It's been a while...

... and by a while, I mean almost a year and a half. I'm done with school, and have a job in web design now, meaning I don't get to put my journalism degree to use very well, so I've decided to start back up, mostly to keep my journo skills intact, but also so the world can disagree with what I have to say about sports.

The only thing on my mind right now is what happened to the Brett Favre/Green Bay relationship? I really hope Favre does not accept money in order to not play football. I know I am not alone when saying that Brett Favre is a prime example of a player who played not for the money, but for the love of the game. I don't think Brett should tarnish that reputation by accepting $20 million to not play football. Either retire without $20 million, or keep playing.

Why?

Sometimes, I just don't understand the world.

(Revised) NHL Playoff Predictions

Last summer, I made some horrible predictions that I would prefer not to reference (but I'll do it anyway).

In the Western Conference, I had 5 of the 8 playoff teams correct, but only one team (Nashville) in the correct seed.

In the Eastern Conference, I only had 4 of the 8 teams picked correctly, but I did have two of those teams (Buffalo and Ottawa) in the correct seed.

However, out of all those awful prediction, I still think that my Stanley Cup Final prediction is right on...


Stanley Cup Finals

defeats

The Dreaded OTL

...with the Avalanche's 6-3 victory over the Calgary Flames on Sunday, they finished the season with a 44-38 record, securing the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Flames ended the season with a 43-39 record, finishing the season just short of the playoff picture...

If only that's how it was...

Instead, the Flames finished with a 43-29-10 record, and the Avs with a 44-31-7 record. The Avlanche have more wins, but if you notice that last number, Calgary has 3 more OTL's (Over-Time Losses) than the Avalanche.

The way the current NHL points system works, a win is worth 2 points, and an OTL is worth 1.

(44 x 2) + 7 = 95
(43 x 2) +10 = 96

Despite having one less win, the Calgary Flames secured the final spot of the NHL playoffs because of the dreaded OTL.

For three years, I haven't even paid attention to the OTL. Other fans always complain about it because their team got screwed, but it never affected me, it never affected the Avalanche, until now. And now I agree with the critics. It should be done away with.

It makes no sense to give a team crucial points for a loss. I don't know another sport in the entire world that does that. This isn't Pop Warner Football. The goal of the game isn't to have fun. It's to win. These are professional athletes, who've spent their whole life training for the job. They know they need to win. They know that's the goal. They shouldn't have the fallback option of losing and still having some good come out of it.

To the NHL's credit, they have been listening to the critics. At a recent Board of Govereners meeting, the idea was proposed to change the system; either to get rid of the "third point" altogether, and make a win two points and a loss zero points no matter when the occur, or to make every game worth three points, where a regulation win is worth three points, and the overtime system stays the same (winner gets two points, loser gets one). Either way, it's better than the current system.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see what the Board votes on the matter... As for now, I'll just be bitter about it, because for the first time in 11 years, I won't be watching the Avalanche play in April.

**Just as a side note, Denver now holds records in two sports for having the team with the best regular-season record not making the playoffs: The Denver Broncos missed the playoffs in 1985 with an 11-5 record, and the Avalanche's 95 points this season put them at the top of the NHL's list.

Disney's New Ratings Plan

Disney, Inc., you clever, clever business. I see what's going on here. You own ESPN and ABC. ABC's ratings for Monday night have continuously gone downhill. So you take two of the worst, most god-awful teams in the NFL, and put them on ESPN on Monday Night Football. No sports fan in their right mind would watch those teams play, so all the regular MNF viewers flip channels, and hopefully drift over and watch some of the great programming ABC has to offer.

That is the reason you scheduled San Francisco and Arizona to play the opening Monday Night Football game of the season, right? Because if that's not the reason, then why in the world do you have two teams who combined for a 12-20 record last season facing off in the opener? Why on earth are the Arizona Cardinals, the worst franchise in NFL history, playing the San Francisco 49ers, a team that has won 13 games over the past 4 seasons.

It just doesn't make sense...

A New Champion has Emerged

Every so often, I come across a name for a stadium that is just a little bit worse than the one I currently considered having the worst stadium name in sports. As of about ten minutes ago, I believed the title went to the City of Glendale as a whole, not just one particular stadium. Not only is the "University of Phoenix Stadium" in the city, but it is also home to the "Jobing.com Arena.

Ladies and Gentlemen, behold the "Dick's Sporting Goods Park." I don't think I need to explain. Congratulations go out to the Colorado Rapids on having the most awful stadium name in the country.

Peyton Manning - Super Bowl MVP, Comedy Genius

There is no one else in the entire sports entertainment business that is more marketable than Peyton Manning. He's not really funny, he's not really bland, he is just Peyton Manning, and for anyone who has seen enjoyed any of the NFL's commercials featuring Peyton, I highly recommend that you watch this clip, and if you can, the rest of the Saturday Night Live that he hosted. It was one of the best SNL's of the last five years.

I May Have Spoke Too Soon

A few weeks ago, when I was busy talking about how the Denver sports teams have let me down, I mentioned that "The Avalanche might* miss the playoffs for the first time since they moved to Denver in 1995. I say might with an asterisk, because it's almost guaranteed."

Well, the Avalanche have proved me wrong the last couple of weeks. Paul Stasny went on a twenty game point streak, breaking the record by a rookie set by his father, Peter Stasny, almost two decades ago. This twenty game point streak helped the Avalanche win 9 of their last 11 games, and given them a 9-0-2 record in the previous 11 games. That's 11 straight games where at least one point was won.

The only problem is, Calgary is also winning. It's tough when you have 20 out of 22 possible points, and you really aren't moving up too much. Yes, the Avs have moved up. Before their streak, they were 12 points behind and looking at missing the playoffs. Being only 5 points behind (with one game in hand) is alot better, but you would think if you won 9 out of the last 11, you would gain more than 7 points.

The good thing is, if the Avalanche keep pace with the Flames, and then beat them in the two games they play against each other, the Avs make the playoffs, while the Flames hit the golf course.

It's a little nerve racking to have all this pressure on your team, but at the same time - The Avs have had a guaranteed playoff spot for the past 11 years in the Mile-High City. I've never had to worry about it. The more I think about it, the more exciting it is to know that the season will most likely come down to the final day. There is nothing more exciting than a Calgary vs. Colorado match-up, in Denver, with the winner going to the playoffs, and the loser hitting the beach for the summer.

I can't wait.

The Fairy Tale that was (Very) Short Lived

You can't be considered a Cinderella team for winning one game. You can't be considered a Cinderella team when that win was against this years Duke squad. And you can't be considered a Cinderella team after winning one game against Duke when you are the #11 seed, and historically, the #11 seed wins 32 percent of the time, with a 63-29 record in the first round of the tournament since 1985 (The year the tournament was expanded to 64 teams).

After Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) beat the Duke Blue Devils in the first round of this years NCAA Tournament, analysts were already calling the team "The Next George Mason," and "This Years Cinderella Story." The only problem is, the team is neither, and commentators are just looking to create a storyline, because nearly all of this years games were won by the top seed.

Duke was not a good team this year. For the first time in 220 weeks, the Blue Devils were not ranked in the AP Top 25. The streak, which had been intact since 1996, ended in February as the Devils were on their way to an 8-8 ACC season. That record was their worst conference record since the 1995-96 season. Their overall season ended with a 22-11 record, their first season with more than ten losses since 1995-96. It was also the first time since that 1995-96 season that Duke didn't with either (or both) of the ACC regular season or tournament. It just wasn't Duke's year, and you can't automatically tag VCU as a Cinderella because the team they played has a history of being good.

If the tournement was about teams histories, VCU wouldn't even be in it. The tournament is about today, it's about this season. I commend VCU for their effort, and congratulate them on their win, but as they learned in their second round, it takes more than a mediocre win against a mediocre team to be the Cinderella story.