The Stanley Cup Playoffs

To stay with the NCAA example and playing devil's advocate:

So it should be NCAA tournaments or NCAA Championships?
There is more than one game -- 65 in fact.

 

Huh?

 

Good question for those who insist on "finals."

If it's "tournament" because only one tournament is being played, and one "championship" because only one is being contested, it's the Stanley Cup "final" because there is only one final series going on. It doesn't matter if it's best-of-three, best-of-seven, best-of-13, or whatever - the word "final" is referring to the series, not the number of games in that series.

Not sure why this is so difficult to understand.

 

No luck so far. Not a seller in sight. I'm 12th in line waiting to see if they'll release any more SROs. We'll see.

 

Good luck.

Hope you have a Blackberry so you can post during the game.

 

It's funny that we're now getting the finals vs. final debate in reverse. I used to have to bang young reporters over the head who insisted on calling the championship game of a tournament the "finals." Never had to deal with the reverse until lately.

 

Heatley piece from AP:

Heatley moves on to Stanley Cup while accident memories linger

By BETH HARRIS, AP Sports Writer
May 27, 2007

AP - May 27, 6:30 pm EDT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Dany Heatley is trying to move on nearly four years after he was behind the wheel in a horrific car accident that killed his friend and Atlanta Thrashers teammate Dan Snyder.

Seeking a fresh start, he asked to be traded and landed with Ottawa in 2005. Now, Heatley and the Senators are in the Stanley Cup finals that begin Monday against the Anaheim Ducks.

"Mentally, it was a good change for me," he said Sunday. "Ottawa has been a great place for me all around -- a great hockey team to walk into and great people to be around."

But still the memories linger.

Heatley was driving when he lost control of his black Ferrari and crashed while speeding on a residential Atlanta road on Sept. 29, 2003. The car was torn apart. Heatley broke his jaw and injured his knee. Snyder lingered in a coma for six days before dying at 25.

Heatley pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular homicide, driving too fast for conditions, failure to maintain a lane and speeding.

Snyder's parents, Graham and LuAnn, hugged Heatley at their son's funeral. Graham Snyder and his other son both testified in court that they didn't want Heatley to go to jail or lose his hockey career.

He didn't.

Following the accident, a lockout shut down the NHL for the 2004-05 season. Heatley used the time to recover and reflect.

"It was good for me," he said. "I had a lot of time to think about things. I always felt hockey-wise, I'd be ready to go after the lockout."

He played in Switzerland and Russia before joining the Canadian national team for the World Cup and world championships.

Wanting to escape the gossip and memories in Atlanta, Heatley joined the Senators for the start of the 2005-06 season.

"Being a boy from western Ontario, he was accepted by the community very fast," Ottawa general manager John Muckler said. "He was happy to have a new start and he's just taken off. I have more respect in him as a hockey player than I had before."

Heatley made a mark in his first season, setting career and team highs in goals with 50 and tying captain Daniel Alfredsson in points with 103.

This season, Heatley set a team record with 105 points. The left winger became the first NHL player with back-to-back 50-goal seasons since Florida's Pavel Bure in 2000 and 2001.

"He's a real dynamic player with the puck and a real good player without the puck," Senators coach Bryan Murray said. "I don't know that I would have said that every day last year. But he's certainly become that."

Off the ice, Heatley's life is a bit different from his teammates.

He was sentenced to three years of probation, which is ongoing. He cannot drive except for work and medical purposes or for going to the grocery store or to the 150 speeches he's required to give.

"I'm on pace," he said. "I'll probably finish them up by the end of summer."

Heatley talks to young people about the dangers of speeding.

"Maybe you can help somebody along the way or help them make the right decision along the way," he said.

While Heatley continues remaking his life, the Snyders remain attached to the past.

They visited all 30 NHL arenas this season. Not to harp on the accident, but to remind fans of their son. They started a foundation in his name that provides college scholarships.

"We talk," Heatley said. "Not a lot, but we talk regularly."

But Heatley shuts down when asked about carrying Dan Snyder's spirit with him.

"That's something that I've kept close to me since it happened and something I'm not going to talk about," he said.

Heatley and the Snyders will reunite in July for the fourth annual Dan Snyder Memorial golf tournament in Elmira, N.Y. Heatley has attended each year.

How much would he enjoy bringing the Stanley Cup with him this summer?

"I don't want to jinx it," he said. "It's always fun to go there, it's a great day."

 

Ron McLean & Grapes just interviewed Governor Arnold in the CBC pregame.

Our friend Elliotte had a great piece on the "Headliner" about the birth of the modern Sens.

Good stuff, EF.

 

Gary Bettman opines on the Preds moving, Jim Balsillie, American newspaper coverage and the state of U.S. newspapers:

Bettman: Nashville franchise `is not going anywhere'
Posted: Monday May 28, 2007 7:53 PM

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday that even if the sale of the Nashville Predators goes through, the franchise "is not going anywhere.''

Craig Leipold has signed a letter of intent to sell the Predators to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie for $220 million after losing $70 million in 10 years of ownership.

The terms of the sale, which must be approved by three-fourths of the NHL's board of governors, call for the deal to be completed by June 30.

Bettman said he met with Balsillie last week and asked whether the co-CEO of Blackberry makers Research in Motion Ltd. had intentions to relocate the franchise.

"He told me that he did not,'' Bettman said before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals between Ottawa and Anaheim.

"What's clear to me from meeting with Mr. Balsillie is he's passionate about the game, he'd like to own a franchise and certainly has the resources to do it. Beyond that, there have been no promises, there have been no predictions.''

The Predators finished third in the league standings this season with a franchise-record 110 points, but averaged 13,815 in paid attendance.

Leipold has until June 19 to exercise a "cure'' clause in Nashville's arena lease that would force the city to buy tickets and ensure attendance averages 14,000 next season. Leipold said he has not yet discussed with Balsillie whether to exercise that clause, but will speak to Balsillie.

Balsillie would have to sign a consent agreement with the NHL, including a clause that prevents a new owner from relocating the team for seven years. But an arena lease would have to be in effect to force the new owner to follow that league requirement.

Averaging 14,000 paid attendance in 2007-08 would keep the lease in effect.

"If the attendance mark is satisfied, even if it's not, or if the city cures what would then be the default, this team is not going anywhere,'' Bettman said.

"There is a lease and sports leagues aren't in the practice of letting teams violate their leases. I believe Mr. Balsillie understands that. It's conceivable that this team will be in Nashville as long as its lease.''

Leipold has said he hopes Balsillie's business skill can tap into the corporate support he never found to make a profit.

"This team suffering is due to a lack of corporate support,'' said Bettman, adding that more individuals own season tickets than corporations in Nashville, which he said is unique among NHL cities.

Meanwhile, coverage of this year's finals is being affected by cost-cutting in the U.S. newspaper industry.

Only four of the 24 U.S. NHL markets are being represented by newspapers during Games 1 and 2 in Anaheim. They are: The New York Times, (New York) Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Denver Post and Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Bettman said that doesn't represent a decline from last year to this year. "Our numbers this year are about what they were last year,'' he said.

The commissioner mentioned the challenges facing newspapers in an increasing digital age, including fans' ability to get news from the Internet and hand-held devices.

"That's probably one of the reasons the newspaper industry is having the problems it is,'' he said.

 

Ugh. Line didn't move once. Only seller wanted $500 for a pair. I'm off to the Fish House to watch the game.

 

That's it?

Some jerkoff on craigslist was offering two in blueseats for $900 during the Thrashers-Rangers series.

 

I paid $100 combined to see two World Series games, and $150 for a Rose Bowl ticket. Not paying 2x as much for this. No way.