Tuesday notes

Game 7 of the Chiefs-Giants series goes tonight in Vancouver. If it's anything like the first six games, we're in for a treat. There's few things better than a playoff game 7 anyway, with both teams facing elimination unless they're the winner. (Unless you're a fan of one of the teams involved, then that might not seem like so much fun!)

For a number of players in tonight's game, this will/could be the last game of this magnitude that they ever play in their careers. And they know it.....and if that doesn't get the adrenaline pumping then what will.

Also tonight, the NHL will announce the winner of its draft lottery (aka the John Tavares Sweepstakes) live on TSN in Canada at 8pm Eastern. The sad-sack New York Islanders have the best chance at landing Tavares, with a 48.2% chance of getting the top pick. Tampa Bay (18.8%), Colorado (14.2%), Atlanta (10.7%) and Los Angeles (8.1%) also have a shot at landing the #1 pick and the most eagerly-awaited young prospect since Sidney Crosby. Whoever ends up with the #2 pick (which will be the Islanders if they don't get #1) will be able to pick up 6'6" Swedish defenceman Victor Hedman, who is projected by some as the next Chris Pronger.

Some assorted notes here today, some of them things I have had lying around but didn't mention before....

First, the schedule for the Calgary-Brandon series is out, and as I suspected, it's a 2-2-1-1-1 format. Makes for tougher travel (12 hour drive between the two cities!) but on the other hand, in a series of this magnitude, if I were Calgary I wouldn't want the 2-3-2 format because of the advantage it gives the lower seeded team through the first five games. 

The series starts on Friday in Calgary, with game two on Sunday, then shifts to Brandon for games on Tuesday and Wednesday. When the Hitmen visit Brandon next Tuesday, it will be their first game outside of Alberta (and first game more than 3 hours from home) since they played in Vancouver on March 6 - six and a half weeks earlier.

Take a look at this picture, seen on Rockets broadcaster Regan Bartel's blog. It's the playoff shirts being worn by the Rockets players....basically it has all the players' nicknames on it. Which only underscores the lack of really good nicknames in sports these days....nowadays, almost every player nickname comes from taking the first syllable or two of their last name and putting a "y", an "s", or an "er" on the end of it. And I'm not singling out the Rockets....it's the same everywhere. Borrrrrrrrrrring. Where's the "Chicoutimi Cucumber" or the "Splendid Splinter" these days?

If you're wondering where some of your WHL favourites from the 80's and 90's (and even some from THIS century) are playing now, you might want to check out the Allen Cup. That's the Canadian senior AAA hockey championship and it got underway yesterday in Steinbach, Manitoba. There's four teams from western Canada in the tournament: Bentley (AB) Generals, Lloydminster (AB/SK) Border Kings, Southeast Prairie (MB) Thunder, and the host Steinbach North Stars. The star attraction this year is undoubtedly former NHL (and WHL!) star Theoren Fleury, who is playing for the North Stars and put up three points in their first game last night. Bentley is coached by former NHL (& WHL!) player & coach, Brian Sutter. 

Still with national titles, Boston University won the NCAA championship on the weekend in a thriller over Miami-Ohio, scoring two goals in the final minute of regulation to tie the game, then winning it on a knuckleball shot from the point in overtime. You can see the highlights if you haven't already. Tough loss for Miami-Ohio, especially for a school that had never won an NCAA title in any sport. They were a minute away from it, with a two goal lead.

And lastly, a pretty major story from Portland which I haven't mentioned until now; the city of Portland wants to tear down Memorial Coliseum (where the Hawks play most of their games) in order to build a new baseball stadium for the triple-A Portland Beavers. The date being talked about for closing the Coliseum is next January....which is smack in the middle of the Winter Hawks season. Which means that should this go forward, the Hawks are going to need to plan to play the 2nd half of next season - and all subsequent seasons of course - someplace else. The obvious choice is the Rose Garden but scheduling in that building is a problem, with the NBA's Trail Blazers being #1 as well as numerous other events being held there. 

I'm not a Portland taxpayer so my opinion doesn't count, but it seems to me like the Winter Hawks are being completely ignored in this debate over the future of Memorial Coliseum. If the city tears it down and after a few years the Hawks haven't been able to make it work schedule-wise or lease ($$$)-wise at the Rose Garden, where does that leave the team? Probably looking for somewhere else to play, is what I'm afraid of. 

So, yet more problems for the Hawks, so soon after it seemed like they were finally about to turn the corner with the purchase of the team by a reputable owner.