SMASHVILLE!

    In case you didn't know, I'm a huge Preds fan. I remember the moment I was hooked: back in 2012 I went to my first Preds playoff hockey game. The crowd was electric, the speed of the game was great, and drinking heavily was a part of the game. Over the last 5 years, I have attended multiple games and bought ticket packages at for the last 3 years. I have learned the game and it is incredible to me how similar the flow is to basketball. The more I watch, the more I enjoy the game. (I also love how the Preds were put together by GM Poile) 

    All that being said, what is happening in Nashville this year has some how gone up 2-3 levels. Dan came in to Nashville and actually attended a game (shockingly we lost the first home playoff game in 11 games with him in the building). Dan and I then texted about how incredible the atmosphere is and how playoff hockey is the best live sporting event. For some reason, there seems to be an easy crossover from wrestling fans to hockey fans. In fact, one of the best things about this playoff run has come from NXT wrestler Bobby Roode's entrance music "Glorious Domination". Not sure why the Preds started using this, but late in the season they would play it after home wins. Now it plays 3-7 times per game. Not to mention 100s of times by fans  me (luckily my wife loves it or she would've killed me by now). If you haven't paid attention to the Preds or NHL, maybe this will help.

I went ahead and compared each player in PCTI to a Nashville Predator. This comes on the heels of Deuce putting all of us on blast this weekend (while we were chilling at the lake) saying the blog was dead this year. Deuce, this is for you:

Abe – Pekka Rinne

Big frame for a goalie, lots of energy and likes to handle the puck just like Abe in PCTI. Abe occasionally will get lost on D or make a bad turnover which is similar to Pekka giving up some soft goals every so often (usually stick side). With both of these guys, if they are locked in, there is no one else you’d rather have.

Bruise – Cody McLeod

Some Preds fans aren’t crazy about McLeod because he is not the most athletic hockey player and struggles with speed players at time but I love the dude. Both he and Bruise are heady players that are going to give maximum effort. The biggest reason I love McLeod is he has his teammates back no matter what. He gets in more fights because the other team gave a cheap shot to another guy than anyone I’ve seen (yes, he is missing his front two teeth). I get the same feeling with Bruiser around.

Rainbow – Colton Sissons

When I played in Dallas a few months back, I was really impressed with Rainbows play. Played with an edge and aggressiveness I was not expecting. Sissons has also impressed me with his play this postseason and had a hat trick in game 6 of the Western Conference Finals playing center for the injured Johansen and Fisher. He has gotten a reputation as a hard worker and solid two-way player, just as I suspect we will be talking about Rainbow after 8.

Andy C. – Frederick Gaudreau

Gaudreau is someone that most Preds fans were googling once Joey and Fish went down. He worked his way up from Milwaukee (farm team) to Nashville for 9 games in the regular season (which I don’t remember) but has been called upon in the playoffs. He has played well in the playoffs due to hustle and not being out of position, but hasn’t impacted the games a lot. I like his potential for the future. I know about as much about Gaudreau and Andrew C. Both worked their way into the big leagues from the farm system.

Spotlight – Kevin Fiala

Kevin Fiala really came on for the Preds this year. Spot and Fiala both lack size in their normal positions, but they make up for it with scoring potential. Fiala was having a great playoff until he broke his femur in the series against the Blues. Spot may not have the explosiveness Fiala has, but he is an efficient scorer.

Beas – Viktor Arvidsson

Arvi was tough to give out but ultimately, I though Beas was a good match. Arvi exploded this year for the Preds giving them some much needed scoring. I think Beas was a good comparison because if you watch Arvidsson you will notice that he hustles every play and scraps to create opportunities. His size is an issue at times and most people think he is just a pure scorer, he has been on the PK (penalty kill) quite a bit these playoffs. Beas is similar in he is one of the hardest competing players in PCTI.

BC – James Neal

This one was easy. Neal, the former Penguin, has great size for his position and has great scoring instinct. He has a good shot from outside but also loves to get in front of the net and create scoring opportunities. BC has a good outside shot, good size, and creates opportunities being in front of the hoop in the post and on O boards. The best part is the biggest knock on Neal is he brats out and gets bad penalties. Sound familiar?

Joe – PK Subban

The reason for this comparison is mainly due to off court/ice. Both love to promote “their brand”. Both love to joke around and have a good time. Both are well known ladies’ men. Both have huge dicks (confirmed). They surprisingly have similar on court/ice games as well. Pernell Karl is explosive and an excellent skater but his biggest flaw is over-handling the puck and trying to do too much at times. Also, the old white dudes with the NHL hate how he “showboats”, just like Sabin hates when Joe is hot dogging for the camera.

DK – Ryan Johansen

Some flaws with this comparison as Johansen is big for the center position and the complaint against him has been that he is lazy on ice at times. That was not the case during this playoff run and “Joey” established himself as one of the games best playmakers. He is a great passer and handles the puck incredibly well. DK is known as a good passer that limits his turnovers. Another reason Joey has been good this postseason is he started shooting more which caused more goals for him and his teammates just as DK did last PCTI. Too bad the Preds lost him last round due to Corey Perry being a huge douche.

Ben - Filip Forsberg

Here is how they compare: both are fan favorites, both are surprisingly physical forces, both have sneaky good speed, and both explosive scorers. Scoresberg has rose to the occasion time and time again. He is one of the leaders even though he is not too outspoken. He is more consistent on the defensive end then Ben. Forsberg is an ELITE NHL player, some say the same for Ben.

Scott -  Colin Wilson

Wilson is a big-time player who shows up when it matters most. Both these guys have great size and scoring abilities. Wilson was given the nickname “Playoff Wilson” he has produced at a much greater volume in the postseasons than regular. The up and down of both these players is what defines them. Will we get regular season Donley or Playoff Donley at PCTI8?

AHOP – Roman Josi

The easy comparison is the stunning good looks. Josi is an elite defender who has not been talked about much this playoffs with PK and Ellis playing well. He is consistent and moves the puck really well. I try and focus on D and moving the ball as well. But again, it is mainly due to good looks.

TP – Ryan Ellis

Ellis and TP are completely different physically. On court/ice, they are much more similar. Good defensive players that play physical to create advantages. Ellis has come on strong on the offensive side in 2017 and likes to fly around trying to create opportunities with speed and force. When Ellis or TP have a big offensive game, their team is usually successful.

Smo – Yannick Weber

Both do not do well against physical play. Nor Weber or Smo have much scoring prowess. You know what you are getting from both these guys, a few solid minutes to play defense and keep the ball/puck moving and be in the right place.

Sabin – Fish

The wily old veteran, Mike Fisher was an easy comparison for Sabes. The Preds captain has been dealing with injuries during the Stanley Cup Playoffs but he is so valuable. He isn’t the most explosive, doesn’t have the best speed, but he is in position and gives max effort on both the offensive and defensive end. I would describe Sabin’s game the same with more offensive firepower. Some have speculated this is Fisher’s last run with the Preds, but hopefully we aren’t discussing retirement for either of these guys. Biggest difference between Sabin and Fish:

Deuce – Gnash

Known for entering on a four-wheeler or descending from the ceiling, the fans are always glad to see Gnash. Both Deuce and Gnash don’t have to say much to understand they are badasses. But the most notable similarity is they are constantly surrounded by beautiful women.

LET'S GO PREDS!!!

What is PCTI VIII About? The Top Story Line Heading In To San Diego

With eight PCTI’s in the history books, it seems the days of personal vendettas fueling rivalries are gone. Best I can guess, this is for a few reasons.

 For starters, as much as I hate to admit it, we have collectively matured a little bit. Of course weeding out a few bad apples over the past few years has made a difference, too. But maybe most of all, by now most of us have won and lost with just about every other person involved. There’s no substitute for shared experience. Whatever the reasons, it makes for a less interesting off-season. There’s no more villains in PCTI. I’ve come to accept that and it’s done nothing to lessen my excitement for July.

But if the personal battles aren’t what they used to be, it begs the question: what is on the line in PCTI VIII?

The answer is, a few things.

THE WIN-LOSS LEGACY: As the years continue to pile up, the bragging rights around individual stats count for less and less (think about it, could anyone do anything statistically that would change your attitude about them as a player? Human nature dictates that we’ve all ‘seen’ too much of each other to let numbers change our opinion.) Am I saying I won’t be keeping close track of my own stats? Of course not. Having individual stats to try to pile up is one of the very best things about PCTI. But considering they’ll do little to change my lifetime averages and won’t have an impact on anyone beside myself, it really matters little.

The one number that grows in significance every year is each player’s lifetime series win-loss record. With each passing year a shining w/l becomes more and more of an indictment of your standing as a successful player and teammate. Conversely, a terrible record becomes more and more of a “you problem” with each unsuccessful weekend. Just think, wouldn’t it be nice to become the first player to win ten weekends? Or for the non-founding fathers, to get there in less years than anyone before you.  

I don’t have the series records of everyone in front of me but it’s a number that we will make sure is brought to the forefront ahead of San Diego. For people like Ben and Hops, this will be a great thing. For Bruiser and Sabin, not so much. For many others like me who are around .500, a few good years in a row could really stand out and shift things.

That’s what I think is on the line for each of us individually. But the real battle this year is about the two teams and what each represents.

QUAD POD VALUES VS BORED VALUES: At its core, PCTI VIII is a battle for ideological supremacy. And our Donald Trump – our man who is making the fifteen others choose sides – is Ben Wilson.

How did we get here? It started in the hours after Wilson’s squad won game six in Cincinnati. Thanks to my late-game heroics, Ben’s team captured the most competitive PCTI to date and his legacy as the ultimate PCTI captain was irrefutable. That he would step away and cede the reigns to a person of his choosing seemed a given. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the deal was sealed before we left the Queen City.

Instead, a week went by. Then a month. Something was amiss. Meanwhile, Danny was voted the MVP, setting up a possible Dan The Boy vs. Ben Wilson captaincy showdown. And as it turned out, the chance to compete against a DTB led team – the same DTB who for years had openly mocked Ben’s drafting/captaining prowess – was too much for him to turn down. He kept the captaincy for another year.

Dan The Boy vs. Wilson was a strong captain matchup and would make for a fun PCTI. But the gauntlet was really thrown down with the teams both men selected on draft day.

First, a little historical perspective for understanding.

Remember, Ben willingly declined the first pick before the PCTI VII draft. Doing so meant that Ben was passing on a chance to draft Abe in his rightful first overall spot. There were a few ways to interpret this. The first is that Ben and Abe to some degree believed that for the competitive balance of PCTI the two of them playing on the same team would not be good for everyone else. Too put it bluntly, they feel that they’re invincible together. Secondly, Ben was also no doubt motivated to again prove that it was he – and he alone – who was the reason for his team’s repeated successes. Ben’s team won because of Ben. He could afford to punt on the first pick because he already had himself.

What PCTI VII proved was that he was right about that second point. Problem for Ben was, nobody gave him much credit for it. Instead, the adulation for team’s success mostly went to Dan for a big offensive first half of the tournament and his trademark defensive effort.

Of course when I say give Ben credit, it’s clear who controls the PCTI discourse: Dan’s inner-circle. That would be me, Sabin, Joe and his new pet in PCTI VII, Jeff Godon. If Ben wasn’t getting the credit he felt he deserved for his run of success, it was on us for overlooking it or deciding it wasn’t important enough to highlight. Likewise, it was no surprise that Dan won the MVP with those of us who speak the most and the loudest about PCTI trumpeting our guy’s performance.

Maybe things this year go differently if we give Ben his due in the moments after our big win in Cincinnati. Maybe we’re in a different place now if someone other than Danny had emerged as the star of our team. Maybe we’re not even talking about this if Dan hadn’t for years repeatedly mocked Ben’s successes.

Jump ahead to draft day. Ben has made the decision that he’s going to pick first and he’s going to pick Abe. The days of him caring about any sort of competitive balance now are gone. The message to Danny and his supporters was a clear one: if you think you’re so great for being the “Abe Stopper,” try stopping both of us together. I doubt any part of Ben thinks that that same competitive advantage no longer exists with him and Abe on the same team. I just don’t think he cares anymore.

With that said, you certainly can’t read too much in to his decision to pick Abe first. Everyone has and would do the same thing. It’s what he did in the rest of the draft that made his intentions impossible to miss. In a move that I never thought I would witness, he drafted the entire Quad Pod. In one swoop willingly leaving Danny with all of his inner-circle guys (minus Smooth who was in a weird spot without having an established draft value) and pitting him against the faction that he has railed against the most of anyone.

And that gets us back to my first line about VIII being an ideological battle. Since its creation, QP has aimed to divide PCTI. Sure, they’ll try to divert their intention with all their phony love for each other but make no mistake about it, this group was created to alienate itself from the PCTI brethren. QP is the self-selected “cool” pocket of PCTI.

Of course, a cool group can only exist if a separate “uncool” group exists opposite it. You don’t need a sociology degree to understand that this is classic establishment vs. anti-establishment tension. And when you’re talking about the PCTI establishment, it’s Dan and the rest of his people, who in either an official or unofficial capacity make up the PCTI Bored.

Dan’s group sees nothing ridiculous about waking up early and getting to the gym an hour before game one. The QP sees nothing ridiculous about sleeping through breakfast because they stayed at the bar an hour later than everyone else. Dan’s group will buy new gear and order t-shirts. The QP will wear mismatched shorts, lawn mowing shoes and dress in drag. Dan’s group will text workout updates and lament bad games in offseason men’s league play. The QP are naturally the more gifted athletes who might be playing six days a week or might have not touched a ball in six months. Dan’s crowd dreams of mid-offseason meet ups to get in a few pickup runs. QP might rendezvous at Stagecoach one of these years, just to hang.

For years this tension has served as the flint and tinder that helped give PCTI its spark. And right at its middle was the one guy who co-existed between both groups better than anyone: Ben Wilson. Anyone paying attention has recognized that Wilson has long been the apple of the quad pod’s eye. If they hadn’t of stupidly branded themselves geometrically and therefore locked in a set number of members, I bet he’d have received a formal invitation by now. To call him an unofficial member would not be an over exaggeration. Conversely, few wear their love for PCTI as openly as Wilson, something Dan certainly has to appreciate it. On the “lives for this” scale, Ben is near the top.

But now Ben has made his choice, and there’s no going back.

Truth is both groups have more in common than they might want to let on. For all its antics, nobody would ever question QP’s collective love for PCTI and what they bring to the hoops element of the weekend. Likewise, for all its perceived straight-arrow, dad-like lack of hipness, Dan’s people get after it plenty hard during the weekend nights. That’s why it’s been a successful coexistence for all these years.

It likely would have stayed that way for many more, if not for Ben. With his draft day move, Wilson made his allegiance (or disallegiance) clear for once and for all: He’s a QP guy. And in a message that he had to know would hit Dan right between the eyes, with a straight face he mockingly uttered in the draft video, “I just wanted to draft the guys who gave a shit.” Translation: Dan, not only can you have your guys, we’re about to beat you at your own game.

So what is PCTI VIII about? It’s about your win-loss record, which will ultimately be your legacy. But it’s also about an ideology winning out. And if you don’t want to choose a side, too bad. Ben already did it for you. 

LOOK at that FACE. LOOK AT THAT FACE! Daniel. DANIEL! Brent. BRENT! Joseph. JOSEPH! Tyler. TYLER! Ian. IAN! Wes. WES! Rainbow. DON'T KNOW YOUR ACTUAL NAME! Jeff. JEFF. JEFF!!!!!! I got a riddle for you JOKERS, first to solve it (and its implications) gets a cookie: 19.75 v. 22.15. GOOD LUCK.

The joke's on ALL of you dudes who was dumb enough to chip into the SPOTLIGHT airfare fund, because MY FLIGHT, is officially BOOKED, and now you get to deal with THAT. LOOK AT MY FACE! More than two months out from PCTI IIIIIIII and I'M ALREADY FINDING THE CAMERA like a BOSS.

(DEUCE: FIND ME this year, I plan to LITERALLY SHIT on dudes).

Love,
Spotlight








P.S. Thanks guys, for serious.