Stanley Cup Love

Usually the only cups I'm talking about are the ones hiding the sweater kittens, BUT even if you never watched a second of hockey in your life, you were completely blown away by the Pittsburgh Penguins/Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Finals. Growing up in nyc I never really had the resources nor did I know one person who played hockey. In my household (aka condo umm hold) my dad, like anyone else's, controlled the TV with an iron fist. When we weren't watching War Documentaries, we were literally watching EVERY SINGLE Knicks game. It was a religion. It got so bad that my mom knew Charles Oakley's rebound's per game...against the Supersonics. Years went by and an ex gf took me to a hockey game. I was completely blown away. Fast pace, non stop action that obviously did not convey well onto the boob (giggle) tube.

Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals was like an action packed movie. The Penguins came out the box strong scoring 2 goals via "Mad Max" Talbot, but as the game went on it almost seemed like the Red Wings were in full control . With their best player and arguably the NHL's poster child, Sidney Crosby out of the game from an early injury, you just felt that the 2 goal lead wasn't enough for the Penguins. Enter Marc-Andre Fleury. Blast after blast Fleury had what one columnist wrote as "Velcro Gloves" stabbing anything that was shot his way. Aside from one shot that hit the top of the goal behind Fleury, he was damn near perfect. The last 30 seconds of the game had everyone's cheeks clenched as the score was 2-1, but with a last minute snag by who else, Fleury, the Penguins beat the Red Wings on their turf just as the Wings did the year before to them. The biggest story of the Penguins this year was the fact that they were stuck in 10th place in the Eastern Conference in mid-February, they fired coach Michel Therrien although he had taken him to the finals last year and replaced him with minor-league coach Dan Bylsma. Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux explains,

"Once we got in playoffs, at the end we had won 18 of 21, we were playing pretty good and I thought we had a chance," said Lemieux, the first ex-player to win a Stanley Cup as a primary owner.

So if you didn't see the game I can guarantee you that it will be a staple on ESPN Classics AND you won't be disappointed the least bit. In conclusion if you didn't read a word I wrote we at BBTN would like to bring the Stanley Cup Finals to you the best way we know how. Hot chicks posing with the Stanley Cup. Boom.

That's What She Said,

Mike Love