Chris Novak's NHL Stanley Cup Preview

After over a month and a half, we’re finally here. We have reached the point of no return and after starting with sixteen teams in the race, we are down to just two. The NHL Playoffs have winded down to its pinnacle and what an exciting road it has been. We’ve seen dozens and dozens of overtime periods, some reaching far into the night, we’ve seen shutouts, we’ve seen great goaltending performances, top seeds get stunned, unlikely heroes made, and… okay that’s enough of the clichés. We’re down to two more teams, and what a better way to tell you how they got here than…telling you how they got here. What, you were expecting something convoluted, broad and difficult to understand? You’ve come to the wrong place then.

A few thoughts in appreciation of Marty Brodeur

I've never liked analyzing hockey. I’m not very good at it.   It's the sport I grew up playing.   It was something my body loved and my brain played no part in.  I didn't analyze it.  My brain just accepted the nuances of the game and allowed my body to react to them.   As a fan I like to watch on my own, to get lost in the noise of the game that reminds me of the cold, hot chocolate filled mornings of my youth.   It reminds me of the noise of skates on ice and the feeling of sweat stinging my face, and of those rides home in the back seat drinking a Gatorade and allowing a donut to fill the hole in my stomach.  So tonight I’ll give you somebody else’s opinion in this Daily News article by Kristie Ackert and then offer a few thoughts of my own. 

To me Brodeur has always been the NHL's version of Tim Duncan, the quiet superstar.  He's been consistently excellent throughout his career and winning three titles and chases a fourth starting tomorrow night.   Always durable he's led the league in minutes six times. Between 1998-08 he never played less than 70 games a season.   A knee injury shortened his 2008-09 campaign.  The following season he lead the league in minutes while posting a 2.24 GAA.   Since his 2nd season (1993-94) his goals against average has never topped two-and-half. His career has spanned a generation of hockey.  He's the bridge from the league of Jagr and Lemieux and the league of Crosby and Kane today.  Hidden from the public by the media, a victim to the ugliness of the Devil's game as much as Duncan was to the plodding of the Spurs, he never saw the the true appreciation that his talents deserved. Duncan won two MVP's in anonymity and Brodeur's 4 Vezinas (Award for the Best Goalie, think Cy Young for pitchers) were paid no justice by the American media.  Like Duncan age has render him a step slower and as his curtain falls we will only see shadows of his brilliance against Los Angeles.  He might give up a soft goal in transition or we might see his pad badly beaten post to post by Anze Kopitar. When these things happen, just remember that even he doesn't kiss the chalice one more time, he'll always be immortal.  

What Game 1 taught us: Spurs/ Thunder breakdown

Since two of the guys that write for this blog are heathens from New Jersey most of what they publish over the next week.

First of all,  this is going to be a fantastic series.   As Alex Brown pointed out to me tonight in a text both the Thunder and Spurs are going to get their shots in this series.   Thank Jesus Shuttlesworth.   The 76ers/ Celtics series was an ocular affront to fans each night.  Besides the D-Wade/ Bron-Bron melodrama the Pacers and Heat were almost equally unwatchable.  Not a single series in the West has lasted longer than a dance-floor make out.  A 101-98 Game 1 is a great sign for what the rest of the series is going to be like.      The rest of this will be in bullet point form because I'm cooking mac and cheese right now.  

• Besides Harden/ Durant/Westbrook the Thunder are incredibly limited offensively.  They lack a scoring big man,  Serge Ibaka is a ten-footer better offensively than Deandre Jordan.   
• The Thunder need more Kendrick Perkins on Tim Duncan.  His bulk takes away the Duncan post game. 
• Don't look for Tony Parker to get it going in this series.  He lost a step right after he and Eva Longoria broke up.   A worse move than Tiger and Elin in my opinion.   He was guarded by Devin Harris and an slower-than-he-used-to-be Chris Paul in the first two rounds.   Now being guarded by super-athlete Russell Westbrook his shot looked bothered most of the game
• Manu Ginobli is very articulate and looks great in a suit
• Stephen Jackson is proving that you can teach an old dog new tricks.   Or at least to play defense.  He forced Kevin Durant to take a lot of contested jumpers tonight.  Durant is going to get 25 points a night just stepping on the court, but good defense keeps him from erupting and destroying the Spurs.   
• The NBA on TNT is terrible or at least the studio show. The competing buffoonery of Shaq and Chuck is like eating too much bad chocolate cake.  
• I really need to turn off TNT so I'm not stuck watching "Falling Skies" as I finish this. 
• As fifty columns will say in the morning how the Thunder respond to tonight's loss and to each every loss the rest of the postseason will tell us if they're a potential dynasty or not.
• Cheryl Miller is a man
• After watching Shaq dancing with a sign of a feminine Charles I'm turning off the TV. Thank god the Stanley Cup starts tomorrow.  

Prediction:  Thunder in 7.   

Jeff's Stanley Cup Finals Preview and Pick

Stanley Cup Finals

#8 Los Angeles Kings v. #6 New Jersey Devils

 

The Stanley Cup Finals will sometimes bring about bizarre, unexpected match-ups and this year's is one of those unexpected match-ups.  The Western Conference Champion Los Angeles Kings were the number 8 seed and had the third least amount of points of the teams in the playoffs.  The Kings struggled to score goals the entire regular season, they were 29th out of 30 in goals.  But the Kings were carried by Goalie, Jonathan Quick who is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender) who only allowed 1.95 goals a game in the regular season and he has been just as good in the postseason.  The Kings have started scoring the playoffs as they steamrolled through the Western Conference, beating the President's Trophy Winner Vancouver Canucks in 5, the 2nd seeded St. Louis Blues in 4 and the 3rd seeded Phoenix Coyotes in 5.  The Kings won Game 5 in overtime on a goal by Dustin Penner.  Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter and Dustin Brown have been excellent this postseason and have lead the LA offensive attack.

For the Eastern Conference Champion, the New Jersey Devils had 102 points but still finished 4th in the Atlantic Division and were seeded 6th in the Eastern Conference.  The Devils had their worst season in 2010-2011 during the Martin Brodeur tenure with the Devils.  Jersey finished with 81 points in 10-11, which was their worst season since they had 86 points in 95-96.  The Devils under 1st year coach Peter DeBoer developed a great forecheck and behind the League's best Penalty kill in the regular season had the great regular season that I stated earlier.  In the postseason, NJ struggled mightily with the 3rd seeded Florida Panthers, the Devils needed a double overtime victory in Game 7 to advance.  In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, New Jersey drew 5th seeded Philadelphia.  The Flyers had just knocked out Pittsburgh Penguins who were viewed by many as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup.  The Devils dominated the series against Philly winning in 5 games with the only loss coming in overtime of Game 1.  Then came the Eastern Conference Finals against the hated New York Rangers.  The Devils and the Rangers had matched up in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1994 where the Rangers won in 7 and went on to win the Stanley Cup.  The Devils vanquished the demons of 1994 by eliminating the topseeded Rangers in 6 games, winning the series on an overtime goal by Rookie Adam Henrique 63 seconds into overtime.  The Devils have been led by steady play of the captain Zach Parise, Ilya Kovalchuk and David Clarkson, great goaltending by Brodeur and the incredible play by their 4th line, Stephen Gionta, Steve Bernier and Ryan Carter who have a +9 goal margin this postseason.

The keys of the series come down to how will the Devils defense be able to handle the Kings size on the offensive end of the ice.  How the Devils fourth line plays and if they will be able to continue giving DeBoer and company quality shifts.  And which goaltender plays better Brodeur or Quick. I think this series is going to give us a great end to what has been an incredible Stanley Cup Playoffs.  I like New Jersey to win their 4th cup since 1995 and for Martin Brodeur to ride into the sunset as a Stanley Cup Champion.

Devils in 7.

NBA Eastern Conference Finals Prediction

We are down to four teams in the NBA.  Here is my pick for the Eastern Conference Finals.

Eastern Conference Finals

#4 Boston Celtics v. #2 Miami Heat

The Miami Heat are back in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight season but this time they have home court advantage.  The Heat eliminated the Indiana Pacers in a hard fought six game series in the 2nd round sans Chris Bosh who has a strained abdominal and will probably miss the Eastern Conference Finals.  LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were absolutely dominant in the final three games of the series against Indiana combining for 70 points, 27 rebounds and 15 assists in Game 4, 58, 21, 11 in Game 5 and 69, 16 and 10 in Game 6, all victories.  On the other hand the Celtics just finished a seven game series against the 8th seeded Philadelphia 76ers in an absolutely awful series to watch in which no one could score.  The bright spot for Boston this postseason has been Kevin Garnett.  Garnett has played like he is back in Minnesota leading the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals, he is scoring the basketball well and playing incredibly good defense.  To the pick, in order for Boston to even win 2 games in this series they will need Ray Allen to actually show up and for Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Garnett to play all world.  I think Miami steamrolls the C's and will get to their 2nd straight NBA Finals.

Heat in 5.

NBA Western Conference Finals Prediction

We are down to four teams in the NBA.  Here is my pick for the Western Conference Finals.

Western Conference Finals

#2 Oklahoma City Thunder v. #1 San Antonio Spurs

These two teams have been the best in the west the entire season.  The Thunder are coming off of a hard fought series against the Lakers that OKC won in 5 games.  Oklahoma City had to make big comebacks in Games 2 and 4 to win against the Lakers.  Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden have all been outstanding this postseason.  The Spurs have swept both the Jazz and Clippers this postseason and have won 18 straight contests dating back to the regular season.  Tim Duncan has looked rejuvenated this postseason, Tony Parker was in MVP talk and Manu Ginobili is finally healthy for San Antonio.  This series has the potential to be the best in years because these teams give each other multiple mismatches.  Will Tony Parker be able to guard Russell Westbrook? Who will the Spurs throw on Kevin Durant? How will Kendrick Perkins handle Tim Duncan?  The key matchup will be the Super 6th men for each team, James Harden for OKC and Manu Ginobili for San Antonio.  Harden, this year's 6th Man of the year has really turned the NBA's best shooting guards as he is averaging 17 points per game off the bench this postseason.  On the other hand Ginobili has been here and done this before, by moving Ginobili to the bench Coach Greg Popovich has saved some extra wear and tear on the fragile Ginobili.  So to the pick, this will be the best series of this postseason and it maybe the best series we have seen in the NBA since Boston and Cleveland in 2009 (Better known as the PJ Brown series).  Some think this series will complete the changing of the guard in the Western Conference from Los Angeles and San Antonio to Oklahoma City, but I don't.  I think the Spurs have 2 great series left in them and the veteran leadership of Duncan, Parker and Ginobili will outlast Durant and the Thunder in an epic series.

Spurs in 7

      

What Will the Miami Heat Look Like Next Season if They Fail to Win a Title This Year?

Everyone has been saying it since the Miami Heat fell 94-75 to the Indiana Pacers Thursday night, The Miami Heat are in trouble. Perhaps someone should have informed Pat Riley that if one of the Big Three got injured, the Heat had no fall back plan.

That being said, let’s start with the obvious change the Heat will make if they can’t get past the Pacers. Erik Spolstera will be looking for a new job. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, as he lost what little control of the team he had Thursday night after his altercation with Dwyane Wade. The question is, who would be the new coach? The obvious choice would be Pat Riley, but you’d have to assume they’d at least contact Phil Jackson just to gauge his interest.

Joining Spolstera on his search for a new job would be one of the members of the Big Three NOT named LeBron James (we’ll get to him later in this post). I think the obvious choice would be to trade Chris Bosh for someone without a max contract. That way you can open up your salary cap a little too and try to get some bench depth, which the Heat are clearly in need of.

Getting back to LeBron, he has an opt-out clause in his contract at the end of next season. If big changes aren’t made in Miami and LeBron’s still ring-less, watch for him to at least consider testing the free agent market.

Yes, I'll Have Another

I'll Have Another did it again. The colt came from behind to beat Bodemeister and win The Preakness just like he did at the Kentucky Derby.  Bodemeister had control of the race until the last few furlongs when I'll Have Another made his charge and won the second leg of the Triple Crown.  With the way the first two legs of the Triple Crown has gone, may we be witnessing the best horse rivalry since Affirmed and Alydar in 1978. And to be honest, I think we are.  I'll Have Another will have a chance to win the Triple Crown at The Belmont Stakes on June 9th, looking to become the first horse to attain the coveted honor since Affirmed in 1978.

Drogba leads Chelsea to First Champions League Title

 

Didier Drogba is probably the greatest soccer, rather football player ever from Africa and he proved why in the Champions League final.  Drogba scored the equalizer against Bayern Munich in the 88th minute of off Chelsea's only Corner Kick of the game to force extra time.  Drogba then won it for Chelsea on the Blues' final penalty kick, beating Bayern Munich's keeper Mauel Neuer to complete a storybook ride to Chelsea's first Champions League Championship.  Chelsea needed a goal from Fernando Torres in stoppage time in the second leg against Barcelona to just get to the Champions Final.  Bayern dominated most of the game but did not capitalize on their chances until the 83rd when Thomas Muller headed one passed Petr Cech.  To make things even more amazing for the Chelsea victory is that the game was in Bayern's home stadium, Allianz Arena.  Drogba's contract is now up with Chelsea, but even if he leaves the Blues, he will forever be in Chelsea lore. 

Three Reasons The Los Angeles Kings Will Win The Stanley Cup

            For my first post on this great new blog, I’m going to cover a league that doesn’t get much attention from the national media, the NHL. More specifically, I’m going to break down the three main reasons that the Los Angeles Kings will be hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup high above their heads come June.

            The first (and probably most important) reason is the goaltending. Goalie Jonathan Quick led the league in shutouts during the regular season with 10, and has two so far in the playoffs. For a team that was offensively challenged for the most part during the regular season, those 10 shutouts were the difference that vaunted the Kings into the playoffs as an 8 seed.

            The second reason I feel this team has what it takes to win the Cup? The fact that they have yet to lose a road game so far in the playoffs, going 3-0 in Vancouver vs. the Presidents Trophy winning Canucks, 2-0 in St Louis vs. the Blues, and 2-0 so far in Phoenix against the very tough Coyotes. Usually in playoff hockey, you love it if you can manage a split on the road. What the Kings have done on the road so far is absolutely incredible.

            Finally, the Kings have had success to this point in the playoffs because they finally found their offense. Before the season, a fair amount of writers said this team would be great. They have great young stars in Mike Richards and Dustin Brown, but they couldn't get it going offensively, finishing 29^th in the league with 2.29 goals per game. In the postseason, however, that number has jumped to 3.10 goals per game.  The Kings have scored 4+ goals 6 times in 11 playoff games. For reference, in 82 regular season games, they reached the 4+ goal mark only 16 times. 

Welcome to the Blog

Hi everyone, welcome to the blog Robbery in Parldise.  This is a sports blog with some fun mixed by yours truly, Jeff Parles and Rob O'Neill.  Both of us will be Sophomores at Mizzou come August, and we both want to get into the field of Sports Journalism one day.  So sit back, relax and enjoy the blog.