2011 Baseball Preview (or Lack Thereof...)

Is it baseball season already?  It is, yet few would have known that even a week ago.  So, in an effort to get the MLB preview going, I will make one in haste, and say that it will be somewhat predictable, with either the Yankees or Red Sox (or both) making the playoffs.  World Series predictions?  (Homer alert) Rockies over the Red Sox 4-2 to avenge the 2007 meltdown.

Western Conference Champs!

It's always nice when your team wins a division title, but it's even better when the team wins the regular season title, and that's what the Vancouver Canucks did, as of last night.  Beating an always tough Nashville Predators team 3-1 gives the Canucks the conference title.  Next stop: playoffs and the bigger glory that comes with the ultimate reward at the end.  It's not quite playoff time, but can you smell it?  Just watch out for the mouse traps.

Fallen Kings

The chances of the Los Angeles Kings making a significant run in the playoffs took a major hit on Saturday, and the video you're about to see speaks for itself.




Yes, the Kings' best player Anze Kopitar went down with what ended up being diagnosed as a broken ankle.  The scheduled healing time is six weeks, and it couldn't have come at a worse time for the Kings, as they jockey for position in the playoffs.  The tone in which the announcers spoke as Kopitar couldn't get up not only speaks about the potential disaster that the Kings could face come playoff time, but it suddenly has Kings fans crossing fingers and rubbing rabbit's feet that things will still be good.  As of right now, Kopitar is scheduled to be be back in mid-May, which would mean that the Kings would have to make Game 7 of the Conference Semifinals, at the very least.  Somehow, I just can't see it happening, which is a shame.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

It's here.  The Final Four has been set, and brackets everywhere are being shredded, baseball season is near (who knew?), and the hockey playoffs are only two weeks away.  The ol' Death Watch is up and running, and already, the Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers, New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, and Colorado Avalanche have been claimed.  Also, it looks a lot like the Eastern Conference is practically set, as the difference between eighth and ninth place is five points, with those teams having seven games each.  The Western Conference sees seventh place (Anaheim) only four points ahead of the tenth place team (Dallas).  If I had to put money on who would claim the last spots, it would be Anaheim and Chicago, but nothing is set in stone right now.

Milk Stout

The last beer is a milk stout from the Ska Brewing Company in Durango, CO.  Even with the milky taste, the name is merely a mask for what truthfully amounts to a rather ordinary beer.

Good News for the Avs...Finally

This year has been one that the Colorado Avalanche would like to forget.  Coming off of a playoff run last season, it was expected that the kids would take that next step forward.  Instead, it's been growing pains the likes that few other teams have ever, or ever will, experience.  It all began around the All-Star break, and it's been an avalanche (no pun intended) of problems ever since.  Even the most well-intentioned trades (read: Erik Johnson and Jay McClement for Chris Stewart and Brian Elliot for Craig Anderson) have beckfired horribly.  For all of that, it seems that something good has finally happened to the Avs, and the story can be found here.

Yes, the Avs have decided to give their face of the franchise a front office job.  Joe Sakic returns to the team as an executive advisor, meaning that he will have a say in the day-to-day hockey operations.  Having been around since the Quebec Nordiques days, Sakic knows the team's successes and failures, as he's been through it all.  Even if he isn't a locker room presence, he should at least, provide a moral boost to the team.  Even better would be if he can provide some guidance for the likes of Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly, kids who haven't fully established themselves in the NHL.

Hop Czar

From the Bridgeport Brewery (notice a small trend?) comes the Hop Czar Imperial IPA.  Of all the beers I had last weekend, this was the one that didn't grab my attention, good or bad.  Sure, it was quite bitter, but it didn't do too much, either.  Disappointing, to say the least.