NHL Playoff Second Round Picks

Given how insane and unpredictable the first round was, I feel pretty confident in my picks. I nailed one of the series - Blues over Sharks in five - and picked the right team in a few others: the Rangers, Devils and Coyotes all moved on. And I'll admit, I was completely, 100 per cent wrong in my Canucks-in-four pick. Although did anyone see the Kings just obliterating the team with the NHL's best record?

What's interesting to me is how close the first round was. 16 games went into overtime, with three of those going to a second OT. Altogether, 32 games were decided by one goal! I don't remember there ever being a first round this exciting, this close and this much fun to watch. And yes, I'm including 1993, the best NHL postseason ever. It sets a high bar for the second round. Picks follow the jump.

Flashfact: The Insane, amazing and dirty-as-hell first round

My latest for Flashfact is on the first week of NHL Playoff action, which ranged from the amazing to the insane to the dirty-as-fuck.

One thing I didn't mention for space reasons is the Blues/Sharks series. It's been close, with some fun and exciting finishes but I'm digging CBC trying to find a fully-bearded Jon Hamm in the private boxes. It's been a while since the Blues seemed this noteworthy.

But that's hardly the only thing. From my piece:

What the hell am I supposed to make of the NHL playoffs thus far? On one hand, we have some of the dirtiest series in years, some of the worst hits I can remember and at least a couple good games that went completely off the rails.

But on the other hand, the hockey has been ridiculously exciting, especially with regards to the amount of overtime, and ratings are up across the board. All of these series have been exciting to watch. So why is everyone calling them the dirtiest playoffs ever?

They led with hockey on Pardon the Interruption the other day, which almost never happens, even during the Stanley Cup Finals. But Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon didn’t talk about the overtimes, high-scoring offences or Backstrom’s laser-guided wrister against Boston. They talked about Sidney Crosby playing with a glove, about a basket full of dirty hits and brawling and wondered if the league is out of control.

Click here to read the whole thing! 

Flashfact: Hollywood, from top to bottom and back again

My latest for Flashfact looks at Robert Evans' memoir of being one of Hollywood's most colourful figures. You might remember The Kid Stays in the Picture as a pretty good documentary, but it's a fun read with way, way more details than the movie.

But as I wrote over there, his candor is what makes this book so much fun to read. He's not out to glamorize himself or try and correct an image problem. He doesn't seem to give a shit and almost never holds back, least not on himself. From my piece:

Evans drops names, takes credit for successes and points fingers like it’s going out of style. Anyone with an ego like his should have written a book only half this fun. It’s saving grace is Evans attitude towards himself: he’s never shy about his fuck-ups over the years. His candor is surprising. He’s more than willing to explain what he did wrong and to call himself out on it; watch how often he calls something his biggest mistake.

I enjoyed the hell out of this book, even as he praised scummy people like Henry Kissinger - no small feat. Click here to read the whole thing at Flashfact.

The Good Point: Love for MVP? Plus NHL Playoff Picks!

My latest for The Good Point looks at why Kevin Love is getting attention in the NBA's Most Valuable Player race, despite being outplayed in almost every way by LeBron James. To wit:

By almost any standard basketball metric, LeBron James is the best player in the NBA right now. He has the highest Player Efficiency Rating at 30.7 and 12.2 Win Shares; best in the league. On his own team, he’s putting up better numbers than the other 60 percent of the big three, especially in shooting stats like True Shooting or Effective Field Goal percentages.

In other words, James is putting up better numbers than anyone in the league, is the best player on his team, itself one of the NBA’s best. This guy should be a shoo-in for MVP, right?

So why is Kevin Love getting to much attention right now?

 Click here to read the whole thing!

And while you're here, click here to read my Good Point review of Chad Harbach's The Art of Fielding!

Finally, my annual NHL Playoff picks follow the jump.