Sports Fans Missing Out On The Best NHL Playoffs In Years

We’re in the midst of the best professional sports postseason in years and the vast majority of sports fans are missing it.

Some have wasted their time watching the mind-numbing action of spring baseball, some still await pro football players and owners to stop arguing over $900 million, and some have inexplicably chosen to watch the NBA Playoffs over hockey.

My question is why? Consider:

• The NHL recently concluded a whirlwind stretch with overtime in 15 of 16 nights from April 19^th through May 4^th. The NBA hasn’t had consecutive nights with OT in its postseason. In total, the NHL Playoffs have featured 20 overtime games thus far, the NBA, four.

• With the Detroit Red Wings come-from-behind win last night, we’ll see the fifth Game Seven of the NHL Playoffs tomorrow night; the NBA Playoffs have had none.

• Detroit was down three games to none and forced a Game Seven, the second team to accomplish that feat this postseason and third in two years. No NBA team has ever done that.

• Much has been made of the miraculous play of Rajon Rondo Sunday night when he dislocated his elbow only to return to action moments later. Ask hockey players if they’re impressed. In the first round, Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green attempted to block a two pound piece of frozen rubber with his face after missing the second half of the season with a concussion. And he plays for a notoriously soft playoff team.

• The big off-court moral issue in the NBA this week came when LeBron James deemed a reporter’s question “retarded.” Sean Avery of the New York Rangers just released a PSA supporting marriage equality.

• The big villain and title favorite in the NBA is the Miami Heat, which imported stars LeBron James and Chris Bosh this summer to vault itself into title contention. In the NHL, all five remaining teams are reliant on homegrown talent that has played together for years.

• The NHL Playoffs have seen dazzling individual plays like David Legwand’s goal from behind the net, Ryan Kesler’s solo rush, and Nicklas Lidstrom’s lacrosse-style puck swat out of mid-air. NBA games are constantly stopped as players like Paul Pierce goad opponents into cheap fouls so they can score uncontested points from the free throw line.

The full support of the Worldwide Leader might capture the attention of America’s sports fans, but that’s not forthcoming. Those of us lucky enough to recognize how wonderful the NHL Playoffs have been will agree that there’s no way to put magic into words. You have to experience it firsthand to recognize it, and Game Seven Thursday night between the San Jose Sharks and Detroit Red Wings is a good place to start.

Fantasy Baseball Fanatics Salivate As Royals Recall Eric Hosmer

“Eric Hosmer has been summoned from Class AAA, and will join KC on Friday,” chirped Buster Olney from my TweetDeck yesterday.

It was a moment long awaited by the fantasy baseball community, and like every addict I rushed to open my league’s transaction page to scoop up Hosmer. He’s one of a select group of hotly anticipated minor leaguers that fantasy baseball junkies dream of snatching midseason.

The first reason is obvious; Hosmer could have a game-changing impact on fantasy leagues. The second is an underlying truth; fantasy baseball fans love to be the guy that got “the guy” that’s the next big thing in the sport.

Often mid-year call ups of top prospects fizzle out and disappoint, but for a dozen 2009 Matt Wieters there’s occasionally a 2007 Ryan Braun. Called up on May 25th, Braun looked like the winner of multiple MVP awards en route to an enormous rookie season in which he posted a .324 average with 34 homers and 97 RBIs in just 113 games with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Performances like Braun’s are rare, but Hosmer has the potential to have that kind of impact. Or so I’m told, because I’ll readily admit I hadn’t seen a second of video footage of Hosmer until yesterday. My opinion of him is based solely on the opinions of others that have seen him (I think) and know what they’re talking about.

Ninety-five percent of fantasy baseball players are with me, because it’s just not that easy to follow Omaha of the Pacific Coast League with so much else going on in life. But that won’t stop them from heading straight to their league’s site to try to grab Hosmer before it’s too late (and by the time you’re reading this, it probably is in most competitive leagues).

If you missed out on Hosmer, don’t fret. There will be a couple more super rookies getting the call sooner than later. In fact, Sam Fuld has been slumping horribly for the Tampa Bay Rays…Desmond Jennings, you’re on deck.

Maryland Fans Ride The Wave Of Emotions As Gary Williams' Retirement Is Digested

After hearing that Gary Williams retired my first mental image was of Dick Vitale sitting on his sofa with a huge grin on his face and a bucket of popcorn in his hands watching the ESPN crawl go by with the Williams news and Vitale yelling, “That would never happen at Duke, BABY!”

My second thought later on after reading more about Maryland’s situation at Testudo Times was that Terrapin fans reacted adorably.

The poor Terrapin supporters had the rug pulled out from under them when Jordan Williams surprisingly committed to the NBA Draft. Gary leaving was just kicking them when they were down.

The day got even worse shortly after news broke of Williams’ retirement when word leaked that highly anticipated recruits Nick Faust and Sterling Gibbs (Ashton’s brother) might consider decommitting to look at other schools. Maryland fans were crushed and their reactions were extreme.

“This is the worst day of my life,” read one of my sister’s texts.

Only, it turns out that things might not be as bad as they originally seemed.

Jay Wright, Jamie Dixon, Sean Miller, and gasp, even Brad Stevens were mentioned as candidates for the vacancy. Even though Stevens is a stretch, Terps’ fans appeared shocked at the appeal of their position. (My take: the job is so attractive because A) of its proximity to Washington D.C. B) it’s a recruiting hotbed that the right guy could own C) the school’s chief rival is the No. 1 measuring stick in college basketball, Duke, and Maryland plays the Blue Devils twice a year not to mention North Carolina).

Just because the media thinks Maryland’s job is a huge opportunity doesn’t guarantee things will play out that way in real life.

Still, the Terrapins failed to make the NCAA Tournament this year and the memory of the 2002 National Title is growing more distant. At 66, Williams wasn’t getting younger and as beloved as he was at Maryland, the end of Gary’s career was indeed in sight.

So maybe a change won’t be quite as bad as originally thought, provided the Terrapins actually land one of those big fish. If not, it will truly be time to panic for Terps’ fans.

Once Again The Flyers Failed To Acquire A Reliable Goalie And It Cost Them

The position of Philadelphia Flyers’ netminder has been a revolving door for over a decade, yet the team still hasn’t learned its lesson.

In last night’s Game Three loss to the Boston Bruins, Brian Boucher surrendered two goals in the first 1:03 of the game and the Flyers went on to lose 5-1 to push Philadelphia to the brink of elimination.

It was the sixth time in 10 playoff games that the Flyers switched goalies mid-game, and the inconsistency of Brian Boucher and Sergei Bobrovsky will likely force Philadelphia out of the playoffs early once again.

You’d think that by know the Flyers would have recognized that applying temporary bandages to a gushing wound doesn’t work, but this is nothing new. The Flyers have made the playoffs in 14 of the last 15 seasons, but they’ve had nine different starting goalies in the postseason during that timeframe.

This year Philadelphia relied on an erratic Russian rookie and a career journeyman backup to guide the team through the playoffs, and it cost them.

One instance of misguided faith by an organization in a player can be excused, but year after year the Flyers have entrusted inadequate men with the most important position on the ice.

Last year, the Flyers’ answer in net at the start of the season was a disgraced ex-NHLer that had experienced a brief revival in Russia. Philadelphia brought Ray Emery, the troubled ex-Ottawa Senator back to North America where he promptly succumbed to injury. The Flyers replaced Emery with Boucher and Michael Leighton, who had already been cast off by four teams. The duo split time and Leighton did an admirable job in the playoffs and guided the Flyers through the Stanley Cup Finals, but in retrospect his success may have been the worst thing for the Flyers because it reinforced the club’s notion that goaltending is overrated.

It’s true that in today’s NHL teams are investing less money in goaltending than ever before.

Many teams have enjoyed enormous success without having a big name in net, but the Flyers are clearly an exception to the rule. They’ve trotted out a seemingly endless list of unproven rookies, over the hill veterans, and unreliable foreigners, and have for years declined to acquire a legitimate star in goal.

Philly hasn’t exactly been shy about spending money on mercenaries during that time either. The Flyers have brought in high-priced players like Kimmo Timonen, Chris Pronger, Daniel Briere, Andrej Meszaros, and Scott Hartnell in recent years, and yet, the Flyers continue to neglect their own net.

Philadelphia’s refusal to acquire a top-flight goalie long ago became inexcusable. With the Washington Capitals’ eliminated, the Eastern Conference could have been the Flyers’ to lose this year and they could easily have won a Stanley Cup or two during the last decade. But the organization’s unwillingness to solidify the position has cost the Flyers repeatedly.

With some creative financial maneuvering this summer, Philadelphia will have another chance to remedy their only issue when Ilya Bryzgalov and Tomas Vokoun become unrestricted free agents. But if we’ve learned anything in recent years, it’s that Philly stubbornly refuses to admit its weakness. So there’s a strong chance next year’s absurdly deep Flyers’ squad will meet the same fate as this year’s, an early playoff exit thanks to inexplicable personnel decisions.

NFL Draft Live Blog

748: Anxiously awaiting the selection of Cam Newton by the Panthers.  Even though Cam isn’t the best player in the draft, he is the one who will bring the most excitement nationally to the Panthers’ franchise.  12 minutes until the draft and Jon Gruden loves everyone in the draft.

750: Mayock changes his tone on Newton, killed Newton earlier on radio interviews with Charlotte radio stations.  Newton segment with Deion shows Newton is goofy. 

754: Newton doing interview after interview.  Didn’t talk yesterday at a Play60 event much to the chagrin of Charlotte Observer columnist Scott Fowler.

800: It’s draft time.  Kevin hopes Goodell gets booed during every pick even if it isn’t his fault.

803: Looks like Newton is the pick….seen celebrating in green room.  Goodell at podium…Carolina Panthers on the clock….we’ve been on the clock since December.

805: Goodell announces Cam Newton to Panthers.  I need celebratory shots of non-drowsy Benadryl.  Looks like we will be seeing a lot of Newton jerseys nationally. 

809: And John Fox is on the clock. Gruden loved the Panthers’ pick even though he put Newton on the spot on the TV show he hosted.  Gruden speculating on Clausen's status in Charlotte.  Clausen could be traded for new toilet paper in the locker room.

814: Von Miller to Denver at 2.  Sam Oswald must be happy.  Kevin never saw a draft pick cry this much.

818: Kevin says this doesn’t seem like an NFL Draft because the Chiefs aren’t on the clock.

819: ESPN is ruining the draft showing players answering the phone. Says 1st time in draft history the Bills wont get ripped. Dareus to Bills.

824: Cincinnati selects AJ Green. Green doesn’t look pleased.  Guess this spells the end of the TO-cho show.

829: Patrick Peterson to Arizona.  Great pick by them.  Best player in college football this year.  Scary secondary with Adrian Wilson, Rodgers Cromartie, Kerry Rhodes and Peterson.  Guess they're going after Kevin Kolb. 

834: Atlanta with a trade with Browns for 6th pick.  Traded two 1’s, a 2, and a 4.  Good trade all around but Atlanta badly needs defensive help.  I guess they’re planning on future shootouts between Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers in the playoffs.  ATL taking Julio Jones.

838: @fauxjohnmadden “BREAKING - With Alex Smith and Charlie Whitehurst in the NFC West.. Patrick Peterson has just won defensive rookie of the year.”

840 I'm predicting Blaine Gabbert for the 49ers…Harbaugh gets a QB but not Luck.

842: 49ers get Aldon Smith.  Who is this guy?  I never heard of him…it’s like one of those Europeans in the NBA Draft.  49ers and Cardinals will probably fight for Kevin Kolb when teams can make trades.

845: Titans select Vince Young I mean Jake Locker….wow….! Quite shocked they didn’t take Fairley.  And Blaine Gabbert is your early candidate for the Brady Quinn slippery slider award…but I think he's gonna be a Redskin.

849: Most shocking thing of the day is not Jake Locker but Ben Zobrist getting 10 RBIs in a day and with more baseball to play.

852: Kevin nervous about Dallas stealing someone the Giants want.  Dallas gets Tyron Smith. Classic USC bust.  Osi is going to get six sacks against him.

855 Skins on the clock. Should take Gabbert.  And the Vikings will not get their QB…bring back Brett Favre…!

858 @sportspickle “Blaine Gabbert might look like Rapunzel by the time he is picked.”

903 Whoever invented DVRs really couldn’t figure out a way to allow you to watch a program and record two things at once?  This is America.  We just missed the Gabbert to Jax trade.  SMH.

905: @Buster_ESPN says Joe Mauer should play QB for Viking.

909: Houston takes JJ Watt….kind of think this is a bad pick…fits better in the 3-4.

911: Kevin hopes Nick Fairley to Giants.

913: Christian Ponder to Vikings at 12…decent…but seriously…he’s always hurt…Gruden absolutely loves this..!!!! Kevin says at least they got the pick in...

920: Detroit gets Nick Fairley…what a great duo with Fairley and Suh.

929: Rams get Quinn.  Spags can have his defensive end party in opponents’ backfields now (the Bears). 

932: Looking over the Rams’ recent draft history.  Not impressed.

937: Dolphins take Pouncey. Steelers must be crushed. Joey doesn’t want Ingram.. Will say ESPN got faked out on that pick. 

940: We’ve decided Prince’s last name is pronounced Akamakamura.

941: Ryan Kerrigan to Skins. Kevin isn’t scared of him…seems too nice to play football.   Not on Orakapo’s level.

945: Watch the pats trade down for all 32 picks in the second round.

949: Pats take Solder.  Don’t understand it but it always works out for them... Pats need a pass rush to stop Sanchize, Manning etc. 

950: SMH, Twitter just crashed.

956: Chargers pick Corey Liuget…good pick…completely dominated Penn State this year at a game I was at.

959: Bit of a predicament here…NBA playoff game- Magic down 1 and Giants on the clock at the same time…

1001: Looks like Costanzo is not the pick…Gruden thinks its Gabe Carimi…Baumer doesn’t want him.  Giants pick Prince Akamakamura…Kevin likes the pick.

1009: Bucs taking Adrian Clayborn.  Kevin can't believe the Bucs are for real...*sarcasm… Joe Namath wants to kiss Suzy Kolber.  In other Florida news…let the Dwight Howard sweepstakes commence as the Magic lose their series to the Hawks.  JJ Reddick misses an open 3.

1019: Phil Taylor to Browns… happy for him, wish he could have stayed at Penn State but I guess it worked out for him.  That’s all that matters.

1103: We stopped, but this is too good to miss.  Zach: “The Ravens just got a call that Jimmy Smith got arrested.”