Worst line of commentary ever

"Even though the Prime Minister of Canada was in the audience, the Oilers playing was anything but Conservative."

The stars were bright, Fernando

GO OILERS!

YAY!!!!!!

There is something magical about overtime in playoff hockey, especially in the Stanley Cup final. Overtime, especially a short-handed deciding goal in overtime, has an ability to shift momentum in a way that an ordinary win or loss would not; it has the ability to inspire hope that has been written off more times than the Mexican national debt (sorry, but a brilliant line of sports commentary deserves to be repeated).

I felt so bad for Matt Green when he went back to the bench after Carolina scored on a power play opportunity created by the hooking penalty he took. The poor guy looked devastated. You could see him being consoled at the bench, but he barely saw anymore ice time (and not just because Pronger was on for 33 minutes). But things worked out in the end.

There is also something to be said about hockey karma. In game 3, a gorgeous goal by Moreau was not allowed (for legitimate but heart-breaking reasons). When Brind'amour scored a goal to tie the game, it felt wrong, but in the end, the Oilers ended up winning on a controversial (but legitimate) goal. Karma.

Likewise, the 3rd goal that Carolina scored in today's game 5 reminded me of the disallowed Moreau goal. There were a few long seconds when there was no way that the ref could have seen the puck (unless Mr. McGeough purchased x-ray glasses to avoid further comparisons with an animated character with a similar name); however, unlike in game 3, the goal was allowed. However in the end, the Oilers got a break and got a gorgeous goal. Once again, karma.

The fact that Pisani's short-handed overtime goal made history (first short-handed goal in overtime of the Stanley Cup finals), is just extra karma to compensate for the thuggish nature of certain Carolina players, the terrible penalty call against Staios, and the lucky coin that Carolina had placed under centre ice.

There is something very satisfying to see a crop of cane-iacs being silenced and Stanley being returned to his box. [In general, I have mixed feelings about Stanley Cup contenders coming from cities that do not know ice. However, it seems absolutely absurd to have NHL hockey still being played in a city that is experiencing a real hurricane during hurricane season.]

Finally, since I recognize that as of late this blog has become a collection of random thoughts about recent sport matches. As such, on a completely unrelated note, here's the best line of television I heard today: "They should call you Chad, because you're leaving me hanging."

OILERS They're DYNAMITE!

T&T They're DYNAMITE!

Ever since 1994, when my cousins got me hooked because of their infectious Brazilian fever, I've been following the Fifa World Cup. In fact, 4 years ago, a soccer injury enabled me to adjust my sleep schedule to watch even more of the World Cup as a means of recovering from the surgery.

So far this year has been fantastic, producing its first exciting 0-0 result. By 10 minutes into their game I was already a huge supporter of the Soca Warriors. This team, from a country of 1.1 million, is one of six debutants to this year's ball game and they have already exceeded my expectations. This team bikes to their games, the other team had possession of the ball 60% of the time, and their starting goalie was injured pre-game; yet their back-up goalie, Shaka, shone. (I hope this bodes well for back-up goalies playing sports today, GO OILERS!) Even though the Warriors spent half of the game down one man because of a red card, they didn't quit. Group B is about to get very interesting.

I don't know how some of those Swedish shots didn't go in. I don't think I've ever seen a team so happy about a game where they didn't even score. And I don't think I've ever enjoyed a line of commentary as much as this one: "The hopes of Trinidad and Tobago have been written off more times than the Mexican national debt."

Now on to cheering for the two teams in the "house of death" that both wear orange (or Oranje, I suppose). Other than when they play each other.

Sober Second Thought

I hope Roli gets better.

Recall that scene in Men with Brooms, where the good guys burned a stone in the last end of the championship game; the crazy reptilian juggernaut told them to retake the shot because he didn't want to win by default.

Completely unrelated: I renew my abject disgust for Brind'amour. I just don't like the goon. Dirty bastard. Even if his first goal was pretty.

My heart just broke

What a terrible way to lose a game.

I'm going to go cry in the corner.

Living in a Statistician's Paradise

It's that time of year where a lot of sport seasons are winding up, which means playoffs. To me, one of the dominant characteristics of any playoff is the increased discussion of statistics, most noticeably in attempting to find a trend that can be used as a conclusive predictor for games.

While I don't think that there is a magical statistic that can conclusively predict the outcome of any given game, it is fun to play with numbers. As such, I've found my own little NHL statistic that has kept me quite amused: In this year's NHL playoffs, the team that took the most number of games in the last series to advance has won their next series. In other words, the team that has had the shortest break since their last series has proceeded to win their next series. Allow me to illustrate:

• The Oilers took 6 games to advance against Detroit (advancing May 1st), while the Sharks took 5 games to advance against Nashville (advancing April 30th). In this match-up, the Oilers won.
• The Mighty Ducks took 7 games to advance against Calgary (advancing May 3rd), while the Avs took 5 games to advance against Dallas (advancing April 30th). In this match-up, the Ducks won.
• The Sabers took 6 games to advance against Philadelphia (advancing May 2nd), while the Sens took 5 games to advance against Tampa Bay (advancing April 29th). In this match-up, the Sabers won.
• The Hurricanes took 6 games to advance against Montreal (advancing May 2nd), while the Devils took 4 games to advance against New York (advancing April 29th). In this match-up, the Hurricanes won.
• The Oilers took 6 games to advance against San Jose (advancing May 17th), while the Ducks took 4 games to advance against Colorado (advancing May 11th). In this match-up, the Oilers won.
• The Hurricanes and the Sabers each took 5 games to advance against New Jersey and Ottawa, respectively (they had each also taken 6 games in their first series), however, Buffalo advanced on May 13th, while Carolina didn't advance until May 14th. In this match-up, the Hurricanes won.

So it seems that while teams want rest, rest is actually bad for their success.

That said, since statistics should not be 100% accurate, this trend should be broken for the Stanley Cup finals.

GO OILERS!

Edited to add: Roli is doing awesome, Brind'amour is dirty, and Maggie the Monkey just picked the Oilers!