(no subject)

[ksmith]

So, the Hawks will be playing the Redwings in the Western Conference Final. Series starts Sunday. I will likely miss a few games while at Wiscon, which may be a heartbreak or a blessing, depending.

Less than 2 years ago, the Blackhawks franchise was on life support. Then the son of the (deceased) owner hired and fired and shook things up, and now the Hawks are in the Final Four. It would be too much for them to go from One of the Worst to First. Anything from here on out is gravy.

And the Bruins lost. Wow. So it will be the Carolina Hurricanes vs the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference final The Pens beat the Washington Capitals, whose fans did something seriously classy. As the game was winding down and it became obvious that their guys were going home, the fans got on their feet and started making noise, cheering and yelling "Caps! Caps!". They cheered their team all the way through the final handshake line. Contrast this with the Boston fans, who sat in stunned silence, then filed out of the stadium.

Comments

[stevenagy.livejournal.com]

Looking forward to a good series. Good luck. :-)

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

[difrancis.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid I'm rooting for the Wings. But I have been surprised at well the Hawks are doing. I haven't paid much attention to the larger hockey world for awhile, and didn't realize their history at all. So yay that they are on the upswing!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

It's a pretty major story in hockey, as well as locally. They were like a minor league team for a while. I think there was even talk of selling/disbanding the team.

Now Rocky Wirtz, the new owner, gets as many autograph requests as some of the players.

[vidensadastra.livejournal.com]

I'm glad--and not enormously surprised--to hear that about the Caps crowd (I missed the end of the game due to power outage). I lived just outside DC for the first three seasons at the lockout, and when I started watching them, it was beyond like watching a minor league team--it was like watching kids play hockey. They dropped their sticks. They fell down. They couldn't complete a pass to save their lives. Back then we used to cheer if they just got the puck out of their own zone. :)

So I'm glad the crowd there recognized how far the boys have come in the last few years, and gave them a good sendoff to the summer.