredictable... some of the most exciting playoff hockey I've ever seen. Even though I hate the Penguins and Crosby, I hope they can win the next couple of games just so the series keeps going. Interesting stat I heard today: Last year there were 7 suspensions over the course of the playoffs. This year there have been 8 in the first 7 days!

The Pittsburgh/Philadelphia series has been insane in terms of fights, hits, outrageous scores and unpredictability. I'd be more than happy to see the Penguins ousted from the playoffs tomorrow. I'm also very anti-Vancouver, and happy to see them down 3-0 (Sorry Macca). It would be a great upset if LA could sweep them. It's going to be very interesting to see who takes out the cup this year. My early pick is the Flyers, but they'll need Bryzgalov or Bobrovsky to give them some stability in goal. This is such a great time of year for sports: NHL playoffs, NBA playoffs in a couple of weeks, MLB season has just begun, the Masters, and of course AFL. Pantaloons- Who were the Leafs playing when you went recently? I was also at a game in early 2011 against Calgary in which they came back in the final seconds, but I can't remember which month it was in. I think they ended up losing it 2-1. I really hope the Leafs come good some time soon, they are the only team to have missed the playoffs every year since the 2004-2005 lockout.

Hopefully round 1 excitement plays a factor and we can crack the 30k mark. I do agree that 25 is more likely, though.

Yep. Few things get to me more than cocky athletes. Lebron is one. Didak is another.

Not a huge fan on basketball, but happy with any team other than Miami winning it. Not a fan of Bosh, Wade or Lebron. There's a great joke about Lebron that's been going around since his performance in last year's playoffs: A homeless man was begging on the street and asked Lebron James for a dollar. Lebron gave him 75 cents. As usual, he didn't have the last quarter.

I feel bad for anybody that has a relapse. There is nobody who wants to live as an addict. I hope Ben gets the help he needs and can get clean.

They did win back to back, but it's nearing 20 years ago now (92 and 93). Unfortunately I was too young too follow it then, and not living in Toronto until a few years later. It's the last time a major Toronto team has won a championship though, and the Jays look like the only one out of the big 3 (Raptors-NBA, Maple Leafs- NHL) that could do it any time soon. It's taken especially seriously in the States with the Boston/Yankees rivalry probably being the biggest. I've only seen snippets of that documentary, but I do know the story behind it. Whenever I get down on the Demons, I just try to think- hey, it could be worse. The Cubs haven't won in 103 years and counting!

The Jays are great to see live, but in my time following them the city's interest has usually dwindled around July when they're too far outside a playoff spot. There are too many games in the season, in my opinion, to expect fans to maintain a keen level of interest throughout. That's why I love footy...each week you're looking forward to a game and the lead-up is always an event in itself. I'm hoping this year is different for the Jays as there are lots of young prospects starting to come around. Hockey is great to see live--if you can get a ticket. In Toronto the tickets will be sold out for the entire season within an hour of them going on sale. I've only managed to get to 2 of 41 home games this year (although that's not necessarily a bad thing considering the Maple Leafs' abysmal record). Vancouver would be a much better team to follow I think, although they are notorious for choking. That might be even worse than following a team that you expect to lose.

Spring training for the 2012 season is underway with the best performed teams so far being the Detroit Tigers, LA Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox. Does anybody have any early season picks as to who's going to be the World Series Champion this year? The recent addition of 2 extra playoff spots will make things more interesting and hopefully make the playoffs more attainable for teams with payrolls of under $100 milion.

I've been going through a 90s phase over the last couple of weeks. These are a couple of my favourites: