Enter Blue Guy

The Joe has been a horrible building for the Pens. Ok, it's been a horrible building for anybody without a winged emblem (the wings of a penguin don't count). Even if Pittsburgh forces game seven, even if they blow them out on Tuesday... The most skilled team of the modern era, with an extra day of rest, playing in a building that has been more like a prison for most teams, who would love to give the fans the Cup clinching win at home that they didn't get last year. Is it too bold to add Detroit Red Wings hockey in there with death and taxes? I guess you can't count out the team that has Batman and Superman on it's roster. Only problem is their goalie turns into Robin playing at Detroit.

Spoiler: Click here to view Great stoppage. Like Fitzy said, Rogers would have just followed up and made it into something devastating. A pretty one sided card all around. Not a bad thing, Shields gets showcased, Rogers has his coming out party, Diaz hasn't missed a beat, and Baroni gets his mouth shut. What does Arlovski do now? I can't be one of those who say that a weak jaw proves true again, I mean Rizzo, Sylvia, Fedor, even Rogers, these are heavy hitters, how can you fault a guy's jaw if he drop from a clean shot from them? I think it's only fair we chalk it up to a stylistic and technical deficiency. Flip camps maybe? And finally, can we PLEEEEEEEEASE have Nick Diaz vs somebody on his level. Nick, Dana, UFC, whatever beef you guys have, settle it, and draw up a contract ASAP. You need each other. Nick, come home and fight the best, please. For fight fans everywhere.

The only things I remember about Baumgartner were that he'd fight anything that was breathing and he looked a lot like Kelly Gruber. That's right. I dusted off Kelly Gruber's name and threw it out there.

Zezel gave it all, man, skating around the ice like a bull. I remembered he had almost like a cult following. Reading and hearing what people have to say about him, I guess I remember correctly. I loved him, but then again my dad tells me I used to like Kent Manderville too because he had big, goofy ears, so I guess it wasn't hard for me to buy into a player. I was at the Gardens for one of my first games and Zezel did something of note and I stood up a yelled something like "Yay Peter Zezel!". The guy in front of us turned around and introduced himself as Peter Zezel's dad. So that was pretty cool. My heart truly aches for his family. 44, gone way too soon.

RIP Peter Zezel!

My 205 picture would go like this; Rashad vs. Franklin... again, if Franklin wins. I think Wand is a better opponent for Rashad, but if Wand wins I fully support a move down to 185. Maybe a bit premature as these guys could easily be favorites for the next title shot and it looks like there will be a quite a bit of time to kill til that goes down. Vera vs. Thiago Silva... I really like Vera. As a fighter and as a person. Just a great rep for the sport with a super personality. He needs a big win and I like him in the aggressive fight and Silva would be the kind of opponent who will bull straight forward and give Brandon the fight he wants. Silva is strong coming in, but Vera is a tricky dude and I'd like him in this to show his craftiness, poise, and his killer striking, making him come off like a million bucks against a very tough opponent. Shogun vs. Jardine... Nobody is sold on Shogun like they were two years ago. Jardine is the perfect test for Shogun, IMO. He'll need to practice his self control and be smart defensively, the two technical aspects of Shogun's game that kill him the most. Otherwise Jardine will pick him apart. A convincing win here and my doubts about Shogun will be eased a bit. Matt Hamill vs. Luis Cane... A solid, unpredictable fight to give either one of these guys a boost up the ladder. Hamill should be perfectly able to power Cane to his back and beat him up from there at some point, but Hamill has been known to catch real bad cases of sitting duck syndrome. Luis could just as easily be the first guy to KO Matt, a great way for folks to forget the Cantwell fight which was much more back and forth than people expected.

Shogun is a good choice, but I really like the idea of Franklin vs. Evans if Rich puts Wandy away first.

Maybe a similar approach, but a different opponents for sure. They have their similarities. They're unorthodox counter fighters, their reaction time second to none, and have pin point accuracy. Anderson doesn't mind fighting off his opponents from whatever scenario he winds up in. If a guy is pressuring and is willing to engage, Silva will not shy away from meeting him and doing what he has to. Lyoto is much more in control of his opponents because he simply won't allow them to touch him. And he wants to keep it that way. Anderson is willing to let his opponents take an inch if it means getting that whole mile in the end, even if his opponent builds some momentum up in the process. Lyoto is 100% "fuck that, FLAWLESS VICTORY!" I lost the point of why I posted this, so I'm just going to end by saying Page will most likely be danced around the cage, led by Machida for how ever long it takes Machida to find a finish.

I wasn't paying any attention, but did any teams get shafted for like three Hockey Night in Canada's last season? Because the Leafs did. I don't know why, I don't care, but this should never happen again unless we are invited to participate in a Winter Classic in exchange.

The spoiler window has to be closed now, right? I agree Rampage is a perfect opponent for Machida solidify himself even more as the best at 205. Pages leaves little of his movements to anticipation. Most often he is coming straight in, like Biggz said, he doesn't check leg kicks. In fact it's rare he is covering up anything but his head and I can see Machida doing the most damage with kicks to the body. Page has those loopy snap hooks and uppercuts that are very difficult to read and connect with crushing force, which means Machida will roll the dice whenever he comes in. I don't know if Page throws at a speed that can catch Machida coming in, though, he may just leave himself open to get popped. I'd say Page's best bet would be to watch a shitload of tape, then put together a strategy where he can lure Machida into attack, try (or pray) to take minimal damage, and catch him with one of those patented heatseekers under the radar while Lyoto is backpedaling. Try to time it so him can sock him on the way out. He may at least have an opportunity to get Machida up against the fence and to work from there. I mean that that's really the only way I can see Quinton having any success against him.

In spoiler tags, just incase were still inside the spoiler tag window Spoiler: Click here to viewI thought Rashad would have the best chance of getting a hold of Machida. Nope. A mix of Machida being greased lightning and Evans giving up too much range. He just hung out while Rashad did a bit of shadow boxing, then he'd move in with his crazy karate sequences were everything connects. Machida is routinely making his opponents look like amateurs. Bring on Page, I don't know if I like his chances any better than Rashad's to be honest. If I'm Page, though, I'm working on a gritty and dirty strategy that is going to put Lyoto in lockdown against the fence. Seriously, good luck with that, but trying to win a straight up stand up battle against Machida is a lost cause unless you can some how wear him out and dumb down that quick step first. Which nobody has been able to do yet. As for the co-main event, when the fight started it look Hughes looked like he has ready to go old school farmer boy bully on Serra. The accidental head butt and shots that followed made him loopy and he was never able to really recover. It's a credit to his durability and experience that he was able to get his head together quick enough to survive that round. You could tell Hughes was out of it for the rest of the fight and you don't have to like his LnP tactics, but can you blame the guy? He was hurt already and feeling Serra's shots whenever they connected, getting the fight to a position where he was most comfortable and keeping it there was Hughes' best option. Not the most exciting fight, but the fact Hughes looked like he could be dropped at any time when they were standing kept Serra a relevant opponent and made the bout more interesting than it had any right being. Other that, good win for Edgar making Sherk look pretty ordinary. I had a feeling that the loss to Gray would be huge, but Frankie has two big, back to back wins now and is back in the picture. And so much for the human highlight reel that is Professor X making any impact in the UFC. Just feed him Alessio Sakara so folks can see what the guy can do.

I like that. Worst thing that could happen, besides a 15 minute snoozer, is Cain gets his first loss out of the way against a guy on the upper end of the UFC HW title picture and Kongo continues to season himself as a worthy contender. Not a Kongo fan, though, but he's thriving in a pool of fighters that aren't overly reputable... yet.

Just took out a better part of the 185 with Anderson in a series of exhibitions. On beginner, so nothing impressive. Really just trying to make the controls feel as natural as possible. First fight I just mangled Leites. I'm guessing knee whips with Anderson on beginner is like kneeing a baby in the face then stealing it's candy, but it's still awesome to watch him open up gashes all over the face of Thales and KO him within the first round. I'm off to up the difficulty and try to rout Heavyweight with Brocky.

The games were plenty exciting, the gut feeling of the prospects coming out of the conference finals are what is failing to excite me. It just seems inevitable that it's going to be Pens/Wings again. Which is fine, world class hockey is great any way it's served to me. Pens/Wings is interesting, the Golden Boys getting a second crack at the Cup against God's team, but man was I holding out my excitement big time for the Original Six resurgence showdown between Boston and Chicago. I'd gladly take Pens/Hawks in the finals too. As much as I hate to be one of those guys who are saying the Hurricanes killed a bit of the playoff intrigue... Yeah. As soon as Boston was ousted, my interest level dropped a few pegs. I have to give the Canes credit, they shut up everybody and did work against two East favorites, but I think Pittsburgh was meant to be the beast coming out of the East since the post season started. Carolina just did their part taking out the other contenders. MAF is playing lights out, Sid is playing on Jesus like levels of hockey, Geno can turn it on in an instant, and they are playing with much more depth than I was ready to give them credit for at the start of playoffs. I'd like to think Detroit has been softened up by the Ducks and all the Hawks have to do is work the same comeback magic they have all post season, but I'll believe it when I see it. Youthful exuberance, heart, and skill has taken them far, but experience is king in playoff crunch time.

I'd say the best instance for me is Forrest/Tito from UFC 59. Forrest went from the scrappy winner of TUF to a fighter worthy of hype. It was really nothing more than a test for Forrest to see were he stood against stiffer competition. Much more of a must win for Tito and in the end it could have easily been handed to Griffin. Regardless, this was were most observer's perception of Forrest Griffin would change.

So, Adam Burrish was a few inches away from tragedy yesterday. That would of sucked. Sorry, MPH, the two first games did little to excite me enough to comment about something topical on the ice. I like Detroit, but even I'm praying for Chicago sewer Ozzie. Ozzy. Ossie/y? Chris Osgood. Good thing is that if the first two rounds have taught us anything, it's that momentum means nothing in this post season. (I stole that from James Duthie, in case anybody pays attention to that annoying voice at the side of the panel)

Lets keep hockey in Phoenix. I expect to see Gary show his full support for his baby Yotes next season. Showing up to every single home game. Paying full price for his ticket (use up that spare change from his morning Starbucks' runs). Sitting first row, center ice. Stocking up on enough hot dogs and pizza to last him three periods. Buying all those left over Ollie Jokinen jerseys that were sure to be hot sellers for years to come. And if that doesn't rally the fans and generate success, they can just move the team to New Mexico or something. You wouldn't need to change the logo or name or anything.

Toronto Maple Leafs Right now: Luke Schenn (Jesus and Death: The New Testament) Matt Stajan (He'll be the Steve Sullivan of this generation soon enough, unfortunately) Tomas Kaberle ("I need to get to the other side of the rink, any ideas?" "Take the next Kaberle Express, it'll get you there in no time!"... The last real link to playoff hockey in this town. Besides Poni. And Cujo) Ian White (He's the Leafs' Swiss Army Knife) Brad May (Because as much as Jason Blake has been a pleasant surprise, I'd still rather have Brad May on the team in some way, shape, or form) All-time: Doug Gimour (That name rings bell... Oh right, he was the guy in the milk commercials years ago!) Mats Sundin (Does Mats belong in the Hall of Fame? Jonas Hoglund averaged 45 points a season. Enough said.) Wendel Clark (Jesus and Death: The Old Testament) Felix Potvin (Remember when you didn't have to be the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man to be a goaltender in the NHL?) Dmitri Yushkevich (Ate orphans for dinner and washed it down with tears of small animals) And Gary Roberts. He can take a place on here if he wants it. I'm not going to fight it away from him.

As annoying as the Tapout guys can be, they are a huge part of MMA creeping into the mainstream and their support for fighters right down to the grass roots level is incomparable. RIP Charles Lewis.

Let's close the book on Nik Antropov. If he's meant to flourish somewhere else, so be it, he wouldn't be the first guy to do it. He's had two healthy seasons, if you ask me he's due for a few good ol' injury ridden, vintage Antropov campaigns. If you wanna spend 4-5 mil on a guy who can either injury something or disappear for long stretches of games on a moments notice, go nuts. Brian Burke knows the score and he wants nothing of Antropov or the book he wrote on how to execute the perfect vanishing act. Now, let's get back to the real agenda and that's trying to find the best possible way of packaging Poni up and dealing him before the draft for something nice in return... Serious note; Mike Van Ryn can't catch a fucking break. Poor guy. Poor Leafs. The D plays with that much more confidence when he is in the line up. Which isn't very much, but they do. I really wish we could have had a healthy line up of Kaberle, Kubina, Schenn, Van Ryn, White, and Finger all season. I know shit happens, but it's been a revolving door of injuries and defensive call ups. Looking to next season with as much optimism as possible, if the defensive end is destined to stay as it is, I think it can improve itself nicely. Kaberle is a top defenceman, a motivated Kubina is too. Schenn will have had a full season of development and I'm expecting a strong offseason where he can hopefully gain some extra mass and keep his confidence growing. A healthy Van Ryn can match into a second d-line or at least he has shown he can this season. Finger is reliable deeper in the ranks and White has shown a lot of promise, continued on the job training is key for him now. And with Burke, who really knows? I don't expect him to dump anybody without going back on the trade or free agent market and trying to replace what he lost the best he can. That goes on both ends of the ice, not just on D. Looking at those FA lists, if I could play fantasy GM again just for the sake of it, Cammalleri would be great for the Leafs for all the obvious reasons. Ian Laperriere is an effective Burke-type player who could fill a massive hole in this line up and the fans would eat him up. Chris Neil as well, complete with Senator defection for added signing satisfaction on Leaf fans part. Depending on who the Leafs get rid of, John Madden is an excellent mix of offense, defense, leadership with veteran intangibles. No more pure skill scoring types are needed on this team, that's for sure. On defense, you can't go wrong with any of those top three guys on that list if you are looking to build yourself a nice fresh, defensive core. Bouwmeester obviously has the most upside. A skilled player as he is right now who can log big minutes, he's still going to get better and probably has a season or two before he'll start playing his prime hockey. I'm on the fence about where he needs to go. He could come to Toronto, with at least one more year of consequence free hockey (at least that's what I'm anticipating) and ease into the role of being a legit top star. Best case scenario, Leafs and Jay are on form at the same time by then. Or he could make the switch to a competitive team where he can get some serious, post season experience at the risk of possibly not fitting into his role that the team asks of him. As much as we all rave about Jay, does anybody pay serious attention to Florida? IMO, he's not the elite, headlining defenseman his market value is making him seem like. Yet. He still has room to grow and while it would be nice to see him play some meaningful hockey, he'll only be 26 next season. Maybe the best fit would be a team like Toronto where there won't be pressure for Jay to knock the socks off people ASAP, allowing him to continue to grow into his potential while being a top feature at the same time. It's really a rare opportunity that could benefit Jay's development into the top star he's pegged to be.

Rampage with only three rounds to work with is deadly against a fighter like Keith Jardine. Jardine is a pretty square fighter, IMO. Not dissing the guy, he's skilled and tough as nails, but compared to the top of chain, he is a textbook counter fighter. No doubt the Liddell fight established Keith, but that was a horrible opponent for Chuck in hindsight. Counter fighter vs. counter fighter where Chuck kept waiting for Keith to present himself for the slaughter while Jardine just sat back and did work. This is not how Rampage operates. If I'm Page, I'm coming out and making Jardine very uncomfortable early. Not even with strikes, getting into close quarters and trap him against the fence, work the clinch with body shots, get Jardine's head off the course of thinking this is going to be a rangy kick boxing bout. I think if Page wants to, he can try to get Jardine on his back and end this quickly from top position.

Gary Roberts rides off into the sun with nothing more to prove. He's got a Cup, he's beaten the Christ out of many and those he hasn't are scared shitless of him anyways. He made fans laugh, cheer, and cry all in the same game. He could make most manly men look gay in comparison. He broke his fucking neck, was written off, came back QUICK TIME and still ran shit. And if it wasn't for the injury and the lockout, he'd most likely have a cool 1000 points, including 500 goals, in his pocket. But just being Gary Roberts means he can take his 900+ points, add it to his over 2500 penalty minutes, and pretty much be in line to tell any other hockey legend to cram it with walnuts sucka because he's fucking Gary Roberts. And just for the hell of it, he could sleep with their wives and daughters and get away with it with zero consequence. Because he is, and always will be, Gary F. Roberts. Gary Fucking Roberts. No more Post Lockout Era. No, now it's Post Gary Roberts Era. Because a hockey without Gary changes the game that much.

Diego vs. Clay. People in the crowd will probably faint before the action gets underway due the fact that the potential exchange of "mean n' angry" faces may be as intense as the actual fight. What shambles a Jardine upset tonight would cause. Page beats Chuck, Jardine beats Forrest, Jardine beats Chuck, Chuck beats Wandy, Wandy beats Jardine, Forrest beats Page, Page beats Wandy, then say Jardine upsets Page... That's without the Rashad Evans factor. Who ever is in charge of maintaining the contention ladder in the UFC must need a stiff drink when they sit down to try and figure this shit out. Somewhere Lyoto Machida is content knowing he is the only constant at 205, but then remember he's Lyoto Machida and a lot of fans still aren't quite sure just who the hell he is.

Being at work for the deadline is going to be a relief. Just sit back and like the trade news come to me, instead of sitting in the house like a zombie all day. I swear I will refresh TSN.ca no more than every 5 minutes. I'll take that with a double Schenn Burger and large Vesa Tosa-kola. Three strapping men, if I may say. And I'm not even drunk.

Yeah, they said it was an injury and nothing more. So exit Moore, John Mitchell takes his place without much haste. More Blake/Mitchell, ASAP!