Playoffs Quotations | Page 2

Now we're 0-0 and everybody goes and plays. The playoffs are what you wait all season for.

Now we are going to the playoffs on a positive note and we'll see what happens tomorrow night and prepare for whoever we play.

Nederland is always such a sound and solid football team. Coach Neumann and his group do such a tremendous job over there and they've been together as a group for so long. I think they've been to the playoffs 10 straight years or so. They always have some good-looking kids. They look the same as they did in 1981. They have big kids that work hard year around. They look like they're just cut from a different mold. They just seem to reload every year with the tremendous depth they have. Another key to their success is that they don't turn over the football. They've won a lot of games over the years doing that.

Obviously, their game plan was to go after our skill players, and that's posturing for the playoffs. That's the way the playoffs are. You earn every inch of space on the ice. I think the officials are going to have to take control of some of the situations. I thought they did a heck of a job tonight in that respect.

Obviously the division (title) may not happen, but the opportunity to get into the playoffs is there, and that's what we want. We don't have to wish on any other teams to win or lose. If we win, we're in -- and that's all we can ask for.

Obviously making the playoffs is your first priority, but along the way you want to finish as high as you can.

Obviously I love playing when it comes down to crunch time. I like the playoffs and those last games against BC were big for us for home ice. The puck has just kind of been falling in for me. Hopefully I can continue that this weekend.

Obviously football is my first sport. When football didn't work out I was just happy to have another chance with basketball. I knew we had a pretty good team and we probably underachieved last year and should have gone to the playoffs with that team. What ever way I can get to the playoff I'm happy.

Right now every win feels great. Were playing for the playoffs it's right there for us if we continue to play well.

Right now is the time you want to start winning. Win on the road, then go to the playoffs and keep winning. That?s how you get to a Super Bowl.

Peyton's tough. I talked to him after the game. He's been through this before (the Colts are 3-6 in the playoffs under Manning). He'll be OK. He knows they just have to go back to work at it next year.

Plus, it's a physical conference, so we are pretty much ready for the playoffs by the time the season's over.

One of the key goals at the beginning of the season was to get the county championships back. Today was the deadline for the state playoffs with the power points. So now we go into that arena. That's our next challenge -- that's the next thing we have to look forward to.

I was so excited, because I wait for this chance for five years. Everyone wants to play in the playoffs because it's a good occasion to learn something new. It's pretty tough. I think it's made me a better goalie. I'm not nervous. I feel pretty cool.

I wouldn't want it any other way. If it's the game deciding if we're going to go to the playoffs or not, I want to be out on the mound just like every other pitcher on this staff wants to be out on the mound.

I wish the state would go ahead and seed the playoffs so that we wouldn't be meeting this early. We'd likely have to play eventually, but to see one team go home really before its time doesn't seem right.

I guess I'm just on a higher stage out there in the playoffs and more people are recognizing some of the little intangibles I do, and it makes me that much better.

If we don't play well, we're not going to get to the playoffs and we won't play deep into October. It's ours to lose. There's a lot of teams fighting for spots.

If we get in, we get in. The playoffs are something you don't really want to think about at this point. You just want to get a win.

If we can handle their press, make our shots and make it a half-court game, we have a chance. We play a schedule that prepares us for anyone in the playoffs and now all we need is one more win to get us to state.

If we can get healthy, we'll be a really good team. If we're beat up going into the playoffs like we've been all year, it'll be a battle.

If things don't go our way we should be in the playoffs but I'm convinced we've still got a chance of finishing in first place.

If we continue to play like this, we've got to stop thinking about playoffs and start thinking about trying to edge our way into the playoffs, and we don't want to do that.

I don't how they do it. It's the start of the playoffs and we had guys going up to the (American Hockey League), and they had guys coming down.

I don't even pay attention to that any more. We're just going into the playoffs trying to get ourselves better. We want to keep playing great basketball like we've been doing and hopefully end up playing in June.

I don't know, why shoot for second place? We're still in the race for the AL East and that's what our approach is, winning the division. You talk about us getting to the playoffs, but we're in the playoffs now.

I could see the line moving down a little bit. Carolina has been impressive in the playoffs so they might get a lot of action at 3 ?.

I am excited about the opportunity to coach in the ABA and for a team that made a great run in the playoffs last year. It is a terrific opportunity for me and I look forward to taking this team to the ABA championship.

I break the season down in three different parts. First you have the conference season, then you have the (Public League) playoffs and then the championship. Playing Hyde Park in a conference game is the start.

But the bigger picture is, you can't do that late in the season and the playoffs and expect to win. Andruw's not going to come through every time. Contrary to what some people think, he's not Superman.

Basically, we're playing to complete the schedule, ... We're not going to the playoffs. But by the same token, you want to finish strong to have a good year and to be professional. This is a game, this is your job, and you want to really play the game right. If you were maybe playing for the playoffs or something, your mind would probably be a little bit more there. That's just the way it is. But by the same token, there's no excuse. You have to come out here and play. You want to win every game.

I felt like Raul has a little more experience with our pitching staff, ... He was in the playoffs last year, and I felt like it was important to go with that experience right now. I do think that Humberto is a big part of our future. This is not a reflection on what he's doing right now. He's doing well; we're very pleased with his progress.

I felt going into those playoffs that we hadn't thrown the ball very well and for us to make a run we had to throw the ball better. This year, coming into the playoffs, I think it was reversed. We had thrown the ball much better, but we had to run the ball more efficiently.

I feel we've overachieved this season. After we missed the playoffs last year, we set our sights on this. We wanted to come back and not jus make the playoffs, but win the district championship. This says a lot about the characteristic of our kids.

I feel that next week is a real big week for us. We have Willis and then New Caney. If we want to make a name for ourselves to be in the hunt for the playoffs we have to win those two ball games.

(If) I put McCarthy there, I have six guys with no experience in the playoffs in the bullpen and now a rookie to close the game. El Duque knows about the playoffs.

I find the entertainment value of the playoffs is out the door. It's all about competition. This, to me, brings it back to grassroots where it's one team playing another team and it doesn't matter who's covering the game or who's watching.

I feel much better today than I was feeling in the last couple of days. It is nice knowing we are in the playoffs now. If we have two good games now, from here on in, we achieve our goal.

Growing up you're watching the playoffs and you're watching how exciting it is. You see heroes being made every game, every year. It was a great moment for me. Something I'll never forget.

Getting to the playoffs is tough. The sections are more balanced and it's getting harder and harder to make the playoffs. Any team that makes the playoffs has to be pretty good and they're all battle-tested to come through their sections.

Frankly, it wasn't a conscious choice to go after big leaguers. They became available to us and they're good guys who can play well. One of the things that we've always done here I've always built a team for playoffs in April. Part of that is having players with experience and the guile to get it done when it's (crunch) time. That's what we're looking for.

From a development standpoint, even just to practice every day with the pros, I think would help his development. We're going to send him into Grand Rapids and he'll be there through the end of the regular season. Then we'll make a decision whether he remains there for the playoffs or does he then go back home.

From one year to the next, Chris has improved so much. You could see it in the playoffs last year. His big thing is his skating. He's such a great skater that he can play forward and defense. And he's got the best hands on the team, stick-handling wise.

From the first day of the playoffs the pitching always has been good.

If an official puts his whistle away, they should put the official away for the rest of the playoffs. How long you work in the playoffs is discretionary, and that depends on how well you're working. And if a guy decides he's putting the whistle away, then he's done.

I don't think we're going to play football in the playoffs. Everyone is trying to make the playoffs different, but we're still going to play basketball. Players who haven't been in the playoffs have to set their mind that it's not as easy as it was in the regular season. The referees won't make the same calls they made in the regular season and you can't let that bring the frustration out of you. That's the biggest adjustment.

I don't think you're going to hear anything about Phil's next step in the NBA, if there is a next step in the NBA, until a new champion is crowned. I don't think Phil is going to accelerate the pace of any discussions. He has obligations that are non-NBA related. As it turns out, his calendar of engagements ... frees itself right around the time the NBA playoffs conclude. That's the time when we could really jump into it if there are serious offers.

I don't think you ever go into a season admitting anything to anyone that you're going to win the Stanley Cup, you're not going to make the playoffs or you are going to make the playoffs. I knew that they were going to be a good team as soon as we had them together in training camp.

I don't think you can play for that. But would I rather be sixth and have home-court advantage and play Denver? Yes. I don't want to give Denver something to put up on the bulletin board. Obviously, I'd rather be at home to start the playoffs. It would great to be home. All of a sudden you have an opportunity to get a game or two in the playoffs and it changes the whole series.

I expect every team in the state playoffs to make a run. It doesn't matter how far ahead you are. And I expect us to make those free throws in the end.

I expected to make the playoffs and to be district champions. I knew it was going to be hard with the young team we had.

I expect us to be in the playoffs next year. We've got a great group of young guys and hopefully it will stay together. I think we can build off the finish we had to this season and do some great things next year.

I expect to see some good games. We have come a long way to this point in our season and Silver has not been in the playoffs for a couple of years.

If a big call is made in the last 30 seconds or five minutes of a game, if there's a call made that keeps a team out of the playoffs or knocks them out of the first round, and it starts costing teams money, that'll be the litmus test,

I don't think I was a year too late or a year too early in retiring. If the Seahawks had been in the playoffs a year later, I might have had some regrets.

For us to sign Chris Simms for our future is something that is extremely exciting. (He is) A young man that has continued to improve, help our team make the playoffs and win an NFC Southern Championship, and a guy that we will continue to build our football team around.

For us right now, getting home-ice advantage in the playoffs is absolutely critical. We want to get as high up the ladder as we can because of how competitive it is right now. Every home game we get as an advantage is important.

For two days George has been stressing that if the playoffs started tomorrow this is the team we would play against. We wanted to make a statement.

For us it wasn't so much about winning or losing. It's about showing up and proving to ourselves that we belong with the best team in the NHL. We show up with no effort by so many guys, that's just embarrassing. I don't know how to explain it, but there's definitely an issue here that we'll have to resolve before the playoffs start.

For whatever reason - whether it be the other team playing better than us or us not taking full advantage of opportunities we were presented - we had opportunities to go further in the playoffs if we made it to the playoffs. So you can't say this team has gone south. We just haven't gone as far as we possibly could.

If we make the playoffs and if the time is good for him and if he is the best guy to throw the ball, he will be the first pitcher. If not, we will see what happens.

If we lose that game, it's Seminole going to the playoffs and not us. Dexter willed us to a victory in that game because he knew we had to win it. That's what I'll always remember.

If we are 10-0 or 9-1 we are going to the playoffs because we made that possible and it wasn't in the hands of anybody else.

If the decision is made that he can't play for the rest of the season, he probably wouldn't play in the playoffs because it would be pretty tough to play after missing almost two years.

He has had an exceptional season. He's very important for us and he is totally deserved his trophy and hopefully now we get into the playoffs and as a team be tough to beat.

He has been talking about the playoffs since training camp. He has been real determined to get back playing playoff hockey.

He did a great job. We could have very easily not made the playoffs and been out of this thing a month and a half ago, ... He'd have his little meetings here or there, kept us positive and kept pushing us to keep moving forward.

He is capable of making impact plays for us. I think he's a clutch, big-time player. We can go to the playoffs and advance with him. Those are the kind of players we're looking for. He's one of those.

He made a reference to the teams in the playoffs in the NFL. All those teams are playing great defense. And that's what helps you win championships and that's what your team needs to do better and get wins.

He needs to have a big year. It's his third year pro and that's usually when players start stepping ahead. He showed flashes in the (Calder Cup) playoffs and now all we're looking for is consistency.

Whatever happens in the playoffs will be fine. We're going to play eight, nine, 10 guys, anyway. I'm comfortable with both roles. I understand both roles.

We've been waiting to get to the playoffs since the last game of last season. So now to get the opportunity to play, we're all excited.

We've been waiting to get to the playoffs since the last game last season. So now to get an opportunity to play, we're all excited.

We've been trying to build for a long time, and I'm thankful now, ... I think we're turning a corner and I really want to be here, what a great atmosphere with the fans. It's always been great around the playoffs, but to face what we had in the last playoffs and the atmosphere, I don't know if there's a better atmosphere and definitely we wanted to be here with our family.

We're in the playoffs now, so that's one less thing we have to worry about. Seeing this defense jell as one just lifts me. And it goes both ways, because we feed off each other.

We're in the middle of it right now. We're in the hunt for the playoffs and any tie or win is good, as long as we keep those (losses) out of there.

We're on a roll. The mentality of this team is very good. We just want to win every game and whoever we play in the playoffs is OK. We'll be ready mentally.

We're playing really good football, but we're not in the playoffs and there's nothing we can do about it.

We've got to win games, we have to go into the playoffs on a roll. Thank God we have a game on Wednesday.

We've got to take care of business inside our division. For us right now, getting home ice advantage in the playoffs is critical. We want to get as high up the ladder as we can.

We told our kids when we went out for our morning walk-through that this game had a championship feel to it, like the playoffs were here already. That's how we approached it and our kids responded very well.

We are feeling good about ourselves. But the playoffs are a whole different thing. The atmosphere changes in one second.

To get 20 is great, but to get to the playoffs means more.

To get 20 is great, but to get to the playoffs is more. We've come a long way, especially the way the team pulled together and started playing.

Guys ask me when I'm going to be back, and I don't have no answer for them. At the same time, I've got hope, and hoping that this team will get farther along in the playoffs and I'll be able to come back.

Guys are stepping up at the right times right now. For us to make the playoffs we need everybody rolling. Things are going our way for once.

He's a great goalie. I can remember watching him in the playoffs last year while I was on a cruise in the Caribbean and here I am tonight playing against him.

He's a guy I admire, and I guess he did a tremendous job with the Padres last year. As you know, the Padres haven't been in the playoffs for so many years. He came up and brought them (there), and that says a lot about what kind of catcher he is.

Going into the playoffs, the so-called experts said that there were 12 teams in the playoffs and out of everyone, we had the worst defense. Well, you can't play any better than that, can you?

Going in, this was a big game for us record-wise. West was right there with us, and heading into the playoffs they were one of the teams we needed to beat.

Going through the bad times the last three seasons not making the playoffs and right now still cheering for us.

He's been tremendous for us. We never even thought that he could be near as good as he's been. He's a big part of the reason we're in the playoffs right now. For us to be as successful, we need him.

He should be the guy. He has helped San Jose. It's all a matter if they're going to make the playoffs or not.

He's got to feel pretty good about himself coming right out of college, pitching in the playoffs and under pressure and everything else. That's a huge step.

Hockey is a confidence game and, when you are hurt, you lose some of that confidence. I'm really looking forward to the playoffs because I missed all those games early. I want to be in fine form and top shape and really have a good postseason.

He's going to be leading us to the playoffs for a lot of years to come.

He's built for playoffs. You look at guys over the years who were built for playoffs -- (Guy) Carbonneau and Mike Keane and Claude Lemieux. He's a gritty guy who does all the little things and he does them all year long.

He's doing something right. What's this now, his 10th playoffs in 14 years? And two Super Bowls. That's Joe Gibbs-type stuff.

Hopefully we can go out there and get home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs and take it from there, ... I think we have all of the pieces necessary.  We're deep across the front line.   We're definitely deep in the backcourt.

Well, you know, the team that was picked 32nd last year was San Diego and they made the playoffs and the worst team the year before that was Carolina and we were in the Super Bowl. So maybe it's a stroke of luck.