The Good, The Bad, The Downright Ugly

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

Well here we are on the holiest of weekends for us good catholic Porkchops (and most of New England I would imagine) and we, I'm including non-catholics in Leaf Nation, are looking for some divine intervention this week. Last night was the embodiment of the good, the bad and the ugly for Leaf Nation - the good news came early with news that the Rangers had beaten Montreal meaning a win tomorrow night could put the Leafs in the playoffs, the bad news came a bit later with news that the Leafs had lost to the stinking Islanders, the ugly news is that the Islanders can knock both the Maple Leafs and Habs out of the playoffs with two wins this weekend; Saturday against the awful Flyers and Sunday against the Devils who have NOTHING to play for. It just seems to be how things have gone for the Maple Leafs this year - they always do things the hard way.

Funny, being a member of Leaf Nation is much like being a member of Red Sox Nation (from what I have gathered) - we are both extremely passionate about our teams, up until 2004 we were both waiting for our team to do something and deliver a championship, we start out as eternal optimists - but there is the pessimistic side that expects things to go wrong, we hope for the best while we expect the worst to wind up as the end result; forever waiting for next year. I'm not giving up on the playoffs - but it isn't looking very good from a Leaf Nation point of view. We'll see.

Speaking of Red Sox Nation - I haven't checked in on message boards to see the praise that is undoubtedly being heaped on Daisuke Matsuzaka this morning; Dice-K was masterful yesterday, striking out ten Royals in seven innings and allowing one run (albeit on a HR). I'm sure Red Sox Nation isn't discussing the posting fee this morning - but remember gang, let's keep things in perspective, it was only the Kansas City Royals. Good for Dice-K though, can't take anything away from him; he handled the post game interviews like a champ.

HAZEL'S THREE STARS
New York Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist stopped 25 of 26 shots in the Rangers 3-1 win over Montreal yesterday - keeping Toronto's playoff hopes alive. Leaf Nation is loving Lundqvist this morning.

Colorado Avalanche RW Milan Hejduk had hat-trick against Roberto Luongo and the Canucks last night in the Avs 3-1 victory, keeping Colorado's playoff hopes alive - on life support though.

Boston Red Sox P Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched a gem in his first ever major league game, giving up one run over seven innings and striking out 10 - he looked good.


FRIDAY THREE PLAY
I'm joining Red Sox Nation in hating the Yankees, a 3-1 night nets us a big fat zero as the heavily favoured Yankees drop one to Tampa. So our total for the week is still ugly. We'll pick a couple this afternoon and be back later to look at the night games.

Boston over Texas - We are going against our boy Mark Texeira today. Boston's bats heat up deep in the heart of Texas. Lay $100 on the Red Sox - $114.

Cleveland over Seattle - Indians have started out the season hitting the ball well - bad news for the light hitting Mariners. Lay $100 on the Indians - $152.

That's it for this morning gang - have a great one peeps. Go to church this afternoon and spend the rest of the day with your family and friends.


KEEPING HAZEL UP ON WHAT'S WHAT IN TORONTO

Leafs recap

Wellwood questionable for Saturday night's game vs Habs

Cox seeing things our way - will Devils lay down for Islanders?

McCabe looking for divine intervention - from "hockey gods"

Maurice a glass half full kind of coach


BLUE JAYS

Jays happy to head back to Florida

Towers has to wait for first start


HAZEL'S GOOD FRIDAY HOROSCOPE
Reconsider what you want to do after looking into what it will take to continue. Some problems with red tape or getting the proper documentation can be expected. A loss will eventually bring positive results. 3 stars

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - yours truly has a landmark birthday coming up on Monday, so my man Ottawa_Tilt and another friend took me out last night in search of the Maple Leafs vs Islanders game; we had no luck finding a place that would show it...but given what happened, its just as well. Last night was the first of a few celebrations coming up - the song I will be singing for the next few days or so.

I Got Loaded - Los Lobos

Last night
I got loaded
On a bottle of gin
On a bottle of gin
(repeat)

But I feel alright
I feel alright
I feel alright
I feel alright

Night before last
I got loaded
On a bottle of whiskey
On a bottle of whiskey
(repeat)

But I feel alright
I feel alright
I feel alright
I feel alright

Tonight
I might get loaded
On a bottle of wine
On a bottle of wine
(repeat)

Gonna feel alright
Gonna feel alright
I feel alright
I feel alright

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!