Alive enough to type

The week's hiatus is over.  I am 80% back to health (as long as I stay indoors), and just in time.  The "I don't have a life" section of our work season is about to begin, and when I go in Monday, I start an hour earlier.  Plus, I get to train a new person starting Tuesday.  So posts might still straggle; but on the bright side, next week's Time Machine is under construction, so there is that.

In the meantime, I want to update the hockey board.  We are at a point where it will be easier to keep track of who's still playing amongst my 23 teams, and KCs 23 rivals.  And yes, we are keeping a head to head record, with 5 points for a win, 4 for an OT win, 3 for a shootout win, etc.  At this point, KC has outpointed me with 39 of the last 56, but I still have a commanding 284-151 lead overall.

And we have each now claimed a league title!  Miskolci won the Hungarian MOL liga title for KC, and Tohoku claimed the Asia League crown for myself!  In the meantime, here's who's left and where they stand:

In the Czech Extraliga, my Trinec and his Sparta Prague face off today in the start of their best-of-7 semifinal series.

In the Canadian Junior Leagues, my Brandon and Sherbrooke and his Red Deer, North Bay, and Shawanigan are in their opening playoff rounds.  Only my Windsor Spitfires (13-40-15) failed to make the cut.

In Norway, my Stavanger team is up 3-0 on arch-rival Valerenga in the semis.

In Latvia, KCs Kurbads open their championship series against Mogo tomorrow.

In the UK, my Sheffield and his Fife open the two-day circus which is the Elite League playoffs against each other today.

In Denmark, my SonderjyskE team has won into the finals, and his Esbjerg are a win away from joining them.

In Switzerland and Finland, it's just my guys.  In the NLA, Servette needs to win the next two to upset Zurich and make the finals;  in the Liiga, Jyvaskyla is the first to win through to the semis.

In Germany, it's also just me;  Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg is down 1-0 in the semis to Adler Mannheim.

And that leaves the four NHL teams, still in the regular season;  KCs Columbus Blue Jackets are 11 out of a playoff spot with 8 to play, but our other three seem solidly in.  Current standings would have a Pittsburgh (KC) vs NY Islanders (me) opening series, while my Blackhawks would face longtime rival St. Louis.