Wow, I must say that the Edmonton Oilers are playing fantastic hockey. After slamming the addition of goaltender Dwayne Roloson I have to commend him on his superb play in the playoffs. I'm still not a big fan, but Rollie has played amazing. Evven with many of the blown calls and adversity the Oilers have faced throughout the series they continue to play hard and patient. Could this be their year?
Well I don't think so, but it has been great watching them the past couple of weeks. Could we see the Battle of Alberta for the first time in 15 years? We'll find out this week. Go Oilers!

So as I watch the Edmonton/Detroit playoff series, I've seen a common theme. Blown calls by the officials. Game Four was brutal!!!! The officiating was horrendous. The thing is that it (the officiating) has been horrible for everybody.

What is Bettman (NHL Commissioner) thinking? To quote a friend of mine, "What the hell does a New York lawyer know about hockey anyways?" Here's what happened to the Oilers.. the game is tied 2-2... in the third..... the officials start calling even more penalties on the Oil.... they miss a couple of calls vs. the Wings.... Detroit is on a 5 on 3 PP... the puck goes to the point .... the Oiler penalty killer, Jarret Stoll goes to pokecheck the puck, but the Redwing defender sets a pick (which is illegal in hockey) and knocks Stoll over which frees up the defensman with the puck... he scores on the play... the crowd boos and litters the ice. While Stoll may have embellished the pick, the fact is that the play was illegal. The blown call resulting in not only a game changing goal but potentially series shifter. As a fan I was furious. The NHL is trying to win fans back? I wouldn't shell out money to go to a game where the officials take center stage.

The Oilers were totally dejected after that blown call.. I think that they were in shock. Kevin Lowe GM of the Oilers and Craig MacTavish coach of the Oilers were looking for some answers from the league... and rightfully so as the Oilers been on the receiving end of numerous blown calls this season. (Remember that missed goal in Minnesota when the league actually called from Toronto to say that the disallowed goal scored by the Oilers was in fact a goal... play had already resumed and the disallowed goal stood.) You mean that the NHL cannot set a precedent and reverse the call? Terrible... and what if that was in a championship game? It's enough to make some question the integrity of the league. C'mon Bettman figure it out.

#5. Living in Fast Forward - Kenny Chesney
#4. Afterglow - INXS
#3. Save Your Scissors - City and Color
#2. The Grace - Neverending White Lights f/ Dallas Green
#1. Savin' Me - Nickelback

Welcome to my second installment on the City of Las Vegas. Here are some facts about the city that you may or may not have been aware of:

• it would take a person approximately 288 years to spend a night in every hotel room in Las Vegas
• estimates have indicated that Las Vegas casinos give away $1 billion of freebies per year just to get people through their doors (that's over 3 million per day!)
• the Riveria was the first "high-rise hotel" on the Las Vegas Strip (it was nine stories tall)
• the Las Vegas Strip is not actually located in the city of Las Vegas... the strip actually falls under the jurisdiction of Clark County
• did you know that there is one operating slot machine in Las Vegas for every 8.1 residents
• the electric bill for the beam from atop the Luxor is $51 an hour
• the MGM Grand has 5,034 rooms
• of the top 20 largest hotels in the world, 85% of them are in Las Vegas
• approximately 250 marriage licenses are issued per day in Las Vegas
• the Coldest Day recorded in Las Vegas was on Jan 13, 1963 at 8 Degrees F
• the Warmest Day ever recorded in Las Vegas was on July 24, 1985 at 116 Degrees F
• Las Vegas has the highest number of unlisted phone numbers of any U.S. city.
• Annual visitors to Las Vegas, in millions 36.7
• Number of people moving to Las Vegas annually 60,000
• Price for a prime acre of land on the Strip, in millions of dollars 11
• in 1998 - A 66-year-old Las Vegas resident hits a $27.58 million progressive Megabucks jackpot on November 15 at the Palace Station Hotel Casino. This was the worl'ds largest jackpot at he time.

Well it's the eve of the NHL playoffs. I'm excited as my fav. team the Edmonton Oilers will be taking on an opponent other than the Dallas Stars.... albeit the Detroit Red Wings.

Well it's time for my playoff picks so here we go.

Western Conference

(1) Detroit vs. (8) Edmonton
Pick: Detroit in Six Games (I would have picked the Oilers in Seven had they had a better goalie)

(2) Dallas vs. (7) Colorado
Pick: Dallas in Six

(3) Calgary vs. (6) Anaheim
Pick: Calgary in Five

(4) Nashville vs. (5) San Jose
Pick: San Jose in Seven

Eastern Conference

(1) Ottawa vs. (8) Tampa Bay
Pick: Ottawa in Five

(2) Carolina vs. (7) Montreal
Pick: Montreal in Six

(3) New Jersey vs. (6) NY Rangers
Pick: New Jersey in Six

(4) Buffalo vs. (5) Philadelphia
Pick: Philadelphia in Seven

Final Four:

Western Conference: Calgary and Dallas
Eastern Conference: Ottawa and Philadephia

Stanley Cup: Dallas vs. Ottawa

Stanley Cup Champion: Ottawa Senators

#5. Save Your Scissors - City and Color
#4. Upside Down - Jack Johnson
#3. The Grace - Neverending White Lights f/ Dallas Green
#2. Afterglow - INXS
#1. Savin' Me - Nickelback

Well as this is PlanetNim, the voice of music, marketing and my take on the planet, I guess I should add a post about marketing.

So this week I was looking at a few of my client's sites in order to examine if they had a Unique Online Competitive Advantage. So it got me thinking about competition and how you can stay ahead of your competition. It comes down to having a competitive advantage. Whether you are a sports team, a musician, a multi-million dollar business or a website owner you need to have a compettive advantage. Having one is not enough. You also need to stay on top of your competitive advantage.

So the next time you try to market yourself, or your business, or as you try to win a sports event or game ask yourself what is your competitive advantage and how can you exploit it and acheive success?

Establish a competitive advantage for yourself today!

Well after a lengthly season and many battles along the boards and in front of the net, the Edmonton Oilers have made the playoffs. It took 81 out of the 82 games to make it but they are in. Unfortunately it is at the expense of the Vancouver Canucks.

So the second season begins next week. It looks like the Oil will be playing against the mighty Detroit Red Wings. This is a matchup that I prefer (even though the Red Wings were the top team in the regular season. Why you ask? Well because if the Oilers were to finish in seventh spot they would have to play Dallas. They always play Dallas in the playoffs... and they have had limited success. Plus I'm sure many Oilers fans are sick of seeing this matchup in the playoffs. Hmm now the Battle of Alberta that would be something.

Before I make my playoff picks here are the teams to look out for:
Montreal Canadiens - these guys are on a mission right now
San Jose Sharks - Joe Thornton should be MVP. Cheechoo and Thronton are deadly together.
Dallas Stars - this is a very consistent team. They could easily come out on top of the Western Conference.
Calgary Flames - they have the best goalie in the west.

You might be wondering why I haven't listed the Oilers in this list. Well I would have but I am not impressed with Rolloson as their starting goalie. I just don't think that he can steal a game for them.

Playoff picks next week ....

#5. Save Your Scissors - City and Color
#4. The Grace - Neverending White Lights f/ Dallas Green
#3. Upside Down - Jack Johnson
#2. Savin' Me - Nickelback
#1. Afterglow - INXS

#5. The Grace - Neverending White Lights f/ Dallas Green
#4. Upside Down - Jack Johnson
#3. Savin' Me - Nickelback
#2. Kerosene - Miranda Lambert
#1. Afterglow - INXS