The Monday Musings...On a Sunday

* Yes I'm starting The Musings with hockey. NHL Playoff Hockey. In the past, I've told anyone and everyone that was not a hockey fan to watch the playoffs. Just one game. Just one third period of a close game, and you would see the greatness of hockey. Watching the first round series so far, I have realized the problem with this thinking. It's not that the hockey hasn't been great so far (well unless you're a Wild fan: sorry about that). In fact, just about every series has been compelling and well played. The Caps/Flyers tilts have been my favorite so far, as two of the leagues youngest teams have squared off in as entertaining a series as I've seen in years. The pace has been VERY fast, with a lot of odd man rushes, and there's been hits galore. It seems like every time a guy has a puck and gets rid of it in his own end, he gets creamed into the boards. It's been the perfect blend of speed, agility and physicality that the game can be at its peak. If you can't watch this series and be enthralled with the game, you should hang your head in shame.

So what's the problem? The 80 freaking regular season games that come before the playoffs, that's what! I love the GAME of hockey, but cannot be bothered to watch regular season games. And keep in mind I live in one of the top two or three most NHL hockey-crazed markets in the world (For the record, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal are the top 3. It's not that The Wild aren't supported well or Minnesotans don't love their team, it's just that the Wild are WAY down the pecking order for sports in the Twin Cities. The Canucks, Canadiens and the f$&*ing Maple Leafs are not just front page of the sports, their front page news anytime all the time). The Canucks themselves are an awfully boring team to watch, but it's not just them: the pace of regular season games compared to the playoffs is night and day difference. It's slower, clogged, and almost TOO physical (too much clutching and grabbing). The playoffs are a brand new Mustang while the regular season is like an 82 Chevy Suburban with an engine that's spewing oil out the exhaust.

The thing that bothers me is I don't have a clue how to fix it. While changing the rules (bigger nets, smaller goalie equipment, larger rinks?) could make the regular season better, we are clearly seeing that when teams, coaches and players are motivated to play the game the right way, that it CAN be played the right way with the current rules. So I don't get it. I guess I'll recommend that if you want to see some awesome hockey, watch the playoffs: but then don't turn a hockey game back on until next April.

* The NBA playoffs are already a day old, but there's my quick "day old preview":
I really want a Lakers/Celtics finals. I do. This would be awesome. While I think the Celtics have a REALLY good chance of getting there (John HOllinger, who I definitely have a man-crush on for his vast NBA knowledge as well as he concrete and rational way of using stats to back up his opinions, says the Celtics are way better than people think, and will cruise to the Finals. I hope he's right), I'm more worried about the LAkers. It's not that they're not good, but how amazing is it that their first round opponent, Denver, won 50 FREAKING GAMES?!?!? While it would be an upset if the Lakers lost, there's no way you could call it monumental when LA only won seven more games than Denver. I think everybody but Houston and Denver have a legit shot at getting to the Finals. After watching San Antonio survive Phoenix in double OT yesterday, I have a bad feeling the Spurs aren't quite done yet, and the Suns might be. Too quick to jump to conclusions? Maybe. But watching that game yesterday, the Spurs always had someone to take and make the big shots, whereas the Suns had trouble getting easy baskets down the stretch. They just don't have one guy who own his man and score at will. That will be a factor.
Anyway, here's my picks/hopes:
WEST
LA over Denver in 5
Utah over Houston in 5
San Antonio over Phoenix in 6
New Orleans over Dallas in 5

LA beats Utah in 7
San Antonio beats New Orleans in 6

LA over San Antonio in 7

EAST
Honestly, does anybody care what happens out there, just as long as the Celtics win the conference? Didn't think so.
Celts over Hawks in 4,
Cavs over Wiz in 6
Pistons over 76ers in 4
Magic over Raptors in 5

Celts beat Cavs in 5 (the refs- I MEAN- Lebron steals at least one game)
Pistons beat Magic in 7 (Dwight Howard becomes a household name)

Celts over Pistons in 5

Celts beat Lakers in 6