Irish Hockey

Maybe you can save this one to read right before the game on Saturday night (7:00 est ESPN), and a lot has been written recently about the Frozen Four, but its time we step back and look at this with some perspective.

Notre Dame is the first ever 4 seed to make it to the Frozen Four. And then they became the first ever 4 seed to make it to the Finals. This is roughly equivalent of a 12 or 13 seed making it this far. They have knocked off numerous highly favored teams. Teams like Michigan State, New Hampshire, and finally Michigan.

And Irish hockey fever is sweeping Irish Nation. Check out a screen shot of official Notre Dame website. Notre Dame hockey has overtaken a picture of the Pope.



Saturday Boston College will try to claim their third hockey champsionship and have reached the finals for the third year in a row.

They have a dominate goalie in Muse, who holds the BC record for saves in a season.

And lets not get ahead of ourselves. Three weeks ago, Notre Dame wasn't even sure if they would make the tournament at all.

This is David and Goliath. Its Team USA versus Russia (although I am 90% sure BC isn't communist. But Jesuit is close enough). It's Rocky against Apollo Creed. Rocky against Clubber Lane. Rocky against Ivan Drago. Sly Stalone's agent against saying "no".

Right now Notre Dame is 5-foot nothing. 100-nothing.

BC is running perfect formations as they warm up like the Hawks in Mighty Ducks. They are running lay up drills, while ND Coach Jim Jackson is measuring the size of the crease ("Same size as ours back in South Bend").

But don't think that Notre Dame's miracle run is over yet. Anything can happen. Afterall, guess when the last time BC actually beat Notre Dame (er, in hockey). Give up? 2001. Guess how BC fared against New Hampshire, the team ND dispatched 7-3 in the first round of the tournament? They lost all 3 times by a combined 12-3.

Think about the 2008 Super Bowl, think about Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.

BC may have that great offense, but think about how great Notre Dame's defense has been.

Best of all, think how great it is to even have this opportunity. Its only one game and anything can happen. This isn't one of those scenarios where "if we can prevent penalties" or "If we can stop Gelde". There is no if's any more, only do.

So, without further ado, here is today's Friday, Get Pumped for the Weekend Video.

Go Irish.

A Tradition Unlike Any Other

Saturday night, do yourself a favor and drink yourself silly. You friend offers to buy you a shot, do it. Thinking you may have had enough for the night, buy 2 more (assuming you are not driving).

Why?

Because Sunday is the best day to be hungover ever--Master's Sunday. For me, its the official beginning of spring. Its also a great time to lay on the couch unable to move. The soft smooth voice of Jim Nanz, the serene beauty of Augusta, Tiger's rippling biceps, and one of the oldest and purest championships in all of sports.

As a service to you, dear reader, I will make sure that no matter what happens on Sunday, you will have some cheering interest. Here are a bunch of guys who could potentially win (if Tiger is in a car accident Sunday morning) and why you should cheer for them.

Tiger Woods: Because he is the best golfer to ever pick up a club. And because watching dominance and history happening before our eyes is really cool. Plus, if he wins, we get shots of his wife.

Vijay Singh: Because his name means Victorious Lion. Because he stays hours before and after each round to practice. Because he is viewed by the media as an asshole for no real good reason except he is a foreigner (he is strange to us, we must fear him).

Phil Mickelson: Because he makes skipping the gym, yet being a professional athlete an attainable dream. Because he would have been known as one of the best had he been born 10 years earlier. Because he is right-handed, yet golfs lefty.

Ernie Els: Because he is African, but white (like Charlize Theron!). Because he just announced that his son has Austism and he is going to start raising a ton of money for research. Because his real name is Theodore.

Padraig Harrington: Because he won 2007 Irish Person of the Year. Because his family genes are loaded with "white guy professional athlete" genes (cousins: Joey Harrington of the NFL and Dan Harrington of professional poker).

Steve Stricker: Because he was 2007's Comeback Player of the Year. Because he always seems to be the bridesmaid, but never the bride (lots of second and third place finishes. And he likes to cross dress. No, I just made that second part up.)

Adam Scott: Because he is one of only 3 golfers to be ranked in the top 10 who were born in the 1980s (Go Gen Y!). Because he's Australian Mate!

Justin Rose: The the second of the 3 golfers ranked in the top ten born in the 80s, and the only remaining one who isn't a total douche (the third is Sergio). Because he was born in South Africa but moved to Britain, so his accent is actually a certified aphrodisiac.

K.J. Choi: Because you know Hootie would die if an Asian won on his Good Old Boys golf club. Because before being a golfer, he was a 13 year old competitive lifter, weighing in at 95 lbs, yet squatting 350 lbs, and earned the nickname "Tank".

Rory Sabbatini: Because he called Tiger out as being "beatable" which lead to Tiger beating him in like 248956 straight tournaments which is the equivalent of a mouse biting the tail of a real tiger.

Ian Poulter: Because he hit a hole in one in the first round. Because he routinely wears all pink. Because he has a temper and has been fined for smashing a tee marker and for cursing out a course marshal. Because he is a car collector and owns a badass Ferrari, a Ford GT40 and an Astin Martin.

Luke Donald: Because he actually could win this thing. Because he beat Tiger's NCAA record of a low score in the Championships. Because he met his wife at a bar in Chicago while attending Northwestern (although reason not to cheer for him: he was in a frat and has Polo as a corporate sponsor. No word on how many collars he flips for a Sunday round though).

Jim Furyk: Because he has a "unconventional looping golf swing". Because the only instructor he ever used was his dad (no comment on how the first two reasons are connected). Because his caddy is Fluff, who everyone loves.

So there you go, you can easily find one or two people to cheer for in that group. Me? I will be pulling for Paul Casey. Why? Because he is gonna win this thing (read: finish second to Tiger).

Sports Watercooler

There will be a separate post today covering the hockey game last night, but, wow.

Can you ask for a better game? That was totally worth being extremely tired right now. Irish go up 3-0 in the first period? Michigan scores 2 goals in 18 seconds? The third period the game is tied, Irish go up, and Michigan ties it again? Then Notre Dame wins in overtime! I wanted to punch a hole in a wall, run sprints around the room, and yell out the windows. Instead, I gave a silent fist pumped and attempted to fall asleep.

As soon as the game was over I got 3 text messages. My heart was racing and I couldn't fall asleep for an hour after. Why?

I probably went to 3 hockey games in my 4 years at Our Lady's University. I may have followed the team a bit after college. And now I am committing a sports fan's biggest sin, jumping on the bandwagon of a team that was already in the Final Four. I missed all the suffering of the season. I missed the "we get no respect" posts on message boards. And I certainly missed being the David in every matchup of the tournament. I haven't earned the chance to really cheer for this team and celebrate like I had been there all along.

But I am. For one thing, being a Notre Dame fan means I can cheer for any sport and jump on any team's bandwagon that the school offers. But even bigger, this is arguable the biggest success I have had during my tenure as a Notre Dame fan. Sure, I have been to the Fiesta Bowl. And where a Bowl win fits into the general sports victory pantheon is tricky. And I have seen a team make the Sweet Sixteen. I have seen a women's soccer national championship. But when you combine the sport (hockey is still a top 4 sport), the passion of the fans (Frozen Four is a big deal), and the level of victory (Championship game), and I will argue that this is the most successful achievement that Notre Dame Athletics have made during my fanship. (Number 2: Firing Ty).

Go Irish.

Irish Hockey Tonight!

So for the first time in its history, the University of Notre Dame has made the Frozen Four. This is no small feat, and in fact, its a very big deal in some circles.

Thanks to the basketball team completely failing in the tournament, and the football team completely failing about 2 minutes into their season, this is the biggest sporting accomplishment by a Notre Dame team this year. And it deserves some recognition and school pride.

With that said, I doubt many of you know what to expect tonight when you watch (9:30 est on ESPN2). So here are some cliff notes:

First off, they are playing Michigan. Now, I shouldn't have to say anything more to get you to watch, but I will.

Notre Dame is all around solid. Their goalie is in his first year playing full time and has been "good to great".

Notre Dame made it this far on their defense. Its loaded with quick, strong players. Brock Sheahan is the guy to watch on the Defense.

Also Kyle Lawson and Ian Cole are two young defensemen who bring excitement to the ice whenever they are on it.

Ryan Thang is the Irish's biggest scoring threat. But for consitancy, check out Dan Kissel.

As for someone to always have your eye on, its Christian Hanson. Who apparently is both "very big" and "has a nice scoring touch". And no, I did not lift that straight out of someone's porn resume.

Mainly though, all the accolades come down to Coach Jackson, who has been credited with leading this team in a creative, smart, and study direction. They don't wow anyone, they just get it done.

Across the ice is the uneducated, future janitors of America, The University of Michigan.

The have a talented team, consisting of 12 NHL drafted players (to ND's 7).

They dominate the power play, and apparently move the puck really well.

They are also "stupid", which is no real insight when talking about Michigan players. But apparently, they tend to make a lot of stupid penalties. Although this could be them being stupid...like a fox as it could force the other team into getting frustrating, making penalties of their own and setting up the aforementioned powerplay, playing right into those dirty wolverine hands.

From someone who knows better than I:

"Notre Dame wins turnovers at a 60% rate (according to the WSJ article from last week, the best in the NHL wins 58%), while Michigan is at a 47%. This means they will try and play a smooth game without much stoppage of play. This will especially come into importance in our zone where they will try and keep play going while we should try and tie it up as much as possible."

"If the game is a run and gun exhibition of skill, Michigan stands to gain. If it is a game of working and grinding to negate every threat and create every opportunity, then ND favors."

And one must never forget that Michigan sucks.

And Ann Arbor is a dirty whore.

Go Irish.

* Special thanks to the posters on NDNation's hockey board.

NHL Playoff Preview

So yesterday I tackled the Eastern Conference. And then I followed up by watching a game last night, I watched the Rangers defeat the Devils. And I came to these conclusions:

Every player on the ice is really amped up for the playoffs. It was non-stop excitement.
Hockey players can flop with the best of them
MSG+ channel does their between period studio analysis at a bar. They were just posting up at some bar in the arena talking about the game. I want that job.

So today, here is the Western Conference. As previously mentioned, I haven't read much about this season and watched even less. And I won't let the 5 minutes of the San Jose game I watched last night influence me too much.

1 Detroit Red Wings vs. 8 Nashville Predators

This isn't the Red Wings team you remember from when they dominated the league. All the players from those teams are gone (so I just learned 2 minutes ago after looking at their roster), with the exception of Dominick Hasek who I belive came out of retirement like 5 years ago, and Darren McCarty. The similar thing from those Red Wing teams of yore though, is the skill level. These guys are once again stacked. And the Predators sadly, are still a team that never should exist (Nashville? Hoc-key?)

Goalies: The Wings actually start Chris Osgood slightly more than Hasek, but their 2 goalies are better than Nashville's one--Dan Ellis.

Prediction: Nashville actually has a pretty good home ice advantage. For some reason, those Tennessee hicks really love hockey and make it loud in there. I think thats good enough for at least 1 win. Still, Red Wings in 6.

2 San Jose Sharks vs. 7 Calgary Flames

I bet you didn't know, but the Sharks are really good this year. Last I knew about the Sharks was in grade school, it was insanely cool to have their Starter jacket. Now, they are one of the premiere teams in the NHL and a favorite to win the Cup this year. Calgary still has Iginla who 2 years ago was the coolest thing on skates. His PR has chilled a bit with the new batch of talent emerging, but his skills haven't. A terrific player to watch, and very charismatic. (i.e. Holy Crap! That dude is black!)

Goalies: Evegni Nabokov for the Sharks lead the league in wins this year. Calgary's net minder is Miikka Kiprusoff. 2 i's and 2 k's in Mika? I don't like it. Sharks win this category.

Prediction: This is when watching last night will help me. I originally was going to pick San Jose in 4, but then they got shamed last night at home. Now I think Calgary can really match up well. I think they can at least win 1 more. San Jose in 6.

3 Minnesota Wild vs. 6 Colorado Avalanche

Look back to the Red Wings entry. This is the opposite. Colorado was really good about a decade ago and their roster looks EXACTLY THE SAME. The only thing different is Patrick Roy is gone. Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, all there. Minnesota meanwhile compiled their best season in franchise history. And everyone should do themselves a favor and watch Marian Gaborik, whose speed and stick handling make playing hockey look easy.

Goalies: The Av's have the talented Jose Theodore (Jose?! I tried to look up where he was born, but ESPN lists it as Laval, PQ. Where is PQ? This has stumped me for about 15 minutes before I realized I can't dwell on this). Minnesota has Nicklas Backstrom, which gives them a slight advantage.

Prediction: With the Avs winning game 1, that changes things a bit. And I can't let my homerism take over here, Colorado in 7.

4 Anahiem Ducks vs. 5 Dallas Stars

Here are two teams with bad beginnings. One started as a spin off on a terrible awesome Disney movie. The other was started after a greedy owner ripped the hearts out of Minnesota citizens (and a certain 10 year old boy) and moved the team to Texas.

This matchup also features 3 former playoff MVPs in Giguere, Niedemeyer and Richards

Goalie: Ducks have fan favorite and playoff superstar Jean Sebastien Giguere. It doesn't get much better than Giggy come April and May. Marty Turco, who is good in his own right, will have a challenge cut out for him.

Prediction: The Ducks won it all last year, and although they won't again this year, they will win this series in 7 games.

Sports Watercooler

So there is a lot going on today. So much so, that the Watercooler will be brief today. But keep checking back because I will be writing a few posts today.

Coming soon:

The Western Conference NHL playoff preview. I only watched about 5 minutes from a Western Conference game last night, so I promise it won't interfere.

A Master's Preview. This may come tomorrow if I run out of time today.

Notre Dame in the Frozen Four preview. And a friendly reminder that Michigan sucks and Ann Arbor is a whore, naturally.

NHL Playoff Preview

Yeah, you read that right. Sure it may not be the most popular sport in America any more, (cue the way overplayed "I can't even find that channel on my TV" joke), but the NHL playoffs provide great games. Each one is filled with drama and fast paced excitement, its hard not to fall for them this time of year. My suggestion is to pick a team, whatever is closest to you or where you grew up, and watch a game or two. You will get sucked right in.

Anyways, on the heels of my sister winning our NCAA Pool with little knowledge of college basketball, I figured I might as well give predicting the NHL playoffs a shot. For the record, I have watched approximately 2 games combined this year and read maybe 4 articles (3 in the last hour). But if Lauren Conrad can do an NHL playoffs blog, then I certainly can.

Today, the Eastern Conference

1 Montreal Canadians vs. 8 Boston Bruins

Everything tells me this is gonna be a massacre. Montreal has beaten Boston 8 straight times this year. 11 times if you go back to last year. It seems as if Boston had a pretty decent season and just getting to the playoffs was an accomplishment for them. This is the Mount St. Mary's of the playoffs.

Goalies: Now, as you have seen in the baseball previews, I value good pitching above anything else. In hockey, its all about which goaltender is on a roll. This series features Montreal's rookie sensation Cary Price against Boston's Tim Thomas. The Canadians get the point here, since I have actually heard of their goalie. I would be leery on resting my playoff hopes with a rookie keeper going further, but first round, its in the bag.

Prediction: Montreal in 5. Boston will steal one at home, but thats about it.

2 Pittsburgh Penguins versus 7 Ottawa Senators

Remeber how the Senators got really hot last year and made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals? No? Yeah, neither does anyone else.

This Penguins team is loaded. And by loaded I mean, I can list a bunch of players on that team. Players that are really amazing. They go deeper than just NHL Savior Sidney Crosby. When He was injured (only to rise again 3 days later), Malkin took off, and ended up finishing second in points in the league. They also have Hossa, who will be a force. Ottawa meanwhile is dealing with some rough injuries.

Goalies: Ottawa rode Ray Emery to the finals last year. Remember him? He was a feel good story (because he's black! and plays hockey!) last year. This year he has been a trainwreck, feuding with everyone as well as dealing with being the only black man in Canada. He has started half the games this year. Pens goalie is Ty Conklin, who finished the year second in save percentage.

Prediction: Penguins in 4. Get out your brooms.

3 Washington Capitols vs. 6 Philladelphia Flyers

Even the most casual hockey fan knows Alexander Ovechkin. Now in his third year, he is scoring goals at one of the fastest rates in history. This series itself should be fun. Both teams finished at the bottom of the conference last year. And both teams ended the year on a run. Flyers going 7-1-1 and the Capitols winning 11 of their last 12.

Goalies: Martin Biron against Cristobal Huel. Never head of either one, but a quick check on ESPN.com says that Washington's Huel finished in the top ten in Goals Against.

Prediction: When in doubt, go with the team that has the best player and best goalie. I am going to take the Capitols in 7.

4 New Jersey Devils vs. 5 New York Rangers

Separated by a river, these teams should know each other well. The Devils won in a 3-2 shoot out on Sunday, thus winning home ice advantage for the series, which may be a deciding factor. Both teams are loaded with "names" which will help me a ton while watching. The Rangers have a ton of playoff experience in Gomez, Shanahan, Jagr, and Drury.

Goalies: This is a matchup that features two of the best goalies in the league. New York has Lundgvist, the third year Swedish sensation. New Jersey has playoff veteran, and all time great Martin Brodeur.

Prediction: The Stalney Cup Playoffs are always full of upsets. So I can't go through a whole conference and pick not a single one. Rangers in 6.