The Mets beat the Phillies last night 8-2. The Philadelphia starter Kyle Kendrick didn't make it out of the 3rd inning. His line was 2.1 innings pitched, 4 hits, 7 runs, 1 earned. ONE earned run out of seven? You have to TRY to be that bad. I've read in a lot of circles that David Wright should have won the MVP last year. I'm not even trying to be a homer there. All the numbers point to Wright as the true MVP. Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies won it instead. He missed last night's game with a sprained ankle. His replacement committed two of the three errors in the third inning. Maybe Rollins is a little more valuable to his team than we thought...
In more important news, the NHL playoffs started last night!!! I got to watch the games in stunning regular definition because my cable company does not carry the Versus network in HD. Personally I think it adds to the viewing experience when the picture gets choppy and pixelated every time the camera pans into the corner. Fuck you Charter! Fuck you in your worthless asses! Anyway, in the East second-seeded Pittsburgh stomped all over Ottawa 4-0 in a game that wasn't really that close. The fifth-seeded Rangers beat the fourth-seeded Devils for the first time in nine tries this season, stealing a game 4-1 in New Jersey. In the West, third-seeded Minnesota fell to Peter Forsberg, I mean the sixth-seeded Colorado Avalanche in overtime. I have to say, the NHL feels just a little better when Forsberg is wearing that Avalanche sweater. The seventh-seeded Flames took out the second-seeded Sharks 3-1.
A few notes from the games. First off a scary moment in the Ottawa v. Pittsburgh game. Midway through the second period defenseman Anton Volchenkov tripped over a skate trying to block a shot and fell face first into the puck. He was cut on the forehead and had to leave the game. Volchenkov was unable to return to the game because his head swelled too much to put on his helmet. That's right, his concern was not that he'd been hit in the face with a puck, but that he couldn't fit his helmet over the bruise it left! Hockey players, I mean real ones, are a different breed.
Secondly, Joe Sakic is fucking amazing. At 38 years old, which is a young whippersnapper these days but ancient in the world of professional sports, he scored his 8th career overtime playoff goal. That makes him the career leader in that stat. It helps to be in the right place at the right time, but after that many game-winners, it can't be an accident that the puck keeps finding him.
Third, Joe Thornton is one of the very best hockey players in the whole world. His combination of size, skating ability, and soft hands is nearly unequaled. Unfortunately he is missing that intangible something that makes the truly great players special. His numbers generally go down in the playoffs, indicating an unwillingness to sell out and push his body just a little farther than it wants to go in order to win. A man with no such qualms is Jarome Iginla. He is not quite as big, does not skate as well, and his hands are just a tad clumsier, but he is undeniably one of the very best playoff performers in the world. He carries nearly all of the offensive load on a primarily defensive team that season after season overachieves in the playoffs.
Fourth, the Rangers imported Chris Drury and Scott Gomez specifically for this time of year. After generally underachieving all season, Drury and Gomez were two of the key players in beating the Devils for the first time all season. Gomez had three assists and Drury won an astonishing 78% of his faceoffs.
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