Let the whining begin… the league tilted the schedule to help the Penguins, the refs were against the Red Wings, Colin Campbell should’ve suspended Malkin, Crosby refused to shake hands, let’s boo the hell out of the commissioner.

Geez… I thought the Red Wings had been there before.

The schedule – Probably the one item on the whine list that may have a shred of credence… the rush to get the series started was an interesting decision. I had received very clear messaging that the series was scheduled to begin on June 4. I had even wrote a blog about it… then, all of a sudden… it got moved up to a weekend back-to-back to accommodate NBC… not good and something that definitely benefitted the Pens.

The refs – Wow… this one, when I first heard it just drew complete laughter. When I stopped laughing my reaction was a John McEnroe like “You cannot be serious!” After watching Detroit get call after call in game after game over multiple seasons?

Malkin suspension – Again… How many times have we seen this call overturned after a blown instigator call.

Booing Bettman – The commissioner of the league deserves a little respect. I guess I don’t look at this guy as the enemy. His tenure has seen him help keep teams in their markets… Pittsburgh, Edmonton, Vancouver, Nashville… just to name a few… revenues have grown… the game is getting better and more world wide… What a lousy job this guy’s done… Sheesh… OK we get it… he came from the NBA, but damn… he’s been here for 16 years and done a decent job trying to herd 30 owners in the same direction.

Now the real fun one…

Crosby’s Handshake Snub? OK, really??? You guys are gonna go here? I will say that this criticism sounds funny coming from fans who defended Chris Chelios for refusing to join handshake lines when they lose. I didn’t hear Kris Draper jumping on Chelios and making sure that he knew about it.

I’m sorry, but this one just makes Kris Draper and Red Wing fans look bad…

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Some good coverage in today’s Tennessean… good pieces on Vern Fiddler and Jason Arnott? Off season coverage of the Preds?

... excuse me … I need to dial my cell phone ... hold on ...

"Hello Satan? What’s the temperature down there?"

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I’ll be posting my annual “Holding Myself Accountable” blog sometime this week… reviewing the good predictions, the bad predictions and the flat out “what was I thinking” moments in my blog over the past season.

It's always a fun one...

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You are invited to follow me on Twitter. Search for PredPAPaul… Not only will I be updating when I get news or updates… I’ll also be updating during Pred home games in season with information and explanations from the PA box.

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Join Brandon Felder and me for the fastest hour in radio… HockeyBuzz Radio... Wednesday night’s through July 1st. Start time is 6pm on SportsRadio 560 WNSR, you can listen online at www.wnsr.com or you can download the podcast of the show at www.hockeybuzzradio.com

This Wednesday’s show will feature an interview with former NHL’er and current German Olympic Head Coach Uwe Krupp, we’re also working on having Bill Clement and Eklund on the show as well so tune in as we review the season and look ahead to the draft and UFA day!

Don't forget to check out www.hockeybuzzradio.com for playoff schedules, playoff standings, updates, links to more hockey and Predators information along with our new weekly feature called “On the Mark” featuring opinions on all things hockey from hockey writer Mark McGee.

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