GO CANUCKS GO

A few years back, I was sent to Vancouver, British Columbia for a conference. When I arrived, I was very impressed that a city as large as Vancouver could be so beautiful. The city itself is clean, the people are extremely nice and the view that surrounds the city is just breathtaking. There are so many outdoor activities that you don't realize that you are in a metropolitan city. Vancouver became one of my favorite cities.

I was lucky enough to be in Vancouver during the Stanley Cup play-offs. I have always loved hockey, growing up in NYC and following the Rangers, I knew something about rabid fans, but I wanted to see what fans are like in the land of hockey. I attended a Canucks play-off game and once again, Vancouver surprised me. The fans were so knowledgeable about the game, their excitement was contagious and they were extremely vocal about the game (all in a Canadian way). The game that we watched was a series clinching game and the fans celebrated. They celebrated in the streets in a very orderly fashion, no one turned over police cars, looted stores or beat people up (am I talking about Lakers fans?), the Canucks fans acted like they have won before. My hats off to Canucks fans and I was sold on this whole Vancouver B.C. experience.

Which brings us to this years Stanley Cup final.  I can't help but root for the Canucks. They were such gracious hosts to me that I have to hope for good things for their team and city. Last night was another great Stanley Cup final game, with the vegetarian Alexandre Burrows netting the game winning goal in overtime. It wasn't the most artistic goal but it was a goal that Stanley Cup memories are made of. Burrows broke into the Bruins end and drew Tim Thomas out of his net.Burrows proceeded behind the net and wrapped around the other side and slid the puck in. Here is the argument, should Burrows been allowed to play in this game after his biting incident in game 1? As much as I am rooting for the Canucks, he definitely should of been suspended for his actions.

What is going to make the argument continue is the fact that Burrows scored the first Canucks goal and assisted on Daniel Sedin's goal that tied the game at 2-2. So, if there is no Burrows in the line-up, do the Bruins go home with the series tied 1-1. This is what makes sports so great, the what-ifs, the could-ofs and all of the arguments that go with any sporting event.

This is a very good Canucks team and unless the Bruins snap out of their anemic goal scoring on the power play, this series might be over before it even starts to get going. The last two games have been great and  I would love this series to go the full distance.