Oilers knocking on the door

I have to get in a quick word about my Edmonton Oilers - this bunch of guys are truly the cardiac kids of the NHL. It really is great fun to watch such a young team come to life and mature before my eyes.

Last night's second goal by Andrew Cogliano was a nice one, and it was set up from a nifty pass by Sam Gagner. Get used to hearing the name Gagner, who right now if the youngest player in the NHL at a spry 18 years old. For those of you who don't follow the NHL, calling Gagner the Kobe Bryant or the LeBron James of the NHL is really not a stretch; he doesn't even turn 19 until after the season in August.

With the likes of Cogliano, Gagner, the über-talented Aleš Hemský and lots of great talent on defense, this team is loaded for bear. What I'm really happy about is that the Oilers are finally owned by someone with deep pockets, so the team will be able to keep a player of Gagner's talent without losing him to spend-happy teams like the Rangers and Flyers.

Right now, the Oilers are three points out of a playoff spot, so I'm not holding my breath, but they do have a real shot to make the postseason with games coming up against Minnesota tomorrow, Calgary and Colorado. By this time next week, their fate should be determined. I'll never forget seeing them in the Cup Finals in '06 - what a wild ride it was - I can't wait for it to happen again. With all of the young stars wearing Oiler silks, it's gonna happen sooner rather than later.

Go Oilers!

Finally, SOMETHING to celebrate...

YES! The Heat captured their first NBA title last night over the Dallas Mavericks. It was awesome and fun to watch - Pat Riley winning his 5th, Shaq his 4th, and, best of all, watching Dwayne "Flash" Wade win his first.



For those of you living in a cave, it's official - Flash is the next big thing in the NBA. The next Kobe, if you will. Sure, LeBron is awesome, but Flash has jewelry now. I've waited 18 years for Miami to win a title, and it was worth the wait.

I became a Heat fan in '88 when I was a junior in high school. To that point, I never was much of a hoops fan, but all of my friends had favorite NBA teams, so I figured it was time for me to get on board. Since I have a penchant for disliking local teams, Philly specifically (and for those of you who don't know, that continues to this day!), I figured I'd pick a new team, so I went with Miami, for two reasons: I liked their logo, the flaming basketball, and until very recently, I always wanted to someday move to Florida. All of these things came together to make me the perfect Heat fan. The team initially showed its appreciation by losing its first 17 games to begin the inaugural season. They've come a long way!



The Diesel has some nice hardware this morning. Nice job, fellas!

Naturally, In all of my excitement, we went to our rooftop deck to celebrate things right. Take a look. ...



Time to holler!



She's lit!



4...



3...



2...



1...



Liftoff! Ummm, canister shells. Now THAT'S a way to celebrate a championship!



I just like this photo. Notice the rubble on the table.



The aftermath. I have to get a tripod so I can get cool sky shots. For those of you reading this who are worried, I'm very careful when I set off any fireworks. I grew up around them, and I don't play games with them. It's just like anything else dangerous - if you are careful and respect what something dangerous can do, you should be fine. Accidents happen from stupidity and ignorance.

Anyway, I thought it was an appropriate way to celebrate a Heat victory... with heat! Imagine what an Oiler Stanley Cup Celebration would have been like?!? Oh well... next season! Looking back, I wish I would have watched more Heat games this year during the regular season and playoffs, but with the Oilers success, that took up a great deal of my time. Hey, I've got just so much time for sports, and hockey is always king. But, I recorded the Heat victory and will burn it to DVD. I love technology!

Sports fans, be warned. This is the year of the RJ team! Next up: The Dallas Cowboys and Boston Red Sox.