Word: wildcards
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...Crimson can make the tournament by winning the ECAC championship or by impressing the wildcard voters with a strong playoff performance. Both national semifinals will be at Harvard's Bright Hockey Center on March 20, and the championship game will be the following day at the FleetCenter in Boston...
While all the significant others are out buying drill bits, men of America know how to kill the last weekend before Christmas: with NFL football. And while L.I. Slim isn't expecting any tools under the tree, he's still got visions of wildcard teams dancing in his head. The challenge this week: Who still cares about their game? The care nots: Pittsburgh, who must lose to TENNESSEE by 65 points for this game to affect their playoff future. Which is why they're underdogs on the road against a good Oiler team playing for pride. Guess what...
...Ravens (+5) over JETS: O'Donnell will crack under Parcells' heel. Dolphins (+2) over BILLS: Don't the Bills stink this year? Patriots (pick) over VIKINGS: Beat me again, Norse bastards. PANTHERS (-3) over Raiders: Remembering the wildcard. BENGALS (pick) over Chargers: Slim loves a loser. Rams (+3) over FALCONS: Just can't bet with Dan Reeves. Bucs (-4.5) over COLTS: Not this loser. 49ERS (-6.5) over Cowboys: Put the 'Boys to bed. BRONCOS (-9) over Seahawks: Last chance to cover, Elway. OILERS (+2) over Jags: Oilers are sending my kids to college. BEARS (+3) over Redskins: On a roll...
Many purists of the game are no doubt upset that an expansion ballclub, let alone a wildcard team, has actually made it this far in the playoffs. My dear traditionalists, the '69 Mets were also an expansion team (just as many other World Series participants and champions have been), and the wildcard format only meant that the Marlins had to win more games to earn their World Series berth than teams in the past...
Aside from a few true moments, the rites of fall have this year been almost, well, sullen. Pennant races? The wildcard took care of that. Playoffs? Three of the four series are already on the brink, and this whole first-round thing feels, well, a little preliminary. So stoke up your love of the game with The Bad News Bears (1976). Open a window on a crisp fall morning and let the woody breeze caress your VCR as Buttermaker (Walter Matthau), Amanda (Tatum O'Neal), and feisty Tanner remind you what our great pastime is all about. It'll take...