Friday, April 21, 2006

Bloggers, Start Your Keyboards! It's Playoff Time

My goodness, it's upon us and I don't know if I'm prepared. Just like when Christmas looms, and the shopping has barely begun. Though the liquor is usually pre-bought, with plenty of time to spare, to boot.

Starting tonight, and for pretty much every night -- possibly for the next six or seven weeks -- there'll be either a Red Wings or Pistons playoff game on the schedule. Sometimes both on the same day. That means ne'er-do-wells and scufflaws like bloggers and other online journalists will be accelerating their destiny with carpal tunnel, feverishly typing to give you our takes on the happenings -- because we all know you have no opinions of your own, and need us to formulate them. At least you'd think that, for how some of us cram this stuff down your throats. Of course, you don't have to click on us, so maybe part of the blame lies on you. Blame the victim, I always say!

The Red Wings open with Edmonton tonight, and the Pistons follow suit on Sunday against Milwaukee. Both of Detroit's opponents have a combined population of about 1,000, but neither team should be underestimated. It's never more so than in the first round. However, the NBA sees far fewer opening round "upsets" than the NHL. And no wonder. The Oilers accumulated 95 points this season. No playoff hockey team this year has anything close to a losing record, while the NBA has let some dregs into its postseason party this spring.

The Oilers are about as dangerous a team as you'll play in Round One, but then we seem to say that every year about the Red Wings' first-round opponent, don't we? Maybe because the last time we poo-pooed a first-rounder, it was the Sharks in 1994. And we're STILL not completely over that one, despite it being three Stanley Cups ago.

The Pistons, I'm much less concerned about. I see a breeze into the Conference Finals, and even there I'm not all that wound up. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank the Miami Heat for doing away with small forward/guard Eddie Jones -- the one player in the postseason that would have injected fear into me. So I guess we'll see our basketball team in the NBA Finals.

Those start, by the way, sometime around June 8. Only 48 days from now.

Honey, how's the liquor situation coming along, anyway?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

With all the late games on the west coast, my coffee maker finds itself working overtime this time of year. Silly NHL, putting the Wings in the West....