Final(s) Thoughts

With the Blackhawks successfully defeating evil personified in the Philadelphia Flyers last night, and bringing the Cup to Chicago. I thought I'd give my final take on the season that was.

-Great to see NBC cover Game 6. It gave the sport a big-time feel. You had two of the largest TV markets tuning in, and it couldn't have ended on a better night. Sandwiched between two NBA Finals games, and the World Cup. Hockey had it's own night to shine and did it ever.

-Even though everyone wants to see a pivotal Game 7, having Game 6 go into overtime is all you could have asked for. It was an extremely competitive game, with breaks for both teams. There was nothing to complain about in terms of biased referees or non-calls, and the GWG (game-winning goal) was controversy free. Perfecto!

-I said it here earlier in the year, that the Hawks were the Penguins of the West. They proved it last night by having a "younger" team, take it to the experienced Flyers. The Blackhawks, Kings and Canucks are the future of the West, while Pittsburgh and Washington will get over this past season hiccups to dominate the East for several years. Watch out for Boston and Tampa Bay(yes I said it), as they keep adding younger talent, as an under-the-radar pick.

-I don't care what anyone says, hockey is catching on big-time. If you watched any of the Playoffs, each game felt like a big deal, and the fans were electric. I have to give Montreal, Philly, and Chicago their due, as they seem to have the most dedicated and rabid fan base.

-Speaking of Philly, I can't believe I'm going to say this, but you showed real class last night by cheering and allowing the Blackhawks to celebrate in peace. Nothing was thrown on the ice and the ceremony wasn't booed at all, which is phenomenal.

-I still get a kick out of Gary Bettman (NHL Commissioner) getting booed in every venue. The guy is socially awkward, he needs to hire a public speaker, perhaps Bruce Buffer, to give his speeches. I rank him 3rd in the Commissioner poll, only beating Bud Selig in terms of ineptitude.

-Jonathan Toews (pronounced Taves) did his best imitation of Sidney Crosby by winning both a Stanley Cup and Gold Medal in the same year. The guy is 22 yrs old!!! Comparatively speaking, Stephen Strasburg made his debut two nights ago and already is 21. Toews has 3 championships under his belt already. Dominating stuff.

-Patrick Kane (their true superstar) is bringing back the mullet. He needs to be traded to Pittsburgh to fit in with that hairstyle.

-For those that don't know: The handlers of the Stanley Cup (two guys with white gloves) travel everywhere the Cup goes. Everybody in the Blackhawks organization gets a day or two to do whatever they want with the Cup. If I were one of the players, I'd get them drunk and then run off with the Stanley Cup. Maybe you wanted to spend the night with the Cup and some random "Bar rat", would they come into your room and watch b/c they had to keep an eye on the Cup? I need to know this.

-F' You to ESPN once again. Their coverage of the Stanley Cup final consisted of about 5-10 minutes worth of SportsCenter. By comparison, for Strasburg's debut, they interviewed 4-5 different people. Do they not understand the only way to help the Sport grow is to provide coverage?? The Finals had two major markets competing against each other, and don't tell me no one cares about hockey. Go to every major TV market as ask about their NHL team, and you'll find a huge fanbase. Just think if you did this, you wouldn't have to show the Harlem Globetrotters or Spelling Bee on your main channel.

-Doc Emerick is one of the best Play-by-play announcers alive. He gives every play the feel of life or death. In addition, it sounds like he's getting robbed at gunpoint after a great save. Classic stuff.

-We get two days to recover before cheering for the second most underrated and under appreciated sport in America, the World Cup of Soccer. Time for more chants, shenanigans, hooligans, and beer!!

U-S-A, U-S-A!!

Dilemma

No I'm not talking about the Nelly ft. Kelly Rowland song from a few years back. This is a moral dilemma I'm faced with.

It appears by the end of this weekend we'll know the match-ups for the Eastern Conference semi-finals in hockey. Right now, barring any monumental comeback, it'll be the Boston Bruins vs the Pens, and Caps vs Philadelphia Flyers.

That second match-up scares me. Somehow, the powers that be, thought it'd be funny putting two teams I despise against each other.

As much as I want to see a Caps vs Pens match up again (assuming we get past a resurgent Boston team), so we can tear out their hopes and dreams, a Pittsburgh vs Philly final could be amazing as well. Hold it in Beaver Stadium (Penn State's stadium) and I guarantee 90,000 people would show up.

I haven't been this torn on the lesser of two evils since 2004. Back then, it was the decision to vote for either Bush or Kerry. I'll admit that I was a Republican back then, but after the first four years, I couldn't possibly support a Bush re-election. All the Dems had to do was put up a functional monkey, even Bubbles the Chimp, and they would have ran away with it.

Instead they choose John Kerry, who couldn't even decide if he preferred Pepsi or Coke. His wife being Teresa Heinz-Kerry, the type of woman who would be showcased on a Real Housewives of Pittsburgh. I mean this has to be one of the biggest busts in political history. Even Bush was surprised. This was why he had no agendas ready for 2004-2008, he figured there was NO CHANCE, he'd get re-elected after the crapshoot of a job he performed.

I was ready to switch sides at that point to the Dems. After I saw what they offered up and basically rolled over, I decided to wait a few more years and stick with the G-Dubya train. As the saying goes, "better the evil you know, than the evil you don't know".

Therefore, following this sage advice, I will have to cheer on the Flyers to absolutely brutalize and wear down the Caps. The Flyers are a physical team, who surprisingly took down Buffalo with ease. The Caps are a high flying, free-floating offensive powerhouse. This should make for a nice clash of playing styles. The real question will be whose inexperienced goalie will hold up the best.

Either way we'll come out a winner, neither team will get through that series unscathed and that's all we can hope for.

Sugar we're going down swinging...

My roommate Gigs had questioned me the other night why I wanted the Caps to lose so badly. "Since you live in DC, you should support them", he quietly explained. Ah, behold the virgin mind of a sports fan. Many of you may be following this same logic. Luckily, you have your Ayatollah to explain to you the rules of a rivalry.

Rivalries are a tricky thing in sports. They can be based upon location, skill (being the top two teams), or constantly being matched-up. Exhibit A being an old school rivalry of the Lakers vs Celtics. This was a prominent 80's rivalry. These two teams were in separate conferences, yet maintained a physical hatred of each other. This was b/c they were the two most dominant teams in those 10 years, and each had the top player in the league. Magic vs Bird. It was as simple as that. They'd only play each other once during the season, and perhaps during the playoffs, but no rivalry contained more disdain towards each other.

Rivalries are what even our political system is based upon, Democrats vs Republicans. That rivalry is so deeply rooted in some peoples' minds, that it has reached the point where they don't even understand what the other party stands for. They simply hate them b/c of their affiliation with the opposing team.

Sorry, I'm getting entirely off topic. Yes, Gigs poses a great question, maybe I should be cheering for the Caps b/c I DO live in DC. While growing up, the Caps were the Penguins main competition in the Eastern Conference. The only team Pittsburgh fans hated more was Philadelphia (that's a whole separate column there). It seemed every year they'd meet in the playoffs, and I couldn't stand the team.

They wore the red, white and blue to try and gain American pride on their side. From Peter Bondra and Al Iafrate to Dale Hunter and Kevin Hatcher, they were the bane of my hockey existence. There is no way that moving 250 miles Southeast will ever change those feelings. Even if the Penguins are eliminated in the playoffs, my next favorite team is the one playing the Caps. That's what a true rivalry is about.

The Caps have put up better stats, taken individual awards from our guys, hell they even stole our best player one year (Jaromir Jagr). I will never in 100 years be able to fully support their team. That pain of one loss to them will be there for a lifetime. It will just add more ammo to the argument with an opposing fan.

A recent article I found hilarious discussed dating and rivalries. It asked people if they would ever consider dating someone who was a fan of their rival. Almost 20% said no. This is pretty high considering most people surveyed probably were just casual fans. I don't know if I could ever date a Penn State or Ravens fan. However, a Caps fan would be a different story b/c they actually watch hockey. Don't get me wrong, I can't stand the Caps from a fans perspective.

However, I will respect the hell out of their team. There is the key difference and underlying lesson. Just b/c someone is your hated enemy and rival, does not mean you disrespect their team and players. Magic showed that respect to Bird, Peyton Manning shows that respect to Tom Brady. I will respect any Caps team and fan, that acknowledges how good the Pens are. As the saying goes, "it makes for better business".

That's what it boils down to. The rivalry is great for the league, and they need more people who are that passionate towards their team. It's the main reason I always take jabs at Caps fans (yes Jane and Jen, that's you). I wouldn't be the type of fan I am without people like you. We both know the league wouldn't be as great without this type of passion.

Just imagine if politicians took to this type of thinking. Maybe more would get accomplished if they actually respected the other party instead of just hating them as a rival.

"If I can change, and you can change, then we all can change!"

-Rocky Balboa, right before the Cold War was altered.

Enough of the whining

We'll file this under, hockey fans with no basis of knowledge. NHL fans outside of Pittsburgh constantly make the mistake of labeling Sidney Crosby a complainer or "whiner".

I'm willing to admit in his first two years in the league, he did complain a lot. This was more due to his age (18) and the fact he came from Juniors where hitting is more regulated. In the past two seasons, his complaining has dropped off the cliff faster than Wile E. Coyote. Sidney Crosby is the captain of the Pens and like it or not the league's franchise player. It's a fact across sports that star athletes get calls. Michael Jordan received about 1,000,000 in his favor, famously pushing off of Byron Russell to hit a game-winning shot against the Jazz. Kobe, LeBron, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, etc, all receive the benefit of the doubt.

As the Captain, he is also REQUIRED to speak to the referee concerning any penalties, goal disputes, or general discussion. Do not fault the fact he can actually communicate with the Refs, unlike Ovechkin.

Fans also take runs at him because he has "enforcers" on the team protecting him. This is also true, however every "GREAT" player has had one. Gretzky, Lemieux, Yzerman, Hull. The reason being the steady increase in the amount of cheap shots, which only tailed off after the Todd Bertuzzi incident (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz9RE9RGrVY).

The reason is simple, why wouldn't you want your top playmaker healthy and on the ice? Other teams will send guys after him constantly, either trying to check, injure, get him off his game. This includes goading him into a fight, 5 minutes without your best player is a huge disadvantage. It's simple math, without that playmaker, your team will win.

If you dig deeper into the facts, most of you will be surprised that Sid the Kid has been in TWICE as many fights as Ovechkin. Ovechkin also has been suspended TWICE as many times as Sid for hits that clearly had the intent to injure.

Call the league's premier playmaker what you want. He's not the next Lemieux or Gretzky, but he's a Hall of Fame talent regardless. The statistics do not lie. He is a more complete OVERALL player than Ovechkin or anyone else in the league. Constantly interacting with the Refs and understanding what they are looking for is a huge part of the game. Anyone that follows or plays knows this.

So rather than basing your complaint of Crosby whining on facts from years ago, why not face the current facts. In the past year he's lead his teams to a Stanley Cup and Gold Medal. I'll take that any day over a great goal scorer, who plays physical and borderline dirty. Knee-to-knee hits end careers, just ask Cam Neely.

If you don't know who he is, consider this your NHL history lesson.

The facts don't lie and neither do I.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

No it's not Christmas, March Madness, Sex and the City II, or even the Cherry Blossom festival. It's the NHL PLAYOFFS!!

You wouldn't know this if you only watch ESPN, b/c all they seem to care about is Tiger Woods and the NFL draft. This past weekend the only thing that exceeded their coverage of the Masters, was Tiger Woods.

Nevermind you, within 4 days, one of the Big Four sports are holding their road to the championship. It's quite simply a lack of respect for Puckheads everywhere.

Living in DC is great because their fans have become passionate about the Caps (I mean who wouldn't be after fighting to get on that bandwagon). It's a growing hockey hotbed, and I can only hope their team stays competitive and one day earns a Stanley Cup. Their racking up achievements this year and may even win some individual awards. That's great and all, but it won't bring you a visit from Lord Stanley.

The fans are becoming more rabid by the day, with so much support to "Rock the Red". If I didn't know better, I'd think that the Cold War erupted again, and I'm in Moscow. Honestly, since when do we as Americans support such an evil looking superstar in Alexander Ovechkin? Their opponents in the first round are the Montreal Canadians, ironically wearing Red, White and Blue as well. I will be cheering for them like they were Rocky Balboa vs Ivan Drago. I can just see Ovie standing over the Canadians goalie, looking at the camera while saying, "if he dies, he dies".

So let's all band together and cheer for the Canadians to rid us of these evil Russians and take back DC!!

Sorry Caps Fans

As many of you know, I'm a HUGE hockey fan and supporter. I was one of the few people happy that Canada won the Gold Medal, b/c it's actually great for the game. Hockey is Canada's sport, much akin to Football now being the United States'. For the past 15 years, they've been treated terribly by Czar Gary Bettman. He's taken teams from hotbeds such as Winnipeg and Quebec, then decided to place teams in Phoenix and TWO in Florida. I'll hold back any further comments about the man until another time.

My point being, I'm a fan of the league and almost all teams (sorry Flyers fans). I'd like to consider that my view is objective, however I've finally reached the tipping point with Caps fans.

I absolutely love how hockey is catching on down in the District. They are an exciting, young, high powered team. Ovechkin plays with the enthusiasm of a kid, but acts at times like the village idiot. Backstrom has been touted as the "best" center in the NHL, much to the chagrin of Pens and Canucks fans.

However, the line is drawn at how disrespectful Caps fans are becoming in regards to this season. Many fans have said this is "their" year or touted it as destiny to win the Stanley Cup. The Caps have made the playoffs twice in the past five years. They play in the WEAKEST division within the NHL, and yes I know they have beaten the Pens 3 times in the regular season. When you play 24 games outta 82 against teams with a .500 record, you can pretty much fall into the playoffs. They're on pace to win the President's Trophy, which is awarded to the team with the most points. Since 1990, 5 teams that won this award, have gone on to win the Stanley Cup. Not exactly the greatest odds. None of this adds up to it being their year.

Their goalie, Jose Theodore, has been playing out of his mind. This season he has been even better than when he was awarded the Hart Trophy (MVP) in 2002. One thing that would worry me is that he's never been able to carry a team past the 2nd round of the playoffs, and Caps fans do not want Varly in net.

Don't get me wrong, the Caps are on fire this season, thanks in large part to Theodore. As I've mentioned before they are similar to many of the Red Wings teams of the 90's and 2000's, as well as the infamous Pens team of 94-95.

The biggest difference is that all past Stanley Cup winners have had several significant veterans on their team. No one on the current roster jumps out to me in that way. Sergei Federov was that presence last year, this year it falls to Scott Walker, who does not have the experience winning a Cup.

Again, I will state that the Caps are an exciting team to watch and definitely a contender. However, in no way do I believe they have set themselves apart from the rest of the league in terms of being "destined" to win this year. Fans need to be careful on how they support the team, or else they are "destined" for the stomach punch of another failure.