Moose Droppings
Greetings from Palm Desert California where it’s in the 30’s all week and the NHL playoffs are about to begin just a couple of hours down the road. Lots to get to so let’s go!
1. THE DESERT 🌵- It’s a week away for myself as we join you today. We are down in California for another week enjoying a little sunshine and also doing a little work. Thursday we will be in LA taking in the LPGA Tour event, doing a little networking, and there is a chance of taking in Games 1 and 2 of the Oilers/Kings opening round series if the schedule lines up. This area is full of sports people right now including plenty of hockey people and I’ll be connecting with some of them throughout the trip.
2. THRILLING CONCLUSION 🏒 – With just two days left in the NHL regular season, RP and I are dead even in our breakaway bets segment. A Golden Corral buffet is on the line over the next two days. This is tense stuff!
3. ONE FINAL SPOT ☝️- There is one playoff spot remaining as we wake up on Wednesday morning. It will either go to the Montreal Canadiens or the Columbus Blue Jackets. Montreal plays Carolina today while Columbus will meet the Islanders on Thursday. Advantage Columbus but Montreal does lead by two points. We already know the Leafs will meet the Sens in the opening round which takes me back to my childhood. I can’t wait!
4. TUESDAY NIGHT 🍁 – It was a night of milestones on Tuesday and also a little heartbreak. Mitch Marner reached 100 points for the first time in his career and Auston Matthews scored his 400th NHL goal giving him 31 on the season. Meanwhile, it was heartbreak in Calgary. The Flames did their job beating Vegas in a shootout but both Minnesota and St Louis won officially eliminating the Flames from playoff contention. What a fight right to the finish. Hold your heads high Calgary, the future is bright.
5. EARTHQUAKE LESSONS 🫨 – Monday was a first for me. In the middle of the opening segment of hour 2 an earthquake hit Southern California. It was the first time experiencing an earthquake in my life. I’ll admit at first I didn’t know what was happening. It felt a little like a big wind storm back in Saskatchewan but as the walls rattled violently and the ground shook I quickly realized what it was. It was quickly confirmed by an emergency alert on my phone which read: “Earthquake detected! Drop, Cover, Hold on. Protect yourself.” The alert also knocked me off the air for several seconds before I was able to reconnect. The show continued, we acknowledged it and then moved on. Quite an experience. How does this relate to sports? Whatever the situation with your team, it’s important to go through it, experience it, and then keep going. Miss the playoffs? Retool, rebuild, and come back stronger next season.
6. BLUE JAYS ⚾️ – Baseball is obviously big down here and for good reason. They have the best team in baseball and just won a World Series. But, as we have more and more conversations the signing of Vladdy comes up. The consensus? The Jays made the right call in locking up the superstar long term. I haven’t really come across anyone who thought it was a bad idea. The Jays will try to take the rubber match in their three game series with the Braves on Wednesday.
7. JERSEY RETIREMENT 🦬 – Everything related to Deion Sanders is controversial these days. This week it’s his son Shedeur and teammate Travis Hunter who are in the news. Yes, they are likely first round NFL draft picks but the news is around the announcement that their respective jersey numbers will be retired at Colorado during a ceremony at the upcoming spring game. This has sparked outrage and debate across social media among those who love to be upset. To that I say who cares? Move on. They helped bring life to the campus and completely changed the trajectory of the program. Give it to them.
8. WHAT THEY’RE SAYING 📺 – I’m watching Sportscenter as I write this and it’s Sanders and Hunter currently on the screen conveniently enough. The latest mock draft has Hunter going second overall while Shedeur projected to go in the top-10. All the mock drafts I see still have Tennessee taking Miami QB Cam Ward number one. Make it happen.
9. OHL PLAYOFFS 🥅 – The offence has dried up for the Kitchener Rangers in their second round series with Windsor. The Rangers find themselves down 3-0 and on the brink of elimination. Meanwhile former Saskatoon Blades’ netminder Austin Elliott made 23-saves in a shutout over Erie as his London Knights took a 3-0 lead in their series. Oshawa has cut into Brantford’s lead and now trails the series 2-1 after a 7-2 win in game three on home ice. Barrie leads Kingston 2-1 in the other series.
10. RANDOMS 🍿 – I’m thinking as I get older the experiences of life are starting to add up and I’m applying the lesson. I no longer lose my cool and let a bad first five holes affect the rest of the round. Instead, I settle down, regroup and finish strong. At least that was the golf game Tuesday… I can’t wait to watch the movie “The Amateur” with Rami Malek. I might check it out while in LA. Watching a movie in the theatre in Hollywood seems like a thing to do… Ebbs and flows. I’m pretty checked out of football right now until the NFL draft… Crossing the boarder and visiting the US has been the exact same as any other time I’ve come down here. Completely the same except the plane was half full.
Talk to you from the show today!
Good stuff 7) All three and I watched all three. Cam Ward, Sanders, Hunter – these guys will be Kyler Murray 2.0 and need to be told to focus and not play video games. Cam Ward – The U, plays in a soft ACC conference Sanders/Hunter – completely uncoachable. If anything they are the football version of playing hockey for people like David Frost. So once the mind control is over and those two have to show up for work. Again, Big 12 soft conference. Unfortunately the NFL doesn’t have a Jimmy Johnson 2.0 to recognize this and trade the… Read more »
6. BLUE JAYS; Vladdy is very important.
Without him who’d dump Gatoraid on the star of the game?