Lo End Theories - 4/22/15

First and foremost - a shout out to my lovely wife who has a birthday today. Love ya!!

You’d like a midweek edition of Lo End Theories? Well, it’s your lucky day! Here we go….

If you haven’t noticed, the Cubs are FUN to watch this year. The Northsiders are currently 8-5 and a scant half-game behind the division leading Cardinals (with a game in hand). Please understand that I have been screaming from the rooftops, pun intended, that 2016 is the year I expect them to make a run in the playoffs. That, however, does NOT mean that the Cubbies won’t be fun to watch this year. Theo and Jed called up yet another uber-prospect, Addison Russell, yesterday to start playing at 2B. He fared about as well as the other can’t-miss kid, Kris Bryant, did in his first game, 0-5 with 3 K’s. But that’s beside the point. After five games Bryant is now hitting .444 with an OPS of 1.194. Yes, you read that correctly. And last night he hit a bat that was one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen. Watch where this pitch is headed and then see where Bryant deposits it in the OF. It’s not human.

Rizzo is hitting .302, Soler is hitting .327 and Castro is hitting .352 with another bomb last night. The offensive lineup is….studly. The most exciting component of this team is they are never out of a game. When Jason Motte gave up a three run triple in the 7th last night to the Pirates I wasn't ready to turn the television off, as in past years. This offense is by no means out of any game. And sure enough, the Cubs got a single run back in the 8th on Castillo’s HR and then proceeded to get 3 in the 9th off the Pirates closer, Mark Melancon, to get the W. It’s an exciting time to be a Cubs fan. I’m still holding back on the “this is the year” talk until they prove they can consistently win with their youth this year. But in 2016 and beyond….:)

The NHL Playoffs are the best playoff in profession sports. The NFL is a one and done system, which can be exciting, but there’s nothing like a Game 7. MLB is my sport, but the intensity of the NHL trumps their playoffs. At the same time, I DESPISE the All-Star Game winner getting home field advantage in the World Series. The NCAA Tournament is awesome, but only once in a great while, sans Butler, do you get underdogs that make it to the penultimate event, the Final Four. The feelings that the NHL Playoffs produce are insane – it borders on a combination of passing out, elation, vomiting, euphoria and holding your breath for 60 minutes….and that’s only if the game doesn't go into OT. The playoff series have been fantastic so far and we’re only in the FIRST ROUND! Here are some recaps:

In the Western Conference:

• The upstart Minnesota Wild who have been on a hot streak since they acquired G Devan Dubnyk are poised to take a 3-1 series lead over the St. Louis Blues, who tied the Anaheim Ducks for the best record in the West. That’s playoff hockey.
• Brent Seabrook scored in the THIRD overtime last night to beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. The interesting part of this series is the Hawks number 1 goalie, Corey Crawford, has been relegated to backup after the first two games. He was pulled after the first period in Game 1 after giving up 3 goals. Chicago came back to win that game 4-3 in OT because of Scott Darling’s 42 saves in relief of Crawford. Corey was back in net for Game 2, but lost 6-2. Since then it’s been Darling’s job. A hot goalie can take you a long way in the hunt for Lord Stanley. 
• The Calgary-Vancouver series has been an absolute brawl so far. A donnybrook at the end of Game One produced over 132 penalty minutes for both teams. Thy DO NOT like each other. At the same time, there’s another goalie controversy. The Canucks signed Ryan Miller in the off-season but started Eddie Lack in the playoffs. After falling behind in last night’s Game Four, Miller was called to the rescue but to no avail as the Canucks are now down 3-1 and on the brink of elimination. 

In the Eastern Conference:

• Montreal v Ottawa has had the same “bitter enemy” feel as has Vancouver v Calgary. The Habs are up 3-0 but not without some dispute as well. A very suspect penalty was called on the Sens in overtime of Game Three and the Canadiens capitalized and scored in the extra frame to gain a 3-0 series lead. In Game One, Montreal’s start defenseman, PK Subban, slashed the Sens Mark Stone so hard that he broke Stone’s wrist. And there’s been goalie flip-flops in this series as well for Ottawa.
• The other three series in the East are absolute dogfights. Tampa Bay and Detroit has been up and down, but Detroit stole home ice advantage with a win in Game One in Tampa. The Lightning were a popular media pick to make it out of the Eastern Conference yet they are struggling in their first round series.
• The Rangers v Penguins is a match made in heaven for the media. A New York team playing against the most popular player in the game, Sidney Crosby? What more could you ask for? The Rangers represented the East last year in the Finals and the Pens barely squeaked in the playoffs. Each game has been a one goal game and those are the most nerve-wracking as a fan.
•  Finally, the Capitals and the Islanders are having a great series as well. The Caps are regarded as the best team not to win the Cup in recent years. Alexander Ovechkin can never seem to get the Capitals over the hump. On the other side, the Islanders made the playoffs for only the second time since 2006-2007. A young nucleus of players including Kyle Okposo and John Tavares has Isles fans giddy with excitement about their potential. They are tied with the Capitals 2-2 after four games and Game Four was a doozy. The Caps scored late to send it into OT where John Tavares of the Isles scored :15 in to give New York the victory.

The NFL released their schedules for the 2015 season last night in a 2-hour special on ESPN and the NFL Network. Seriously? I honestly can’t understand why people would watch this; especially with playoff hockey and baseball on the tube. At the same time, I was watching Twitter hours before the shows were to air and I already knew two-thirds of my Bears schedule. So why again would I care about a scheduling show? Whatever. I feel like the NFL is trolling the networks by offering random programming just to make money. It works. The Draft is in EIGHT days and it will be broadcast on TWO networks and the NFL will make a ton of money off of it and garner a ton of viewers. That I get. But the schedule? I guess it makes sense now why the executive vice president of media and CEO of the NFL Network made $26.1 million in salary in 2012.

Finally, we are ten days away from the epic fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio. At this point in a major event as this title fight, the little details are the ones being covered to ensure a great event. This fight? The contracts have not been signed and NO tickets have been sold. Seriously? This is weird. And it smells fishy; like something strange is going to happen and the fight will be postponed. But would that surprise us at all at this point? This duel has taken so long to come to fruition anyway on account of two different viewpoints of the camps. In addition, word has leaked on the referee’s salary for the fight. It’s $25,000. Doesn't sound bad until you consider both fighters stand to make that PER SECOND of the contest. That’s ridiculous. Anyone else sense that this whole thing is a giant Punk’d episode and Ashton Kutcher is dying laughing somewhere….?

Until next time,

Shawn