X, do you realize that you have Anaheim winning the cup... but Emery winning the Conn Smythe?

Shit. I flip-flopped on who would win the cup, and kept changing a lot of my answers. Must have missed the Conn Smythe.

My apologies.

Oh god damn

It's the same shit every year

I'm done with hockey.

Told ya so.

To tell the truth, I was originally leaning towards picking Anaheim. Pronger and Neidermayer, match made in hell. It's just that when I looked at my final ballot, it was pretty much the exact same as yours. So I went with some risks like picking Ottawa and putting Spezza down a lot instead of Alfredsson, Heatley to have a chance in the game. Plus I really wanted an excuse to go against Anaheim.

It's not looking very pretty now though.

Thing is, I picked Anaheim to win but picked mostly Ottawa players for all the questions. Trying to balance it out. The series isn't over yet, but Ottawa's played so lackluster so far that it probably will be soon. They just don't have the experience, while Anaheim's been to the final four three out of the last four seasons and have a guy who went all the way last year. Damn Pronger.

No one else has brought it up, but do you notice how it's basically Edmonton public enemy #1 vs. Edmonton public enemy #2? Pronger vs. Comrie. Who would you rather have win the cup?

Easily Comrie. I don't mind him at all. So he was sleeping with Salo's wife and was forced out of town. Big deal.

I can't say anything positive about Pronger... It hurts more considering he was the Oilers meal ticket, look at the difference he makes going from one team to another. Guy easily is one of the(if not the) league's most valuable players, as much as it pains me to say it.

Though really, I'm more upset about probability of a) Canada losing ... AGAIN, and b) A southerin team where people in the area don't care, winning... AGAIN.

My dad has this conspiracy theory that the league is actively assisting the southern U.S. teams in winning the cup in order to try and increase hockey's popularity down there. I think it stems from when Calgary had their Cup-winning goal disallowed in 04. He goes on and on about how the refs are "in" on it and always call more penalties against the Canadian teams that the southern teams are facing, and how Bettman is behind it all. Rather paranoid, actually. Though he doesn't explain how the league let three Canadian teams in a row make it to the final, or how they forced Roloson's injury last year (which is what lost us the cup). I do agree, though, that the NHL is foolishly trying too hard to expand into the U.S. when they clearly aren't fans of hockey. Just yesterday I was reading a story on TSN about so-called hockey fans in Anaheim, it was pathetic really how ignorant they are. Really pisses me off sometimes.

I still remember footage of Carolina's Stanley Cup "parade" last year. Was the most hilariously saddening thing I've ever seen. A mascot dancing in about 40-50 people on the street. No energy. No enthusiasm.

Then they showed the tenfold reaction to the Oilers returning home...

I missed most of the game tonight, but I'm ecstatic that the Sens won. Glad to see it won't be a wipeout.

Pronger got suspended!

I can only hope Ottawa doesn't screw it up and LOSE the next game...

Don't worry; they're not Detroit.

I almost guarantee that Anaheim wins Game 5

So with Ottawa down 2-0, it looks like that'll be all she blows for the 06-07 season. And yet I find myself... not caring. Probably because I got way more invested in NBA this year and am starting to in MLB, partly because I've never been a huge Ottawa fan, but mostly because they really need to do something about the hockey season ending in the middle of summer. I can't imagine why southern American teams don't care about the NHL playoffs! You mean they don't balance off some 100 degrees fahrenheit sun-tanning and swimming with a nice game of ice hockey? No way!

They should start in early September and end in April, if that's in any way possible. Maybe shorten the season. Wouldn't it help so much if the NHL playoffs were between the Superbowl ending and the NBA playoffs starting? Sports fanatics would have nothing else to watch. It'd have it's own timeframe in this order: Superbowl - March Madness - NHL playoffs - NBA playoffs - Summer break - MLB playoffs. It's getting squished by the other sports right now.

I've stopped caring just because I hate Anaheim so much. Worst Cup winner EVAR in my opinion.

Maybe an earlier playoffs would be a solution. June is too late to be watching hockey. I only stayed with it so long last year because of the Oilers.

Of course, come September, I won't be able to wait for the season to start.

It's over.

So that's three straight seasons of a southern U.S. team beating a Canadian team in the finals. That's just too much to be coincidence... right?

I hate Pronger.

Looks like it'll be the Coyotes, Kings, Thrashers, Panthers, or Predators year next year. Or the Bruins.

Or the Sharks. They're probably the most likely. I guess they'll beat... Montreal? in the finals.

They're not south enough though. I do think though that it'll be in a place where no one gives a shit about hockey.

They're in California. I'd say that's south enough.

Any place that doesn't get snow doesn't deserve a hockey team.

Anaheim repeating wouldn't surprise me. Giguere, Pronger, Neidermayer, Selanne(when Teemu is 4th on the power list, you know you're dominant), then guys like MacDonald, Getzlaf, Pahlsson, Penner, Rob Neidermayer, yada yada. I hate to say it but the Ducks are the most powerful champion to come along in quite a while, they're STACKED. Really the only time they were challenged in the playoffs was when Detroit won that 5-0 game, otherwise they were unstoppable all the way through. They're also the first winner in a while that a lot of people saw coming before the season started, they were the consenseus pick since Pronger joined I'd say.

A repeat champion/big ugly villain team is due anyways, hasn't happened in this decade. I'll take the new Hamilton franchise losing in 6 to the Ducks.

Btw. NBC's Saturday night broadcasting of Game 3? The lowest ratings they've ever had. Not just in sports. ... All broadcasts period. A 1.1/2 in tv rating terms, meaning somewhere around the 1 mil - 1.5 mil mark. Holllyyyy cow.