Playoffs: Round 1

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It’s a wonderful time for the Canadian sports fan: March Madness came with its annual energy burst just in time to set the stage for both the NHL and NBA Playoffs.

With round one winding up in both of those leagues, here are my brief thoughts on each series:

NHL

SJ vs COL: It’s about time!  San Jose’s choking appears to be dealt with, though not before a feisty and bright-futured Avs’ squad put a decent scare into them.

CHI vs NAS: Everyone knew the Hawks would win, but did anyone expect it to take six games?  Again, the underdog put up an impressive fight.

VAN vs LA: Canada’s best chance at a Stanley Cup stumbled a few steps along the way, but in the end, the Sedins and Luongo awoke (to join a hot Samuelson), and that was just a bit more than the Kings could handle.

PHO vs DET: A lot of people saw this “upset” coming.  By pushing it to seven games, the Coyotes showed themselves to be for real.  Too bad for them that their best season ever led them to this unfortunate first-round match-up.

WAS vs MTL: Who’d have thunk it?!  Game seven!  Are you kidding me?  Halak has become a Habs’ legend in the course of one series (maybe much of this season).  Fifty-three saves in game six–awesome!  IF (not as big of IF as I once thought)… IF the Canadiens win tonight, this will go down as one of the NHL’s greatest upsets ever… and la belle province will explode.

NJ vs PHI: Can you say, “meltdown”?  What happened to the Devils?  If you’d asked a hundred hockey fans to pick which team of the sixteen would be the first to the golf course, there’s no way that more than a couple would have chosen New Jersey.  But the Flyers brought it, and the Devils didn’t.  And it sure makes that Kovalchuk pick-up look like a sad waste.

BUF vs BOS: Tuuka Rask.  He was on my fantasy team this year.  Yes, that was my WINNING fantasy team.  Not surprisingly, Halak was also on my squad for a spell–a hot young goalie can win you games all by himself sometime.  Rask didn’t exactly have to do it by himself, but he’s a major reason why Boston moved on.

PIT vs OTT: I loved seeing the Sens’ fight.  They showed themselves to be a better team than most thought.  But drawing the defending champs with an at-his-best Crosby in the first round was just too much to overcome.  While I’d love to see Montreal beat Washington tonight, it’s hard not to be hoping for an Ovechkin-Crosby match-up down the road.

That’s the ice.  How about the courts?

NBA:

CLE vs CHI: Everybody knew this one before it began.  Anything but a finals appearance will disappoint the Cavs.

ORL vs CHA: Charlotte did well to make the playoffs.  Their future looks solid.  But how good are the Magic?  They swept the Bobcats despite Howard having series-long foul trouble and Carter shooting VERY poorly.  If they can get on track next round, the third round looks like a minimum for them.

ATL vs MIL: Tied at two as I write this.  I don’t care much for either team, though the Bucks are easy to cheer for, for some reason.  The Hawks SHOULD win, based on talent.  But they’ve only played well enough to be tied so far, so we shall see.

BOS vs MIA: I expected more from Miami than one win.  Now the long off-season of Dwayne Wade rumours can begin.

LAL vs OKA: Loving this!  The Lakers spanked the Thunder last night to go up 3-2, but how many people expected even THIS much from Durant and his young Thunder team?  I’d love to see this go seven.

DAL vs SA: Those Spurs are playing well right now.  Up 3-1, they failed to close it out last night.  Hopefully, that doesn’t cost them too badly.  Game six is at home–Dallas could be done early after a very impressive season.  And I’d be fine with that.

PHO vs POR: I DO like Phoenix, but I say that this series would be quite different if Brandon Roy weren’t hurt.  That might have been enough to pick Portland.  As it stands, the Suns can shut the door in game six–we’ll see if they get it done.

DEN vs UTA: What’s wrong with the Nuggets?  I expected them to the best challenger for the Lakers–now they’ll be hard-pressed to escape round one.  That’s no knock on Utah, a VERY strong squad as well.  I just expected more from Denver, and I sense they’ll be hugely disappointed if their season ends here.

That’s a wrap.  More in round two…

Syria, Jordan, Israel

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Today is “tie up loose ends” day.

Tomorrow is “head out for five weeks” day.

I’m signed on to join a class through Down Ancient Paths, the same excellent program that led me to Turkey one year ago.  This time, we’ll snake our way through Syria and Jordan for two weeks before settling into Tantur Ecumenical Institute for three weeks of study just outside of Jerusalem.

It should be rich.  And yes, my wife should receive a medal… and both showcase showdown packages for nudging me to do this, fully aware that the main burden of the decision will fall on her own lovely shoulders.  Thank you, Love.

I’ll aim to blog with some regularity about the experience, though I make no promises on the pace of posts.  If you care to follow along at all, THIS MAP outlines our journey (with pretty decent detail on the first two weeks).

Check back for posts from the road.

PS: A special thanks to Eyjafjallajokull, for stopping the sky-filling, airplane-grounding activity.  I am appreciative.

Real Leaders Don’t Do Powerpoint

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That’s the title of a book I grabbed at the library several weeks back.  It was basically about communication and leadership.  It was interesting enough to start, but not enough to finish.

But there were some beauties for quotes within it.  Here are some that resonated with me:

  • Doc Pomus–the legendary songwriter who created ‘A Teenager in Love,’ ‘Suspicion,’ and ‘Save the Last Dance for Me’–was once asked how to write a hit song.  He answered, ‘Find the shortest distance between your insides and a pencil.’
  • Antoine de Saint-Exupery, aviator and author, said, “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather the wood, divide the work, and give orders.  Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”
  • “When a brave person takes a stand,” the Reverend Billy Graham said, “the spines of others are also stiffened.
  • “‘Safety first’ has been the motto of the human race for half a million years,” wrote turn-of-the-century journalist Herbert N. Casson, “but it has never been the motto of leaders.  Leaders must face danger.  They must take the risk and blame, and the brunt of the storm.”
  • Bill Gates’ commencement speech at Harvard: “Humanity’s greatest advances are not in its discoveries–but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce iniquity.”
  • Randy Pausch, professor of computer science, giving the professor’s last lecture: “Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.”
  • Winston Churchill put it this way: “When you an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever.  Use a pile driver.  Hit the point once.  Then come back and hit it again.  Then hit it a third time–a tremendous whack.”
  • Mark Twain, much admired in his day for his speaking as well as for his writing, observed that “it takes three weeks to prepare a good ad-lib speech.”

Jerk

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I’m one.

I’m sure of it.

Two days ago, I was on the edge of the city where the #1 Highway exits to the East.  A young guy was there, backpack on, with a sign that read, “Traveling.  Broke and Hungry.”  My eye didn’t even register the rest of the words into my head–I’ve seen this sign before.  Mentally, I saw myself with a sheet of cardboard and a Sharpie.  My sign read, “Staying home with my job.  Feeling fine.  Make any sense?”

Like I said–jerk.

Then yesterday, our phone rang around 6 PM.  Prime time for the telemarketers, it seems.  The area code didn’t look as threatening as usual.  I picked up.  Brief silent moment.  Unfamiliar voice asking to speak to someone with my father’s name.  “Yeah, just a minute,” I said, as I took the phone from my ear and hung it up.

J-E-R-K.

And not feeling as badly about it as I probably should.