Friday Commentary: ICYMI
Photo: Columbus Blue Jackets
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A coupla three or more thoughts entering the weekend …
#1 – What a heckuva night it was in the NHL! Columbus throttled the Rangers 6-3 and moved into third spot in the Metro. The Blue Jackets have points in 11 straight under Rick Bowness and have nudged the Islanders out of a playoff spot! Oh, and the Islanders lost 3-2 to Ottawa and New York #1 pick Matthew Schaefer notched his 50th point. The only other 18-year old to do that in NHL history?
Phil Housley.
Out West the undermanned Florida Panthers surprisingly throttled the Oilers 4-0 in Edmonton while Vegas got shutout at home 4-0 by Utah. The Panthers’ hashtag is #TimeTo Hunt. Maybe the Golden Knights’ hashtag should be #TimeToPanic.
#2 – ICYMI: (In Case You Missed It): The SJHL Playoffs start tonight. (I miss the old Survivor Series, but whatever). Here are your Game 1’s – Estevan at Flin Flon, Melville at Yorkton, Weyburn at Nipawin and Melfort at the Battlefords. Let the games begin!
#3 – They’re putting the World Baseball Classic to bed with some final analysis. Venezuela beat USA 3-2 in Tuesday’s final at a jam-packed Loandepot Park in Miami. Ratings are at an all-time high, and attendance too.
And now the geniuses in the suits are thinking of moving the tournament from preseason to mid-season.
That sounds about right for how things go in a lot of sports these days: “Things have never gone better! Let’s change it up!”
#3 – Just a quickie on March Madness. It ain’t like it used to be. I sat down to fill out a bracket on Thursday – because of course I didn’t want to be left out – and immediately realized I didn’t have a half hour to do it. However ESPN was offering a free bracket, with the wonders of AI, which fills out your bracket in seconds! So that’s what I did. (So I’ve got Michigan to win by the way).
In a way I felt guilty spending the day on the couch watching basketball before switching over to hockey.
But then I realized – that is my job after all.
That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary.
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Rick Bowness is a hockey warrior.
He continues to remain relevant and comes in and must do something no one else can. Amazing work and he is doing his best work later in life.
The lesson is to adjust and adapt. From the first Ottawa coach to this latest reclamation project speaks for his ability.
Columbus is the next destination spot for players. Jody Shelley and Ken Hitchcock mentioned on a podcast what a special place it is.
Columbus and Montreal are the dark horses this year.