Anyone else? I did it for a competitor comparison more than anything. The Hockey News operated a regular season pool but the only thing viewable to the public is the rules. The playoff pool was going to be the same, so I signed up to see what it was like.

Rules are basic pick a player at each of 20 positions/groups and score points based on their goals, assists, wins for goalies, etc. The pool allows users to edit their team for each round of the playoffs. Very simple setup.

One thing I don’t like is even after I signed up, it gave me no idea how many people were in the pool. Then after the games started, even then it leaves me in the dark as it only shows the top 50, plus my rank. My lowest was after the first day ~ 585th, and since then I went up to mid-200s, and after last night fell back to about 335th.

Lets say I was last at 585, which I’m sure I wasn’t. That is $24.95 per entry * 585 = $14,595, and the cash and prizes total $10,000. A payout % of 68%, and you can bet it is a lot lower. That is absolutely brutal odds for the consumer.

If I hadn’t picked Zach Parise in the first round I would consider tanking this thing just to see how low I can fall, and get a better idea how many people are in this pool. And this isn’t unique to The Hockey News pool, as CDM Sports run very similar – fixed payout, sell as many entries as possible.

Now I just need to figure out how to get people signing up for those pools over to this website. It might be time to add some fantasy pools to the mix at MyOfficePool.ca.

National publications and advertising wouldn’t be a bad idea either

One thing quickly forgotten from years past while gearing up for this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs is that I need to condition my body to run at half the sleep than its used to. The playoffs are in a word, awesome, but we need to make sacrifices for experiencing the full effect of that awesomeness. And that sacrifice is a complete lack of proper sleep, and the resulting effects of sleep deprivation.

Living in the Eastern time zone, not only are the west coast games a killer to begin with, but overtime with a capital “O” is pushing things too far. I just connected the facts that overtime starts with “o” and an “o” is a circle, and a circle goes around and around with no end. Do you see what is happening to me when I get no sleep? My mind turns to mush. And that is after only one night.

Double OT. Triple OT. Quadruple OT between the Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars! Are you kidding me? My body is not ready for this, especially on opening night! I admit it, I bailed after double OT at roughly 2:00am Toronto time.

Things would not be so bad if I was still in university. Ah, university. Talk about living in a fantasy world. Now the problem is the kids (my kids, ages 4 and 1.5) have zero cognizance of this new distraction in my life. My darling wife has less than zero sympathy.

Some advice: Do your best to not give any indication you are walking around like a zombie. That is exactly when your non-hockey fan significant other recalls household chores you long thought had fallen by the wayside.

If we can get through the first round, then things shoudn’t be too bad the rest of the way. The first round games have the biggest time commitment in sheer number and often length. After that we’ve more or less adjusted to the new schedule. Come on guys, we can do it if we stick together!

To the purists out there though, is the shootout really so bad? What exactly does it solve for Henrik Sedin to pot the winning goal 5 hours and 21 minutes after the game started, and most everyone with half a clue (and some of us without) are no longer watching. I like the shootout. I can live with the shootout. Most importantly, I can sleep soundly after the shootout.

Some poor video choices on YouTube for the Bayern-AC Milan and Liverpool-PSV games yesterday. That is fitting with these games, really. Liverpool had already all but officially wrapped up advancing to the semis after a 3-0 blasting of PSV in the first leg.

Bayern pulled a rabbit out of its hat managing a draw in the closing seconds at Milan. Even playing at home with the return of Mark von Brommel and Victor Kahn, Milan proved too much with two goals scored close together in the first half, and cruised to the win after that.

Hmm… I can’t find a Liverpool-PSV highlight at all. Best I’ve got is the crowd singing, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” for over 4 minutes recorded on some guy’s phone. That is definitely not worth our time.

7-1 win by Manchester United over AS Roma. Wow. Now that is some goal scoring dominance like I’ve never seen in a game at this level. Lets rank these goals from most impressive to least impressive, and then cue the highlights so you can be the judge.

1. Goal #2, Alan Smith – Beautiful one-touch passing up three-quarters of the field. Turns out to be the game winner as a bonus.
2. Goal #6, Michael Carrick – With no hesitation, turns and fires into the top corner from 25 yards.
3. Goal #3, Wayne Rooney – Roma looks completely overmatched on this one as ManU moves up the field. Perfect cross by Ryan Giggs and flick by Rooney.
4. Goal #4, Cristiano Ronaldo – More of a one-man show on this one, but what a show. He was itching to get in on the goal scoring at this point.
5. Goal #1, Carrick – An unexpected strike catches the keeper out of position, and kicks off the fireworks.
6. Goal #5, Ronaldo – More nice passing to set up a another cross by Giggs which manages to find Ronaldo for an easy convert.
7. Goal #7, Patrice Evra – A nice effort.

It took the full-time to get a decision on this one, but Chelsea prevails over Valencia in what turned out to be a much closer competition than our pool picks (heavily favouring Chelsea) would seem to indicate.

While cruising the Internet yesterday and trying to drum up more interest in the Hockey Playoffs Pool (tick, tick, tick…), I came across a website with links to many different hockey blogs and links.

There is some great stuff here, so I figure it is a good time to share. The website I came to is Spector’s Hockey run by Lyle Richardson from Prince Edward Island. Click on “hockey links” in the navigation bar and you’ll find 70+ links to other hockey sites. These range from James Mirtle’s Blog, who writes for the Globe and Mail and hence has a professional look and feel, to Jes and Greg’s Blog with entertaining commentary and blog tagline “This isn’t your gramma’s Hockey Blog, son!”. I haven’t even scratched the surface here, but if you want to read hockey opinions, Lyle’s links are as good a place as any to start. Lyle also has his own blog.

Now, more relevant to our current circumstance, with the playoffs starting tomorrow night, we need some opinions on who advances through this first round. Let’s go with Lyle’s predictions and my comments. This way you get 2 opinions for the price of 1.

Western Conference

Detroit in 6 over Calgary – Agree. The times I watched Calgary the last few months the defensive play in their own end was poor. It improved as the playoffs approached, and as Colorado challenged them for that final playoff spot, but I still come away skeptical of what looked to me like a team making too many critical errors that will get them killed in the playoffs.

Minnesota in 7 over Anaheim – Disagree. As much as I don’t care for the guy, Chris Pronger was a force for Edmonton last year and should be a big difference maker for the Ducks. Potentially tough series but Anaheim is one of my favourites to go deep in the playoffs.

Vancouver in 6 over Dallas – Agree. I give a significant edge to Roberto Luongo over Marty Turco.

Nashville in 6 over San Jose – Disagree. San Jose is one of those teams with seemingly higher expectations every year (that’s not just me, is it?) than what they are able to accomplish. Ah, I’m sticking with them again this year, at least through this round.

Eastern Conference

Buffalo in 5 over NY Islanders – Agree. Sabres are just too strong. Now if this could get decided in a shootout with poke checking phenom Wade Dubielewicz, then I might have to go the other way.

New Jersey in 6 over Tampa Bay – Agree, in fewer games. Weak goaltending on the Lightning side vs. Martin Brodeur. The Devils are my Eastern Conference Survivor Pick.

NY Rangers in 5 over Atlanta – Agree. Honestly these are two teams I don’t know much about at all, so really I have a “no opinion” on this one. Jagr? Shanahan? Sure, looks good.

Pittsburgh in 6 over Ottawa – Agree. This pick for me is more who I want to win than who I think will win. The Pens don’t have much playoff experience and Marc-Andre Fleury may not be up to the task, but I have no love for Ottawa. Let’s see if Gary Roberts can focus the energy of these young guys to propel them past the Sens.

Overall, great job Lyle. We only disagree on 2 of your picks.

Hmm… I did say “more” in the title of this post. What more can I say? Two small things on the playoff pools.

1. My buddy Dmitry questioned why I was charging GST on Canadian entries in the pool. As I told him, unfortunately, I have no choice in the matter. The pools are legally structured so what people are paying for is access to the website, ability to change their picks and make picks each round, etc. Therefore, this is a service taxable by the federal government. Trust me, I don’t like it myself, but it has to be done if MyOfficePool.ca, Inc. is going to operate as a legitimate business, which is what the goal is. If you have any questions about it please email me to discuss further.

2. I am disappointed in the number of entries to date after a pretty significant investment in advertising. Hopefully more people sign up between now and 7:00pm Wednesday. One thing I’ve noticed is there are so many options for hockey pools that the competition is tough.

That said, when I consider entering a pool I’m all about checking the odds of winning to see if they are fair and reasonable. I figure if I offer a pool with a cap on entries, which leads to a much higher payout percentage, then you are way better off entering this one than bigger contests like at the Hockey News or CDM Sports which set the grand prize but take in as many entries as they can… in the thousands. The odds of winning those are miniscule by comparison and once you add it up they pay out in the 50% range.

As for free sponsored contests like Kia Motors/CBC/Hockey Night in Canada, or Boston Pizza/Office Pools.com, they are likely taking in tens of thousands of free entries (or more?). The odds of winning are very small.

What I’m getting at is I think we offer a good deal here on the sports pools. I hope you see it that way too, and again, if you don’t or want to discuss, then let me know. Cheers.

What a weekend with, finally, a not unexpected result. The Leafs did not qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs. It was an emotional rollercoaster like no other to come to that conclusion though. First, Hockey Night in Canada featuring the Leafs-Canadiens in a single elimination game. The Leafs must win in regulation time or the Canadiens advance, end of story.

The Leafs start off on the right foot, pelting Habs goalie Cristobal Huet with 23 shots in the 1st period and build a 3-1 lead a little over a minute into the 2nd. Then the Michael Ryder show takes off with some help from Leafs goalie Andrew Raycroft.

Don Cherry defended Raycroft on the first Ryder goal, coming up the boards on Raycroft’s right and screened by Pavel Kubina. I don’t buy it. While he may have been partially screened, Raycroft still had time to pick up that puck on its way to the net. It flicked off his glove and in. It was a weak one, and the collective Leafs psyche crumbled before our eyes as they allowed 2 more Ryder goals, pulled Raycroft for Jean-Sebastien Aubin, gave up a power play goal and were suddenly, stuningly, behind 5-3.

All looked lost at this point, but Carlo Colaiacovo – I like this kid – brought them within 1 late in the 2nd. Montreal got in some penalty trouble early in the 3rd, and the Leafs capitalized for 2 goals and a 6-5 lead. Maybe the Habs should have pulled Huet? At any rate, the Leafs had us on the edge of our seats to the bitter end, having just reminded us (as if we needed reminding) a period ago that holding a lead is not their forté.

This time they managed the task. Final score: Leafs 6, Canadiens 5. The Canadiens are eliminated and the Leafs now hold the final playoff spot.

Oh wait a minute. The New York Islanders to no ones surprise defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 Saturday afternoon. They play Sunday afternoon against the New Jersey Devils. A win for the Isles in that game, and they vault over the Leafs for the final playoff spot. It is sit and wait and hope for the best time for the Leafs.

And why should the Devils care about this game? They shouldn’t. For the 30% of Canadians who responded to TSN’s poll, “should the Devils feel obligated to start Martin Brodeur in this game”, you are truly delusional. Don’t forget the fact the Leafs played the Islanders just a few nights prior and had their chance to eliminate them right then and there. They failed miserably.

On to the game recap. I’ll keep it brief. Isles build a 2-0 lead and are cruising. No way they lose this game. The Devils just don’t care. Then, John Madden pots a goal at the 15:47 mark of the 3rd. Interesting. Then the unthinkable. The final seconds are ticking down, and the Isles fail to clear the puck. I don’t want to throw around the blame unjustly but I believe it was Brendan Witt. The Devils hack away at it and finally Madden, again, knocks his own rebound back toward the goal and in with under 1 second on the clock. Wow. Heartbreaking for the Isles. They look absolutely dejected on the bench. A miracle for the Leafs!

That was short-lived. The game went to a shootout, and this is when Leafs fans really got to groan about Martin Brodeur not being between the pipes for the Devils. Stand in Scott Clemmensen looked outmatched allowing the first two past him. For the Isles, 3rd stringer Wade Dubielewicz looked like a seasoned vet with his effective poke check stopping shots 2 and 3. Isles win. They face the Sabres. Leafs are out.

Does this mean the end of GM John Ferguson? Is that a “Hell Ya!” I hear from Leafs Nation? My brother thinks so. My friends think so. Honestly, I’m not sure. And more importantly, I’m not sure it matters much. Ownership doesn’t really care about wins and losses, just the appearance of trying. The fans keep coming no matter what the product on the ice looks like. Do you know anyone who dropped $1,000+ for Leafs-Habs tickets on Saturday? Some people did, and thats proof enough of my prior statement. Blind loyalty – got to love it.

Mind you, Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment does throw the money around on player contracts. They just need someone who can spend that money a lot more wisely than Ferguson. But is MLSE motivated enough, passionate enough like true hockey fans, to say, “we’ve seen enough” and hand Ferguson his walking papers? Unfortunately the answer is, probably not.

More people picked Manchester United and Chelsea to advance from the quarters in our Champions League pool. Wouldn’t you know Roma and Valencia hold the upper hand after the first Leg.

Champions League started up again yesterday after a long layoff with the quarter-finals, and boy did it not disappoint.

Excellent action in the AC Milan-Bayern Munich match. AC Milan is the only team still alive in this year’s tournament that made it as far as the quarter-finals a year ago. They looked to be in good shape starting at home against Bayern, who were down two notables, keeper Oliver Kahn and midfielder Mark van Brommel. Thanks to some incredible goal keeping by Michael Rensing (seriously, two insane saves in the first half) and scrappy play to the final seconds (literally!), Bayern earned a 2-2 draw and now look to be in the driver’s seat.

A lopsided affair in the Liverpool-PSV Eindhoven match, but many a Liverpool fan will be happy today with a practically guaranteed pass to the semi-finals. It was a 3-0 drubbing of PSV on impressive goals by Steven Gerrard, John Arne Riise and Peter Crouch.

Once these games kicked off then the picks appeared in our Champions League Pool, and it sure looks like there could be a fair bit of movement in the standings after this round. Our top 4 entries each picked a different pair of winners from the opening two matches. One of them is going to get both right, and one is going to get both wrong.

There is more consensus in the picks from today’s matches, Roma-Manchester United and Chelsea-Valencia, but the bonus points for the goal predictions will be a big factor, as could a Roma or Valencia upset shake things up.