Thursday, April 19, 2018
The Playoffs- Spring, 2018
There are
important playoff games taking place all over North America. Perhaps
not as many hockey playoff games in Canada as you would wish, but
that is the nature of the beast: play well in the regular season, and
you may share some of the spoils of the post season. So goes the year
in these cities: Ottawa, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, and Edmonton.
As is usually the case, great expectations in the fall, only to be
dashed by injuries, poor coaching and management decisions, and the
like.
In the
hockey world, sixteen teams survive after the regular season. Some of
those survivors continue on through the playoffs, scoring timely
goals, taking fewer penalties, hitting fewer goal posts, getting
lucky breaks. My guess is that will apply to the Penguins, the
Knights, the Blue Jackets, the Predators, the Sharks, and the
Lightning. Leaf fans got something to cheer about on Monday night
when the Blue and White defeated the Bruins in Toronto. Frederik
Andersen played brilliantly in the Toronto net, especially in the
third period.
Once we
enter the second round of these playoffs, it will be a little easier
to determine results. Our entire nation pins its hopes on its one and
only basketball team, the Raptors. For the first time in franchise
history, they won their first playoff game.
The Eastern
Conference in the NBA was to be dominated by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
After all, LeBron James has played in the last eight NBA final games,
with the Cavs and with the Miami Heat. Few doubted that things would
change much, although the team has undergone major restructuring this
season. They lost their first playoff game at home last
Sunday, an almost unheard of event. The Raptors also play two more
games at home before heading out to Washington.
It was just
fine to see that little Canadian flag attached to the leader's name
in last weekend's LPGA event. Once the last putt had dropped into the
cup on the 18th green, Smiths Falls' Brooke Henderson had
emerged victorious in the Hawaiian event. She methodically mowed down
the opposition over the last nine holes to finish four strokes ahead
of the pack. Her sister Brittany is her caddie, and they worked
together to get the job done in the breezy weather. Simply put, they
were able to work in the conditions better than any other pair.
Remarkably, Brooke is only 20 years old, and has already etched her
name on many pieces of golf hardware.
Sandra Post
is still considered to be Canada's greatest female golfer. Henderson
only needs to win a couple of events to surpass Post in that regard.
That could certainly happen this year. Henderson will respond in that
same manner when she realizes what she has accomplished: brilliant
smile, few words, and an anticipation to get on to the next
tournament.
Also in the
hockey world, the Florida Everblades begin their quest to win the
Allen Cup this week as the champions of the ECHL. They play two games
against the Atlanta Gladiators at the Germain Arena. They finished
the season with record totals, most points ever. A tribute to coach
Brad Ralph. And yet, the important job lies straight ahead: becoming
the victor in “The Playoffs”.
James Hurst
April 16,
2018
# posted by James Hurst @ 8:36 PM 
