The Game Managers: April 22, 2016: The Game Managers already miss Pavel Datsyuk

Quote of the day

"Really emotional." - Pavel Datsyuk, a man of few words describing his feelings after being eliminated by Tampa Bay.

T̶h̶r̶e̶e̶ Two things to read today

The reason there are only two things to read today is that this profile is pretty dang long. It’s also a super interesting and super revealing picture of one of this generation’s most dominant athlete and a guy we really don’t know. Take your time with this one.

How college athletics has become a boondoggle for everyone but the students

Nobody knows the NCAA like Dan Wetzel and nobody writes about the NCAA like Dan Wetzel. And boy, Dan is mad at the NCAA.

About last night . . .

We (probably) say goodbye to Pasha

We aren’t going to eulogize Pavel Datsyuk’s career here; that can wait until it’s official. But there are many strong indications, including from Pav himself, that last night’s elimination loss to Tampa Bay was the last game Pavel Datsyuk will play in the NHL. If true, we just hope everyone who enjoys watching athletic achievements was able to watch and appreciate a guy doing things we never saw done in his sport. Tampa Bay moves on the the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they await a yet to be determined opponent.

Thunder, Raptors take 2-1 series leads

Both of these teams are higher seeded teams and both lost a home game in the first part of their series. The wins take home-court advantage back and set OKC and Toronto up in good position to get over their early series hiccups and move on.

Arrieta no-no

No-hitters are always fun, despite being probably the most common, rare achievement in sports. But some things about Jake Arrieta's no-hitter against the Reds make it extra special. First, it ended the Reds streak of not being no-hit in a regular season game at 7,110 games, which was the longest streak in MLB. Second, it is Arrieta’s 2nd no-no in his last 11 regular season starts. Third, it’s his second no-hitter since his last regular season loss. Fourth, Arrieta is 20-1 with a .86 ERA in his last 24 regular season starts. Fifth, and the best, this is the 2nd time since last August that Arrieta has finished a game with more hits than hits allowed.

Welp, you messed that up, Nashville

Looks like the catfish didn’t work. Four days ago the Nashville Predators were virtual locks for the 2nd round after winning two road games to start their series with Anaheim. Well, one goalie change and two games in Nashville later and the series is tied. We’re not sure the last time the road team won the first four games of a playoff series, but it seems rare. Either way, the series becomes a best of three with two games in Anaheim, which, given the way the series has gone so far, might actually be in Nashville’s advantage.

Pittsburgh is really frickin’ good

The Pittsburgh Penguins quietly had a very, very good regular season and have carried that into the playoffs. They beat the New York Rangers 5-1 last night to take a 3-1 series lead. We’re not hockey experts and we didn’t watch enough hockey this year to act like we’re experts, but it can be argued nobody is playing better than the Penguins right now. They’re 20-5 in their last 25 games.

Blackhawks stay alive, remain dangerous

Patrick Kane scored in double overtime and the Blackhawks staved off elimination in Game 5 against St. Louis. Corey Crawford was outstanding, making 46 saves, which is bad news for the Blues, who now have to go back to Chicago for Game 6. While they won the first two games played in the United Center in this series, the pressure is mounting and Chicago’s goalie has confidence. If I were a Blues fan, I’d be pretty nervous.

Houston’s on the board!

James Harden hit a shot that will make people forget about his defense for a while, and the Rockets are not going to get swept by a Warriors team that has been without the MVP for the past 2 ½ games. Golden State was pretty sure it could do this without Steph Curry, and it probably still could, but now Steve Kerr at least has an interesting decision heading into Game 4.

The best of the rest

The halftime show in Houston got weird