Friday Findings

As we close down another week and prepare to watch the Predators and Black Hawks on the free trial of Game Center Live tonight, here are some items of interest from the web today.

The lead story, of course, is where the Predators stand in their race for a playoff position. The Preds took a big hit in what the computer thinks about their chances over at SportClubStats as a result of Anaheim's shoot out win over Vancouver and the Blues big road win over the Wings. The computer has the Preds playoff chances at 41.2% entering tonight's game. A win tonight will add 19 points to our chances while a loss sinks us by 12 points. A 31 point swing on a computer, which appears to be fairly accurate is a true indication of how critical it is for the Predators to bring home a win.

Further, it's looking like the Preds will need to go 4-1 down the stretch and get to 92 points to have a 99% chance of a playoff spot per SportClubStats. 3-2 would get us to 90 points and a 78% chance. Winning out will definitely get them in but I doubt even the most optimistic fan would expect that to happen. Last night's loss pretty much eliminated Edmonton although they still have a 2% mathematical chance. The Wings are in a virtual no man's land as it is highly unlikely that they can catch the Sharks, nor can anyone else catch them from below.

I was slow to report that BU star and Predator prospect Colin Wilson made the final three for the Hobey Baker Award. The initial account that I read made it sound like it was someone's personal picks, not an official announcement. I should pay better attention. Julie at HockeyBuzz thinks Wilson's star has faded and pick's his team mate Matt Gilroy to win. The announcement will be made next Friday night during the Frozen Four in DC.

As tough as it will be, we will have to cheer for a Ron Wilson coached team as he was named the USA coach for next year's Olympics.

Sad news from Kukla's Allanah, that Vancouver forward Taylor Pyatt's fiance, Carly Bragnalo (pictured), was killed while on vacation in Jamaica. Our Prayers go out to the families and all who were touched by her life.

Back to better news, TSN is running a poll where fans can choose the play of the year. I can't imagine Ovie's spinorama against the Habs won't win. Jackson thinks this one by Johan Franzen from last night is number one and I may have to agree with him.

Jackson found the following video of Steve Sullivan from his Black Hawk days that may not be helpful to his Masterton Trophy chances, but can you blame him for his reaction?



Here's more on the Mark Cuban fine for complaining about the officials on Twitter last Friday night. I guess $25,000 is chump change to Mark. A link in the article is also interesting about Courtney Love's all out Twitter assault that allegedly resulted in the first Twitter law suit. I suppose Twitter litigation is a signe of things to come.

Finally, one of the top Twitter topics today is the fact that today, April 3, is National Cleveage Day. This is not a joke as it is sponsored by Wonder Bra who has a contest to go along with the day's extravaganza. Before anyone get's their boxers in a wad, this is meant to be a positive thing for women, not something negative or degrading. "According to Samantha Paterson, the brand manager for Wonderbra, the National Cleavage Day is started according to a design to solemnize women's independence and power in all facets of life, from their careers to their relationships to their own destiny." Sounds like as good a reason for a day as yesterday's "National Ferret Day".

So that's it on a slow news day for the Predators. For those headed to the Pred's Wine Tasting Event, make sure and use a designated driver, and for the rest of us, we will have to wait until tomorrow's game against the Blue Jackets to head down to the Sommet Center.

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass