Weekend/Monday Stuff: Stanley Cup Finals, Lebron's disappearing act, Habs new coach, and more

Monday, June 1, 2009

History repeats itself, Wings up 2-0

Because of the short lay off and back to back games to open the Stanley Cup Finals, the Detroit Red Wings were supposed to be at a terrible disadvantage.

Flash forward 48 hours, and they have a stranglehold on the series, going back to Pittsburgh.

From a Pens fan's perspective, I can't even begin to tell you how frustrating the first two games have been. Chris Osgood has been unreal. His right goal post has been even better.

The last thing I want to do is complain about the officiating. The Pens have had their chances, plenty of them in fact. For large stretches of both games, they were the better team. They haven't caught one bounce yet.

BUT...

Nobody should ever complain about an alleged "Penguins bias" agenda. The Detroit Red Wings get a way with A LOT. Even Pierre McGuire and Ed Olcyzk were smart enough to catch the "mild interference" the Wings run. I won't even mention the non call on Hossa or the Zetterberg covering the puck in the crease (twice) incident.

Stay the course, Pens. Series is a long way from over.

Jacques Martin to right the Hab's ship

The Montreal Canadiens introduced Jacques Martin as their new Head Coach today.

Martin now leaves the Jay Bouwmeester dilemma in Florida for someone else to worry about.

Smart move.

Is this really a good hire?

The guy really hasn't accomplished anything since leaving the Ottawa Senators, and even there, only had moderate success. By "moderate" I mean "regular season."

He's French though, and that seems to be all the media and fans in La Belle Province care about. Good luck with all that.

Lebron James' quick getaway

By now you all know that the Orlando Magic elminated the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6 of the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals last week.

And you have all heard about the disappearing act done by Lebron James after the final buzzer sounded in Orlando.

James was off the court, showered, and out of the building in 21 seconds.

Thats not really the way an ambassador, and for all accounts, the face of the NBA, should conduct himself.

First of all, he should have shown a bit of class by congratulation the team that just triumphed over his, with handshakes on the court. They can be half-ass hand shakes... just should have happened one way or the other.

But his biggest mistake was not talking to the media. He will pay for that for a while, in a way that media makes people pay for such things.

Be a man. Face the music. You think you can get away with crap like that when you bolt for New York after next season?

Carlos Zambrano is still a tool

Exhibit # 351...

Roid Rage Central.

Rematch City

It writes itself.

The best part about the Wings winning last night is that we don't have to wait 4 months for the Stanley Cup Final to start.

Game 1 is Saturday night. Game 2 is Sunday night. God help us all.

From the Pens perspective, the series can't start soon enough. Niklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk are major cogs in the Red Wing wheel. For those guys to take the last two games of the Conference Finals off, you know they are hurting.

The Pens, by all accounts are healthy heading into the Finals.

Everything that needs to be said has already been said (Does that make sense?).

The big storyline is Marian Hossa. Penguins fans are pissed at him. Call him a traitor. But look. Here are the Penguins back in the Finals, and they did it without him. Not to mention, if Hossa would have signed in Pittsburgh, the Pens salary cap situation would be a mess.

I'm not one of the bitter Penguins fans who hold a grudge against Hossa. Having said that, there would be nothing sweeter than watching him lose again.

I have a lot of good friends who root for Detroit. I wish Stevie Y and Mario were around to battle in this, and last year's series. That would make it even sweeter.

Everybody believes the Pens are a lot more prepared to face the Big Red Machine this year. The fact remains that the Big Red Machine is still a well-oiled powerhouse. This series is going to be great. No prediction from me. Yet. Just more photoshops. (If you have any pro-Wing shops, be sure the send them my way. Just to show i'm not prejudiced).

Wednesday Wrap; Roy spurns Avs, Caps and Nats have roid rage, big games tonight

Wendesday, May 27, 2009

Here are the stories that are making the rounds today...

Patrick Roy turns down the Avalanche coaching job

Roy turned down the job for "family reasons." Fair enough. He also said that the offer was "very interesting", meaning I'm sure that it was worth a boat load of dough.

The Avalanche, by the way, still employ a head coach. His name is Tony Granato. Maybe he doesn't read newspapers, surf the internet, or watch television. Colorado's organization is starting to become a joke.

So by all accounts, it looks like Roy will be back bullying and trying to throw his weight around in the QMJHL again. I'm telling you right now, the Avalanche are better off without him. Roy has the potential to be the Steve Downie of the coaching world.

And yes, that is Stephen Baldwin. The resemeblance is un-canny.

Capitals get linked to steroids

Actually, so did the Washington Nationals, but nobody cares about them, and for good reason.

Strange story coming out of Florida today. A suspected steroid pusher was arrested and then claimed two of his biggest clients were the Caps and Nats. The arrested didn't name any specific players though.

The Capitals public relations team is working overdrive to sweep this story under the rug.

"We have no reason to believe there is any merit to this story, but the National Hockey League and the Washington Capitals take all such allegations seriously," said Capitals president Dick Patrick in a team release. "Capitals players have fully participated in the NHL's random drug testing program, and at no point has a Capitals player tested positive. In addition our players have been tested at international events, such as World Championships and Olympics. We welcome and will fully cooperate with the NHL's investigation."

You had better hope there is no merit to this story, Dick. The entire hockey world would be brought down a peg or two if this turned out to be true.

As of right now, nobody believes that the steroid pusher has an ounce of credibility, and you can't really argue with that logic. But keep in mind, the same was said about Jose Canseco when he named names. Just sayin'.

There has been no evidence uncovered to support this joke's claims, but the investigation continues. Gary Bettman holds his breath. Ted Leonosis eats a cheeseburger.

The Caps must have forgot to take roids before Game 7 vs Pittsburgh two weeks ago.

Tyson's daughter passes away

Mentioned yesterday that Mike Tyson's daughter was on life support after an accidental self strangulation. Sadly, Exodus Tyson was taken off life support yesterday and passed away.

Four years old. Tragedy.

Hopefully Tyson has a solid support group around him, because lets face it, he isn't exactly mentally stable at the best of times, let alone when he's faced with something as tragic as the loss of his daughter.

Here is hoping he surrounds himself with the right people to help him get through this.

NBA and NHL Game 5's tonight

The Chicago Blackhawks need a win to stay alive tonight. One win for the Red Wings and its Stanley Cup Final rematch city.

Lets face it. The Hawks have no hope in the long run. They have to beat the best team in the league three straight times. I can't see how that possibily happens, with or without Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datysuk in the Wings' line up.

Hopefully the Wings can wrap it up tonight, meaning the Finals would start Saturday, instead of in NINE DAYS. Thanks Gary. Real nice piece of work there. You and NBC should get a room.

Over in the NBA, the Lakers and Nuggets take their show to the Staples Centre for Game 5 in the Western Conference Final, series tied at two apiece. I don't know anything about basketball, but figure I would throw that into the blog. That is all.