NHL and NBA Predictions

Gainer here! With NHL teams down under 20 games left to play and the NBA trade deadline only a week and a half away, I am here to provide a little insight into each league's finale.  You'll be hearing a lot more from me in the coming weeks regarding these 2 leagues because Boomer is going to be completely wrapped up in NCAA March Madness to even know what else is happening in the world.  Lemme know if you like my choices or not.  Enjoy bottom dwellers!

In the Eastern Conference:
Locks for Playoff Spots:

• NY Rangers (Conference Winner)
• Boston, 
• Pittsburgh, 
• Philadelphia, 
• New Jersey and 
• Ottawa.  

That leaves 2 spots for Winnipeg, Florida, Washington, Tampa Bay, Buffalo, and Toronto.  One of Winnipeg, Florida, Washington, and Tampa have to win the Southeast Division and get the 3rd seed and my gut tells me it's Tampa.  They are experienced and are riding a red hot Steven Stamkos and his 47 goals.  I am also going to take the red hot goaltending of the Buffalo Sabres to sneak in and grab the 8th seed.  Toronto, even, with the new coach, fails to make the playoffs and the whole city cries.  Florida revamped the team but blew it in the end.  The Jets are close but not yet.  And the Caps, talk about an epic failure.  Ovechkin needs to do some soul searching this summer.

In the Western Conference:
Locks for Playoff Spots:

• Vancouver (Conference Winner)
• Detroit, 
• St. Louis, 
• Nashville, and 
• Chicago.  

That leaves 3 spots open among Phoenix, San Jose, Dallas, Los Angeles, Calgary, Anaheim, Minnesota, and Colorado. All 5 Pacific Division teams are battling for the 3 seed and my money is on San Jose.  I also really like Phoenix because of HC Dave Tippett and a balanced line up offensively and defensively.  That leaves one spot open to grab and I think it's the LA Kings.  Jon Quick has been lights out between the pipes and they just have too much talent not to make the playoffs.  Wild are done as well as the Avalanche.  Calgary will "Flame" out towards the end because Kiprusoff can only do so much for that team by himself.  Dallas and Anaheim could make serious runs but the Ducks are just too far behind.  The Stars are my sleeper pick but like last year, they missed out on the playoffs the final day.

AWARD FINALISTS:

• Malkin wins Art Ross for most points in the season and Stamkos wins Rocket Richard for most goals.
• Hart Trophy (MVP) Finalists: Malkin (Pitt), Stamkos (TB), and Lundqvist (NYR)
• Jack Adams (Coach) Finalists: Torterella (NYR), Hitchcock (St. Louis), and MacLean (Ottawa)
• Norris (Defenseman) Finalists:  Lidstrom (Det), Karlsson (Ottawa), and Weber (Nashville)
• Vezina (Goalie) Finalists:  Lundqvist (NYR), Quick (LA), and Howard (Detroit)

*There are other awards but these are really the only ones that matter.

In the NBA, teams are starting to finally separate themselves.  It's only a 66 game season and teams are past the 35 game mark and will only have 20+ once March 15 at 3pm hits.

Eastern Conference:
Playoff Locks: (this is easy)

• Chicago
• Miami (Conference Winner)
• Indiana
• Philadelphia
• Orlando
• Atlanta
• Boston
• New York

Let's face it, the Bucks, our home state Cavs, Detroit, Toronto, or New Jersey just don't have enough pieces right meow.  Chicago and Miami will battle down the stretch for top seeding but Miami will pull off the #1 seed.  Look for the bottom 4 teams to be relatively active come trading deadline time.  Orlando is constantly surrounded by Dwight Howard rumors.  The Hawks have had a core that can't get past the 2nd round.  The Celtics are super old and are "rumored" to be shopping Rondo (yeah right!) and the Knicks could do anything!  I think the Celtics make a big splash at the deadline but keep Rondo.

Western Conference:
Playoff Locks: (not so easy)

• Oklahoma City (Conference Winner)
• San Antonio
• LA Clippers (funny right?)
• LA Lakers
• Dallas

That leaves 3 spots open for Memphis, Houston, Denver, Minnesota, Portland, Utah, Phoenix and Golden State.  Memphis proves once again last year wasn't a fluke.  I don't like Houston, Phoenix, or Golden State in the long run.  That leaves Denver, Utah, Minnesota, and Portland.  Watch for Denver or Utah to make a deadline deal to keep them in it.  Portland was seemingly really close but devastating injuries to Brandon Roy and Greg Oden have put those hopes on the back burner.  They should be active though.  I think the Timberwolves are close but not quite.  Rubio and Love are dead sexy though.  Denver and Portland snag the final 2 spots.  Watch out for Dallas and the Lakers because they could be the 2 most active teams come March 15.  Thunder are just too in sync right meow to derail the train they are cruising in.

AWARD WINNERS:
MVP: Kevin Durant (OKC) and wins scoring title
Rookie: Kyrie Irving (Cavs) all but locked up at this point
Defensive Player: Dwight Howard (most likely the Magic)
Coach:  Frank Vogel (Pacers) Who picked them finishing in the top half of the East?
Sixth Man: James Harden (OKC)

Sky High

No matter the situation, I will continue to just livin' my dream...

Normally I'd hit all you in the side of the temple with one of my thrashings today but life is different for Gainer lately.  I haven't posted much this past week after our walk down memory lane in our freshman basketball championship piece.  Two months after starting this blog, I officially accepted a full time job and am moving to Cleveland, Ohio!  The last 4 months or so may have been the toughest of my young life (almost 25 years).  I learned a lot about myself in that time and hopefully I can apply those things to my future.  

However, I am not leaving this blog. Trust me, Boomer would fold under the intense pressure of his high expectations for this blog without me.  If you haven't noticed, I do all of the posting until this past week.  Moving forward I may be doing a little less but we won't let you down content-wise.  It's my final week in Columbus and it's treated me well.  It's a cool city and area to live.  In fact, Rock Bottom might even get better because I'll be living amongst the most depressed sports fan in the entire country.

What's coming up this week from Gainer:

• Saturday, February 25th - NBA All-Star Dream Team
• What is this?  Similar to our Legend NHL and NFL squads, Boomer and Gainer will have our NBA teams. They are amazing.  Boom.
• Sunday, February 26th - The Oscars on ABC
• Listen, I know most of you don't care but leading up to the awards I'll have some more fun lists building off our Top 10 Sport Comedies.  Keep your eyes peeled.
• Monday, February 27th - NHL trade deadline at 3pm.  
• The Blue Jackets started their core change by trading center Antoine Vermette to Phoenix yesterday.  Will other big pieces go?  Jeff Carter, Rick Nash, RJ Umberger, and others will not sleep well after their game Sunday against my Pens.

I'll be bringing you live updates if big players are moved.  Twitter has changed the world in regards to days like these.  It will be fun and it will lead perfectly into me getting back into our NHL games of the week!

Speaking of which - Red Wings and Canucks tonight!!!!  Canucks trying to stop the 23 game HOME winning streak of the Red Wings (NHL record by the way) and pull into a tie of first place in the West. Boom.  7:30pm on NHL Network.

That is all bottom dwellers.  My life may not be stuck in rock bottom anymore but Cleveland may be sports rock bottom destination.  Should be fun so stay tuned!

Eminem baby, not me anymore!!!

Website Design Update

Rock Bottom Dwellers!!  Yes, we've changed it up a bit.  The look of our site is a tad different than the past few weeks.  We wanted it to be a little more user and eye-friendly.  The main posts should be easier to read.  If you are looking for certain articles, you can always scroll to the bottom in our archive but please check out the new TABS on the top of the page to see all our work broken down into categories.

Hopefully this will make it easier for you to navigate our page.  Please give your feedback!  SHAKE AND BAKE!!!

Gainer's Friday the 13th

I woke up this morning in one of those hazy dream states thinking "Boy, it seems like my alarm should have gone off already."  As I picked up my phone, I noticed daylight creeping in behind the curtains and saw the screen flash 9:35am.  In a split second reaction, I realized that my shift at Giant Eagle started at 9am and I proceeded to use...well, I'll let Billy Bob Thornton show you

I then rushed to get dressed and grab my stuff as I headed out the door.  I just threw on my glasses, took a piss, and ran down to the car.  It barely started in the freezing cold after last night's windy snow barrage.  I got to work around 9:47 when I officially clocked in.  Luckily no one really cares and I wasn't in trouble.  I was still in a sour mood though.  Stocking beer was my duty until 1pm.  It was really one of a few times where I just wanted to open up a few cases and just black out in the beer cooler.

Unfortunately for Giant Eagle right now, the old First Merit Bank or whatever shut down and a Huntington Bank moved in.  I love banks, don't get me wrong.  In fact, $100 to start a checking account sounded pretty sexy but I was literally stalked by Omar and Faye all afternoon trying to get me to open an account.  I'm not really a violent person but I was uber close to goin' crazy ginger on everyone in the store.

Seriously, I'll find you...

Ginger Kids
Get More: SOUTH
PARKmore...

The day ended pretty decent except I had to stock some health and beauty care products and I literally was stuck shelving tampons and feminine products.  As women walked through the aisle, I don't know who felt more awkward.  I then proceeded to finally clock out for the day.  I walked out to my car and it wouldn't start.  I almost cried.  What a terrible day.  Luckily my main man Boomer of this blog stepped up his mad game, drove out to meet me in the parking lot and we jump started the car.  Also, big props to the random black dude who helped us.  Apparently he had done this before with a Chrysler car like mine and helped me from blowing up my computer in the car and wasting $1200 like he had done with his son's car.  Of course that was all after Garrett and I spent 10 minutes in the freezing cold just looking for my dang battery.  It's hidden underneath and I had no idea.  I almost opened the trunk!

I think Stewie and the rest of the Griffins best describe how I feel about today.

Of course I got home and since it was cold out, my apartment was a solid 54 degrees inside.  What a day...on a sports related note.  If this is what I have to suffer to see BOTH the Blue Jackets and Penguins win tonight.  Then so be it!!!!!!!  Fingers crossed my car will start tomorrow

Gainer's Top 5 Sports New Year's Resolutions

1) If you don't know, I might be a big Pittsburgh Penguins fan.  2011 might have been one of the worst in recent memory for Pens fans.  It started with the epic concussion-gate that was and still is Captain Sidney Crosby then followed by a blown out knee that ruined Geno Malkin's season.  Injuries and suspensions have decimated their lineup and hopefully 2012 will bring better news, especially for Sid and their All-Star defensemen Kris Letang.  It is not only good for Pittsburgh but good for the entire league!

2) My NFL teams figuring out how not to suck at life.  I'm of course referring to the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets.  They've been quite the choke artists since I started following football in the mid 1990s.  Tony Romo and Mark Sanchez will once again be under heavy scrutiny this off season.  Mark can't throw a ball downfield or to the right team.  Tony can't win a game in December.  It's frustrating...

3) University of Kentucky basketball and University of Georgia football.  Coaches John Calipari and Mark Richt have gotten these programs back to relevance and a contender year in and year out.  However, they just can't seem to get over that final hump to be National Title contenders.  Hopefully Coach Cal can get the Cats back into the Final Four and the Bulldogs can get off to a much better start and not poop the bed in an SEC Championship Game.

4)  Baseball not to suck.  I know this will never come true again as I can't stand watching games anymore.  However, I do miss my childhood passion of the Atlanta Braves.  Chipper Jones is still my favorite player and hopefully with the added playoff spot in each league, they can find that magic I remember in the 1990s.  That or just play less than 162 games.  My goodness that is so many games!

5) Last but not least, a strong American showing throughout the Olympic Trials and Olympic Games in the track & field events.  I'm still a runner at heart (trying to get back into it!) and I would love to see an American step up and usurp the African dominance in long distance running and Usain Bolt in the sprints.  London should provide quality weather conditions which are ideal for distance running.  My fingers are crossed that the Americans can finally take a step forward into being competitive again.

*Special Addition*
I know it is impossible but I would truly enjoy another NBA lockout.  The players just walk up and down the court, whine about money ALL the time, and the owners and commissioner conspire to make certain teams great by approving and declining big time trades.  See Chris Paul.  Like the great comedian Gallagher once said, "The NBA should bring back the pole under the basket."  We'll see if LeBron still throws it down with authority...