The Vancouver Giants set a record for attendance in a junior game held in British Columbia with 16,183 fans, but it wasn't enough for the Giants as they succumed to the Kelowna Rockets 3-2 on Saturday. The Rockets, even without Shea Weber, were a tough defensive peanut to crack and took the series 4-2.

Boxscore
Game Summary

Disappointing? A little...but the series was great, the hockey was close and intense, the Giants played well, and the Rockets were simply a much better team through the series and the entire season.

Gilbert Brule's production in the series (6GP 1-3-4 PTS) and Andrej Meszaros' play in the last 3 losses were somewhat disappointing.

As for Adam Courchaine, this was his last kick at the can as this was his 'overage' year and he'll be in the AHL next season. Adam played with more intensity and urgency in the playoffs than he did cruising through the regular season. Adam finished with 4 goals and 3 assists in the 6 games, and he'll be a fine pro player if he learns to maintain that same level of competitive fire night in and night out.

With the Giants out of the playoffs, my attention will turn to Major League Baseball.

Sure, I'd rather be watching NHL Playoff hockey, but I'm also a big baseball fan. What I can appreciate about baseball is...

1. I can turn on the TV pretty much every single night and be assured that there will be a game on TV. With hockey, there are some nights (like stupid Canucks Pay-Per-View games) where there is no hockey to watch when I'm really in the mood for some. Baseball is a good mistress in that there are many teams playing many games and at least one will be viewable in Vancouver.

2. Baseball can be a 'passive' sport to watch. When I'm at my computer blogging or chatting away, I don't have to divert my full attention to keep up with the game. I can watch certain pitches, and listen to the descriptions to get a good idea what is on...not to mention the 1,000,000 breaks in the play. With hockey, you can't really enjoy the game unless you pay some close attention to it.

So, until the World Championships start up next month, I'll have a great diversion to keep my sporting jones in check.

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On that front, here are my predictions for the MLB Standings and Award winners.

Standings:
WORLD SERIES CHAMP: BOS
AL PENNANT: BOS
AL EAST: BOS, NYY, BAL, TOR, TAM
AL CENTRAL: CHW, MIN, CLE, DET, KAN
AL WEST: OAK, TEX, ANGELS, SEA
AL WILD CARD: NYY
AL FEWEST WINS: KAN
NL PENNANT: STL

NL EAST: ATL, PHI, FLO, NYM, WAS
NL CENTRAL: STL, CHC, HOU, MIL, CIN, PIT
NL WEST: LOS, SDG, SFO, ARI, COL
NL WILD CARD: PHI
NL FEWEST WINS: COL

Awards:
AL MVP: Eric Chavez, Oakland
NL MVP: Albert Pujols, St. Louis
AL CY YOUNG: Roy Halladay, Toronto
NL CY YOUNG: Roger Clemens, Houston
AL ROY: Jeremy Reed, Seattle
NL ROY: Jeff Francis, Colorado (Picking a Colorado pitcher? Yeah...)
AL MANAGER: Ozzie Guillen, Chicago White Sox
NL MANAGER: Bobby Cox, Atlanta

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OK, back to hockey...

The Women's World Hockey Championships are now underway and Canada won a very easy warm over Kazakhstan 13-0.

The poor Kazakhs had a 15 year-old girl in net and I don't think they got an official shot on goal during the first two periods. It will be hard for women's hockey to get more 'propers' until there are more than just two competitive teams.

...and the headline for this article reads: "Crucial week for NHL"

What the hell is so crucial about *this* week?

The crucial week already passed when the NHL declared the season dead.

The eleventh hour has come and gone," Detroit Red Wings goalie Curtis Joseph said. "If a deal couldn't get done in the eleventh hour, it's hard to tell what (urgency) there is now."

Exactly...