Hockey Blogging: It’s Not Just For Michael Berube Anymore…
By Ah, Opening Night, and it is with both pride and sorrow that I note that the noblest franchise in sports has been, somewhat shockingly, picked by Sports Illustrated as the #1 team in the league. Whether I would go that far I don’t know, but they have 1)the best player in the league, 2)excellent goaltending, 3)the best defense corps in the conference (although Regehr’s injury is a concern), and 4)several forwards with the wheels to take advantage of the new rules. Oh yeah–the new rules. I would say that I like get rid of the two-line pass, am fine with the rules restricting goaltenders, and hate the shootout, although at least it goes away in the playoffs. (Seriously, I don’t mean to knock soccer–I’m sure I would be a fan if I lived in most other countries–but there are distinct upper limits of respect I can have for a sport that allows its most prestigious events to be decided by shootouts, which is just abominable. It’s like playing 10 innings of Game 7 of the World Series, and then just deciding the thing with a home run derby.)
Alas, being picked by SI as a league’e best team is a serious problem–ask the 1987 Indians.
When I was looking up the odds for my baseball picks, I notice that the Vegas favorite to lead the league in scoring is none other than the tanned, rested, and beautifully named Mario Lemieux. Granting that he’s one of the best ever and the Pittsburgh offense looks pretty stacked, “sucker bet” seems too generous…