Overdue Update

Alright, so I haven't posted in what seems like a century. So here's a random compilation of what I have been observing since I last posted.

First and foremost, Final Fantasy XIII's storyline has been beaten, although after 80+ hours of game playtime I am still trying to get all the trophies. Needless to say, the ending was horrible. I won't spoil it for anyone, but I will admit the gameplay got a bit more complex and interesting, although it is still mindless. The only difference is that you have to take the time to buff/debuff things, which in turn means more time spent healing.

Secondly, hockey. Colorado Avalanche playoff tickets went on sale over the weekend. They are 2 points ahead of Calgary with 1 game in hand for 8th place, 4 points ahead of St. Louis with 1 game in hand, and 6 points ahead of Anaheim with equal games played. The Avs have 4 games left in the season. They are 2-8-1 in their last 11, with Anaheim being 7-2-1, Calgary being 6-4-0, and St. Louis being 7-3-0. A bit premature?

Third, the San Jose Sharks. Too many people were worrying about the Red Wings being the 8 seed resulting in another early exit for the Sharks. Obviously these worries are not huge anymore because at the rate the season is going, Chicago will win the West and Detroit will be the 5 or 6 seed. Regardless, I don't understand what the big deal is. Every hockey critic and fan agrees that Detroit is the scariest team in the Western Conference playoffs right now, regardless of positioning. If 100% of the hockey world is right, that means for the Sharks to reach the Stanley Cup finals, they will have to eventually go through Detroit. Whether they play in the first round or the third is irrelevant. Also, the West is such a tight conference that seeding doesn't matter outside of home ice advantage. Calgary, LA, Colorado, and Nashville have all given the Sharks troubles this year, and they are all potential first round opponents for San Jose. If San Jose maintains the 1 seed and St. Louis steals the 8th spot, I might feel a bit relieved. But even so, there's still Vancouver, Chicago, Detroit, and Phoenix.

Speaking of the Coyotes, I don't think they are a playoff ready team, although Cinderella stories go a long way in sports. Statistically, they actually have one of the lowest regulation win totals out of the pool of playoff teams in the West, with 14 of their wins coming in the shootout alone. The shootout is a horrible measuring stick for a team's skill, especially when talking about the playoffs where it is obsolete. Let's just say, hypothetically, that their 14 shootout wins become losses (a bit extreme, obviously). Suddenly, the Coyotes being the 4th seed with 100 points (and actually having more points than the 3 seed Canucks), drop down to 72 points, and are already mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. I don't have the numbers of shootout wins for every other playoff team, but 14 is a huge number of shootout wins, and I wouldn't be surprised that if we do the same thing to every other team, the Coyotes would still be out of a playoff spot. The only thing 14 shootout wins proves is that they can turtle for 5 minutes in overtime. If you're looking for a dark horse in the West, it's going to be LA.

Speaking of playoffs, I have been watching 0 basketball this year. Here's to an underdog winning.