By JIMMY D / Ducks are dead, so is my NHL playoff pool | Jimmy's archive

The few puckheads who predicted there would be dead Ducks after the first round are lucky ducks indeed.

Dallas upset the defending-champion Ducks (Jimmy’s now-dead pick to win the Stanley Cup) in six games, making all those geniuses who picked Loui Eriksson and Stephane Robidas favorites in their office pool.

Oh yeah, there aren’t any of you guys.

Regardless, Jimmy’s predictions looked solid after the first week, but shaky after the second.

We had the Pens in five and they took care of Ottawa in four. We had the Rangers correctly in five over the Devils. The predicted Hab sweep of Boston disintegrated (and depending on how Monday night’s game played out, could have been completely wrong) and the Flyers had a chance to end their series over the Caps with a Monday win (Jimmy had predicted a Philly upset in five games).

Daniel Briere was the unexpected points leader as of Sunday night (with nine) and surprising Ryan Clowe was leading San Jose with eight points.

Out west, Jimmy pegged the Avs in an upset of the Wild in seven games and they did it in six. He circled the Sharks in seven over Calgary, which will play out tonight and misfired on a Red Wing sweep after Dominik Hasek stunk it up against overmatched Nashville.

NFL drafts already??

NFL poolies, especially keeper-league gurus, always keep an eye on the NFL draft, which takes place Saturday and Sunday. However, this year’s event shapes up as defense and lineman-heavy draft, making it difficult to project impact rookies.

And it will be a long, long time before kids named Long and Long will be the first two names called. Michigan OT Jake Long and Virginia DE Chris Long (son of former Raider Howie) will go with the first two picks to Miami and St. Louis. DT Glenn Dorsey from LSU, DE Vernon Gholston of Ohio State and DE Sedrick Ellis of USC are next, meaning it will be No. 6 at the earliest for Heisman Trophy runner-up RB Darren McFadden to be selected.

The Arkansas alum is a beast and could end up with the Jets.

There are some mock drafts out there that have Boston College pivot Matt Ryan going to KC at No. 5, but that probably won’t happen and Ryan logically could be ticketed for the eighth pick and Baltimore, which just saw Steve McNair retire last week.

Rashard Mendenhall, the game-breaking RB from Illinois, could be the next offensive player to move, possibly at No. 13 to Carolina which needs some reliable backfield help.

Most draft boards have receivers falling in the first round, which is good news for teams like Philadelphia and Dallas who need them. Big Limas Sweed of Texas and speedy Devin Thomas from Michigan State should be gone in the low 20s.

Jimmy leads baseball pool

With all the awful batting averages and complete dearth of pitcher wins, it’s surprising to see Jimmy’s Jackals atop his fantasy baseball league.

Freshly scooped off waivers, Angel lefty Joe Saunders provided a win and another solid outing, while Manny Ramirez caught fire in the RBI department.
Miguel Tejada, regardless of whether he’s 31 or 33 and regardless of whether he took steroids or not, continues to scorch the ball with runners in scoring position.

And Bobby Jenks and Joe Nathan continue to scoop up early saves on White Sox and Twins teams that aren’t very good.

Stay busy and stay lucky.

Jimmy D
jpoole@herald.ca