This Guy...

...well, the version of him that's ten or so years older than when this picture appeared in the Flyers' 2003-04 Pictorial Yearbook (not just a yearbook, a Pictorial yearbook)...just won the Conn Smythe trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs. Justin Williams of the Los Angeles Kings won his third Cup since being traded from the Flyers in 2004.

And hey, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter won their second Cup since they were traded by the Flyers. Are we sensing something about the Flyers' player evaluation over the years? But this is not about the Flyers or Richards or Carter. This is about Justin Williams. He's woefully overdressed in this photo.

2011 Stanley Cup Finals

So it's Vancouver vs. Boston in the Stanley Cup finals -- not Vancouver vs. Tampa Bay, as I predicted. This makes me 8-6 overall in series predictions, and I continue to be pathetic with my East series picks, now 2-5. Not that the Lightning didn't try. They forced a 7th game in Boston and it was scoreless into the third period of that last game. The fact that the Bruins won that game 1-0 made the ComcastNBCUniversalVersus conglomerate happy, because they'll draw better ratings numbers with the Boston market (as opposed to Boston Market) involved.

But my pick is Vancouver. Why? (Besides the fact that they're a Western team and my picks involving the West have been so much better?)  Because they finally look like they're living up to their potential after dispatching San Jose in 5 games in the Western Conference finals. Because I think they're the deeper team. Because I think Roberto Luongo is still a better goaltender than Tim Thomas. Because I can't stand the thought of yet another championship for the city of Boston. And because if the Canucks don't win this year, Canada -- which hasn't had a Cup winner since 1993 -- may never win a Cup again, even with the Atlanta Thrashers moving to Winnipeg and becoming Canada's seventh NHL team. Canucks in 6.

2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs - Conference Finals

Welcome back to this year's edition of "Joe Throws Darts at Hockey Teams," also known as my predictions for the Stanley Cup playoffs. I got the Western Conference perfectly in the last round (Canucks in 6, Sharks in 7). My Eastern Conference picks (Flyers in 6, Capitals in 6) crashed and burned, as the two top seeds were both swept. So I'm 7-5 overall -- but only 2-4 in the East series, featuring the teams I actually see most often. Familiarity breeds stupidity? Now, to the NHL's final four...

EASTERN CONFERENCE

(3) Boston Bruins vs. (5) Tampa Bay Lightning - Both teams had to rally to win their first-round series and swept through the second round. Both teams have been sitting around for over a week thanks to their sweeps. I'm not sure this gives either team a particular advantage. It might make for a sloppy start, if the teams have to shake off the rust. Boston is the better team, and should win. Then again, Tampa Bay has already defeated Pittsburgh and Washington. Plus, I apparently know nothing about the Eastern Conference, so I'm going with the upset. Take this with a few thousand grains of salt. Lightning in 6.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

(1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (2) San Jose Sharks - These two teams, both with reputations as playoff underachievers in recent years, are apparently going to spend this series trying to give the other team the series. The Canucks blew a 3-0 lead in the first round before finishing off Chicago in Game 7. The Sharks followed the same pattern in the second round against Detroit. Both teams had trouble in their other matchup as well before winning in 6 (Vancouver over Nashville, San Jose over Los Angeles). Because of this, what should be an excellent series might be a very weird one. Canucks in 7.

Flyers: Stanley Cup...Drag Race?

It could happen. Well, maybe (definitely) not, but in my odd little mind I like to imagine that, after the seventh and final game of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series between the Flyers and Sabres went seven overtime periods with neither team able to score, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman decreed that the time had come...for the two teams to lip-sync for their lives before RuPaul!  And then...

"I've made my decision...Philadelphia Flyers...chanté, you stay!"

"Buffalo Sabres...you made a strong run to get into this competition and acquitted yourself well. You may go on to greater things if you believe in yourself and continue to work hard. However, your gas-fracking owner supports evil Republican governors. And that, my dears, is something none of us should abide.

"Now...sashay...away."

(Keep in mind that you get what you pay for here, especially at 2:55 am.)

2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs - Conference Quarterfinals

Once again, I'll offer predictions for the Stanley Cup playoffs, the finest professional sports postseason there is. The usual caveat -- other than the Flyers, my fountain of knowledge of teams is limited at best, so if you're looking for "expert" analysis you won't find much here. And as I'm writing this two or three of the series-opening games have already started, but I only know one partial score and it's not affecting my pick for that series. I've been watching the Phillies anyway, since the Flyers don't begin until tomorrow night.

By the way, did you know that there are three teams based in California in the playoffs, but only two from our hockey-crazed neighbors to the north? Woe, Canada...

EASTERN CONFERENCE

(1) Washington Capitals vs. (8) New York Rangers - The Rangers made a late run, then kind of backed into the playoffs at the end. Capitals in 5.
(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (7) Buffalo Sabres - see below. Yes, I'm being a tease again.
(3) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens - This should be a war. Bruins in 7.
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Tampa Bay Lightning - Penguins in 6, although it worries me that they're still playing without Sidney Crosby.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

(1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (8) Chicago Blackhawks - This should be great even though the defending Cup champs backed in (even moreso than did the Rangers) on the last day of the season. Canucks in 7.
(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Los Angeles Kings - Thanks to some of their employees (on- and off-ice) who used to work here, the Kings are kind of like Flyers West, so I wouldn't be sad to see them make a run, but they have some injury issues (just like Flyers East often has!) and the Sharks are better anyway. Sharks in 6.
(3) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Phoenix Coyotes - Please, dear (insert your preferred deity/deities here), get that team out of Phoenix once and for all, please? Red Wings in 5.
(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) Nashville Predators - I can honestly say I know very little about either of these teams. However, I read that Flyers color analyst/Versus studio cohost Keith Jones says the Predators are going to be in the Stanley Cup finals, and that just seems ludicrous, so...Ducks in 6.

And now, the moment you've been waiting for...my Flyers-Sabres pick!

Flyers' Post-Mortem: A Lesson In Destiny

I came to an important realization recently, and I'd like to share it. You may want to write this down for future reference, because it may be the most profound thing I ever come up with:

One's final destiny only becomes known after the fact.

This is probably obvious, but we're always looking to tell ourselves something will happen because it's our destiny. If it were that easy, we'd have a society full of actors. "It's my destiny to win an Oscar!" How many misguided souls think it's their destiny to be the next American Idol? Now imagine if it were true. "American Idol winner William Hung/Sanjaya Malakar/anyone from Season 9." And, of course, it's my destiny to win a huge lotto jackpot and never have to worry about money again. (Still waiting on that last one, keepers of the karma...)

In sports, we tend to proclaim destiny at the drop of a hat, but especially when our team hasn't won in a long time and something amazing happens that we take as a sign, an indicator, a guarantee of future success.

A Little Perfection And Lots Of The Opposite

Here's why the remote control is your friend: I was, naturally, watching the ridiculous first game of the Stanley Cup finals. During commercial breaks I had been switching over to the Phillies game and knew that the Phils had a 1-0 lead. I didn't know any further details because I only had been switching briefly. So when the first period came to an end, I decided to switch to the MLB Network, because they were showing a game between Colorado and Los Angeles. Strangely, they had the Comcast Sportsnet feed of the Phils-Marlins game. I thought maybe the other game was in a rain delay until the MLB Network studio host began talking over the sound from the game, saying that Roy Halladay had a perfect game through 7 innings. Needless to say, I watched the Phils from that point on, with the Flyers relegated to the DVR.

Watching Halladay retire the final six batters he faced, to finish off the perfect game -- second in Phillies history, only the 20th in baseball history (but the second this season) -- was truly exciting. We Phillies fans are so fortunate right now. It's not just the team success, the three straight NL East titles, back-to-back NL pennants, the World Series win in 2008. It's the amazing moments happening throughout. Jayson Werth's stealing second, third and home in one inning, to name just one example. Now there's a perfect game to add to the list. Incredible.

Now for the bad news:

Softball A Bit Screwed Up; Flyers To The Rescue!

While I eagerly await Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals I thought I'd rant about a couple of issues. As you know, today was day one of the Liberty Bell Classic softball tournament. In our D division each team played three round-robin games. Then the double-elimination portion began -- once you lose two games you're eliminated. Our team, the Tabu Nighthawks, had to play three consecutive games, at 11 am, noon and 1 pm.

Our first game was against a New York team that was filled with C-division (i.e. much better) hitters. Needless to say, we were clobbered. The fact that these teams want to not just play in tournaments, but essentially crush the real D teams -- loading up on players who are highly ranked, and possibly cheat by giving them rankings lower than they deserve -- disgusts me to no end. There's no real accomplishment here, there's no huge cash prize. So they get a trophy. Big freakin' deal. They may win a tournament but they're still losers. Pathetic.

Anyway, we rebounded with two wins in the round-robin and, after a brief break, won our first game in the double-elimination. That means we have at least two more games to play. For winning we were rewarded with a game at 8:00 am tomorrow.

Stanley Cup Finals: One Team's Drought Will End

The Hockey News has a chance to get it right after all. Prior to the start of the 2009-10 season, they predicted the Flyers would win the Stanley Cup. That seemed absurd for most of this season, and even when the Flyers squeaked into the playoffs at the last possible moment, it still seemed far-fetched. When they fell behind Boston 3-0 in their series, forced a 7th game and fell behind 3-0 in that game, it again seemed impossible, until the historic comeback was completed.

Now, after taking out the Montreal Canadiens in 5 games to win the Eastern Conference championship, the Flyers will take on the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup finals starting Saturday night in Chicago. The Blackhawks went 52-22-8 during the regular season, one point behind San Jose for best record in the West. They swept the Sharks in the Western finals after previously beating Nashville and Vancouver in 6 games each. For what it's worth, the Flyers beat the Blackhawks 3-2 on March 13 in the teams' only meeting this year.

The Blackhawks are obviously a dangerous team, and will undoubtedly be the favorites to win the Cup. Whether they feel that pressure remains to be seen. While the Flyers' last finals appearance was in 1997 and their last Cup was won in 1975, the Blackhawks haven't gotten this far since 1992 and haven't won the Cup since 1961 -- so long ago that even I wasn't born yet. So one city's hockey fans are going to finally celebrate.

Hopefully, whichever team wins, the Comcast Sportsnet affiliate will be more careful with its live coverage than CSN Philly was tonight. No, I take that back. I love when this stuff happens.