If you are a consistent reader you know that this is my season of sports depression as Football season and March Madness are over, and I have a long 4 more months before meaningful football is played again. This year, I have been trying to embrace other sports specifically the NBA and NHL playoffs. So here are few reactions and thoughts as we enter into the second round of the Playoffs. Also, shout out to Jim Mora pictured above who had one of my favorite press conferences of all time. After turning the ball over 5 times and obviously losing, he was asked about their chances at making the playoffs. His response is classic and worth a google. It’s right up there with Allen Iverson’s “we talking about practice” rant, Mike Gundy saying “I’m 40…I’m a man!” and Hal McRae throwing a phone (among other things). I feel you Hal, I want to throw things because of the Royals too. So this post is also a tribute to Jim Mora. And the Colts in fact did not make the playoffs that year.

Avs lose so I lose:

Of the 4 major American sports, I care the least about the NHL. Growing up in KC we never had an NHL team when I was alive. Apparently we had the Kansas City Scouts for a couple of years in the 70’s. Then they became the Colorado Rockies before there was a Colorado Rockies baseball team, but by the time I was 3 they had become the New Jersey Devils which they remain to this day. We have the Blues across the state, but if you know me, you know how I feel about St. Louis things. So the closest thing I ever had was the Kansas City Blades. They were part of the IHL and the games were quite fun and better yet, affordable. Although, I grew up hating the Broncos and specifically John Elway, I had no real hate for the city in general. So it is easy to get behind teams like the Avs and Nuggets. My wife is a big Avs fan and is eh about the Nuggets. She went to a lot of games back in the day when they won their first couple of championships. She has remained a loyal fan and was not happy after the loss on Sunday. As we all know, happy wife, happy life and so my life was less happy which I am against. Denver and Seattle have a rough history together. Seattle crushed the Broncos in the Super Bowl a few years back. Then they gladly traded Russell Wilson to the Broncos and you now know why. Now the Seattle Kraken, an expansion team, beat the Avs, the reigning champions, in their first ever playoff series. I of course was cheering for the Avs but you can’t help but sort of like the Kraken. They are scrappy and play hard without having any real stars. They are so unknown that I didn’t even know they existed before this series. Also, their mascot is the Kraken which is a pretty awesome name and one of 7 teams from the 4 major sports, NHL, NBA, MLB and NFL, that don’t end in “S”. Here is a fun game, name the other 6. You are welcome.

Bruins have best ever record in NHL history and are already out:

I don’t really follow hockey much as I have said but apparently the Bruins were real good this year. So good that they had the best record in the history of the sport. This has never bode well for teams as the best ever regular season record in the 4 major sports has zero championships. The Warriors won 73 games in 2015-16 and lost to LeBron and the Cavs in 7. Tom Brady and the Patriots went 16-0 and then lost in the super bowl to Eli. And whether you pick the 1906 Cubs or the 2001 Seattle Mariners, neither of them won the championship despite winning 106 games. It’s an odd trend but it goes to show you that the playoffs really are a whole new season. So the key is to be real good in the regular season but not too good.

The series that makes the NBA happy:

Overall, besides the Nuggets, the NBA has to be pretty happy about who is left. Boston, Philly, New York and Miami are all big markets with lots of basketball fans. But the other West series has to be what they are most excited about. Typically when you get 6 vs 7 in the second round it is not a win. But when the 6 is Steph and the Warriors vs the 7 which is LeBron and the Lakers, it makes the NBA very happy. Consider the alternative. While the Kings are a fun story since they had the longest playoff drought and Memphis would be a good story since they never win anything. But lets be honest, good stories don’t always equal good ratings. Warriors vs Lakers equals great ratings. I of course am all in on the Warriors in this one. I felt bad cheering against the Kings but they did leave KC so that made it easier. I have always liked the Warriors (before they were good) and never liked the Lakers. I love Steph and Klay is probably my favorite basketball player of this era. I don’t like LeBron, never really have. Not a big Anthony Davis fan either so from a fan perspective this is about as easy as it gets. It should be a good battle as the Lakers can’t shoot and the Warriors have no big guys that can score. The Warriors were historically bad on the road and very good at home during the season. In a change of events, the Warriors won game 5 and 7 against the Kings on the road and lost game 6 at home. I like the Warriors to win this one in 7, which would be almost ideal for the NBA. The most ideal result would be Lakers in 7. I also am aware that a good portion of people out there hate both teams. But guess what…you are probably going to watch too. Game 1 is tonight. Looking forward to the Warriors taking a 1-0 lead.

Suns are done:

No one in Denver cares, but the Nuggets are real good. They took care of Minnesota with ease and now are up 2-0 on the Suns. They gave the Suns a beat down in game 1 as Jamal Murray and others shot lights out. In game two, it was a low scoring defensive battle at least by NBA standards. On a night that Murray went 0-9 from 3 point range, the Nuggets still won by double digits. If you aren’t going to beat the Nuggets when Murray shoots that poorly, you aren’t going to beat the Nuggets at all. The Suns are going to lose for two main reasons. First, the Suns basically have no bench and the Nuggets bench is pretty dang good. Secondly, the Joker is the MVP. He probably won’t win because the world doesn’t want to give it to him for a 3rd time in a row. Jokic is quiet, laid back and doesn’t make much of a fuss. He gets the least amount of calls of any MVP ever and he doesn’t complain or make excuses or make a lot of noise in general. He just plays really good basketball all the time. He does it all. Even if you don’t think he should be MVP, he is still the best all around basketball player in the league. Last night when Murray couldn’t shoot and Porter wasn’t doing anything, Jokic put the team on his back. The Suns had no answer for him and he dominated most of the second half. I don’t see how this series goes more than 5 games. I think the Nuggets are good enough to sweep them but they tend to get bored and not play well in one game a series. My guess is that is game 4 and then they come home and seal the deal in game 5. Again, that is not what the NBA wants as the Suns with Booker, Durant, and Chris Paul are much more marketable. But the Nuggets are on a roll no matter what the NBA wants.

Glad I live where I live:

Mountain time zone is where it is at. It is by far the best time zone to watch sports in. Central time zone is next , then pacific and finally eastern. I don’t want to start watching the NFL at 10 in the morning so I am out on the Pacific time zone. Plus a bunch of stuff would start before you get home from work. Central is actually ideal for football season. 11 AM kickoff and trying to go to church on Sundays do not match up well. I am not going to tell you which one I choose more often, but Jesus loves me anyway. But imagine being on the East Coast and trying to watch these games. The Lakers vs Warriors starts at 10 PM eastern tonight. That is brutal. I like to be in bed by 11 at the latest. Why would I even start watching this game if I was on the east coast. Sunday night football starts at like 8:30. Brutal. I guess people do it but I think my fandom would dramatically slow down. Okay, maybe not, but I would be way less productive during the day.

Stay tuned for more posts later in the week.