In happier sporting news

The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup last night. It's too bad the hockey fan base has dropped so much in the U.S., and that the NHL didn't manage to do a better job of marketing this finals, because it was a great series. Had people tuned in, I think there would be a few more hockey fans today.

Despite Isaac's predictions, this was not a sweep. Rather, the series went the full seven games, essentially coming down to one goal between lifting the Cup and going home without. But Carolina scored on the empty net in the last few minutes, putting themselves two goals up and killing the very real possibility that Pisani or another Oiler would manage more late-game heroics.

The saddest part was seeing the dejected Oilers. I have the long-standing hatred for the Oilers of an Islanders fan who saw the Oilers dash her team's "Drive for Five" Stanley Cups in 1984. I hate that my first sports memory is a disappointing one. A harbringer of things to come. But I still felt for these Oilers. They made this a very close seven-game series, despite losing their starting goalie in game one, and they managed to come back from a three game to one defecit. The Oilers were a true Cinderella team: the first eighth-seed to make the Finals, and they almost won it all.

The best part? Seeing Rod Brind'amour (possibly the only non-bearded Hurricane) lift the Stanley Cup. A well-deserved cap to a solid hockey career.