playoffs

With no Canadian teams left and light on star power, a cooking show in Canada is drawing bigger numbers than this year’s NHL playoffs

Are you a Canadian hockey fan desperate for a reason to cheer? Use our tool to find the right Canadian-ish bandwagon for you

Jonathon Gatehouse on the fun and futility of Toronto’s playoff run

If he’s going to win again in Vancouver, Luongo will have to rebuild his game and his confidence

Are the Vancouver Canucks the prohibitive Cup favourites?

Elsewhere, colleague Geddes disses the playoff beard on the grounds that “Not shaving: anyone can do it,” and goes on to wax nostalgic about moustaches.

Think we’ve missed any? Then add a link to what you deem the dirtiest hit this post-season.

Suicidal squeeze: The Los Angeles Angels are out of the playoffs because Mike Scioscia did exactly what we all expected him to do. Everyone—the broadcasters, the Fenway faithful, the casual fan—knew he was going to try the bunt squeeze last night. He does it all the time. That’s just his aggressive style, and when a manager leads his club to a runaway division title (the Angels finished 21 games ahead of second-place Oakland in the AL West), it’s hard to second-guess his decisions.

Steve Goodman’s song is still my favourite, but this one’s pretty catchy, too. Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam front man and lifelong Cubbies fan, has recorded his own rally cry for the 2008 playoff run.

Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi wants to set the record straight. According to team sources, the man with the seven-year plan is preparing a press release that he hopes will clear up all the recent “confusion.” The Prime Minister’s office is still reviewing the wording, but Maclean’s has obtained a draft copy:

Nobody likes a bandwagon jumper. They’re an insult to every loyal fan who keeps on cheering no matter what the standings say. Like the crowd in San Francisco the other night—31,000 strong—who showed up to watch their woeful Giants battle the Colorado Rockies in a game that meant absolutely nothing. San Fran is 15 games under .500 and nowhere near a playoff spot, yet AT&T Park was nearly full. And it has been the entire season, averaging 35,641 paying customers per game.

I guess this editorial in today’s Globe and Mail is addressed to people like me – people who just never understand what a great manager Cito Gaston is.