Division Winners
East
Atlantic – Pittsburgh
Northeast – Boston
Southeast – Washington
Conference finals – Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia in a bitter, thrilling battle for Pennsylvania
Upstart team - Tampa Bay
The NHL season gets underway on Thursday night with four games. Most of you probably don’t care very much, and hockey is far from my favorite sport as well, but it’s still good to watch, and can be very good to bet as well, so it is worth a look. That’s just what we’ll do for the next two days. Today we’ll look for interesting value in the futures odds, and tomorrow we’ll make some bold predictions.
NBA free agency is underway, but it doesn’t get going nearly as aggressively as it does in the NHL. The free agency period starts at noon eastern time on July 1st, and money flies around like crazy. The 30 teams in the NHL have spent more than a billion dollars in the last three years combined on the first day alone, and this year was no slower. Here’s a look at the impact of the big deals today and those that came just before players became free agents:
Boston fans are feeling hungry again. Earlier this decade they were laying claim to being “Title Town, USA.” And they certainly got used to some winning. The Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and 2007. But since then they have lost some pop, including Manny Ramirez. They are currently a .500 team. The Boston Celtics were last year’s NBA champs and looked good early this season. But now Kevin Garnett is out and they are struggling just to stay even with the Chicago Bulls. The New England Patriots won three Super Bowls earlier in the decade. They were cruising to another two years ago until the NY Giants snuck it away in the last minute.
The idea of “team history” is often statistically meaningless in sports.
Some teams DO dominate others over the course of twenty years. But does that mean anything for the current players, if none of them were on the team twenty years ago? That’s the question that may be on the line for the San Jose Sharks. They are facing off against the Anaheim Ducks in the first round of their playoff pursuit of the Stanley Cup.
The NHL playoffs get underway tonight. As a Canadian I am legally obligated to be a hockey fan, so this is always a bit of an exciting time of year. I don’t think that there is a championship any harder for a team to win than the Stanley Cup. This should be a very good playoff tournament as well – there are several teams that are legitimate contenders in each conference, and no clear, runaway favorite. That being said, I don’t think that the first round is particularly interesting this year. Actually, it’s a bit dull. In my mind seven of the eight higher seeds are legitimate favorites to should be able to come out ahead if they play their game, and the eighth, New Jersey, can as well as long as they play up to their potential. Here’s a quick look at each series:
I’ve probably mentioned this before, but I live in Calgary, the home of the Flames. I went to the Flames game tonight with a buddy, and it was a very good lesson in the challenges of sports betting. There was absolutely no reason not to pick the Flames tonight. Calgary was the hottest team in the league, securing 23 of the last 26 possible points. They were next to unbeatable at home. They had split the season series so far this year over two games, with the road team winning both games. Those games hadn’t happened since the beginning of November, though, so both teams were different than they were then – Phoenix was a bit worse, and Calgary was much, much better. Calgary was the -203 favorite in the game, and the game was being broadcast on Hockey Night in Canada – a very strong position for a Canadian team. On top of that, Calgary had played their best game of the year on Thursday, and it was perhaps the best game any team had played all year. They beat San Jose in San Jose, and they became the first team all season to do that. In short, Calgary was as close to a lock as a team can be.
So, the question is, “How much football can you watch?” The answer is, “A lot.” But if the gridiron scene is starting get a bit old like this week’s Christmas turkey leftovers, here are a few events that are certainly worth a look if not a watch.
The games that are likely most compelling this weekend both for sports bettors and fans:
NCAA Basketball
Saturday
Butler at Ohio State - Both teams are undefeated, and both teams are looking to prove that they are for real. Butler beat up on the Buckeyes two years ago when they played, and the Bulldogs are undefeated on the road, so this one should be fun.
Memphis at Georgetown – This is Georgetown’s first real game since they lost to Xavier. They have a lot to prove. Georgetown similarly has had one big test – Tennessee – and they failed it pretty badly. Both teams were highly regarded coming into the season, but a second loss here will hurt one of them in the public’s eye.
Oral Roberts at UNC – Oral Roberts is truly terrible defensively. North Carolina is ridiculously good. It will be fun to see just how bad this one gets.
Xavier at Cincinnati - A great in-city rivalry between two teams that don’t much like each other.
Sunday
Gonzaga at Arizona – Chase Budinger is much improved this year, but he needs to show that on a big stage. This would certainly count.
Now that the the Stanley Cup finals are just around the corner, people may actually start paying attention to Canada’s obsession. Hockey doesn’t get a lot of love, but this final should be enough to please even the most skeptical fan. Both Pittsburgh and Detroit are very good teams that are poised to entertain. As I am getting ready for the series to start on Saturday there are a few things in the hockey world that are interesting and relevant:
