Believe it or not, ESPN was showing a game last night that was NOT college basketball or baseball. It was a hockey game: Dallas 7, Colorado 4. These are two of the top teams in the Western Conference, with the Colorado Avalanche winning the Stanley Cup championship two years ago, and the Dallas Stars reaching the Cup Final two years before that.
This was appointment viewing for me because the performance of five players in this game would determine whether I could squeeze out a late comeback victory in my fantasy hockey league. Alas, my team fell just short and will now have to play for 3rd place in the made-up contest this coming week. But the action itself was thrilling: players gliding at a blistering pace up, down, and around each other, firing laser-precise passes and snapping shots on goal, diving after loose pucks and slamming into opponents. It was a great spectacle even without the extra emotional investment, yet fantasy hockey allows me to study a game that already entertains me, learning more about the league, its teams and players, and the variety of ways their performances are measured. In my leadership, I'm committed to data- and evidence-driven decision-making, studying both the statistics and the stories that describe how our education system serves our students, including where it continues to keep learning at bay for some populations. As a hobby, fantasy hockey gives me an additional outlet for these analytical skills without the pressure of fighting historic inequities.
In recent years, I've also started playing Sudoku. I'm intrigued - maybe even entranced - by the challenge of taking a few pieces of data and gradually drawing conclusions out of them until the full picture emerges. It's a good reminder that there is always a solution hiding behind the few numbers we can see. There is only one way that these particular digits can fit together, and we can dig it out if we're thinking with enough care and creativity. I feel a comforting sense of hope in these puzzles.
A few months back, a long-time friend and fantasy league-mate Marc introduced me to the dream child of these two hobbies of mine: Puckdoku. It's truly a hockey trivia contest - one in which I am regularly bested by our small group of puck geeks. (Marc and I try to fit in as many former and current San Jose Sharks as possible. Cuz who wouldn't want a little extra agony?) But I'm hooked by this simple, engaging format. It actually reminds me of the football pools we spontaneously put together as a family during the NFL playoffs last January. My wife hails from Michigan, so while my siblings and parents were rooting hard for the Niners, our house had a not-so-secret affinity for the resurgent Detroit Lions. When the two teams met in the NFC Championship, we put together a small grid with numbers on each axis and devised some "prop bets" to increase the prizes that could be won. We repeated this for the Super Bowl, and here again, the added investment in our game helped to offset any disappointment we may have had in the "big game" results. Moreover, it brought our family closer and gave us a chance to chat and exchange texts during the week when we often miss those opportunities amid all the crazy-busy. Funny how a simple game can build those connections. Another good leadership lesson.
Now that the Stanley Cup Playoffs are approaching, I hope to re-capture that magic with a playoff pool of my own that will double as a fundraiser for student scholarships at Chabot College. While we are in the process of setting up a direct-donation link, anyone willing to try my Puckdoku Playoff Pool for $20 will donate half that amount towards Language Arts scholarships for students transferring to university to pursue Bachelors degrees in English or another language. Reciprocally, I'll only be keeping $10 per player for the prize pool, so if you wish to increase your donation, simply add to your payment.
Subsequent blogs will preview how the pool works and offer some insights into which teams might serve you best as you complete the nine-square grid. As there are four rounds in the playoffs, there will be three different grids. You predict which TEAMS fit in each square during the first two rounds, then use individual PLAYERS for the last grid (Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Finals.)
Here is the grid for the first round of the playoffs:
Round
1 Fill in the grid
with nine different teams that match the intersecting criteria for Round
1 of the playoffs.
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League Leader |
Next best in Western Conference |
Next best in Eastern Conference |
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Most goals scored |
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Fewest goals allowed |
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Played in longest series. |
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