NHL STANLEY CUP -- GAME 7 BAYBEEEEE!

The NHL gets little notice from my blog.
But, the truth is, I enjoy the NHL more than I lead on.

In fact, I used to follow the NHL on a nightly basis and watch every televised game I had access to...up until a few years back.

The lockout of the NHL's 2004-2005 season turned me off to the sport in a bad way.
But, something of the old flame is stirring deep within me and I know what it is.....Game 7, Stanley Cup Fever!

I make no secret of my love for Football and Basketball and to a somewhat lesser extent Major League Baseball.
The World Series, The NBA Finals, The Super Bowl.
I love watching these.
But, nothing, and I mean nothing, in sports gets my juices flowing like a game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals!

Boston vs Vancouver, tonight at 8PM ET on NBC, live from TD Garden in Boston.

If you have any affection for the majesty of athletics...strength, speed, physicality, and competition...you should take some time to watch.
You will learn what all hockey fans already know:

NOTHING compares to a game 7 in the NHL playoffs...especially in the final round.

All the beautiful people love hockey!

And the BC Mafia Godfather says, "Turn my headphones up, Foo!"

Lebron Lebron Lebron

The King without a Kingdom, Lebron James.

The people of Ohio hate him.
The people of Florida are disappointed in him.
And everywhere else, he's despised.

Not for a moment will I pretend he doesn't deserve any of the above.

I am not a Lebron hater.
I am a realist.

The "Championship Celebration" last summer announcing that Chris Bosh and Lebron were joining Dwayne Wade had little to do with anyone but James.
Would there have been anything more than the standard press conference with the Heat logo back-drop to announce Bosh's arrival or Wade staying put if Lebron had kept his talents in Cleveland? No.

It was all about Lebron.
It was then. It is now.

Problem is, he's yet to prove he's anything more than an athletic freak of nature.

Jordan, Kobe, Duncan...none of them ever had the supporting cast Lebron found beside him during these Finals.
Yet, right now, they each own multiple Finals rings.

When the lights shone brighter, their game shone bigger.

And I know, I know.
Some will say that Jordan, Kobe, and Duncan had their sidekicks like Robins to their Batman.
Had their Tonto's to their Lone Ranger...
Jordan had Pippen.
Kobe had Shaq or Gasol.
Duncan had Robinson and/or Manu.

I think the world of Robinson, Manu, Pippen, Gasol, and Shaq.
But, none of them are D-Wade. None of them even come close.

And when it all came down to it.
When it was Go-time.
When Lebron needed to put his balls to the wall.
When the King was supposed to put up or shut up.
When James was to belly up to the bar.
He became just another role player.
Lebron did not even play a "Robin" to Wade's "Batman"....even though the script had been written in reverse last summer.

And when some of the emotion had settled and the American Airlines Arena was silent, Lebron faced reporters and seemed content.
Content in knowing he was still a millionare.
Content in knowing most of the people in Ohio would never be as rich, famous, or gifted as he is.

When instead he should have been embarassed.
Embarrassed at scoring only 18 total points in the 6 fourth quarters of these NBA Finals.
Yes. That's an average of 3 points in the final period of each game.
You don't need your calculator to calculate that 18 points in 6 fourth quarters equals "SUCKS"...or maybe even "Sucks Squared".

Choker. Not a Gamer. Overrated.
Pick your adjective...they all apply right now.

And for those of you that defend him, what do you base your argument on?

James was supposed to be the Heat's Dirk Nowitzki.
And when Dwayne Wade realized Lebron had left his big-boy pants at some Ohio dry cleaners, Wade took over.
At that point, most of us watching thought, Lebron would then become the Heat's Jason Terry to compliment Wade.
WRONG.

In the end, he shrunk into hardly more than a bit player.

And what was his message after the game?
He seemed more interested in the fact that people in Ohio were going to have to face reality once the intoxication of Lebron's failure had worn out.

The problem with that is that Lebron's reality is far more heart-breaking, far more shameful, and far more unpleasant than anything Cav fans will have to face some day.

The King is not dead...he may have never lived in anything except the unrealistic expectations of overzealous fans in Cleveland and Miami.

Wade holds Lebron down while trainer checks if James truly left his cojones in Cleveland

BC for life Foo!

The Dallas Mavericks - NBA Champions?

Yes.
The Dallas Mavericks are NBA Champions.

With this NBA Finals win, so many demons were vanquished, shadows were cast aside, and backs relieved of their monkeys...feel free to add any other cliche in this space.

The fact is, this championship for the Mavs is exactly what a championship should mean to an organization.
The last few years had seen the Larry O'Brien trophy in the familiar confines of Los Angeles and Boston.
Today, it resides in halls of blue and silver to be gawked at by generations of Maverick fans...some who had given up the dream of ever seeing this day come and some who believed throughout.

Despite the title to my blog this morning, we can no longer question these Dallas Mavericks.

No longer is there the threat that a mettlesome owner whose mouth is bigger than his wallet (and he's got a huge wallet) would never stay out of the way long enough to let this team win it all.

No longer will the NBA masses believe Dirk Nowitzki is soft.

No longer can we question Jason Kidds ability to lead a team to the promised land.

No longer should Jason Terry be considered a player with more style than substance.

No longer are the Dallas Mavericks only the best regular season team in the NBA.

Mark Cuban was silent and classy throughout these playoffs.
Allowing his product to speak for itself, his team spoke volumes about how well Cuban and his staff put together all the right pieces.

Dirk Nowitzki had carried the "soft" label for too long.
He was never soft.
Like another 7-footer, David Robinson, Dirk was mislabeled a softee more for his lack of supporting cast than for his lack of heart and talent.
But now, like Robinson, Dirk is a champion...and the world should finally see appreciate him for what he is: One hell of a solid basketball player. The likes of which we may not see again. 7-footers just shouldn't shoot as good as Dirk does.

Jason Kidd had been to this mountain top before.
And he had been pushed off.
His appearance in past NBA Finals had been sour notes in his career.
This time, a much older and slower Kidd was again on that mountain top.
And no one  would push him off.
Age may have slowed his step, but it has brought him wisdom and improved his leadership skills.
Providing a unshakable presence in the locker room and on the court, Kidd was this team's rock.

Maligned for his mouth (2nd in size only to Cuban's), Jason Terry had often played less of a game than he talked.
His impression on games got smaller and smaller as the stakes got bigger.
That was then, this is now.
For solid stretches in the Finals, never more than the first half of game 6, Jason Terry put these Mavericks on his back and carried them through Nowitzki's shooting slumps.
There's no arguing this fact: Jason Terry did for Nowitzki what Lebron could not do for Dwayne Wade.
And you can't front on that.

No question about it.
These Mavericks are NBA Champions.

And this morning, people in Dallas, TX are pinching themselves silly in the hopes that this is not a dream.
Some of these fans had given up hope they'd see this day seasons ago.
Some of these fans had quit believing as recently as a few months ago.
Some may have given up after game 3.

No matter. Dallas Mavericks fans, all of them, should celebrate!
Even if some of you don't deserve to relish in this glory, your team deserves to here you roar.

Mark Cuban really let loose at the post-game celebration!

The Billycock is in full effect, Foo!