Penguins win; Cosby doesn't shake hands; world keeps spinning

Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals was the highest-rated hockey game on American television in 36 years. That is great news and it was a great game. Congrats to the Crosbies and Genos and even the Islanders contingent of Bill Guerin, The Tank, Miro, and Dan Bylsma on the win.

Sour grapes to what I believed to be a classy organization, the Detroit Red Wings. The epic booing of the Penguins was totally the reaction of a crowd spoiled by extreme success. The Penguins played tough and hard and overcame a lot--including Sidney's starter beard--to beat the Red Wings. Pittsburgh was the better team.

The whining by some of the Detroit players about Crosby not shaking hands with Nick Lidstrom while celebrating was a bit grade schoolish, didn't you think? Hank Zetterberg complaining was even funnier since there's a photo from Getty Images all over the internet of Sid the Kid shaking with Zetterberg. There's pictures of him shaking hands with all sorts of Red Wings players, coaches, and stick boys. He was there. He did what he could.

I'm a huge believer in the traditions of the sport and if it were me, I'd have made it my duty to be the first one there to shake Lidstrom's hand. But the fact of the matter is (did I just slip into wrestling promo talk?) that Sid was celebrating a MONUMENTAL ACCOMPLISHMENT with his teammates...and that was a tall order considering the guy got checked in the balls earlier in the game and was clearly injured.

Hey, let's face it: giving Crosby heck is like it's own sport within the sport. Sometimes, it really comes off as childish piling on. And in this situation, it is. Crosby isn't going to have tons of friends and he is always going to have his detractors but man, wait for the kid to screw up royally before you kick snow on him.

Besides, he got the last laugh: he just won the Stanley Cup.

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The long Canadian nightmare is over...or is it just getting started?

I've had myself a good old laugh at the conspiracy theorists in the Canadian media who continue to be obsessed with the state of the Phoenix Coyotes. I love how they blame the commissioner for everything and conveniently forget that he helped stabilize the Buffalo and Edmonton franchises and that he had a hand in saving the Calgary Flames as well. Of course, he'll always be an off-putting and short "New York lawyer" to them no matter what he does.

Wow, that paragraph sounds like I am a Bettman Apologist...and I am so not. My theory is that if you're going to poop on a guy and all that you better be able to see what good he has done as well and there is no doubt that when the Canadian dollar was tanking faster than "Land of the Lost" that the guy totally had a hand in helping keep the franchises afloat.

Now that Phoenix is staying in, um, Glendale, the real work is about to begin. This is where we'll see what kind of deal they can put together to keep the franchise afloat in the desert. Whether or not Winnipeg should have moved there in the first place is irrelevant right now. The truth is that the team is in Arizona and the league has to find a way to make it work there because there are contracts with arenas and vendors and all that stuff that make things harder than just picking up the team and moving it wherever you want just because some place is more "worthy" of a hockey team than another area is.

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The draft is coming. I personally can't wait for The Big Day. All of this waiting is annoying after a while. Would it have been better for the Isles just to come out and say who they were picking right after they won the #1 overall pick? Well, that can be argued forever.

The Isles are saying that they've given out over 14,000 freebies for the draft party. If half of those people show up, it will be unreal. Me and Mrs. NYIFORLIFE.com and Victor: Friend of The Show are planning on making the trip. If you see us, please feel free to say hello. I'll the guy in an Islanders t-shirt!

Speaking of the First Lady of this website, Mrs. NYIFORLIFE.com will be doing her live blogging of the NHL Awards show tomorrow night on this very website. Last year's edition proved quite popular so make sure you check it out.

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Lastly, in sad news, Newsday reports to day that former Islanders radio voice Bob Lawrence has passed away at the age of 70. Bob helped foster a love for the Islanders for a kid from central Connecticut back in the day; as I used to listen to the Islanders broadcasts on a little radio when I was supposed to be sleeping. Our best to the family of Bob Lawrence.