Oh no... the Ducks are really good... among other reflections.

We'll start with hockey. (Shocking, I know)

I'm not saying that this series against the Wild is over and done with; the Wild are an excellent home team and still have time to make a series out of it. But lets be serious... the Ducks really are the best of the West. They've got the defense. They've got the offense. And scarier, they've got the defense that can contribute offensively and the offense that can contribute defensively. I've said it plenty of times before and I'll say it again, the West is so tough that you can't take any team in it lightly. But with the Sharks losing Cheechoo, I've officially switched gears into believing that the Ducks are, as so many pre-season experts predicted, the team to beat in the West (have I mentioned that yet?). I just hope for the sake of Kings fans everywhere that one of the teams in the West can put a hot streak together and keep this team out of the finals... but I'm not too sure I'll be holding my breath.

Shout outs in the NHL:

Ilya Bryzgalov - Came into the season as half of a goaltending tandem with no decided #1, he took the backseat as Giguere took the #1 position at the beginning of the year and held on to it strongly. Now, with Giguere out for personal reasons, Bryzalov has filled in masterfully, giving the Ducks a clear cut advantage through the first two games of this series.

JP Dumont - As disgusted as I am with the Predators and their dirty hits in the last two games, 4 goals is 4 goals. Dumont has brought his A-game in these young playoffs, and has 4 goals in 2 games to show for it.

Marty Turco - Dallas's whipping boy and "playoff choke artist" outshone Roberto Luongo en route to a 35 save shutout Friday night, perhaps taking the next step towards shushing his critics.

Shout outs in the MLB:

Roy "The Doc" Halladay - Plenty of pitchers can go an outing only giving up 6 hits. But how about going 10 innings with only 107 pitches and 1 earned run while you are at it? Scary to think that he probably would have pitched the 11th if one had been necessary, too.

Scott Kazmir - Out dueled the best pitcher in baseball; Johan Santana. 8 IP, 6 hits, 2 runs, and 6 Ks got the job done in this impressive upset performance.

Eric Gagne - His return to the bigs featured a fastball at around 94 - 95 miles per hour, a K, and a save. Hate to see him in anything but a Dodger uniform, but all the same, would love to see him defy the odds and stay healthy.

Carlos Lee - Multiple times every season, Roy Oswalt pitches brilliantly, only to get no run support and the loss. In an ultra-rare turn of events, the exact opposite happened; Oswalt had a bad outing, but got a ton of run support and the victory. The main reason? Carlos Lee, who hit two solo shots and one grand slam. That's a pretty good day.

I'll weigh in on the NBA playoff race tomorrow, but for now, it is time to sleep.