That was my take too. Your first instinct usually right etc.
Though it does feel weird not having UT be rivals with UGA and UF… gah!
Into the Cincoverse - The Cinco de Mayo EU Thread and Wikibox Repository
- Thread starter KingSweden24
- Start date
Though it does feel weird not having UT be rivals with UGA and UF… gah!
2023 Stanley Cup Playoff Preview
2023 Stanley Cup Playoff - Preview
SportsNet.us (April 12, 2023)
The puck drops on the Stanley Cup Playoff Friday April 14, as twelve teams from the Hockey League face off to hoist the Stanley Cup in late May. Can Seattle Totems repeat? Is this finally Edmonton's year? Can Toronto escape the President's Trophy curse? Read on to find out!
Play-in Round Preview
Eastern Conference
(3) Hartford Whalers v. (6) Montreal Canadiens
Whalers had reason to be optimistic last season - they entered the playoffs with the most points in the Hockey League and their first-ever President's Trophy, only to be swept in the Eastern Semifinals and failing to score a single goal in two games. Retooled over the offseason and entering with less overwhelming expectations, Whalers look well-balanced and sport one of the tightest defenses in the League. They'll need it - while the Habs have been uneven all season long, they enter the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a hot hand similar to that Seattle rode to a third title in seven seasons last spring and sport 2020-21 scoring champion John Stamkos.
(4) Buffalo Sabres v. (5) New York Americans
The Buffalo dynasty has lost its sheen with a major step back this season, but as long as Jack Eichel is lacing up in Buffalo, the Sabres are a lethal out for any team. The Americans, meanwhile, have made a remarkable run this season to get the first wild-card spot in the East and appear in the playoffs for the first time since 2014 and only the second time in thirty years. Ams fans know better than to get ahead of themselves, but there's reason to wonder in Brooklyn if this might finally be the year the "other" team in New York has a genuine run.
Byes: (1) Toronto Maple Leafs and (2) Cleveland Barons
The Leafs have collected a remarkable 120 points this season and look to be the best team in the Hockey League yet again; that is, shall we say, not a position that has lent itself well to Toronto in the past, with early-round exits in both 2020 and 2021 after earning the same honor and then the humiliating Stanley Cup sweep in 2014. Leafs look primed for a deep run, but spending the first round at home has not always been a friendly circumstance for this club in the past.
The Barons, meanwhile, have a deep run of their own in their sights. One of the most consistent teams of the 1990s and early 2000s that nonetheless never won a Stanley Cup (indeed only once reaching the Finals in 1996) and has always lived in the shadow of its city's rugby, football and baseball clubs. The push for silverware comes as the Barons have had the best goal differential this season and kept the heat on the Leafs all season long; how it ends for the longstanding bridesmaids of the Hockey League is an open question.
Predictions
Canadiens 4-1 Whalers
Sabres 4-2 Americans
Leafs 4-3 Canadiens
Barons 4-2 Sabres
Barons 4-3 Leafs
Western Conference
(3) Seattle Totems v. (6) LA Kings
Two of the past three champions face off in the Wild Card to lead off on Friday night in Seattle, and the defending champions like their position, entering with the same seeding as last year's run. Sidney Crosby and Ryan McDonagh aren't getting any younger but look ready to make one last run and defend a Stanley Cup again after having acheived such in 2017; to do that, they have to get past a young, hungry Kings team that tasted Stanley Cup glory in 2020 and could well have done so again had they not been riven with injuries the last two seasons. Back in the playoffs again for the first time since their triumph three springs ago, the Kings look ready to make a big impact, but the Totems have earned their title defense until the Cup is taken from them.
(4) Calgary Flames v. (5) Vancouver Canucks
The archrival Western Canadian clubs square off starting on Saturday in one of the Hockey League's great rivalries; the Canucks are back in the playoffs for the first time in eight years and the Flames are looking to build off their Eastern Finals loss to the Totems a year ago. The Flames will go as far as Mitch Trubisky takes them, but this is a team built for May and looks likely to prove it against a young Canucks club that is still a few years away.
Bye: (1) Edmonton Oilers and (2) Minnesota North Stars
The Oilers enter the playoffs in the same place they have in the last three years - a few points shy of a President's Trophy, with the best record in the West. They hope to leave it differently, without exiting in the Semis. This is a tremendous team that led the League in scoring this year but some flimsiness in defense is possibly cause for concern; if goalie Greg Hopkins can be protected from too many shots on goal, this team seems likely to at least advance to the Western Finals.
Minnesota, for its part, is back in the Playoff after a five-year absence. Like the Leafs in the East, the Stars are hoping that their re-emergence this season is a sign of a return of their 80s heyday, but a first-round bye and deep, experienced roster mixing veteran talent and rookie energy bodes well. A Minnesota-Seattle showdown seems likely and would feature two very similar clubs.
Predictions:
Seattle 4-2 Kings
Flames 4-0 Canucks
Oilers 4-3 Flames
North Stars 4-3 Totems
Oilers 4-2 North Stars
Stanley Cup Finals Prediction:
Barons 4-2 Oilers
SportsNet.us (April 12, 2023)
The puck drops on the Stanley Cup Playoff Friday April 14, as twelve teams from the Hockey League face off to hoist the Stanley Cup in late May. Can Seattle Totems repeat? Is this finally Edmonton's year? Can Toronto escape the President's Trophy curse? Read on to find out!
Play-in Round Preview
Eastern Conference
(3) Hartford Whalers v. (6) Montreal Canadiens
Whalers had reason to be optimistic last season - they entered the playoffs with the most points in the Hockey League and their first-ever President's Trophy, only to be swept in the Eastern Semifinals and failing to score a single goal in two games. Retooled over the offseason and entering with less overwhelming expectations, Whalers look well-balanced and sport one of the tightest defenses in the League. They'll need it - while the Habs have been uneven all season long, they enter the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a hot hand similar to that Seattle rode to a third title in seven seasons last spring and sport 2020-21 scoring champion John Stamkos.
(4) Buffalo Sabres v. (5) New York Americans
The Buffalo dynasty has lost its sheen with a major step back this season, but as long as Jack Eichel is lacing up in Buffalo, the Sabres are a lethal out for any team. The Americans, meanwhile, have made a remarkable run this season to get the first wild-card spot in the East and appear in the playoffs for the first time since 2014 and only the second time in thirty years. Ams fans know better than to get ahead of themselves, but there's reason to wonder in Brooklyn if this might finally be the year the "other" team in New York has a genuine run.
Byes: (1) Toronto Maple Leafs and (2) Cleveland Barons
The Leafs have collected a remarkable 120 points this season and look to be the best team in the Hockey League yet again; that is, shall we say, not a position that has lent itself well to Toronto in the past, with early-round exits in both 2020 and 2021 after earning the same honor and then the humiliating Stanley Cup sweep in 2014. Leafs look primed for a deep run, but spending the first round at home has not always been a friendly circumstance for this club in the past.
The Barons, meanwhile, have a deep run of their own in their sights. One of the most consistent teams of the 1990s and early 2000s that nonetheless never won a Stanley Cup (indeed only once reaching the Finals in 1996) and has always lived in the shadow of its city's rugby, football and baseball clubs. The push for silverware comes as the Barons have had the best goal differential this season and kept the heat on the Leafs all season long; how it ends for the longstanding bridesmaids of the Hockey League is an open question.
Predictions
Canadiens 4-1 Whalers
Sabres 4-2 Americans
Leafs 4-3 Canadiens
Barons 4-2 Sabres
Barons 4-3 Leafs
Western Conference
(3) Seattle Totems v. (6) LA Kings
Two of the past three champions face off in the Wild Card to lead off on Friday night in Seattle, and the defending champions like their position, entering with the same seeding as last year's run. Sidney Crosby and Ryan McDonagh aren't getting any younger but look ready to make one last run and defend a Stanley Cup again after having acheived such in 2017; to do that, they have to get past a young, hungry Kings team that tasted Stanley Cup glory in 2020 and could well have done so again had they not been riven with injuries the last two seasons. Back in the playoffs again for the first time since their triumph three springs ago, the Kings look ready to make a big impact, but the Totems have earned their title defense until the Cup is taken from them.
(4) Calgary Flames v. (5) Vancouver Canucks
The archrival Western Canadian clubs square off starting on Saturday in one of the Hockey League's great rivalries; the Canucks are back in the playoffs for the first time in eight years and the Flames are looking to build off their Eastern Finals loss to the Totems a year ago. The Flames will go as far as Mitch Trubisky takes them, but this is a team built for May and looks likely to prove it against a young Canucks club that is still a few years away.
Bye: (1) Edmonton Oilers and (2) Minnesota North Stars
The Oilers enter the playoffs in the same place they have in the last three years - a few points shy of a President's Trophy, with the best record in the West. They hope to leave it differently, without exiting in the Semis. This is a tremendous team that led the League in scoring this year but some flimsiness in defense is possibly cause for concern; if goalie Greg Hopkins can be protected from too many shots on goal, this team seems likely to at least advance to the Western Finals.
Minnesota, for its part, is back in the Playoff after a five-year absence. Like the Leafs in the East, the Stars are hoping that their re-emergence this season is a sign of a return of their 80s heyday, but a first-round bye and deep, experienced roster mixing veteran talent and rookie energy bodes well. A Minnesota-Seattle showdown seems likely and would feature two very similar clubs.
Predictions:
Seattle 4-2 Kings
Flames 4-0 Canucks
Oilers 4-3 Flames
North Stars 4-3 Totems
Oilers 4-2 North Stars
Stanley Cup Finals Prediction:
Barons 4-2 Oilers
Hopefully Wisconsin gets an NHL tea here - the fact that we don't have one in OTL is ... kind of embarrassing! 
That name paired with the Thunderbirds branding (I know it’s junior hockey but I love the logo) would be… *chefs kiss*
I mean you’ve got the Blackhawks right there… 🙃🙃Hopefully Wisconsin gets an NHL tea here - the fact that we don't have one in OTL is ... kind of embarrassing!
Because Wisconsin *always* support Chicago based teams like the White Sox, the Bears and the Bulls.
Just have Hockey use Relegation and have the Badgers men's Hockey Team make the NHL.
I've been to several Cubs games at Wrigley North - excuse me, American Family Field - where there are as many Cubs fans (if not more Cubs fans) as Brewers fans.Because Wisconsin *always* support Chicago based teams like the White Sox, the Bears and the Bulls.
Just have Hockey use Relegation and have the Badgers men's Hockey Team make the NHL.
There's a reason the Brewers tried to ban selling tickets to anyone with an IL zip code a few years back.
The EU thread - come for Confederate college Rugby, stay for Chicago v Milwaukee sports flame wars
My Blue Jackets have the unique ability to be a flaming garbage pile on ice. Please give me a Barons dynasty. 🙏
You say that now, come back to me after we prop up your economy all summer. There's a reason we call Wisconsin Chicago's backyard after allI mean, the less FIBs in our state the better, I say
I mean, the less FIBs in our state the better, I say
FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT
Seattle Subway - Old System (Lines 5 and 6)
Line 5 - Westminster Triangle to Madison Park
Opened as the Madison Line in 1952, Line 5 was known as the "Fishhook Line" colloquially for its long shape extending down upon opening from the city limit at 85th Street all the way down to downtown and its "hook" off of the 27th Avenue Tunnel towards Madison Park. At the time it was planned in the early 1940s, the Lake Washington Floating Bridge via Mercer Island had just been proposed for the first time and the Madison Terminal for ferries was still active and connected only by bus to the rest of the city; much like the Day Street Terminal, a line to the smaller ferry terminal on the mouth of the Montlake Cut made sense. By the time the line opened, however, the Floating Bridge was in her second year across the lake and the terminal would soon be obsolete; the Madison Terminal is now a mixed-use lakeside marketplace and event center surrounded by high-rise condominiums. Nonetheless, the line served an important purpose, connecting the University Park and Cowen Park neighborhoods to the University District, Eastlake and downtown via a line down 10th Avenue, intersecting with the Crosstown Line at 45th and 10th and eventually the Eastlake terminus of Line 8, which opened in 1974 and cut east-west across the north end of Capitol Hill.
An extension of the Madison Line, later Line 5 in the post-1964 reorganization and rebrand, north of 85th street was a major point of debate and controversy for years, much like the extension of Line 3 south of the city. For one, the City of Seattle, which at the time operated the Subway on its own, was reluctant to have to share in revenue or risk with suburban municipalities it regarded as unreliable partners and wanted them to bear the full cost of lines built out of its municipal limits; other than Lake City, many suburbs did not always necessarily see the value of extending the Subway into their own neighborhoods, either, and the city of Soundview, where a Line 5 extension would have gone, had a consistently anti-Subway city council majority and mayoralty for most of the 1970s and 1980s, even as other expansion plans elsewhere went through. The growth of the Soundview Center shopping district and increasingly terrible traffic on Central Avenue and other arterials in Soundview by the early 1990s began to change attitudes, however, but by then a Line 5 extension had fallen down the priority list so that the Eastside Extension and other projects ahead of the 2000 Winter Olympics could be prioritized. Finally, in 1998, a state transportation package identified the 10th Avenue-Pinehurst corridor as one of the most traffic-clogged transit priority corridors in Washington and plans for a Line 5 extension were brushed off, studied and implemented; construction began in 2002 and would finish eight months ahead of schedule in September 2008. A debated extension of Line 5 further into Richmond Center and Richmond Highlands towards the Snohomish County Line has been proposed, but funding and a construction timetable is as of 2023 not in place and it is regarded as a low priority for King County's transit planners.
Starting west of the Dearborn Trunk, the line since 2008 begins under the Richmond city limits at 145th and Pinehurst Boulevard, at the bottom of the neighborhood known as Westminster Triangle. From there, the line goes southeast along Pinehurst Boulevard with a stop near Central Avenue and Haller Lake, then at 125th at the north end of the Pinehurst neighborhood. From there, it turns south on 10th Avenue, following it all the way to the Seattle city limits at 85th, with stops at 100th and Soundview Center, which has emerged as a booming residential and commercial neighborhood since 2008. The line runs all the way to its connection with Line 4 at 45th Street with intermediate stops on 85th and 65th, then has one last stop at Pacific Avenue at the south end of the University District before going through a tunnel under the Montlake Cut to the Eastlake neighborhood, and then passes southwest through Cascade towards Civic Center. Once out of the 3rd Avenue and Dearborn Trunks, it follows 27th Avenue all the way to the Madison Street stop, where it turns off the trunk and exits the tunnel and hill on an elevated guideway down the middle of Madison Street, with a stop in the Madison Park neighborhood before turning into its terminal stop on top of the Madison Terminal.
Line 6 - Capitol Hill Circular
Line 6 was, upon its opening in 1940, probably the most controversial line in the system. An entirely contained 9.6-kilometer loop line under the heart of Capitol Hill that, at the time, had no connection to any other train in the system via a transfer stop. Pilloried as a train to nowhere, it was nonetheless an important part of the Bogue Plan, helping maneuver people around one of the city's most rapidly-emerging neighborhoods without interconnecting with other lines and thus avoiding timing issues. Since its opening, the Circular did get parallel transfer stops with Line 7 starting in 1968 upon its opening, and now is the beating heart of one of the West Coast's most densely populated areas. Due to its closed nature, Line 6 was the first line, in 2016, to get automated rolling stock that does not require a driver; the rollout of such technology elsewhere in the system has been a matter of huge controversy and so far, Line 6 remains the only automated line.
The line runs in a loop, clockwise north to south, from Boston Street in the north down to 15th and then straight south down along 19th Avenue before turning west down Yesler, northwest at Boren and then entirely north again on Broadway all the way back up to Boston Street; on this route, it has stops at Boston Street, Boren Park, Mercer Street, 19th & Pine (where it connects to Line 7), Cherry Street, Pratt Park, Yesler Terrace, James Way, Broadway & Pike (an additional connection to Line 7, in proximity to the Pike Triangle nightlife and entertainment district), John Street, and finally Volunteer Park before finishing the loop back at Boston Street.
Opened as the Madison Line in 1952, Line 5 was known as the "Fishhook Line" colloquially for its long shape extending down upon opening from the city limit at 85th Street all the way down to downtown and its "hook" off of the 27th Avenue Tunnel towards Madison Park. At the time it was planned in the early 1940s, the Lake Washington Floating Bridge via Mercer Island had just been proposed for the first time and the Madison Terminal for ferries was still active and connected only by bus to the rest of the city; much like the Day Street Terminal, a line to the smaller ferry terminal on the mouth of the Montlake Cut made sense. By the time the line opened, however, the Floating Bridge was in her second year across the lake and the terminal would soon be obsolete; the Madison Terminal is now a mixed-use lakeside marketplace and event center surrounded by high-rise condominiums. Nonetheless, the line served an important purpose, connecting the University Park and Cowen Park neighborhoods to the University District, Eastlake and downtown via a line down 10th Avenue, intersecting with the Crosstown Line at 45th and 10th and eventually the Eastlake terminus of Line 8, which opened in 1974 and cut east-west across the north end of Capitol Hill.
An extension of the Madison Line, later Line 5 in the post-1964 reorganization and rebrand, north of 85th street was a major point of debate and controversy for years, much like the extension of Line 3 south of the city. For one, the City of Seattle, which at the time operated the Subway on its own, was reluctant to have to share in revenue or risk with suburban municipalities it regarded as unreliable partners and wanted them to bear the full cost of lines built out of its municipal limits; other than Lake City, many suburbs did not always necessarily see the value of extending the Subway into their own neighborhoods, either, and the city of Soundview, where a Line 5 extension would have gone, had a consistently anti-Subway city council majority and mayoralty for most of the 1970s and 1980s, even as other expansion plans elsewhere went through. The growth of the Soundview Center shopping district and increasingly terrible traffic on Central Avenue and other arterials in Soundview by the early 1990s began to change attitudes, however, but by then a Line 5 extension had fallen down the priority list so that the Eastside Extension and other projects ahead of the 2000 Winter Olympics could be prioritized. Finally, in 1998, a state transportation package identified the 10th Avenue-Pinehurst corridor as one of the most traffic-clogged transit priority corridors in Washington and plans for a Line 5 extension were brushed off, studied and implemented; construction began in 2002 and would finish eight months ahead of schedule in September 2008. A debated extension of Line 5 further into Richmond Center and Richmond Highlands towards the Snohomish County Line has been proposed, but funding and a construction timetable is as of 2023 not in place and it is regarded as a low priority for King County's transit planners.
Starting west of the Dearborn Trunk, the line since 2008 begins under the Richmond city limits at 145th and Pinehurst Boulevard, at the bottom of the neighborhood known as Westminster Triangle. From there, the line goes southeast along Pinehurst Boulevard with a stop near Central Avenue and Haller Lake, then at 125th at the north end of the Pinehurst neighborhood. From there, it turns south on 10th Avenue, following it all the way to the Seattle city limits at 85th, with stops at 100th and Soundview Center, which has emerged as a booming residential and commercial neighborhood since 2008. The line runs all the way to its connection with Line 4 at 45th Street with intermediate stops on 85th and 65th, then has one last stop at Pacific Avenue at the south end of the University District before going through a tunnel under the Montlake Cut to the Eastlake neighborhood, and then passes southwest through Cascade towards Civic Center. Once out of the 3rd Avenue and Dearborn Trunks, it follows 27th Avenue all the way to the Madison Street stop, where it turns off the trunk and exits the tunnel and hill on an elevated guideway down the middle of Madison Street, with a stop in the Madison Park neighborhood before turning into its terminal stop on top of the Madison Terminal.
Line 6 - Capitol Hill Circular
Line 6 was, upon its opening in 1940, probably the most controversial line in the system. An entirely contained 9.6-kilometer loop line under the heart of Capitol Hill that, at the time, had no connection to any other train in the system via a transfer stop. Pilloried as a train to nowhere, it was nonetheless an important part of the Bogue Plan, helping maneuver people around one of the city's most rapidly-emerging neighborhoods without interconnecting with other lines and thus avoiding timing issues. Since its opening, the Circular did get parallel transfer stops with Line 7 starting in 1968 upon its opening, and now is the beating heart of one of the West Coast's most densely populated areas. Due to its closed nature, Line 6 was the first line, in 2016, to get automated rolling stock that does not require a driver; the rollout of such technology elsewhere in the system has been a matter of huge controversy and so far, Line 6 remains the only automated line.
The line runs in a loop, clockwise north to south, from Boston Street in the north down to 15th and then straight south down along 19th Avenue before turning west down Yesler, northwest at Boren and then entirely north again on Broadway all the way back up to Boston Street; on this route, it has stops at Boston Street, Boren Park, Mercer Street, 19th & Pine (where it connects to Line 7), Cherry Street, Pratt Park, Yesler Terrace, James Way, Broadway & Pike (an additional connection to Line 7, in proximity to the Pike Triangle nightlife and entertainment district), John Street, and finally Volunteer Park before finishing the loop back at Boston Street.
Nice update on the Seattle Subway. But I gotta ask, does the rest of King County (and Pierce and Snohomish while we're at it) have to rely solely on local buses, or is there a Sound Transit equivalent?
We’ll be getting to that - the New System of post-1964 extensions will cover more of KC. Snohomish and Pierce will have their own transit systems (bus and maybe streetcar in Tacoma) plus commuter rail
I have 3/4ths of one… lol. I have most of it mapped out but some small market third-tier teams I haven’t quite figured out yet. Happy to bounce ideas around