I don't care if I'm one of three people who watched it, I thoroughly enjoyed tonight's Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. Gary Bettman may have nearly choked the sport to death with his carnival game antics such as the shootout, but tonight the grand game was on full display. Besides overtime, tonight's game had all the elements that make playoff hockey fantastic. Great goaltending, pretty goals, a little spilled blood and a frantic finish. Maybe Bettman and his merry band of morons who make up the Committee To Turn Hockey Into Basketball will realize games don't have to finish 8-7 to be entertaining. When the Ducks were up 2-0 I was rooting for the game to end with that score. It had been enjoyable to watch despite (or maybe because of) the dearth of goals. The first ten minutes of the second period included some serious, high-octane hockey. Even though that big-nosed dope Chelios (takes one to know one) stole a power play late in regulation the Ducks were able to hold on. After the game two of the coolest things in sports occured: The post series handshake because ultimately hockey is a gentleman's game. And then watching the conference champ captain hover near but carefully avoid touching the conference trophy. Hockey players aren't superstitous at all.
So, now what? All of my evil teams have been eliminated. I don't really care who wins the Cup from here. Will Southern California win its first Cup or will the trophy return to Canada for the first time since the first Clinton administration? (I was going to look up the Canadian Prime Minister in '93 to insert here, but that just seemed like too much work.) Will Anaheim's star defense be able to contain Ottawa's star offense? Am I the only one south of the border who cares?
3 comments:
I don't know what to do now that all evil has been banished. I guess I can really enjoy the games for what they are...that is until those meddlesome refs start f-ing things up. They've been brutal this year and I feel that I've had a pretty unbiased view of that seeing as though I'm not really pulling for anybody. Some of the calls have just been awful. I thought that Ray Emery was going to get two minutes for stopping a Buffalo shot Saturday, they called all kinds of stuff in that game.I really hate most of the new rules too. I can't get over how you can't clear someone away from your goalie without getting called, no clearing the crease, now that was entertainment Bettman.
since Brian Mulroney? Jean Chretien? Ms. Campbell?
crap, it was Brian Mulroney -- I had to look up at least four articles in Wikipedia to figure that out... that was a LONG time ago, the last time Toronto had a decent shot at the Finals with Doug Gilmour. good times.
Canada deserves the Cup back.
Since master Obi-Wan's beard brought up the officiating... I've been wondering, why can't they return to having the three blind mice sytem? you know, instead of the 'let's just occupy every last piece of real estate left on the ice that we wanted to open up in the new faster NHL' I can't tell you how many developing plays, in close games mind you, that I've seen at least one wounded zebra there to botch something up... I swear its like the Versus live truck was on location in Easton... or Delmar... of Fairfield... and I haven't watched nearly as many games this year as a result.
Oh, and when they're not in the way... or making BS calls... they are completely missing calls... Like that devious little shit Neidermyer and his Gordie Howe salute that is supposed to called in the new modern NHL... had a legitmate call been made for the elbowing, Luongo wouldn't have had to do his Baione impression and consequently would not have been beaten by that devious big shit Neidermyer... at least the uni-bomber captain of the ducks got a hair cut this year so he looks slightly less uni-bomberish...
Oh, and while I'm ranting on the new NHL... my conspiracy theary is that the calls will roll toward SoCal... they'll hand the cup to the devious one to promote sun belt hockey and it won't do anything to boost the game down here in the slightest... and much like Calgary, Ottawa will have the series won, only to have the cup given to the sun belt.
"Committee to turn Hockey into Basktball..."
That's good writing, Dickie!
you really captured the spirit of the thing.
Go Sens
I said almost two months ago, and I'll say it again... Is it October yet?
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