No Canadian teams left update

Good Morning Poolies!

Well, actually given the ratio of Vancouver Canucks fans to Chicago Blackhawks fans in this pool, I figure many of you aren't actually having a good morning. But cheer up, now you all have three-plus months of will Roberto Luongo sign an extension or will the Canucks trade him speculation! That storyline is NEVER going to get old.

Yes, this update comes to you on the heels of the Blackhawks six-game Western Conference semifinal win over the Canucks. In pool terms this was a huge upset. Only three of you predicted a Chicago win. So congratulations to my grandpa Jack James, my mother Mary James and my partner in crime on the Canwest sports desk Dave Washburn. Your faith in Dustin Byfuglien has finally paid off. In fact, only Mary has the Hawks advancing to the next round and no one has them winning the Cup.

The Canucks loss in Game 6 was somewhat fitting. They blew leads in all four of their losses in Round 2 and managed to blow three separate leads on Monday night. Quite a feat when you have the best goaltender in the world. Although it won't surprise me if we hear in a few days the Luongo was battling some sort of injury. He looked slow to me.

A number of poolies lost their champion with the Vancouver defeat — our Kamloops contingent was hit particularly hard. Among those beginning their research for next year's pool are: Steve Ayres, Ron Strate, Richard Woods, Marcel Chelkowski, former two-time champ Chris Chapman and Carolynne Burkholder.

In other pool-related news, I made a post on the pool blog the other day about the best series of the second round. At the time I argued the Detroit-Anaheim series was the best and at the time I think I was right. However, there is no doubt now the Washington-Pittsburgh series has passed it and lapped it in terms of excitement. If you're not planning to be in front of a television for Game 7 on Wednesday night, you're not a hockey fan and may be banned from participation in future Sons of Manitoba pools.

Also, the Ottawa chapter of the Sons of Manitoba participant group had a rocking viewing party at the James Street Pub on Friday. Not only did we catch the Pittsburgh-Washington and Carolina-Bruins matches, we were also treated to America's Next Top Model for a few minutes due to a channel-changing error. Poolies Julianna Nowaczek and Colleen Turnbull believe there should be a Sons of Manitoba spin off pool based on televised modelling reality shows. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued. Any suggestions on formats would be appreciated.
Another viewing extravaganza is in the works for the third round.

Here are the standings:

1 Jack James 26 Congrats on the lead, but you will be hard-pressed to keep it
2 Natalie James 24 No reports from Quebec City? What's up with that?
3 Rob Kovac 23 If the Penguins win on Wednesday, I bet you will win the pool
T4 Phil Ling 22 I expect to see you sporting a Cam Ward jersey on Tuesday
T4 Mary Kay Hosfield 22 Been out on the golf course yet?
T4 Mary James 22 Why am I always embarrassed when you beat me in this pool?
T4 Geoff Hastings 22 Likely candidate for best Kamloops poolie
T8 Roman Zakalunzy 21 Your chances just took a big, big hit
T8 Steve Ayres 21 Strangely, your best chances now lie with the Hawks continuing to succeed
T8 Arthur Casement 21 Still waiting for that new Oilers coach. . .
T11 Sean Hutchinson 20 That cheque-is-in-the-mail line will only work for so long.
T11 Peter James 20 My pool title drought will reach 12 years.
T11 Mike James 20 Your streak of calling OT winners correctly has ended
T11 Mike Barber 20 Dude, you are REALLY missing out with this Pens-Caps series
T11 Liam Lynch 20 What, no appearance at James St.? Your pool invite for next year is in doubt
T11 Jeff Madill 20 Still a good shot at rookie of the year award
T11 Debb Coghlin 20 You may have noticed, I switched to reverse alphabetical in this update
T11 David Forbes 20 So you 'D' folk drop to the bottom of the list
T11 Chris Lackner 20 The kneecappers have been called off.
T11 Carolynne Burkholder 20 SAD!
T21 Richard Warnica 19 I still can't believe you made that catch.
T21 Marcel Chelkowski 19 A Caps loss would have been doubly painful
T21 Justin Lee 19 Canes can rocket you up the leaderboard
T21 Dave Washburn 19 Luongo was your best friend on Monday night
T21 Barry Horeczy 19 I predict you will predict the Hawks have no chance in the next round
T26 Richard Woods 17 Your potential for growth is on par with that of GM's stock price
T26 Lisa Watson 17 See above
T26 Leanne Boyd 17 See above
T26 Brad Bouzane 17 I've reserved a spot for Sophia in next year's pool.
T30 Sydney Washburn 16 Thanks for putting the pressure on your husband. He finally paid up
T30 Ryan Plesko 16 Both your finalists are still alive and kicking
T30 Mike Macaraeg 16 Top score among poolies who also coach rugby teams
T30 Keith Bonnell 16 This Tuesday seems transcendental. . .
T30 Jeff Sandelli 16 Those pictures are coming. Promise.
T30 James Gordon 16 Perhaps it makes sense your Eastern Conference picks are much better than your Western Conference ones
T30 Dave Gross 16 John Baird
T30 Cliff Hosfield 16 Perhaps a little sophomore jinx this year
T30 Chris Chapman 16 Our race to be the first three-time pool champ will resume next year
T39 Jordan Stein 15 On one hand your team lost, on the other hand it didn't hurt your pool sheet
T39 Jeremy McParland 15 Unlike many of the other Kamloopers, you had already lost your champ
T39 Colleen Turnbull 15 You will get six points, no matter what on Wednesday
T42 Don McGowan 14 Down to your last team
T42 Adam Fulton 14 Wednesday is your chance for some Round 2 points
T44 Steve McKinley 13 Heard a few too many, 'Whoo-hoo's' from you Monday night
T44 Mike McGuire 13 Looking forward to reunioning it up next week
T44 Mark Brennae 13 Who wins the Burnett/Doc pitching match up?
T44 Ron Strate 13 You probably figured this out already, but you've been mathematically eliminated
T44 James Peters 13 Who are you rooting for now that the Canucks are out?
T44 Dale Oviatt 13 I'm in for a toonie
T50 Terry James 12 How'd Roughrock look?
T50 Rob Shaw 12 Good luck on E-day.
T50 Lloyd Mack 12 You have the potential to make a huge jump in the next two days
T50 Laura Drake 12 Is the O'Brien trial all you hoped it would be?
T50 Jennifer Hosfield 12 Counting down the days 'til Stampede?
T50 Brendan Kennedy 12 Missed you on Sunday
56 Shannon Proudfoot 10 Bruins are your only salvation
57 Julianna Nowaczek 9 Caps win kept your hopes of not finishing dead last alive