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.

Action / Reaction around the NHL

ACTION: Dany Heatley wants to be traded out of Ottawa.

REACTION: Well, the fact that the Isles have cap room and The Heater makes $7.5 million a year means that the Islanders are going to be rumored as a destination for the disgruntled goal scorer. Whether or not he's be 'gruntled' in blue, white, and orange is another story.

Already the Ottawa Sun is banishing Heatley to the Islanders as a form of punishment. Even funnier is the fact that somebody thinks the Isles will trade the first overall pick to the Senators for Heatley. Seriously, are these writers on crack? Do they stop for even a minute to think these things through logically? There's no chance that Garth Snow sends the #1 overall pick to Ottawa for Heatley. He could send the 26th overall pick for him. That wouldn't be a bad deal at all. But the first pick? No chance.

Let's also dig a little deeper, Ottawa. Heatley has a no-movement clause in his contract that he'd have to waive to be sent anywhere. So right there is a stumbling block. Also, can Heatley play the firepants hockey that Scott Gordon is teaching on the Island? I mean, if he is complaining about back-checking in Ottawa, what the heck would he do with the Islanders when he would have to bust his ass all over the rink?

Would he bring goals? Probably. But what about the attitude? The guy is on the verge of bitching his way out of his second city. Maybe all he wants to do is hang around a former American Idol like Mike Fisher does. If that's the case, I hear Ruben Studdard is available.

Bumper Sticker for the Ottawa Sun: Get a grip.


ACTION: Marc Crawford hired in Dallas to coach the Stars and the fans don't like it.

REACTION: At least now we won't have to hear him on Hockey Night in Canada. You can insert your own Steve Moore joke here if you like.

Dave Tippett is now free of the mess in Dallas. Working for Brett Hull--even though he has been (ahem) "reassigned"--cannot be easy. Tippett's a good man and a good coach. It's not his fault Marty Turco turns into a big holey pumpkin every spring.

Bumper Sticker for the Dallas Stars: Oops!


ACTION: Game seven tomorrow night!

REACTION: Hell yeah!

Bumper Sticker for TV writers: Nobody watches the NBA.



ACTION: NBC won't allow the Penguins or Red Wings to host big screen viewing parties for their fans because these gatherings take away from ratings.

REACTION: I don't live in Pittsburgh or Detroit so I don't care. The games have been great and the ratings are way up and everyone is holding hands and singing songs.

Bumper Sticker for the Stanley Cup: Mike Bolt is The Man.


ACTION: Quebecor Media and Molson make separate bids for the Montreal Canadiens.

REACTION: George Gillett is losing money in the English Premiere League and needs to bail. The Quebecor Media consortium includes Celine Dion's husband.

Free Advice to George Gillett: Sell to Molson and leave a hero for not picking Celine for anything. Even in Quebec.

On The Clock...and our Stanley Cup Pick

Don't know about you, but I am ready for the draft to happen right now. The waiting is killing me and my copy of The Hockey News draft issue has been read so much that I feel like I can go in and make a pick late in the first round for the Isles. So I think I will.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson is another highly-rated defenseman from Sweden. He may not be the sure thing that a guy like Victor Hedman has been touted as, but Ekman-Larsson could be had at 26 in the first round. Is he the big guy who is going to clear the crease? No, but at 6-2 he should be able to add some heft to his frame rather easily through proper training.

Here's what they say in the THN Draft Issue about Oliver Ekman-Larsson:

..."some kids at this age have trouble making a 10-foot stretch pass...but this guy puts them tape-to-tape better than anyone in the draft. He has great lateral mobility and is able to find people."

Read that again: 10-foot stretch pass. Lateral mobility. Find people. Tape-to-Tape. Does any of this NOT READ like a perfect Scott Gordon-type of player? We found out this past season that Mark Streit can do that stuff too--way better than he was ever given credit for in Montreal. If Gordon's style is to push hard on the forecheck and force turnovers while going the other way, does this not sound like Ekman-Larsson would be a great fit and who knows, a potential replacement for Streit down the line? Who better to apprentice with than Mark Streit?

Oliver Ekman-Larsson is rated the #13 prospect by The Hockey News so there is no guarantee that he will be there at 26. But every draft has a yearly trend that the teams seem to mental for and with the need for scoring around the league, my guess that once the highest-rated defenseman are off the board that the GMs will be going for offense offense offense. That means a guy like Oliver Ekman-Larsson could slide down a little further than expected. Happens to kids every year. Maybe this is the year the Isles get lucky and have a chance at getting a top d-man after all--after they select John Tavares with the first pick.

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Tomorrow night, the Penguins and Red Wings face off in a rematch from last year's finals. The Wings are beat up a little bit (Lidstrom will play; Datsyuk not so sure) and seem to be ripe for the Crosbies and their pickin'.

Huge laugh from me when I got home and saw the schedule. I knew that "the media" and fans would be bitching about it starting so soon after the Conference finals. Seriously, people. Why do we complain about something we say that we love?

Seriously, why would you want to wait longer? I like having the games right now. If the league had waited until next week to start the finals, you'd be whining that you had to wait too long for it to start.


What fuels this constant discourse? Is it just a pure anti-Bettman sort of thing? I guess I'll never understand it. I mean, for all of the people killing Gary about the Coyotes to Hamilton thing, they conveniently seem to forget that he helped save the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers years ago when they were in bad shape. He also saved the Penguins and the Sabres from bankruptcy.

Sure he comes off as a condescending clown some time. I don't particularly care for the guy either but to blame him for everything is a bit short-sighted. Just my two cents.

Anyway, Penguins in six. Sidney Crosby for Conn Smythe and good tidings to Billy Guerin.

Some random thoughts after returning from vacation...

First off, I picked the Penguins to win the Cup in six over the Red Wings. So, there you go. Don't the Penguins realize that to win the cup that they're going to need to score a goal once in a while?

And where the heck is Evgeni Malkin? I swear if he was wearing a red and white striped shirt that we'd be calling him Waldo right about now. Crosby hasn't been outstanding but at least there is an effort there when he skates into the swarming Detroit defense. This thing is over in four unless Geno gets off his backside.

While in Las Vegas, I was in a store that was broadcasting the Mike and Mike Show on ESPN Radio. Mark Messier was a guest and Mike Golic's opening statement made me want to puke. I'm not going to even bother trying to explain it here. Why does the NHL and hockey feel like they always need to apologize for the game? Needless to say, my wife and I left the store quickly before I heard any more.

Memo to Mike Golic and everyone else: the world does not revolve around ESPN. Take that from a guy born and bred in Bristol, CT.

There was also a story floating around that the NHL had outdrawn the NBA this season by an average of 6 fans per game. Those six people are the coolest people ever. Of course, you won't hear this on you-know-where.

Chris Botta, as you all know by now, has resigned as PR guru for the Islanders. I didn't know what to write about this for the longest time because I didn't know if it was going to make any kind of difference on the ice or not. Right now, I doubt that it will but you never know. The man has been apparently been tireless working for the team for some 20 years and if his blog is any proof, the guy is going to have one heck of a book to write one of these days. He's been through it all from the Spano nightmare; the Gang of Four; working with Mike Milbury; fishsticks, etc. Get working on the book, Chris!

Did you all see the Memorial Cup? The Spokane Chiefs won, if you're scoring at home, and we know that you are. Had to feel terribly for Spokane captain Chris Bruton, who raised the Cup over his head in triumph, only to see the trophy fall apart as he was about to pass it to a teammate. The look on the poor kid's face when the trophy fell to the ice was one of total shock and fear.

Of course, it wasn't too bad after all. Seems the real Memorial Cup is at the Hall of Fame in Toronto and the one that broke was actually a replica. Funny, but you'd think the replica would be stabilized for these emotional photographic events, but I guess not in this case.

Game 4 Recap: Set It Off

Isn't it odd how a guy like Daniel Alfredsson can go from such a hero with that late first period goal to "WTF is he thinking?!?" when he took that shot right at Scott Niedermayer? I couldn't figure that one out at all. Hullie and Grapes were right because it only served to piss off the Ducks. Let's face it, without Chris Pronger in the lineup, the Ducks were playing on edge already. Not the dangerous "this can get out of hand" edge; the "let's get 'em, boys" high-intensity edge. And if Alfredsson was actually trying to injure Scott Niedermayer, well then, that is totally crap. I am in the group who thinks that Niedermayer has been playing injured during this playoff season. Could the Senators have known something that isn't common knowledge outside of the rinks? Perhaps. Still, for a classy guy like Alfredsson to have tried something like that--IF there was intent to injure--then the Senators deserve the choker label for sure.

A lot of people are going to be talking about Grapes and the stand he takes on fighting in the great sport of hockey. Don Cherry is always hilarious to me. He's obviously acting--in the same sense that Howard Stern is acting on the radio and Steve Austin acted when he was on top of the WWF. You just take your real personality and turn it up to 11. I think Cherry believes about half of what he says because he is just trying to get a rise out of people. The act works because he is entertaining and one heck of a snappy dresser.

Look--he goonery has no place but I agree with the instigator rule being taken out of the game. Let the boys police themselves. You will never go back to the thuggery of the '70s because nowadays all players have to be able to skate. No one ever accused guys like Dave the Hammer Schultz and Tiger Williams of being good skaters. Hell, the Isles had a guy named Brian Curran in the late 1980s or early '90s who got 356 PIM one year and I swear he couldn't even stand on his skates!

For all of you Senators fans out there, keep in mind the immortal words of Charles Bronson, "It...Ain't...Over." I do think if Ottawa can get two quick ones tomorrow night that the Ducks may be on their heels and the fans will be taken out of the game. The return of Pronger and the leftover venom from the Niedermayer situation are going to be tough for Ottawa to overcome.

Oh--and Alanis should not be allowed to sing the anthems any more. She simply cannot sing. Horrible horrible horrible. I was hoping that Ontario Provincial Police dude was going to come out and make her stop. You down with the OPP? Well, yeah, you know me...

The Stanley Cup Finals on NBC

First, a little bit about me.

For whatever reason, I don't take very much personally. That's just how I am. Oh, sure, when I get pissed it is all but over, but for the most part, I just let a lot of stuff roll off of me. Overall, I think I am fairly easy going.

(OK, I just had a friend read that. He told me I am full of crap and wants to remind me that I can hold a grudge forever with a ferocity that is both blinding and violent. I think that is a winning combination. He thinks that it would be better to add that I am not reactionary--which is good--but that I am quite calculating, when I need to be. So there it is.)

Anyhoo, when (ahem) "people" rip the sport I love, I tend to get super-pissed. Why? Well, because most of these so-called experts are commenting on a sport for which they have no understanding...or, they have ulterior motives in doing so. Lazy potshots from a fat guy at a typewriter make for easy copy.

What do I mean? Well, for starters, we all can complain that ESPNBAFL treats hockey like it is all but irrelevant. And yes, the NBA is treated as the supreme be-all and end-all in the sports universe that is brought to you by ESPNBAFL and is sponsored by a million other things. Why is that? Well, ESPNBAFL owns the rights to show the NBA on their television networks and they bow to the almighty NBA commish, David Stern. Less people on average watch NBA basketball than do daytime soap operas. Is that for real? Doesn't matter as long as I say it enough because then people will start believing it. See--it's a lazy potshot from some dude sitting at a keyboard.

Which brings me to my point: instead of constantly worrying and whining about the people outside the game not watching the sport, maybe it is time for the freaking NHL to look toward and cater to the people who are already hooked. Some douchy USA TODAY TV reporter is never going to get over his dislike of hockey but the 2 million people watching the games on NBC in the US should not be forgotten. The standard newspaper media of old dudes who think baseball and Lebron are the only games in town need not apply. Nobody reads newspapers anymore except for ink-stained reporters who are only worried about their backsides and people in public toilets. I say, let them all take their lazy whacks at us all they want. We need to let it roll off of our backs. That includes the hyper-sensitive Canadian media as well. We know you think you're the caretakers of the game. We got it. But we love this game too. Shouldn't matter where you live.

NOW, that is a long way to go in an attempt to tell you that on Saturday night, I am pretty sure that I watched the most perfect TV telecast of hockey that I have ever seen in my life--and it was on NBC. Somebody needs to speak up and say that Mike Emrick; Ed Olczyk; and Pierre McGuire are probably the best announcing team the sport has ever had in the states. I will not argue this point.

I'll listen to Mike Emrick read the freaking phone book because I know that no matter what happens, he is going to put all he has into making that phone book seem exciting as hell. The love he has for the sport comes through so clearly when he speaks. He sets Edzo up to do his job and do it well. I mean, Ed pulled out the video chalkstick immediately and showed the viewers that Anaheim had only four men out there for a faceoff right before Anton Volchenkov scored the Senators' second goal. It was priceless, time-sensitive stuff--and Ed had Doc learning along with the viewers at home. Imagine the simplicity--actually showing us what happened!

Even the between periods stuff is gold. The tension between Brett Hull and Bill Clement jumps at the viewer while they are talking because body language speaks louder than anything either of them can say. Brett often comes off as dismissive of Clement, and he shouldn't be. Clement is way better at being the master of ceremonies in the studio than anyone ever thought he would be because, let's face it, Clement was an excellent analyst for years. And the third man in, Ray Ferraro, certainly told us all what he thought about Ottawa's Jason Spezza and his play in the first two games when he said Spezza had been "jittery, confused and intimidated." Wow. An indictment and extreme candor. Imagine any of the talking heads trying that in another sport. I don't think Chris Berman will be ripping Mike Vick for anything bigger than a loss of focus if Vick blows chunks in the Falcons first few games this year. And yet, Chicken Parm knocks this stuff night after night...and he is right!

Last--and certainly not least--is Pierre McGuire. Pierre has reached the exalted status of Budding Genius in my home. I rarely give anyone credit for just broadcasting a sport or the news but Pierre is just a freaking treat to listen to. His perch between the benches lends itself to some interesting points for Doc and Edzo; if only because of his proximity to the game. The interviews with players as they enter or leave the ice are great because they allow for actual emotion from the game and not the robot answers hockey players are apparently bred with. Plus, the guy knows exactly when to pop in between Doc and Ed and rarely, if ever, are any of the guys talking over each other. Most importantly, none of them are shouting unless the play encourages actual emotion from three guys who genuinely love the sport.

So, after ripping the network for leaving the playoffs to show some nags run around a dirt track dragging underweight midgets, it says here that we hockey fans have got to give it up for the men of NBC. The network might be stupid but no matter how you look at it, the way they present the game to the MILLIONS OF FANS IN AMERICA WHO LOVE HOCKEY, shows that whomever is in charge of these broadcasts loves the game too. And that is a very, very good thing.