Gettin' "Giggy" With It

Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special "Hey" goes out to Hazel Mae.

Sad news from St. Louis yesterday - Cardinals relief pitcher Josh Hancock was killed in a car accident early Sunday morning; details have not been released, other than a brief statement by police that there were no visible signs that alcohol was involved. In addition to pitching for the Cardinals, Hancock also pitched for Philadelphia and Cincinnati after breaking into the big leagues with a brief stop in Boston in 2002. Thoughts and prayers go out to Hancock's family, friends and teammates.

The second round of the NHL Playoffs - ok, for Mr. Bettman and the NHL we'll say "Conference Semi-Finals - are turning out to be much more compelling than the first round. Three of the four teams with home ice advantage lost it by splitting their first three games - the Sabres managed to pull out a win in game two against the Rangers to go up 2-0. The opening two games of each series have been marked by long overtime games where two of the three teams needing a win scored in double O/T to even up their series - Vancouver on Friday night and the Devils on Saturday night. The Red Wings, the NHL's version of the Philadelphia Eagles - counterfeit, scored late in the third period on Saturday afternoon to salvage a tie as they head out west to San Jose for games 3 & 4.

The Rangers prolonged the inevitable yesterday afternoon with a 2-1 win in double overtime against the Sabres - it won't matter though, expect the NHL's best road team to crush the Rangers in game 4 at Madison Square Garden.

The Anaheim Ducks survived a horrible first period in which Vancouver could have/should have had at least a couple of goals, to win by a 3-2 count. Ducks goalie J.S. Giguere was unbelievable in the first period and kept his team a game they should have been out of - having been outshot 15-2 in the first. Vancouver will look back at that first period as the point in which they lost the series.

Two games tonight - San Jose welcomes Detroit to the Shark Tank, we expect tonight's game to get ugly and expect the Sharks to roll over the Red Wings. The Devils come to town to play the SenaTards - as much as I hate to admit it, the Devils are lucky to be tied at one coming into Scotiabank Place; they were outplayed on Saturday night, and if not for Brodeur, they would be down and out in this series. We're expecting a split this week.

The NFL Draft went this weekend - why do fans who go to the draft love to boo their team's picks? I'm sick of seeing the amount of attention those idiot New York Jets fans get; the joke was that these clowns even booed the tribute to Virginia Tech. If you are new to the page - yours truly is a Dallas Cowboys fan (ya, I know you don't care) and I was happy with what the Cowboys came away with; namely two first round picks in 2008 - thanks to the Browns getting stupid and trading away too much to get Brady Quinn.

The big news from the weekend was that the Patriots finalized a trade for Randy Moss, giving up a fourth rounder for one of the NFL's best playmakers and biggest badasses. This was a great trade for New England - and I'm ready to say "uncle" and give Brady his fourth Super Bowl right now. I've been reading some of the messageboards, and people are questioning Moss' commitment, heart and attitude - I can't freakin believe that anyone would be questioning the NFL's best receiver. Oakland has been a crap hole for years and would kill the spirit of even the NFL's toughest warriors. Moss' drive and passion will be re-kindled playing on a championship calibre team, and you can bet Belichick told him how it was going to be.

Moss is going to completely transform New England's offensive - giving Tom Brady a legitimate number one receiver to throw to and opening things up for everyone else. While some suggest that Moss is washed up and has seen his better days - he still demands double coverage and the attention of every defensive player on the field. Randy Moss split out wide means that teams are going to think twice before bringing a safety up to support the run defensive - leaving Moss in man coverage - so expect Laurence Maroney to have a huge year running the ball. The same goes for blitzing - with Moss on the field, Brady knows that he will be able to get rid of the ball quickly, throwing it to an area of the field and knowing that Moss will go up and get the damn ball. Moss also brings a little bit of attitude to a team that could get a little meaner. This was the steal of the draft - New England wins big on NFL Draft Day.

My only question is will April 28th go down as Reche Caldwell Day? I mean, was his performance in the playoffs last year the main reason why New England went out and upgraded at WR?

Speaking of NFL Draft Day - leave it up to Ron Mexico to make headlines. Mike Vick was in the news again this weekend; we'll expand tonight as he has certainly made the list of Hazel's Zeroes - The Chumps.

Things are right in the world of baseball - Red Sox West won a 17 inning marathon against the San Diego Padres yesterday afternoon to move back into first place in the N.L. West.

The Boston Red Sox beat the Yankees again, winning two of three in New York and building up a 6.5 game lead on their rivals - we don't think its worth mentioning that Toronto, Baltimore and Tampa Bay are all ahead of the Yankees; its only temporary. Alex Cora had another big game against the Yankees - is there such a thing as a "second baseman controversy"? Dustin Pedroia's status as the starting second baseman has to be tenuous at best - isn't it?


HAZEL'S THREE STARS
We've been away for a few days, so we are going to look at the weekend that was.

Vancouver Canucks G Roberto Luongo won Friday night's game in Anaheim - with the Canucks down 1-0 in the series, and knowing that a second loss would realistically kill their playoffs hopes, Luongo stopped 43 shots to lead his team to a 2-1 win in double overtime. Its probably time to say that Luongo is the best goalie in the NHL - one look at the Canucks roster and you can see why I say that.

New Jersey Devils RW Jamie Langenbrunner scored the double overtime winner in a 3-2 win over the SenaTards on Saturday night. An interesting stat about Langenbrunner - his points per game in the playoffs is higher than his PPG in the regular season.

Anaheim Ducks G J.S. Giguere was the difference in yesterday's game against Vancouver - he stood on his head in the first period stopping 14 of 15 shots he faced. While the rest of his night wasn't particularly busy - he put in a full night's work in the first.


MONDAY THREE PLAY
The total for the season is + $700. We'll get on the right track tonight with a few winners.

San Jose over Detroit - the Sharks have been able to jump all over Detroit early on in games - expect them to overwhelm the Red Wings early tonight and not let them off the hook. Lay $100 on San Jose - $150.

San Diego over Washington - Jake Peavy has been dominant to start the season, the Nationals shouldn't pose a problem. Lay $100 on the Padres - $260.

LA Angels over Kansas City - John Lackey vs Odalis Perez, this one could get ugly in a hurry. Lay $100 on the Angels - $160.

That's about it for this morning gang - have a great one peeps.

One question - Steve Simmons, are you reading this blog? Yesterday's column got me thinking...you can tell me Steve; c'mon.


KEEPING HAZEL UP ON WHAT'S WHAT IN TORONTO
Zambrano in - Towers out

Toronto will be watching the Chickenhawk in June

Josh being Josh


HAZEL'S MONDAY HOROSCOPE
You may have to go the extra mile to get what you want but it will be worth it. You may be tempted to get involved with someone who isn't right for you. Keep your thoughts to yourself and avoid gossip. 4 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - now playing

Monday Morning - Skydiggers

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!