NLCS Game 2 "Live Picturebook"

First off, The Friendly Friends would like to extend our deepest condolences to Charlie Manuel and his family.

Second off, stay tuned for one Friendly Friend's attempt to convey his deepest feelings through easy to understand pictures as the Phils battle the Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLCS:

Mid First Inning



Are you kidding me? Three up three down is about as good as we could hope for. Looks like Myers is on...

End First



It's half-full, people...it's half-full...

Mid Second



Good damage control by Myers, one run isn't a problem....right?

End Two





Myers for MVP of everything!

Mid Third



Serious Myers can still have MVP?

End Third







Three RBI??? You can absolutely keep that MVP.

Mid Fourth



There go the three RBI...thanks Ruiz!

End Fourth

Interesting stat during that inning...Ryan Howard is 2 for 17 with 1 run and 1 RBI in the postseason. Brett Myers is 4 for 5 with 3 runs and 3 RBI.



Mid Fifth



Just cruising along...

End Fifth



This Ryan Howard is only two hits behind the Phillies' Ryan Howard this post-season...

Mid Sixth



Thanks Durbin...

End Sixth



Not sure if 3 runs will be enough...

Mid Seventh

For the catch...



For the song...



End Seventh



I'm worried too Julie. They're getting hit a little too much...

Mid Eighth



Three up, three down for Madson...

End Eighth



Lidge, Lidge, Lidge, Lidge, Lidge...

Mid Ninth










THANKTHEEVERLOVINGLORD!!!! Can't the Phillies do anything easy???

As always the flower pics are from Mrs. Jewbacca's garden...

A Not So Obvious Reason Why DVR Is Awesome

Through the magic of my newly acquired DVR I was able to pause my live TV long enough to let The Big Talker 1210's coverage of the Phillies game tonight catch up.

What does this mean? I've been listening to Larry Andersen, Scott Franzke, Harry Kalas and the other guy the whole game.

What is most awesome about that? THE TWO HARRY KALAS HOME RUN CALLS THAT JUST HAPPENED!!!

There's no way Joe Buck or whatever soul crushing, brain numbing Fox stuffed shirt had the same level of joy in his voice. And I'm also sure that they were able to work at least 4 Manny references into the HR call....

AWESOME UPDATE: PHILLIES WIN!! 3-2. If I had been listening to the Fox coverage I would have missed Larry's yells of joy after the final strikeout!

"Live" Blog: Preds-Sharks the Third

And we're back. Happy 2007 Tax Day.

12:03 am- It's 2-1 Sharks. Let's see how quickly they go trap.

12:05- So it's actually pronounced Gotch, even though it's spelled Goc. Not a hard C. Oh well. At least that doesn't rhyme with anything bad like notch, watch and botch.

12:06- Who in sam hill does JP Dumont think he is? And why is he mic'ed up? And why didn't he apologize for costing me a fantasy hockey season years back. He had to know I was watching this game. I mean, how many people are up after midnight watching the NHL on Versus...besides me and his momma!

12:07- That's right. I went mom joke on JP Dumont. I'd do it again too.

12:08- I feel terrible about going mom joke on Dumont. I take it back. I'm sure she's a nice LAYdy. Tee-hee.

12:10- Vokoun is singlehandedly keeping the Preds in this. The Sharks haven't gone trap and are still bringing it.

12:11- And here comes the makeup calls. I guess they'll justify calling the Sharks for goaltender interference since a Shark checked a Pred and he hit his own goalie. And in Africa a butterfly just flapped his wings, stirring up a minuscule breeze that sent dust particles into the atmosphere, that will travel out over the ocean, that will cause a storm to build, that will become a hurricane, that will be the excuse for the terrible gas I have right now. I always blame it on someone else. Usually the cat, but this time, I'm using the Butterfly Effect.

This is the best I could do without including Ashton Kutcher

12:14- If the Preds aren't careful, they're going to give up a shorthanded goal here.

12:18- Forsberg getting dissed. He's just not doing it for the Preds. I guess when the Sharks' third line cycles the puck nonstop in the Preds end and eat up minutes (only 9 left) someone needs to step up and it might as well be Forsberg.
12:21- Brian Engblom has great hockey hair.

12:22- I never want to see my goalie look behind him, like Nabokov just did.

12:23- 8:00 left, is it just me or are the Preds just sort of standing around waiting for the horn?

12:26- Beezer keeps wondering who will step up for the Preds. He asked if Kariya or Forsberg will do it. But now, he seems to have his answer, Alex Radulov the guy who is handily suspended for this game. So Foppa and Paul, you're off the hook. Beezer will await Radulov to step it up to win this one for the Preds.

12:27- Hamhuis is another great name. Pronounced "Ham-USE" it makes me think of all of the wonderful things we can do with pork. And it makes me hungry for bacon.

Jewbacca's favorite ham-use, which is somewhat counterintuitive given his name

12:28- Jack Links commercial, Messin' with Sasquatch. Is the passenger the guy from The State? If it is, who did he piss off to be left out of Reno 911 and Stella?

That's him Mr. Sasquatch, upper right.

12:30- 5:15 left. I am fading fast. I am Jewbacca's shriveling attention span.

12:32- SCORE! Bill Guerin makes it 3-1 Sharks. That should be it. The Sharks actually are keeping up the pressure. Awesome deflection. There's a -1 for Forsberg.

12:33- Guerin still looks weird in teal. And he looks sad since Patrick Marleau got the goal.

12:34- What exactly were they reviewing there? My previous blog entries for this game?


12:35- 3 minutes left. Is there garbage time in the playoffs? Ooof, that was a nasty high stick that the announcers missed. "Inadvertent?" Arnott looked like he was trying to do a Tim "Dr. Hook" McCracken on that dude.



12:39- Wow, the Sharks completely shut down the Preds without the trap and actually added a goal. Ten seconds left.

12:40- And that's the game. Join us here next time for another "Live" blogcast of the NHL Playoffs. Now I'm just going to curl up here on the couch and sleep it off. If I have to see one more ESurance commercial I may kill someone.

12:42- For the love of god, would one of those idiot robots finally crush Erin Esurance? They're as inept as the robots I controlled playing Mutant League Football on the old Sega Genesis. The Sweaty Irishman used to kill me every time.


Click here for the "Live" coverage of the second period...
Click here for the "Live" coverage of the first period...

"Live" Blog: Sharks-Preds: Period Deux

11:07pm- Welcome back sports fans. Settle in for period number 2.

11:08- Quick recap as it gets a bit chippy about 2 minutes in. 1-0 Preds. There. All recapped.

11:09- According to the announcing crew, Suter is being opportunistic. Just like the ladies in that Young MC song.

Some girls are sadistic, materialistic/Lookin for a man makes them opportunistic

11:10- Did Forsberg really just throw a punch? After watching the replay I might too if I had gotten dumped like that. And somehow, since he punched the black guy, they both go to the box.

11:11- Nice save by the post on that one, with help from Nabokov. 4 on 4 with 16:00 left in the second.

11:13- (14:54 left) I felt that slash by Suter. Now how opportunistic was that?

11:14- While watching the replay of the Preds shot that hit the post, Beezer tried to give credit to Nabokov and sounded sad when he realized it did hit the post. Once a goalie, always a goalie.

11:15- According to Beezer, if you can see the puck, you can stop the puck. What a delightfully simple philosophy. Can I use that when I play Powerball next time? If I can see the Powerball, I can win the Powerball.

11:21- What'd I miss? I had to go reeeeaaaalllll bad. Still 1-0.

11:22- Strike that....SCORE!!!!! (11:22 left in the period, how's that for synchronicity?) Sharks tie it up. On my way up the steps to the little Jewbacca's room, I heard Beezer say that Vokoun was putting on a clinic. I guess you would call that jinxing him?

11:26- Sharks on their 4th power play. That's all the PPs in this game. They need to convert on one. Or allow a dogpile on their goalie in his own crease. Whichever.

11:29- And there you go. Not exactly on the PP but the Sharks...SCORE! 7:42 left in the second. That must have been the worst clinic ever that Vokoun was putting on. Shortside? Hug the post man, hug the post! 2-1 Sharks.













11:32- I agree with Beezer. When a guy gets a pass like that and is going in all alone, and that guy is Bill Guerin, you need to hogtie him, McGeough be damned.


11:33- Preds, when you're killing a penalty, you generally don't want to crosscheck a guy. Is it just me, or does Trotz look like a long lost Teutel brother. Shouldn't he be welding stuff in upstate NY?

GEEZ BARRY, I TOLD YOU TO SWEEP THE SHOP!

11:34- 5 on 3 for the Sharks for just over 1 minute. Now 5 on 4 for 44 seconds. I can't take the pressure. And it's just getting ratcheted up with "Crazy Train" playing over the PA.

11:37- PP over. It looks like Vokoun may have been rehired for that clinic.

11:38- Ok. It's that Dodge commercial with the truck falling through the Earth and coming out in China. Now, ignoring for a second all of the stuff the truck passes inside the Earth's crust and core, wouldn't the truck keep falling straight up into the sky when it got to China? This has bothered me for years now. If I dig a hole all the way through to China, and I jump in, I fall, right? Really, really fast? Like 9.8 meters per second squared right? Then wouldn't I just shoot into space on the other side? And why not? If you're falling and there's nothing to stop you, wouldn't you hurtle into space with all the momentum built up falling that far? These things keep me up at night.

11:40. Stoppage with 2:38 left. They want me to look at JP Dumont. I refuse. He screwed me a few years back in fantasy hockey.

11:42- Forsberg wants to go with Thornton? Where was this fire when he played for the Flyers?

11:43- Nashville finally gets a PP. If a guy slashed my goalie's stick out of his hand I would beat him like Don Imus.

11:45- Period Deux fin. Be back in a little bit.

Click here for the "Live" coverage of the first period...
Click here for the "Live" coverage of the third period...

Here's the Guy Watching Versus: A "Live" Blog of the Preds-Sharks Game 3

Hello sports fans! It is 10:06 pm here on the East Coast and it can only mean one thing: NHL Playoff time!

I am going to do my best to bring this excitement to you in real-time. Unfortunately I am an idiot savant when it comes to this stuff so it may not actually be real time, but close enough...

You, dear readers, get to be the guy I'm watching the game with, since Mrs. Jewbacca doesn't get most of the jokes anyway.

10:08pm- Hmmm, Isles-Sabres still. Ok. 2:25 left in the 3rd, desperation time for the Isles.

10:09- Toni Lydman needs to get off the ice? To figure out why his name is pronounced Lood-man?

10:10- Nice play Robitaille. Glad the Flyers traded you for Mike York. Actually, not sure who got the best of that. On the replay, maybe Robitaille has a point there. A phantom penalty at best.

10:11- Wow. Stay classy Long Island. Nothing your team wants to see more than crap on the ice with 1:34 left. Hey Islander fans - you know the penalty clock doesn't run while the Ice Girls clean all that trash up, right?

10:13- Glad I'm missing the Preds-Sharks to listen to announcer banter.

10:15- Blake "finished" Talinder? Yikes.

10:16- All right. Let's get to the better game. Hope it's the CBC coverage. But wait another one of those "You Wouldn't Make it in the NHL Commercials." Thank goodness for that. This is the weaker one with the guy trying to get off the bench. I like the locker room one better. Especially when the scrawny dude gets shoulder checked walking out.

10:18- Now we're talking. Unfortunately, it's VS coverage. I had no idea John Vanbiesbrouck was an announcer.

10:19- (15:30 left in the 1st)Barry Trotz. Tee-hee.

10:21- Damn, Tootoo can hit. Ehroff ran him and ended up taking the worst of it.

10:23- I think Nabokov is vastly underrated as a goalie. You hear a lot about that Lolita stuff, but not too much about his goaltending stats. I don't know about you, but with all of the fuss in this world about being PC, he should focus on hockey and not on trying to get into the pantaloons of a 12 year old girl.

10:25- Wow. I had no idea. According to Wikipedia, that's a different Nabokov. Good for him.

10:26- Goc. That's a tough last name. If only it didn't rhyme with lock, rock or tick tock (and you don't stop).

10:27- Has there been a better name matchup than Tootoo vs. Cheechoo? I'm not sure.

10:29- Forsberg's playing? Glad to see they finally found a skate for him. Maybe it was that Swedish sandal maker friend of his that did what no orthopaedic specialist or multi-nation sporting good company or all the foot and ankle doctors in the world couldn't do. Why didn't the Flyers just go to a Swedish flip-flop maker first? Maybe we would have kept Forsberg and not gotten the 1st overall pick in the entry draft. Oh wait....

10:31- Hmmm. Comcast commercial with Cal Ripken Jr. I guess that's why my cable bill goes up every month. They're paying ol' Cal a buttload of money I guess. True story- I saw Cal Ripken in front of the All-Star Cafe that is (used to be?) in Times Square. I played it cool and just nodded. He just nodded back. And he was probably thinking, "Great. Another freakin' idiot who thinks I'm Cal Ripken Jr. If only I wasn't cursed with such chiseled good looks. If only the world knew that Clarence Thudpucker IV had an iron-man streak of his own...if you know what I mean."

10:33- Someone tell Radulov to take his mouthguard out. He's not playing. Aww, and he apologized. They should end his suspension right now and let him play. That's all I had to do to get sprung from my room after beating up my little brother. Mama Jewbacca would say I had to stay in there until I could act like a big boy and apologize. So, apologize I would. That Atari 2600 in the living room wasn't going to play itself.

10:34- SCORE! Predators 1, Sharks 0. Wow. That was some beautiful passing. Maybe Nabokov should take up writing. he was barely in the same end as that shot. I had Dumont on a fantasy team years ago and he did bupkis for me. But I'll give him that pass. We used to practice stuff like that on the street in front of the house with a trashcan in the net. Never looked that nice. About 7 minutes left in the first.

10:38- VS keeps playing that commercial about Crosby not cracking under the pressure, but I saw him play junior hockey against the Lewiston Maineiacs of the QMJHL in Lewiston, Maine and all he did was whine after almost every play to the refs. Made him a true fan favorite.

10:40- That's not a penalty. He was in the neutral zone. And the refs got it right! Of course, they blew the penalty on that last Sharks breakaway. Oh. McGeough is one of the refs. Expect him to lose control soon.

10:45- (1:01 left in the first) Preds are playing this kill nicely.

10:47- According to Vanbiesbrouck, Voukon is at his best when he's eating pucks. I sure hope that's an old goalie cliche.

10:48- What the hell was Hannan just doing to Forsberg. If that's not a penalty it's at least illegal in 27 states.

10:49- End of the first period. Come back and join me for the second. I can't handle the between period stuff.

Click here for the "Live" coverage of the second period...
Click here for the "Live" coverage of the third period...