It's about 10:45 p.m. EST and I'm watching the Boston Bruins accept the Stanley Cup trophy after beating the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 in Game 7 in Vancouver. I've already admitted that I'm not a huge hockey fan, nor do I claim to be knowledgeable on the subject. However there are a few things I do know about the sport: Bruins' captain Zdeno Chara was the first team member to hold Lord Stanley's Cup and he looked like Gheorghe Muresan on skates. The dude is 6'9" and makes 75 percent of the league look like Danny DeVito. I also know that it took Boston seven games to win a series in which they outscored their opponent 23-8. That's not to take anything away from what they accomplished, I just find it to be an astounding number. And the Finals didn't lack controversy as Vancouver's Alex Burrows clearly bit the finger of Bruins' Forward Patrice Bergeron in Game 1, yet somehow evaded suspension. Then Canucks' Defenseman Aaron Rome leveled Nathan Horton five minutes into Game 3 when Horton's head was turned, resulting in Horton leaving the game via stretcher and Rome leaving the series via suspension. Fortunately for me, the biting incident led to what was easily my favorite moment of the Finals (pictured above): In the midst of an 8-1 beatdown of Vancouver in Game 3, Boston's Milan Lucic took the glove off his right hand and stuck his fingers in the face of Burrows in an epic taunt. Throw in some smack talk from Canucks' goalie Roberto Luongo to his counterpart Tim Thomas (the eventual series MVP) and you have yourself more than enough reasons to be happy that the Stanley Cup will stay in the U.S.A.
The NHL isn't the only league to crown a champion this week and the Bruins aren't the only team to finish a series on the road. The Dallas Mavericks captured the NBA Championship on Sunday night in Miami after winning Game 6 by a 105-95 final. Naturally though, everyone has been focused on the wrong things. Instead of giving Dallas the credit they deserve, sports analysts have talked endlessly about Lebron pulling a Houdini in seemingly every fourth quarter of the series. To make matters worse, James made a comment in the post-game press conference that has been blown way out of proportion in my opinion. When asked if he was bothered by the number of people rooting against him, he basically said that he wasn't because those people will wake up the next day and still have their own "personal problems." I don't even like Lebron but do we really know what his intentions were with that comment? No. Too many times the media hear's what they want to hear. That being said, Lebron does need to have a better filter. When I first heard it, I didn't really think twice about it. But he can't continue to give his haters ammunition. For starters, he should probably try not to average 9 points per game less in the Finals than he did in the regular season (the largest margin by any player ever). Yes, I just contradicted myself by discussing Lebron's faults rather than the Mavs' accomplishments. So here's where we praise Dallas: Way to go, guys.
And last, but certainly not least, what the hell is up with the state of Ohio? First Lebron, now Jim Tressel and Terrelle Pryor. The ongoing investigation of Ohio State football players selling memorabilia has resulted in the resignation of Tressel, one of the few coaches in the country whose job seemed secure as long as he wanted it, and potential Heisman candidate Pryor foregoing his final year of eligibility because, well, he probably wasn't going to be allowed to play at all anyway. Pryor and several of his teammates had already admitted to exchanging gear for tattoos, but now the ugly details are coming out. Turns out Pryor may have made upwards of $40,000 selling signed equipment throughout his time as a Buckeye. And here comes the more surprising part: I'm going to defend my buddy Terrelle.
There is an outcry from sports fans everywhere that Pryor's decision to turn pro reinforces the idea that he's selfish. Really? I couldn't disagree more. What do you want him to do, stay at school, be a distraction to his team and stand on the sideline as nothing more than a cheerleader? Had he done that, I'm certain that I'd hear nothing but claims that he's a hypocrite. Most fans and the media paint a mental picture of the athletes they follow and there's nothing those individuals can do to change that picture. See: Lebron James and Michael Vick. If you were a Vick fan before the dog-fighting incident, I guarantee you're still a Vick fan. On the other hand, if you hated Vick for what he did to innocent animals, you don't care about all of his public service since his release from prison, he's still a bad guy in your mind. Pryor is making the right decision. The sooner he can start a new phase in his life, the better. The sooner he can distance himself from the immature decisions he made as a 19 year-old kid, the better. As far as those decisions go, raise your hand if you can honestly say that you wouldn't have done what he did. Ha, if someone wanted to pay me for a game-worn jersey in college, I would have absolutely done it and never thought twice about it. And you can be damn sure I would have continued to do it until someone told me otherwise. There is no doubt in my mind that the people at fault in this situation are the coaches, the compliance department and those pathetic boosters who have nothing better to do than pay amateur athletes, especially when more and more former players are coming out saying that the same things went on when they played as far back as the 1980's. Don't try to tell me that university officials don't know about something that's been going on for 30 years. See you Tuesday.
"When you get that nice celebration coming into the dugout and you're getting your ass hammered by guys--there's no better feeling than to have that done." -Matt Stairs....Umm...
-Brusk Dollas
"When you get that nice celebration coming into the dugout and you're getting your ass hammered by guys--there's no better feeling than to have that done." -Matt Stairs....Umm...
-Brusk Dollas
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