Red Wings take the Cup

A hearty congrats to the Detroit Red Wings and all their fans for their fourth Stanley Cup Championship in 11 years. It was a pretty good series, but the Wings are solid from top to bottom, and Pittsburgh just didn't quite have the look of a team that's ready, yet. But, rest assured, the Pens will be back, and soon. The ending to last night's decisive Game 6 was something to see, if you missed it. The pucker factor was quite high - I can't believe that Marián Hosa didn't score at the final horn. If you want to see the play I'm talking about, the video immediately below has highlights from the game. At about the 3:45 mark, you'll see the game's final seconds. Absolutely thrilling~!

Detroit goalie Chris Osgood must be given a great deal of credit for his performance during these playoffs; he endured a goalie controversy of sorts while turning in a Conn Smythe-worthy performance. The Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) went to Henrik Zetterberg, who scored the game-winning goal last night (also in the video above).

Of course, you can never have a league championship without a blooper - above is a member of the Red Wings swearing on live TV. At least we can be confident that it won't turn into a Janet Jackson-like scandal (which was absurd in the first place), because, according to Tiger Woods yesterday, no one watches hockey anymore. During a teleconference to promote August's PGA Championship, Woods was asked if he was pulling for Detroit or Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup Finals.

"I don't really care. Let's talk about the Dodgers," said Woods. "I don't think anybody really watches hockey anymore." What an imbecile.

Two things - 1. The last time I checked, golf doesn't get Super Bowl-like ratings, either. I can count on one hand the number of people I know who will be glued to their sets to watch said PGA Championship this August. 2. He wants to talk baseball? It's worth asking which sport, hockey or baseball, is more respectable these days? I'll let that point stand on its own - what is understood, needn't be discussed.

To its credit, the NHL took the high road in light of Woods' comments - "The National Hockey League has enormous respect for Tiger Woods, for all his accomplishments and for his work with the community," NHL spokesman Frank Brown said. "We think he's a great golfer." Hey may be a great golfer, but sometimes he's a braying jackass.

It's amazing to me how quickly some people get up tribute pieces to the teams they love. I found this one on YouTube this morning, and I just shook my head in amazement. Someone must have stayed up half the night making this one, and it's pretty well done, too.

CBC's playoff hockey montage was pretty good this year, but it's been better in past years. The song isn't a great choice, but the pictures and video were spot on, as usual.

Anyway, this blog is politics first and foremost, but I occasionally comment on sports, specifically hockey and football, the two best spectator sports on the planet, respectively.

One other hat tip to the NHL - notice all of the NHL footage you can find you YouTube? It's because the league struck a deal with the company that owns YouTube (Google) to allow posting of videos, highlights, etc. To my knowledge, none of the other three major sports leagues have done that. I love hockey because it's different in so many ways, and the reason above is simply another one, and a great, fan-friendly one at that.

Congrats, Wings! Just four more months until training camp begins... next year is my beloved Edmonton Oilers' year, I can feel it.

Top picture via espn.com