Kings Hockey: Stanley Cup Playoffs

This truly is the best time of year.

Not only has a new Baseball season started, but hockey is about to begin its second season. That's right, it's the Stanley Cup Playoffs!

This year the Kings got in by the hair of their chinny-chin-chin. They took the the 8th and final spot in the Western Conference, and hope to move on past the 1st round of the playoffs for the first time in ages.

This time they face off against their 2010 playoff foes, the Vancouver Canucks. The first game is tonight at 7:30 and can be seen on Channel 13.


To get you in the mood check out this great video.

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Here is another video to get you excited. (Hat Tip: Surly & Scribe)

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If you are looking for some positive prognostication then go no further than the always reliable Kings cheerleader Barry Melrose while on ESPN. I realize the Kings are far from being a favorite this year, but ya know... who cares? The Stanley Cup Playoffs are about upsets, and the Kings certainly have the pieces to make Vancouverites riot once more.

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Blog Kiosk: 4/11/2012

Be sure to check out Jon SooHoo's pics from Opening Day. Above, members of the Los Angeles Dodgers 1962 roster meet for photograph Tuesday, April 10, 2012 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles,California. © Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers 2012.

• From Deadspin: "Guys Who Spent $2Billion on Dodgers Do Not Have $2Billion." Worrisome, but I am not surprised. I never believed it was a true "All Cash" offer. The offer was based on their high level of confidence that they can achieve the desirable financing; therefore, there was little need for a financing contingency. Unfortunately, this report seems to throw some cold water on that plan.
  
• Security at Dodger Stadium is a no. 1 concern, via AP at ESPN.

  "At every game this season, we're going to have undercover officers in the opposing team jerseys," Sgt. Mitzi Fierro said. "If somebody is going to harass a fan from an opposing team, it increases the possibility of them coming in contact with a police officer. It kind of requires people to be on their best behavior."

• Joe Torre on Matt Kemp, via Tony Jackson at ESPN.

  "I think he was embarrassed by what happened a couple of years ago," Torre said. "He grew up. I think (it's a matter of) maturity, and the start he has gotten off to this year to obviously build on what he did last year."

• Sons of Steve Garvey has a nice recap of their day at Dodger Stadium yesterday.
  
• LA Brew Crew also has some nice pics from Opening Day.
  
• I found this utterly fascinating. Via Grantland, "The Lost Founder of Baseball Video Games." (Hat Tip: The Trolley Dodger)

  In January 2009, just shy of his 80th birthday, John Burgeson logged on to Wikipedia and edited the entry for fantasy baseball to include this: "An early form of fantasy baseball was coded for an IBM 1620 computer in 1960 by John Burgeson, IBM Akron."

• Filed under "just take my money," here is a coffee table any gamer would drool over, via Etsy.com. It is an actual fully functioning game controller!
• Are you fearful of a Zombie Apocalypse? Then you need to check out the Zombie Survival Map. It points out danger zones throughout the country, as well as, the locations of various resources humans on the run will have to look out for in order to survive.