Is Alex Burrows good, or is it the Twins?

With a long distance, Hail Mary type, slap shot last night, my boy Alex Burrows started the scoring in what would become a 4-1 Vannie rout over the media darlings from Phoenix. The win lifted us to 46-26-4, earning the most home wins for the franchise in history, and bumped us to 96 points. It further solidifies our eventual #3 finish in the West and keeps us slated to play the Wings in round 1 depending on the final 6 games. 

With the goal, Alex Burrows lifted his team leading and career high goal mark to 35 here in the 09/10 campaign. He has 64 points, which may be low compared to fellow line mate Hank's NHL leading 104, but it's pretty significant for AB. He never really got respect outside of Orca Nation until this year. And this brings us to the question: Is Alex Burrows an elite NHL super stud, or is he a product of being on the same line as our handsome Swedish Twins?

If you want to be negative about it, you can point to the single season success previously put up by the likes of Jason King, Anson Carter, and more recently Taylor Pyatt. All played wing slots on the Sedin lines at one time or another, and all put up numbers way above their heads. Is Alex Burrows destined to be in the same category some day? I don't think so.

Most 'Nucks fans will admit that the pairing with the Sedins, although successful, never really felt perfect. Until this year. Alex Burrows' permanent placement on the top line has felt like it was heaven sent. This season, with 6 games to go, AB has put up 35 goals, 7 more than his next best season. He's also tossed up 29 assists, 6 more than his next best season. His second best season, of course was last year, where he had some experimentation with the Twins. This year, though, he has gone above and beyond.

Proof that it isn't a fluke can be found in his progression. 31 points in 07/08, 51 points in 08/09, and now 64 points with 09/10 with 6 to go. That, clearly hasn't all been with the Twins. More proof: It would be hard to say that a minor role player is having a stellar year numbers wise on the Sedin line when Daniel was injured for a good part of the beginning of the year and when Henrik is leading the NHL in points. There either hasn't been a complete season of help (Daniel's injury) or there hasn't been a ton of points to go around (Hank's 104). For me this shows that to get those 35 netters and 29 helpers this year, Alex Burrows has had to step up and be the player that Canucks fans knew he would become.

I think probably the best proof that Burrows is more than just what his line mates make him will come in October 2010, when AB steps onto the ice again with the Twins on the top line. He'll produce another 70 some odd point season and rise above to prevent himself from being remembered as the White Anson Carter.

Go Alex Go.

As for now, Burrows and the Orca will focus on game #77 against possible playoff foes from Los Angeles. A win on the road against the Kings would not only keep us on pace to go 100-plus in another division winning season, but will also boost confidence by building big wins against playoff teams. Let's get us some.

P.S. I figured out a better way to post from my phone at work than yesterday, so I am so stoked. Have a nice day.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Hot or not: Angels Spring Edition.

As Spring Training draws to a close and we get ready for the 2010 season, I thought we'd take a quick look to see who has been hot, and who has been ice cold for the Halos in AZ:

-Hot: Torii "Dominican" Hunter- How about a .488 OBP with 2 jacks and 7 RBI in his 15 Spring games. Despite him being a racist now, it's nice to see our best hitter ripping it up in the Spring.
-Not: Robb "The Extra B is for Bees" Quinlan- You barely get back on the team, and you hit .222 in Spring? Come on Q! 11 Ks and 2 walks in 19 games? Not good.
-Hot: Maicer "Dizzy Izzy" Izturis- How about a .457 OBP for our 2nd string SS and 3B? That is some good stuff. Does a stellar spring help him give EA a run for his money?
-Not: Terry Evans- I've had such high hopes for Terry after we got him for elder Weaver and he hit a jack in his first big league AB. But hitting .207 when you're in a battle for the final OF roster spot isn't very promising. 8 Ks and just 1 RBI punches your ticket for the SLC.
-Hot: Hank "Long Duc" Conger- The most talked about Halo prospect since Dallas McPherson is putting up this Spring. A .455 OBP, 3 walks, and only 1 K makes for a pretty nice run for the young catcher.
-Not: Rich "Aussie" Thompson- It's hard to judge pitching in the Spring, but Croc Dundee has a 9 ERA in 4 games and just one punchout in his 4 innings. So, not dominating.
-Hot:

Who do the Vannies want 6th (part 2)

Typing on my phone, I realized I typed a bunch that didn't register. Oh well, here's the finish:

Current #8: Colorado- 89 points.

Positives of facing the Avs: This would be the greatest match imagina le. While it would be hard going up against COL, arguably the most difficult option, it would be so much damned fun. This would be a knockdown dragout battle of a series, and Canuck fans would enjoy the hell out of it. I ant think of a more exciting way to burst into the second round than to do it with a win over Colorado.

Negatives of facing the Avs: It's the same as te positives. This would be a knockdown dragout fight, and in that type of series, anything can happen. The only question is: does the excitment of playing the Avs in the playoffs outweigh the fear of the "anything can happen" series?

The answer is yes. For me, opening against the Avs would be ideal.

I'm sure there are a grip of typos from of typing on my phone. For that, I apologize, but I'm glad to find a way to get back to posting.Keep on suffering, pals.

P.S. Tommy, Brandon, and Jon are starting a roller hockey league this Thursday in Laguna Hills. Pray for us.

Who do the Vannies want in 6th?

With going back to work after a 2 month paternity leave and having my 11 week old baby staying up a lot more during the day, my posting has gone down the tubes. For this, loyal readers, I apologize. Hopefully you've been keeping up with the LSF Tweets, but I figured I'd try and rub out some posts from my cell phone during work downtime, since there isn't any down time once I get home to the baby. I can't produce any flashy pictures on the post, but hopefully my clever writing will see us through.

Today's question is: Who do my Canucks want to face in the opening round of the playoffs?

The Vannies have 7 games reamining, including a little trip down to So Cal before the regular 82 is closed out. It is a foregone conclusion that the 'Nucks will finish third in the West. So, who would we be happiest facing in that first round 3-6 battle?Lets look at the current run down of hopeful first round losers.

Current #6: Detroit- 91 points.

Positives of facing the Red Wings: The Wings are relying on an inexperienced rookie goalie with Osgood sucking ass this season. While Jimmy Howard may have just over a 2 GAA this year, we all know the media tells us that the playoffs are a different beast. Even with Bobby Lu's recent struggles, I'd take him over Howard any day of the week. On the other side, the Wings are old man. There is no way they will be ale to keep up with my boys. We can run circles around them.

Negatives of facing the Red Win.gs: They are the Detroit. These guys could be that team that kind of comes out of no where. I know that's kind of lame, but isn't it true. Couldn't they be that team that goes to the Cup after a tough season? I hope not.

Current #7: Los Angeles- 90 points.

Positives of facing the Kings: I hate L.A. Does that count as a reason? The Kings have been good this year, but have been fading recently. This may be the right time to get them. Quick may be good, but I think we'd have a xhance in 6 games.

Negativies of facing the Kings: They seem like that dangerous team that could sneak up on you and kick you out of the playoffs. Don't you agree? They have shown flashes of being a division winning team, but the Sharks have been nuts, and the Yotes recently pulled away. To be honest, I'd be scared of these kids.

Current #8: Colorado (

Gauchos season ends beating the spread.

Take that Las Vegas. My UCSB Gauchos came into the tournament as a #15 going head to head against #2 Ohio State, and thanks to CBS Sportsline.com, my family was able to watch from the tip to the final whistle. Good stuff. While the Gauchos may have come up short in their 51-68 loss, they put together a couple of really inspiring runs, showed that the refs were in the betting on the Buckeyes, and cost some really over zealous OSU fans a ton of cash by beating the 17.5 spread...barely.

How about the early comeback rally? You won't find it on the ESPN recap of the game, nor the UCSB official website's recap of the game, but the Gauchos fought back from being down 13-3 to start the game, and marched right back to a 13-13 tie game. We were coming up golden, especially with Orlando Johnson leading the charge. The Buckeyes were missing chances, and we were taking advantage. While we would let OSU get a nice run right after than, to take a half time lead of 17 points, it was fun to watch our boys run the floor with these guys from across the country for a little while.

The Juice was loose. I was wondering who would be the big guy on campus to step it up for the 'Chos in this tournament game. It was none other than Orlando Johnson. OJ put 20 gigantic points on the board for UCSB, including 2 threes, and added 5 boards, 2 assists, and a steal. He was on point for the Big West Champions, and really made us all proud. Glendora, CA native James Powell wasn't going to leave his Senior year without making some noise as well. JP was the only other SB stud to get into double digits with 11 off the bench.

In the end, the 'Eyes had it. I mean, OSU just looked like a ridiculously bigger team than the Gauchos. I obviously knew we were over matched, but they looked like the Masuda Monarchs were going head to head with Ed O'Bannon's UCLA Bruins, in terms of size. Especially CBS darling Dallas Lauderdale (never trust a guy with two cities in his name). Dallas played 30 minutes and only got 4 points, but his 8 blocks led the OSU block brigade that infuriated the 'Chos in Milwaukee last night. As a team, OSU had 12 blocks, but it seemed like 50.

After finishing the season 20-10 (12-4 in Big West play), UCSB comes back to California with a whole heap of screaming proud Gaucho Loco fans. I wonder if they're flying back into the Santa Barbara airport?! We have a lot to look forward to next season, and I think I can easily call back to back Big West titles for our boys. Orlando Johnson (Big West player of the year, Big West tournament MVP, and clearly our stud of the NCAA tournament) is just a Sophomore. Three others in our starting 5 are Sophomore's this year as well, with the OC's Jaime Serna, James Nunnally, and Will Brew Jr. all coming back for their third year. Jordan Weiner, meanwhile, is going to be entering his final year in 2010/2011. While it will be a hit to lose three boy Paul Roemer and James Powell, we also return Sophomore Super Center Greg "I'm Hungary" Somogyi to help be big in the middle. I think we're in a good position, and we'll be coming back next season with some dudes who have experience in the big dance. It's a win, win.

Enjoy getting bounced out by #10 Georgia Tech tomorrow, Buckeyes.

And props to Northern Iowa for killing everyone's bracket by beating Kansas. Good, good stuff.

Orca trumps Shark.

My wife is from San Jose. I am a gigantic Vancouver Canucks fan. So you can imagine that last night was a night we've been waiting for. The Vannies were 2-8 over their last 10 games against San Jose, but had a chance to bounce back and keep the Sharkies out of the West's #1 while they were at it. They did just that, squeaking out a sweet 3-2 win at home that proved they can roll with the big boys.

A solid opening twenty minutes. There is nothing that quite sets up a nice game like starting with a solid first 20 minutes. The Orca did just that in the opening frame at the garage last night. After an Alex Burrows penalty at 2:45, the Vannies stayed out of the box, and they cashed in two of the three times that the Sharks were off in the sin bin. Perfecto Garcia, as my dad would say. Alex Edler scored on a blue line slapper with the man advantage at 8:31 in the first, and Ryan Kesler (who today signed a huge extension to keep him around until 2016!) scored the other power play tally (his twenty first of the year) at 12:14 after a penalty to Jamie McGinn. That's how you start a game.

And, you have to answer with "Balls." Ryan Johnson has affectionately earned the nickname Balls around Orca Nation due to his amazing propensity to block shots. He may have just had 1 blocked shot against the Teal Warriors last night, but he made good by scoring his first goal of the season (can you believe that?) right after San Jose tried to start the comeback trolly. Ryane Clowe, who indeed is a clown, scored his 17th of the year at the 24 minute mark of game. He easily skated around Christian Ehrhoff and then waited until Luongo was committed before burying his shot into the net. More important, though, was what happened almost 13 minutes later. Ryan Johnson scored a goal that would pretty much seal the deal, putting the Canucks up 3-1, and really pushing back hard after the Sharks thought they'd get back in it.

Always have faith in Luon-gold. Roberto continues to bounce back in games after he has been pulled, and stuffed the Sharks 32 times on 34 shots. I cannot really express how cool some of his saves were in type, but trust me: wow. El Roberto had two stellar glove saves that completely robbed the Nor Cal squad, and stretched his pads out post to post on another save that became highlight reel material. Our captain faced a ton of shots as the game came down, as well, facing 16 in the second and 12 in the third. Talk about holding strong.

Give some props to Michael Grabner. With our boy Samuelsson sitting on the bench with an injury, 22 year old phenom Michael Grabner was ready to jump in and grab himself the spot light. Grabs is like the Brandon Wood of the Canucks. Even since he's been around, he's been anointed as a solid up and coming kid, and now he may finally get his first real shot depending on how long MS is down. The Super Moose took 2 shots, blocked a shot, had 1 takeaway, and finished with a 0 on the +/- (which was actually good when you look at the box score). Keep up the good work, baby.

The Canucks are now 44-24-3 (91 points), and kicking butt in third place in the West (thanks to our division lead). With a +50 goal differential, we are the third best team in the entire NHL (second in the West). In the division, the Vannies now lead the Avs by 5 points, with Calgary falling back by 12, Minnie back by 17, and Edmonton all the way at the bottom (back 42!). After a quick Friday off to watch the NCAA tournament, the Canucks go head to head at home against the Detroit Red Wings (34-23-12). The Wings, enjoyably, are #8 in the West, and are only 1 point up on #10 Calgary. It's always nice to see the NHL's Yankees suck it up! Let's get win #45!

We are now just 2 hours away from UCSB's NCAA tournament opening round game against Ohio State. Can a 15 beat a 2? Either way, I'm ready to get drunk and watch some hoop.

Gauchos win Big West, going dancing.

Are you kidding me? Alumni of UCSB are cheering in disbelief this afternoon after a thrilling 69-64 win against Long Beach State earned the Gauchos the Big West Championship (both regular season and tournament) and handed us a date for the Big Dance. This is freaking incredible.

The last time UCSB went dancing was 2002, when I was a sophomore, and they went down to Arizona (and some terrible officiating). This squad, though, seems to be more of a complete package, and should have fans hoping for a realistic first round win in the NCAA tournament, right? Let's just go with yes. The 49ers were bringing the heat toward the end of the game, but champions James Powell and James Nunnally (my son's name is James! This was meant to be), powered the crew through on the free throw line to seal the deal. OJ, Orlando Johnson, earned the tournament MVP award, as he led the Gauchos through thick and thin against UC Davis in the semifinals and LBSU in the finals.

After a regular season that started slow and ended amazingly, and a following this thrilling tournament, the Gauchos now advance to the NCAA Tournament, with dreams of getting to the Final Four in Indy (come on, let's be crazy optimistic fans). We enter into the Midwest bracket of the tournament, with our opening game in Milwaukee. While we were able to do one better than the last ranked #16 Lehigh Mountain Hawks (they have to face #1 Kansas), we are coming in ranked 15th, which puts us against recent media darlings, Ohio State. March 19, the #7 ranked Big Ten Champions (27-7, 14-4) from the Buckeye State are laying in wait for our mighty Gauchos (20-9, 12-4). This would be one of those shocking upsets that not a single person would pick on their brackets, outside of Isla Vista. So, I ask you: Do you believe in miracles? Can the Gauchos become one of the all time giant killers in NCAA Tournament history? Can Nunnally, Serna, and the boys lift the spirits of Gaucho Nation beyond our wildest dreams? Bring it on!!!

In other Tommy's team news:

> The Celtics dropped their Sunday game against the Cavs 93-104 and are now 10 back of the Cavs, and sitting 4th in the East. Dropping....dropping....

> The Angels and Cubbies are tied at 7 going into the ninth inning in spring training game #9 for the Halos. It's amazing, in this day and age, how hard it is to get a Spring Training box score.

> The Canucks look to keep things going against the Flamers tonight. At 42-23-3 (87 points), the Vannies are primed to hold onto that three spot in the West with 14 to go.

> Celtic won their second straight shutout this weekend, 3-0 over Kilmarnock, but still trail Rangers by 7 in the table. Robbie Keane with the hat trick, as he continue to show he is the best transfer window acquisition ever.

> Newcastle earned a draw with Middlebrough, 2-2, today to keep their lead atop the ELC at 4 over West Brom. How close are we to the season being over so we can get back to the EPL?

Man, blogging is hard now that I'm back to work. If only the LSF paid.

8 is the loneliest number.

There isn't anything quite like beating the Detroit Red Wings, even if they are the #8 team in the Western Conference. Last night, during the continued NHL Center Ice Free Preview, the Canucks kept it real in the motor city, beating the Wings 6-3, chasing the starting goalie Jimmy Howard (or, J-Ho) from the game in favor of the backup Osgood, and keeping 2 points up on the Colorado Avalanche.

Team USA's real MVP gets himself two. How nice was it to see Ryan Kesler get himself some in the game against the Wings? The Livonia, MI native brought the heat in front of his home crowd with the game opening goal from Mason Raymond and a power play goal to seal the deal in the third with Daniel Sedin getting the assist. Kes now has 18 goals on the year, and his 57 points are just 2 shy of his huge 59 from 2008/09. Easily, easily, having the point scoring season of his life. And remember, he hates team Canada. You have to respect that.

A. Burr (ows), pulled off his best shot since killing Alexander Hamilton. The Canucks second goal of the night, not only gave us the lead going into the break after 20, but it was also easily the best goal of the night. My boy AB came flying in front of the net after Daniel Sedin threw a puck toward Howard and tipped the rubber up over the shoulder of the Detroit net minder. I must have gone back and replayed that one five times. The Pincourt, Quebec stud, who has been getting mad interviews during games lately (2 in a row!) not has 28 goals and 26 assists. Just to prove that his career year in 2008/09 wasn't a fluke, Burrows is now rolling with the same number of goals, 3 more assists, and about 19 games to go. How many Orca players are having career years? If Luongo can get to that point, you'd have to have us as a favorite to get to the Western Finals against San Jose (Chicago should bail out before that).

Wellwood is well good. I say it almost every night now, and hopefully I'm starting to shift the mindset. Kyle "Dub Dub" Wellwood scored on a breakaway at 27:11 in the game, getting a pass from Aaron Rome and going in all alone against Howard. He put it in high, and even made Brandon proud for actually coming through on a breakaway. It is fun, isn't it. While the British Columbia media continues to wish we would have traded Welly on deadline day, I'm still happy that my favorite 5'10 center is still around. 9 goals and 9 assists on the year, and he spent plenty of time as a health scratch. Again, I say, I told you so.

Nothing like staying away from that box. Seriously. One of the ways I know the Vannies are playing solid hockey is by looking at how many penalties they take...especially bad penalties. In this game, we escaped with just 3 calls against us, all minors. Alex Burrows earned himself a hold in the second along with Tanner Glass 11 minutes later, and Rick "The Ryper" Rypien got called for a trip at 14:35 of the third. Notice that Shane O'Brien wasn't in the box. Notice that Jannik Hansen wasn't in the box. Notice the lack of too many men calls that Coachie V has Wellwood serve. Solid. Stay out of the box (and score when you have the advantage) and you win games.

Now wer're on the hunt for #40. At 39-22-2 (80 points), the Canucks have kept pace above Colorado (78), Calgary (69), Minnie (66), and whoever (44) in their division. In the West, not only do we maintain our third place slot thanks to leading the division, but we are now no longer sitting with less points than teams behind us. Hoorah! Up above, we have Chicago and San Jose +9 on the 'Nucks, and down below we see the Kings (=), Phoenix (-1), Colorado, Nashville (-7), and #8 Detroit (-10). Good stuff. If the playoffs ended today (which is something I hate hearing), the Canucks would go head to head with the Colorado Avalanche, and that would be a beautiful playoff opening round. Next up is another LSF battle in the trenches, and it's on during a free preview! The 1st place Chicago Blackhawks (42-16-5) welcome the Canucks into town to get it on. This is clearly the most intense rivalry in LSF hockey (mostly because they play each other so often, Buffalo v Vancouver has more history...1970!), and it is so darn fun to watch. The rundown this season: A 3-2 win over Chicago on October 21 (at Chicago), a 0-1 loss on November 22 (at home), and a 5-1 win on January 23 (at home, during the LSF Ultimate Rivalry Week). Now we have the final game of the season series. Can the Vannies get some continued revenge and win the season series 3-1? I'm going to go out a limb and say yes.

How about Vancouver's amazing deadline deals?!?!?!?! Does anyone get the reference to "Elvis!?" Well, the Canucks were pretty active on the March 3 deadline, but it certainly didn't do anything significant.

> Andrew Alberts acquired for a 2010 third round pick. Albers is a D-man from Carolina, and Vancouver is his fourth team in three seasons. This journeyman has 2 goals and 8 assists so far this year in 62 games, but should really just be around to hang out if anyone else on the blue line gets hurt.

> Mathieu Schneider is finally off the roster, and we got a 2010 pick and Sean Zimmerman. Thank you, Phoenix. Mathieu Schneider was an acquisition in the offseason, and we were pretty happy that he would be a 7th blue liner. Well, he got pissed about his lack of playing time, and then decided he wasn't going to play due to "personal reasons." The personal reasons ended up being that he was pissed about his lack of playing time. Um, you have 37 points over your last 3 seasons (and 78 penalty minutes). Hopefully Phoenix enjoys him, and hopefully we can enjoy Zimmerman (another blue liner) if he even hits the ice.

> Brad Lukowich was sent to Manitoba. Shocking. But he has done well with filling in.

> Yan Stastny has come on over for Pierre-Cedric Labrie, showing that the Canucks' deadline deals have been so impressive. Impressive that we don't know who any of these people are. Labrie is a no name minor leaguer, Stastny is a center who was sent straight to the AHL to fill in (sorry, he scored 1 goal in four games for STL this season. NHL quality!).

So, basically the Vannies picked up some dudes just in case we send more stars to the infirmary, got rid of a little waste on the roster, and showed that this team feels that they think we can win the whole thing with the core of group of guys we have. I'm proud, and I'm ready for the final 19 games.

Now here's my list of trades around the NHL that actually do anything for me:

> The Oilers sent Steve Staois for Edmonton for Aaron Johnson. Staois is 36 years old, and this trade just kind of shows that Calgary and Edmonton have straight given up on the 09/10 season.

> The Avs got Stephane Yelle and Harrison Reed from Carolina for Cedric Lalonde-McNicholl and a 6th round pick. Another aging player picked up that I used to hear about in the early 90's. Really? Yelle is going to give you those extra points to beat us.

> Dustin Boyd goes to Nashville from Calgary for a pick. Boyd is gone from Calgary. Further proof that Calgary is giving up.

> Lubomir Visnovsky goes to Anaheim and Ryan Whitney goes to the Oilers. This is probably the first big move that we've seen so far, but it's between two teams that are really out of it. Edmonton is way out of it, and Anaheim is busy pretending they have a chance.

> Kings get Fredrik Modin from Columbus for "future considerations." Will Modin help the Kings in their push to stay in the top 4? Probably, if he stays healthy.

> Raffi Torres comes to Buffalo from Columbus for Paetsch and a seventh round pick. I hate Torres so much from his days on the Oilers, and this really makes me hate the Sabres (partially).

> The Flamers get Toskala from Anaheim for Curtis McElhinney. Toskala is really getting sent all over the place since getting out of San Jose. So...does this put the pressure on Kiprusoff?

> Martin Skoula goes to New Jersey from Toronto, but since I'm not a huge Eastern Conference fan, I'll defer to Andrew and Brandon to give information on this one. How long was Skoula with Toronto? 5 minutes?

> Speaking of Skoula. The Pens got Alexei Ponikarovsky from Toronto for Luca Caputi and Skoula. Ponikarovsky is goine? He's going to be an unrestricted free agent in 19 games, but will Andrew miss him?

> Quickly, other moves that interest me: Jordan Leopold to Pitt from Florida, Kari Lehtonen goes to the Stars from Atlanta (earlier), and of course Ilya Kovalchuk going to New Jersey back in February.

Who cares, right? Go Canucks Go!

So a German guy walks into an overtime...

...and scores the game winning goal against Columbus. It was funny watching the 'Nucks game on the free preview of Center Ice last night because they would keep talking about scoring streaks and things of that nature, but it felt like the NHL season was just starting. That Olympic break really through me off. After 61:33 it was a 4-3 Vancouver victory over Rick Nash and the FS-Ohio darlings of the ice, and it had plenty of positives to take away as we get back to NHL action.

The Ray-zor stays sharp. Bobby Lu got the night off thanks to winning a gold medal, which means Andrew "Ray Ray" Raycroft was between the pipes. If I wouldn't have had my contacts in, I would have thought he was Eric Gagne. 30 shots, 27 saves, and a couple of those saves were Luongo-esque. Despite allowing 3 in the net, he really kept us in the game. Keep in mind that the first goal was on a breakaway after a turnover and the second goal was actually stopped by Ray Ray and then slowly trickled behind him. Forgivable. Especially since he did enough to win.

Po Po returns with the nickname of "Mount Olympus?" Demitra was the leading scorer in the Winter Games with 3 goals and 7 assists in the tournament, and he picked up right where he left off. He got just his second goal of the season, on the power play, with a puck that just seemed to come right to him, and he knew what to do with it. He may have only played 11 games for the Orca so far, but he seems like he's hitting his stride.

When will you finally admit that I told you so about Kyle "Short Bread" Wellwood? I've been pumping this guy up like crazy. He had a great year last season with the 'Nucks (by great, I mean good), and then came out slow here in 2009/10. People were ready to kill the guy, saying that there was no way he was capable of being a good #3 center. I stood by him, and he proved me right for the eighth time this year by pouncing on a puck into the empty net. After assisting Alex Burrows on the first Vancouver goal early in the second (a sweet pass from behind the goal), Welly buried his chance in the later stages of the third that helped the Canucks get to overtime. He's projected to finish with 11 goals and 12 assists if he plays in 73 games, coming up just behind his 27 points in Vancouver last year. Give this guy some credit, British Columbian media.

...and the rest. Let's not let the severely underrated Christian Ehrhoff go without getting mentioned a little more in this post. 12 goals on the year, the Western Conference's best +/- for a defensiveman (+23), and the second most game winning goals for a blue liner in the entire NHL (3). This guy is legit, and we got a steal when we got him. Give praise! Lastly, I would like to point out that Alex Burrows' goal last night helped him tighten his grip as the top goal scorer on the Canucks (27), and in case you forgot, Henrik Sedin is +4 in the Western Conference point race over Joe Thorton.

At 38-22-2 (78 points), the Canucks are +2 on the somehow-still-around Colorado Avalanche. The rest of the division is fading fast, with Calgary -9 of Vancouver, Minnie -14 of Vannie, and Edmonton a beautiful -34 of my boys (34!). We're #3 in the conference, thanks to leading our division, and we see Los Angeles at #4 with 80 points (+2 on us), Phoenix with 79 (+1 on us), and Colorado (76), Nashville (73), and Detroit (70) bringing up the rear. Tonight, we take on that #8 Red Wing franchise. Detroit is 29-21-12 with a home record that would make everyone happy (16-8-5). They may be on a two game winning streak, the Wings are 4-3-3 over their last 10, and have a -4 goal differential (compared to our +43). TGI-Free Center Ice Preview. Let's get it on.

Be sure, I will go through all the deadline deals in my next post, but Raffi Torres to the Sabres? Wow, just when Ryan Miller got me to like them. Oh well.

The first of many overly optimistic Angel posts.

Welcome to the Cactus League, my friends. I know, I know. Hockey season is about to start up with another Center Ice free preview as we get ready for the thrilling stretch run. But once Spring Training starts, I get damned excited. There isn't anything like the first day of a new baseball season, and Spring Training is all about the dramatic build up to that day. Now that the Olympics have ended, and we have 26 more minutes before the Vannies and the Blue Jackets restart the NHL season, it's time to get a little bit of focus onto the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

There are a bunch of questions heading into this season for the Angels, and it's time to take a brief look into my overly optimistic view of my favorite baseball team as we sit just two day away from the opening Cactus League game (against the White Sox on Thursday).

Rotation: This is probably the most talked about question coming into the 2010 season for the Red Hats. The loss of John Lackey to the hated Boston Red Sox has been highly, highly publicized. It has been made out to seem like the largest loss in baseball since the Babe went to the Yankees. Don't get me wrong, it is a big deal. I'm not going to pretend that I didn't like Lackey, I loved him. However, now that he is going to Halo enemy #1, he's made my personal enemy list. If we can figure out how to replace Lack effectively, I think we'll all be happy, and only remember the Texan for his Game 7 World Series victory rather than his Benedict Arnold move to Boston. So, how does this year's rotation measure up? Well, first off, it's definitely better than Seattle's, so don't buy into that hype. The LSF projected Halo rotation for this season is: Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, Scott Kazmir, and newbie Joel Pineiro. That's my projection in order. Let's look at what we can expect. In 2009, our 5 rotation combined for a record of 53-33 (that includes Lackey, Weaver, Joe, Erv, and Kaz as an Angel) with a combined ERA of 3.79. If you grab the numbers of our new 5 from last year as a whole, you get a record of 65-44 (that includes Weaver, Joe, Erv, Kaz as a whole, and Joel) with a combined ERA of 4.35. So, what can we take away from that? To me it means that most of our Ws and Ls are going to be picked up by starters rather than the bullpen. It means that we are either going to lose big or having a stellar pitching effort in our wins. But, most of all, I think it means that the Angels 2010 rotation measures up better than most real media people will realize, or admit. This is a top to bottom solid staff, which is something that the Mariners aren't able to say. Remember, after Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee, the M's have Ryan Rowland-Smith, Ian Snell, and Doug Fister. Give me a break. Our rotation is easily better than there's top to bottom. We'll have to wait and see how the rotation pans out, but I'm going to have to go on the record as saying I'm way more pumped about this rotation than anyone I've talked to. Plus, if we get an opportunity to beat Lackey on the hill in the playoffs, how rad would that be?

Pen: I know we lost David Oliver, an old timer who I really loved, but this rotation is easily going to be better than last year. The Bullpen ERA was 4.49 in 2009, good enough for the 11 spot in the American League. It was a bumpy road for new closer Brian Fuentes, who led the majors in the save category, while blowing 7 of the Angels 19 total blown saves. Of course, the injury to Scot Shields, who was out for the entire season, was a huge hit. While we may lovingly call Scottie "Gas Can," we love him and he'll add to the squad. While Bulger and Jepsen tried to shoulder the load, it was really Darren Oliver who held the pen together. In the brand new season, though, we'll be looking to a new face to try and help pull things together. Fernando Rodney was picked up by the Red Hats. Of course, we have read tons of bad stuff from the regular media about how Rodney isn't going to do anything for us, but is it true? Last season in 73 games, Rod had a 2-5 record with a 4.40 ERA, earning 37 saves and holding down a 1.47 WHIP. Sure, those aren't stellar numbers for the 32 year old Samana, DR native, but is't he going to rebound for us in 2010? In '09, Rodney had 61 Ks in 75.67 innings. In '08 he had 49 Ks in 40.3 innings. In '07 he had 54 Ks in 50.67 innings. I guess what I'm saying is two things. #1) Rodney has the ability to get punch outs when he needs to, which is a thing that we need and #2) Rodney isn't going to be leaned on in the Halo bullpen as much as he was in the Tigers bullpen. We have more in the pen than Detroit, and Rodney should do well with the less responsibilities. But let's be real, the bullpen features: Newbie Brian Stokes (thank you, GMJ) Jason Bulger, Brian Fuentes, Jeps, Matt Palmer, Rodney, Scot Shields, Sean O'Sillivan, and maybe Trevor Bell. Nobody is talking about Stokes, but wouldn't it be fun if he was a huge steal in the deal for Matthews? This is a somewhat young pen, but it is solid. And, we'll have players like Anthony Ortega, Rich Thompson, Raffy Rodriguez and Bobby Mosebach all knocking on the door waiting to get their shot again. The bullpen may be the hottest spot to look at the Spring Training battles, but no matter what happens, we're going to be pretty good with our substitute pitchers.

Batting order: Again, a ton has been made of the loss of Chone Figgins to the 2010 AL West Division Champions from Seattle. It's a tough issue for me to tackle. I always liked Figgy, but I frequently was on his case because of his low OBP for a leadoff hitter. All of the sudden, in 2009, Figgins went nuts and proved me wrong. Who knew he was the kind of guy who would over perform in his contract year? Well, with Figgins gone, we have to move on. So, here we go with my LSF projected Halo batting order for 2010:

1. Erick Aybar (SS)

2. Bobby Abreu (RF)

3. Hideki Matsui (DH)

4. Torii Hunter (CF)

5. Kendry Morales (1B)

6. Juan Rivera (LF)

7. Mike Napoli (C)

8. Howie Kendrick (2B)

9. Brandon Wood (3B)

This should be a big offensive team. I mean, we have a couple of unknowns. One is Brandon Wood. Will the Angels give Woody enough of a shot in 2010 to see if he can actually play ball at the big league level? I'm not sure if the #9 spot is the best place to showcase the talent the Angels think he has, but I don't see where else he can fit with his untested abilities. At least as we get started. The other unknown is Hideki Matsui. Sure he was the World Series MVP, but maybe he would get switched further down the order depending on how he performs this time around. I know we don't have Chone Figgins. I know we don't have Vlad Guerrero. But, this order 1-9 is freaking solid. Reading the order gets me especially pumped up. Keep in mind that we have a bench of Jeff Mathis (my favorite catcher on the team), Mighty Maicer Iztuirs (could easily take over for Wood if he doesn't do well, which should light a fire under Woods' butt), Reggie Willits (part of the second best battle in Spring Training, to see who would be the fourth outfielder), and possibly Terry Evans (wouldn't it be nice to finally see Terry getting some ABs to prove we were the top team in the Jeff Weaver deal a couple of years back?). Don't forget about Robb Quinlan. Although he was offered an invite to Spring on a minor league contract, I expect him to be around. I feel absolutely objective when I say that there is no offense in the AL West even close to ours, and since the pitching is a little under the radar, it will be this offense that carries us on to the title.

Alright, well, Thursday at 2:05 pm on MLB Network, the Halos start their preseason schedule against the Chicago White Sox (never forget Doug Eddings and that dropped ball in the ALCS!). Can't friggin' wait.

For now, on to hockey.

My 5 Vancouver things #10.

The closing ceremonies are in the books ("Look at those giant inflatable beavers"), the US earned a tough to take silver in the final event, and we wrap up our second Olympic games coverage with Vancouver's tenth post.

#1: Canada wins when it counts, beats US for hockey gold. That was a helluva game. The US and Canada worked their way to a rematch after we beat the hosts in round robin play 5-3, and this time it was for the ultimate Olympic prize: the men's hockey gold medal. The main event of these games surely didn't disappoint. After getting the lead on a Jonathan Toews lucky goal in the first, the Canadians doubled their pleasure on a goal from Corey Perry. Despite being down by a pair, the American fans seemed to have an unrealistic hope in their hearts. We were playing hard, and the hosts got a couple of breaks. Five and a half minutes after the Perry goal, my Livonia, MI boy did some magic. Kesler scored on an assist from Patrick Kane (who were two pieces of my favorite US line, by far), and the game would go to the third 1-2. It was a long push, and with Bobby Lu between the pipes, things looked bleak for the US. Amazingly, though, with Ryan Miller on the bench and an extra attacker on the ice, Zach Parise scored a goal that would send our entire country into a frenzy. Word is that Silky's erupted. Andrew walked into his San Fran apartment just in time to see the magic. My seven week old son saw what had the potential to be one of the biggest American hockey goals since 1980. It didn't really turn out that way. In overtime, Jarome Iginla passed the puck to Sidney Crosby, Crosby took a shot from a bad angle, and the puck was in the net behind Ryan Miller for the Canadian gold. It was fun to see the fans going nuts, but it sure did hurt to see our boys lose. You can ask so many questions. Why didn't Ryan Miller cover the post better? Why wasn't someone there to hit Crosby or pin Iginla? Why?? Well, I think the better thing is to be proud. Be proud of the American team, and give a nice clap for the Canadians. It was a game for the ages, and we did our best. Silver is something to be very proud of. Chins up. And big ups to Ryan Miller for getting the tournament MVP.

#2: The perfect Canadian curlers go 9-0 to earn the gold. As if you couldn't have guessed it. The Canadian curlers beat the funny pants squad from Norway to earn gold with a big 6-3 win in just 9 ends. It was a welcome victory after the Canadian women lost their gold medal game against Sweden by giving up 3 points in the 10th and 11th. Marc Kennedy and the Maple Leafers earned just one 2 point end in the game, but did well enough to remain on their perfect streak and capture the gold medal in the nation's second most popular sport.

#3: China actually does pretend they had a great Olympics. Did you catch the Sports Pickle link from my last post? It was about the Chinese government reporting that their nation was having an amazing games. Well, guess what? It actually came true! The Chinese are calling their 11 medals at the games a "breakthrough." Here's the "Yahoo!" story.

#4: Did I mention Finland beat my Slovaks to win the bronze. Sami Salo's home country made sure that a Canuck player would be on each medal winning team by beating my underrated team of the games from Slovakia. The Fins rode goals from Niklas Hagman, Olli Jokinen, and Valtteri Fippula to spark a thrilling third period comeback win, 5-3. While fans of the Slovaks will say that there was a lot of penalty help for the Fins, I just say it was good ol' solid hockey. Way to go after all the medals, Canuckleheads.

#5: The final medal count is in. It's kind of a controversial debate to decide who actually won the medal count in these Olympic games. The US finished with the most overall medals, earning 37 total (9 golds, 15 silvers, and 13 bronzes). We finished tied for third in the gold medal race, which was won by Canada. The Canadians finished with an overwhelming 14 gold medals, 4 more than Germany (who came in second with 10 golds and with 30 overall medals). So, do you count the fact that the US' medal count was powered by getting 6 more bronze medals than any other country (and 2 more silvers, for that matter)? Or, do you consider the greatest of these games to be based on the fact that the host country's national anthem was played three more times than any other anthem? It is a question I will leave to my readers. In reality, though, I'm the only one reading this, so I'll say: USA all the way!

All in all, it was a completely fun time in Vancouver. Memories of the hockey games, the horrible US curling team, some fun to watch speed skating, thrilling nordic combined, and downright intense figure skating will live on in our hearts for years to come. For now, it's onward to Sochi in 2014!

LSF's "What 2 Watch 4 2night": With the Olympic games coming to an end, the what to watch for will turn our focus back to the NHL and MLB. In hockey, we return to the finish of what has been an exciting season. We get welcomed back to the season with a week long free preview of NHL Center Ice, a continuation of the Vannies road trip from hell, and a crazy rivalry match this Friday between Ryan Kesler and Patrick Kane. In baseball, we gear up for the 2010 season with the fun loving boys of Spring Training. With MLB Network dropping 30 teams in 30 days on us, and LSF bringing the heat to prepare you for the big 162 of this new year, you will be more than ready for another Angels AL West Championship run.

Welcome back.