Bracketology - February 28th

Midwest                                                                                   West

1 Kansas	1 Gonzaga
16  Prarie View  / St. Peters	16 UNC A&T / Robert Morris
Omaha	Sacramento
8 BYU	8 Houston
9  Liberty	9 East Tennessee State
4 Kentucky	4 Iowa
13 Colgate	13 Austin Peay
Sacramento	Omaha
5 Oregon	5 Butler
12 Ohio State	12 Akron
3   Creighton	3 Louisville
14 Radford	14 Wright State
Cleveland	Albany
6 LSU	6  Illinois
11 Florida	11 Arizona
7 Indiana	7 Marquette
10 Xavier	10 USC
St. Louis	Spokane
2  Maryland	2 San Diego State
15 North Texas	15 Hofstra
South	East
1 Baylor	1 Duke
16 Arkansas LR	16 UC Irvine
Tampa Bay	Greensboro
8 Wisconsin	8 Texas Tech
9 St. Mary's	9 Northern Iowa
4 Seton Hall	4 West Virginia
13 Oklahoma / Utah State	13 Wisconsin
Cleveland	Spokane
5 Rhode Island	5 Michigan State
12 Stephan F Austin	12 New Mexico State
3  Penn State	3 Auburn
14 Yale	14 Richmond / NC State
St. Louis	Omaha
6 Colorado	6 Michigan
11 Rutgers	11 North Dakota State
7 Wichita State	7 Virginia
10  ASU	10  Northern Iowa
Albany	Tampa Bay
2  Dayton	2 Florida State
15 Vermont	15 Montana

On The Bubble 

Oklahoma

Richmond

NC State

Utah State

Last Four Out
Texas
Memphis
Cincinnati
Notre Dame

Next for In
Arkansas
Ole Miss
Stanford
St. Louis

Bracketology - February 24th

Midwest                                                                                   West

1 Kansas	1 Gonzaga
16  Prarie View  / St. Peters	16 UNC A&T / Robert Morris
Omaha	Sacramento
8 BYU	8 Houston
9  Liberty	9 East Tennessee State
4 Kentucky	4 Iowa
13 Colgate	13 Austin Peay
Sacramento	Omaha
5 Oregon	5 Butler
12 Xavier	12 Akron
3   Creighton	3 Louisville
14 Radford	14 Wright State
Cleveland	Albany
6 LSU	6  Illinois
11 Florida	11 USC
7 Indiana	7 Marquette
10 St. Mary's	10 Ohio State
St. Louis	Spokane
2  Maryland	2 San Diego State
15 North Texas	15 Hofstra
South	East
1 Baylor	1 Duke
16 Arkansas LR	16 UC Irvine
Tampa Bay	Greensboro
8 Wisconsin	8 Texas Tech
9 Arizona	9 Northern Iowa
4 Seton Hall	4 West Virginia
13 Oklahoma / Utah State	13 Wisconsin
Cleveland	Spokane
5 Colorado	5 Michigan State
12 Stephan F Austin	12 New Mexico State
3  Penn State	3 Auburn
14 Yale	14 Richmond / NC State
St. Louis	Omaha
6 Rhode Island	6 Indiana
11 Rutgers	11 North Dakota State
7 Wichita State	7 Virginia
10  ASU	10  Northern Iowa
Albany	Tampa Bay
2  Dayton	2 Florida State
15 Vermont	15 Montana

On The Bubble 

Oklahoma

Richmond

NC State

Utah State

Last Four Out
Texas
Memphis
Cincinnati
Notre Dame

Next for In
Arkansas
Ole Miss
Stanford
St. Louis

Disappointing Canucks Game puts Playoff Hopes in Question

I've been through a lot of tough Canucks losses over the years but this year the pressure seems to be extra high. If we miss the playoffs this year it will be our longest drought in our teams 50 year history. That is something I don't want to set during our 50th season celebration year.

Losing 5-1 to a team that is playing out the rest of the season is inexcusable in so many ways. I was so depressed last night.

Also really irritated with the Ducks player to throw Myers to the boards and down to the ice and Vancouver didn't get a power-play out of the scrum was terrible officiating.

I knew this year wasn't going to be easy, but to see Calgary and Las Vegas struggle like they have this year will feel like a big opportunity squandered. 

Surprisingly, we still have a 90.9% chance at making the playoffs. Wednesday's game becomes so crucial with Boston coming in on Saturday. We can't have a 2-4 home stand and expect to make the playoffs.

I guess this is what make the wins so enjoyable. When we are going through a glory period like we did from 2002-2013, we take for granted how easy it is to win regular season games in the NHL.

Win Wednesday! That's all I can ask. I haven't seen any of my favorite teams in a playoff series (MLB, NBA and NHL) since the 2015 World Series because I'm a Mets fan.

It's going to be a long two days of work for me.

Bracketology - February 14th

West                                                                                    Midwest 

1 Gonzaga	1 Baylor
16  Texas Southern / Rider	16 UNC Central / Robert Morris
Sacramento	Omaha
8 Rhode Island	8 Stanford
9  Houston	9 East Tennessee State
4 Creighton	4 Butler
13 Colgate	13 Austin Peay
Greensboro	Sacramento
5 LSU	5 Kentucky
12 Michigan / ASU	12 Bowling Green
3   Louisville	3 West Virginia
14 Winthrop	14 Wright State
Cleveland	Albany
6 Colorado	6  Illinois
11 Florida	11 Xavier
7 Oklahoma	7 Marquette
10 SMU	10 Ohio State
St. Louis	Greensboro
2  Maryland	2 Duke
15 North Texas	15 Hofstra
South	East
1 San Diego State	1 Kansas
16 Arkansas LR	16 UC Irvine
Spokane	Cleveland
8 Texas Tech	8 St. Mary's
9 Richmond	9 Utah State
4 Villanova	4 Oregon
13 Stephan F Austin	13 Wisconsin
Tampa Bay	Spokane
5 Iowa	5 Michigan State
12 BYU	12 New Mexico State
3  Penn State	3 Dayton
14 North Florida	14 Yale
St. Louis	Omaha
6 Wichita State	6 Indiana
11 Arizona  / NC State	11 North Dakota State
7  Rutgers	7 USC
10  Virginia	10  Northern Iowa
Albany	Tampa Bay
2  Auburn	2 Florida State
15 Vermont	15 Montana

On The Bubble 

Arizona 

Michigan 

ASU

NC State

Last Four Out
Minnesota
VCU
Purdue
Memphis 

Next for In
St. Louis
Syracuse
Cincinnati
Liberty

My Memories of the Sedin Twins

With the Sedin twin’s numbers 22 and 33 being retired to the rafters of Rogers Arena Wednesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Fittingly, the Blackhawks were the team in the Canucks way when the Sedins were in their prime from 2009-2015. In that timeframe the two teams met three times in the postseason and are responsible for three Presidents Trophies.

It ended in bittersweet style for Vancouver, they weren't able to land hockey's top prize but the two left a bigger footprint off the ice than ever thought imaginable.

Truthfully, I didn’t realize how special the Sedin twins were until about 2012. The fact of the matter is that I am a twin and I think growing up I just assumed that that Brian Burke did at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft was just normal. 

What makes the Sedins story so mindboggling amazing is that there is no one remotely close in any redrafts. 

What made Vancouver such a good fit for the Sedins was the core that Brian Burke has put together the previous year. In the 1998-99 year, they had a 25-year-old Naslund, 23-year-old Bertuzzi and a 22-year-old Ed Jovanoski. With this core, adding two twins at 2^nd and 3^rd overall was a really good idea. 

Teams that pick second overall don’t usually have that good of young players to work with. The reason that the Canucks had that young core was because of the Linden and Bure trades respectfully.
This led to Vancouver being a team to be reckoned with from 2001-2006. The Sedins were role players from 2001-2004 until after the 2005 lockout they became Top 6 forwards. 

That turning point put the Canucks in good position to have another 6-7 years of great success.
They played the game the right way, they had great mentors on the team when they were rookies and I’m so glad they wanted to be Canucks their entire career. 

They didn’t win a Cup but I think the fact that the 1999 draft was historically weak softens the blow a bit. Without the trades that Burke pulled off to get the Sedins the rebuild might have started in 2007 instead of 2016. 

Soak it in Canucks fans; unless we win the Stanley Cup their will never be a night like Wednesday that we will ever experience.

Bracketology - February 4th

West                                                                                    Midwest 

1 Gonzaga	1 Baylor
16  Texas Southern / St. Peters	16 UNC A&T / Robert Morris
Sacramento	Omaha
8 Marquette	8 Stanford
9  Houston	9  Rhode Island
4 Butler	4 Indiana
13 Colgate	13 Bowling Green
Greensboro	St. Louis
5 Penn State	5 Seton Hall
12  St. Louis / Pitt	12 Murray State
3   Dayton	3 West Virginia
14 Winthrop	14 Wright State
Cleveland	Omaha
6 Colorado	6  Illinois
11 Northern Iowa	11 VCU
7 Oklahoma	7 Michigan State
10 Tulsa	10 Arizona
St. Louis	Greensboro
2  Maryland	2 Duke
15 North Texas	15 Willam & Mary
South	East
1 San Diego State	1 Kansas
16 Arkansas LR	16 UC Irvine
Spokane	Cleveland
8 Arkansas	8 St. Mary's
9 Memphis	9 Virginia Tech
4 Louisville	4 Iowa
13 Stephan F Austin	13 North Florida
Tampa Bay	Spokane
5 LSU	5 Wichita State
12 Texas Tech	12 New Mexico State
3  Oregon	3 Villanova
14 Eastern Washington	14 Yale
Sacramento	Albany
6  Creighton	6 USC
11 Ohio State / Virginia	11 South Dakota State
7  Rutgers	7 Kentucky
10  SMU	10  BYU
Albany	Tampa Bay
2  Auburn	2 Florida State
15 Vermont	15 Furman

On The Bubble 

St. Louis
Virginia
Ohio State
Pitt

Last Four Out
Michigan
Xavier
NC State
Colorado State

Next for In
Florida
Syracuse
Cincinnati
Liberty