Iginla Nominated For Hart, Phaneuf For Norris

Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla is nominated for the Hart Memorial Trophy for the League's Most Valuable Player. Iginla lead the team with career high 98 points (50 G, 48 A) . Washington Capitals' Alexander Ovechkin and Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin are the other nominees.

Calgary Defenseman Dion Phaneuf was nominated for the Norris Trophy for the League's Best Defenseman. Detroit Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom and Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara were also nominated.

What are the chances of these two winning? Pretty slim. Lidstrom will most likely win the Norris...again. As for the Hart, the NHL wants Ovechkin to win it. On the bright side, being nominated is good since most of voters follow eastern teams. If it was my choice.....

Bruce Lee Mini Series to Debut in China

This looks pretty good. The series will be shown in China later this year. It is based on The Legend of Bruce Lee, which is also the title. See how clever I am to incorporate it in that sentence? Actually, judging from this trailer, it looks like a lot of the story is made up, not really a true life story of the man. If you remember Dragon, that also had a lot of fictional elements based on Bruce Lee's life. Anyway, watch the trailer.



By the way, Bruce Lee was from Hong Kong which means he spoke Cantonese, not Mandarin. Since this movie is made in China and funded by the Chinese government, the movie is mainly in Mandarin. Oh well, guess I have to read subtitles.

Stanley Cup Playoffs - Round 2

Okay, as usual I am wrong. My predictions for the first round were pretty good, but not good enough, as my team lost. I got three out of four right in the East, and two out of four in the West. Five out of eight.

On aside note, I really dislike the way the NHL reshuffles the brackets after each round to favour the higher seed. In a normal bracket, the winner of 1 vs. 8 plays the winner of 4 vs. 5, while winner of 2 vs. 7 plays winner of 3 vs. 6. In the NHL, if 1, 5, 7, and 6 win their series...1 would play 7, while 5 plays 6. Confused? Yeah, so am I and everyone who follows the NHL playoffs.

So, without further delay, here are my predictions for the second round. Again, these are not based on any statistical, scientific, or historical logic. They are simply based on nonsense, which is not far from what you would read anywhere else out there.

East

(1) Montreal vs. (6) Philadelphia - Montreal, still want a Canadian team in the final
(2) Pittsburgh vs. (5) NY Rangers - Pittsburgh, NHL is pissed that they could not get a Crosby vs. Ovechkin match up in the playoffs. They, the NHL, will do everything in their power to push the Penguins in the Eastern Finals with Montreal. You know, good for ratings.

West

(1) Detroit vs. (6) Colorado - Colorado, enough with the Red Wings already. But this should be the best series of the four.
(2) San Jose vs. (5) Dallas - Dallas, simply because I HATE SAN JOSE!!!

That Cory Sarich Hit - 13 April 2008

The Flames were down 3-0 in the first 3:33 minutes of play in game 3. That is a lot of three's. Then this happened:



Long story short, Flames score 4 straight goals and win 4-3. I will try to find better video and update later. Awesome!

Here are some more:

Spider Card Trick

My cousin Chester did this card trick on my wife (girlfriend at the time) a while back. He was going to send it to America's Funnies Home Videos, but never had the time to convert it. Anyway, who needs AFHV when we have YouTube? Enjoy.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Begin Tonight

The playoffs begin tonight with the Calgary Flames (7) vs. San Jose Sharks (2). You can look all over the internet and find great analysis, previews, and predictions on who is going to win and why. Everyone has their picks for all the series. But I am going to do something different. My prediction will not be based on statistics or anything scientific. Here goes:

I grew up in the Bay Area, so my "home town team" is technically the San Jose Sharks. But, I have never really liked the Sharks. In fact, they are my least favourite team...in the world...regardless of sport. My team is, was, and always will be the Calgary Flames. Therefore, I pick the Flames to win.

Other series predictions, again, based on pure nonsense.

East:

(1) Montreal vs. (8) Boston - Montreal, because I want an all Canadian final
(2) Pittsburgh vs. (7) Ottawa - Pittsburgh, because "that is what the NHL wants"
(3) Washington vs. (6) Philadelphia - Washington, again, because "that is what the NHL wants"
(4) New Jersey vs (5) NY Rangers - New York, because there should be at least one lower seed advancing. And simply, I really could care less about this series

West:

(1) Detroit vs. (8) Nashville - Nashville, because it would just be damn funny...and I do not really like the Red Wings.
(2) San Jose vs. (7) Calgary - Calgary, because I HATE SAN JOSE!!!! (and I am a huge Flames fan, and I want an all Canadian final...just like in 1986, 1989. Guess which two Canadian teams were in those finals.)
(3) Minnesota vs. (6) Colorado - Colorado, because I just flip a coin, and I lost it under the couch.
(4) Anaheim vs. (5) Dallas - Dallas, because I am going with all the underdogs in the West.

Mario Gets A Hummer From Luigi

I found this hidden feature whilst playing Super Mario Galaxy. So, I stopped everything, set up a tripod and took a video of it. I also put this on YouTube...which is the first video I have ever posted. It also means that I did not steal this video. My very own and I am willing to share it with you and the rest of the world. Yeah, I am totally hi-tech. Enjoy it, I know Mario did.

Jarome Iginla's 50 Goals

I do not know where the second goal is. Other people do the work, I just steal this stuff from the internet. Enjoy.

Trevor Linden

Here is the clip I was talking about. Just watch and listen.

Last Game of the Season

Tonight the Flames face the Canucks at GM Place in Vancouver. On Thursday, the Flames backed into the playoffs with a Canuck loss to the Oilers. Of course, Calgary could have made a run for the Northwest Division title...but they choked in a 3-1 loss the Minnesota.

Captain Jarome Iginla still has 49 goals on the season. He will try for number 50 tonight, last chance. With a win tonight, the Flames can get two points and earn a possible sixth seed in the West. A loss or a tie will pretty much lock them in seventh. A win will also give them a one game winning streak going into the playoffs. GO FLAMES!

UPDATE: Iginla get his 50th goal of the season...and two assists in a 7-1 win. Iginla ends this season with 98 points, a career high. Also, this is his second 50 goal season.

On a side note, long time Canuck, Trevor Linden played his last game in a Vancouver uniform. At the end of the game, he hugged all his teammates, the crowd chanted his name, and the entire Calgary Flames bench shook hands and congratulated Linden on 19 seasons in the NHL. It was quite an awesome site.

Three Stars of the game: Third Star - CGY Eric Nystrom (2G, 2A), Second Star CGY Jarome Iginla (1G, 2A - 50th Goal), First Star VAN Trevor Linden

Trivia: I share the same birthday as Trevor Linden...he is five years older

Thanks, Trevor.

Battle of Alberta Tonight

It is April Fool's Day, but who really cares? The Battle of Alberta is going on in Edmonton as the Calgary Flames take on the Oilers. The Flames have lost the last two games, including a 2-1 lost to Edmonton on Saturday....so, they need to win this one. Meanwhile, the Oilers need to win to stay in the playoff hunt as they are 2 points out of the last playoff spot.

This is the last time the two teams face each other during the regular season. Calgary captain Jarome Iginla is looking to score his 50th goal of the season. GO IGGY, GO FLAMES!

Update: Flames win 3-2. Oilers playoff hopes go down the drain. Iginla gets one assist, no goals.