Alright hockey fans, the race for the best trophy in all of sports starts tonight.

The Anaheim (no longer "Mighty") Ducks square off against the Ottawa Senators, in what should prove to be a great series.

Both teams are blessed with great skaters, and we should see some exciting, fast paced hockey over the next two weeks.

Anaheim is the West's second seed, finishing the season with 110 points. Ottawa made it to the finals by securing the East's fourth seed, and garnering 105 points. Interestingly though, both teams had identical 48 Win 34 loss seasons... Ottawa, however, had less overtime/shootout losses (9 to 14) thus accounting for the point disparity.

Here's how I see the key match-ups of this series playing out:

Forwards:

Ottawa is led by the trio of Dany Heatley (50 goals 55 assists 105 points), Jason Spezza (34, 53, 87 in only 67 games) and Daniel Alfredsson (29, 58, 87). These high flying attackers all have a nose for the net and are great play makers as well. The speed and skill of these three forwards make Ottawa among the most exciting teams in the league.

Ottawa has additional depth at forward from Mike Comrie, Peter Schaefffer and Antoine Vermette. All are skilled two way players, who can back check and also score when necessary. Veteran Dean McAmmond (7 pts in the playoffs) has been a solid contributor since the NHL's second season has started.

Anaheim can not match the speed and skill of Ottawa's top line, but they have their own top flight forwards as well. Teemu Selanne (48 goals 46 assists 94 points) has been a bona fide NHL sniper for over fifteen years. The perpetually underrated Andy McDonald was Anaheim's second leading scorer in the regular season (27 51 78) and is among the top five passers in the NHL.

Anaheim has more depth at forward than Ottawa and has been getting key performances from their second group of forwards at playoff time. Ryan Getzlaf (13 pts in 16 playoff games), Sammy Pahlsson (10 pts in 16 playoff games) and Travis Moen (9 playoff points after only 21 points in the regular season) have all picked up their games since the regular season ended.

The Ducks also have the best defensive forward between the two teams in Todd Marchant. Marchant, a seasoned veteran, is skilled on the draw and is a plugger in the corners. Chris Kunitz and Corey Perry are two more up and coming forwards on the Ducks who should have an impact.

Edge: Although the Ducks have more depth, I would give the slight edge to the Senators in the forward category because of the skill of Heatley, Spezza and Alfredsson.

Defense:

The Senators have an underrated defensive unit led by Tom Preissing (+40 in the regular season) and Wade Redden (8 points +9 in the playoffs). Joe Corvo is another formidable blue liner who is a skilled trigger man on the power play. Stay at home defender, and former 1st overall pick, Chris Phillips is a solid, yet unspectacular contributor.

The Senators defenseman are a mostly defensive minded unit, who are happy to let their forwards lead the rush. They are not flashy but certainly get the job done as is evidenced by the fact that Ottawa allowed the third fewest goals in the Eastern conference, bested only by the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers.

The Ducks' defense corps is perhaps the best in all of the NHL. Two leaders of the Canadian National team lead the way for Anaheim. Scott Niedermayer (15 54 69) is perhaps the best skating defenseman in the NHL since Paul Coffey was lacing up his skates for Edmonton and Pittsburgh. And, Anaheim also has one of the top two defenseman in the NHL (along with Nick Lidstrom) in Chris Pronger. After being traded from Edmonton for Joffrey Lupul, Pronger made an immediate impact (13 46 59 in only 66 games with a team leading +27 rating). Pronger is an offensive force and his size helps make him a ferocious hitter as well. Frankie Beachemin and Sean O'Donnell are less flashy but also stellar defensemen for the Ducks.

Edge: The big edge among the defense corps goes to the Anaheim Ducks. While Corvo, Redden and Preissing are fine defensemen, Ottawa cannot match the likes of Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer.

Goaltending:

Former Sault Ste Marie Greyhound star Ray Emery has emerged as Ottawa's go-to goaltender this season. In his first full season as a starter, Emery posted very impressive stats (2.47 GAA .918 Save percentage) and has been even better in the playoffs (1.95, .919). Emery is an athletic goalie who moves well laterally. When he has time to set up, he is positionally solid if not spectacular. In an emergency, back-up Martin Gerber can be spectacular, but is wildly and maddeningly inconsistent.

The Ducks have one of the league's top goalies in Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Giguere was great in the regualr season (36-10 2.26 .918) and has been untouchable in the post season (1.87 GAA with an astounding .931 save percentage). Playoff success is nothing new for Giggy. In the 2003 playoffs he won the Conn Smythe award for most outstanding playoff performer despite playing on the losing team. Giguere is a buttefly goalie cut from the same cloth as fellow Quebecois Patrick Roy. Both are big goaltenders (Giggy standing at 6"1) who still cover a lot of ground when on their knees in the "style papillon." Giguere has quick pads and a quick glove, but if he does not have time to set, is a little bit susceptible to allowing a weaker goal high on the blocker side. Ilya Bryzgalov may be one of the three best back-up goalies in the league.

Edge: Emery has been great but may be playing slightly over his head. Giguere is battle tested and ready to shine in this series. The edge goes to the Ducks.

Prediction: Ottawa will make this a great series, but ultimately the skilled blue liners and net minders of Anaheim garner control of the Stanley Cup Finals. In a hotly contested six games, the Anaheim Ducks emerge victorious.

Anaheim in 6.

A few random things have been percolating in my brain today, so I thought I would jot them down...

The Best Hockey No One is Watching:

Just in case anyone out there besides me still watches hockey, the two Conference Finals series have been wildly entertaining. Detroit and Anaheim have played bruising hockey for two games, both one goal affairs, with the teams tied at one apiece in the Series. Anaheim's superior goaltending and the steady defense of Chris Pronger will lead them to a 7 game series victory.

In the other series, Ottawa has shocked everyone and jumped to a 2-0 lead with both games being played in Ottawa. I have the sneaking su####ion that Buffalo is not done yet. Ryan Miller is a better goaltender than Ray Emery. And Chris Drury is such a clutch player that I think this series will go at least six. Having said that, Ottawa will not relinquish this series lead and gets by in 6 games.

Which toilet paper is worse?

Depending on how much time I have in the morning, I either use the office bathroom or the home bathroom when *ahem* doing my business...

I have recently found myself wondering which is worse, the cheap toilet paper bought by my office, or the really expensive stuff purchased by my wife...

You see, the cheap stuff doesn't feel so good when it's being used, and may cause some abrasions...

But that really expensive stuff is so expensive that it falls apart in my posterior...

I hate toilet paper.

We should go back to washing our bottoms in a river... or one of those crazy French #### sinks...

 Roger Clemens is Old

I, for one, can't believe that Roger Clemens is making a prorated $28 Million this year. The guy had a tremendous ERA last year, but he is certainly getting up there in years.

Does anyone think that Roger Clemens is the top pitcher in the Majors? Top Five? Top Ten?

Off the top of my head, I would rather have the following guys on my team: Roy Oswalt, Jake Peavy, Chris Carpenter, Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling, Chien-Ming Wang, Erik Bedard, Johan Santana, Brandon Webb, Dan Haren... I could even go on...

Well, I guess he is better than Jeff Karstens...

Mothers Day more than a Hallmark Holiday

My wife celebrated her first mother's day yesterday. And I have to admit that it was more emotional than I thought it would be.

It is crazy to believe that for the rest of our lives, a big part of who we are is that we are going to be parents.

Mother's day was a great day of reflection for me... I'm pretty excited for father's day!

Happy Mother's Day Mom and Wifee...

What's an avulsion?

Why can't the Sox just call Josh Beckett's injury what it is...

A freakin' blister...

The Judicial System is messed up sometimes...

A little note about my day today...

Today, I was in court because a 21 year old client of mine was charged with Possession of Stolen Property and Use of a Motor Vehicle Without Authority...

The facts of the case are as follows: My client, a college kid, attends a party at a different college . An acquaintance offers her a ride home and she accepts.

The cop pull the car over because of a broken headlight, and it turns out that the car was reported stolen and that the driver's license had been suspended.

My client knew none of these things... She was charged with two serious felonies for being A PASSENGER IN A CAR!

Obviously, the police made a mistake, so I asked the DA to dismiss the charges... He wouldn't do so without further evidence...

Now, I have to argue motions while charging my client $250/hr so she can get rid of a charge that has absolutely no merit...

And you wonder why the Duke Lacrosse kids didn't get a fair shake...

Why is Roy taking a six week Halladay?

I remember back in 1994 when Patrick Roy had appendicitis during the NHL playoffs in a series against the Bruins. He missed game #3 and came back for game #4 to lead the Habs to a 5-2 win... (full disclosure, I was at that game... one of the best moments of my sports fan experience)...

So why is Roy Halladay missing 4-6 weeks with the same injury? Wouldn't 15 days be sufficient for appendicitis?

The second round of the NHL playoffs starts tonight with the Buffalo Sabres hosting the New York Rangers in the early game and the Anaheim (no longer Mighty) Ducks hosting the Vancouver Canucks.

In tomorrow's action, the Ottawa Senators travel to New Jersey to play the Devils and the Detroit Red Wings play host to the San Jose Sharks.

These are all great games, but will anyone be watching?

Two seasons ago, the National Hockey League was involved in the worst labor stoppage in sports history. An entire season, including playoffs went by the wayside. Canada was in a state of mourning. However, aside from hockey towns like Detroit and Buffalo, it barely made the news in the United States.

ESPN stayed away from the story. And when hockey finally came back, ESPN stayed away from the product.

Now relegated to Versus, many folks need digital cable just to see some Stanley Cup action on a nightly basis. The television in my living room has been tuned to Channel 148 on many occasions because my household only gets Versus on that television.

I am sure that less committed hockey fans just aren't watching... Or when they are channel surfing do not have the patience to hit Channel 148...

There are solutions to the NHL's problem though...

Here is what the league can do to regain some relevance in the United States stream of consciousness:

1) Beg ESPN to take them back - Hockey's revenue is still based in large part on arena sales. The TV contract with Versus, while netting the NHL some money, is hurting in terms of the game being underexposed. In five years, when kids don't know what hockey is, people will stop showing up to the games. Then hockey will be in a state of turmoil instead of recession.

2) Market their superstars - Hockey has had an influx of young talent in the last few years like nothing it has seen since the early '80s. Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal, Evgeni Malkin and others can revive this game if given a chance.

3) Reduce ticket prices - Fans in traditional hockey markets like Boston are slowly turning away from the game in favor of less expesnive alternatives. Despite ignoring the fans for a full season, the NHL has not tried in earnest to bring the fans back by lowering ticket prices, thus increasing the season ticket base.

I, for one, hope that the NHL will listen to this type of reasoning. Hockey is still the fastest game on earth, and one of the most exciting.

OTHER NEWS AND NOTES:

Celtics release Telfair on same day Allen found not guilty:

Many people probably heard that Sebastian Telfair is rumored to be released by the Celtics just days after he was arrested for possession of a firearm. Once again, this is an example of an NBA team passing judgment before any facts regarding the incident have emerged.

Interestingly, on the very same day, it was announced that Tony Allen was found not guilty of all charges stemming against him relating to an alleged battery at a Chicago restaurant. It just goes to show, that the NBA and individual clubs should stop levying punishment before all information is gathered.

What's up with the Yankees?

This is a weird thing to say, but I think that the Yankees might be in a rebuilding mode. Yes, they have a $200 Million payroll. Yes, their offense is littered with former and current all-stars.

But their pitching stinks. The thing is, they have help on the horizon. I'm not talking about Carl Pavano folks. We've all heard of Phillip Hughes who will be making his Major League debut on Thursday.  But they also have some other hot pitching prospects like Dellin Betances, Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy who will most likely are future Major Leaguers. Couple that with future bullpen dynamo J. Brent Cox, and the Yankees look like they will be a really tough team to beat in 2009.

Maybe he should be a full time righty -

Switch hitter Jason Varitek's left/righty splits are telling this season:

Right-handed: .538 BA, .1.571 OPS, 2 HR, 5 RBI

Left-Handed: .154 BA, 432 OPS, 0 HR, 4 RBI.

Last season was a terrible one for the Sox Captain from both sides of the plate, so I will discount it. But in 2005 Tek had an OPS of 1.000 from the right side and .804 from the left. In 2004, it was .995 from the right and .820 from the left.

Just looking at Varitek hit, he has more power and more bat speed from the right hand side. His slow, looping swing from the left makes him susceptible to the strike-out. I, for one, would be happy if Tek's switch-hitting days were over. 

Will Federer ever Win the French?

With the clay court tennis season in full swing, many in North America probably didn't notice that Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer in yet another final in Monte Carlo. This brings Nadal's streak to 67 straight wins on clay.

Federer is making a run at Pete Sampras' all time grand slam title record, but with Nadal's clay dominance, one wonders if he will ever win at the French Open, much like Sweet Pete. Unless Nadal pulls out with an injury one of these years, the smart money says that Federer is destined to strike out on the dirt.