"If you look back on our play-off history these are the type of games we lose... we bent but we didn't break." - Sheldon Keefe

As a Leafs fan you learn never to get your hopes up. You understand that no matter how good things MAY look in the moment, calamity will most likely streak at some point. But what if it doesn't? What if there actually is something different about this collection of skaters in the REAL Blue & White uniforms. Game 3 certainly showed us something, Game 4? Well we need to SEE something more. And it is the end of the most successful era in Raptors history. The firing of Head Coach Nick Nurse signals a period of transition for the Raps, because as Masai Ujiri put it: "...I think changes will be made on all fronts."

Welcome to the Scottie Barnes Era. #GOLEAFSGO

67. 56.19.7.6.1 If you want to know what those numbers mean ask a Leaf Fan and I'mm pretty sure they can come up with a salient explanation. Or you can just listen to Episode 21: Part 2. All shall be revealed there. Enjoy.

So we so thoroughly enjoyed doing a two-parter in our last episode we decided to comeback with another one. I'm only half-kidding. Given that both PUCK & HOOP are heading into their respective post-season's, a two-parter was a necessary thing. So part 1 is all HOOP as we take a fair bit of time to put a fork in the Raptor's season because it is DONE LIKE DINNER. We also make our picks for the first round of the NBA play-offs. Enjoy. Comment. Subscribe

Hey there Puck and Hoopers - in case you didn't know I just made that up, so we'll go with it for now - this is the 2nd half of our 20th episode of The Puck & Hoop Podcast. In this portion we serve up our thoughts on the Leafs, Habs and of course, the Raps. Oh those Raptors... just the thought of them makes me shake my head and wonder what they could have been if they had just got their collective act together this season. But hey there's the play-in, right? Enjoy Episode 20 pt2, we had a good time making it, we hope you have a good time listening to it. GO LEAFS GO! Sorry Keith, I had to say it.

So here's something a teensy bit different than our usual fare here at THE PUCK & HOOP PODCAST. It's a 2-parter. Kind of in honour of reaching our milestone 20th FULL podcast episode and kind of because we just had so much territory to cover in this edition. So dive in, enjoy and then come on back for Pt2.

Don'cha dare miss it!

There is a lot of talk flowing around out there right now about NBA Commissioner Adam Silver being on the short list to be the next CEO of the Disney Corp.

Whether there is any merit to that talk or not, I wouldn't be surprised if Silver were to be offered the job he'd grab it with both hands.

Issues are coming. And they have been for a long while. The growing enmity between players and on court officials is approaching a boiling point.

Ja Morant appears bent on destroying his future and with it any chance the Memphis Grizzlies have at becoming a bona fide Championship contender.

Oh and Kevin Durant is hurt. Again. And Zion Williamson is still hurt. Again.

It's all Hoop this time on The Puck & Hoop Podcast. Thanks for listening.

...well you know the rest. The Eastern Conference. Whether it's Puck or Hoop is NOT a place not for the faint of heart. Even with a couple of Superstars departing for the West, the NBA's Eastern Conference is turning into a very difficult place to ply your trade. Which will make for some interesting jockeying for position with  play-offs just around the corner. The same is true to an even GREATER extent in the NHL. No fewer than 6 teams can count themselves as serious contenders for the Stanley Cup. And if that doesn't get you excited - no matter who you root for - then you really don't care about hockey. Oh and speaking about caring, you have to wonder just how much Ja Morant cares about what is - or was(?) - shaping up to be a championship run by the Memphis Grizzlies. Keith and I chat about that as well as a few tid bits about our favs. And yes we are ready to RUUUUUUMMMMMBBBBBLLLLLLEEEE! 

This episode has been published and can be heard everywhere your podcast is available.

There are times when you see it coming. This was not one of those. The Boston Bruins are setting a torrid pace atop the NHL's Eastern Conference. And by torrid, I mean historic. When it's all said and done and the regular season gives way to play-offs, the Bruins may well have fashion the best ever season in NHL history.

BUT.

And it's a big one. The last time a team won the President's Trophy AND the Stanley Cup was the 2012/13 Chicago Blackhawks. And that was a lock-out shortened season. Also, starting with the 1985-86 season when the award was created, only seven teams have won this trophy and the Stanley Cup in the same season. In fact, three of the last four Presidents' Trophy winners have been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

So yeah Boston is great. In the REGULAR season. But if you want to win the Stanley Cup, be a little wary of that greatness. It may wind up being not so great.

Enjoy episode 17. It's a whole lotta PUCk with a little HOOP thrown in at the end.

NBA All-Star Weekend is in the rear view mirror. Thankfully - some might say. Whatever you think of the game, the attendant festivities and all that goes with it, the NBA and the NBAPA know how to put on a show and continue to cement the NBA as the most culturally and social conscious member of the Big Four professional sports. Shout to Jully Black and the late great Marvin Gaye. Also in this episode, Keith and I get into about whether the Raptors need to embrace Pascal Siakam as THE MAN. No blows were traded in this 'discussion'. Take a listen. Enjoy the banter. And yes, one word CAN make a difference.

SOOOO... that Brooklyn thing didn't really work out, huh? Now it's the Valley of the Sun for Kevin Durant and yet another chance to turn a great team into a Super Team. The Lakers may have found away to make themselves relevant - MAYBE. And the Raptor? Sometimes you just might have to reach back into your past to push yourself forward. Take a listen to The Puck & Hoop Podcast take on the NBA Trade Deadline.