History Repeats...Sort of!

When I was in high school there was a kid in the same grade as me who couldn't play sports to save his life. He couldn't catch a football, he would constantly fall while trying to skate, too soft for rugby, he just didn't have any sports ability in him at all. The sad thing about this is that the kid loved sports!!! I mean he craved it!!! He knew the players in every sport...he followed the games by the numbers...he was even one of the biggest fans of every one of our high school teams!!! The jocks liked him just because of his knowledge and that was the group he hung out with. I'm sure he was proud to hang out with the jocks. He couldn't be one so this was as close as he could get. This kid has pursued his love of sports and is now a prominent sports columnist. From what I understand he still hangs with his old high school friends as much as possible even though he gets to meet the most elite athletes through his profession.

I'm telling you this story because I believe it's a direct parallel to a certain hockey team. My high school friend is amazingly similar to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team wishes it can be good enough to make the playoffs and hang out with the best of the best but they just don't have enough of that athletic ability to make it. Consequently they end up watching and cheering others that may be friends of theirs. Some of them will almost certainly be approached by TSN or Sportsnet to help out with play-by-play or just being the "special" guest for the playoff run. See the similarities?

Now, I'm not a Leaf hater. I just find it amusing that coach Paul Maurice started off the year by guaranteeing a trip to the playoffs to all of Leaf-Nation...and they bought it!!! This is their 3rd year in a row for getting the best tee-off times and it doesn't look too rosy for next year either.

Without getting too long-winded I will make some bold predictions for this year's post-season. Just remember, you heard it here first...

1. Ottawa will be lose in 5 games to their first-round opponent...probably New Jersey.
2. Washington will finish first in their division which will put them 3rd in the conference. This will give them home-ice advantage in the first round. I believe the Caps are the dark-horse team that wins the east and competes for the Stanley Cup.
3. The standings in the west will probably stay the same although I expect Calgary to move up a bit and Dallas to move down.
4. I believe San Jose will win the west but the dark-horse there is probably Minnesota. If I was a betting man I may put long money on Minnesota vs Washington for the Stanley Cup!!!

That's it for now...Like I said I didn't want to get too long-winded. If you have any thoughts about this years' playoffs please feel free to drop me a line!!!

CHEERS!!!!!

The Rokpig...