Song: Tokyo
Artist: Hedge Latest single by my man Hedge!! One of his best yet, Tokyo about to be the song of the summer. Be sure to check it out and keep listening to everything else has on soundcloud. soundcloud.com/hedge88
This will not be the last time you see some Hedge on DOL. Stay tuned.
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BRING ON LEBRON!!
(FYI this is the first time I've blogged about the Celtics all year, but I have been paying attention, just not a huge basketball X's and O's guy, but damnit I can give my takes) Last night the Boston Celtics won game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Washington Wizards 115-105 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals in a game that will be remembered by Celtics fans as simply "The Kelly Olynyk Game".
I've been VERY vocal about how much I dislike (hate) Kelly Olynyk for years. Between how soft I think he is, how inconsistent he is, and how ugly I think his "beard" is. He makes me understand the Yankees stupid no facial hair rule for a second. I'm just not a Kelly guy and not going to pretend I am despite that awesome 4th quarter. You can call me a lot of things, but I'm not a fraud.
But to his credit, the dude showed the fuck up in the biggest game the Celts have had in 5 years. 26 points on 10/14 shooting, 5 boards and 4 dimes. I'm gonna go out on a limb and call it the best game of his NBA career. The big take away from his game has to be the 5 minute stretch in the 4th quarter where he single handedly outscored the Wizards 12-10. All the credit in the world for Kelly O for his performance last night.
Isaiah Thomas had one of his better games of the playoffs dropping 29 and 12. This is one of my favorite sequences of the game, he blows by John Wall for a lay-up, then my man Terry Rozier stole the inbound and hit Crowder with a nice pass for an easy two. I thought Terry played great in the limited minutes he had last night.
Al Horford, to this point in the playoffs, has played up to his contract. Gave the Celtics 15, 6 and 5 as well as some key defensive stops as well. Rookie Jaylen Brown scored on one of the more athletic lay-ups you'll see by someone not named Lebron James.
The Celtics now get to play Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line. Yipee! That is what this post is truly about. Anybody can embed a few highlights.
Despite being the lower seed, pretty much everybody thinks the Cavaliers will not only win the series, but do so without much difficulty.
The defending champion Cavaliers are 8-0 this post season. Since Lebron came back to Cleveland for the 2014-15 season the Cavs have lost just four Eastern Conference playoff games through 8 series. 32-4. It's unreal how much they've dominated the East until this point. Leastern conference indeed.
Due to their back to back sweeps and how NBA scheduling works, the Cavs have not played an NBA basketball game since May 7th. The Conference Finals begin tomorrow on the 17th. The Celtics on the other hand will have just one day off between game 7 of the 2nd round and the start of the Eastern Conference Finals. Basically no rest after a hard fought series against IMO the 3rd best team in the East. They've had a much more difficult path to the ECF than the Cavs, despite being the 1 seed. The Celtics struggled with the 8 seeded Bulls, and if it wasn't for a Rajon Rondo broken hand, they'd probably be at home right now. Since he went down, they're a different team. We all just saw how much of a battle the 2nd round against Washington was. Home team was 7-0 in the series, and if they played 14 games, they'd probably be 14-0. At 8-5 in the postseason, if the Celtics have shown anything during this run (other than how they're the worst rebounding team in NBA history), it's their resiliency to comeback. Between the 0-2 deficit they had against the Bulls and the deep holes they put themselves in games 1 and 2 of the semi-finals this team has shown they will not give up, and keep fighting until they're legally dead. Nobody is giving them a chance against the Cavaliers, and that's absolutely fine. On paper you probably shouldn't. It's an a huge mismatch. Upsets don't happen in the NBA. Everybody thinks Lebron, Kyrie, and Love will dominate them, and that the Celtics will be lucky to win a game. I'm not going to full out predict a Celtics series win, but I do truly believe they can at the very least, give us a competitive series. By that I mean win at least 2 games. Which as basketball fans we should all want, even if you hate the Celtics, it's not good for the game to keep having noncompetitive conference finals. The lack of parity in the NBA is making the product less enjoyable IMO. This Celtics core has shown the last two seasons how well they can play against top competition. The nearly beat the Warriors at home to end their 27-0 start. They ended up being the first team to beat the Warriors at the Oracle last year. They've beaten Cleveland in Cleveland (s/o Avery). This year they had a huge win against the Cavs at home (although Kevin Love didn't play). This Celtics team is still a few key pieces away from winning a championship, but they're here and I'm glad they are. I'm sick of people saying "what's the point?" when they're (probably) going to get killed by the Cavs. I think that's a horrible way to look at it. I'll admit there was a time I sort of felt that way too, mainly just to soften the heartache of losing. While I'm upset they didn't add a rebounder to better their chances, I do think this series will be huge for the Celtics future. Everybody is gaining playoff experience. This is an opportunity for them see truly how far away they are from the Cavs, who have been the class of the East since Lebron's return. They're trying to build something. How close are they? Should they trade Isaiah or build around him? What's Crowder's future? Who is staying between Bradley, Smart and Rozier? What will they do with the frontcourt? We should have a better idea by the end of this series. The Celtics have made it to the NBA's version of the Final 4 and they did it a lot sooner than people would've expected. This team won 25 games and was in the lottery 3 years ago. Now they're four wins away from the NBA Finals. It's going to be an uphill battle, but I truly believe they have a chance. While the Cavs have steam rolled the Hawks, and Raptors in their two previous conference Finals, I honestly don't think the Cavs will do it to the C's. Isaiah has had a career year, Horford is playing very well this playoffs, and with the depth they have, you never know who on a given night will give 25. Of course I don't expect, the Celtics to win the series, but I do think it is VERY possible for them to make things interesting, at least a lot more interesting than the Cavs last two trips to the ECF. That is credit to home court, Brad Stevens, and the Celtics' defense. Not to over simplify things but game 1 is monumental for how this series will go. If the Celtics lose game 1 they have 0.0001% chance to win this series. Maybe even less. But I think they have a legit chance to win game 1, and if then if they do, who knows what can happen? What I think plays to their favor is the layoff the Cavs have had. They're gonna go 10 days without playing. I know they are the superior team talent wise, with a top 10 all time player on their roster, but 10 days off is insane. That's a full on vacation. Lebron has probably watched the Godfather 53 times. While we know the Cavs have been practicing, that's still a wicked long amount of time to be out of the playoffs. It's rest vs rust. They haven't been "on" in a long ass time. Plus there has been the narrative all season long about the Cavs ability to "turn it on". Which they really haven't had to do all season. Meanwhile, the Celtics haven't had a chance to get rusty as they've had to play a 6 then 7 game series to get this far. Despite what the Cavs may say to the media, I do think they're sleeping on the Celtics. It's human nature to. Lebron has been to 6 straight finals and only two of the conference finals he's played so far have been competitive. 2012 and 2013, both while he was with the Heat. I think they believe the Celtics aren't a real contender and are not going to be an issue, they're expecting to win. I mean they have Lebron and Kyrie. They just have to show up, right? Weirdly, despite being the higher seed, there is almost no pressure on the Celtics to win this series. That is almost unheard of in sports. Which plays to their favor. They're playing with house money. 2007 Giants had no pressure, either. Nobody is going to call this season a failure (unless they get swept and blown out by 30+ in every game). All the pressure is on the Cavs who have been essentially penciled in for a 3rd bout against the Warriors. Which is why I think a game 1 victory at the very least, will give the Celtics confidence that they can play with these guys, and maybe creep just an ounce of doubt in the Cavs. Let's not forget that they are the CLEVELAND Cavaliers. Don't let one championship take away 50+ years of futility in Cleveland. Realistically though, I think for the Celtics to have any chance they have to go to Cleveland up 2-0. Despite all their flaws that I've been vocal about all year, the Celtics are here, and they deserve to be. Isaiah Thomas has played at MVP level this year. Avery Bradley is becoming one of the better two way guards in the league. Jae Crowder, while inconsistent offensively at times, gives to above average defense on a nightly basis. Al Horford has been a completely different guy these playoffs, and with sparks like Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and now Kelly Olynyk off the bench, you never know. Plus you can't sleep on Terry Rozier, when he gets a chance. I think one of the few things that gives them even a glimmer of hope is home court. They also have the coaching edge IMO. All the Cavs have in Lebron (that is a joke). The Cavs played for health, rather than home court, which I totally understand. Lebron has shown winning on the road is not an issue for him. I think he's won at least one road game in something stupid like 26 straight series. It was much more important for them to go into the playoffs fully loaded. But the Cavs will have to win in Boston, something the Wizards couldn't do. They obviously are capable of doing it, they're the defending champs and came back 3-1 against the best regular season team in NBA history, but if the Celtics can somehow defend home court they will shock the world. Easier said than done, for sure. They can go to Cleveland and get blown out, just win at home. Look at last series how different the games were at the garden and in DC. It was like two different teams. I know that's a really simplistic way to look at things, but I mean it's the fucking Cavs and Lebron. What else am I supposed to do? Just roll over and take it? Screw go that, Go Celtics! Time to shock the world. I'll definitely be talking about this series more in the future, but this has gone on pretty long. I do think the Cavs will win the series, probably in 6, but I do believe this Celtics team is capable of pulling off the monumental upset. Lebron has been to the Finals 6 straight years, but the last team to make it that didn't have Lebron on their roster, the 2010 Boston Celtics. Let's Go Celtics!
P.S. With the cap space and Brooklyn picks the Celtics have, with this core, I think they'll be right back here next year.
Song: Foster The People Artist: Doing It For The Money Album: III (EP) After Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to a wild comeback from a 28-3 deficit in the Super Bowl, many thought he had cemented his status as the GOAT, the greatest quarterback of all time. At 39, Brady has won five Super Bowls and shows no signs of slowing down — in fact, he improved upon two of his biggest weaknesses this past season. However, Brady is not the greatest NFL quarterback of all time, according to one man — Brady himself. In an interview with ESPN's Ian O'Connor, Brady deflected that title and argued what many people have said about his career: that he's a product of the Patriots' rock-solid system. "I don't agree with that, and I'll tell you why. I know myself as a player. I'm really a product of what I've been around, who I was coached by, what I played against, in the era I played in. I really believe if a lot of people were in my shoes they could accomplish the same kinds of things. So I've been very fortunate. ... I don't ever want to be the weak link." Brady is not the first to argue this. While Brady's talent and hard work can't be denied, some believe he's benefitted from playing under Bill Belichick and a system that seamlessly plugs and replaces players without much change. Without a great scheme (not to mention some great teammates along the way), would Brady still be the player he is today? Of course, Belichick himself has pulled back the curtains on some of his philosophies, too. For instance, according to Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, Belichick's personnel strategy isn't all that complex — he just coaches players he likes. There isn't some magical formula that makes the Patriots good. Belichick coaches and the players execute. Brady also admitted to O'Connor that part of his success is because he's out-worked everyone else. "I think there are many more players blessed with more ability. I've worked hard with what I've been given ... and I've had to go about making improvements in different ways. If I was doing the things everyone else is doing, I wouldn't have the same results. "I'm still 100 percent invested in helping this team win. I never want to let my teammates down. My lifestyle choices got me to this point. ... Football is more than just what I do. It consumes me." Brady could just be acting humble. He has certainly out-worked his peers to become the player he is today, even if he's had some help along the way. Even with five titles and an already historic legacy under his belt, Brady and the Patriots are in position to continue dominating this season, giving Brady a chance to further cement his legacy. via: www.yahoo.com/finance/news/tom-brady-said-hes-not-163005614.html At first when I read this story I was pissed. I couldn't believe Brady would just basically admit to what his critics have been saying for 15 + years. That he is just a "system QB". That he is only who he is because of Bill Belichick and the "system" they run. Even with how sarcastic I am, I truly believe what people say to me/what I read. I'm well aware that I'm stupid for that, but deep down I try to see the good in people. It has not been a smart way to live my life. People are the worst and you shouldn't trust them, yet here I am believing everything I hear. I was kind of pissed Brady would say this. Why would he give them the satisfaction? I've spent a large amount of my life defending his greatness, and here he is just washing it away like a bar stamp the next morning. Then the wheels started rolling in my head and I understood what's going on. I love what Brady is doing. I know Tom Brady and the Patriots as a whole have always been about "avoiding the noise" and "doing their job". Pretty much just keep your head down, don't try to aggravate opponents and win the Super Bowl every other year. That's what has been going on in Foxboro ever since Mo Lewis nearly killed Drew Bledsoe and Brady took over all the way back in week 2 of the 2001 season. But don't for a second believe the Patriots don't like to have a little fun when they can and rub their success in people's face. That's why they don't take out starters and "run-up" scores. It's why Belichick is always making moves that criticized that more often than not work out. Brady is such an ass hole here and I love it. He knows he's the best of all time. He has more rings, and way better stats than his childhood hero, and man who many previously believed to be the best of all time, Joe Montana. Let's not forget Brady just agreed to be on the "G.O.A.T. Edition" of Madden. Think he'd do that if he didn't believe it? He more or less just called himself a "system-QB" in this interview. The one thing all his detractors have always said. That it's all because of Belichick and "the system". He basically just admitted to the biggest stigma he's had his entire career. His haters have wanted this validation for over a decade. But by calling himself a system QB Brady pulled an B-rabbit. You can call him a system-QB. But guess what? That system won him 5 Super Bowls. That system led to him being a league MVP twice. That system created the only 16-0 season in league history. That system led to the greatest comeback in NFL history. That system is why he is a surefire first ballot Hall of Famer. TB12 is just trying to being humble. Do you know what the media would say if he was like "yeah I'm the best". He'd get crucified by ESPN. Let's not forget what those ass holes did to him over the Deflate-gate witchhunt. But make no mistake about it. Brady is the best of all time. The debate is over. What esle does he need to do? Let's not forget what's done up to this point. I mean did we forget what happened just a little over 3 months ago? How about this? It was a long time ago, so I understand if you forgot about it. And this? I mean how could you forget the night we all saw Janet Jackson's nipple? I could almost understand forgetting this one. I mean it was played in Jacksonville, Florida. As someone who lived their for two years, let me tell you, it's a VERY forgettable city. I really could understand if Brady forgot about this. I have basically erased the whole 2007 Patriots season from my memory. But for the first 99.4% of it, it was fucking awesome. Brady was the only unanimous MVP in NFL history. Even in a "down" 2013 where he lost his top 5 targets from the season before to either free agency, injury or murder conviction Brady still had three of the best comebacks of his career. Mainly thanks to him. Dude was throwing to Austin Collie and Kembrel Tompkins. Then of course (at the time) the biggest 4th quarter comeback in Super Bowl history. This isn't even up to date now that he has 5. Only the Steelers have won more Super Bowls than Tom Brady, and he's tied with two of the greatest organizations in league history, the Cowboys and 49ers. Had a decent year in 2016 as well. Capped off with. So sure, call Tom Brady a system-Qb. You can also call him the greatest of all time. You know it, I know it, and sure as you're sitting there reading this, Tom Brady knows it too.
“New Girl” has been renewed on Fox for a seventh season, which will be the show’s last, Variety has learned.
Sources say that the show will return for a shortened eight-episode run for its final season. Fox declined to comment. “New Girl” did not bring in big numbers its past season, but the show is an important property to Fox, being owned by 20th Century Fox TV and having made rich syndication deals over the years at TBS, MTV and Netflix. The show is Fox’s longest-running live-action comedy on the air, having debuted in 2011. Insiders say the renewal was up in the air, but the network and studio want more episodes. Well thank God. New Girl will have a final season, it's only 8 episodes, but there will be a final season of New Girl. Talk about your classic bittersweet news situation. After legitimate rumors that New Girl may be over after 6 seasons. This weekend it was announced the hit Fox comedy will be returning for a 7th and final season. I hate that it's only 8 episodes, but I'm trying to more positive... so at least we're getting that!! I really thought even throughout the rumors that New Girl may be over that it would return for a 7th season. IMO it would've been an injustice to the series to just close the book on the show with how season 6 ended. Don't get me wrong, it was a great way to end a season, but would've been v disappointing for a series finale. There's just sooo much left that needs to happen, I don't know how it will all fit into 8 episodes. Winston and Aly still need to get married. Schmidt and Cece are pregnant, and of course it appears that Nick and Jess are finally back together. Give me a standard 22 episode good bye, damnit! Anybody with a brain could've told you seasons ago that the show will end with Nick and Jess getting back together. I'd be shocked if that's not what the major storyline of season 7 is. I mean, if you've ever watched a romantic comedy before you know the formula: Meet, then the will they or won't they phase, then they get together, next some sort of conflict ends things, then finally they get back together and live happily ever after. That's basically how 75% of every movie I've ever seen goes. After 3ish seasons of Nick and Jess being apart, in the season 6 finale they finally rekindle that flame once Nick and Reagan finally break up. While I am excited to get more, I just don't understand why it's only 8 episodes. 8 episodes is nothing. That's like a little over 2 hours of Netflix. I know I'm no TV exec but like come on! New Girl is Fox' longest running live action comedy. They really haven't had a ton of success away from animation and reality shows. It's a smash in syndication and on Netflix. Sure the ratings went down a little this year, but this show is beloved. I feel like most people I know like New Girl. In a generation where less and less people watch tv live. I feel like New Girl is one of the few network comedies that young people actually watch. I'll admit that this season started out very underwhelming, but gained steam late. It was a lot better than given credit for. But don't you think if you announce this next year is the final season, that that will create some buzz? You'll get more people turning in to see how it ends. I just think 8 episodes is simply not enough, especially with all that is left to settle in loft 4B. How are you going to close all the doors in only 8 episodes? While I mean obviously it's better than nothing, I can't help but be a little upset that we're only getting 8 episodes to close the door on New Girl. The move kind of reminds me of what happened with Parks and Rec. 6 seasons, where the 7th was up in the air, only to get a shortened season to finish up. Except with Parks I felt like it definitely could've ended at 6 and the 7th felt kind of forced, and rushed. In Parks they had 13 episodes to say goodbye, and it felt wicked rushed. I just don't want New Girl to have the same fate. It's been sure a great show for so long, it deserves better. While there will be plenty of time to speculate what will happen in season 7 all I know is I feel like we're getting robbed here. New Girl is one of the most popular shows in Fox history and it deserves a better way to go out than a rushed, half season. I'm fine with it ending, the writing has been on the wall, I just hope in 8 episodes all of us New Girl fans can get an ending we deserve, and more importantly that this show deserves. P.S. I'm currently re-watching New Girl on Netflix and I reaaaaally hope we get a Coach return at some point in the final season. I love me some Coach. Just taste the cake. Song: It's a Trip! Artist: Joywave Album: Content
After having no Patriot representation on the cover of Madden from 1988-2015, for the second straight year a New England Patriot will grace the cover of Madden. TE Rob Gronkowski was the cover boy last season gronk-gets-madden-cover.html and now for Madden 18 Tom Brady at 40 years old will be the oldest person to ever appear on the cover (excluding Madden himself). At first I was kind of shocked by the news. Maybe shocked isn't the right word, but I was definitely surprised. I just did not see this coming at all. In years past EA has made a v big deal about the Madden cover leading up to it's announcement. They've had gimmicks, and fan votes in the past to determine the cover boy. I just hadn't really heard any buzz about the cover on social media like in previous years. Little to no buzz in fact. I had no clue Tom was even in the running. Just weird considering how they usually do things. Also I was kind of surprised by this just because I didn't really think Brady was a video game guy. Obviously money talks but, I feel like people who don't eat tomatoes because they're "too unhealthy" probably wouldn't be into video games. That's just how I think. I'm sure most of the internet will have same, basic ass take about the Madden Curse. I can't lie, at first I was worried, I mean how could you not be? Ladainian Tomlinson famously turned down the cover because of the "curse". Just go down the line Garrison Hearst, Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick, Ray Lewis, Donovan McNabb, Shaun Alexander, Vince Young, Peyton Hillis (lol remember him?), and of course Gronk last season all got hurt or had less than stellar seasons after gracing the Madden cover. This curse at the very least has legs. Tom Brady will be 40 years old when this season begins, so I mean it's natural to think at his advanced age it's okay to worry. Tom knows that too. Luckily he let us know that curses aren't real on this f book video he released this morning.
I feel so much better now. I mean Tom Brady said curses aren't real, so they aren't real. Case closed. I trust whatever Tom Brady tells me. Tom Brady could get me to believe literally anything. If he said the earth was flat, then guess what, the earth is fucking flat. Tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms are bad for you? Guess what, I'll never eat one again, just because you said so (totally not because I don't like them). If he says curses aren't real, then guess what, curses aren't real. Take that every Red Sox fan from 1919-2003! I'll just totally overlook 20+ years of evidence here with Madden. We all know Tom is cool with overlooking evidence.
In the video Brady didn't follow the rule of 3 in comedy (that video was supposed to be funny I'm guessing) for his examples of "curses" (really just things people think give you bad luck). That kinda worries me. Should've done one more. Have a black cat pop out of nowhere. Spill some salt or something. Even though there's no chance Brady has normal you and me salt in his house. It's Tom Brady. Everybody knows Tommy only uses the finest Himalayan pink salt. I will say this though, this will be the Madden Curse biggest test yet. I want to think Brady will be okay, but I'm a pessimist by nature, so of course I'm worried. We've seen the curse take down countless guys at multiple positions. Some with no injury history, some with major injury history. I hate to say it but taking down Gronk last year was about as surprising as the sunsetting at night. That was nothing. Everybody on earth knew Gronk was fucked. Of course the curse came back and did that. But with Brady it's different. He's a freak. In both the good and bad way. He's been an elite NFL QB for nearly two decades, trains like crazy, seemingly gets better with age. But he also eats avocado ice cream and goes to bed at 8 pm every night. I love him, but he's definitely a weird dude. If the Madden Curse can't stop a 40 year old QB with the possible heir-apparent waiting in the wings, then the curse has to be dead right? I mean this seems like a lay-up for the curse. I'm definitely more worried about Tom Brady's future with the Patriots now than I was this morning when I woke up. Given all the variables in this equation I'm extremely worried. You have a 40 year old QB. You also have a young QB who showed (however briefly) that he can play and play well in this league, who also is coming up on free agency with a decision to be made. You have the Patriots, an organization that has shown it has little to loyalty with aging players, and then to top it all off you sprinkle in the biggest curse in video game history. Yeah, I'm fucking worried. I'll try to be calm and listen to Tom, but I've seen this movie before. If Madden, (which is my favorite video game by a mile) is the reason Tom Brady either gets hurt, or ends his career in another uniform then I'm never playing the game again. P.S. It's so stupid to me this game is "rating pending" everybody on earth knows it's going to be E for everyone like every single Madden has been since the dawn of time. That always pisses me off, same with when you see a commercial for a raunchy comedy that says this film is not yet rated. Obviously it's going to be R. Song: Meet Virginia Artist: Train Album: Train It's no secret that hockey is a distant 4th for me when it comes to the four major sports. I had a falling out with the Bruins after they made many moves I did not agree with, but this isn't about me or my fandom, it's about what is fair, and really just makes common sense. Whether or not I've been really following them or the NHL as a whole doesn't matter for this. This is something I've hated since the initial change and have complained about before, but after last night where the Washington Capitals lost in the 2nd round yet again, it really is pissing me off. What I'm talking about of course is the current NHL playoff format. Before the 2013-14 NHL season the league made IMO a horrible decision and realigned into four divisions, two in each conference and went back to a pre-historic playoff format they used like 30 years ago. In the East there's now the Atlantic and Metropolitan (HORRIBLE name) and in the West there's the Central and Pacific. Instead of the traditional 1-8 seeding with realignment based on remaining seeds, now the top 3 teams from each division and a "wild card" team play each other in two 1-4 seeding pods where the winner of each pod meets in the conference final. So now instead of the traditional seeding going from 1-8 where the 1 play the 8, 2-7, 3-6, 4-5 in the first round. We now have these weird matchups in the playoffs where you have teams in the same division beating up on each other. You have the 2nd and 3rd place teams from each division play each other and the winner of each division plays the "wild-card". It's idiotic and I don't understand how anybody could be for this change. Now you could have the 6th and 7th seed facing off in the first round, meanwhile the 2nd and 3rd seed are playing each other in the same opening round. How the fuck is that fair? It's not and it makes zero sense to me. I don't need to watch hockey every night to understand right and wrong. And giving easier roads to the Stanley Cup Finals to less deserving teams is wrong. You're making the product worse by letting shitty teams play each other, meaning by default one has to advance. Imagine if in the NBA this year the 2nd seeded Spurs (who went 61-21) instead of playing the 7th seeding Memphis Grizzlies (who went 43-39) played the 3rd seeded Houston Rockets who won 55 games. And now the Thunder who finished 6th with 47 wins instead of getting the 3 seed Rockets now got to play Memphis instead. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense right? That would never happen because it's idiotic. Your reward for finishing with a top record is supposed to be a weaker first round opponent. Yet that's basically what happened in the NHL this year. In the Eastern Conference playoffs this season the 111 point Pittsburgh Penguins, who had a fantastic season were rewarded by getting the 108 point Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round because they finished 2nd and 3rd in the Metropolitan (honestly what a bad division name) division. Meanwhile in the much weaker Atlantic the 98 point Ottawa Senators got to play the 95 point Boston Bruins in the opening series because they too finished 2nd and 3rd in thir division. The Senators are now in the conference finals after getting the play the 7th and 5th best teams in the East despite finishing with the 6th most points. Anybody with a brain would say that's unfair, yet it's what has been going on in the NHL for four years now. If the NHL still seeding 1-8 with the top seeds going to division winners the East would've looked like this: 1. Washington Capitals 118 points (metro champs) 2. Montreal Canadiens 103 points (atlantic champs) 3. Pittsburgh Penguins 111 points 4. Columbus Blue Jackets 108 points 5. New York Rangers 102 points 6. Ottawa Senators 98 points 7. Boston Bruins 95 points 8. Toronto Maple Leafs 95 points Using the simple 1-8, 2-7 etc. breakdown you can see how the playoff matchups would've been set using the old format. Yet under the current format you had Washington-Toronto (which ended up being a 1-8 matchup), Montreal-New York (2-5), Pittsburgh-Columbus (3-4), and Ottawa-Boston (6-7). I may be over simplifying things, but for a sport that is simply not nearly as popular as the other three leagues it competes against in the U.S. and Canada I think having playoff matchups where you're having legitimate championship contenders face off in the 1st and 2nd rounds is just bad business. Obviously Cinderella runs can be good for ratings as well, but it's a lot better when they earn it. Like if the Senators had to beat the defending champ Penguins in the first round and then like the Canadiens or Capitals it would be a hell of better story line IMO. Beating a shitty Bruins team and an overrated Rangers team just isn't as impressive. Yet they're now 4 wins away from a berth in the Stanley Cup, while the Capitals who finished as the best team in the NHL had to play against the 2nd best team in the NHL. Imagine if in the NFL playoffs this year they decided that the Patriots (14-2) and Chiefs (12-4) had to play each other in the AFC divisional round despite being the two teams that got byes and had the Steelers (11-5) and Texans (9-7) get each other. It just isn't fair, you're giving easier roads to teams that simply don't deserve it. The old NHL playoffs used to realign so when a lower seed had an upset they still would have a difficult road. As they should, if you get into the playoffs as an 8 seed it should be more challenging for you or else what is the point of the regular season if there's no reward for being more successful during it? In 2012 the LA Kings shocked the world by becoming the first 8 seed to win the Stanley Cup. They had to beat the 2 and 3 seeds along the way because the seeds realigned next round. They made it as hard as possible to advance as a lower seed. This year the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins faced off in the 2nd round despite being the top two teams point wise in the Eastern-Conference. The one argument I can understand for doing this is to ensure that match up, but it still just doesn't sit right to me to have that as a second round match up. I wanted the Caps to win the East so I'm a little biased, but even if it wasn't them I'd still be upset just as a sports fan. This format is idiotic and there's no convincing me otherwise. Maybe the Capitals are chokers and weren't going to make it out of the East anyways, as they've lost in the 1st round as the President's Trophy winner in years before the realignment. But that still doesn't mean for a fairness stand point the 1-8 playoff seeding format was much better. Just imagine if the Bucks and Pacers played in the first round of the NBA playoffs when both teams are essentially .500 teams and they Celtics and Cavs played in the 2nd round despite being 1 and 2 seeds respectively. I could go on for hours and examples but it won't change anything. Just know this NHL, when you're wondering why outsiders and casual fans don't really care about your product, maybe having the worst playoff format in all of sports has something to do with it. COMPLETE OVERHAUL after I realized that wasn't the full version. Now we're going with a random one hit wonder. It's all your fault youtube. Who doesn't have a full version of one of the hottest songs out right now? Unreal. Be Better. Song: You Get What You Give Artist: New Radicals Album: Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too |
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