TOWERS' GLOWER POWER

East bound and down, loaded up and truckin'. We gonna do what they say can't be done.... Stuff that shocks and amazes, including learning that Joffrey Lupul's not a Finn or Swede but is actually from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta.

NHL PLAYOFFS DAY 19

DUCKS 4 AVALANCHE 3 in OT (Anaheim leads 3-0): You shouldn't feel sorry for guy who's known as much glory and made as much money as Rob Blake has. But tonight, the future Hall of Famer plays his typical good game, scoring a goal, logging 37 minutes 24 seconds of ice time and knocking around guys who were in novice or atom when he broke inthe the NHL back in 1990. And what happens? No sooner had he got off the ice after being out for all two minutes of an Anaheim power play in overtime than Patrice Brisebois gives the puck away in his own zone, leading to Joffrey Lupul's overtime winner. Obviously, there's no way Colorado is coming back from three games down. The Avalanche hasn't scored a power-play goal against Anaheim; so much for the theory the Ducks penalty kill would crumble after facing Calgary's weak PP unit.

DAY 20 LOOK AHEAD

• 7 p.m., SENS vs. SABRES (Buffalo leads 2-0): Here's the scary thought, Ottawa: You're down 2-0 and Buffalo really hasn't played very well. By the way, that's nice you're outshooting the Sabres, but shots from the blue line aren't getting it down. Just check the Game 2 summary and notice how many Sens defencemen had four shots on goal.
• 7 p.m., HURRICANES vs. DEVILS (Carolina leads 2-0): New Jersey might, might take this series back to Raleigh, but my Devils pick looks awfully dumb.
• 10 p.m., SHARKS vs. OILERS (San Jose leads 2-0): Just a thought: what if all foursecond-round series are sweeps?

OTHER BUSINESS

• I know nothing about the Texas Longhorns new quarterback, Colt McCoy, other than he's already got a starting spot nailed down on college football's all-time all-name team. Other members of our team's backfield include Jarvis Redwine and I.M. Hipp.
• Can't fault Josh Towers for snapping after John Gibbons gave him the early hook tonight in the Jays' 6-5 loss to the A's last night. After all, if you were a major-league pitcher, could you stay calm, cool and collected if you were 0-7 with a 10.09 earned-run average? And there's the rub. When giving up three runs in four innings brings your ERA down by a half a run, you're not going to get much sympathy when you complain you were pulled too early, especially if it comes when the bullpen is rested after essentially getting two days off, thanks to strong starts by Roy Halladay and Casey Janssen. But how is Towers supposed to pitch if it's obvious no one has any faith in him? The Jays need to show some, even if it's only symbolic while A.J. Burnett is on the DL.
• May 10 is a day to remember if you're a Boston Bruins fan. It's the anniversary of Bobby Orr's Stanley Cup winner in 1970 and the too-many-men-on-the-ice game against the Canadiens in '79.

That's all for now. Cheers.