The Rock won!!!
If you weren't at the game, and you were in Toronto, shame on you. That was the loudest I've heard the ACC since 2005 around this time (I'm not audio blogging, in part, because I have very little voice left; also, I never audio blog). If you had a TV, and you live in North America, and you didn't watch the game, shame on you. This was fantastic. A great showcase for the sport.
The Rock looked amazing in the first half. Watson made outstanding saves on the two or three occasions that the defence broke down. The offence capitalized when they had the chances, and it looked like a rout at halftime. My sanity would have preferred it continue that way in the second half, but great teams and coaches rarely fail to make adjustments at the half.
The second half was painful, for Rock fans, but probably what made the game great for casual fans. The O beat Richards repeatedly, but the posts kept the Stealth in the game. Watson and the D did just enough to hold onto the lead. I wasn't quite as worried when the Stealth had the ball with 30 seconds left as I was earlier in the season; Woods came through in the clutch with a huge steal and then smartly pulled the ball out rather than trying to score.
Fantastic!!! We'll ignore the few inconsistencies in the officiating where nearly identical plays at opposites ends of the floor were handled differently.
So let's take a look back at my predictions.
I had the end-of-season order of the Eastern Division perfect: Buffalo, Toronto, Rochester and Boston. I botched up the order of the Minnesota and Washington in the West, however. 1 for 2.
In the first round I nailed the West by picking Washington and Calgary. In the East, my desire to see three home playoff games, messed up my first round. I got Toronto right, but couldn't will Boston to pull through against Buffalo.
(Speaking of Boston, Josh "Shooter" Sanderson and his kids were sitting behind me for the championship game. We clearly sit in a comps section. The national anthem singer almost always sits a few rows in front of us, and for many many seasons there was a rotation of former Rock legends sitting a few rows down. My favourite was always seeing the Veltmans, but they've been upgraded to a box. Oh yeah, Joe Bowen, the Leafs broadcaster, was sitting in front of us at the Championship as well.)
But back to my report card. I was 3 for 4 in calling the first round. I want to excuse my pick of Boston as hometown Toronto bias wanting to see three playoff games, but I really did think Boston had the tools to win. They almost did, but for some late game heroics by John Tavares.
I was 2 for 2 in the Division Finals. Washington and Toronto.
And, as is inevitable when the hometown team wins the finals, my hometown biased picks turned out to look brilliant, because I predicted Toronto to win the finals.
I correctly prognosticated 6 of 7 playoff outcomes for the National Lacrosse League. Pats self on back.
I had a little less luck with the NHL playoffs. Or so I've been lead to believe. I wouldn't know, because I stopped watching when Montreal lost. Maybe one day I'll get around to blogging a list of reasons why I should get partial credit for some of the series that I messed up by screwing up the first round picks ... I mean, sometimes it was as much picking against chronic chokers like Ovechkin and Thornton, as it was picking their opponent.
This is going to be one fantastic summer living with the high of supporting the National Lacrosse League Champions. More than makes up for the Habs letdown.
Go Rock and Habs Go!
No comments:
Post a Comment