I'M BAAAAAACCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKK!

After a month and a half long hiatus, I have returned to the blog-o-sphere with a vengeance (and a new JOB, more on that in a second). I feel bad that I haven't been blogging as much recently, but I think the long time off from the Great White Hype had a lot to do with the lack of motivation, brought on by my blogging, or should I say NON-Blogging compadres (see: dwbellonbermuda, last post: 5/31 and sportsandliferamblings, last post: 6/5).  Anyways I got a text message from my buddy Augie yesterday that simply read "U should start blogging more!" and that's when I knew it was time for my return to the sphere.  The fact that I may only have a half dozen or so readers doesn't change the fact that they want to know what's going on in the life and times of Graham, so here we go...

A lot has happened since I last blogged, so instead of doing my usual weekly thoughts I'll touch on some of the highlights of the last 6 weeks. 

1. I got a job offer. Holler. This is what I have been waiting six plus months for as my time in NYC was scarily coming to an end, I'm employed just in the nick of time. Like I mentioned in my previous blog, the most reliable way to find a job is through a connection, and sure enough, that's how I landed this one. A friend of my sister's works for Deutsch Advertising Agency on 8th Ave in Chelsea and had asked for a copy of my resume for an opening on their DirecTV account. The position was for an Assistant Media Planning position where they basically plan when and where DirecTv will be advertising.  They deal a lot with ESPN and Sports Illustrated and I've heard that there are many perks to being on the agency side (tickets to events, games, dinners, etc) so I'm pumped about that as well. My start date is Aug. 11th so I have some more time to waste away before getting down to business. 

2. Deaths of Celebs

The obvious passing of the King of Pop was obviously a big surprise to us all, but it seems like everyone has a different opinion on him. Some think he's a God and others think he should've been jailed a long time ago for child molestation. One consistency throughout all of this hoopla is that MJ sure knew how to entertain (I don't consider to acknowledge any of his career post-1994 after the Free Willy song came out because there's not much there. Just a freaky looking dude with a few strangely named kids).  When the news showed all the clips of his singing career, from Jackson 5 through the solo years, no one can say he wasn't one of the bests of all time, if not the best. It was awesome walking around NYC the days following his death and hearing EVERY single car blasting MJ's greatest hits. Everyone just had a big smile on their face and that's probably the thing I'll remember most about the King of Pop.

The fact that Michael's death was right in the middle of a string of celebs croaking created quite an emotional rollercoaster for the American public. From Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett to Billy Mays(who I happened to see about 2 weeks before his death at an Oxyclean demonstration at the NYC BBQ Festival) it made you step back and appreciate what you have and I realized I am certainly lucky to have my family and friends alive and in good health.

3. Just wanted to point out the fact that I called the outcome of the Stanley Cup Finals, Pittsburgh in 7, on my last post. Damn I'm good. I should get a medal for that shit. It was a nice month long break from hockey but it's been too long since I've seen a Sabres game and that needs to change soon. I was watching clips on Sabres.com from the development camp last week and I'm excited for the young talent the Sabres are bringing in especially Nathan Gerbe, Tim Kennedy and 6'8" behemoth defenseman Tyler Myers. Kennedy, a South-Buffalo native and former opponent of mine many times throughout our middle school and high school days, attended Michigan St. and probably scored one of the greatest goals of all time vs. MY MICHIGAN WOLVERINES at Yost. Check it out.

4. The real T.O. Show starts next week in Rochester, NY as the Bills set to opening training camp on the 2009 season. Man, I really hope we make the playoffs. Just once. We don't even have to make it in 2010 but if we just end this pathetic streak (sorry Lions fans) of missing the playoffs every year since 1999, I will be a much happier person. Much like how I feel more at ease now the the Michigan Basketball team finally made the NCAA tourney (and won a game!). They don't even need to make the tourney next year, although it would be nice...

5. I think the Michigan Football team is going to win 4 games at best. I'm sorry I just don't think we have the talent to compete and win games anymore like we used to. I could see Michigan turning into Notre Dame like inconsistency unfortunately where we just can't dominate like we used to. Too much parody and too many losses to teams like Appalachain St. and Toledo. FML.

6. Hope you enjoyed the post and hopefully there will be more to come in the near future. None of this 6 week hiatus BS. I'll make sure to let my blogging counterparts know that I'm back in the game and they should do the same. 

oops peace c-ya holla gotcha

2009 Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions: Finals

Detroit Red Wings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

I'd like to start this post off by noting that I called this match-up in my conference finals predictions including the Wings taking care of the Hawks in five games. I was pretty impressed by what I saw from Chicago over the course of the regular season and deep run into the playoffs. I could see them winning at least one Stanley cup in the next five years since the average age on the team is only 25 years old.  With Jonathan "Captain Serious" Toews and Pat "Buffalo Boy" Kane they have a legit one-two punch that could rival Malkin-Crosby, Ovechkin-Semin and Datsyuk-Zetterberg in the next few years.  In the case of Toews, I have heard a lot of comparisons long time Red Wing captain and First Ballot Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman. That's quite an honor for the young man but I feel he has the game and the leadership ability to back it up. Check out this funny clip of a Toews interview after winning the U-18 Championship.

In the East, I'm actually glad the Pens didn't give the Canes a sniff of the Finals by sweeping them in four games. Unfortunately for the NHL, the Canes somehow managed to knock out the top-seeded Bruins which would've made for a much more exciting match-up in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Now for the prediction...

As tough as it is for me to compliment the Red Wings because of my jealousy of their success and hatred of their fans in general, it's tough for me not to show them the respect they deserve. They have become the franchise to emulate over the past two decades in the NHL and somehow they continue to acquire top-notch talent through the draft and free agency.  The Pittsburgh Penguins on the other hand struggled through the middle part of the decade and used those poor seasons to snatch quality draft picks like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fluery. These young players have matured over the past few seasons and gained valuable playoff experience over the past three seasons and are now in their second straight Stanley Cup Finals.

If the Penguins are to dethrone the defending champs, they are going to have to control a few factors. First of all, they need to take advantage of their dynamic power play.  Pittsburgh is going to have limited chances 5-on-5 due to the Detroit's stifling defense so any chance they get with the extra man, they must get traffic in front of Chris Osgood and get pucks on the net. The second factor is goaltending. Marc-Andre Fluery has to outplay Osgood every night for the Pens to stay in the game. Detroit always seems to score timely goals which can be take the wind out of their opponents sails very quickly. If Fluery can stand on his head and win the Pens at least two games, they have a shot to win. Injuries are also going to be a huge factor. Nick Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk both missed games in the Blackhawks series but it didn't seem to rattle the playoff-tested Red Wings who found guys like Johnathan Ericsson and Darren Helm to step in to roles. My golden rule is that the team that is playing the best at this time will ultimately take the crown and I think Pittburgh is playing well enough and has gained enough experience over the past few seasons to take the Red Wings down.  I know I should never bet against the Red Wings but I just have this feeling.

Pens in 7

Random Thoughts of the Week 5/18

1. T.O. in Buffalo. It was one of the top stories on SportsCenter this morning as Terrell Owens arrived last night at the Buffalo Airport to a sea of Bills enthusiasts hoping to get a glimpse or maybe even an autograph from the 35 year-old wide-receiver.  This showed me 2 things: 1. There's not much else going on in Buffalo right now. 2. There was nothing in the Buffalo News this morning on his arrival which means the national sports media(ESPN) is destined to turn this relationship as controversial as possible and I have a sad feeling little old Buffalo is going to get thrown under the bus by T.O. shortly after his departure from the Bills. It's just bound to happen. T.O. was also set to get a key to the city this afternoon from Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, which to me is a little premature and absurd. I mean it's obvious the type of talent this guy has but come on, what has he really done besides bring a bunch of negative attention to three different NFL teams. I'm just hoping if he does leave Buffalo the way he left San Fran, Philadelphia and Dallas, he does so with a Super Bowl ring.

2. I like the match-ups in the NBA Conference Finals. I personally think the Lebrons are going to cruise past the Magic in 4 or 5 games. I'm just glad I don't have to watch the Celtics anymore. They just aren't the same team without KG and it's time for Dwight Howard to take another step in his career. In the West, I'm not gonna lie, I jumped on the Nuggets bandwagon around the same time Charles Barkley.  I think Chauncy totally changes the mindset of this team and brings a confidence they didn't have in years past that we've seen through the first two rounds.  Don't get me wrong, Kobe and the Lakers won't go down without a fight so I'm predicting this series goes 6 or 7 games with Denver advancing. As much as people want to see Kobe vs. Lebron, I would be just as excited to see Melo, Chauncy, K-Mart and the Birdman vs. Lebron.

3. I have a new obsession with Jim Rome. I love watching his show on ESPN. He's witty and informative at the same time with a wise crack coming out of his mouth what seems to be every other sentence and the reason I love it is because it's always true.

4. I'm excited for summer. I would really like to be employed by then. Keep your fingers crossed. 

5. I'll be in Buffalo for the Memorial Day weekend and I'm excited to do some things that I don't normally get to do here in Manhattan:

1. Drive a car 

2. Play golf 

3. See my dog Dockers

4. Hang out with my family and high school buddies

5. Eat some REAL Buffalo wings and a Burger from Grover's. And maybe a Roast Beef Sandwich from Anderson's

Back to Back Champs!

If you haven't heard yet, the University of Michigan Men's Lacrosse team went wire-to-wire for the second straight year and captured the 2009 MCLA Championship on Saturday night in Denver. They overcame a 4-goal halftime deficit to beat Chapman University for the second straight year in the finals 12-11. They have now won an incredible 40 games in a row and will have the talent coming back next year to continue that streak. 

Everyone has been asking me if this win will help them reach NCAA D-1 status and I tell them that it will have as much impact as last year's national championship. Winning always helps and shows people outside the inner circle that Michigan Lacrosse is taking the necessary steps to reaching the goal of becoming a D-1 program, but unfortunately there are factors outside of the Michigan Lacrosse program(Title IX and facilities the two biggest) that will keep us a "Virtual Varsity" team for the time being. I predict that if all goes as planned, we will see a varsity team at Michigan by 2014. I know that seems like a long ways away but unfortunately I think there are th getting in the way of the lacrosse team bumping up to the D-1 level . They only thing I'm hoping for between now and the time we become a Varsity program is that the quality of play in the MCLA to keep progressing and obviously more National Championships for the Big Blue!

People on the outside looking in don't really comprehend the amount of time, money and effort that goes into this program and it's really nice to see everyone get rewarded for their hard work and dedication. Congrats to JP and the rest of the 2009 MCLA Champions!

2009 Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions: Conference Finals

Well I was 0-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals. But at least I called the Caps/Pens series going to 7 games and who saw the Canes outlasting the mighty Bruins in their second 7 game series in a row? The NHL has to be excited that their superstars shined in the big spotlight and the series lived up to all of the hype. Even though I picked the Caps to win, I'm not surprised at all that the Pens are moving on because as Mark put it shortly after the embarrassing performance by the Caps in Game 7, "Man, what a dud. But c'mon, the better team won the series." OV now has to go to the LeBron school of team-building and instead of trying to carry this team on his back for 4 rounds in the playoffs, learn to use his teammates and create an atmosphere where the other talent around him wants to raise their game to another level. 

Now onto my Eastern Conference Finals predictions:

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Carolina Hurricanes

All of the headlines leading into this series are about the Staal brothers going head-to-head with younger defensive minded Jordan shadowing the offensive powerhouse in Eric. Every time I've seen Eric play in person it's obvious that he is the most talented player on the ice. Things will be a little different in this series as the two-headed monster down the middle known as Sid and Gino. I'm sure Carolina has a ton of confidence after knocking out the first place Bruins but I just don't see how they are going to be able to handle the deeper and more talented Penguins. Cam Ward better be ready to face a lot of shots but he's shown he has the ability to keep Carolina in many games throughout his playoff career. In the end though I think Pittsburgh feels it's their destiny to meet the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals to avenge last years loss. 

Pens in 6

The NHL struck gold twice during the 2009 Playoffs as this is the best match-up they could've asked for coming out of the West. Two original six teams with Chicago being relevant again in the league after years of being the embarrassment of the league and the Detroit Red Wings proving once again that they are the closest thing to a dynasty this league has seen since the Oilers in the 80's. 

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings

This prediction is a little late due to the fact that the Red Wings took Game 1 yesterday in Detroit but the result didn't do much to change my opinion on how this series is going to play out. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Red Wings are too deep at forward while doing such a great job at possessing the puck and scoring timely goals. They just seem to find guys like Dan Cleary and Mikael Samuelsson who fit well into their system and succeed. The only hope for Chicago is for Khabibulin to stand on his head and not give up soft goals like he did multiple times yesterday(See Cleary's first goal and Franzen's wrap around goal). They're not going to be able to rely on Kane and Toews the entire series in terms of offensive play and need secondary scoring from guys like Patrick Sharp and Dustin Byfuglien.  After all is said and done the Red Wings will remain victorious and Marian Hossa will get a shot at playing for another Stanley Cup vs. his former team. 

Red Wings in 5

Random Thoughts of the Week

1. As much as I love to watch ESPN and SportsCenter, I cannot stand it when they report about stupid stories like Brett Farve coming out of retirement, Alex Rodriguez doing steroids in high school, Terrell Owens missing voluntary workouts. It reaches the point where I turn the channel because its the same story over and over and they keep on reporting the same stupid shit. Sports Guy Bill Simmons summed it up best in his column about how great the Bulls/Celtics series was:

Think of all the crap we deal with as fans. "Bulls-Celtics 2009" explains why we put up with every story about Clemens and Bonds and Michael Vick and Terrell Owens and everyone else who conspires to make sports less fun. On the same day of Game 6, a story broke that Alex Rodriguez was allegedly seen with human growth hormone. The story was digested and consumed in the same predictably brief cycle: Mainstream Web sites and blogs and message boards and sports radio first, then "PTI" and "Around the Horn," then "SportsCenter," then newspapers and magazines. You can either throw yourself into that cycle or look the other way. I am getting older. I just want to watch sports. I have trained myself to look the other way. This stuff clutters my brain, and not in a good way. I just want to watch sports. I just want to watch sports.

I'm just like Bill. I just want to watch sports. It's just too bad we have to put up with all that other crap. 

2. LeBron James is a freak of nature. After watching him single-handedly beat the Detroit Pistons in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals I always knew he was destined to win a few NBA titles and MVPs.  He's already halfway there and I'm convinced he will lead the Cavs to their first NBA title this year. I was also convinced that at the when he becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2010 season, he was certainly going to sign with the Knicks. If you haven't noticed, LeBron likes to be in the spotlight and the lights don't get any brighter than playing at MSG every night. But now I'm not sure New York will be his destination next off season. I could see Lebron building a dynasty in Cleveland (much like Jordan did in Chicago) and winning 4-5 NBA Championships/MVPs as a member of the Cavs. They scariest thing about him is he's only 24 years old and hasn't even reached his prime. 

Mark has a good post about Lebron's life off the court that I found to be interesting. Check it out.

3. I don't think Manny should be suspended for 50-games. Maybe 25 at the most. Hell, Rafael Palmero was only suspended 10 gamses. This a tough blow to Major League Baseball but I guess they had to show the general public that even one of the best hitters in the league was not above their strict drug testing policy.

4. Classic TV never gets old. I was flipping through the channels today and I saw Tom and Jerry on Cartoon Network. Well needless to say I had to stop and I literally watched the rest of the show. I felt like a kid again, it was great. Other TV shows from my childhood that I would definitely watch/have watched recently: Saved by the Bell, Step By Step, Family Matters, Hang Time, Bugs Bunny and Friends just to name a few. 

5. I can't believe I've been out of college for a year already. Depressing. 

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