Congrats to the Boston Bruins for winning the Stanley Cup in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals after a shut-out of Vancouver, proving that sportsmanship trumps goonery every time! (And shame on Vancouver fans for booing during the presenting of the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy.  You all are such poor losers.  As ever, real classy Vancouver.  Your behavior has convinced me to never visit your city.)

A special congrats to Tim Thomas too for winning the Conn Smythe Trophy for his stellar performance during the playoffs.  Outstanding!

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By the way, the unequivocal answer is

YES!!!!

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Alex Burrows’ Number Called by Refs

Man Up Burrows!

Stay Classy Vancouver!

Alex Burrows Pulls Duncan Keith’s Hair Like a Little Girl!!!

In last night’s Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals, once again Canucks Alex Burrows provoked Bruins Milan Lucic.  Burrows feigned tripping over Lucic’s stick during a neutral zone face-off and Lucic about burst a blood vessel trying to point out Burrows’ embellishment to the zebras.  Yet inexplicably, Lucic was called for “tripping” instead of just Burrows being called for unsportsmanlike conduct (i.e. “diving”). 

But, if Burrows was caught diving, then why was Lucic guilty of tripping when his stick was simply on the ice and Burrows feigned tripping over it?  If you review the video, you can clearly see that while Lucic’s stick is on the ice, Burrows animatedly trips himself over Lucic’s stick.  As noted by NBC commentators Doc Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, both Lucic and Burrows had been warned not to try any funny stuff; that the refs had a no-tolerance policy particularly for Burrows’ shenanigans and that Burrows would not be given the benefit of the doubt.  Yet Burrows was guilty of diving a couple of times last night, possibly several times last night.  Still, Lucic was called for “tripping”?  But he didn’t do anything!  Does Lucic have a history of embellishments like Burrows does?  No, so why not give Lucic the benefit of the doubt???

Although, in all fairness, Lucic did give Burrows the finger, actually several, in Game 3.  Because Burrows had bitten Bruins Patrice Bergeron in Game 1 and it went ignored by the NHL, Lucic thought he’d offer up his fingers to Burrows in Game 3 as if to say “Wanna munch on my fingers too Burrows?” See video below:

Still, if you put Alex Burrows’ name in a search engine, you’ll find a history of embellishments, unsportsmanlike conduct, trash-talking and a whole host of other unbecoming behavior (like when Burrows pulled Duncan Keith’s hair in 2009).  Can you say the same about Lucic?

While I love Canada, Canadians, and of course hockey (and Strange Brew, which is the funniest movie ever), I have to send this one out to Vancouver.  This is what you get for having that fossil you call a singer butcher the American national anthem every year. So disrespectful!

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Stay Classy Vancouver!

This seems like the kind of mistake a rookie goalie might make, and yet in tonight’s game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Bruins and Canucks, the game was lost when Bruins’ veteran goaltender, 37-year old Tim Thomas, was drawn to one side of the net, and then out well beyond the crease, and was scored on to end the game mere seconds into sudden-death overtime.  Ouch, you know that one had to hurt.  Not to add salt to the wound by playing Monday-morning quarterback, but I am scratching my head at how in the world a vet like Thomas could have made such a rookie mistake…???….

I can’t believe the NHL didn’t suspend Canucks’ Alex Burrows for biting, that’s BITING, Bruins’ Patrice Bergeron in game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals!  Alex Burrows has a reputation for goon hockey.  Need I remind Blackhawks fans about Alex Burrows’ hair-pulling incident during a scrap with Duncan Keith in 2009?  It’s bad enough being that goony, but Burrows has a history of slap-happy girl fights and so it is baffling why the NHL would look the other way when Burrows again not only did something dirty, but then lied about it.  It just lowers the bar for the sport and depicts hockey as a sport engaged in and watched by uneducated dullards.

We hear all the time about how hockey players are supposed to be the gentlemen of the sports world.  Well, with goons like Burrows and the NHL looking the other way, not so much.  I’m all for old school, smash-mouth hockey, but keep the gloves up; no hitting below the belt.  And yes, biting someone (or pulling their hair) is the equivalent of hitting below the belt.

Geez Burrows, when are you going to man up already??? Even when I was a little girl I didn’t fight as girly as you do!

In tonight’s game 5, it looked like Dustin Byfuglien agreed when during a check of Flyers’ d-man Kimmo Timonen at about the 10 or 11 minute mark of the 3rd period, he took out Dan O’Halloran as well.  Two goons with one hit.  It was a thing of beauty!  O’Halloran seemed to know that hit was meant for him too by the look on his face.  Karma can be tricky Danny boy.  The hockey gods don’t seem to like your intentional missed calls on the Flyers.

Finally, just to add insult to injury, Hawks’ Dustin Byfuglien scored the last goal of the 7-4 victory over the Flyers with an empty-netter in the last minute-and-a-half of the game with Dan O’Halloran having to rule it a good goal.  So sweet.  Go Hawks!  Get that cup!

P.S. Hats off to Q for taking Big Buff and Kaner off the first line and moving Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky up with Toews.  It totally threw off the Flyers.  They couldn’t put the bullseye on any one player and with Buff checking up and down like a mad man, it was discombobulating to the Flyers.  Hopefully Niklas Hjalmarsson can figure his game out by game 6 though, because we need him blocking shots.  Don’t know what’s up with him, but he has that deer-in-headlights look about him.