TrueBlue4ever

If you make a pick and then want to change it, is that possible? Can't seem to figure out how.

WEST (before Matt Nichols' injury, was tempted to have 4 teams tied at 11-7 on top of the division, and pick names out of a hat to rank them) Edmonton 12-6 (a healthy Mike Reilly for the whole year and the possibility of a home Grey Cup gives them top spot) Calgary 12-6 (lots of personnel changes, but it hinges on the health of Bo Levi Mitchell's shoulder) Saskatchewan 10-8 (worse than Winnipeg except for the record, and that has to do with Nichols' injury. Still, hate him or hate him, Chris Jones finds a way to get results with his teams, and I may be the only one who thinks Collaros is not washed up - we shall see. After all, I said last year that BC's Jennings would be league MVP - oops.) Winnipeg 9-9 (with a pure rookie at QB, they start 1-4 and then it takes Nichols a few games to shake the rust off, so they end up at .500 but peak heading into the playoffs, and land the best-case scenario of a crossover spot. The Bombers are better than last year thanks to the addiction of Bighill, but it actually means fewer wins - in the regular season, at least) BC 8-10 (not a bad team, but can't compete with the horses in the West, where 8 of their 10 losses come from) EAST (another year, another crossover, and for most of the year the worst team in the West challenges the best team in the East for a better record) Toronto 10-8 (Marc Trestman continues his CFL magic with the ageless Ricky Ray, and James Wilder Jr. has a massive year with the NFL as his motivation) Hamilton 8-10 (the wild card this year that could finish anywhere from 1st to 3rd in the division, but I sense a QB controversy early will keep them below .500) Ottawa 7-11 (Trevor Harris continues to put up big numbers and look flashy, but it doesn't translate into wins) Montreal 5-13 (lots of big money signings, but no chemistry and no legit QB means last overall again) DIVISION SEMI-FINALS Calgary over Saskatchewan Winnipeg over Hamilton DIVISION FINALS Edmonton over Calgary Winnipeg over Toronto GREY CUP Head and heart still wrestling over this one - what the hell, Nichols returns to his original stomping grounds and hoists the Cup. Winnipeggers pull an Ovechkin and frolic in the fountains of Winnipeg. Which in reality looks more like a 10,000 person beer-bottle-spraying shower celebration at Portage and Main in minus 20 degree weather. AWARDS James Wilder Jr. (TOR) over Mike Reilly (EDM) for MVP Alex Singleton (CAL) over Brad Sinopoli (OTT) for best Canadian (Andrew Harris is actually the 2nd best Canadian this year, but west vs.east, you know) Adam Bighill (WPG) over Shawn Lemon (TOR) for defensive MOP Some big guy from Toronto over some big guy from Calgary for best O-lineman Felix Menard-Briere (OTT) over some newbie from BC or Saskatchewan for best rookie Chris Rainey (BC) over Liram Hajrullahu (TOR) for best special teams player Justin Medlock wins the scoring title

OK, time to make predictions for the team standings, playoff results, and award winners. And try to remember that if you put in records, make sure that the number of wins and losses are equal. ;-)

With Washington's win, Alexander Ovechkin now can say "you can win a cup with Ovechkin on your team". So now that he gets his name engraved on the trophy, who is the "best player never to win a Cup" currently playing in the NHL, and who is the best who never won who is retired? For current players, potential nominees include Steven Stamkos, Henrik Lundqvist, Joe Thornton, and if their droughts continue for a few more years, Carey Price and Connor McDavid. All time, names that spring to mind include Marcel Dionne, Gilbert Perrault, Michel Goulet, Dale Hawerchuk, Eric Lindros, and maybe Jerome Iginla and Paul Kariya. Thoughts? Anyone I missed?

At least he shot first in this one. Oops, is that a spoiler alert? Well, given how weak the praise is, who cares?

I believe the term is "game manager", according to all the tall foreheads at TSN.

5 burning questions: 1. Nichols is the undisputed key to all of our success and Grey Cup hopes this year, and has largely been healthy during his tenure. But Darian Durant's retirement has left a big hole in our depth. Who (if anyone) steps up to give us confidence that we have a capable back-up that can carry us if needed after all of these years of poor QB development? 2. Has Adam Bighill single-handedly transformed last year's at times porous defence into a championship caliber squad, or will he suffer from NFL malaise and overhype? Can one player make that big a difference? 3. With the offensive weapons we acquired on top of last year's assets, which high profile incumbent, new signing, or prized draft pick does not make the cut? 4. With all of the free agent signings, little time has been spent talking about the losses, and of those losses, the quietest and yet possibly biggest loss (figuratively and certainly based on actual size) was Travis Bond on the o-line. He was the "nasty" that transformed that whole line into one of the league's best. Who replaces him, and how does the whole line suffer without his presence? 5. Injuries: Leggett and LaFrance have not hit the field yet, just how bad are their injuries, and do they survive past other cuts if they are looking like long-term injuries?

That Travis Yost tweet is almost completely inaccurate. #1 scorer - Jonathan Marchessault: expansion draft from Florida #2 scorer - Reilly Smith: trade with Florida to ensure Vegas picked Marchessault in the draft #3 scorer - William Karlsson: expansion draft from Columbus #4 scorer - Alex Tuch: trade with Minnesota to ensure Vegas didn't pick Eric Staal or a young defenseman in the draft #5 scorer - James Neal: expansion draft from Nashville #6 scorer - Eric Haula: expansion draft from Minnesota #1 scoring defenseman - Shea Theodore: trade with Anaheim to ensure Vegas picked Clayton Stoner in the draft #1 goalie and probable MVP - Marc-Andre Fleury: expansion draft from Pittsburgh

As the primary tenants of the arena, I would think the Knights have some say in the scheduling of stuff, as since the league mandates practice times, media availability, locker room access and such for both teams, this is one area I would say they need to step in and take control of the situation and not allow "random" workers to manipulate things to clearly mess with one team.

So the Knights are pulling out the hijinks outside the games as well, on top of the ear tickling stuff in game. Day of Game 1, when the Jets had their morning skate, 2 maintenance workers were on the ice holding things up and cutting into the practice time and wouldn't leave when asked. On the off-day, yellow caution tape was put up blocking access to the ice when the Jets arrived for their optional skate. Today, during the Jets' allotted ice time, the lights in the arena were turned off. It's kind of sad but expected when fans do the disrupting, like fire alarm pulls in the visitors hotel at 2 am, but for the club itself to try this kind of nonsense is pure bush league stuff and needs to be addressed by the league.

Wednesday, CBC, Sportsnet, NBCSN at 8:00 p.m. Tagline: "Pinawa Dam at Hoover Dam" Storyline: Jets try to avoid the Vegas flu and re-take control of the series. Quote: “What happens in Vegas (on the road) stays in Vegas (on the road)" - every bachelor party ever Quote #2: "Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas.....No, this is not a good town for psychedelic drugs. Reality itself is too twisted" - Hunter S. Thompson Fun facts: Winnipeg is 8-1 in the playoffs when they score the first goal, 1-4 when they do not.....Vegas is 7-1 when scoring first, 2-2 when they don't......in the regular season, the top 6 teams in winning percentage when they scored the first goal were Tampa Bay (.837), Vegas (.829), Washington (.811), Nashville (.804), Winnipeg (.787) and Boston (.784).....the top 4 teams in winning percentage in the regular season when scored upon first were Boston (.467), Tampa (.462), Winnipeg (.428) and Washington (.422) - Vegas was sixth (.415) and Nashville twelfth (.387).

Did anyone notice in Nashville that when the handshake line-up was occurring they were playing the guitar anthem from "Top Gun"? Swear to God. Not sure they were doing it for the Jets' benefit as much as it was a salute to the Preds for their season, but the irony was delicious.

I keep the title straight-laced and try to dress up the tagline, but please feel free to add your input. Loved the Knights of the Roulette Table as well, keep them coming! Team effort makes it better.

I may have a run of these types of quotes in the game previews as the world discovers just how good the Jets are this year.

Surprised at the negativity from the HNIC panel. Saying the Jets didn't play their best game and that Vegas was the better team in the 3rd period. Thought the Jets played textbook lockdown hockey in the final frame after their big start. They were never really in danger tonight, and played a solid defensive game (only 21 shots against) when they should have been tired after 7 tough games and a late flight.

Based on quality scoring chances, game one could have been about 8-2.

Fast enough for you, Floyd?

Monday, CBC, Sportsnet, NBCSN at 7:00 p.m. Tagline: "Sin City vs. River City" Storyline: After a quick start and workmanlike performance in a Game 1 win, the Jets look to continue feeding off of the whiteout and take a 2-0 lead into T-Mobile, as the rest of the NHL and the American media start to take notice of the whiteout pandemonium and the top team still remaining in the playoffs. Quote: “They're like a pack of wolves the way they keep coming at you" - Ken Hitchcock on the Jets Quote #2: “Who are these guys?" - Paul Newman and Robert Redford repeatedly in "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid" Fun facts: Marc-Andre Fleury only gave up 3 first period goals in his first 10 playoff games this year before giving up 3 against the Jets on Saturday.......the Jets playoff opponents so far had 101, 117, and 109 points in the regular season for a total of 327, the second highest total in NHL history for the first 3 rounds (LA in 2014 faced San Jose, Anaheim and Chicago and their total of 334 points....Saturday's appearance on NBC was the first time ever the Jets appeared on American network TV....the decibel meter in Bell-MTS Centre hit 112.4 on Thursday night at the viewing party as the Jets wrapped up their series against Nashville, with only about 7,000 fans in the building.....Winnipeg and Vegas are the first two rookie participants in the Western Conference Final since Anaheim and Minnesota in 2003.....with 8 years of combined residency in their respective cities, this is the youngest franchise match-up in the playoffs since Colorado (1st year) and Florida (2nd year) met in the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals....this is the first time either team has trailed in a playoff series this year.

As long as you and I know it's in good fun, no harm done. Go Jets go!

I'd respond, but I fear the mods would delete my post (however humorous and defusing) again and keep selected ones from my critics.

Thursday, CBC, Sportsnet, MSNBC at 7:00 p.m. Tagline: "Music City vs. River City" Storyline: Game 7, 'nuff said. Quote: “It doesn't matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going" - Brian Tracy Quote #2: “There is no tomorrow! There is no tomorrow!" - Apollo Creed Fun facts: Nashville is still 0-8 when losing the first game of a series (I'll keep throwing this one out as long as I have to)........Winnipeg has played 2 prior game 7's in their NHL history dating back to 1.0 days; both times they lost after having never trailed in the series up to that point....... There have been 60 playoff games played in the last 5 years on 2 days' rest, the team that lost the game prior to the 2 days off won the next game 40 times (courtesy CBC, not independently fact-checked).......Since the introduction of the 7 game series for all rounds of the playoffs, no team has ever won the Stanley Cup without winning at least one overtime game, the closest any team got was the 2000 New Jersey Devils, who did not play an overtime game until they lost game 5 of the Finals against Dallas in extra time, and then they won the Cup in double overtime of game 6....the last team to win the Cup without winning (or even playing) in OT were the 1983 New York Islanders.......Andrei Vasilevsky (52) and Connor Hellebuyck (51) have joined the 50+ wins club this year (counting regular season and playoff games), there has never been a year when 3 goalies have all reached that mark - Pekka Rinne is at 49 wins right now (Brayden Holtby is the one other goalie with a shot to hit that mark - the Caps would need to win the Stanley Cup with him winning all the games for him to hit 50 on the nose).....Since the creation of the NHL in 1918, the #1 and #2 teams overall in the regular season have played a game 7 in the playoffs only 7 times (or 8, if you ignore the tiebreaker system the NHL has in place, see below), the underdog has won the 7th game only once: 1938: Boston (1) over New York Rangers (2) in the semi-finals (in double OT on a Mel Hill goal - his 3rd OT goal of the series) in the first ever game 7 in NHL history 1941: Boston (1) over Toronto (2) in the semi-finals 1954: Detroit (1) over Montreal (2) in the Cup final in OT (the second of only two game 7 OT winners in Cup finals history - 1950 being the first - as Tony Lestwick deflects a shot off of Doug Harvey's glove and into the net, making it the second-most infamous own goal by a defenseman in NHL playoff history - thanks Steve Smith) 1955: Detroit (1) over Montreal (2) in the Cup final again 1987: Edmonton (1) over Philadelphia (2) in the Cup final 1994: New York Rangers (1) over New Jersey (2) in the Conference Finals (In double OT - Matteau! Matteau! Matteau!) 2017: Pittsburgh (2) over Washington (1) in the Division Finals Special case - 2001: Colorado (1) over New Jersey (2 - technically 3rd because they had the same number of points as Detroit but fewer wins) in the Cup Final (Bourque finally wins one)

Some of us have actual jobs and are more concerned with paying bills than the outcome of a random hockey game, but I'll get right on that for you, my Highness.

Full credit to the ingenious people at the street party and their signs.