2013 Stanley Cup Anti-Previews: Round 3: 7 games closer to summer sadness

Generally speaking I've found most of this year's playoffs to be kind of dull. There was some good drama in the first round with a few near upsets and emotional and mental regression of the Montreal Canadiens, but even those few scraps were wont to be found in the second round. If Bettman had just handed off the Stanley Cup to the Blackhawks after they came from behind and spit on the Wings' grave, I don't think anyone would've complained. Well, Bruins fans would've complained and Bettman would've been forced to give them a second Cup and maybe a CD of Dropkick Murphys B-sides. Wrapping it up: the conference finals begin on Saturday and the Kings and Hawks get to play back-to-backs because the NHL isn't going to waste a weekend and screw the Western Conference teams. It isn't as if getting from Los Angeles to Chicago on a Saturday night is a difficult thing to accomplish.

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2012 Stanley Cup Finals Anti-Preview

The matchup for the Stanley Cup Finals has been set for days due to a couple of factors. The first factor is that my foolproof prediction system from the last round was absolutely the best. Second the Rangers managed to remember that Lundqvist was the only worthwhile player on that team and then sagged into a depression. This of course was a perfect opportunity for a black pit of despair such as New Jersey to thrive. Still, the Devils are a better team that I give them credit for since I ignore the existence of Zach Parise until his free agency rolls around. The third factor: The Coyotes were a sickening bunch of overachievers that rightfully sunk in obscurity after they played a hockey team that wasn’t pleased as punch to shoot themselves in the collective foot. It isn’t as if I’m bitter about anything. 

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Episode 87: Why The Midwest Is Fat

This week Brandon and Peter discuss the conference finals, rehash their feelings about the Coyotes and talk about some rather bad decisions made by politicians.

Punk Headlines:

-Dropkick takes issue with Wisconsin Republicans using their songs

-New York politicians consider bill that would ban anonymous posts on the internet

-Riot Fest East is reduced from three days to one day

Playoffs:

New York v. New Jersey

Phoenix v. Los Angeles

Songs Featured In This Episode:

Intro: The Deadly Rhythm by Refused

The Shadow of Greed by Oiltanker

Media Blitz by The Germs

Platypus (I Hate You) by Green Day

Serfs Up by DC Fallout

Why You Should Be Cheering For The Kings

I'm going to assume that if you are reading this blog, you are a fan of punk and hockey. I am also going to assume that, like most of us, your favorite team is no longer competing for the cup.

So who do you cheer for?

Let me suggest that if you love punk rock and are a hockey fan, perhaps the Kings are the team you should bandwagon until the cup is handed out.

The Kings have been cultivating a bit of a punk rock culture for some time now. It's sort of expected though.

Southern Califorina has always been a stronghold for punk and we have established that obviously punk and hockey are related. The Kings have been around since before the punk movement began and as one of the only hockey outlets in the region, it's expected punks into hockey would gravitate towards the team.

And some prolific punks have.

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2012 Stanley Cup Anti-Preview (Part 3): The Re-Return

Here we are at the third preview of this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. Unless you put in the time to watch the Phoenix-Nashville series then the second round has been packed with good hockey and some excellent sports drama. If you were among those masochists or Coyotes fans that watched the less loved Western semifinal then you were witness to a lot of disappointment and brouhaha about a couple of Eastern Europeans who may or may not have or have not done something that is or is not really not or extremely disrespectful towards the Nashville Predators’ team rules. Unsurprisingly I pretty much did terrible with my predictions, thereby totally disproving the efficacy of mysticism as a serious element of sports journalism. I’ve never let more choices stop be in the past, so let’s go ahead and move on to the next round of previews and predictions!

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