So There's This Hockey Game Tonight

I know long gaps in posting are unusual for me, and this nearly two-week gap right here has been one of the longest, but, you see, I've been busy lately. Those of you who know what I do for a living know that it's been a particularly busy time of year, I also was in Colorado last weekend for a wedding and to top all that off, I'm also planning a somewhat massive excursion out to Europe that I'll be leaving for in a little less than a month. All of this has led to a lot of exhaustion and little time to write, which I'm sure has plagued the four regular readers I've got.

Somehow, I think you've managed to survive though. And that's a relief.

That all aside, all y'all probably know that I rather like hockey. And, you see, right now there's some big stuff happening in hockey. Yeah, that whole "Stanley Cup Final" thing has been going on. And while you weren't paying attention, the Canucks and Bruins have put together a pretty fun little championship series, with wild overtime goals, growing tension, physical jousting, verbal forays and a goalie leveling a forward on a breakaway.

Seriously, what more could you want in a postseason series?



And so the reason I bring this all up for you excited individuals out there is that tonight happens to be a potentially decisive Game 6, in which the Canucks might well lift the Stanley Cup for the first time in their 40-year franchise history. And if they lose, all we get is a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final, which just might be the most exciting thing that happens in North American sports. Combine all this with the fact that that other Final series came to an end Sunday night, and there's just about nothing distracting all of you from the spectacle of seeing, possibly, the greatest trophy in sports awarded Monday in Boston.

So yeah, I'm pretty jazzed about all this.

Ratings and attention that has been lavished on this series to this point has been pretty good so far, but the exciting thing for us hockey fans is that with the NBA Finals over before the Stanley Cup Final, just about all the attention in the sports world will be on the hockey game in Boston tonight. This is a rare instance to be sure. In fact, it's the first time the NBA's champion has been decided before the NHL's since 2002 when the Lakers polished off a four-game sweep of the silver-clad Nets on June 12, and the Red Wings completed a five-game win over Carolina one night later in Motown.

Of course, that doesn't mean I think you're all going to have your TVs tuned to NBC (or CBC if you're north of the border) come 8 p.m. tonight, but I certainly hope you will. The NBA Finals were a tremendous series, this is true. And I followed it like any other sports fan would (and even pegged tonight's winner by some pure luck). This may be because I have some hopes that Mark Cuban -- possibly my favorite owner in professional sports -- might one day work the same turnaround with my Amazins, but I've kept up on the news with this one. Even the completely fake news.

But this time of year, hockey is my love. And not only do I expect Monday night's game to a taut, intense affair like most of this series has been (the Bruins outscoring Vancouver 12-1 in Games 3 and 4 notwithstanding), but I can promise you that with the Canucks moments away from a championship in the third period tonight, the Bruins will not be quitting like the Miami Heat did in the final moments of the fourth quarter Sunday.

So basically, what I'm saying is, now that the world has had a chance to rejoice over Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks conquering what was the pure evil of Miami and their big three, we can all sit back and focus on another amazing sporting event with two top notch teams and a great prize at stake. I often say that my favorite times of the year are fall weekends. October in particular. The answer as to why is obvious. College football on Saturdays, professional football on Sundays, and the postseason and ultimately World Series in baseball. But early to mid-June, when the NBA and NHL crown their champions, sometimes on back-to-back nights, sometimes gets lost in the shuffle.

This, too, is one of those great times of the year when I'm glued to the television almost every night. And I can't wait to be glued to it tonight. There is the chance that this could be the last time I see hockey for three more months, but if that happens, at least I do get to see the spectacle of the Stanley Cup, the greatest championship trophy in all of sports bar none, being awarded.

As I've noted before, there ain't much in sports that's better than that.

Mavericks 112, Heat 103

Both offenses exploded last night, each surpassing the century mark for the first time in the series. Miami's 52.9% shooting was impressive, but Dallas' 56.5% was just a bit more so. The Heat spent most of the game without Wade, then essentially spent the 4th quarter without LeBron.

If Dallas didn't win this one, I felt like the series would be over. Down 3-2 going back to Miami would have been too tough to overcome. And while the Mavs still have to win one more game, they needed this game last night.

Dirk Nowitski had another stellar performance with 29 points. But the hype around him is a little surprising. I won't go so far as to say he's overrated. I think maybe he was underrated before this run by the Mavs. Now people feel the need to exaggerate. Still, he is carrying Dallas on those German shoulders.

It was a team effort for the Mavs, though. Jason Terry scored 21 off the bench, Jose Juan Barea added 17, Kidd had 13, and Chandler had 13. The Mavericks hit 68.4$ of their three pointers.

LeBron James had a triple-double with 17 points, 10 boards, and 10 assists. But he only scored 2 points in the 4th. That night kind of sums up what his critics think of his career.

Game 6 Sunday night.

-The Commodore

I Want to Watch the NBA Finals, But...

I don't like LeBron James. I hate him. I have no opinion of the Mavs, but they might be my 3rd favorite team in all of sports at the moment. I never liked James, his "Decision" made me like him less, and now LeBron ball-washers like Michael Wilbon portray him as a victim so I hate him even more. If you don't want media scrutiny, don't produce your own TV shows.

So I've been trying to watch the NBA Finals, rooting against the Heat. And they've been great games. But the endless commercials make it impossible for me to watch more than a minute at a time. And why do these teams need 6 timeouts each? It's so boring. Regular timeouts, TV timeouts, then ABC turns a 20 second timeout into a 30 second timeout with a commercial, then the players need 10 more seconds to get set for the play.

The most exciting 2 minutes of the game take 12 minutes to unfold. That doesn't build excitement, it's just annoying.

I can occasionally like watching basketball, especially the final minutes of a close playoff game. I don't like commercials, I don't like watching basketball players stand around and do nothing. It's just aggravating. And you know what else is boring? Free throws. I can't think of much outside of baseball that's more uninteresting than a free throw.

Get rid of the timeouts, get rid of the 15 seconds it takes to line up a free throw, and reduce the commercials. Also play the game on ice and allow contact.

-The Commodore

Brendan Haywood Done In Finals?

Haywood was able to play in Game 4, but was only able to play 3 minutes. It sounds like his hip isn't getting any better, and doctors say his injury usually takes 4-6 weeks to heal. Obviously, Haywood will keep trying, but it is sounds more and more likely that Haywood has played his last minutes in the Finals. It's not the end of the World for the Mavs, but it does hurt their rebounding which is something I thought they could have an advantage in going into the series. Ian Mahinmi will likely take his place.

I Can't Ignore it, The Heat Are 3 Games From Me Seriously Considering Committing Suicide

I went to bed at halftime, something woke me up when there was 1 minute left in the game. I believe that was God's way of playing a practical joke on me. "This will be funny, Dave is asleep and having a dream about him and Kate Upton, let me wake him up from that to see the Heat win" Thanks God, that was a punch to the dick.

the Heat are 3 games away from taking the title. the Scary thing is that they held Dallas to 84 points. Yes, Dallas shot horribly and missed A LOT of open looks, but this isn't a great way to start off the series. If you look at the positives for Dallas you can say they held Miami to 92 points, They missed a ton of open looks, and it could have been rust from the layoff. I'll bank on that, but more and more it looks like LeDouche is going to be winning his 1st title..... Shucks.