Clean shaven

Unless you're Sidney Crosby (even if you are, really) and your team is a part of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, chances are you're sporting some noticeable facial hair at this stage in the game. Just over a week into the playoffs, it's becoming clear that not many people shy away from the traditional playoff beard. Nashville predator fans have been spotted with long fake beards. It's a wonderful tradition. Look at it generally: the most competitive part of the season and the combatants are all doing the same thing. It really is a beautiful thing.

It does become short lived for some, though. The Winnipeg Jets have been eliminated from the contest after losing four straight to the Anaheim Ducks. They have a great team, regardless of how it looks on paper during the playoffs. The Jets are a relatively new addition to the NHL, relocating from Atlanta a few years back (I have no sense of time. It could be three, it could be ten) and joining the Western Conference last season. If you're familiar with my hockey preferences, you know how seriously intense I look at a team changing conferences. Last year I anticipated the Detroit Red Wings to get buried and the Columbus Blue Jackets to soar in the Eastern Conference and was pleasantly surprised to see both teams joining the bearded folks come April. But Winnipeg also thrived in their new conference this season.

The Ducks are a rough team and I really only saw part of one game in this series, so it's hard for me to look at the Sweep as either a good try or a rough week.  But from what I understand, the Jets fight hard. They didn't quiver in fear facing the number one seed in the West. I have my own issues with the Ducks, so I really hoped for an upset in this series, I'm sure Jets fans feel the same way but I hope that what they take away most from this experience is that for the first time in 19 years the Jets saw a light in April.

Tonight two other teams are fighting to keep their facial hair.

The Vancouver Canucks are struggling to stay afloat, down 3-1 in their series tonight. The game is currently 1-0 in favor of Calgary and Ryan Miller is getting a chance to prove himself. If Vancouver can pull it off, they'll have to get their first win of the series back in Calgary to bring the series to a decisive game 7 at home. Here's hoping the Sedin Bros won't be shaving quite yet. Make that score 1-1.

In Nashville, the Predators are sporting the yellow jerseys fighting for their playoff lives. They are up 3-1 in the third period at this moment and have seemed to finally come up with the code to crack Darling. Make that 4-1. With any luck, the chinny chin chins of the Preds will be protected for a trip back to Chicago to fight the wind, fight the polar vortex, and send this series to 7.

Tomorrow will be a decisive game for Sidney Crosby's creeper stache. The Penguins are down in their series 3-1 and have really shown some defensive struggles, given the injuries to the team. The offense really hasn't shown up either, and Fleury continues to struggle at home against the Rangers. Good news for Flower: they're one the road, which is the only place he's won a game in this series. With any luck, Sid will exploit is current playoff goal streak, Malkin will snap his skid, and Pittsburgh can chant "fear the beard" for at least one more night in game 6.

Tomorrow will also see about the wild card Ottawa Senators earning their first win in Montreal this series. Ottawa held off the trimmers for one more night at home last night. It's good to see they weren't ready to sweep away their facial hair for the summer. I love all of this Canadian competition this year. And, hey, Edmonton may not have made the playoffs but they did win the lottery. But you don't get a beard for that.

The Washington Capitals have turned their post season around, jumping to a 3-2 series lead against the New York Islanders. It's time to see if Tavares and the Isles can tame Ovechkin's beard run or if New York will only have one chance to be the hairiest team in the Eastern Conference.

Tampa Bay has also prevented putting their hairs in serious danger. After being down 2-0 for a good portion of the game, Hockeytown soon became SloppyTown. Before regulation ended, the score was tied at 2, and the Bolts took the game in OT. That series is now tied at 2, heading to Tampa. The Lightning have home ice advantage. It would strongly behoove the beards in red to make game six the final game for the Bolts. The beach is no place for a beard, is it?

That leaves us with the Blues and Wild. This series is also tied after a flurry of offense for St. Louis last night. The question remains, though, which team will have the chin that runs wild, and which team will be blue? This looks like it could be a seven game series and an intense one, at that.

So, this is where I leave you tonight. My hopes for the second round facial hair.  Clearly some are long shots but I ultimately just want to see those lovely beards stay around for as long as possible.

- Vancouver
- Nashville
- St. Louis
- Pittsburgh
- Detroit
- Ottawa
- New York Islanders

Ultimately, I love the game, I love the beards, and though I have my favorites, this year's playoffs look VERY exciting.

Defeated

We've rolled into the start of the 2015 MLB season and things could not seem to be going much better.  The Detroit Tigers have come roaring out of the gate and up until this afternoon in Pittsburgh were a whopping 6-0 to start things off. When these kind of things happen I become more nervous than excited I think. What I mean is, when you get to games 5 - 6 - 7 of an undefeated start the pressure isn't so much to keep it up because the likelihood of an undefeated season seems impossible, improbable, and unrealistic but "who's going to be the one to pitch the first loss?"  In the opener, David Price threw a gem and it took three games for the Minnesota Twins to even put a run on the board. Game two was a beautiful start for Anibal Sanchez and an amazing day for the offense. The bottom of the lineup bringing in the RBIs and a HOT top of the lineup makes them a serious force to be reckoned with.

Naturally, life goes on and I've had a hard time keeping up with the last few games but I caught most of today's radio broadcast of the Pirates home opener vs. the Tigers.  The Pirates, who have brought their record up to 3-4, scored very early in the game which put a damper on an otherwise stellar sounding start for Sanchez. The 9th inning was an exciting way to close the game out, though, after the offense seemed to be rather shut down. Cole had an amazing start, plenty of strikeouts doled out for both pitchers actually, Kinsler boldly started with a double, Miggy doubled him in, and JD Martinez made it a very interesting game before the first out of the 9th was even recorded but that didn't stop the Buccos from holding on for the victory, striking out Victor Martinez for the final out of the game.

But back to what I was musing about to start this off. I think the first loss is an important one - not to show any sort of weakness, or vulnerability, ultimately the only negative thing being that the other team scored more runs than the losing team - only to take the pressure off and stop the worry of "who's gonna be the choker?" I think the Pirates are looking (well, sounding. I won't have seen them play a regular season game until tomorrow when I go in person) like they're off to a great start, even if their record isn't reflecting that. They're scoring runs, their pitchers are strong, and they got Burnett back, which I could not be any more excited about, and it's still really early.

Ultimately, I'm very pleased with the starts for both teams, and amped to see them playing each other so early in the season, especially since I can go TO the game. So just because they've had losses doesn't mean anything at all. Just because you've been defeated doesn't mean you've been deflated, it just means you've found a standard to set yourself on path with. You don't have to think about superstition, ritual, or making sure you set a routine to keep unreasonable goals. Don't get me wrong, obviously winning is important, but without a team dynamic that can handle the unavoidable occasional defeat, you can't gel completely.

It's going to be a very exciting season, I think. And I can't wait to see where things go from here.