Some Hockey Talk

So with all this talk of the NHL following the NFL to London, like a poor down and out dog following its master home, it's time to talk some hockey.

Jokes aside, it is a good idea for the NHL to expand. There are great countries out there that love hockey: Finland, Sweden, Russia, and all the other Eastern European countries especially. A quick look at an Olympics schedule should give everyone an idea about the potential market, and with all these new young stars coming into the league (most notably Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, Staal, and a handful of other future greats), the league is healthy. London is going to see Anaheim VS L.A., which should actually be a pretty good game. Hey, you can't do much worse, right?

Hate to pat myself on the back, but the Devils are right behind Buffalo, in perfect position to make a deep run into the playoffs. Congratulations CollegeBoy, looks like you made one good playoff pick. How are the Nets BTW? Hey, that's a different story for a different day. Right now, we're gonna take a quick look around the league.

How exciting is this Pittsburgh game? I put money on the Devils VS them, game finished 1-0 and I was on the edge of my seat until the end. They won't win the Cup, but they're a scary team nevertheless, and the trades to toughen up will only help. On the flip side, Carolina is fighting for the last spot in the playoffs in the East. That's sports though, from feast to famine. Just look at Anaheim, halfway through the season the league was already stenciling their names on the cup. Then Giggy goes down and it falls apart...but they're back now, playing their hockey again and making it very interesting out West...

Nashville and Detroit fighting it out. Nashville's got Forsberg now, making a bit of a difference, but Detroit is Detroit. In other words, don't bet against them. Jagr is down and out in New York, actually refusing to take penalty shots. That's what you want from your star. How scary is San Jose? Right now a 7th seed, if the playoffs ended today, their series against the Mighty Ducks would be a classic. Those two have already had a bunch of great games already, one point for the new schedule of the NHL.

Of course that doesn't make up for all the points against the new schedule--I mean, it's just terrible for the fans who don't get a chance to see stars on teams outside of the Conference. But, the schedule is good for all you Sports Investors out there. More games against the same team = a better chance of predicting the outcome. Still, it's supposed to be for the fans, right?

Ottawa is playing again, just lights out. Both them and Buffalo, I would hate to go up against them. 8-1-1 in their last ten, just nasty. Nasty. Keeping up with knowledge about hockey is a great way to make some cash. Here is what I do with hockey. Let's say you have some leftover money in your account. 4,756. Something like that. I'll check out the hockey lines, and if I see a nice upset in the making, 76 bucks. Nothing big, if it hits it hits. It doesn't, I'll make up for it with my NBA games where I'm stronger.

This is the most important thing to remember. Play to your strengths in all things in life, but do not forget about your weaknesses. Work on them, try and improve. There is so much out there, so much you can take advantage of, it just takes some work. A bit of research. The road may seem long and hard, but it's a trip worth taking...

Or, you can just listen to PPB. That's another option. Regardless, the NHL is a healthy league, it's not football or basketball or baseball, but it's a regular sport, with regular enough results, and some great lines. Don't ignore it because you don't know it. A little awareness can go a long way...