. . . or what else would we have to talk about in Chicago sports these days?
Quick: when was the last time a Stanley Cup Finals featured two Original Six teams?
We’re a couple of major steps from having that happen, but wouldn’t it be neat if it did this season? To wit:
- The Bruins would have to beat Philadelphia tonight to insure an Original Six team would represent the Eastern Conference. If the Flyers win, then the Canadiens would have to beat them in the conference finals.
- The Blackhawks would have to beat San Jose.
As for the latter, the Hawks are a better team than the Sharks. But who’s to say which Hawks team will show up on any given afternoon/night—the one that manhandled the Canucks all three games in Vancouver or played totally uninspired hockey in both home losses during the series?
Still, I’m feeling good about the whole thing. Rick’s pick: Blackhawks in seven.
I’m not going to use the word “choke” because, at the highest level of professional athletics, I’m not convinced it ever happens, but the Bruins’ dropping four in a row to lose their round with the Flyers is a collapse of mammoth proportions, far exceeding the ’69 or ’03 Cubs or ’64 Phillies.
It’s a dirty rotten shame that the network playoff practices currently in place are keeping Pat Foley out of the broadcast booth from here on out.
In baseball, we’re one month into the season, and I’ve already seen three things I’ve never witnessed in 41 years of watching the game:
- Mark Buehrle’s between-the-legs desperation toss to Paul Konerko to nail the Indians’ Lou Marson at first on Opening Day.
- Marlon Byrd’s no-look behind-the-back catch.
- Starlin Castro driving in an MLB record six runs in his very first game. (Know how hard it is to break an MLB record anymore? The game’s been around forever, and most benchmarks are out of reach.)
I’m getting the impression that Jim Hendry is much better at solving problems than avoiding them. Unloading Todd Hundley and getting Mark Grudzielanek and Eric Karros in 2002, for example. And sending Milton Bradley to Seattle for Carlos Silva this past winter. But who backed the Cubs into the financial corner they find themselves in right now with those untradeable contracts (Soriano, Fukudome, Zambrano)?
Of the top five highest payrolls in MLB (Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Phillies, Mets), which team is the one most obviously underperforming? And the Cubs are likely stuck for the next couple years, because they can’t take on any significant salary.
So, which of the Chicago baseball teams will be the first to reach .500? Will either? At that point in the season, will we even care?
(The last Cup Finals to feature two Original Six teams was 32 years ago: 1978-1979, when the Canadiens defeated the Rangers in 5 games.)
