Baseball - Practicing at Home

In baseball, like most sports, there are a couple of key elements to focus on if you really want to improve your skills. The first element are the rules of the game and what you need to do in each situation. Rules are easy to read, but situational smarts takes a lot more effort and often lots of time. You have to build in layers as you understand one element, others make more sense.

The second key area is individual skill development. From catching pop-flys, fielding grounder with soft hands to batting. The more you practice the better you will get. With baseball, you can do a ton of improvement on your own or with just one other person and a good pair of running shoes. Batting is one of those areas that with a little extra equipment, your practice time can be tons more efficient. Set up a practice batting cage and get some extra balls. If you can afford it, a pitching machine can make this a solo effort.

NHL Ice Hockey Playoffs - May 12

Lots of excitement with game 6s and games 7s looming in this round. Break out your favorite hockey jerseys and make sure you wear them around town to show off your loyalties.

The sad thing is that the Vancouver Canucks got ca'nuked right out of the playoffs. Ah, no more Canadian teams in the playoffs. At this point I am pulling for the Pens.

My Tivo is getting full almost every night :-)

Looking forward to the next round. I love the intensity that all the players bring to the rink at this time of year!

NHL Ice Hockey Playoffs

Break out the Ice Cream Machine! Playoff teams, seeding and match-ups are set for the first round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In the East we have:
Boston vs Montreal
New York Rangers vs Washington
New Jersey vs Carolina
Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia


In the West we have:

San Jose vs Anaheim
Detroit vs Columbus
Vancouver vs St Louis
Chicago vs Calgary

Id doesn't look like a strong year for the teams from Canada this season. We shall see how it all turns out soon enough.