- Wild pun and win: You can write your own pun — it was a “wild start” or whatever. The fact is that the Minnesota Wild jumped on the St. Louis Blues early last night and never let up. They led from the three minute mark on and never gave up the lead. The final score was 4-2 but three of those goals, two by Minnesota and one by St. Louis were scored in the last two minutes of the game.
Line: As a neutral observer, I feel for St. Louis, who always seems to just not quite have the answer in the playoffs, but I want Minnesota to win. Minnesota is such hockey country, they should have some NHL success. - Glass half full or totally empty?: That’s the question fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins will be asking themselves this morning after their team gave up a goal in the first 30 seconds of their first playoff game of the year last night against the New York Rangers. That early lapse turned out to be fatal. They were never able to catch up to the Rangers once they spotted them that early goal and lost 2-1. The optimists will say that other than that, the Penguins played well against the favored Rangers. The pessimists will point out that there’s no margin for error when you’re an underdog in the playoffs and then probably tell you that the sky is falling.
Line: You can’t make mental mistakes and hope to win in the playoffs. The sky is falling!! - Back and forth, back and forth, for 12 innings: It’s virtually impossible to predict which games are going to be great and which are going to be mundane. That’s actually one of the things about sports that drives fans to watch so many games. You never know, but you want to be watching when something extraordinary happens, so you just watch a lot. A great baseball game broke out last night between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants. The Giants scored a run in the bottom of the ninth to push the game into overtime (called extra innings in baseball.) Then both teams scored in the tenth. Neither team scored in the eleventh. And finally, both teams scored in the twelfth inning, but the Diamondbacks scored more. Arizona won, 7-6.
Line: Making baseball faster is a hot topic but there are no complaints when an extra innings game breaks out. I guess that’s the exception that proves the rule.
Category: Following Sports
Sports Forecast for Friday, April 17, 2015
Sports is no fun if you don’t know what’s going on. Here’s what’s going on: In today’s segment, I covered:
- MLS Soccer – San Jose Earthquake at New York Red Bulls, 7 p.m. ET on UniMas.
- NHL Hockey – Ottawa Senators at Montreal Canadiens, 7 p.m. ET on CNBC.
- MLB Baseball – Oakland Athletics at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 p.m. ET on regional cable.
- And more!
For email subscribers, click here to get the audio.
You can subscribe to all Dear Sports Fan podcasts by following this link. Music by Jesse Fischer.
Stanley Cup Playoff Companion, April 16, 2015
The playoffs are a wonderful time in sports but they can be hard to follow, even for the most die-hard fan of a playoff team. They’re virtually impossible for a non-fan or casual observer! No matter who you are, Dear Sports Fan’s Playoff Companion can help. Sign up to get text updates each day for your favorite team or teams or just for the team or teams you feel you need to know about in order to be able to have a decent conversation with your wife, husband, son, daughter, parent, colleague, or friend.
New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins — Game 1, 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network — Series is 0-0
New York Rangers fans – Better record, deeper team, more reliable goalie. No need for cockiness but lots of reasons for confidence.
New York Rangers interested parties – The Penguins have the two best players in the series, but the Rangers may have the next ten. In hockey, the better team should win.
Pittsburgh Penguins fans – After years of cruising into the playoffs only to come crashing down, maybe backing into them is going to be good luck?
Pittsburgh Penguins interested parties – These Penguins are not like the Penguins of the last five years. They’re a distinct underdog in this series.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings — Game 1, 7:30 p.m. ET on CNBC — Series is 0-0
Tampa Bay Lightning fans – Don’t get spooked by seeing the winged wheel. Our team won seven more games than the Red Wings this season. We’re better.
Tampa Bay Lightning interested parties – Tampa Bay has had some history of success but nothing approaching the traditionally powerful Detroit Red Wings. This year though, the Lightning have the better team.
Detroit Red Wings fans – Mrazek over Howard. In Babcock we trust.
Detroit Red Wings interested parties – The biggest story coming into the playoffs is the coach’s decision to start 23 year-old goalie Petr Mrazek over veteran Jimmy Howard.
St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild — Game 1, 9:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports — Series is 0-0
St. Louis Blues fans – Dubnyk has been unbelievable for the Wild… but he used to be on the Oilers, how tough could he be?
St. Louis Blues interested parties – The Blues have had one of the most complete teams for the past five years but have never won the cup. Could this be their year? It starts tonight.
Minnesota Wild fans – The Blues are an intimidating opponent but I think we can get to their goalie. At least it’s not the Blackhawks.
Minnesota Wild interested parties – The Wild are a good team but they can’t match up player for player with the Blues and not come out looking worse, except at goalie, which is the most important position… so they have a shot.
Anaheim Ducks vs. Winnipeg Jets — Game 1, 10:30 p.m. ET on CNBC — Series is 0-0
Anaheim Ducks fans – Games 1 and 2 at home are almost must wins because Winnipeg is going to be CRAZY for 3 and 4.
Anaheim Ducks interested parties – The Ducks are in the unenviable position of playing against the sentimental favorite Winnipeg Jets, who haven’t made the playoffs in 19 years.
Winnipeg Jets fans – Yes! YES! ARRRGHH*#%#@!!!!
Winnipeg Jets interested parties – Yes! YES! ARRRGHH*#%#@!!!!
Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators — Rest Day — Series is 1-0
Montreal Canadiens fans – It wasn’t pretty but it doesn’t have to be. Game 2 is on Friday, let’s hope Subban doesn’t get suspended before then.
Montreal Canadiens interested parties – The Canadiens won the first game, so today’s a time to nervously celebrate and relax… a little.
Ottawa Senators fans – Stone. Microfracture. Okay, so we’re not going to win, but let’s kill them all.
Ottawa Senators interested parties – Montreal’s strategy seemed to be to injure the Senators best players and it worked. News just broke that Mark Stone, an important forward has a broken wrist.
Washington Capitals vs. New York Islanders — Rest Day — Series is 0-1
Washington Capitals fans – Oh no, not again. I know it’s just one game, but it feels like another collapse is coming. Ughhhghgh.
Washington Capitals interested parties – The Capitals are notorious for collapsing in the playoffs, so Caps fans quite reasonably, may assume the worst after game one.
New York Islanders fans – Home ice advantage gained. Mission accomplished. Game two is all gravy.
New York Islanders interested parties – After a win in game one, the Islanders now have the advantage.
Nashville Predators vs. Chicago Blackhawks — Rest Day — Series is 0-1
Nashville Predators fans – Get through it. Overtime happens. And when it happens again, it could happen for us.
Nashville Predators interested parties – Game one went into double overtime before the Predators lost. Today would be a good day to get your Predators fan an extra cup of coffee and a smile.
Chicago Blackhawks fans – And THAT’S how the playoffs work!
Chicago Blackhawks interested parties – Winning a game in double-overtime has some luck to it but also experience and determination, both qualities the Blackhawks have in large quantity.
Vancouver Canucks vs. Calgary Flames — Rest Day — Series is 0-1
Vancouver Canucks fans – Slow and steady wins the race. Game one wasn’t what we wanted but the Flames will sputter the longer the series goes.
Vancouver Canucks interested parties – The Canucks lost game one but there’s no reason to panic yet.
Calgary Flames fans – The Canucks can’t hang with us! Keep the Sedins off the scoreboard and we’ll keep winning.
Calgary Flames interested parties – Winning your first playoff game in six years is worth a celebration. Enjoy the moment with the Flames fan in your life!
What happened on April 15, 2015?
- The hockey playoffs start of with a boom: There is nothing more exciting, nerve-wracking, and pulse thumping than watching overtime in a Stanley Cup playoff game. Hockey fans were treated to two overtimes on the first night of the playoffs, both in the game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators. A defenseman, Duncan Keith, finally scored in the second overtime to win the game 4-3 for the Chicago Blackhawks but the story of the night was the ‘hawks backup goalie, Scott Darling, who came into the game in relief after their starter let in three goals, and proceeded to shut the Predators out for the remainder of the game.
Line: There’s a reason why overtimes where the first team to score, wins, are called sudden death… it’s because watching them makes you feel like you’re going to have a heart-attack! - Barcelona dazzles: Barcelona has such freakishly talented players that sometimes it seems as if they’re the Harlem Globetrotters and their opponents are the hapless Washington Generals. There were a few moments that felt that way yesterday in Paris during Barcelona’s Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain that ended 3-1.
Line: Barcelona can not only beat you, they can make you feel silly for having shown up. - The U.S. Men’s National Team… wins: Okay, so… truth be told, the game between the United States Men’s National Team and Mexico was not nearly as good an exhibition of soccer as the previous game. It was, at times, downright ugly. But, the U.S. did win, so hooray if you’re a fan of the team. The star of the night was Jordan Morris, a college kid getting his first start on the national team. He looked nervous during the anthems before the game, but once play started, he looked right at home. He scored the first goal of the game and of his career after snatching an unlucky bounce off a Mexican defender.
Line: A win is a win, no matter how sloppy. - The Pacers (and Thunder) fade to summer vacation: After 81 games, all the Pacers needed to do was win one more and they would have made the NBA playoffs. They couldn’t do it. They lost to Memphis 95-83. Because of that, the Brooklyn Nets get the last playoff spot in the East and the chance to (probably) lose to the first ranked Atlanta Hawks. A similar scenario played out in the West where the New Orleans Pelicans eliminated the Oklahoma City Thunder from playoff contention.
Line: Although it hurts now, not making the playoffs this year probably won’t turn out to be so bad for Thunder and Pacers fans. Their teams weren’t likely to win much in the playoffs anyway.
Sports Forecast for Thursday, April 16, 2015
Sports is no fun if you don’t know what’s going on. Here’s what’s going on: In today’s segment, I covered:
- NHL Hockey – Minnesota Wild at St. Louis Blues, 9:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.
- MLB Baseball – Arizona Diamondbacks at San Francisco Giants, 10:30 p.m. ET on regional cable.
- And more!
For email subscribers, click here to get the audio.
You can subscribe to all Dear Sports Fan podcasts by following this link. Music by Jesse Fischer.
Stanley Cup Playoff Companion, April 15, 2015
The playoffs are a wonderful time in sports but they can be hard to follow, even for the most die-hard fan of a playoff team. They’re virtually impossible for a non-fan or casual observer! No matter who you are, Dear Sports Fan’s Playoff Companion can help. Sign up to get text updates each day for your favorite team or teams or just for the team or teams you feel you need to know about in order to be able to have a decent conversation with your wife, husband, son, daughter, parent, colleague, or friend.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators — Game 1, 7 p.m. ET on CBC — Series is 0-0
Montreal Canadiens fans – Time to beat the Senators soundly in game one and show them that what works in the regular season doesn’t always fly in the playoffs.
Montreal Canadiens interested parties – On paper, the Canadiens should be favored over the Ottawa Senators but the Senators have seemed magical on their run to the playoffs in the past two months. Nervous times before the first game.
Ottawa Senators fans – All you need to win in the playoffs is a hot goalie and there’s no one hotter than the Hamburgler. We got this.
Ottawa Senators interested parties – The Senators are an unlikely playoff team, having been way at the bottom of the standings just a couple of months ago. They made the playoffs thanks to an amazing run of wins and now their fans are hungry for more success.
Washington Capitals vs. New York Islanders — Game 1, 7 p.m. ET on USA — Series is 0-0
Washington Capitals fans – Shoot high on Halak, shoot high.
Washington Capitals interested parties – Caps fans may be wary after a string of playoff disappointments but they should feel confident going into this series against the New York Islanders.
New York Islanders fans – Steal one of the first two and then come back to home, sweet home, Nassau Coliseum.
New York Islanders interested parties – When your team starts on the road, like the Islanders do, the goal is always to win one of the first two games.
Nashville Predators vs. Chicago Blackhawks — Game 1, 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports — Series is 0-0
Nashville Predators fans – Score one and hope for Rinne. Game one, we can do this.
Nashville Predators interested parties – Despite finishing with a better record than their opponents, most Predators fans are probably justified in feeling their team is modestly out-gunned by their opponents, the Chicago Blackhawks.
Chicago Blackhawks fans – Of course Kane is back, he’s a hockey player. Let’s go Hawks!
Chicago Blackhawks interested parties – Blackhawks fans are excited to get the playoffs started, especially now that they know one of the team’s best players, Patrick Kane, will be returning from his broken collar-bone to play in tonight’s game.
Vancouver Canucks vs. Calgary Flames — Game 1, 10 p.m. ET on USA — Series is 0-0
Vancouver Canucks fans – Youth plays in the regular season, experience wins in the playoffs.
Vancouver Canucks interested parties – In years past, Canucks fans might have expected to win in the playoffs. Now that the team is a little older, fans are mostly happy just to have made it.
Calgary Flames fans – Argh. If the Flames were playing anyone but the Canucks, it would be easier to worry less about the result and simply enjoy the experience.
Calgary Flames interested parties – The Flames have been one of the most pleasantly surprising teams this year. They’re young and young teams don’t often win in the playoffs but this team could be older than its years.
What happened on Tuesday, April 14, 2015?
- Delayed gratification: Fans of goal scoring or decisiveness will have to wait until the next time Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid meet. Their game yesterday, the first of a two leg Champions League quarterfinal series, ended in a 0-0 tie. The game was well and roughly played overall, there just weren’t any moments of attacking brilliance.
Line: Neither team could solve the other’s defense. Not for lack of trying. - An important sloppy double overtime game: In the NBA, the most important game of the night was between the Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards. A Pacers victory would eliminate the Miami Heat from playoff contention and strike a blow against the Brooklyn Nets’ chances as well. It took the full 48 minutes plus two five minute overtime periods, but the Pacers, who had much more motivation than the Wizards, finally did it.
Line: Just one more win from the Pacers tonight and they’ll make the playoffs.
Sports Forecast for Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Sports is no fun if you don’t know what’s going on. Here’s what’s going on: In today’s segment, I covered:
- European Champions League Soccer – Barcelona at Paris Saint Germain, 2:45 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
- International Men’s Soccer – Mexico at the United States, 8:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
- NBA Basketball – Indiana Pacers at Memphis Grizzlies, 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
- NHL Hockey – Chicago Blackhawks at Nashville Predators, 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.
- And more!
For email subscribers, click here to get the audio.
You can subscribe to all Dear Sports Fan podcasts by following this link. Music by Jesse Fischer.
Sports Forecast for Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Sports is no fun if you don’t know what’s going on. Here’s what’s going on: In today’s segment, I covered:
- European Champions League Soccer – Real Madrid at Atletico Madrid, 2:45 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
- NBA Basketball – Washington Wizards at Indiana Pacers, 8 p.m. ET on TNT.
- And more!
For email subscribers, click here to get the audio.
You can subscribe to all Dear Sports Fan podcasts by following this link. Music by Jesse Fischer.
Sports Forecast for Monday, April 13, 2015
Sports is no fun if you don’t know what’s going on. Here’s what’s going on: In today’s segment, I covered:
- British Premier League Soccer – Newcastle at Liverpool, 3 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.
- NBA Basketball – Portland Trail Blazers at Oklahoma City Thunder, 8 p.m. ET on NBA TV.
- MLB Baseball – Washington Nationals at Boston Red Sox, 3:05 p.m. ET on regional cable.
- And more!
For email subscribers, click here to get the audio.
You can subscribe to all Dear Sports Fan podcasts by following this link. Music by Jesse Fischer.