Update: Hired!

I know I haven't posted in a while guys, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I got hired today as a pool manager for the summer! I am so excited. I will be writing another blog either later today or tomorrow.

Thanks for everyone's support on here thus far!

NHL: Eastern Conference Finals - Boston Bruins v Tampa Bay Lightning

The 2011 Eastern Conference Final (ECF) is right around the corner, and the two teams left have battled their way through some intense hockey to make it this far. Here is a brief-as-can-be summary of each teams “road to glory” thus far.

Boston Bruins:

The Bruins landed 3^rd seed in the Eastern Conference this year. Round 1 in the playoffs matched them up against a tough Montreal Canadien team. The two gave it their all, making it to the final game of a best-in-7 series. The teams were so closely matched that even game 7 saw overtime action. Although the number 6 seeded Habs fought hard, the Bruins were able to pull away with the W and advance on to the second round where they would meet the Philadelphia Flyers, who finished 3^rd in the league this past season. Although the B's were the underdog in this series, they were able to successfully sweep the Flyers in a major upset 4 games to none and take a confident step into the ECF.

Tampa Bay Lightning:

The Bolts finished the regular season strong with a (7-3-0) record in their last 10, and placing them 5^th in the East. They were even able to shut down my Carolina Hurricanes chance at getting into the playoffs in their last game of the season. Moving into the first round, the Bolts would face an injury ridden Pittsburgh Penguins team. The Lightning were able to defeat the Pens in a tough 7 game series and advance on to round two where they would face a powerhouse in the Washington Capitals (who finished 1^st in the East last season, 2^nd overall in the league). With complete odds against them, the Bolts unleashed fury against Alex Ovechkin and his giant of a team. Call it how you want it, but unbelievably the Bolts were able to sweep the Capitals 4 games to none, making them the first team to advance into the ECF.

Playoff Stat Leaders:

Boston- 

Goals: Brad Marchand, Nathan Horton, David Krejci, all with 5.

Assists: Patrice Bergeron, 10.

Points: Patrice Bergeron, 12.

Plus-minus: Zdeno Chara, +11.

Goaltending: Tim Thomas, 8-3, 2.03 goals-against average, .937 save percentage, 0 shutouts.

Tampa Bay-

Goals: Sean Bergenheim, 7.

Assists: Martin St. Louis, Steve Downie, Teddy Purcell, 10

Points: Martin St. Louis, 13

Plus-minus: Steve Downie, plus-9

Goaltending: Dwayne Roloson, 8-3, 2.01 goals-against average, .941 save percentage, 1 shutout.

Final Thoughts:

Let’s take a quick look at how evenly matched these two teams actually are, stat wise:

Bruins: Finished 3^rd in the East, 7^th overall in the league.

Bolts: Finished 5^th in the East, 8^th overall in the league.

Both teams shared the exact same record: 46-25-11 (W-L-OT) with 103 points.

The only major difference between the two teams was the goal differential. The Bruins scored 246 goals for throughout the season and allowed 195, leaving them at +51. Whereas the Bolts scored an equivalent 247 goals, but allowed 240, finishing them at +7. The amount of goals scored for each team signify that offense was not the problem for the Bolts, but rather lied in a somewhat less structured back end. 

This can be seen in the four matches during the regular season where these two teams squared up. The Bruins were able to win 3 out of 4 attempts against the Lightning, only losing their first, but coming back in their second game with a whopping 8-1 win. The goals scored between the two teams favor the Bruins, 15-8.

These two final teams are so closely aligned, that I am not only predicting a 7 game series, but also and intense single, or DOUBLE overtime. I have never really been a fan of the Bruins, but that's not the only reason I will be rooting for the Lightning the rest of the Championship. They are also a part of the SouthEast division, where my favorite team, the Carolina Hurricanes, are also located. We all know what kind of rep the SouthEast division already has, seeing the Bolts go far only makes us look better.

Share your thoughts and feelings on the ECF still ahead. May the best team win!

**Also, tune back in to see a preview of the Western Conference Finals following the completion of the 2nd round in the West.

Mothers Day 2011

Just wanted to say Happy Mothers day to all mothers. Thanks for all you have done for us! Will be putting up another blog post later on. Have a happy Sunday!

PC Game Review: League of Legends

www.leagueoflegends.com

League of Legends, a DOT-A style platformer, is one of the highest rated free computer games currently available. It features a wide variety of Champions to choose from, two large arenas for 5v5 or 3v3 gameplay, and nail-biting action that will leave you wanting nothing but more.

The basic premise of the game is to destroy the other teams Nexus. Sounds easy, right? Not so much. Teams are split up into 5v5 or 3v3, with a different Arena for each. Summoners (you and your teammates) choose their Champions before the battle begins (following suit with your typical Tank/DPS and Ranged/Mele fighting classes). There is also an in-game shop where you will spend the gold you earn by killing enemy minions and other Champions, on increasing your own Champions stats. There are also enemy turret towers along the way that shoot heavy damage dealing blows to anyone that get within range. The good news is that when you manage to destroy a tower, it cannot ever be re-spawned, whereas the bad news is that usually only a few hits from one kills you and forces a re-spawn at home base.

The in-game graphics are superb on my 18" 1080p laptop. The colors and edges are very vivid and the game runs incredibly smooth. I would say that anyone with a decent graphics card and at least 1Gb of Ram will enjoy smooth gameplay.

League of Legends (or LoL to those who play) is an incredibly team oriented game. If one person is bringing the team down, then two must work to pick up the slack. Only in rare cases can a pro carry an entire team.

Give the League a chance. I promise you won't be disappointed!
My in-game name is GhostL0rd. Go ahead and add me if you are in need of questions or advice, or are a veteran looking for a pro teammate. ;D

Bolts Sweep Caps!?

The Lightning, playing in the postseason for the first time in four years, beat the Caps 5-3 to record their seventh consecutive win, fourth in a row against the Washington powerhouse, and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. 

It was yet another post-season disaster for Washington, who have won four consecutive Southeast Division titles but failed to advance beyond the second round of the playoffs since 1998.

"We wanted to win, they wanted to win, and eventually someone had to lose," Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin told reporters. "I don't know what to say right now."

I'm sure the GM doesn't know what to say either about the Washington Head coach, Bruce Boudreau. Enraged Caps fans believe that its finally time for a new Head coach to step in and grasp the reins. But wouldn't it be fair to say that since the Capitals have another year left of contract with most of their expensive players, that Boudreau should be given one more chance with a team that he knows so well and has gained respect though?

Mike Green, Alexander Semin, Denis Wideman and Mike Knuble will be in the last year of their contracts in 2011-12. That’s about $17.88 million that could be redirected into the bank accounts of shutdown defensemen and two-way forwards if Boudreau’s free-wheeling system fails one last time.


I for one think that the GM will give Boudreau one more chance, or at least let him start the next season to see how he does. They cannot afford to mess up another playoff run next time around.

But one thing is for sure, the Bolts have proven themselves yet again as a team that can shut down a giant. Next they move on to play the Boston Bruins for the Eastern Conference Finals. I wish them the best of luck as the only SouthEast Division team left in the playoffs.

Beginning

So I wanted to start a blog about not only myself, but about the things that I am interested in. My goal here is to meet people with similar views on certain topics, and also to meet people with differing/debating ideas, who are also friendly.

First I want to start off by giving you a very brief synopsis about myself. My name is Mike, and I live on the Eastern edge of the United States. I am 22 years old, single, and work as a manager of a city pool. I have been through almost 4 years of college at a major university, with currently nothing to show for it. I do have high expectations for myself and intend to reach those goals in the near future.

I play and watch sports including but not limited to: Hockey (played Ice for 14 years and watch the NHL), soccer (played in high school on a varsity squad and watch the British Premier League), swimming, running, and a little basketball (although my height limits me from excelling).

In this blog you can expect to read and openly discuss topics such as: new movies, TV shows, the NHL, major world events (some political), Religion and theories on life/afterlife and other random but interesting topics.

I am new to blogging, so please bear with me in the beginning until I get the hang of it. I love writing, and I love meeting people and discussing their views compared to mine. I hope this can become a safe zone for me to escape to from the real world and really open up to the cyber world.

Enjoy! ^_^