2009 Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions: Round 2

Eastern Conference:

Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes

The Bruins are too deep at forward and too physical along the blue line for the Hurricanes to match them pound for pound. The Canes only hope would be for Cam Ward to return to his Conn Smythe winning form from the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs but even that won't be enough in a seven game series versus the top-seeded Bruins. 

Bruins in 5

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals

As a big fan of the NHL, this is a dream series for me. It's just too bad the three best players in the league, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are playing in the second round of the playoffs and not the Conference Finals. I see this series relying on special teams and goaltending. I think the Caps PP will be too much for the Pens PK especially after facing the #1 PK in the league in round 1. Unless players like Jordan Staal and Chris Kunitz start to put the puck in the net, I think the Caps and rookie goalie Simeon Varlomov are going to squeak by the Pens. 

Caps in 7

Western Conference

Detroit Red Wings vs. Anaheim Ducks

One would think that a rematch of the past two Stanley Cup winners would be an ideal match up in the playoffs, but not for this blogger. I wish both of these two teams could lose but unfortunately one of them has to advance. As much as I hate the Red Wings, I must admit that I respect them. They are too good offensively and Osgood has proven he can still dominate in the playoffs. 

Red Wings in 6

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Vancouver Canucks

I have been on the Blackhawks bandwagon ever since they drafted South Buffalo native Patrick Kane number overall in the 2007 draft. Not to mention a hell of a captain in Jonathan Toews and I have a good friend from school that's been an intern with the Blackhawks for the past year. This is a team that I always watch on NHL Center Ice whenever the Sabres aren't playing because they play a fun style to watch. It's too bad they played the Flames in the first round because I would've loved to see that match up in the Conference finals. The only way the Blackhawks don't advance would be because of Roberto Luongo but I don't see that happening. 

Blackhawks in 7

The Bills make me want to....

Be optomistic?

I guess that's what the fans of the Buffalo Bills have forced to do for the past 10 seasons since we haven't made the playoffs since 1999. Read that last sentence again. That's right. 10 seasons. Everyone remembers the "Home Run Throwback" from the 1999 playoffs vs. the Tennessee Titans right? Yeah, that's the last time the Bills were in the playoffs. Can anyone guess who our starting quarterback was that game? Rob Johnson. Wow. But at least he could get us into the playoffs. Unlike the starters that came after him (Drew Bledsoe, J.P. Losman, Trent Edwards) who have been as mediocre as you can get. In 10 years of not making the playoffs, we've had a top 5 pick only once. And we blew that one on Big Mike Williams, the 6'8" 360 OT from Texas, not the other draft bust named Big Mike Williams the Lions chose 10th overall out of USC (Sorry Zenga, you know I love anyone with tar coming out of their hands). Not blaming it all on the draft, plus it was hard to get big name free agents to come to Buffalo where the last quarter of the home schedule was almost guaranteed to be played in sub-freezing temperatures in the lovely confines of Ralph Wilson Stadium. That is until now...

Hello Terrell Owens. Welcome to the Buffalo Bills. North America's Team. How could you not be optimistic with this guy on one side and Lee Evans on the other. Besides Anquain and Fitzgerald in Arizona (which probably won't last much longer anyways), name a better receiving tandem out there. It's tough right? And with Trent having a full year under his belt, I think that 2009 might just be the year the Bills make if over the hump and see the post season.

Quickly I'd like to discuss the Bills 2009 draft. First off, I scored last second tickets to this years draft at Radio City and there were two ways I looked at it. One was that it was a very cool experience, an event I'm glad I can tell my children and grandchildren that I've been to once in my lifetime. One the other side it's probably the most overrated event I've ever been to. Thank God they shortened the first round from 15 minutes to 10 minutes because it would've been a long Saturday evening otherwise. Going into the draft there were some pressing needs for the Bills especially after trading Jason Peters to Philly for a few draft picks including their 28th pick overall. After many discussions with my draft guru, Zenga, (think Mel Kiper but not as cool of hair) we had come to the conclusion that the Bills were going to go DE or OT with the 11th pick overall then either a TE or whatever they didn't get with the first pick with the 28th overall. I was hoping for Brian Orakpo out of Texas who was sitting there at 11 but the Bills decided to go with Aaron Maybin out of Penn St. At first I was a little disappointed with the pick since the Bills had a tendency to blow their first round picks (See: Mike Williams, John McCargo, JP Losman) but after reading a few articles I'm content on the Bills personnel decisions, as I think Orakpo is a bit undersized to play DE (especially after seeing him in person at the draft. Just as Mark who slapped hands with him as he was walking up the aisle of Radio City).

So now I guess I should give my prediction for the Buffalo Bills 2009 Season. After seeing the schedule and knowing the Bills will be without RB Marshawn Lynch for the first 3 games of the year, I have to say the Bills sneak into the playoffs on the last day of the regular season as a Wild Card with a 10-6 record overall. Too optimistic? Maybe, but hey I'm a Buffalo Bills fan. I have to be.

The State of Sports

The next few posts are going to briefly breakdown how I currently feel about the sports teams that I follow religiously. Those teams include the Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bills, University of Michigan Football and last but certainly not least, the University of Michigan Men's Lacrosse team. 

We'll start off with the team that's obviously number 1 in my heart, the Buffalo Sabres. Ever since the end of the 2000-2001 season in which the Sabres sent arguably one of the best goaltenders in league history, Dominik Hasek to the much hated Red Wings for a bust in Slava Kozlov (the Sabres later traded him to Atlanta after less than 1 injury-riddled unproductive season) the team has not been quite the same. The ultimate measure of a team's success on a year to year basis is if the team can finish in the top 8 in their conference and the Sabres have only been able to do that twice in the last seven years. After coming out of the 2004-05 lockout, the Sabres looked determined to return to the glory years of the late 1990's and made two straight appearances in the Eastern Conference finals (Side Note: Barring injuries to their top 4 defenseman in Game 7 of the 2006 Eastern Conference finals, the Sabres would've gone on to easily win the Stanley Cup versus the Oilers) including winning the President's trophy in 2006-07. Unfortunately after a highly scrutinized off-season in which the Sabres failed to sign either of their co-captains in Chris Drury and Daniel Briere, the Sabres have spent the past two springs on the outside looking in. 

As for the current roster, many have questioned the Sabres grit, toughness, leadership, maturity and physical play. I agree with those question marks but feel that the Sabres are only a piece or two away from making a deep run in the playoffs the next few seasons. They have a core group of relative young talented forwards locked up for the next few seasons. Jason Pominville (26), Tim Connolly (27), Derek Roy (25) and Thomas Vanek (25) have all proven they can produce but needed these past two years to mature into a leadership role that hopefully they can fill in the upcoming season. The biggest question mark and the key to the team making it deep in the playoffs are on defense. Are the Sabres going to resign Jaro Spacek after an impressive 45 points this past year? I would love to get stud blue liner like Jay Bouwmeester or Dion Phaneuf but I just don't see the Sabres spending the money to get that type of play, plus I don't think they have the cap room, unless they unload some talent. In goal, I think the Sabres should be fine for the next five years as they locked up 28 year-old Ryan Miller to a five-year extension through the 2013-14 season. I'm fairly certain that had Miller not been injured for a month during the critical playoff run in March this past season, the Sabres would be in the on the ice instead of the golf course. 

Shortly after this past season ended there was a column in the Buffalo News that called for the head of Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff and General Manager Darcy Regier.  I know both men on a personal level, more Lindy than Darcy and I've see how much knowledge and talent they have first hand during my summer spent as an intern with the Sabres, but after reading that article even I felt that that Sabres needed a change at the top. You look at some of the coaching changes that happened during the year (Carolina, Pittsburgh, NY Rangers) and what a difference it made in the second half of the season for these teams. I had to ask myself, has Lindy's style gone stale? Apparently B. Thomas Golisano and managing  partner Larry Quinn felt that both Lindy and Darcy deserved another year after publicly stating that both will be retained through next year. After taking a week to digest the news I am confident that this tandem can put the right pieces together to make a serious run in the next two years. If the Sabres don't make the playoffs next year, I think the both are gone.

Needless to say the first week in October can't come soon enough.  

The Graham Townsend Story

Before I get into the flow of producing a regular blog, I want to give the readers out there a little background on my life and how I became the baddest mo' fo' around. (Note: I try to be funny sometimes, sometimes it work, other times it doesn't, deal with it)

Like I mentioned in the previous post, I am originally from Buffalo where I grew up in the safest town in America(true story), the lovely Williamsville, NY. I guess I was your typical white, suburban teenager, growing up in a place where the word diversity meant "the pit" of the commons in my high school where all of the minority kids hung out in their free period. Not like that was a big deal to all of us because it's not like I consider myself a racist or anthing, that's just how things went. As mentioned, sports were a big part of my life. In high school, I was a three sport athlete in golf, hockey and lacrosse. I also thoroughly enjoy playing basketball, tennis, bowling, and slow pitch softball. My best bud and current roommate Dan used to say that I was the best at obscure sports, which is kinda true. There's one big sport that is left off the list and that's football. Every so often I think to myself what kind of football player I could've been with my 6'4" 230-pound frame but I was always too busy playing travel hockey in the fall during my high school years to pick up another sport and that was okay with me and I have no regrets.

From the age of twelve, I had no doubt about where I was going to go to college. The University of Michigan had just finished taking 2 of 3 NCAA Men's Hockey Championships and their football team was crowned as the 1997 NCAA Football championship. I did a little research and saw that their academics weren't too shabby as well. Although hockey was my passion, I knew I didn't posses the skills to play at a top notch program like Michigan, but I knew I had to continue to play sports at a high level. Michigan provided that opportunity with their Varsity Club Lacrosse Program. Consistently ranked in the top 10 in the nation, the University of Men's Lacrosse program allowed me a chance to compete, win and travel the country to play other top club lacrosse programs. Over my four years playing goalie for Michigan lacrosse I was able to travel as far east at West Virginia to as far West as San Diego with stops in such cities as St. Louis, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis, L.A. and Phoenix to name a few. After riding the bench for a better part of 3 years I was finally given a chance to start my senior year as a co-captain and I couldn't have asked for a better final season. Our team, led by a great group of seniors, went 20-0 and captured the 2008 MCLA Championship at Texas Stadium in Dallas. Besides winning the NY State High School Hockey Championship my senior year, this ranks as one of the most gratifying experiences of my life. There's a famous quote from legendary Michigan Football coach, Bo Schembechler that says, "Those who stay will be champions". This quote rings especially true in my heart because of the values I hold myself to. Patience, patience, patience is key in my life. I understand that sometimes in life it's good to be impatient and take the proverbial bull by the horn, but in most cases, success comes from patience, cooperation and communication.

Moving on. After graduation from Michigan it has always been a goal/dream of mind to find a job in NYC. My older sister Lyndsey lives here and I always used to think to myself, what could be better than living in the greatest city in the world? I was lucky enough to interview for a paid internship in the Marketing department for the National Hockey League and was offered a 3-month internship, which I figured was plenty enough time to lock down a full-time position either with the NHL or somewhere else with connections I made while working there. It's a long story that I don't really feel like getting into but basically I was verbally offered a full-time position within the Marketing department of the NHL in September '08 but did not receive a formal offer from HR and soon after due to the terrible economic downfall, the NHL shortly went on a hiring freeze and my days at the NHL were numbered. I continued working until December '08 but ever since then I have been part-time bartending at a restaurant in Union Square called Chat 'n Chew. Not necessarily a dream job but it brings home some dough and when I tell people I'm a bartender in NYC they think it's pretty cool. If they knew the reality, they probably wouldn't think it's that cool.

I have a great family and parents who have been helping support me in one of the most expensive cities in the world. I also have a wonderful girlfriend, Kristin, whom I actually met up in East Lansing at a Michigan/Michigan St. football tailgate. She graduated from Miami (not the U) and currently lives a few blocks away from in the East Village. My friends are much like me in the fact that they love sports, boozing and enjoying each other's company. All in all, I'm a pretty lucky dude.

And that's my life story. Thanks for listening. More to come later on topics certainly more exciting than my life.

Doug, you can go suck it. I say that because:

A. It's my own blog and I can say whatever I want.

B. I've taken way too much shit on Doug's blog and currently he's one of two people that actually knows I have a blog. The other one being my sister.

C. Doug knows that although I may appear to be serious, it's all in good fun.

Welcome to the Blogosphere!

So it's 2:33 PM on Tuesday April 21st and I, Graham Ian Townsend, am laying on the only piece of comfortable furniture in my tiny NYC apartment located in the East Village. I'm going to take the next few lines to simply breakdown why I started this blog for everyone that doesn't know me. 

1. I'm unemployed* (See next post)

2. I'm very bored and sick of applying for stupid jobs that are not out there. I've come to the realization that it's almost impossible to find a job without some sort of connection. I've had somewhere between 8-10 jobs/internships throughout the past 8 years and the only reason I've gotten them is because of a connection or referral that I've gotten from a friend or friend of family member.  Maybe it's because I'm frustrated at where my professional career is right now but then sometimes I think to myself, 'Wait a second, I'm only 23 years old, I just graduated from one of the top universities in the country that many people would kill to go to, and I have the rest of my life to work.'  On the flip side, I feel like every day another opportunity goes by where someone else is working harder and doing the things necessary to put themselves in a better position to succeed in the real world, while I lay on my ass in my 11' x 8' room in my 350 sq. foot apartment and watch highlights that I've already seen three times on SportsCenter.

3. I've never been much of an opinionated/outspoken person. I think my biggest pet peeve are people who consistently complain about anything and everything. When people complain, it says to me that they think they are better than everyone else so their opinion about why they are getting screwed matters more than others. My philosophy on that issue is either suck it up or do something about it. If you don't like that you have no money, get a job! (I know it's ironic that in point #2 I complained that I don't have a job but it's not like I haven't been trying to put my name out there and interviewing. Not trying to make excuses but I feel the past 6 months have been a little different scene due to the economy.) A lot of things in your life are not going to go as planned, but as I've learned through out my 23 years here on earth, deal with it or do something to change it, but don't complain about it.

4. I love sports. In particular, hockey. If I could watch and play hockey all day and get paid for it somehow I think I would be the happiest person on earth.  A lot of future posts on this blog will be regard sports, particularly my hometown teams, the Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bills and Michigan Wolverines. I want everyone to know that I love my hometown of Buffalo. Nothing is quite like the city of Buffalo. The people are the best part about the city, followed by the weather and the pride of being from that area. Everyone who is from there understands what being from Buffalo is all about and those on the outside who look negatively can go F themselves because they have no idea. I'm not saying that Buffalo is the greatest city ever, in fact it's far from it, but I have another philosophy that unless you've experienced it first hand, I will not respect your opinions.

5. I am not an english major. In fact I majored in Sport Management. Far from English. I could've minored in History after taking a lot of credits during my 4 years in Ann Arbor but for some reason felt that I didn't need to fulfill the necessary credits to complete the minor. Oh well. With that being said, do not expect this blog to breathtakingly flow from sentence to sentence or paragraph to paragraph. I'm basically doing this so I can feel better about the time I spend on my computer and to get my thoughts and opinions down on the internet. If people want to read it, awesome. I'm glad I can be a form of entertainment for the masses out there. If not, then at least I can feel better about myself.  Either way, I hope to be able to regularly post on the blog so stay tuned....