Playoffs?......Playoffs?

For those who have been able to pull themselves away from the Detroit Lions Fashion Show and the 24/7 coverage of the NFL Draft, you have been treated to some remarkable NHL and NBA playoff games. Now as a Kings fan, the NHL playoffs haven't been personally interesting in sometime, but that doesn't mean that they aren't fun to watch. To me the best series in the first round have been the Hawks/Flames, Ducks/Sharks and Canes/Devils.

The great thing about the Hawks/Flames series is the fan support for both teams. In Chicago you have the nicest people in the world. They love their teams no matter how many Billy goat hexes, bad quarterbacks or polish sausages get in their way. Then on the other hand you have the Flames fans. Calgary to Canada is like the panhandle to the US. Straight up country. Tobacco chewing, buck hunting, Boo Weekley look alikes. They love their Flames cause lets face it, they don't really have much else in the way of pro teams up there. Anyway, this series has everything, rising stars, current stars and even good goaltending. It should be exciting to see how it ends.

Then there is Ducks/Sharks. Division rivals. Two solid teams. Great players, great coaches, and great goaltending. The only problem is that this is the 1/8 match up. In my opinion San Jose got fucked. It would not surprise me to see the winner of this series advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, but my predictions usually suck, so they are probably both fucked. Anyway, if you like hockey and can stay awake past 11, stay up and watch.

Finally, there is the Canes/Devils. A face-off between the always-steady Devils and the up and down Canes. For those who don't really follow hockey, the Canes are similar to the Marlins. Will be really good, like their Stanley Cup run, and then they will suck for the next few years while they stockpile young talent. Now they are good again and are giving the Devils all they can handle. While Canes fans are not the most knowledgeable about the game, like when they cheer for offsides or icing, they more than make up for it with their excitement during the playoffs. Think of it as the ugly girl who is terrible in bed but you keep going back for more because her enthusiasm makes you think you are doing something right. And doing something right is exactly what the Canes did on Tuesday night. As me and my roommate were watching the end of the 3rd, completely unaware of how much time was left on the clock, we figured we were going to get to watch another OT game, one of the best parts of the hockey playoffs. Instead, Jokinen tips it in at the buzzer. Yes I said it, a buzzer beater in hockey. Something rarely seen, especially with .2 seconds left in a 3-3 game in the playoffs. INCREDIBLE. I can only hope that there are more games like this to come.

Now onto the NBA, where amazing is supposed to happen. With the exception of the Bulls/Celtics series, which everyone thought was going to be another beat down, nothing exciting has happened. The Cavs and Lakers are putting a beat down on the Pistons and Jazz. Although I will say watching those games makes me think of what it would be like to watch Mike Tyson fight an infant. Ok…..ok…..a really strong infant.

Next we have Magic/Sixers. The only thing amazing about this series is how Stan Van Gundy hasn't gotten Latrell Sprewelled by one of his players after he tells them how much they suck after every game. I hope Dwight Howard donkey punches him during a timeout tonight.
The rest of the series can be summed up pretty quickly:

Heat/Atl-Wade vs. Actual Hawk
Denver/NO-Chauncey has big balls/good trade Detroit how is that 8 seed in the east treating you
Portland/Houston-Houston 1 Portland 1 Dikembe 0......Just wag your finger at me if you think this is too soon
Dallas/San Antonio-Has been vs. Never Was

Finally, I will leave you with 10 things to watch this weekend.

10. The Natinals benching a player for giving back to the community, but then he plays anyway because they misspell his name and Acta doesn't notice.

9. Tim Duncan making his Tim Duncan face

8. Beckett hitting a Yankee in the head

7. Burnett trying to retaliate but missing

6. Lakers and Cavs finishing off the Jazz/Pistons

5. Sean Avery taking 10 penalties, Tortorella killing him

4. Dampier eating Tony Parker

3. The Redskins trading away Portis, Landry and FedEx field to move up to the 8th spot to get Sanchez

2. Dan Snyder being hospitalized after an unknown assailant head butts him in the crotch while wearing a helmet

and the number one thing to watch this weekend..........

1. In a surprise move the Lions draft Michael Crabtree and 20,000 Lions fans kill themselves