It’s that time of the year — the annual marathon that is the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. It used to be something we lived for — the battle of a seven game series where only the strong survived and gritty plumbers that no one has ever heard of step up for stardom on the national stage (and by national stage, we mean Canada).

After the lockout, our interest in the NHL has waned a bit more than we thought. Coupled with the fact that our favorite NHL team, the St. Louis Blues, was run into the ground by the son-in-law of the co-founder of Wal-Mart (we all know that Wal-Mart and sports don’t mix — just ask the Kansas City Royals) and that the NHL is now on the equivalent to cable access (Versus!), it’s much harder to follow than before the lockout.

Without further ado, your meaningless 2007 NHL conference semi-finals preview…

More after the jump »

Here we go again…again (The Hog Blogger)

An Arkansas Razorback fan site is reporting that a disgruntled Hawg’s fan is going a step further to show his disgust with the state of the school’s program — he’s suing.

We’ll let The Hog Blogger explain the hijinx:

More after the jump »

Coke in talks with Glaceau (Sports Biz with Darren Rovell)

Darren Rovell of CNBC passes along that Beverage Digest is reporting that Coke (the maker of, well, Coke) is looking into acquiring Glaceau, the maker of vitaminwater.

Vitaminwater is a distilled water-based beverage that contains vitamins in it and has flavor added for taste.

You may recall that vitaminwater has been in the news lately, thanks to Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher wearing the company’s hat during Super Bowl week and getting fined $100,000 for it.

Also noted in the blog entry — an ad by PGA pro John Daly promoting Maxfli golf balls is causing a bit of a stir in the ad industry due to the golfer being a in bar surrounded by beer.

Prior shelved for 2007 (Rotoworld)

In a complete lack of surprise, Chicago Cubs hurler Mark Prior will not pitch anymore in 2007 after undergoing successful surgery on his shoulder.  The Associated Press story can be found here.

The Chicago Cubs issued a press release that reads like a an unabridged medical journal –

More after the jump »

Brewers’ Yost breaks collarbone while jogging (AP/ESPN)

Milwaukee Brewers manager Ned Yost broke his collarbone while jogging near Wrigley Field on Tuesday.  After being examined by doctors on Wednesday, Yost expects to be behind the bench for today’s contest against the Chicago Cubs.

There was no word if first baseman Prince Fielder accompanied him on the jog.

Rick Carlisle steps down as coach of the Indians Pacers (Dan Patrick Radio Show)

The Dan Patrick Radio show is reporting that the Indiana Pacers have fired head coach Rick Carlisle.

More later…

***UPDATED at 2:18 EDT***

Minor correction — the Associated Press is reporting that Carlisle has stepped down and has not been fired.  Team president Larry Bird has extended the former coach an invitation to return to the organization in the future. The decision was a “mutual agreement” by both parties.

Tony Stewart accuses NASCAR of ‘playing God’ (USA Today)

Tony Stewart, NASCAR’s resident bad boy, accused the racing body of “playing God” by using caution flags to orchestrate close race finishes on his Sirius Radio program, the aptly named The Tony Stewart Show.

His point of reference is the four yellow flags flown for debris during last weekend’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

As an aside, who names these NASCAR events anyway?  The Subway Fresh Fit 500 is the best they can come up with?

The Rams deal for Donte Hall (Sirius)

According to a report on Sirius Satellite Radio, the St. Louis Rams have traded for Kansas City Chiefs kick returner/wide receiver Dante Hall.

The St. Louis Rams dealt a fifth round pick for the services of Hall, according to 1380AM KSLG in St. Louis.

***UPDATED at 1:40 EDT***

The story is now being reported by the Associated Press.

Majerus to be hired at Saint Louis (STL Today’s Bernie’s Press Box)

We hate to cite an online forum, but we’re really no different from them, so….

The online forum of St. Louis Post-Dispatch scribe Bernie Miklasz is saying that according to a media report on radio station KFNS 590 in St. Louis, MO that Saint Louis University will announce the hiring of basketball coach Rick Majerus to a contract.

Majerus has a long track record of solid coaching stints at Marquette and Utah, but resigned from the coaching job at Southern California after only a week.

Six Austrians banned from Olympics for life (AP/Yahoo! Sports)

Six Austrian athletes were banned from the Olympic games for life after being found to be involved in a blood doping scandal in the 2006 Games in  Turin.

Much to our disappointment, no mention of Dick Pound in the whole article (Pound is chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency).

News and notes while you roll out of bed this fine day…

Nationals begin taking cell phone as a ticket (BizofBaseball) Tickets@Phone© works this way - it allows fans to have their tickets delivered to their phone via text message; that text message will also include a unique barcode and standard ticket information to use for admission. This makes the Jetsons blush and annoys fans when the phone rings while watching the game.

Report: 80 percent of blogs contain “offensive” content (Ars Technica) As one influential person in our life once said: “If they can’t take a joke, f*ck ‘em.”

Shanoff: Remembering David Halberstam (danshanoff.com) Web scribe Dan Shanoff takes his own personal look at the loss of David Halberstam.

Griffey passes Reggie on all-time home run list (AP/ESPN) We had the pleasure of seeing this occur first hand. The word “abysmal” describes the St. Louis offense.

Bulls hit from downtown often, down Heat (AP/ESPN) The Chicago Bulls were 11-17 from three-point land. That’s nearly 65 percent if you’re alone, scoring at home.

LaRussa requests trial (STL Today) St. Louis Cardinals manager requests trial instead of hearing on DUI arrest that occurred March 22.

Raptors top Nets as Parker pours in 26 (AP/Yahoo! Sports) Raptors reward Coach of the Year Mitchell with six-point win, 89-83.

Suns take down Kobe, Lakers (AP/USA Today) Suns rout Lakers, 128-96.

Seattle Oklahoma Sonics fire Hill, relieve Sund of GM duties (AP/SI.com) New owner Clay Bennett cleans house before likely move to Oklahoma.

Saint Louis faces tough call on Majerus (STL Today/St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Saint Louis needs this hire in order to save face for delaying the removal of former coach Brad Soderberg. (Commentary — As an aside, the media needs to stop bringing up the fact that the school won 20 games because if you look at their schedule, it’s quite hollow.)

Tebow’s success stirs pot on early entry debate (USA Today) Tebow began his third semester in college shortly after Florida took home the national championship. He was one of four “freshmen” who started college in December 2005.