At Least BC Hockey Did SOMETHING this Year

A game on the level of a Stanley Cup deciding game would figure to be represented well by the home team. Not so much for the unlucky Red Wings. Granted the city of Detroit doesn't need a college kid ripping on them in his blog to feel bad about themselves but the raucous Penguin presence in the arena is disconcerting. Sure with the young guns they picked up a healthy serving of band wagon fans but the cheers for Maxime Talbot's first goal was nearly as loud as a goal for the Wings. A friend of mine who had his back turned actually thought that it was the Wings who scored.

On the other end of the ice for the Pens, Marc Andre Fleury, much to the chagrin of some who I watched game 7 of the Stanley Cup with, came up huge. Fifty-four minutes of protecting the goal with a reckless abandon showed up all the haters with his brilliant play. One snafu on a slap shot from the blue line that really should have been saved -- honestly though, everyone but the Penguins diehards was rooting for something to go in, a two goal win makes nobody happy -- allowed Fleury to be the hero with a diving save on a wide open weak-side rebound by Niklas Lidstrom.

Now the Penguins (helped by three BC guys; Rob Scuderi, Brooks Orpik, and old Bill Guerin winning his first cup in 14 years) can celebrate by chugging some Molsons out of Lord Stanley's most epic cup.

NOTE: I know Molson's Canadian but with the end of the Stanley Cup, hockey is is in hibernation for a while and with it goes all of Canada. This is why I must make a Canadian beer joke now.

As goes Canada and the Cup, so goes the playoff beard. Paul Mara had the quickest growing beard in the playoffs but the Rangers failure to advance past the first round. Sidney Crosby proved he is not really a hockey player with his failure to grow any discernible facial hair and furthered his emasculation by having an injury force him to the bench for much of the later part of game 7. So as razors are broken out across the northern parts of North America it is time to award the best playoff beard to....

RASHARD LEWIS

Lewis has surprisingly taken the the playoff beard win despite playing a sport not known for its conspicuous facial hair. Pau Gasol attempted a run at the title with his grimy "beard" but ultimately fell to Lewis' beard of the Pharaohs. The only other NBA competitor who had any legitimate shot at catching Lewis was Chris "Birdman" Anderson but once the Birdman and his upside down mustache bowed out to the Lakers in the conference finals the competition was clinched. The scary part is, that picture was taken 11 games ago (in NBA playoff time that translates to 6 years, 75 days and 14 hours) and has only gotten longer. Much, much longer.