WTF Jay Feaster?!?!?!?!?

Alright everyone, let's see if we can follow this correctly. After the Bruins lost to the Canadiens in a shootout tonight, it appeared that the best news to replace the anger over losing to your archrival, as well as losing first place in the process. Aaron Ward of TSN tweeted that the Bruins were set to acquire Jarome Iginla, who's been stuck on a middling Calgary Flames team for many years now. He should have been traded years ago when his trade value was higher; now he's appeared headed to Boston for a whole lot less than he was worth. Until the press conference, when it was announced that it wasn't the Bruins who acquired him, but in fact the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Ah, yes. The Pittsburgh Penguins. Owners of the longest winning streak in sports after the Miami Heat's loss tonight to the Bulls. The Penguins, who just traded for Brendan Morrow from the Stars and Douglas Murray from the Sharks. Pittsburgh, who has Sidney Crosby looking as much a lock for the Hart trophy as any player in recent memory (unless David Steckel reacquaints himself). Yes, this team needed to add a future Hall of Famer to be sure to bring the Cup back to Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh were the favorites to win the Stanley Cup (which is funny after the start of the year the Chicago Blackhawks had); now they are a team that seems like not winning a Cup will be the biggest failure in NHL history. The Bruins now must move on without an obvious player who can improve this squad (Iginla is actually more of a fit for Boston than Pittsburgh, which is the ultimate shame). As for the Flames, they basically decided that Kenneth Agostino, Ben Hanowski and 2013 first-round pick (likely pick #30) is worth more to them than Alex Khokhlachev, Matt Bartkowski and a conditional 1st round pick. All for the greatest player in their history in Iginla. Even the Blue Jackets had a better trade haul for Rick Nash and he asked out of Columbus

More NHL Signings

Plenty of moves happened that don't really deserve a stand alone post. Let's start with Antero Nittymaki going to the Sharks. Most of the reaction has been negative, but I think the Sharks are getting a steal with him. Let's face it, getting a top flight goalie didn't matter for either Cup participant, plus Nabokov was right to let leave and Marty Turco is to me buyer beware. If the Sharks get another top-4 D-man, Nittymaki will be fine.

Dan Ellis is headed to Tampa, another good move for Steve Yzerman. Ellis is a very capable goalie and I think give Mike Smith a run for his money to take his job. And at two years/$3, not a bad deal salary-wise as well.

The Leafs made their first move by signing Colby Armstrong to a three year/$9 million deal. He'll fit as either a bottom forward with some scoring or a top forward as Kessel-protection. Doesn't turn them into a playoff team.

The Penguins got their second defensemen, signing Paul Martin to a five year/$25 million deal. Martin will add to the Pens blueline as a smart, puck moving D-man. Still, the Pens haven't addressed their lack of wingers and I don't think they ever will in Ray Shero's tenure.

Derek Morris was resigned by the Coyotes which goes to show that Phoenix is the only place Morris is considered a valuable player. They also signed Ray Whitney to a two year/$6 million contract. I like the Whitney move since he hasn't really declined yet and will proven invaluable to a young team learning to win. The question for the Yotes, does this mean the end for Matt Lombardi?

The Buffalo Sabres lost a couple players, it's an annual tradition for them. Toni Lydman leaves for the Ducks, signing for a 3 years/$9 million deal. Meanwhile, Henrik Tallinder signs for 4 years at $3.375 per with the Devils as Paul Martin's replacement. His key role will be mentoring future Swedish defensemen the Devils have coming up. Stay tuned for more moves.

St. Louis resigns and Michalek to Pens

The best move of the day occurs in Tampa as they resign Martin St. Louis to a four year/$22.4 million extension. Great move by Yzerman, who keeps Marty for about half what they did for Vinny Lecavalier. He'll continue to help Steven Stamkos turn into perhaps the best player in the NHL in a few years. If not best, top 5 for sure.

The Penguins recovered from losing Sergei Gonchar and signed Zybnek Michalek to a five year/$20 million deal. Michalek appears to be the start as Dan Hamhius or Paul Martin are on the Pens radar. Good move as Michalek was a cheaper, but better version of Anton Volchenkov, the most overrated in the market. Z can shut players down and has some offensive upside. Stay tuned for more.

Great NHL What Ifs of the Last 25 Years

After the raging success of my first What If columns on the NFL and my second on the Giants and Jets in particular, I felt it appropriate to tackle on the NHL. Why? Because their season starts next and it's great to have some hockey chatter at a time when there is very little to talk about. Just like before, I'm separating the Rangers into its own article because I may value a Rangers What If more than it would be if it was compared with the rest of the league. Also, moves are considered more important than games since games can be arbitrary, while moves are selective. Let's get with the list:


10. What if the Vancouver Cauncks avoided having a bunch of ugly sweaters?

The Canucks would have won a Stanley Cup, in that case. You think the hockey gods want a team wearing this, this or this carrying around the Stanley Cup? Now having a great sweater doesn't guarantee a Stanley Cup as the Blackhawks and the Maple Leafs can attest to. However, it never hurts to take care of the sweater department. Of all the Stanley Cup champions at least since the Original Six era, only the '96 and '01 Avalanche, '04 Lightning and '07 Ducks would be considered as having pedestrian uniforms and we have seen teams like the '98 Capitals and the '99 Sabres lose wearing terrible sweaters. Coincidence? I think not. Thus, if the Canucks keep these sweaters, their chances of winning a Cup only get better.

9. What if Kerry Fraser calls a high sticking penalty on Wayne Gretzky in Game 6 of the 1993 Campbell Conference Finals?

Let's set the scene, it's Game 6 of a hard fought series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and L.A. Kings. Glenn Anderson gave the Leafs a 3-2 series lead with an OT goal and Wendel Clark scored a hat trick in the sixth game to tie the game at 4. Prior to overtime, Glenn Anderson is called for a roughing penalty and it appears like the Leafs will catch the break they need. Wayne Gretzky high-sticks Doug Gilmour and cuts his chin. Back then, as evident in Game 3 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, the refs would call five-minute majors and game misconducts for high-sticking with a cut; going by now, it's always a double minor and a four-minute penalty. Unfortunately, Kerry Fraser didn't call even a two minute penalty and the Kings won the game on Gretzky's goal about a minute later, leading to Gretzky's finest performance of his career in Game 7 on the road as the Kings won the series.

So what if Fraser calls the penalty? Besides giving Down Goes Brown a whole lot less material (by the way, he deserves all the credit for posting the Leafs videos), the Leafs go to the Stanley Cup Finals. That game was going to end quickly and the Leafs had the momentum with Clark's hat trick. And not having to face Gretzky for either four or five minutes would have been enough time for the Leafs to win the series. That sets up CBC's wet dream of a Final, Toronto-Montreal, since both teams were still in opposite conferences. It's also a Final that pits Pat Burns coaching against the team left for Toronto the previous year. Now, that series could go either way, because the Leafs played better defense than the Kings did, but the run the Habs made that year is hard to ignore.


(Quick tangent here: This series loss by the Leafs is certainly up there in the toughest defeats a fan base ever experience and would easily rank toward the top of Bill Simmons Levels of Losing. If you're not a hockey fan, think of this is as the Don Denkinger Game or the Hue Hollins Game. Leafs fans have every right to bitch and moan about this game because if it happened to Rangers, I'd bitch and moan too. Hell, this blog would be called Fuck You Kerry Fraser.)



8. What if Mike Milbury never became the GM of the Islanders?

Then Rangers-Islander games would actually matter, instead of a chance for Rangers fans to fill Nassau Coliseum to chant "Kansas City". I mean seriously, the damage Mad Mike did to this once proud franchise is equal to the damage Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas did combined. These players either played for the Islanders, or were drafted by them: Roberto Luongo, Todd Bertuzzi (pre-Steve Moore), Wade Redden (when he was good), Zdeno Chara, Olli Jokinen and Bryan McCabe. That doesn't include trading the pick that would be Jason Spezza with Chara to Ottawa for Alexei Yashin. Looking at that, plus the Islanders would of drafted Marian Gaborik or Dany Heatley instead of Rick DiPietro in 2000, this team would have been among the best by 2001-02 and Milbury's tenure wouldn't have had it's high point be losing a Game 7 in Toronto during the 2002 playoffs. Yes, I know the Islanders lose money every year and the chances of another dynasty weren't going to happen, but if the Oilers can make a run to the Stanley Cup, the Islanders could too.



7. What if Ulf Samuelsson doesn't go knee-to-knee on Cam Neely during the 1991 Wales Conference Finals?

Following a disappointing loss to the Edmonton Oilers in the 1990 Cup Finals, the Bruins were poised to head back to the Finals in 1991. They won the Adams Division and had the best record for any Wales Conference team, then beat the Hartford Whalers and the Habs to reach the Conference Finals against Pittsburgh. After taking a 2-0 lead in the series, the Penguins bounced back while Ulf Samuelsson earned his reputation as a dirty player by hitting Cam Neely knee-to-knee, an injury that Neely never really recover from. He was the leading goal scorer for the Bruins and without him at 100 percent, the Bruins were finished and lost the series in six games.


So what if Samuelsson didn't hit Neely in Game 3. I believe that the Bruins win the series and win the 1991 Stanley Cup. It also changes the next five years for Boston as now instead of Neely playing a combined 22 games over two seasons, missing the 1992 playoffs in particular. There's a good chance that the Bruins would of won another Stanley Cup and Neely would have reached 500 goals and thus wouldn't be considered an iffy Hall of Famer as I'm sure some people think he shouldn't be in. Consider, Neely in 1993-94 played 49 games and scored 50 goals that year. He was still capable of scoring after Samuelsson's hit; he would been scoring if he wasn't hit.



6. What if Steve Moore doesn't take out Markus Naslund on Feb. 16th, 2004?

I know what your thinking, you might not remember this hit. However, this is was the catalyst to Todd Bertuzzi's retaliation on Moore about a month later. Steve Moore gave Naslund a concussion which Bertuzzi felt had to be returned and then some. Bertuzzi would miss the rest of the season and the Canucks would be upset in the first round against the Calgary Flames by Martin Gelinas' overtime goal (by the way, this is quite a cruel way to lose in an elimination game, since Matt Cooke tied the game at home with five seconds left, took their fans off the ledge, then lose two minutes into OT, throwing them right back on it). Neither Naslund or Bertuzzi would ever be the same, ruining the West Coast Express line of them and Brenden Morrison and allowed Canucks fans to raise in their game with Sabres fans on who's been more tortured since 1970.


So what if Moore doesn't give Naslund a concussion. Well, the Canucks had been building toward a Stanley Cup in the previous seasons. The one thing that keeps me from declaring Vancouver as the champions in 2004 with Bertuzzi is the injury that Dan Cloutier suffered in the playoffs, when he was sidelined with a knee injury in Game 3 of the Flames series. It was unknown at the time that Cloutier wouldn't play another full season in the league. However, if you give me a healthy Cloutier, there's no reason why the Canucks don't win the Stanley Cup with their offense, defense and goaltending that year. It also solves a key problem for the post-lockout Vancouver teams as they seemed to not score as much as they did pre-lockout since Naslund wasn't the same and Bertuzzi was gone in a year.

5b.What if Gary Bettman and the NHL decided against having a lockout during the 1994-95 season?

A tale of two work stoppages, both the 1994 MLB Strike and the 1994-95 NHL Lockout didn't solve anything. Fortunately for baseball, when the players threatened to strike in 2002, the owners didn't let it happen and baseball was saved. The NHL, on the other hand, allowed a season to get wiped away a decade later. But this column will only deal with the first one since its the World War I of work stoppages to 2004-05's World War II; it could have been prevented.


First of all, the NHL picked the exact wrong time to have a work stoppage. In a related story, the NHL tends to always do things either the wrong way (expansion) or at the wrong time (not having a TV contract during Gretzky's prime). After the 1993-94 season, it was the best of times for the NHL; the Rangers Stanley Cup win brought on the biggest buzz in the sports history and they were benefiting from a weakened NBA after Michael Jordan took his hiatus a year after Larry Bird and Magic Johnson retired. They had finally returned to television as Fox signed a deal to show hockey games and the Stanley Cup Finals, a first on network television in 20 years (not counting Game 6 of the 1980 Finals on CBS). The problem was, the league wanted a salary cup and obviously the players refused. Neither side was willing to end the season, so they had a poor agreement that would compound the leagues' problems for the next decade. It didn't help that the team winning that Stanley Cup would change hockey for the worst during those years between.



5a. What if the Devils failed to win the 1995 Stanley Cup following the lockout?

This was the second reason why the NHL declined during the late 90s-early 00s. The neutral zone trap, aided with larger goalie pads and overexpansion watering down the talent pool hurt the scoring ability for many teams. The symbol of the trap is the New Jersey Devils under coach Jacques Lemaire, who won the shortened Stanley Cup in 1995 (how ironic that the two most despised teams of recent memory for their mind-numbing style of play, the Devils and Spurs, won their first titles in fake seasons). Their success was copied a year later by the Florida Panthers during their run to the Stanley Cup Finals and it snowballed from there. The low point was the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals when the Devils and the Ducks played the worst Final in any sport as it was all technique, no-skill. One of the best things to happen after the lockout in 2004 was the changing of the rules to limit the ability for teams to trap and the first year after the lockout, scoring was up a full goal a game.


But what if the Devils didn't win in 1995; what if Claude Lemieux doesn't score with seconds left in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Flyers? I ask that because that was the closest the Devils were to elimination. If they lose Game 5 and the series, it becomes Detroit-Philly Stanley Cup Final two years earlier and a different series than the 1997 Final was. After the sweep by the Devils, Scotty Bowman added a more defensive element to the team and I believe jettisoned Paul Coffey and Dino Ciccarelli for those reasons. Bowman implemented a form of the trap with those Red Wings teams and to be fair, that element has always been around since the loss in 1995. If Detroit wins in 1995, I'm certain they continue to a more free-wheeling style that the Red Wings utilized in the beginning of the 90s and if they couldn't be stopped, teams would try to outscore them like the Oilers in the 80s. However, here's a third possibility; the scoring would still go down because of the changes in goaltending equipment and style of play (not too mention a lower quality of talent in the league being drafted in the 90s).



4. What if Eric Lindros didn't refuse to play for the Quebec Nordiques in the 1991 Entry Draft?

This is an interesting what if that I will tackle on from a NY Rangers perspective during their list, but here's if he plays for the Nordiques. Now, Quebec for the third year in a row held the 1st pick in the draft and the previous two picks were Mats Sundin and Owen Nolan, along with Joe Sakic as a mid 1st-rounder in 1987. Eric Lindros came into the 1991 Draft as a can't miss prospect, but refused to play in Quebec because of the language barriers, Quebec being a small-market and his mommy telling him not to. Thus, he was traded to the Flyers for a package led by Peter Forsberg. We all know that Lindros ended up not living up to the hype as The Next One, but it was for his injuries, not lack of production when on the ice.


So what if he stayed in Quebec and joined Sakic, Sundin and Nolan? Well for starters, he would have definitely played with all three since Sundin wasn't traded until after the 1993-94 season, before Forsberg started playing and would of had more time playing with Nolan since Lindros would have began play in the 1991-92 season I'm sure. I also believe that if Quebec would have moved like it eventually did, he could of have a healthier career not dealing with the punishment he receive playing Atlantic Division teams. And Lindros was more prepared for the new era in hockey because of his size and I believe would have succeeded with them, possibly win a Cup before they acquired Patrick Roy.


As for the Flyers, I believe their renaissance during the 90s was due to Lindros and trading Mark Recchi to Montreal for John LeClair and Eric Desjardins to strengthen the blue line and create the Legion of Doom (not only the best name for a line since the Sabres French Connection line in the 70s, but the last nickname in sports that didn't look for initials or shortened name). While Forsberg is certainly a talented player and Hall of Famer, I always thought of him as Joe Sakic's second banana, like Sergei Federov was Steve Yzerman's second banana in Detroit. Having said that, the Flyers would have probably needed to make another move to complement Forsberg in order to win. Meanwhile, Lindros and Sakic would have been like Crosby and Malkin now and if you include Sundin, then you have Gretzky, Messier and Kurri (which is almost an perfectly accurate comparison: Sakic=Gretzky, Lindros=Messier, Sundin=Kurri).



3. What if Mario Lemieux didn't have Hodgkins' Disease during the 1992-93 season?

Then I believe Wayne Gretzky's records for most goals in a season (92) and most points (215) would have been broken. I will argue that not only was the 1992-93 season the best NHL season since 1967, it was the best all-around sports year in history for all four majors. The NHL was perfectly at 24 teams, and was still scoring like the 80s. However, goaltending in a weird way was better that year then it was for the previous fifteen. It was in this setting that Mario Lemieux went on an all-out assault on the best scoring records in history. Now, I'm sure most everyone thinks Gretzky's records are safe, but Mario was going at it. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease in January of 1993 when he was at 104 points and missed the next 24 games. After his return, he put up another 56 points in 20 games and led the Penguins to their only President's Trophy. However, in the playoffs, they were upset by the Islanders in seven games, villainizing David Volek into the Bucky Dent of Pens history and ending Pittsburgh's two-time Stanley Cup reign.


So what if Lemieux wasn't stricken with the disease? Well, if he plays all 84 games that year, he breaks both the goals and points records, but with Mario's injury history, it's probably not likely he plays every game. Thus, I believe he ends up short of both records, but still scores over 200 points. However, his 1993-94 season probably isn't as poor as it turned out and he doesn't sit the entire 1994-95 season from the effects of radiation treatment. I would also think he doesn't retire in 1997, though his hatred of the trap factored in the decision. Lemieux ends his career as the second all-time scorer behind Gretzky and I think the Penguins win another Stanley Cup during his career. Another thing effected, Mario Lemieux needs to retire in order to become the owner since rules didn't allow him to own the team as an active player, which incidently was overlooked when Lemieux came back during 2000-01. Perhaps, Mario ends up playing somewhere else if he's still playing and the owner of the team needs to get money from somewhere.




2. What if Patrick Roy doesn't get embarassed against Detroit on Dec. 2nd, 1995?

Roy was an institution in Montreal during his ten years there and had carried the Canadiens to two Stanley Cups and numerous honors for Roy, including Vezina and Conn Smythe Trophys. However, after missing the playoffs in 1994-95 and starting slow the following year, Montreal fired coach Jacques Demers and GM Serge Savard and replaced them with Mario Trembley and Rejean Houle, respectively. Roy and Trembley never got along and a powder keg was set to spark and spark it did on that faithful night in the Fourm. That game had Detroit goals and lots of them, an angry Roy, a pissed off crowd, mock cheers, mock salutes and finally, a trade demand at the end of Roy's night. Trembley didn't pull Roy until it was 9-1 and Roy proceeded to tell Habs president Ronald Corey "It's my last game in Montreal". Days later, Houle traded Roy in the most one-sided trade in hockey history, sending Roy AND Mike Keane to the Colorado Avalanche for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko. The result from the move is apparent, the Avs have won two Stanley Cups with Roy as the goaltender and the Canadiens have never been back to the Stanley Cup Finals.


So what if either Roy plays better against Detroit or Trembley pulls him after the first period when he allowed five goals? Well I came into thinking about how the Canadiens would of fared if Roy stayed in Montreal and I believe they go to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals since I'm fully confident that Montreal ends up as a four or five seed and travels the path Florida travelled in that playoff season. Plus, Roy was a better goalie than anyone in the Eastern Conference that year. Also, the Canadiens probably don't fall off like they did in the beginning of the 2000s because the Habs would owe it to Roy to keep being competitive or trade him.


However, I read a blog piece by the CBC's Elliotte Friedman that the Avs and the Habs were working on a trade that would of sent Roy to Colorado for Owen Nolan and Stephane Fiset. That was when Savard was still the GM, but he was fired before the trade could be made. If this move is made, Montreal is better set for not only that season, but the few years after that. Nolan could join Pierre Turgeon, Vincent Damphousse and Mark Recchi as the main scoring threats on a team that did a good job scoring that year, and Fiset was the goaltender of a Nordiques team that had the best record in the Eastern Conference the year prior. It's quite interesting though how much the Montreal Canadiens missed on every big trade they made in the 90s, with the exception of Vincent Damphousse for Shayne Corson prior to the 1992-93 Cup season. Imagine if the Canadiens had kept Chris Chelios, John LeClair, Eric Desjardins, Kirk Muller, Mathieu Schneider and Patrick Roy. You could basically say that Serge Savard and Rejean Houle answer the riddle "How many GM's does it take to rival the work of Mike Milbury".



1b. What if the Oilers never traded Wayne Gretzky following their fourth Stanley Cup?

This is the biggest what if since it was the biggest trade in NHL history and one of the biggest in sports history. Big enough that it had to be split in two because the L.A. Kings weren't the only one who were actively seeking Wayne out. Now, if the Oilers decided to keep Gretzky, I'm sure Edmonton wins the Cup in 1989 and 1990 and Cup wins in 1991 and 1992 were also quite likely. 1992 would then be the end of his contract and he becomes a free agent. Now, I think the Oilers would have decided to trade Gretzky eventually, but at much less value. They probably don't get the $15 million they received for Gretzky (or what value equals that a few years later) and maybe not the five players received from the Kings. Looking in hindsight, because the Oilers won the 1990 Stanley Cup with him, it was the smart move by the team.



1a. What if the Kings weren't the team that acquired Gretzky in the summer of 1988?

This is the better question because it seemed like the Oilers were going to move him. Now along with Los Angeles, the other teams interested in Gretzky was Vancouver, Detroit and the Rangers. The Rangers were the first team out because then-GM Phil Esposito wasn't willing to pay the $15 million to get Gretzky. Wayne's father, Walter, wanted Gretzky to go to Detroit and that was Wayne's favorite team growing up since he was a huge Gordie Howe fan. Vancouver was also very interested and rumors had them offering the Oilers over $22 million for him. If Detroit acquires him (assuming the Red Wings don't trade him), they are set to start winning earlier with Gretzky and Yzerman. If Vancouver trades for him, eventually he and Pavel Bure team up and Vancouver would have won the 1994 Stanley Cup (sorry Canucks fans for repeatedly torturing you with what could have been). If the Rangers, then they probably don't pick up Mark Messier (maybe LA does).


The most important question is how does the sport of hockey evolve if Gretzky isn't in Los Angeles? I'm convinced that the NHL would have eventually tried to go back into the Sun Belt, but Gretzky playing with the Kings made the transition easier and quicker. He might not be the reason that a Dallas or a Tampa Bay is in the league, but it's his fault that there are ten Sun Belt teams, you could say. Then, real teams would have won the Stanley Cups in 2004, 2006 and 2007, instead of a pack of bandwagon fans who need to be explained what a blue line is. He is also the first in a wave of the U.S. gaining at Canada's expense. Quebec and Winnipeg both moved within ten years of the Gretzky trade and no longer could teams other than Toronto be a glamour team in free agency. I remember reading in Sports Illustrated about the health of the six Canadian teams and who would be likely to move and while Vancouver and Montreal were in better shape, only Toronto was safe from moving. If Gretzky stays in Canada with the Canucks, perhaps that keep the leagues presence in the country as is and Detroit wouldn't change the league like L.A. did.

Randomness While The Pirates Are As Close to a Title As They'll Ever Be.

First things first, congratulations are in order for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the L.A. Lakers for win their championships over the weekend. In the Penguins case, the real winner was America; as for the Lakers, the real loser was America. The Penguins championship capped off the most successful NHL season and playoff since 1994 both in style of play and in TV ratings. The Lakers win seemed too anti-climatic and the Magic threw away this series in Game 4 and once again, you can't go through an NBA season without officiating becoming a talking point. Also, anytime a series goes less than six games, it can't be good, unless each game had a game-winning shot.


On the plus side, the NBA playoffs did give us a chance to watch the Leroy Smith commercials, for once, a commercial that you can laugh at for comedic, not unintentional comedic reasons. (Hint, hint Nike, Vitamin Water)


It's about time DirecTV has put NBA TV on the same level on programming as NFL Network, MLB Network and NHL Network. Coming up on the network is years of NBA Draft, giving me a chance to look back on the best and worst of Draft fashion and to follow past Bill Simmons Draft Diaries. I reek of anticipation.


Be lucky I spared you from today's title Luis Castillo; it seemed funnier to see championship and Pittsburgh Pirates in one picture. However, here's some headlines that didn't work: Randomness while Luis Castillo Watches Tom Emanski's Defensive Drills Video, Randomness while A-Rod Thanks Luis Castillo for Sparing Him Further Yankee Fan Outrage.


Looks like Josh McDaniels has been taught well by Bill Belichick. First, he alienates his incumbent quarterback Jay Cutler; then he trades him. Now, Brandon Marshall is looking to get traded and the Broncos fan base already wants him fired. Sounds like Belichick's years with Cleveland. Meaning, Denver fans can anticipate the Broncos moving to L.A. in five years, followed by McDaniels becoming the coach of the Bengals turning them into the preeminent dynasty after years of losing.


These playoffs I've been a little too nice to Sidney Crosby, and I'm unfortunately taking his side in the handshake flap. It was his first Cup and it's not like he was actively trying to avoid shaking Red Wings hands. Yes, he missed Lidstrom and Draper, but give him a break, it was his first Cup. Now if he wins another Cup and does this again, then he deserves to be killed for this.


Real quote from Evan in RW/RR Challenge when he first started in the "Fresh Meat" season, "It was going to be the best experience of his life because he was competing 'with his idols.'" Also congrats should go to Evan for winning this season in New Zealand, as well as Rachael, but just like in the Stanley Cup, the real winner, America. This season had castmates complain about needing money and not finding work; perhaps because they always stop what they're doing to do this show. To top it off, the spelling bee was the greatest reality show moment in history. We get great words like "thron", "frate"and "mellinum".


Finally, it's time I give Kobe Bryant credit after winning this championship. I still say that LeBron is the better player because his size and skill set has never been seen before and that the Lakers won because they had the best supporting cast with Gasol, Odom, Ariza, etc. However, Kobe has solidified himself as a top-10 all-time player with the title and the pass he made to Derek Fisher for three in the OT of Game 4 that gave the Lakers the lead reminded me of Jordan's passing to Jim Paxson when he won his first title. I still can't get over how the Magic blew this series and making my preview column look foolish, but the Lakers deserved to win and I can't wait until next season. How will the Cavs get better? (Shaq?) Will KG be healthy next year? How do the Lakers respond after winning? Does Phil Jackson retire? All unanswered questions that will be rehashed in October.

The Biggest Hockey Game in 15 Years

Game 7. No two words in all of sport due more to raise the hair on you neck, as been said too many times before. No matter what sport it is, whether baseball, basketball or hockey, Game 7 matters because it's winner take all, which most other sports have because it's one game.


The NHL is going to have its fifth Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final this decade tonight, but it hasn't been since 1994 when the league was in such good shape. The playoffs this season have been the best since the aforementioned '94 Playoffs and it's fitting that the NHL's renaissance would have the Pittsburgh Penguins, home of the face of the league in Sidney Crosby, a superstar in Evegni Malkin who's made the leap and a former first-pick goaltender in Marc-Andre Fleury reaching his potential in this game, facing the most recognizable and successful American team and current dynasty, the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings with Nick Lidstrom, Chris Osgood, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen, players who have been among the best at their positions for as long as the early 90s (Lidstrom) to as recent as last year (Franzen and Osgood).


And there is the factor of Marian Hossa, who chose to sign a one-year deal with the Wings after losing last year with the Pens, thinking he would have a better chance winning in Detroit, now enters this game playing a terrible series without a goal and really hasn't done much this postseason except a couple particularly good games. This game will determine if his decision was wise or foolish. It would be an embarassment for him if the Penguins skate around with the Cup and the ultimate egg-on-the-face moment in sports history.


Home-ice has been everything in this series, particularly in Detroit as Fleury has had trouble with the live boards the Joe Louis Arena has. Crosby has been unable to avoid Zetterberg in Motown and has been held scoreless on the road. I guess you might think this is a bad omen for Pittsburgh, but here's a good one. The Penguins get to win the Cup in the same city as the Steelers won their first Super Bowl in 26 years as Bill Cowher shed his choker label and Jerome Bettis won at home.


Another thing to consider, the Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP) is still up for grabs. If Pittsburgh wins, Malkin, Crosby or Fleury could each win. As for Detroit, Zetterberg, Osgood, Franzen and Datsyuk (despite missing six games) have a chance. Could Malkin steal the Conn Smythe in a loss? He does have 35 points, most in sixteen years, and a three-point night in a losing effort could get the vote to go to him. Remember, this award is for playoff achievement, not just Final and it's gone to a losing player five times before.


So get ready for the biggest NHL game since 1994, hopefully you won't be too indifferent to care about this. I know the Yankees and Mets play each other tonight, but after watching them flame out against their rivals, you should instead watch two teams who have come to play every night (except Pittsburgh's Game 5 stinkfest). I know it's Friday night and there's always a movie to see or a club to dance at, but instead watch this game, either at home or at a bar. And make sure that bar doesn't splash all their TV's with Yanks-Mets. Enjoy.

Stanley Cup Finals Preview: Marian Hossa's Worst Nightmare

For the first time since 1984, and the first in any sport since 1998, the Stanley Cup Finals will have a rematch as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings will do battle once again. This matchup was the last one on people's minds back in February when they last met. Back then, the Penguins were struggling to even make the playoffs and fired coach Michel Therrien and hired Dan Bylsma. Since then, and after they traded for Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin and got Sergei Gonchar back from injury, the Pens have been arguably the hottest team in the league.

The defending champs also had an inconsistent stretch toward the end of the season as they played a bunch of games where they lost 8-0 or in that neighborhood. They still finished as a 2-seed in the Western Conference but were only going to go as far as Chris Osgood could take them, according to the experts. Well Osgood has been great in net and the Wings are on the cusp of their fifth title in thirteen years. So who wins the series between the a team that trying to learn how to win against a proud champion that's not willing to giving up the Cup. It's time that I give a complete breakdown.

Offense: When you think of offense and the Pens, obviously Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin come to mind. And with good reason, they both have 28 points to lead all scorers and almost certainly will be the first players to score 30 in a playoff season since Joe Sakic in 1996. It's more than just that their scoring, but they have been dominant almost every night. Their dominance in turn is giving guys like Guerin, Kunitz and Ruslan Fedotenko the ability to have big postseasons. As for Detroit, what can you say, when the Datsyuk is hurt, someone else always steps up. Johan Franzen is now a proven go-to-scorer, Dan Cleary and Darren Helm have been scoring out of nowhere. Add Marian Hossa, Henrik Zetterberg and the Red Wings have the most balance scoring attack of all the playoff teams this postseason. Advantage: Detroit

Defense: In a normal situation, the Red Wings win hands down, but with Nick Lidstrom banged up, it makes the matchup closer to even. However, Detroit can still come out with Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall, Brad Stuart and Brett Lebda. Pittsburgh counters with Gonchar, Mark Eaton, Rob Scudari, Brooks Orpik and Kris Letang. Even though the Red Wings allowed more regular season goals, in the playoffs, it's not even close. Advantage: Detroit

Goaltending: Osgood has played very well during the playoffs, but Marc-Andre Fleury has as well. Both goalies basically have to play well enough and not necessarily stand on their heads to win. I have to say though that Fleury has been impressing me, particularly against two of the better offensive teams in the league in the Flyers and the Caps. Osgood should be in the Hall of Fame when his career ends, but Fleury is showing everyone why the Pens drafted him at number 1 in 2003. Advantage: Pittsburgh

Wings Power Play vs Pens Penalty Kill: One one hand, you have a PK that is above average and the other you have a PP that can be as good as Derek Jeter's batting average. There was a time the Red Wings were at a 30% clip on the power play, now they are a solid 25%. Big advantage: Detroit

Pens PP vs Wings PK: As good as the Red Wings PP is, their PK is just as bad. Only Columbus and Calgary did worse than Detroit's 74% kill. The Pens PP is at about 20%, should increase during the series. Advantage: Pittsburgh

Coaching: Mike Babcock is making his third Finals appearance and is looking for his second Cup win. Dan Bylsma has only coached in the NHL since February. Babcock even handles the press conference well; he said that everyone talks like the Pens won last year. Advantage: Detroit

Schedule: It matters this year as the first two games are tonight and tomorrow (thanks Conan) and Game 3 is on Tuesday. If either Conference Final went six, the Finals would of started Friday and the Red Wings would of had more time to rest. The fact is, Lidstrom's banged up, Datsyuk and Kris Draper are missing games and the Penguins are relatively healthy. Big advantage: Pittsburgh

Superstition: Last year both teams followed the silly superstition and didn't touch the Wales and Campbell trophies for winning their conference. Since the Pens lost, Crosby decided to switch it up and and carry the Wales trophy. Hey, carrying it didn't stop Mario Lemeiux from winning Stanley Cups. Advantage: Even

History: If you're Pittsburgh, you look back to 1984 when two emerging stars faced a venerable dynasty on its Drive for Five and won in five, which is in a way what the Penguins are attempting to do. The Red Wings are looking back at their February meeting when they dominated them at the Igloo. However, that Pittsburgh team is a lot different than they are now. Advantage: Pittsburgh

Maggie the Monkey: On of TSN's gimmicks is to have a monkey named Maggie make picks using a spinning wheel. Her pick for the Stanley Cup Finals is Pittsburgh. Maggie is 0-5 in Stanley Cup Final picks. On the bright side, she's retiring and she's due to be right. Right? Advantage: No one.

Final Prediction: A more spaced out series would help the Red Wings and if they can make it through the first four games with a split, they will be hard to beat once the extra off days take place for the sixth and seventh games. However, I think the Pens will steal one of the games at the Joe and will take a 3-1 lead in the series. Detroit will win Game 5 at home, but Pittsburgh wins the Cup at home and take this series in 6 games.

The Idea of the Dream Matchup.

Today was the championship match in the UEFA Champions League as the top two European club teams faced off. Manchester United, the most popular and most hated soccer club in the world, came in to this match having just won their third straight English Premier League title and as defending champions in the UEFA Cup. FC Barcelona was this year's champion in Spain's La Liga. Christiano Ronaldo of Man U won Player of the Year, while Lionel Mussi of Barca finished second in the voting.

The Detroit Red Wings just beat the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. They will meet the team the faced last year, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Last year, the Red Wings beat the Pens in a harder-than-thought-but-ultimately-easy six games. The stories for this series include the leading scorer in the season and playoffs with Evgeni Malkin, co-leader in the playoffs and face of the league Sidney Crosby and their fight for playoff MVP, Marian Hossa who rejected a 7-year offer from the Pens to sign a 1-year deal with the Wings so he can win the Stanley Cup and a city in Detroit who while the economy has been disastrous, the team continues to be a symbol of pride. Basically, it's the face of the league against the glamour franchise for the past 15 years.

The subject of dream matchups has been much discussed in the NBA as everything has been focused on Kobe vs LeBron. The Cavs and the Lakers finished as the top two teams in the NBA and it seemed like an inevitability that these two would meet in the NBA Finals. So much so, that Nike and Vitamin Water have already started to prepare with their own Kobe vs LeBron ad campaigns. However, funny thing happened along the way, the Orlando Magic lead their series with Cleveland 3-1 and are a win away from ruining the dream matchup. Meanwhile, the Lakers just finished a hard earned victory tonight over the Denver Nuggets and they now lead 3-2 in that series, that should end up going seven.

So there in lies the issue, how beneficial is the dream matchup and more importantly, if it doesn't come about, is the real matchup good enough? Let's take a look back through all sports for the past decade to see how they have faired in getting their dream matchup.

The NBA should be first as it seems most people think the league will stop at nothing to get their series. Last season, they had the biggest rivalry in league history resume with the Lakers-Celtics series and it still wasn't the highest rated series even on ABC; that honor belongs to the final Shaq and Kobe Lakers in 2004 when they lost to Detroit. Of course, no one ever moved the meter in ratings like Michael Jordan, who was able to make Chicago-Utah in 1998 the all-time high for the NBA in ratings. However, with the San Antonio Spurs being the dominant team in the decade, along with a particularly weak Eastern Conference turning the NBA Finals into formality, ABC has still been unable to do will with ratings. The best ratings tend to occur in years an East team win, since it's not expected.

The NHL has had more trouble finding their dream scenario. The best ratings the NHL has received this decade was the Devils-Stars series in 2000 which averaged a 3.7. Detroit and Pittsburgh is currently the dream matchup because of the players on the Pens and the history of the Red Wings. It also doesn't hurt to have two markets that will do ratings in the 30's for the Cup finals. The NHL has been too often stuck with the Anaheims and the Carolina's in their finals. They have, however, had three years of a Canadian team in the Cup finals helping their CBC ratings. Still, no series has come close to getting the one game rating Game 7 in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals had when the Rangers beat Vancouver. While not a dream matchup, since Detroit was the West's number 1 seed that year and Toronto made the Western Finals, that game ended up being the highest rated NHL game in North America and hasn't been topped yet.

Since the Super Bowl never fails in the ratings and I would assume 200 million people will watch the Champions League final regardless who's there, the World Series is the last one that has to worry about dream matchup. Baseball back even twenty-five years ago would get ratings between 23 and 32 on average and Game 7 of the 1986 Mets-Red Sox series got a 38.9, very Super Bowl-like. Even more Super Bowl-like is that Philadelphia and Kansas City in 1980 is the highest rated World Series.

But now, the World Series now has to worry about outdrawing the NBA Finals. They need the dream matchup more than anyone, but can never get it. The closest they came was in 2003 when the Yankees faced the Red Sox in the ALCS and the Cubs faced the Florida Marlins in the NLCS. If the Cubs would of held their lead, a series with the Yankees would have been tremendous because of the Cubs title drought and their position as a national team, like the Yanks and Sox. The best series matchup in the 2000's has to be the 2004 World Series between the Red Sox and the Cardinals, but that ended way to early. The only other dream matchups since the strike were both series between the Braves and the Yankees.

It's obvious that this decade in sports have been unsuccessful in creating the matchups the causal sports fans want to see and it appears that they simply won't tune in and get to know new stars. Does this mean that if the NBA Finals is Denver and Orlando, no one will tune in for Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard? I don't know, but I do know the NBA doesn't want to find out, even if they can only keep one of them in. Because as we learned today from the Champions League final, if the two best teams and the two best players are involved, the world will stop and watch.

Randomness while laughing at James Harrison's reasoning for not seeing Obama

- I could write a whole column based on this story basically going over things that you can say "as far as I'm concerned" and say facts like James Harrison did. His full quote is here. I could say: As far as I'm concerned, the Magic played better than the Celtics last night. Or as far as I'm concerned, a player should be credited with a home run if they hit in fair out the the field of play.

- Does anyone else change the channel when ESPN has a "story" about Brett Favre, or is it just me. Fortunately, there is good news; ESPN will for a few days follow around the release of Michael Vick and make that the biggest news in the history of sports and give us a break from Favre.

- As I write this, 24 is recording on my DVR and I won't find out until about midnight, but it seems to me based on last week's episode and the "next week on 24" scenes, there is some sort of cliffhanger ending that might go right into Season 8. However, after watching Bill Buchanan die this season, I still haven't gotten over the fact Jack Bauer was exposed to a pathogen that will kill him. Or will it? Remember Jack Bauer is in the same league as Chuck Norris, Joel Quennville's mustache and Bill Cowher's chin; no longer mere mortal, but in fact larger than life in a Paul Bunyan sense.

- Speaking of Cowher, Pittsburgh fans should immediately disown him if he chooses the Hurricanes over the Penguins. If he only coached the Steelers, then I wouldn't mind if he roots for Carolina, but he's born and raised in Western Pennsylvania and despite living in NC, he should be rooting for the Pens. So, Bill, you can no longer "sound the warning siren" at least for this series or you can no longer show up in the city that made you famous, or at least get cheered. Besides, Mike Tomlin's a better coach anyway.

- I am tired of these former players who are analysts continuously say that a team is never better without a star player. The obvious example is whenever I hear someone say that the Rockets aren't a better team without Tracy McGrady, even though they performed better this year then any other year they had T-Mac. I won't say that the Rockets are better without Yao Ming, some matchups are better than others. But Tracy McGrady has been the most overrated NBA player this decade. His value was higher back in the early 00s when the iso offense's was everywhere, but his skills have decreased along with his durability. Add all his postseason failures, the success the Rockets had this season and the fact that the he still gets treated as if he's one of the ten best players in the league, which he never was during his career, and you have the most overrated player in the NBA.

- It might sound blasphemous, but I'm tired about hearing baseball talk in April and May. Everyone overrates everything in baseball during the first two months, especially when you live in a baseball-centric city like New York. That's the real tragedy of the Knicks terrible decade and the Rangers free-spending lunacy, that us New Yorkers are forced to follow baseball or do what I do and actually still follow the sports that my teams fail at when they get eliminated. I never remember baseball being as front-and-center back in the 90s because the Knicks always played well into May, either ending around this date in May or a few weeks later and the same for the Rangers during the first Messier era.

- I must give credit to Brett Gardner though, for his inside-the-park home run after visiting a sick girl, putting himself in the elite company of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Paul O'Neill. Well, almost.

- I just watched the end of the 1993 Cowboys-Giants game on NFL Network made famous by Emmitt Smith playing through a separated shoulder to win in OT. As a staunch Giant fan and thus Cowboy-hater, I must say, that was the most impressive, gutsy and clutch performance I ever saw in my life watching football.

- I haven't weighed in on the Phoenix Coyotes situation and I actually plan on devoting a full blog post on items like the NHL in the Sun Belt once all the playoffs end, but I happen to agree with Gary Bettman on one thing, if the Yotes move, they should go to Winnipeg and go back to being the Jets. I disagree with him about trying to keep the team in Phoenix or that Jim Balsallie shouldn't own a team in Hamilton. Once again, I will elaborate more about it once sports settles down.

- Now that I wined and dined you with the randomness, it's time that I give out my Conference Finals predictions. Now the NHL CF's have already started and I used The Cycle's Twitter page to make my picks. I have the Red Wings over the Blackhawks in six games and the Penguins winning in five. My reasons: unfortunately, I have to use the experience argument against the Hawks, which I hate and I generally believe is overrated. But the Wings are too good to just show up in your first playoff appearance in 5 years and beat them. They make you play their game. If the Hawks could possibly force the RedWings to play Chicago hockey, then they have a shot, but I think it's Detroit to win. As for the Penguins, I think Crosby is on a role and now they play Game 1 and the Hurricanes played a much more competitive game than they did in the previous series. That I think will benefit Pittsburgh, because they might not take them for granted. Add the fact that Marc-Andre Fleury is as good as Cam Ward, and you have a series the Penguins should win.

- Which leaves me with my NBA picks. Starting with Cleveland-Orlando, I don't see how the Magic win the series. They have no answer for LeBron and they have no go-to-guy at the end of games. Now they will have some success in this series as they beat the Cavs twice in Orlando and when they are hitting their three's, just like in Boston Sunday night, they are tough to beat. My pick is the Cavs in six games that will be a little tougher than most people I assume believe.

- As for the West, the Nuggets-Lakers series will be a very good one, depending on how the Lakers play. They should have never gone seven with the Rockets and if they played every night, it's over in five. The Nuggets have played the best of every team in the playoffs, including the LeBrons mainly because we expected the Cavs to get to the East Finals rather easy, while some people, including me, picked the Hornets to beat Denver. As for the matchup, Derek Fisher won't have to worry about running around like he did against Aaron Brooks, but Chauncey Billups will go more physical with him. The key to this series though is that the bigs on Denver (Nene, K-Mart) are tougher than the ones on the Lakers (Pau, Bynum) and the Denver bench is better. So while, the NBA, Nike and Vitamin Water are clamoring for Kobe vs LeBron (and if the refs get in the way, then this pick is moot), I believe it will be the Nuggets winning in six games and we get LeBron vs Melo, which if you remember back in 2003, that was the matchup that the NBA envisioned would occur to be like Magic vs Bird.

Randomness while being thankful I never played basketball at Queensbridge

- Ron Artest has proven to be the most interesting player during the playoffs. Whether it's calling Brandon Roy the best player he guarded (aside from someone who's in jail), claiming Charles Barkley was overrated, sitting in the stands and joking about it, giving Yao Ming some personality, bringing back the Anthony Mason hair cut with a mohawk, getting into it with Kobe or talking about a friend of his who died on the court in QB; Artest is appointment TV whenever the press talks to him.

- As for the Lakers-Rockets series, it looks like the Lakers have things back in control. Especially with Yao out for the playoffs. And if Artest keeps getting himself ejected from games. But, this has been a good series, very 80s or early 90s like with the physical play.

- Once again Dallas Mavericks fans, I feel your pain. Bennett Salvadore's crew strikes again just like it did in the 2006 NBA Finals as there wasn't a foul called before Carmelo Anthony's Larry Johnsonesque three-pointer to win Game 3. The Mavs had a foul to give and if called, the Nuggets have about 3 seconds to inbound and shoot. Denver was going to win the series anyway, but now there's no doubt.

- Not much to say about the Cavs since they are still on track. As for Orlando-Boston, the Magic need to win tomorrow night, if they lose, they won't win in Boston. Both series aren't worth watching, as the Cavs are MUCH better than Atlanta, its like fishing with dynamite. And the Magic-Celtics series is just like the Heat-Hawks last round, no close games.

- On the other hand, it's nice to know Rafer Alston reads this blog as he knows it was okay to slap Eddie House.

- Alright I'll say, can we get rid of the hype man at NBA arenas. And that is one of about 467 ways that I would make the NBA better if I was the commissioner.

- On to hockey, where the Pens have rallied to take a 3-2 lead in the series over the Caps. Crosby and Ovechkin have been huge, but Malkin scoring the big goal is finally playing better. By the way, Alex Semin, where are you? You're as missing right now as Andrew Bynum. Ovie can't do it all, though he comes close to doing it.

- Eric Staal has taken over his series against the Bruins as Carolina can win the series tomorrow night. Cam Ward has played well and Jussi Jokinen is this year's Johan Franzen. Of course, Carolina is in the process of ruining the NHL's wet dream of a season. Ratings are up, Chicago and Boston are back and vibrant, but if Carolina goes to the Finals, it would kill the momentum the league is having.

- The Anaheim Ducks would do the same thing and God forbid it's Ducks-Canes in the Finals. Ratings would plummet back to 06-07 numbers. The good news, the Wings look like they finally got to Jonas Hiller. If they win in Detroit tomorrow, they should take the series.

- Continuing on the ruining the playoffs department, I would like to thank the Vancouver Canucks for playing the games in Chicago with the trap. When we are watching a new, exciting NHL games that are bring fans back, they have to come out with the defensive system responsible for turning fans away in the first place, along with overexpansion and the 94-95 lockout.

- In classic A-Rod fashion, he returns with a home run on his first pitch of the season. The reason it's classic A-Rod fashion is because it's his way of teasing us. Of course, the Yankees need every bit of it. Plus more games like CC Sabathia pitched last night. What they can't have is starts like Phil Hughes tonight, and homestands where the Red Sox and Rays sweep because of no timely hitting and a bad bullpen. A more pertanent question, are this year's Yankees last year's Mets? We'll find out if there's a collapse in the forecast.

- Speaking of the Mets, they seem to finally have some rhythm as they have started to hit in the clutch, and their starters are pitching better. In a related story, Ollie Perez is no longer in the rotation.

- Many thanks to Zack Greinke for his blistering start, making the Royals and My Cousin Yuri in the fantasy world look good and better than they could be, respectively. Even though he looks like he's going to lose his game 1-0 (this is being written Saturday night).

- Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will have their fight in November, assume Juan Manuel Marquez does right and loses in July. It could also be in October or December. Regardless, I will do everything in my power to watch that fight.

-The final word goes back to the NBA. LeBron James has clearly passed Kobe as the best player in the league. Kobe has shown some age and now relies on his jumper while less and less drives to the basket. Don't view this as a knock on Kobe and he's still an assassin and when the game's on the line, he's still my first pick to take that shot. But LeBron continues to perfect his game and the Olympic experience has matured his game; made him more focused and grounded. LeBron is rightfully the best player in the game and the rightful MVP, so Laker fans, you can stop chanting M-V-P for Kobe.

The Greats Come to Play in the Nation's Capital

This was the series the NHL was waiting for.

OVECHKIN! CROSBY!

Since both players were drafted and started their careers after the lockout. Since Sidney Crosby was hailed the savior scored 100 points in his rookie year. Since Alex Ovechkin scored 50 goals, took home the Calder and got everyone's attention in a night in Phoenix. Since Sid the Kid won the Art Ross and the Hart in 2007, leading his young Pens to the playoffs. Since Alex the Great scored 65 goals, won the Art Ross and the Hart in 2008, leading his young Caps to the playoffs. Since Crosby took the Pens to the Stanley Cup finals last year as well. And most importantly, since Crosby and Ovechkin had a war of words back after a tough game in February.

Before the Feb 22nd showdown, both players were clearly the biggest stars in the league and certainly we wanted to see them play against one another in a playoff series. But, there wasn't an indication of hostility from our perspective as fans. For the Caps and Pens, the personal rivalry seemed to be Alex Semin and Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Ovechkin. After that game and the fact that Crosby invented the phrase "like it or lump it", the battle lines were drawn, sides needed to be chosen and an matchup everyone wanted to see became a matchup everyone needs to see.

That's the best thing about sports, whenever the two best players matchup, it's always better if you're forced to take sides. During the Ali-Frazier trilogy, you rooted either for Muhammad Ali or you rooted for Joe Frazier. When Magic Johnson and the Lakers played Larry Bird and the Celtics, you rooted for either the Lakers or the Celtics. Same goes for the Pats with Tom Beady and the Colts with Peyton Manning. There was no middle ground when they played/fought one another. And that's the compelling part, which is missing in my opinion when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal play, and would never happen in golf because a golf gallery doesn't root against anyone. So not only do Crosby and Ovechkin play different ways (Crosby more distributor/playmaker, Ovechkin straight shooter), but the snarl added in make rooting for both sacrilege.

So when Marty Brodeur gave up two goals in the last 80 seconds of Game 7 against the Hurricanes made me happy as a Rangers fan to see the Devils choke their series worse than the Rangers did, I'm positive the NHL was even more happy and excited as that would lead to this series between the two faces of the league and a battle to see who is the best. The non-hockey fan would come aboard for the series (provided they have Versus on their cable/satellite system) and everyone would want to know a) who would have the better series, Crosby or Ovechkin and b) would they get into a fight during the series.

Through two games, these are the many ways that this series is exceeding the hype. First, Simeon Varlamov has continued his great play that he had against the Rangers, and stepped it up a notch against Pittsburgh. His save in Game 1 is legendary already after two days, with bonus points from the magnificent call by Doc Emrick. Also, we have a choker factor as Geno Malkin (despite two assists through two games) we all agree has not shown up in Washington, and took a very costly penalty in the third period tonight. Now, we will be hearing and reading stories about when will Malkin show up which is a bad thing if you're a Penguins fan, but a great thing if you have no allegiance since it's a buzzworthy story to keep the series on the front-burner.

Of course, the main reason the series is exceeding the hype is the mano-a-mano battle going on between Ovie and Sid. The fact that the two stars of this series have stepped their game up in a way non-hockey fans notice is the most important aspect of the first two games. Hockey fans can tell when someone is playing well and don't need it to be in the box score to be so. The best example is Blair Betts of the Rangers who, despite 10 points in the regular season, was one of their top 5 indispensible players, thus a huge loss when knocked out by Donald Brasheur. And every team has one of those guys and hockey fans know instinctively to look beyond the box score for a gauge on how well they play. The non-hockey fan or causal fan doesn't view things like that. They look at who scored to see who the best is.

So what do we get from Ovechkin and Crosby? Game 1 both men score and it would be a Tomas Fleischmann goal to win it for Washington. In Game 2 tonight, as I'm sure everyone reading has watched SportsCenter saw both men got hat tricks. This is akin to Kobe and LeBron going for 40 in the same game when they play in the NBA Finals. Ovechkin in particular using the Malkin penalty and scored four seconds into the power play with a shot Matthew Barnaby claimed was harder than any one of Manny Pacquiao's punches of Ricky Hatton last weekend. He followed that up with another laser while using the defenseman as a shield. Crosby though, wouldn't be outdone as he would clean up the messes for his hat trick, the third one with 30 seconds left he hit in the air, as good hand-eye coordination as any baseball player. Now I know this will upset some people, and even I don't like what I'm about to write, but, I've been impressed with Crosby in this series. He has shown up, hasn't whined as much as usual, and makes an impact for the Penguins and they wouldn't have played as close as they have been playing. However, Ovechkin has put his mark on this series and most importantly, has the two wins in the Phone Booth.

Now the series will move on to the Igloo in Pittsburgh. As I wrote before, this series has already exceeded the hype, at least in the first two games. We never saw Gretzky and Mario faceoff in the playoffs, Bobby Orr didn't have a comparable rival and Original Six would devalue any uniqueness of watching Gordie Howe against Rocket Richard or Bobby Hull. This is the NHL's first true glamour series. But now that the Caps lead 2-0, the Pens need to come up with some wins on home ice. If they don't, regardless what we've seen, this series will ultimately be remembered for falling short and ending too soon. But if the Pens take their home two and go back to Washington tied, then we have potential of one of the best playoff series ever.

And perhaps no right answer to a new age old question: Crosby or Ovechkin?

Stanley Cup preview extravaganza

The Stanley Cup playoffs begin tonight and it's time to have the official NHL playoff preview. No teaser today as the games begin in an hour and I want to finish this before the opening games. Let's start in the West:

Western Conference

#1 San Jose vs #8 Anaheim- The worst possible matchup for the Sharks as this team who needs to get rid of the choker label in the playoffs has to play the 07 Cup champ Ducks. The Ducks still have a lot of the same guys who won and could use that experience in this series. For the Sharks, they have to have a big series from Joe Thornton, who needs to shed his label of being the A-Rod of hockey and failing to show up. One of these years, the Sharks have to win and I'm not big on Jonas Hiller. Sharks in 6.

#2 Detroit vs #7 Columbus- Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Blue Jackets, your reward, the defending champ Red Wings. However, the Jackets have the advantage at goal with rookie Steve Mason against the struggling Chris Osgood (or Ty Conklin). The Wings are better in every other way so it comes down to Mason standing on his head. That being said, I think he will and the Wings tend to lose early every few years so I have the Jackets in 6.

#3 Vancouver vs #6 St. Louis- The most surprising team in the playoffs are the Blues who are a year ahead of schedule by making this year's playoffs. John Davidson has done a great job turning around this franchise from doormat to playoffs. They get to play the Canucks who had a great second half to win their division and a lot of pressure to go far in the playoffs with the Sedin twins and Mats Sundin. I would love to take JD's team here and they will make this a long series, but I think the Blues won't have an answer for Roberto Luongo and the Canucks win in 7.

#4 Chicago vs #5 Calgary- The Hawks are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and will play a struggling Flames team. They have been hurt and lost their chance to have home-ice in the first round and now start on the road. The Flames are one of my favorite teams, Jarome Iginla is the best example of a Mark Messier in the NHL that we currently have, and that is ALWAYS a good thing. That said, the Hawks win in 5. They are playing well and the Flames aren't, plus Nikolai Khabibulin knows how to beat the Flames, going back to the 04 Cup Finals.

Now to the East:

#1 Boston vs #8 Montreal- The hatred between the Habs and B's runs deep and these two Original Six foes gave us a preview of things to come last Thursday. The Canadiens have enjoyed a 24-7 series advantage and in 2002 and 2004 have beaten the Bruins as an 8th seed and 7th seed. However, the Bruins are better in every way against the Habs and it will be the B's in 5.

#2 Washington vs #7 NY Rangers- We have come to my team, the Rangers, who played their best week of the year last week after beating the Habs and sweeping Philly to make the playoffs. They now get to play Ovie and the Caps who have Stanley Cup buzz. Like our other 2-7 matchup, the only edge the Rangers have is in net with Henrik Lundqvist. He needs to be absolutely great and hope Jose Theodore is poor in net since the Rags can't score with consistency. Anyone who thinks the Caps will win in 4 or 5 are nuts, but unfortunately I don't pick with my heart in this blog. Caps in 7 and let's move on.

#3 New Jersey vs #6 Carolina- The best goalie battle is here as MAAAAAAAAARRTY Brodeur and the Devils take on Cam Ward and the Canes. Sometimes, like with the Rangers, I have to go against my heart and pick against my team; other times, my heart and brain are in sync and I'm picking the Canes in 5. They have outplayed the Devils all year and only lost the last game to them when they sat out Ward. They have been one of the hottest teams in the East since March 1 and could be a sleeper Cup contender.

#4 Pittsburgh vs #5 Philadelphia- The rematch of last year's East finals will start in the same city as it did last year after the Flyers blew a 3-2 lead Sunday to the Rangers. Now they have to go to the Igloo to face Crosby, Malkin and the Pens. The Flyers had been my sleeper in the East all year since they can score with anyone, but they are maddening inconsistent and the Pens having Game 7 home is the difference, plus they are the other hot team in the East. Pens in 7.

Stanley Cup prediction:

The Sharks will find a way to finally get to the Stanley Cup finals and they will take on the Penguins, as much as it pains me to say. The Sharks win the Cup in 7 as Crosby must wait yet again for his championship. Now watch the Red Wings and Devils go to the finals.