NHL Playoff Predictions - Conference Semifinals Edition

The 2nd round of the NHL playoffs started yesterday with the Vancouver Canucks beating the Nashville Predators 1-0. Since I went 7 for 8 in my first round predictions I'll put on my Miss Cleo hat again and give you my round 2 predictions. I'll also copy the analysis I did before round 1 for the teams that are still alive.

East:

1. Washington Capitals: The Capitals haven't had much playoff success lately and have never won a Stanley Cup. In 2008 they were a 3 seed and trailed the 6 seed Flyers 3 games to 1 but forced a game 7 which they lost in OT. In 2009 they were a 2 seed and trailed the 7 seed Flyers 3 games to 1 but ended up winning 3 straight to win the series. Last year they had the top seed and led the Canadiens 3 games to 1 but shit the bed and lost 3 straight and the series. Until this team actually goes on a deep postseason run I'm staying away.

2. Philadelphia Flyers: This team is limping into the playoffs, with a 3-4-3 record in their last 10. I'm not a big believer in this Flyers team but they were 1st in the East for most of the season. They made the finals last year when no one expected them to get out of the first round so I'm not one to bet against them. They might even get Chris Pronger back sometime in Round 1. That's a big "might". As big as Kim Kardashian's ass. Too easy.

3. Boston Bruins: They were the most "unexciting team that won a lot of games in the regular season". If Tim Thomas can get hot he can carry this team. They have a shut-down defense which wins in the playoffs. Some one is going to have to step up and score goals for this team or it will be a short lived playoffs for them.

5. Tampa Bay Lightning: They are the NHL's version of the Oklahoma City Thunder. They have a young stud, people don't expect them to win and they just might surprise people. The Lightning have a mix of ridiculous young talent and veterans who have won in the playoffs before. That can be dangerous. The only question is their goaltending. Dwayne Roloson has been deep in the playoffs before but he is 41-years-old.

West:

1. Vancouver Canucks: They were the best team in the regular season. They have the Sedin brothers. They have an awesome goalie in Roberto Luongo. What else do you want me to say? How about, they never perform in the clutch in the playoffs. How about, one of their best Centers, Manny Malholtra, got hurt on March 17. How about, they have never won a Stanley Cup. How about I just say this - this team is the best team in the NHL.

2. San Jose Sharks: This team always seems to choke in the playoffs but they are loaded with talent. Let's see if that can finally pay off.

3. Detroit Red Wings: The Red Wings have more playoff experience than Jenna Jameson does at making pornos. Never bet against that. Who bets on pornos anyways?

5. Nashville Predators: They traded for Carrie Underwood's husband, Mike Fisher, on February 10. She just so happens to live in Nashville. I like this team. It plays playoff hockey, scoring goals when they need to but also playing great defense. They also ended the regular season on a 7-2-1 run. They've lost in the first round 5 straight times so they have to win sometime, right? Right?

2nd Round:

1 Washington Capitals vs. 5 Tampa Bay Lightning (Lightning in 7)

2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. 3 Boston Bruins (Bruins in 6)

1 Vancouver Canucks vs. 5 Nashville Predators (Canucks in 5)

2 San Jose Sharks vs. 3 Detroit Red Wings (Sharks in 7)

Conference Finals:

3 Boston Bruins vs. 5 Tampa Bay Lightning (Bruins in 5)

1 Vancouver Canucks vs. San Jose Sharks (Canucks in 6)

Stanley Cup Finals:

1 Vancouver Canucks vs. 3 Boston Bruins (Canucks in 6)

Some notes:

The Caps might have beaten the Rangers 4-1 but I still don't trust them winning in the playoffs until they go on a deep run. The Flyers didn't impress me in round 1. The Bruins lost the first 2 games on the road but then won 4 of 5 to take the series. Luongo looked lost until game 7 but redeemed himself and I'm sticking with him and the Canucks even though the Predators look like a tough out. The Sharks vs. Red Wings series might be the best one of this round and I'll be watching that one whenever I can.

Here is your conference semifinals TV schedule, courtesy of NHL.com and me for taking all of these screen-shots and formatting them for you. Yes, you're welcome:

My 2011 NBA Playoff Predictions

As much as I follow the NHL, that's how much Blog Dylan follows the NBA. As little as he follows the NHL, that's how little I follow the NBA.

NBA playoff games are only exciting in the 4th quarter so that's the time I'll probably tune in. The best part about the NBA playoffs starting is I know we are close to not having to see dunks on SportsCenter Top 10 every night. Oh ya, I forgot there are a million days off in between games. If a guy knocks up a girl on the same day the NBA playoffs start, which will happen first? She will give birth or the NBA playoffs will end.

Ugh, I just remembered most of the NBA games are on TNT. That means if I watch at all I'm going to have to deal with Charles Barkley. I'd rather watch re-runs of the MLS Cup than listen to him talk about how the 76ers are going to beat the Heat.

1st Round:
1 Chicago Bulls vs. 8 Indiana Pacers (Bulls in 4)
2 Miami Heat vs. 7 Philadelphia 76ers (Heat in 4)
3 Boston Celtics vs. 6 New York Knicks (Celtics in 7)
4 Orlando Magic vs. 5 Atlanta Hawks (Magic in 6)

1 San Antonio Spurs vs. 8 Memphis Grizzlies (Spurs in 6)
2 Los Angeles Lakers vs. 2 New Orleans Hornets (Lakers in 5)
3 Dallas Mavericks vs. 6 Portland Trailblazers (Mavericks in 6)
4 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Denver Nuggets (Thunder in 7)

2nd Round:
1 Chicago Bulls vs. 4 Orlando Magic (Bulls in 6)
2 Miami Heat vs. 3 Boston Celtics (Celtics in 6)

1 San Antonio Spurs vs. 4 Oklahoma City Thunder (Thunder in 6)
2 Los Angeles Lakers vs. 3 Dallas Mavericks (Lakers in 7)

Conference Finals:
1 Chicago Bulls vs. 3 Boston Celtics (Bulls in 6)
2 Los Angeles Lakers vs. 4 Oklahoma City Thunder (Lakers in 7)

NBA Finals:
1 Chicago Bulls vs. 2 Los Angeles Lakers (Bulls in 6)

Here is your first round TV schedule, courtesy of NBA.com and me for taking all of these screen-shots and formatting them for you. Yes, again, you're welcome:

NBA Playoffs! Where Black Men Slamming on White Men Happens

The NBA season is kind of like jerking off. At first it’s really fun and exciting, but then suddenly you run out of new porn sites and start seeing the same stuff over and over. Then you find a new site (the playoffs) and jerking off is even better than in the beginning! Everybody and their dead grandma knows the regular season of the NBA is about as pointless as all women sports. Near the end of the season teams literally stop giving a shit and you see the Bucks start beating the Heat. Then the playoffs start and everybody is playing as hard as Jenna Jameson’s nipples. But seriously, this is a great time of the year and since the NBA is my (Joseph) Forte, here’s my analysis and picks.


Okay, yea, I'm really excited for the playoffs.

Eastern Conference:
(1) Chicago Bulls vs. (8) Indiana Pacers:
Not much to talk about here as the Bulls will roll through the Pacers. Obviously led by the almost consensus MVP Derrick Rose, the Bulls look like they might actually deserve the best seed in the NBA. A team that was rarely fully healthy all season (both Noah and Boozer missed serious time), the Bulls looked fantastic near the end of the season. Really can’t even see the Pacers winning a game in this match-up, even with my main man Tyler Hansbrough putting up great numbers. Rose will probably average 35 points a game and the Bulls will win in three games. Not a typo, Stern will cancel the 4th game because the Bulls have outscored the Pacers by 500,000 points in the first three games.

Bulls in 3

(2) Miami Heat vs. (7) Philadelphia 76ers
Clinching the two seed was huge for the Big Two and Chris Bosh because they avoided the interesting Knickerbockers and gave them a much easier series with the 76ers. The Sixers had a fantastic second half of the season and are led by a great coach in Doug Collins. Elton Brand is playing his best basketball in years and Andre Igodula has shown he has a great perimeter defender and offensive threat. But unfortunately the Heat have two random guys by the name of LeBron James and Dwayne Wade sooooo yeah, I’m taking the Heat.

Heat in 5

(3) Boston Celtics vs. (6) New York Knicks
Oh goodness now we’re getting excited, this is definitely the most exciting first round match up in the East. The Knicks sold their entire team to get the best player in the league (I’m Melo bias) Carmelo Anthony and since have had an interesting season. They play absolutely no defense and in D’Antoni’s system they will simply try and outscore every team. With that being said, the Celtics look terrible. It seems the Perkins trade really shook the team on and off the court. Apparently he was Rondo’s best friend and he has been a shade of the player he was before the trade. They are a year older and certainly look it. With the firepower the Knicks have, either Melo or Amare could get hot and carry that team to victories; this series could easily go into seven games. So with all that, I’m picking the Celtics. Last year I picked the Heat over the Celtics in the first round because of how bad the C’s were playing. Instead the Celtics were a game and an injury away from winning the NBA Championship. I’m not making that mistake again.

Celtics in 7

(4) Orlando Magic vs. (5) Atlanta Hawks
I have no idea what to make of the Hawks. They seem like they’re going to forever been happy with being a playoff team and getting destroyed in the first round. They overpaid an incredibly overrated player in Joe Johnson in the offseason and have done nothing to deserve any credit in the NBA. They’re lazy and show very little interest on defense. Al Horford, who started the season on a tear, has fallen off in the second half of the season. I’m not impressed with the Magic team (plus I bet a kid 20 bucks the Magic wouldn’t the East. What an idiot, who takes the Magic against the field?). I think when Dwight Howard wants to play he can be the most dominant player in the NBA and he’ll probably decide to give half a shit in the postseason.

Magic in 5

Western Conference:

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (8) Memphis Grizzlies
I need to say first off that I hate the Spurs. I think they’re boring and play like a bunch of pussies. All season I think they have been overrated and if they get out of this series, which I do believe is an if, then there is no way they make it out of the second round. The Grizzlies have a chance of giving the Spurs a bit of trouble. Manu’s elbow is hurt and without him the Spurs offense looks incredibly average. I do think Duncan will play much better in the playoffs; he has a great wisdom of pacing himself in the regular season and dominating in the playoffs. I do think the Spurs will win this, but expect it to be a tough series.

Spurs in 6

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs (7) New Orleans Hornets
Kobe Bryant hit a huge shot in their last game of the season to force a win in a seemingly meaningless game against the Kings to clinch the second seed. Suddenly instead of facing a very tough Portland team, they’re gift-wrapped a poor New Orleans team even poorer without David West. The Lakers won all four games against the Hornets this season when the Hornets did have West. This should be a cake walk for the defending champs and unless Paul really gets hot and exposes the weak Lakers’ point guards, the Lakers sweep the Hornets easily.

Lakers in 4

(3) Dallas Mavericks vs. (6) Portland Trailblazers
There’s always those upset picks that become so popular to “experts” that they become a fad and lose their appeal. This is one of those upsets. The Mavs look incredibly weak behind Dirk; Jason Terry can never be fully trusted, Jason Kidd shoots a negative percantage from three-point land and Tyson Chandler looks lost on the offensive side. Don’t get me wrong, Dirk is certainly the best player in the series, but it could be argued that the Blazers have the next best five or six players. I really like LaMarcus Aldrige and see him having a breakout series to really show he deserved an All-Star berth this year. This may be a popular upset pick, but I’m going with it.

Blazers in 6

(4) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (5) Denver Nuggets
This series could give a hell of a run for most exciting series of the playoffs. The Nuggets have looked like a new team since trading away the best player in the league (again, bias). They’re an incredibly deep team and play with a ton of energy in every game. They’re tough to beat at home and can easily give the favored Thunder a run for their money. The Thunder will have a tough time playing as the favorites this season, no longer viewed as the serious underdog of the league. They made a huge improvement in getting Perkins at the deadline who is a fantastic defender. What worries me about the Nuggets is they still don’t have a go-to scorer in the late games. Without Melo, they really rely on one guy getting hot and carrying their team to a victory. The Thunder don’t have that problem, either Durant or Westbrook can create their own shots and make clutch plays. Those two are the difference for me.

Thunder in 6

Second Round:
(1) Chicago Bulls in 6 vs. (4) Orlando Magic
(2) Miami Heat in 7 vs. (3) Boston Celtics

(4) Oklahoma City Thunder in 5 vs. (1) San Antonio Spurs
(2) Los Angeles Lakers in 6 vs. (6) Portland Trailblazers

Conference Finals:
(3) Miami Heat in 7 vs. (1) Chicago Bulls
(4) Oklahoma City Thunder in 6 vs. (2) Los Angeles Lakers

NBA Finals:
(2) Miami Heat in 6 vs. (4) Oklahoma City Thunder

Shocker? Maybe. I just think if this Heat team can get in a groove then they’re unbeatable. The 1-2 punch of Bron Bron and DWade trumps any other match up in the NBA. If Bosh can even play half decent than the Heat can beat anyone. They’re solid defensively and sooner or later have to figure out what to do in the clutch minutes. Teams can’t let Wade and James get hot cause if they do, watch out for the most-hated team in America to become the best NBA team.

These playoffs have the potential of being one of the best of all time. The second round matchups are all mouth watering games and will make for can’t miss TV. These games will all come down to the wire and should provide for great television.

Also, not only are NBA playoffs better than NHL, their commercials blow them out of the water.

2011 NHL Playoff Predictions

The NHL playoffs start tomorrow and it's not a real party until we give you our predictions that will definitely be completely, 100%, totally wrong. The Stanley Cup is the coolest trophy in all of sports. No, the Green Jacket isn't cooler than the Stanley Cup (for the one golf fan that will argue that). There's only one Stanley Cup. Every #winning player gets his name etched on it. Every #winning player gets to keep the Cup after the season to do whatever the hell he wants. I'd like to see Charl Schwartzel drink beer out of the pockets of his green jacket. Argument over. The NHL reseeds after each round so I'm going to re-do my predictions after each round if I don't get them all 100% correct. What's that? I won't have to re-do them? Yeah, you're right.

The NHL is my (Matt) Forte. I'm going to break down all the teams here for you in a quick summary. The Cliff Notes of the 2011 NHL Playoffs, if you will.

East:

1. Washington Capitals: The Capitals haven't had much playoff success lately and have never won a Stanley Cup. In 2008 they were a 3 seed and trailed the 6 seed Flyers 3 games to 1 but forced a game 7 which they lost in OT. In 2009 they were a 2 seed and trailed the 7 seed Flyers 3 games to 1 but ended up winning 3 straight to win the series. Last year they had the top seed and led the Canadiens 3 games to 1 but shit the bed and lost 3 straight and the series. Until this team actually goes on a deep postseason run I'm staying away.

2. Philadelphia Flyers: This team is limping into the playoffs, with a 3-4-3 record in their last 10. I'm not a big believer in this Flyers team but they were 1st in the East for most of the season. They made the finals last year when no one expected them to get out of the first round so I'm not one to bet against them. They might even get Chris Pronger back sometime in Round 1. That's a big "might". As big as Kim Kardashian's ass. Too easy.

3. Boston Bruins: They were the most "unexciting team that won a lot of games in the regular season". If Tim Thomas can get hot he can carry this team. They have a shut-down defense which wins in the playoffs. Some one is going to have to step up and score goals for this team or it will be a short lived playoffs for them.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins: Will Cindy Crosby ever come back? My guess is no. He hasn't played since January 5 and still isn't taking part in contact drills in practice. In other words, he has a huge gaping vagina. They are also without Evgeni Malkin who tore his ACL/MCL on February 4. It's going to be very hard for this team to make a run this postseason but I wouldn't bet against it considering their past postseason success. They had Crosby and Malkin for those runs though.

5. Tampa Bay Lightning: They are the NHL's version of the Oklahoma City Thunder. They have a young stud, people don't expect them to win and they just might surprise people. The Lightning have a mix of ridiculous young talent and veterans who have won in the playoffs before. That can be dangerous. The only question is their goaltending. Dwayne Roloson has been deep in the playoffs before but he is 41-years-old.

6. Montreal Canadiens: Well we should never count them out but this team is just boring and small. They can't score and are hurt on defense. The only reason they won last year was because Patrick Roy cloned himself and put a Jaroslav Halak jersey on. I don't see that happening again for them this year.

7. Buffalo Sabres: A week ago people were talking about who was going to bed the 6-8 seeds but the Sabres rode an 8-1-1 finish into the playoffs. Never doubt a team with one of the 5 best goalies in the NHL. The Sabres have that in Ryan Miller. They might not have much outside of that but in the playoffs that can win you a series.

8. New York Rangers: The Rangers might have beaten the Capitals 7-0 and 6-0 this year but Ryan Callahan, the heart and soul of this team, broke his ankle April 4. The Rangers have one of the best goalies in Lundqvist but when they knew the playoffs were on the line they lost, at home, to the Thrashers 3-0. They ended up beating the Devils 5-2 two days later but only got in because the Lightning beat the Hurricanes. As Lundy goes, so do the Rangers this series - which isn't a bad thing.

Check out the Western Conference analysis, Patrick Kane's hot sisters, predictions, plus video after the jump.

Patrck Kane has hot sisters. Especially the second one in on the left.

West:

1. Vancouver Canucks: They were the best team in the regular season. They have the Sedin brothers. They have an awesome goalie in Roberto Luongo. What else do you want me to say? How about, they never perform in the clutch in the playoffs. How about, one of their best Centers, Manny Malholtra, got hurt on March 17. How about, they have never won a Stanley Cup. How about I just say this - this team is the best team in the NHL.

2. San Jose Sharks: This team always seems to choke in the playoffs but they are loaded with talent. Let's see if that can finally pay off.

3. Detroit Red Wings: The Red Wings have more playoff experience than Jenna Jameson does at making pornos. Never bet against that. Who bets on pornos anyways?

4. Anaheim Ducks: When you have a team coached by Gordon Bombay and led by Charlie Conway, Adam Banks and Greg Goldberg in net you can make a deep playoff run (not to mention Julie "The Cat" Gaffney on the bench in case Goldberg stumbles). The combination of pure scoring, bashers and 2 shut-down goalies gives this team a great chance. Wait, wrong Ducks. I'll just let Yahoo handle this preview:

"The Ducks have one of the league’s best lines with Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan. They have Teemu Selanne, still excellent at age 40. They have assets on defense with Lubomir Visnovsky, Toni Lydman and rookie Cam Fowler.

So what don’t they have? A healthy goaltender, for one. Jonas Hiller is fighting vertigo. Ray Emery has a lower-body injury, after coming back from hip surgery and filling in admirably down the stretch. Dan Ellis could end up starting Game 1. The Ducks need good goaltending, because they take a lot of penalties, don’t kill them well and give up too much defensively."

5. Nashville Predators: They traded for Carrie Underwood's husband, Mike Fisher, on February 10. She just so happens to live in Nashville. I like this team. It plays playoff hockey, scoring goals when they need to but also playing great defense. They also ended the regular season on a 7-2-1 run. They've lost in the first round 5 straight times so they have to win sometime, right? Right?

6. Phoenix Coyotes: Isn't this team bankrupt? The Coyotes are the definition of yawnstipating. They have the ability to win games in the playoffs but they face the Red Wings in the first round. Enough said.

7. Los Angeles Kings: Where's Wayne Gretzky when they need him? Oh yea, he's with that bankrupt team (see 1/8 inch above). Their best player, Anze Kopitar, tore ligaments in his right ankle on March 26. Their second leading scorer, Justin Williams, suffered a shoulder injury March 21 but will probably play in the 1st round, at under 100 percent. I have no confidence in this team.

8. Chicago Blackhawks: This team won the Cup last season but needed the Minnesota Wild to beat the Dallas Stars on the final day (after they lost to the Red Wings) to make the playoffs. They still have Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews but lost 10 other members of the Stanley Cup run. It wouldn't surprise me if this team won a series or two but I wouldn't bet on it.

1st Round:
1 Washington Capitals vs. 8 New York Rangers (Rangers in 7)
2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. 7 Buffalo Sabers (Flyers in 5)
3 Boston Bruins vs. 6 Montreal Canadiens (Bruins in 6)
4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 5 Tampa Bay Lightning (Lightning in 6)

1 Vancouver Canucks vs. 8 Chicago Blackhawks (Canucks in 6)
2 San Jose Sharks vs. 7 Los Angeles Kings (Sharks in 5)
3 Detroit Red Wings vs. 6 Phoenix Coyotes (Red Wings in 6)
4 Anaheim Ducks vs. 5 Nashville Predators (Predators in 7)

2nd Round:
2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. 8 New York Rangers (Flyers in 6)
3 Boston Bruins vs. 5 Tampa Bay Lightning (Bruins in 7)

1 Vancouver Canucks vs. 5 Nashville Predators (Canucks in 5)
2 San Jose Sharks vs. 3 Detroit Red Wings (Sharks in 7)

Conference Finals:
2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. 3 Boston Bruins (Bruins in 7)
1 Vancouver Canucks vs. 2 San Jose Sharks (Canucks in 6)

Stanley Cup Finals:
1 Vancouver Canucks vs. 3 Boston Bruins (Canucks in 6)

The Canucks are the best team in the NHL, by far. They are simply too talented not to reach the finals. They can score goals with anyone. They can can play defense as well/good (I'm not an English major) as anyone. They also have one of the best goalies. In the East, the Bruins have the makings of a team that will make a deep run. They grind out games with good goaltending and find ways to win. The Bruins might grind past the teams in the East but facing the Canucks they will be very over-matched.

Here is your first round TV schedule, courtesy of NHL.com and me for taking all of these screen-shots and formatting them for you. Yes, you're welcome:

When the NHL starting doing the "History Will Be Made" commercials I got goosebumps the first time I saw one. Every time I see one of these now I still get goosebumps. If these videos don't get you in playoff spirit I'm not sure what will.

And one just for pure nostalgia (because I love that sort of thing):

Ugg Boots For Men Official Masters Predictions

One of the greatest weekends in sports is upon us and all you need to do is sit back, drink beer, check TMZ for stories about Tiger Woods banging girls in his hotel elevator and follow our fantasy picks to see who wins. Blog Dylan and I are going to partake in a Masters fantasy challenge. We are using Yahoo settings and scoring. We had to pick a golfer from each of their A, B and C lists (1 from A, 2 from B, 1 from C) and then follow this scoring system:

A golfer can receive a maximum of 20 fantasy points in each round of a tournament. The golfer with the lowest real-life score in a round receives 20 points. Other golfers receive 2 fewer points for every stroke they finish behind the leader (e.g., a golfer 1 stroke back for the round receives 18 points, a golfer 2 strokes back gets 16. Golfers 10 or more strokes back receive 0 points).

Bonus points are awarded for golfers placing in the top three at each tournament. First place golfers earn 20 bonus points, second place 10, and third place 5. To earn bonus points for your team, a golfer must be active for at least one round of the tournament. The golfer can be in a non-activated (reserve) position at the end of the tournament and still earn bonus points for your team.

We also had to pick a bench and can substitute the players in each day. We couldn't pick any of the same players. A complete list of players in their categories is after the jump. Here are our starting lineups and the bench:

Mine:

A - Tiger Woods
B - Retief Goosen & Steve Stricker
C - Rory McIlroy

Bench:

A - Matt Kuchar
B - Hunter Mahan & Justin Rose
C - Francesco Molinari

Blog Dylan:

A - Lee Westwood
B - Rickie Fowler & Stuart Appleby
C - Martin Kaymer

Bench:

A - Jim Furyk
B -Ian Poulter & Fred Funk
C -Stewart Cink

Billy Blog's Predictions Are Awful. Here Are the Better 2011 MLB Predictions!

We all know Billy Blog sucks at predictions. Here are mine so that you don't have to mortgage your trailer and sell your John Deere stock. I'm hungry for some baseball and can't wait 2 more days so I guess I'll just drink heavily until then.

AL MVP - Adrian Gonzalez
NL MVP - Matt Kemp

AL Cy Young - Justin Verlander
NL Cy Young - Tim Lincecum

AL Rookie of the Year - Jeremy Hellickson
NL Rookie of the Year - Freddie Freeman

First Manger Ejection: Buck Showalter (Orioles) April 19

First Triple: Austin Jackson (Tigers) April 13

First Player Caught Stealing: Robinson Cano (Yankees) April 9

First Intentional Walk: Matt Holliday (Cardinals) April 16

First Cameron Diaz sighting at a Yankees game: Opening Day mothafucka!

Division Predictions:

AL East

1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees
3. Baltimore Orioles
4. Tampa Bay Rays
5. Toronto Blue Jays

AL Central

1. Detroit Tigers
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Cleveland Indians

AL West

1. Texas Rangers
2. Los Angeles Angels
3. Oakland Athletics
4. Seattle Mariners

NL East

1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Florida Marlins
4. Washington Nationals
5. New York Mets

NL Central

1. Milwaukee Brewers
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Cincinnati Reds
4. Chicago Cubs
5. Houston Astros
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West

1. San Francisco Giants
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
3. Colorado Rockies
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
5. San Diego Padres
   

2011 MLB Predictions

MLB Opening Day 2011 is less than 48 hours away so I thought I'd give you my 2011 predictions. If there's anything you should take away from these predictions it's that you should immediately go to Bodog and use these predictions for betting. In fact, you should bet every single penny you have with these picks. That's how easy it is to predict these things.

AL MVP - Adrian Gonzalez
NL MVP - Albert Pujols

AL Cy Young - Jon Lester
NL Cy Young - Roy Halladay

AL Rookie of the Year - Michael Pineda
NL Rookie of the Year - Freddie Freeman

First Manger Ejection: Mike Quade (Cubs) April 16

First Triple: Carl Crawford (Red Sox) April 8

First Player Caught Stealing: Jacoby Ellsbury (Red Sox) April 3

First Intentional Walk: Albert Pujols (Cardinals) April 2

First Cameron Diaz sighting at a Yankees game: April 2


Division Predictions:

AL East

1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles

AL Central

1. Minnesota Twins
2. Detroit Tigers
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Cleveland Indians

AL West

1. Texas Rangers
2. Los Angeles Angels
3. Oakland Athletics
4. Seattle Mariners

NL East

1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Florida Marlins
4. New York Mets
5. Washington Nationals

NL Central

1. Milwaukee Brewers
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Cincinnati Reds
4. Chicago Cubs
5. Houston Astros
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West

1. Colorado Rockies
2. San Francisco Giants
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
5. San Diego Padres
   

Stanley Cup Playoff Match-ups Are Set

The NHL Playoffs match-ups are set and I have listed them below, along with my predictions in parentheses. If you disagree post your picks in the comments.

1st Round:
1 Washington Capitals vs. 8 Montreal Canadiens (Capitals in 5)
2 New Jersey Devils vs. 7 Philadelphia Flyers (Devils in 6)
3 Buffalo Sabres vs. 6 Boston Bruins (Bruins in 7)
4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 5 Ottawa Senators (Penguins in 5)

1 San Jose Sharks vs. 8 Colorado Avalanche (Sharks in 4)
2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. 7 Nashville Predators (Blackhawks in 6)
3 Vancouver Canucks vs. 6 Los Angeles Kings (Kings in 7)
4 Phoenix Coyotes vs. 5 Detroit Red Wings (Red Wings in 5)

2nd Round:
1 Washington Capitals vs. 6 Boston Bruins (Capitals in 5)
2 New Jersey Devils vs. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins (Penguins in 6)

1 San Jose Sharks vs. 6 Los Angeles Kings (Sharks in 6)
2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. 5 Detroit Red Wings (Blackhawks in 7)

Conference Finals:
1 Washington Capitals vs. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins (Capitals in 7)
1 San Jose Sharks vs. 2 Chicago Blackhawks (Blackhawks in 6)

Stanley Cup Finals:
1 Washington Capitals vs. 2 Chicago Blackhawks (Capitals in 5)

That's right - I am picking the Washington Capitals as your 2010 Stanley Cup Winners. I am biased toward them but they have a solid team top to bottom and I think one of their 2 goalies will get hot next week. If all 4 of the top seeds in the East win their 1st round match-ups it will set-up a Capitals vs. Penguins, Alexander Ovechkin vs. Cindy Crosby showdown in round 2! I have the Bruins upsetting the Sabres which would mean the Caps would meet the Penguins in the Conference Finals if each were to keep winning.