'Nucks fight to earn shutout against Hawks.

Sorry about the lack of posts, but we were up in San Jose for the long Cesar Chavez weekend. While I was gone, my Facebook prediction on Jon's wall of a Canuck victory came true. Take it baby. The United Center was filled with 21,673 tear filled fans (which, somehow, is 105.7% of the arena's capacity), but I was most proud to strike sadness into the heart of a more local Blackhawk buddy. All in all, I'm pretty sure that a 4-0 Vancouver win really sent a message to the entire Hawk Nation that we're not worried about battling these suckers in the playoffs.

We'll try and keep this short and sweet. Roberto Luongo was the heartthrob of the game with his amazing seventh shutout of the season, his 45th in his beautiful career. He didn't really have any tough saves to make, even getting a break on a whiff from Patrick Sharp's penalty shot, and survived a really cheap shot from from some red sweatered sucker. Vancouver got almost all of their goal scoring from the upstart top line (who really needs a nickname, by the way), with Nintendo DS getting goals at 3:22 of the first period and 3:53 of the final period. Daniel was joined by a thrilling tip in by Alex Burrows at 8:43 of the second period (which he scored as he streaked past Khabibulin), and a fourth goal capper by Ryan Kesler at 6:59 of the third to just push it beyond for the Orca. Oh, by the way, this was one hell of a third period. With just four penalties in the first two periods (2 for Vancouver in the 1st and 2 for Chicago in the 2nd), the third period kind of opened up. I mean, how could this be a game between the Canucks and Hawks without some knockdown dragout fighting? The third period finished up with 18 total penalties, including fights between Ben Eager and Kevin Bieksa, Shane O'Brien and Ben Eager, Cam Barker and Willie Mitchell, Duncan Keith and Alex Burrows, Adam Burish and Daniel Sedin, and Dave Bolland and Daniel Sedin. It pretty much all went down at the 5:50 mark in the final frame, with a little more going on at 6:08, but the brawling couldn't get the Orca off of their game. Who could honestly say that they wouldn't want this as a playoff matchup? It would be so crucial. 

One question about the three stars: How did Roberto Luongo not make the list? Come on!

At 41-25-9 (91 thrilling points), Vancouver are now just 1 point back of the Northwest's first place Calgary Flames (can you believe that?), and lead Edmonton by a whopping 10 (can you believe THAT?). Big picture, Vancouver is deadlocked with Chicago for the 4/5 spots in the West. Columbus has fallen back while holding the #6 spot (-5 of Vancouver), with #7 Nashville (-7 of Vancouver), and #8 St. Louis climbing back into the top 8 (-8 of Vancouver). There is also a really big chance that the Canucks could leap up to the #3 spot in the West if everything falls as it can, we would line up against Columbus rather than Chicago, but damned if the Hawks wouldn't be way more fun. Next up is a big divisional match against Minnesota on Tuesday on the road. Minnie are sitting with 80 points (3 back of the top 8), and are playing .500 ball over the last 10 which just isn't good enough. Can the 'Nucks push things forward as we have just 7 games remaining? Man, I hope so. 

Is there any chance that a LSF team outside of Vancouver and Chicago will make the second season? It would seem Brandon is our only hope. 

I know that the weekly football post took the week off because of us going out of town, but it'll resume with #30 next week. In case you're wondering, Chivas USA continued their march toward a perfect MLS season with a 2-0 win against Dallas, and the Euro kids had the week off. 

Also, I'm started to get a little excited about the impending baseball season. It is almost hard to believe that the Angels 5-man rotation to start the season will be: Joe Saunders, Jered Weaver, Nick Adenhart, Dustin Moseley, and Shane Loux. Are you kidding me? Get well soon Lack and Erv Dog...please. April 6 it all kicks off against the hated A's, and hopefully we can get things off on the right foot. 

We sunk your Clipper ship.

We can keep this short and sweet. The Celtics matched up with the Clippers for #2 of the greatest rivalry in sports history last night, and this time the good guys won. A 90-77 blowout helped Tommy get a smile on his face, and led to Brandon avoiding the entire game by engaging in a "fantasy baseball draft." Nice trick buddy. Why don't you man up and pay attention to the misery that is your squad. Whoa, sorry, but when I get into this particular rivalry, I get a little crazy.

We both thought that the Clippers would win the game based on a small fragment of comments from Vic the Brick Jacobs, but in reality he proved to be the jinx. The 44-42 Celtic lead at the end of the first half gave Brandon some kind of hope for that Clip win to occur, but my C's took it to an entirely different level in the second half, outscoring the Blue & Red 46-35. No freaking mercy. Brandon's fears were realized, with Ray All scoring 20 points and going 3 for 3 from beyond the arc like some kind of Novak-esque stud. Rondo (14), Perkins (12), and KG (12 in 19 minutes) were the only other C's in double digits, as the scoring was spread around. Maybe if the Clippers played with the same mentality as my boys from Austin. By the way, Ray Allen also picked it up with a +27 rating on the floor, and was joined by Rondo and Paulie Girl in the +20+ range (follow that?). The second half was a lot of fun for me, because it was total domination, and seeing Brandon's saddened Clip Show face buried in the laptop made me feel all the more triumphant. 

By the way, the Clippers started point guard Bootsie Collins was held to just 2 points, with only three Clippers getting into double digits. Novak's total was clearly divisible by 3, however, making me think that we should just make Brandon the LSF NBA expert. 

The win may have boosted the C's record to 54-18, but beating the Clippers is obviously way more important than any change in record. Austin still trails Cleveland by 4 games (and according to ESPN, they won't catch the Cavs), and still lead the Magic by a single game. The win against the hated Clippers has boosted the lead in the biggest rivalries in all of sports to a whopping 36.5 games by my count. Fantastic. Big ol' BOS will be getting a huge game on against the Magic in Orlando on ESPN tomorrow night, and a win would be pretty damned clutch when it comes to putting some space between my boys and the #3 squad. Orlando is pretty hot recently (8-2 in their last 10), but hopefully the 4 game winning streak for the C's can roll on... that and the fact that my dogs have a better point differential (+8.2 vs. +7.3). Get at it guys. 

Okay, I know you've all been waiting for the thrilling conclusion to my Celtics favorite player tournament, and you don't have to wait any longer. My favorite Celtics player is:

Glen Davis

(loser in the final was: Eddie House; losers in the final four were: Mikki Moore, and Leon Power; losers in the elite eight were: Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, Brian Scalabrine, and Bill Walker). 

Congrats to Big Baby for earning my respect and endless love no matter his play. On a concluding note, it is time for today's LSFISP (LSF Irish Slang of the Post). Today's Irish sland is Guillermo, which is slang for "one who is skilled with the ladies." Example: "Have you seen Glen Davis? That geezer is a total Guillermo." Feel free to use it.

Weekly football post #29.

It's the opening football post for the Chivas USA season, and things are looking pretty darn nice. We'll start with a Euro tour, however. 

The lead for Celtic atop the SPL over Rangers was increased to 3 games over the weekend, with a 2-2 draw against Croc Dundee United. My boy Scottie McDonald did it to the rival side with the somewhat Australian name, earning his 16th goal in the 24th minute. Unfortunately, it was Francisco Sandaza of Dundee who would earned himself a double against the Hoops and Artur Boruc quickly into the second half. The Green & White went from thinking they had a win in the bag, to trying to find any way to earn a draw. As time expired, it was perennial favorite and Bloxwich native (which sounds like a totally cool place to be from) Lee Naylor saving the day to help the Celts earn the single point. With 64 points in 29 games, the Celts have pushed their lead over Rangers (note, not "the Rangers") to a full win (3 points, for all of you confused hockey fans). Next up for my Bhoys is a SPL match against Hamilton Academical (which appears to be a word in Scotland). The Hams are the #8 team in the SPL, and with Rangers matching up against last place Falkirk, it would be pretty important for the Celts to take the Hams seriously. 

Newcastle played Arsenal, so you pretty much can figure out how that went. An amazing second half from the Gunners blew 'Castle off the pitch, as Bendtner, Diaby, and Nasri all scored with 10 minutes. Um, does it matter that Obafemi Martins scored the Newcastle goal that temporarily evened the match at 1 all? Not really, I guess. The point of the game that kind of said it all was when Oba had a chance to get things going on a penalty in the fist half, only to be stopped by the Arsenal keeper. Ugh. The loss has made things pretty ridiculously gloomy for Toon Nation (that's right Brandon, we have a Nation too). With 29 points in their 30 games (you read that right), Newcastle are now squarely in the relegation zone. Not tied for the spot to get out of the zone, but completely in the zone headed out of the EPL. Remember 18-20 get kicked out of the premier division, and my boys from 'Castle are 18th with 29 points, trailing #17 Blackburn's 31 points. Now we can't just skate our way to staying in the top division, we actually have to do something to get out. I don't know, maybe it would be fun for my favorite English soccer team to get relegated to the first division. Of course, it would be even worse if that happened and we still couldn't get wins, but getting back to the EPL would be a huge lot of fun. We're not going to get any help next week, though, as Newcastle takes on Brandon's Chelsea, the #3 team in the EPL. Maybe Brandon can convince his Blues to cut us some slack? We could really use those 3 points. 

Chivas Guadalajara lost another close 0-1 game over the weekend, dropping their most recent L to the U.A.N.L. Tigres. Pedro Benitez got the golden goal at the 39 minute mark against Luis Michel and the Goats, who continue to stumble through this FMF season. At 3-5-3, a seriously bad start to the campaign, Chivas are in second to last place in their division. However, a win would put Chivas at 15 points, which would be good enough for second in the six team division, if everyone else loses. I guess it's a bad start for everyone. Next week, Chivas gets back to home action in Guada, welcoming San Luis. San Luis is brigning up the #4 spot in their group 3 table with a 4-4-3 record. We may have a chance to handle things, right? Well, the team that just beat us (Los Tigres) are the team right below San Luis in the table. Things are going from bad to worse for my Boys in Bars from Mexico. 

Now to the real action, as the MLS got underway. It was all love at the Home Depot Center this weekend, as Chivas star Paulo Nagamura came into his own with his first career MLS double in a tight 2-1 win over the Colorado Rapids. What a way to start the season. Nagamura earned his beauty with goals in the 55th and 59th minute to cancel out the goal scored by the Raps earlier on. It was Chivas' fourth straight opening day win, and they were able to pull it off without the starting services of the injured trio of Ante Razov, Maykel "My Boy" Galindo, and Alecko Eskandarian. Naga's first goal was scored with a low blast from about 25 yards out to tie the game, and his second was just six minutes later when the Rapids failed to clear a ball that he pounced on and sent into the twine for the lead. La Legion went completely nuts in section 110, and Chivas rolled on to their first win of the year, and an undefeated start. Chivas is joined only by the upstart Seattle Sounders in the top spot of the West after losses from all teams but RSL (who have yet to play). Next weekend we have Chivas trying to continue pushing things forward on the road against Dallas, who lost their season opener 1-3 to Chicago. Let's keeping it rolling along boys. 

On my way out, I'll provide today's LSFISP (LSF Irish Slang of the Post). Today's Irish slang is Mingin', which is slang for "displeasing to the eye." Example: "Newcastle's play was just mingin' this weekend. Feck!" Feel free to use it. 

Anyone want to gamble on the Celtics/Clippers game? When they get together, you know you can throw the records straight out the barn door. 

Canucks get jobbed at Jobing.com.

The only cool thing about the Canucks/Coyotes game last night was that the Glendale arena was called "The Jobing.com Arena." I'm, of course, counting the fact that it was on TV as a negative thing because of how awful the contest was. Yes, I spent my Saturday night watching a 1-5 drubbing that the out-of-the-playoffs Coyotes laid on my Vannies as the season winds down. It was a game where craziness abounded, Luongo was benched, and Alex Burrows found a way to score his ninth goal in ten games. 

First off, the five goals allowed were the most given up by the Orca since January 28, when they were knee deep in losses. Now, are you ready for the run down of the horror? Here we go: 1) Daniel Winnik scored on a wrist shot at 14:05, and it was a pretty fair goal to let in, I guess. 2) Shane Doan took a deep wrister from up against the boards that somehow found its way past Lu. 3) Former Canucklehead Ed Jovanovski blasted a power play slapper through Luongo for the 3-0 lead just 3:25 into the middle frame. 4) Here is the best one: Viktor Tikhonov got credit for an empty netter with 10:30 gone in the second period of Luongo skated to the bench on a delayed penalty. I mean, I replayed this like three times just because it never happens (NEVER!). Tikhonov himself got called for hooking, he touched the puck inside the Canucks' zone, but didn't get control of the puck to cause a whistle. Shane O'Brien attempted to poke the puck away, and the puck started slid back toward the empty net. O'Brien skated his brains out to try and stop the puck before the craziness happened, but he slid into the net just after the rubber, and the craziness did happen. 5) Matthew Lombardi scored a funny one against LaBarbera after Lu got pulled. The Barbarian skated way out of the crease to try and stop Lombardi, but the Coyotes forward was able to go around the 'Nucks keeper and put it in for the 5 goal lead after 3:13 ticked away in the third period. At this point, most 7th Canucks are thinking, "Mercy rule?" Luckily, my boy Alex Burrows would help the Orca save some face with an 18:15 goal past Ilya Bryzgalov to dirty up the clean sheet. The puck bounced hard off the board and right back to AB who nailed the goal as he was falling to the ice. Drunken Canucks fans at the Jobing.com arena promptly went nuts, so the Canucks didn't have to. Classy in defeat. 

After a loss like that, I can't really complain about the three stars all being from Phoenix. So, because of that, I'll just offer up my Canucks player of the game: Kyle Wellwood and his 100% face off margin going 7 for 7. He was also man enough to serve the bench penalty for too many men on the ice. One reason the Canucks didn't play well was the myriad of ridiculous penalties we took. Shane O'Brien got called for the puck deflecting off of his raised glove and over the glass (delay of game), yet another too many men penalty (coaching problem), Shane O'Brien earned a roughing (for punching Zbynek Michalek after a play, like a dummy), among others. O'Brien had to have one of his worst games in recent memory. This brings me to a new feature I'm bringing to the blog: The LSF Irish Slang of the Post (or LSFISP, for short). Today's Irish slang is Back doors kicked in, which is slang for "the act of anally raping a man." Example: "Man, Vancouver really had their back doors kicked in last night." Feel free to use it. 

As long as we don't look to far into the future, we can say that the loss last night really didn't hurt us that bad. At 38-24-9 (85 points), Vancouver are still just -3 of Calgary in the Northwest, and still lead fairly well at +6 of the Oilers, +11 of Minnie, and still +21 on Colorado. Bigger picture, things got a little worse. Jon's Blackhawks took back over in the teeter-totter of the 4/5 spot, and now sit +2 on the Canucks. Looking in the rearview, my boys lead #6 Columbus by 3, #7 Edmonton by 6, #8 Nashville by 8, and #9 St. Louis by 10. With 11 games remaining for Vancouver (11 for Chicago, 11 for Calgary, 10 for Columbus, 11 for Edmonton, and 10 for Nashville, in case you were wondering), things are really getting serious baby. This scary end of the season road trip continues on Tuesday evening against the recently ailing Dallas Stars (who have slid out of the playoffs since the last time they lost to my boys). Let's turn it around and make the final 11 a good time, eh?

Once again there was no advice provided from my fellow bloggers about who I should push forward in the first ever "My Favorite Celtic Tournament," so again I go it alone. I now present the championship matchup:

Glen Davis v. Eddie House 

(losers in the final four were: Mikki Moore and Leon Powe; losers in the elite eight were: Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, Brian Scalabrine, and Bill Walker). 

I hope you've enjoyed my trek toward picking a new favorite C, and keep in mind the final matchup will be seriously determined based on performance against the hated Clippers tomorrow night. Beat LA!

KG returns for a grizzly win.

One night after beating the World Famous San Antonio Spurs with the comeback kid, my C's got back on the forefront of the news stations with the a second straight win since The Big Ticket got back in green. This time it was KG earning 10 points and 4 rebounds in 17 limited minutes as the Austin Celtics turned in a stellar performance with a 105-87 win. Who would have thought that one of the remaining C's on my "favorite Celtic" tournament would have a career high night?!

Glen Davis, who I realized shares the same nickname with Jered Weaver, scored an amazingly hot career high 24 points on 8 of 11 shooting from the floor in this Saturday night special against the Memphis "Jizz-lies" (oh!). It was a close first half, but the Celtics busted out with a 26-17 run in the third and opened the fourth with a 14-4 streak. Memphis just had no chance after the first half ended. You have to play a whole game if you want to beat the Green & White (or, Green & Gold, as it has been recently). Ray Ray dropped 20 points to add to Big Baby's big night, and E-Money also greased the tournament wheels with 15 off the bench for consecutive win #3 after a semi-rough stretch. The game finally showed my Celtics of old, as they knocked down 7 of 20 shots from tree town, and bench returner Glen Davis came off the pine to hit 5 of his first 7 to help set the stage for a pull away win. Shooting 56% from the field is a nice way to compliment a rough 70% from the free throw line. Would you believe that Paulie had just 6 points?

They don't pick three stars in basketball, for some dumb reason, but I'm going to bring the heat with my usual hockey paragraph, the LSF Underrated 3 Stars. We'll go with 1) Glen Davis (for his 24 points, +14 rating, and embracing the nickname "Big Gay Baby"), 2) UC Merced supporter Ray Allen (not just 20 points, but a +23 rating from the wood), and 3) Kevin Garnett (just for playing his solid 17 minutes and smiling as usual). Honorable mentions for Eddie House and his 15 large. I imagine that about 18,109 of the 18,119 fans at the FedEx Forum were cheering on my boys, right? 

At 53-18-0, my cowboys from Austin sit 4 gigantic (according to ESPN) games back from the Cleveland Cavs, with the Magic just a single game back of the C's. Meanwhile, 4-8 are at least 15 games behind the Easter leaders. In the greatest sports rivalry of all time, the Green & White lead the West's second to last place Clippers (I think they just have 1 fan left, right?) by a really big 35 games, by my count. I just can't wait for March 23's chance for revenge for the Aussies. Next up for the Celtics is that Monday night match against El Show de Clip, and hopefully KG can play over 20 minutes to help us get revenge for the last time we met the Blue & Red. After that last match, I really really really hate the Clippers, and there is no way I will allow the Celts to lose this one. The Clip hold a 7-26 road record, compared to the C's 28-6 home mark, so I'm pretty sure it's all over this time around. Sorry B. 

Let's all say a prayer for Team USA as they get ready to battle Japan in the semifinals of the WBC. Hopefully Dodger Stadium won't be a curse for our hardball patriots this weekend. 

Just call them the "Leap Frogs."

Another home game, another win, another franchise record for most consecutive Ws at the Garage. Vancouver's offense showed up for three beauties, Roberto Luongo got his first shutout in four months, and the Vannies triumphed 3-0 over St. Louis for a huge win. A really huge win because it led to the Canucks leaping over Jon's Mighty Blackhawks into the four spot in the West. Bingo bongo, Roberto Luongo!!

After a quiet first period, the second period pace picked up. At 14:54, a Henrik Sedin pucked popped up in the air, was gloved down and fired in by Alex Burrows for a quick action goal that led to a 1-0 lead. For Burrows, it was career high goal number 23, getting the Pincourt, Quebec native to 41 points...and he's only owned by 40.6% of ESPN Fantasy Teams? How about TSN Fantasy Teams? That's what I'd like to know. Heading into the final frame with a slim 1-0 lead, the Canucks knew they needed something extra, and they would get it. Ryan Kesler passed a puck across in front of the goal to a streaking Mason Raymond (see above/left), who easily put the puck in past Mason. Raymond's tenth added some breathing room, and Henrik Sedin's 15th at 10:29 made it a done deal. Daniel Sedin sent a pass out in front from behind the net, and Hank was sitting all alone while he decided where to shoot the puck. It was an easy netter against the Blues pipe cleaner, and it was all over. Bobby Lu finished the night with 30 saves on 30 shots, tossed his stick to a happy/lucky fan, and skated off with a rare #1 star. 

Coach Alain Vigneault (who may finally being doing what we've all been waiting for this year) pointed out that he had a pick for LSF underrated 3 stars after the game, "You guys [the media] should be the first star. You ticked him [Luongo] off and look how well he played." When asked about the media's impact on his play, Luongo stayed the course, "There's more important things we've got to worry about, trying to get home ice and catch teams ahead of us. That's all that matters." Well said, captain. Interestingly enough in this win, Vancouver (and St. Louis) went o'fer on the power play, and the Canucks were beaten in shots on goal in every single period (finishing -9 for the overall game). I usually want to pick a fight with the media for their three stars choices, but this time around I'm down: 1) Luongo (because he's a stud), 2) H-Bomb Sedin (1 goal, 1 assist), and 3) "Senior Shocker" Ryan Kesler (1 assist, 50% in the face off circle). I'm with Coachie V, nice work media...for once. 

At 38-23-9 (85 points-and man, that's a nice record), Vancouver continue to chase the top spot in the Northwest. Continuing to roll just -3 of Calgary, the Canucks lead Edmonton by 8, Minnie by 11, and Colorado by a thrilling 21. Bigger picture, things are so awesome! The Orca are now running things in the four spot, +1 on #5 Chicago (and as I said -3 on the West's #3 from Calgary, Alberta, Canada), +5 on #6 Columbus, and +8 on #7/#8 Edmonton/Nashville. Below the line we have Minnie, Anaheim, and Dallas all at 74 points (-11 of my boys). So, Jon, now what do you think of my boys? Man, the March 29th battle between the Blue & Green and the Indians is going to be so sweet. Now, however, we are heading on the road and things may be a little scary. The road trip starts Saturday (with a NHL Network game!), and rolls through cities like Phoenix, Dallas, St. Louis, Colorado, Chicago, and Minnesota before coming back for a one game homie against the Ducks. This 6 game roadie is really going to be a test. BRING IT!

Quick hits on my way out: 1. Does anyone care about the NIT more than the "real" tournament? Well, after beating UAB and New Mexico (by 6 points and 2 points respectively), Notre Dame has climbed its way into the NIT Quarterfinals (you know, the "elegant eight"). The Irish will earn a berth into the "fantastic four" on March 25 with a win against either Creighton or Kentucky (man, this will be a big one). 2. It sure as heck was a fun game against the Heat when the C's beat Miami in OT 112-108. Pierce had 36 large, Rondo chipped in 27, and my boy E. Money had 16. Big Baby Davis, however, was my super stud with a +27 rating. Time for a battle with the Spurs tonight. Can't wait! 3. The Angels beat the White Sox 4-1 on Wednesday to grab a three game winning streak and improve their Spring Training record to a Cactus League leading 15-4. I know that it's just Spring Training, by the Red Hats have a run differential of +49. Take that, "we need a big bat" fans. 4. In other Angels news, Hall of Famer George Brett has become co-owner of the Rancho Quakes with his brother. Meanwhile, the Angels have a new team slogan, and it isn't, "The Halos are back for more...again...seriously, this time...once more." For the 2009 season, we are now: "Fan Loyal. Fan Faithful. Fan Strong." I'm into it. 

No one helped with their ideas for my new favorite Celtic tournament, so I'm going alone here. You can check the last post for the elite 8 (which is where it all started), and here you can read the second round with the final 4:

Glen Davis v. Mikki Moore

Eddie House v. Leon Power

(losers in the elite 8 were: Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, Scalabrine, and rook Bill Walker.)

If you want to chip in advice as I move to the finals, go ahead and leave a comment, but I'd have to say in terms of choosing a favorite Austin baller, I have a pretty strong group here in the final 4. Enjoy your weekend.

Officially Two Face.

With a 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night, the Vancouver Canucks officially became a team of two records this season. Over the month of January, the 'Nucks set the franchise record for the most consecutive home losses. Here in March, my boys have set the franchise record for most wins in a row at home. It may be an odd turn of events to happen in the same campaign, but at least the winning part is timely. 

Daniel Sedin (6:33) and Stephane Robidas (16:48) traded power play goals in the first period, before the Blue & Green took the thing into their hands in the middle brick. Ryan Kesler got a goal with assists from Po Po and Mats Sundin, and that was followed up by a nice power play one timer from Mats Sundin from Kyle "Dub Dub" Wellwood. It was a lead that would finish things off. I mean, the Stars scored at 8:12 to pull within one, but it only took 7 more minutes for Stevie Bernier to restore the two goal lead for good. The passing on the Bernier goal was so cool. Bieksa sent a quick pass to Mason Raymond, who one timed his pass to Bernier, who one timed it into the net. It was a bing-bing-bing goal, and it finished off the Texas Turcos. 

Keys to this game? Well, playing at home was the big reason that Van-Ca-Tesh was able to triumph, for sure. The Orca have been ripping things up at the Garage for our tenth straight win. Key #2, as it always is, was power play percentage. 100%. That has to be some kind of perfection, right? Ha. Going 2 for 2 on the power play helped boost things, while keeping the Stars down 6 out of 7 time. Throw in a shortie, and this sounds a lot like the win over the Avs. The three stars went down as 1) Kesler (1 goal, 1 assist), 2) Sundin (1 goal and 1 assist), and 3) Steve Ott (with, guess what, 1 goal and 1 assist). Much better effort by the BC media that in the previous Vancouver win, but here comes the LSF Underrated 3 stars: 1) Livonia, MI native Ryan Kesler (duh), 2) Mats Sundin (he actually got 2 points in 1 game!), and clear underrated super stud 3) Kevin Bieksa (2 large assists, and some pretty passing). Hello.

Watch this catch up we're playing. At 37-23-9 (83 points), Vancouver trails first place Calgary in the division by just 3 points. In the rear view we have Edmonton (-8 of Vancouver), Minnie (-9 of my boys), and a-hem Colorado (-19!). The bigger picture is looking a lot better too. My Canucks have now pulled within 1 single point of Chicago's 84, with eyes now looking toward the #3 spot and the division lead, instead of just catching up to Jon's Blackhawks. Looking back, Columbus is still close in the 6 spot at -3, with Edmonton #7 at -8, and Nashville in the 9 hole at -8 as well. Next up is another home win against the 32-29-9 St. Louis Blues. The Blues may be coming hard and looking for some kind of playoff hope, but coming to the Garage certainly isn't going to given them any kind of hope. How can Daniel Sedin and his 26 goals this season be denied by some doofus named Brad Boyes from Ontario. I mean, the just lost to the Oilers, so I'm not too worried. Am I setting myself up? 

Speeding through this post because I need to get to the prayer group tonight, I wanted to introduce my bracket. Not for the NCAA tournament, but to decide my new favorite Celtic player (since I've turned into an actual NBA fan, I'm watching the C's try and get back into the game with the Heat, and decided that I need to pick a new favorite player on this squad): 

Here is the match ups in the opening round, the elite 8:

Glen Davis v. Kendrick Perkins

Rajon Rondo v. Eddie House

Leon Powe v. Brain Scalabrine

Mikki Moore v. Bill Walker

If you want to help me decide, post a comment on who you think should win the battles.

Vannies best the Avs.

Another home game, another home win. Oh, how things have changed since that lowly month of January. Is it ever better than beating one of the bitch teams from the division? A 4-2 beat down of the Avs on a Sunday evening has Canuckleheads everywhere excited about the chase for the 5 spot. Watch out Jon.

It was a really nice first period that got the Orca off on the right foot in this one. 2:50 into the opening frame, Ryan Kesler blasted a slapper from the point (why was Kes at the point on the power play?) that was tipped in by Kyle "Dub Dub" Wellwood. Wells is finally back on the board with #16! Less than 5 minutes later it was a crazy situation on the penalty kill that led to a goal. Of course, Alex Burrows tipped a pass at the blue line and was on the breakaway shorthanded. AB fired a shot passed Raycroft, but the puck ringed off the post and came to Kesler. Again, Kesler fired a pass across to AB, who nailed a goal (#22 on the year). It was a mad house for that one. At 15:18 of the first frame, a 3 on two led to a goal for the Canucks, with Ryan "Blocker" Johnson passing right from center to Alex Burrows who passed the puck all the way back across to Taylor Pyatt, who buried his 9th of the year. A three/nil lead after 20 minutes? I'll take it. Colorado's Ryan Smyth (um, I believe it's "Smith") scored against Luongo on the power play at 4:36 to make it a 3-1 game. In the final frame, Darcy Tucker scored a lucky goal just 14 seconds in with one of those "throw it toward the net from a bad angle" goals that made it in. With some pressure on, Vancouver was able to capitalize after a penalty to Colorado with 17:39 to go. Alex Edler nailed a power play goal to put Vancouver well enough ahead at home, and earn the 4-2 victory. 

Keys to winning? How about 2 for 4 on the power play, and 6 for 7 on the penalty kill with 1 shorthanded goal? I think that just about does it. However, we may have had one of our largest travesties as it pertains to the three stars (and by the B.C. media, nonetheless). The media pumped up 1) Alex Burrows (1 goal and 1 assist), 2) Ryan Symth (1 goal...are you kidding me?), and 3) Taylor Pyatt (respect his goal, I guess). I think the underrated LSF three stars will show you what I'm talking about: 1) Ryan Kesler (3 fecking assists!), 2) Obviously, my boy AB, and 3) Kyle Wellwood (1 goal and a team leading 80% in the face off circle). The NHL should just let me pick the 3 stars all the time. 

This was kind of a big win, and hopefully a start to a fun streak. Van-Ca-Tesh sit now at 36-23-9 (81 points), just - 5 of Calgary, and then +8 on Edmonton, +9 on Minnie, and a really fun +18 on Colorado. Bigger picture, things are getting fun in the West: Vancouver are just -2 on 5th place Chicago (just 2 points back!!!!), +3 on #6 Columbus, +7 on #7 Dallas, and as I said +8 on #8 Edmonton/#9 Nashville. St. Louis and Minnie are 10/11 at 72 points (-9 of the 'Nucks). Is there any way that Chicago and Vancouver won't be meeting in the playoffs? Next up for my boys is a crucial battle against #7 Dallas (33-28-8) on Tuesday. While Vancouver holds a +17 goal differential, the Stars are rolling at -12. Plus, there is the fact that the Vannies just don't lose at home these days. 14 games to go, baby. 

Maybe Ilenia is right. I mean, they pay this guy and then he goes on the DL to start the season? What a jerk!

Weekly football post #28.

Holy crap! It was the CIS Cup finals, and it was a rivalry battle between the Mighty Celts and Andrew's Rangers. I'd say it's a pretty nice way to kick off this edition of the football post (although, maybe the picture to the left spoils it a bit). 

Would there be any more fitting battle for the CIS Cup final than the clash between Celtic and Rangers? Obviously not. And, would there be any more fitting style of game than a 0-0 draw that led to extra time? Again, obviously not. In a game of "who could ask for anything more", it took an extra session for my Hoops to be handed the beautiful CIS Cup. And what an extra session it was. With the first 90 minutes finishing at a solid nil-nil draw, Dublin native Darren O'Dea (his first goal of the year) and Glasgow's own Aiden McGeady did the Celtic faithful proud with a goal a piece to help the Green & White triumph with a 2-0 victory. The O'Dea netter was a pretty header on a cross by Shunsuke "Ninja Warrior" Nakamura, and McGeady (who earned "man of the match") was able to seal the deal as he converted a penalty just second after being pulled down in the box. It was a scrappy game that saw the Hoops have slightly more chances than Rangers, but overall it was a disjointed affair. Pollack Superhero Artur Boruc was amazing against the Protties in the clean sheet. Does it get any better than yet another championship? I'm proud to rock the Celtic jersey. The CIS Cup holders are back to SPL action against Croc Dundee next Sunday, as the march toward the even more important SPL title. A 3 points lead over Rangers after 28 games is making for a tight finish. 

I don't think I can complain about a sweet 1-1 draw against Hull City, can I? Well, not when I'm talking about Newcastle, that's for sure. It was a hard fought draw, with Hull's Geovanni getting the home side ahead just 9 minutes into the match. Hm...when will Steve "Greenwich Mean Time" Harper become the next Shay Given (hopefully soon)? It was Steven Taylor marching the Magpies back hard in the 38th minute with the leveling goal that would be the final tally for the entirety of the test. The goal helped bring the Boys in Bars to 6-12-11 on the pathetic year, with a difficult to swallow -11 goal differential. Despite the draw, looking to the table these days doesn't bring very much relief. 29 points is the amount shared by #16 'Castle, #17 Portsmouth, and #18 Stoke City (with Stoke City being the first team in the relegation zone). So, we sit squarely in the point bracket with one of the teams that will drop divisions. 9 games remain to pull us out of the dregs, before it is too late. 

Surprisingly, Chivas de Guadalajara continued their difficult season this weekend with a 0-1 loss to Atlas. Luis Michel and Jose Canales Garcia were going at it, keeper to keeper, and it would be an 88th minute penalty kick by Bruno Marioni that sealed the fate of the Goats in this one. This all happened despite the fact that Atlas had two players go down with red cards in the match. No joke. Chivas couldn't beat Atlas despite the advantage. It was a feisty kind of match, with three yellow cards getting handed out to the Red & White (in the 86th, 88th, and 89th), a yellow out for Atlas (89th), and the red for Atlas (87th). Despite losing this one, you can be sure that it will be a game that Chivas players and fans will be grumbling about. Revenge will be sought after this kind of match. The record drops Chivas to 3-4-3, with 12 points holding the Red & White in a tie for second with Tecos and the blasted America (each with 12 as well). Just to be sure, Chivas' goal differential of +2 bests America's -3. Ha. Next week is a match against U.A.N.L (better known as the Tigres), who are bottom feeders of their group at 1-5-4 (just 7 points on the campaign). Time to get back on track boys. Make me proud to rock the Bimbo!

In their final preseason tune up, Chivas USA earned a 2-2 draw with the Houston Dynamos (aka, the Baltimore Ravens of the MLS). St. Peters native Atiba Harris and Shavar "Out In The Streets, They Call Him Murder" Thomas scored the goals (each a goal that gave my MLS squad the lead), but the Goats were unable to hold off the charging Dynamo, and had to setting with the draw. Hey, if we could have "settled" for a draw against the Dynamo in more important situations, we'd be a much more prestigious squad, eh? Chivas' first kick is drawing closer by the minute, with the home opener against Colorado set for March 21 at 7:30 pm. Last year Chivas topped the Rapids when it was all said and done by 5 points in the Western Conference tables, and hopefully the Raps will provide a nice start as we push for the Cup in '09.

Off topic now, what a BS performance by the Celtics against the Bucks this morning. A 77-86 loss in a game where the C's were outplayed on defense really shocked me. I mean, Milwaukee are the #8 team in the conference, and we're letting them push us around? Pierce was held to 15; Ray Allen earned only 8 (going 0 for 5 from tree-ville); even Rondo walked off the court with just 5! Nederland Ranch, TX native Kendrick Perkins was the game's leading scorer with 26 (a career high), but he couldn't do enough to reverse a game that had the home crowd happy and having fun cheering, "Beat Austin! Beat Austin!" Bastards. Bright spot? Underused West Virginia native Bill Walker was the only Celtic player with a + rating (+2 in 5 minutes). Bald spot? Sure, Stephon Marbury had a 4 point night as the backup point guard (pretty decent for him), but at the cost of playing -11 basketball? With only 17 minutes of play, Step was the worst +/- offender, which is pretty damn typical. The Bulls and the Heat match up with Austin in back to back games Tuesday and Wednesday, and wins are important at this point, with the 50-17 record only good enough for a 0.5 game lead on the Magic. 

This mad me laugh out loud.

'Nucks fight back against Kings.

There are some things to take care of before I get to last night's Vancouver victory. First off was a tough 'Nucks loss against the Ducks in overtime on a 3 on 3 breakaway, then we had a big win for the C's against the Grizz 102-92 to turnaround a quick two game losing streak, then we had UCSB drop their second round Big West tournament to my dad's alma matter (meanwhile, the women are on their way to the finals), and finally we get to the puck drop at GM Place last night. All in all, it has been an up and down couple of days, but at least a 4-2 win over the Kings of L.A. would help us come out on top. 

Looking to rebound after getting swept in Southern California (sorry guys), the Canucks came prepared to stomp the Kings on Friday night action from the Garage. They came out hard, and finished the same way. The first goal was 10:39 into the game, and it was a dandy. Last week's mega goalie Jonathan Quick went back to play the puck off the boards, but the puck bounced hard and came out in front of the goal passed Quick. My boy Alex Burrows was skating crazy hard and was able to beat Quick to the puck, chipping the rubber into the twine for a beautiful opening marker. AB has a career high 21 on the year, and his placement on the top line continues to show how the Twins can elevate a good player to great. Plus, Quick really f'd up on that one. Just over 7 minutes later the 'Nucks had a two man advantage, and Mats Sundin was ready to play baseball slugger to get Vancouver ahead by dos. Pushing hard with the advantage, Kevin Bieksa took a shot that Quick saved but the puck flew up and behind Quick, and Mr. Torontonia connected with the puck in the air to bash it home and put Vancouver clear after 20. The second period was uneventful thanks to Quick and Luongo holding things down. Then, between 6:50 and 9:14 of the final frame, things got a little nuts. Alex Frolov scored against Luongo at 6:50, and just 26 seconds later Anze Kopitar sent a long shot from along the boards that somehow found its way into the net as well. Just like that it was tied at two. But hold onto your jerseys, Canuckleheads. It would be Ornskoldsvik, Sweden native Henrik "H-Bomb" Sedin coming to the rescue. At 8:44, on a two on one, Ryan Kesler feathered a pretty pass across to a streaking Hank for the one time goal to earn the lead back. Boom. 30 seconds later, it would be Henrik all by his lonesome getting the job done to put us up by two. With a pass from his brother, Henrik did a spin move around the his backhand, and then pulled a spin move back around to his forehand (a 180 spin and another 180 spin in the opposite direction) and fired a shot that baffled Quick and company. The sweet sassy molassy style goal put us ahead for good. 

Outshooting the Kings 20-3 in the opening frame really did the trick to set the pace, and despite only getting 5 shots in the final period, the 'Nucks made it count. Factor in Sundin's power play marker (finally, we went 1 for 6) and a solid 26 save performance by Luongo, and it all adds up to a win. The media picked the three stars as: 1) Hank (2 goals and 1 assist), 2) Kesler (1 assist), and 3) Kopitar (a lucky wrister goal with the goalie screened?), which is almost right. The LSF underrated three starts roll off the tongue as 1) The aforementioned H-Bomb (obviously), 2) Willie Mitchell (led the world with a +2 rating, and an assist), and 3) Bromma, Sweden native Mats Sundin (he nailed 1 goal on his 6 shots, with the mad pressure from the shots being the main reason I add him to the list). 

The win was crucial (especially with the Jackets beating the Blackhawks...what the hell?!), improving Van-Ca-Tesh to 35-32-9 (79 points). In the division, we're -7 on the Flames, but +7 on the Oil, +8 on the Wild, and +18 on the Avs (hahahahahaha). Bigger picture, we are now just -4 on Jon's Chicago Blackhawks (uh oh buddy), but only +1 on Columbus (uh oh Tommy), and +7 on Edmonton and Dallas (with Minnie and Nashville at #9 and #10 back 8 on Vancouver). As far as the rest of the LSF, Jon, Karen, and I are currently playoff bound, with Brandon and Andrew sitting -3 and -11 out of the East's #8 respectively. 15 more to go in Vancouver. The lowly Avs will be matching up with the 'Nucks at GM Place on Sunday night, with a chance for Vancouver to make things even nicer in the wild West. Whatever we do, we just can't lose any of the next four, right? I mean, Colorado, Dallas, St. Louis, and Phoenix? We need to roll, baby, roll. 

Despite UCSB getting bounced from the Big West, I think we can all be proud of our new mascot. Meet: Ole!

Kings hold on for upset.

Let's be honest, the Canucks played a fairly crappy game for the first two periods. The only goal we scored in the beginning was a fluke that brought us back to Dan Cloutier's give up against Detroit in the 2002 Playoffs of yore (if you're sure you want to cry along and relive it, click here). In the end, it was a mad rush in the third period as the 'Nucks tried to get back into the game. Only, to the frustration of 7th Canucks everywhere, Vancouver was unable to get anything past the Kings keeper as the clock ticked down and dropped the game 2-3 while I watched on live TV. 

Just 3:35 into the first period, the Kings scored on their first shot of the game. Looking deeper into the goal, we can point out why this happened. The Canucks got called for icing, which by the way was a bad call because Burrows beat out the Kings player, and the Kings had fresh players against the tired 'Nucks. The situation led to a L.A. opening goal and set the Canucks on a course to try and come back. Unfortunately, it was a Jarret Stoll power play goal at 12:17 in the first that would put us back 2 heading into the second frame. The second didn't see much pressure by the Orca either. However, at 4:40 luck would come our way, with Alex Burrows wristing a puck from the blue line as a power play expired. The random AB shot on net went right through keeper Jonathan Quick, and Vancouver had new life. That was only until Jarret Stoll struck again for his second power play goal, sending Vancouver to a third period down by 2 and not looking too hot. However, the 'Nucks came out wicked strong in the final 20 minutes. With 14:34 left in the game, the underrated Taylor Pyatt scored Vancouver's second goal on a scrappy play in front of the net, and the Blue & Green had new life. The assault put on by my boys in the final 10 minutes made it look as though they had a constant power play. Jonathan Quick, however, was a sturdy wall, turning away chance after chance from the 'Nucks. Vancouver pulled the Mighty Luongo, but even that wasn't enough to get the rubber in the net to push things toward OT. As the final horn sounded, the Kings sighed relief, and Vancouver grimaced in frustration.  

When trying to discover why the 'Nucks lost this game, I can only come away with one answer: "Thirteen of the Canucks players had their mothers accompany the team on its chartered flight for the two-game trip to Southern California." Damn you mothers! Clearly it was the pressure of the moms in the stands that led to the Canucks buckling and dropping the match against the less talented Kings. Well, that and going 0 for 4 on the power play while allowing 2 in while on the kill. 

The loss brings us to 34-23-8 (76 points), with Calgary leading the division at +8. In the Conference, we failed to pick up any ground on Chicago (you're welcome, Jon), and continue to trail the #4 spot by 5 points. Looking in the rear view, we have #6 Columbus (now just -2), #7 Edmonton and #8 Nashville (-5), and #9 Minnie (-6). Now, however, Chicago has a game in hand as we march through the final 17 games in Canucks Nation. Can Van-Ca-Tesh shake off the loss and get back on the winning track? Well, Wednesday night the mothers will be there to put the pressure on again, this time as Vancouver plays at the Honda Center against the Not So Mighty Ducks. It is somewhat satisfying to see Anaheim sitting in the #12 spot in the West with their 31-30-6 (68 points, -8 of Vancouver) record, but after losing to #13 Los Angeles, a win is anything but guaranteed. No matter what happens, I will be watching on Prime Ticket to the bitter (or happy) end. 

In case you don't keep up with my favorite hockey team, I want to point out quickly the top 5 goal scorers to see if it surprises you: 1) Daniel Sedin (25), 2) Livonia, MI native Ryan Kesler (19) 3) Alex Burrows (also, 19), 4) Pavol "Czech Mate" Demitra (17), and 5) Quebec City native Steve Bernier (14). A couple of guys in there are having career years, and while they don't quite standup to the Conference leading mark of 34 (Cammalleri, Marleau, and Hossa), the are impressive numbers to me as a fan. Also, just for fun, I want you to remember that the severely underrate Port McNeill, BC nativeWillie Mitchell and his +23 rating on the year is good enough for #3 in the West (yes, behind Duncan Keith's +28). There is something so satisfying to me about stats. 

Magic put a spell on C's.

If beating the first place Cavs on Friday was on the to do list as #1, beating the Magic on Sunday morning should have been #1a. How great is it to prove that you can beat the team directly above you in the table if you can't beat the team directly below you? The Celtics felt that pain yesterday morning in Ausin, when the offense was like a speeding car that hit a giant brick wall in a 79-86 loss to the Orlando Magic. 

I guess a good way to look at this game is that the C's were down by 22 points at one put, and were able to get the game all the way back to within a single beyond the ark swish. The reason? It was the lowest scoring quarter (the first) and the lowest scoring half (also, the first) of the entire season for the Green & White. After being perfect at home, the C's have now dropped two of their last three games in front of friendly basketball fans, and this one showed such a huge drop off in offense, it made fans remember how bad we need Kevin Garnett (or so that it what ESPN would say). The Magic trio of Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, and Rashard Lewis could not be stopped, combining for 49 points for the Blue & White (well over half of the team's total points). Meanwhile, the Celtics underwhelming offense was led by Ray Allen and his amazing 32. Ray Ray was 12 for 25 from the field, but came in rated at -3 if you can believe it. Scoring 32 and finishing -3? We have to kind of look around to figure out the reason for this! Oh wait, that wasn't hard; Stephon "Starbury" Marbury played 21 minutes in the game thanks to Rajon Rondo and his "perfectly fine" ankle (which is actually sprained). Eddie House got his minutes bumped up as well to cover to Rondo being out, but when your starting point guard (Marbury) finishes with 4 points, 0 assists, 3 turnovers, and a -14 rating, there is no way you are going to win (even with 32 from Ray Allen). Hopefully, Kentucky graduate Rondo will be back by the next game, to appease both Celtic fans and the 100.0% of ESPN Fantasy GMs who own him. In real life, though, this was a tough loss without him. 

With the loss, the C's drop to 49-15 (.766), and we have returned to a full game back of the Cavs. Meanwhile, the Magic are now just 2 back of Austin as the season winds down. Still, as least we're 33.5 games up on the Clipper Nation (which, I've heard, you don't mess with). Next up is a battle with the #5 Heat (33-29) in Miami on Wednesday. With games coming against at the Heat, at home against the Grizz, and at the Bucks, it is time for my Green & White to make a big run after the tough loss to the Epcot Lovers from Orlando. 

At least it looks as though Kevin Garnett will be back on the court for that Bucks game on Sunday, March 25.

As I step away for the morning, here is a real bit of sad news from Ram-Ville. 

Karen's pissed, 'Nucks stomp Sharks.

Two years. That is how long it had been since my Mighty 'Nucks bested Karen's superb Sharks. Coming into the Saturday night HNIC/NHLn battle, Coach Alain Vigneault had one message for the Blue & Green: "Beat the Sharks once in the regular season, or face the media pointing out that you couldn't beat them if you ever meat in the playoffs." It was a good point, and clearly a rallying point that the Orca took to heart, as Vancouver beat the Nor Cal Threshers 3-1 at GM Place to continue their run at the hottest team in the NHL. If it wasn't for Joe Thorton (and his little dog, too), my boys would have had the shutout!

It didn't take long for me to start gloating over my wife, who was more focused on cell phone sudoku than the action on the frozen surface. Just 3:15 into the opening frame, Alex Edler got a pass from Mattias Ohlund and sent the bombs away with a dramatic slapper. Alex Burrows slipped in front of Sharks' keeper Brian "Bobby" Bouche, which blinded the keeper, easily allowing the Special Ed-ler puck to tickle the back of the twine. Less than three minutes later, Mats Sundin was able to pull off a stunning backhand move that shut the mouth of Marc Crawford (who had pointed out multiple times that it had been a little while since he scored- I'm not too worried, as he has 13 points in his last 14 games, contributing as much as we would want a second line center to contribute). Po Po Demitra fed a pass to Mats right in front of the net, and Mr. Torontonian showed off his golden hands with some nifty work that allowed him to lift the puck from his backhand over the outstretched leg pad of Boosh. The crowd went completely nuts, and it was 2-0. As we drifted toward the end of the middle frame, I started to think how getting two goals early and then laying back for the win never works. A 19:57 second period goal by Joe Thorton on the power play confirmed my concern. The play worked perfectly to where Thorts was able to get an open net before Lu could slide across. As the third period carried on, however, Kevin Bieksa nailed a power play goal at 11:48 and Luongo and company kept the wall up despite a late in the game 6 on 4 with the San Jo net minder pulled. Bingo bongo, Robeto Luongo; a 3-1 win. 

The X-Man of the squad had plenty of words to show how happy he and his teammates were with the win, "I think it was a statement game. We've been winning for the last little while, but to beat a quality team like San Jose, a team we haven't beaten all season, is huge for us and definitely something we needed going into the playoffs. It's night and day the way we were playing back then and now (referring to the long losing streak in January). Last time it was almost like hanging on and playing not to lose. Now we have a different attitude. We're playing to win and not sitting back." Nice to hear, especially from a guy who has really turned his game around here in February/March.

Stepping away from the game for a second: Big ups to the town of Terrace, BC, winners of the "Hockeyville 2009." The town is 500 miles north of Vancouver, and wins $100,000 from Kraft to upgrade local arenas, as well as being able to host an exhibition game next fall between their beloved 'Nucks and the NY Islanders. The town has 11,320 crazy Canuckleheads, and watching them cry with pride made me smile.

Would anyone else be surprised to hear that Mats Sundin didn't earn one of the three stars, despite scoring a goal? That seems to go against everything we have learned in 2009, right? The home team media picked 1) Ryan Kesler (2 assists), 2) Roberto Luongo (made 28 saves on 29 shots, including one while he was standing on his head), and 3) Dan Boyle (The Sharks defender who got a grip of love for having to play extra because Rob Blake got hurt early in the game, which in no way should qualify you to earn a star). The LSF underrated three stars are as follows 1) Kesler (easy choice as the only 2 point guy and +2 guy on either team), 2) Luongo (I had to stay with this one, because I always complain about how goalies don't get enough love in the three stars), and 3) Po Po Demitra (as a right winger, he nailed 7 out of 8 face offs, and added a crazy assist on the Sundin goal). Easy pickins.

Two things I want to point out that the regular media will skip over after this game: 1) If you want to know if your team is playing well, look at their passing. The 'Nucks were nailing all of their passes tonight tape to tape, and when you see stellar passing like that, you are more often than not going to see your team win. 2) Just because Vancouver won, they should not to get to escape the criticism of going only 1 for 6 on the power play, with a couple of the power plays going with seemingly no shots. When playing a solid team like San Jose (even when they are slumping), you really have to take advantage of your advantages. 

The win continues to push Van-Ca-Tesh toward the top, with a 34-22-8 (76 points) record, the Canucks are strengthening their hold on the #2 spot in the division (can someone please start beating Calgary). In the big picture, things are starting to shape up as well. Vancouver is #5 in the Wild Wild West (ficky Wild, ficky Wild, Wild Wild West), and sits +4 on #6 Columbus, and +6 on #7 Edmonton/#8 Dallas/#9 Nashville. Meanwhile, the gap to #4 Chicago is closing quickly, as Vancouver trails by just 5 points. The Canucks are also holding games in hand against those chasing, with 2 games in hand against the Jackets, 1 game in hand against the Oil and Stars, and 2 games in hand against the Preds. The Blackhawks and Canucks have both played a solid 64. This week we go through a stretch where the Canucks will be on TV three more times (making for the first ever four straight televised Canucks games in Southern California since I had Center Ice). Can we pull of the Callie sweep? It starts Monday night at Staples Center against the Kings (28-28-9), and I know everyone is as pumped as I am. 

Make sure to go to sportspickle.com and read the story that mocks the "Sports Soup." Finally, someone in the "real" media has the guts to stand up with me and talk shit on this awful TV show. 

Also, if you want to join this guy in cheering on the Red & White this MLS season, here is ESPN's Chivas USA preview to get you as fired up as I am for the March 21 opener against the Raps.

Weekly football post #27.

The 27th weekly football post comes earlier in the week than any before it, and it comes as a rough weekend of football fell upon this fan. The highlight, as you will see, is that Newcastle got the weekend off. 

Let's start off with the Bhoys from Celtic. After a 7-0 SPL win against St. Mirren on February 28, not a Hoops fan in site was worried about the Scottish Cup match against the same team earlier today. How wrong we all were. Maybe the players on the pitch took the same kind of approach? It was a quarterfinal folly for the Glasgow side, and it sent them crashing out of the Scottish Cup quite a bit earlier than predicted (as they obviously were one of the popular picks to win the whole thing). It was a second half golden goal by Billy Mehmet on a penalty kick that sealed the deal for St. Mirren. Maybe this will put the game in prospective for those of you who don't follow the SPL: This was the first time that the St. Mirren side bested my Celtic squad in almost 20 years. I'm not kidding. Just one week after getting busted for seven goals in a video game-esque match, the Buddies (again, not joking, this is the mascot for Mirren) stepped in up and shocked the world (or at least Scottland, and me). For the first time since 1987, St. Mirren has jumped in the semifinals of the Scottish Cup as Artur Boruc and company return home to try and figure out what went wrong. In the game, Scott "Australia" McDonald thought that he had put the good guys ahead (pun) with a header (there's the payoff) on a cross from Ninja Naka, only to be ruled offside. In the 55th minute, the aforementioned Celtic captain Scottie Mac got beat by Mirren's Craig Dargo, and decided to pull him down in the box. Of course, that isn't allowed, Mac got booked, and Mirren earned an easy penalty goal against our Polish pipe cleaner. Despite pressure for the remained of the match, the Buddies were able to hold off my beloved Green & White to dump them out of the prestigious national tournament. Tough stuff. The Yahoo! UK & Ireland Sports headline of "Celtic Cup Shock" says it all. Luckily, the Hoops get a week off to lick their wounds, which seems like plenty of time for us fans to get cocky again, before returning to SPL action on March 22 against the #4 Dundee United crew. We still lead the hated Protties from Rangers by 3 points after 28 games, so: tongue out baby. 

As I said, the Mags got the weekend off after losing a 1-2 tiff with the Red Devils from Manchester. March 14 is the date we return to EPL action with a crucial match against #14 Hull City. A win could plug us 4 up on relegation in the #15 spot. A loss could drop us all the way down to second to last (if Blackburn & Middlesbrough win), squarely in the relegation zone. Can I start the "must win" chant?

I started watching the Chivas/Chiapas (Jaguares) match at Jugos Acapulco in Costa Mesa (shout out to Beasy Bee and K-Rizoo), and I'm pretty happy that I didn't nurse my asada burrito to stay for the full 90. Chiapas upended the Goats with a 2-0 blanking, thanks in part for my former favorite Chivas player from back in the day. Looking to continue some solid recent FMF play (remember the 5-0 drubbing against Pachuca last weekend), Chivas came into the game with some confidence as Luis Michel has been a beast between the big white pipes. This time, though, it was The Jag's Edgar Hernandez getting the clean sheet and Michel giving up two in the Red & White's loss. 39 minutes into the match, it was one named Brazilian Danilinho (4 goals/2 assists this year) with the game opening goal for the bad guys. With Chivas putting some shots on goal, 3 in all, Goats fans around both nations weren't too worried about a 1 goal difference as Chivas put on the pressure. Unfortunately, it was former Chivas off my heart Adolofo "Bofo My Angel" Bautista putting the knife in the back of his former team in the 62 minutes to seal the deal. It was, of course, Bofo's first goal of the season for Chiapas, and it makes Chivas fans all over Goat Nation wonder why the hell we let this guy go. where the hell was Morales, Ochoa, Riveron, or Balcazar in this one (each leading the team with 2 goals)? The second leg of a Copa Libertadores match against Caracas F.C. happens in Guadalajara on Wednesday before Chivas gets back to the FMF battles against Atlas. Hey, 3-3-3 isn't an awful record (especially compared to next week's foe and their 2-3-3 mark). 

As we continue to march toward the MLS opening kick (I think that should be trademarked), my favorite Chivas USA player Maykel Galindo has stepped back out on the pitch. Despite a 1-2 loss to the Chicago Fire in a preseason match today, Galindo came in as a 60th minute sub, and his speed led to a penalty for Chivas. The PK, taken by OC native Sacha Kljestan, was the lone Chivas goal of the match. The team's progress is getting more and more clear as players get healed. March 21 is when things will get crazy around here, as Chivas USA has their home opener against Colorado (anyone want to go?), and LSF get MLS fever. Will this be the year that Bornstein, Braun, Eskandarian, Galindo, Atiba Harris, Kljestan, Marsch, Nagamura, Razov and company bring home the MLS Cup? Start warming up you Mexican singing voices boys. The Goats will also be brining songs in English the year according to the "Union Ultras" website, including this ditty sung to the tune of the Beatle's "Yellow Submarine":

"In the town where I was born

There's a team that I support

And they all wear red and white

And they're gonna win tonight. 

We all cheer for Chivas USA (HEY!)

Chivas USA! (HEY!)

Chivas USA (HEY!)"

I can't wait. 

C's shut up ESPN, as I predicted.

Before the "greatest game of the regular season," every single commentator on ESPN chose the Celtics to get beat by the Cavs. "A new #1 team is in town." "With Kevin Garnett injured, there is no way that [Austin] can hold strong against Cleveland." Of course, I didn't believe that. I believe my prediction was that there was no way that the Cavs would be able to keep my Celtics under 100 points. Well, in the end it was the Green & White finishing with the impressive statement win, 105-94. I will humbly point out that I was right, while ESPN failed to make any comments about their incorrect predictions during either the half time or post game shows. What a joke. 

What wasn't a joke was the play of the now almost first place C's (down by .009 %). This was much more of a statement game than ESPN would have you believe. This was the first game in NBA history where two teams leading their division by at least 13 games matched up. Can you believe that? Despite all of the hype, and the pretty retro jerseys, King James and the King Lears were no match for the all-time stud work of Paul Pierce and the impressive C's bench. St. Paulie Girl led all scorers with his 29 points, and he added 9 assists just for good measure. Meanwhile, the NBA's phenom finished with just 21 points (not even the best on his team). But, it was the play of the Celtics lesser known (and therefore, my more favorite) stars that made me proud to have a green "Lance" bracelet. Despite being ejected from the game for a hard foul on Anderson Varejao (who looks incredibly like this guy, if anyone gets the reference), Baton Rouge native Glen "Big Adult" Davis chipped in with 10 points and a +1 rating. By the way, Ilgauskas is a huge pussy for trying to start shit with Davis after the foul. Give me a break. Davis is getting so great at taking lengthy jumpers from just inside the three line. I mean, this big guy has been making me forget that KG even wears the Austin colors. More impressive was Berkley's Le0n P0we, we finished with an amazing 20 puntos and a +16 rating (not to mention 11 rebounds). P0we has to be one of the most underrated 25 year old power forwards in the entire league. Rya Allen also had 17 and a +12, nailing a couple of threes (as I also predicted). The C's winning ways was fun to watch, but clearly the best moment of the entire game was LeBron James bricking a flashy dunk attempt. He had a pass that would have been offsides if the NBA had it, and tried the dunk where he pulls his arm (with the ball) way back before slamming it. But this time he hit the back of the rim, and the Austin crowd went completely nuts. He also gave up a couple turnovers and missed some other shots, leading me to believe that despite his 28.3 PPG stat, he is severely overrated. 

The LSF predicted win buffs the C's up like beach guys, and the Cavs don't put no fear in these eyes (ooh, Ma$e reference). Austin is now 49-14 on the season, keeping me proud at 18 games up on the Philly Foolies. As I already stated, the C's are just .009 percentage points back of those pesky Cleveland Rocks idiots, and currently lead the #3 Orlando Magic by 3 pretty significant games. In the much more important chase, however, the Celtics are simply mashing the oft-hated Clippers by 33.5 games (by my count, at least). Sorry Brandon, but Clinton Renard "Mikki" Moore is feeling it, and he's out for blood. 

Two final updates on the big game: 1) Rondo is okay, so you can breathe a nice sigh of relief and 2) Marbury has 10 total points in his first four Celtic games (8-0-0-2), so hopefully he is realizing how minor his role is as the #2/#3 point guard on this Championship ready team. 

March 23, bitches. 

Gauchos & Irish make last gasp.

Let's be honest, my two favorite college hardwood teams really haven't been all I've wanted them to be this season. That's kind of an understatement. However, both UCSB and Notre Dame are pushing hard here at the end of the season to getting their names in the mix. Will it be enough? 

UCSB has gone nuts here in the final month plus of the 08/09 season. After watching their women counterparts claim the Big West Regular Season Championship that the men earned some 365 days ago, the male Gauchos kept the heat on the remainder of the Big West as we get ready to set the seeds for the all-important tournament. Over the last seven games, our beloved Gauchos have won six, and are turning the tide as we head toward the offseason. The latest victory was a blowout against the UC Riverside Highlanders. Stockton, CA freshman James "Are You Kidding Me?" Nunnally was huge again with 15 points to lead the way. The way these young guys have been playing really has UCSB alumni stroking their beards in anticipation for the 09/10 run. The 'Chos followed my Austin Celtics former style by burying 10 of 20 shots from beyond the tree line. Nunnally was all about it, earning three of three himself. Senior D.J. Posley chipped in 11 to help get the Blue & Gold to a 42-24 lead at the half. RSM native Jaime Serna (yet another great freshman) came away with 6 points, including back to back three point plays that really helped seal the deal. The 66-53 win has catapulted SB to fifth place in the Big West, which is really surprising after spending most of the time around 8th or 9th. With one game remaining, a crucial Thunderdome battle against #2 Long Beach, the Gauchos really have a chance to secure a solid place as we march into the Big West tournament and a berth in the big dance. Surprised at the late season turnaround? I am. 

Notre Dame, as much as a wish they were, haven't been making as dramatic a turnaround. With a 2-3 record over the last five games, the Irish haven't done enough to make up for their stretch of 7 straight L's in January and early February. Now as we hit the final stretch (the last three games after big wins against Providence and Rutgers), the Irish have marked down losses to UConn (65-72) and Villanova (60-77). The final game of the regular season is tonight against a subpar St. John's squad. SJU is 15-15 (6-11), which is even worse than ND's 16-13 (7-10) mark, and it may be a helpful way for the Leprechaun Legion to end the 08/09 run with a win. But, is there any way that the #10 team in the Big East will earn a berth to the NCAA Tournament? Or, is it NIT Championship or bust for my Catholic undergrads? According to Rivals.com, the loss to 'Nova may have done ND in, as far as the big tourney is concerned. Even a decimation of St. John's tonight wouldn't really help to turn the selection committee's collective mind. However, could the Irish surprise the Big East with a deep Conference tournament run? Could that be the key for an amazing move back into the party of 64? I really do think that the 'Domers could surprise many with a legit lengthy run into the conference brackets, but if I want to remain in the realm of reality, I don't think Harangody, McAlarney, and company are going to land any further than the National Invitational. But hey, that's like the second best postseason tournament in the entirety of college hoops, so I should be happy. There's always the upcoming football season to get excited about. Right, Clausen?

On a professional basketball note, here are my 5 reasons that the Celtics will shut the mouths of all of ESPN's NBA prognosticators by beating the first place Cavs in Austin tonight. Note that as much as I love Rondo, I did not select him as one of my 5 reasons, mostly because his amazing and thrilling impact goes without mention. 

1. We love playing among friends. The home team has won the last 14 meetings between the C's and the squad from Cleveland. Just to add to it, Austin has only lost to an Eastern Conference team once in the 08/09 campaign. 

2. Points per game over the season. The Green average 101.7 points per game compared to Cleveland's even 100.0. Even without KG, it would be hard for me to accept that Austin will be held to under 100 against the Cavs this evening.

3. Recent points per game. Over the last 5 games, the Celtics average 103.8 points per game, which the Cavs average just 91.4. Even if we take a look at the last 10 games, my C's hold the edge 101.9-96.3. 

4. Arizona State grad Eddie House. E-Money may only average 8.1 points per game, but he is consistently the +/- bench champion of the box score in C wins, and when he hits the floor with the #2 squad, the Celtics are really able to hold on until they decide to put the #1 unit back out there. Add Clinton Renard "Mikki" Moore (no joke) and Le0n P0we to the mix, and the Celtic's bench is just so much fun. 

5. Ray Ray has been waiting to get his three stroke going. On 2/27, Allen went 6 for 10 from the arc, followed by a combined 3 for 10 in the games against Detroit and New Jersey. Allen hasn't had a chance to start hucking up threes lately, but with 18.2 points per game on the season, this elder UConn grad is ready to start getting the pass for a wide open triple. It can't come at a better time than tonight against the Cavs. 

I realize that I haven't been putting up the LSF Prediction Posts, mostly because I'm lazy, but I decided that I think we can just throw up predictions in our regular posts from now on (maybe put them in bold so I can see them to add them to your record). So, to start that tradition off: The Celtics will bust LeBron and the Cavs at the Garden tonight. Write it down, and put it in bold, babies. 

Angels improve to 7-1 Spring against M's.

The Halos seem to always do this during the Spring, at least lately. The Spring Training docket has included wins of 12-3, 3-1, 5-3, 6-4, 12-3, 13-6, and 4-2 thus far, with the latest win against the Mariners really capping off what has been a thrilling preseason March for the Red Hats. Notice those big double digit wins among the 7. Three out of seven wins with 12+ runs. I know its just Spring, but are things shaping up to be an impressive offensive season, or what? By the way, I realize that one of the huge wins was against South Africa's WBC team, but that's still satisfying, right? 

In yesterday's 4-2 win against the M's, there was a couple of really impressive notes I want to point out to you (but mostly myself). My pick for catcher, Marianna, FL native Jeff Mathis was a stud against the M's last season (.300 BA compared to his overall BA of .194). In this Spring version of the rivalry, the Mathis-matician (I like that one) doubled home two runs in the fourth inning to open things up. Chone "Am I Still Here?" Figgins and Erick Aybar swiped bags in a double steal to use the speed to work toward the third Halo run. It was my new favorite baseball crush Howie Kendrick who bombed his first home run of the Spring to round things out off of the winner for the Spring pitcher with the craziest name: Chris Jakubauskas. 

Meanwhile, it was the continued chase for the #5 spot in the rotation that took center stage on the mound for the Angels. Right hander (and the guy I've been cheering for since last season at SLC) Shane Loux (by the way, I originally nicknamed him "Loux Dawg" as a Sublime reference. However, once he actually made it to the show last year, I found out his name is actually pronounces "Lukes". Thus, the nickname for Shane continues to be a spot of open debate) nailed down 2 solid innings in the game. Loux gave up an unearned run in the second, but he was able to hold it down other than that. Justin "#2 on my hate/hit list" Speier pitched a scoreless inning to get the win. The Angels will get to battle NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and the 2002 NL Champion Giants today, and hopefully the beauty of Arizona will help us to get win #8. 

In good news: Mike Napoli is not scheduled to be back at full strength for opening day. Could this be Mathis' chance to prove that he can be our "everyday."Only 31 more days until opening day 2009.

By the way, the C's and the Cavs battle for first place in the East tonight on ESPN, and I'm friggin' pumped up. 

'Nucks do no trades after smashing Minnie.

First off, props to Andrew (as if we already didn't know that was going to happen) for his Manchester United squad climbing back from a 0-1 deficit against my Mighty Magpies to earn the 2-1 win. Way to push us just one point up on relegation, you jerk.

Just minutes before the Canucks Tuesday night battle against the Minnesota Wild, Vancouver made the smart move of extending my boy Alex Burrows for four years and $8 million. AB deserves it. Don't believe me? He proved it against our hated division rivals from the Twinkie state. It was another crucial win for Van-ca-tesh, as they moved on up with a 4-2 win against the Wild Beasts of the land of so many damned lakes. 

It sure as heck didn't start off well, though. Roberto Luongo saw Dan Fritsche and Marek Zidlicky earn big goals to jump Minnie up to a thrilling 2-0 lead. Lucky for El Roberto, and for all of us Canuckleheads around both Nations, there was a comeback in the cards (and it would come in the form of Alex Burrows). Burrows started things with his 17th of the year at 9:57 of the first period. AB provided the amazing deflection just after a power play ended, and the comeback was on. Pavol Demitra and Steve Bernier came away with goals in the second period to jump out to the lead. Po Po's goal was a ridiculous slapper from 37 feet out (or so they say), and Steve Bernier was able to steal a puck in front of the crease, spin around, and surprise another contract extension "stud", Niklas Backstrom. It was a thrilling 14th of the year for Karen's favorite Canuck. In the third period, my favorite left winger from Pincourt, Quebec decided to do the thing again. AB got out on a breakaway with 6:57 to go in the contest on a pass for H-Bomb and buried a backhand against Backs to seal the deal (and prove he deserved the cash he got). 

The win was the 'Nucks 11th in their last 13 games (talk about getting hot), and has lifted the record to 33-22-8 (74 points). Within the division, we still trail the recently upgraded Flames by 8, but we've opened up a larger lead on Edmonton (68 points), Minnie (65 points), and ailing Colorado (57 points). In the bigger picture, things are shaping up for an exciting playoffs here in 2009. A recent text message from Jon threw out a prediction, "Looks like u and i might be spending time 2gether in the playoffs." Despite the odd "ghetto speak", I think Jon means that the Chicago Blackhawks and my Vancouver Canucks may be straight on a path to meet up in the playoffs as #4 plays #5. Currently in the #5 spot in the West, the 'Nucks are up +4 on Columbus and +6 on Edmonton(#7), Nashville (#8), and Anaheim (#9). Meanwhile, Jon's Hawks are +5 on the Canucks, so that spot may be up for grabs more than we all previously thought. 

True, Vancouver didn't make a move at the trade deadline (despite rumors that they were pushing hard for Edmonton, Alberta's defensive player of the year Jay Bouwmeester), but with an already huge move of acquiring Mats Sundin earlier in the year I can be mad at all. In fact, as with baseball, I'm very happy when my favorite team refuses to succumb to the trade deadline pressure. I feel like we already have the team that can do it all this year, and when you lose one of your favorites (like Jon did this time around) it just isn't fun. Way to keep it "2gether" Gillis. 

Meanwhile, the Celts are up on Brooklyn 58-51 at the half with 18 points from Paul Pierce (+8) and stellar play (as usual) from Berkley, CA native Eddie House (+10 rating). The C's are a really California native kind of squad, and I like that. Can they close the deal? 

Weekly football post #26.

There is a reason that Shunsuke "Ninja Warrior" Nakamura has been my favorite Celtic footballer for some years now. He is far and away the Japanese stud of European football, and his story starts off the 26th football post in LSF history.

I don't know if even the most ardent Celtic supporters would have expected anything like the win that came for the Green & White this Saturday. What a way to end the greatest month of the calendar year! It was a match against St. Mirren, who ended up with only ten players, that may go down as the most dominating win in the 08/09 campaign. Celtic came away with a video game-like 7-0 SPL win, and continue to chase the the Cup with their rivals from Rangers. My boy Naka Naka came away with the rare soccer hat trick, including a double in the first half, and was joined in the multiple goal department by Scottie Brown's double. Everyone was getting in on the love, including Spanish baller Marc Crosas checking in for the first time. Don't forget to be amazed at the goal keeping from Boruc as well, as the Polish star came away with a clean sheet in a game that truly didn't need it. Of course, a win is just a win, and the smashing of Mirren simply keeps the Celts at a draw at the top of the SPL table with Andrew's Rangers. Tied at 60 points a piece through 27 games, the SPL is setting up to have one of the more exciting finishes in recent memory. I kind of prefer how it has gone in recent years with the Bhoys running away with things, but hey, I'm down for an exciting finish as long as Celtic finishes on top. Next up for the Celts is a match against #9 Kilmarnock, which could end up as just as crazy a win as this weekend smashing success. My boys will need every inch as we march forward. 

Meanwhile, Bolton busted my Newcastle side with a narrow 1-0 finish. Jamaican Doobie Smoker Ricardo Gardner scored the only goal in the Premier League bought to send my Boys in Bars to the tough defeat just 60 seconds after coming onto the pitch as a subbie. 'Castle may have had some chances in the game (most notably by Obafemi Martins and Shola Ameobi), but to be honest, they got outplayed by the Wandering side, and pretty much deserved the L. In 27 games, Newcastle has just 28 points, and sit in the #15 spot in the SPL (with #18 being the obvious relegation zone at 26 points. I think we have a big win coming this Wednesday, though, with a big game against Manchester United. I think Andrew can agree with me that this would be the turning point of Newcastle's season, right?

As we forget about the Newcastle game and remind ourselves of the Celtic victory, let me make the perfect segway. Talk about a big win! Chivas Guadalajara welcomed Pachuca onto their home turf, and the Goats came away with a thrilling 5-0 FMF win. 'Chuca were just no match for the Red & White side, with goals dropping from Aaron Galindo (46'), Omar Arellano Riveron (69'), Gonzalo Pindea (on a penalty at 73'), Hector Reynoso (another penalty at 82'), and Omar Arllano Riveron again (88'). Seems as though the away side didn't help themselves with the late penalties, but clearly the speed and strength of this weekend's Chivas squad were just way to much to handle. Meanwhile, much like Artur Boruc in Scotland, Luis Michel came away with the unnecessarily awesome clean sheet in this one. Omar Riveron, the Guada native, now has 5 goals in 5 games for the Goats here in the 08/09 time frame (his first 2 in his first FMF game here in the Clausura), and the man wearing Omar Bravo's #9 continues to fill the shoes left by the former beloved stud and I'm sure that he's working on earning more of a crucial role as we move forward. By the way, Riveron played with Pachuca from 2004-2007 before coming over the the better side, and I'm sure they regretted that decision after he blew them up this weekend. The win has lifted Chivas to 3-2-3, and their 12 points have put my Mexican boys in bars all alone in first place. After a midweek match against Caracas F.C. in the Copa Libertadores, Chivas gets back to FMF play this weekend against Chiapas. Chiapas is also 3-2-3 so far in the Clausura, and it is shaping up to be an exciting match. 

By the way, nice win for the Canucks in the biggest game of the week. The Blue & Green bested Nash and the upstart Jackets with a 3-1 victory, thanks to goals from Salo (amazing slapper), Kesler (a deflection on a Sundin wrister), and Burrows (doing his normal thing). Thanks to NHL On The Fly for supplying the sweet buttery highlights. The next really big game for Van-ca-tesh is a Tuesday night match up against the Wild (-7 of Vancouver), of which I'm sure the recap will appear on my next post. 

Playing 6 minutes per quarter doesn't work.

Pierce's crying face says it all. Now that I have turned a new leaf into being a more intense NBA fan, I of course watched the entire Celts/Pistons game on ABC (or ESPN, I couldn't really tell) this morning. I realized a couple of things while watching: 1) Austin can come out and play a really hard streak if they want to, but they can't necessarily sustain it over an entire quarter and 2) Big Baby Davis is underrated. Despite the good news from #2, my little Green Men finished with a disappointing 95-105 loss to Detroit, marking the first time that an Eastern Conference squad was able to walk into Austin and walk out with a win. 

After gaining a 2 point lead in the opening frame, the C's took the second quarter off to finish the first half down 47-55. Doc Rivers came into the dressing room set to inspire the Green, and it appeared to work. The Austies came out wicked nuts in quarter #3, making the Blue & Red look like a joke in front of the Pierce-loving crowd. When I mean came out wicked nuts, I mean wicked nuts! A 12-0 run to start the second half impressed the hell out of me, with the C's going 6 for 6 from the floor while the Pistons went 0 for 5. Stop and score, stop and score, stop and score, it was sweet. The Pistons would get up again by 9, only to watch my boys climb back into things with a 17-4 run toward the end of the third thanks to Berkely, CA native Eddie "You Must Protect This" House. House came off the bench to provide the spark we needed, with 8 total points. In the end, though, the Iverson-less Detroit was too much to handle. Funny how they've gotten better with him on the shelf, eh? 

Paul Pierce led the way in the game with 26 points (despite going a -10 in the game) with some impressive drives and pull up jumpers, and was joined by Baton Rouge's B.B. Davis (18), Nederland Ranch native K-Perk (12), Berkley native and Eddie House's boy Le0n P0we (11), and Ray Ray (10) in the double digit party. My underrated super star of the game, however, has to go to Leon "Walter McCarty" Powe, who added a +11 rating to his 11 points, along with 5 rebounds (4 on offense). Is he the ultimate bench stud?

The loss drops the C's to 47-14 on the 08/09 campaign, just a minor 16.5 games up on the .500 76'ers. In the big picture, Austin is matched up with Cleveland for the top spot in the East (with the Cavs just percentage points up at 45-12). Orlando is coming quick at 3 back of the C's, and then they are followed up by Hot-Lanta and their 12.5 lonely games back. It's all about the top 3. Despite the Clippers besting the Celts in the greatest sports rivalry in sports history, Austin still leads L.A. by 31.5 games by my count. We have plenty of time to warm up before our huge March rematch. The warm up laps begin with a huge Wednesday road game against the Brooklyn Nets (26-33). Will the Green improve on their 22-9 road record? I'd bet my shamrock wristbands on it. The Friday night bash against LeBron and company, however, will be a much more difficult job. 

By the way, just a quick shout out to this guy that I met at Andrew's party last night. The guy was a UC Davis alum, and I called him out because the 'Chos and the Aggs were hitting the hard wood during Andrew's party. And? UCSB trounced UCD with a 66-64 victory to put a little tiny marachino cherry on the top of this nasty tasting sundae of a season. The game was all about the freshmen, as Stockton Cow Hand James Nunnally and RSM standout Jaime Serna combined for 31 puntos in the comeback win. Despite a poor season, the Gauchos have won 5 out of their last 6 games, and are getting hot at the right time (road trip to Anaheim Convention Center anyone?). 

Is this getting Andrew pumped up?