Monday, 7pm central at the Duck Pond. The greatest trophy in sports, Lord Stanley's Cup, will be handed to the victor of seven games between the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and the Ottawa Senators.

The finals don't start until Monday, which sorta gives Anaheim the edge. They get plenty of rest, but are gonna be closer to "game speed" come Game 1. Ottawa will have had eight full days off between games and thats going to hurt, especially considering the momentum that Heatly, Alffie and Spezza had going.

Naturally I'm cheering for Ottawa to win. I firmly believe that the Stanley Cup is supposed to remain in Canada forever. But as a Jets Fan, Mennonite from SE Manitoba, and Canucks fan... I'm having a tough time staying loyal.

The Jets fan in my would love to see Randy Carlyle win a Stanley Cup, even if its in a different city, in a different job. Carlyle was also responsible for many of the Jets' good years. Carlyle also coached the Moose during their best seasons. It would bring great joy to many 'peggers hearts to see Randy Carlyle lift The Cup.

I'm also a big fan of Dustin Penner. He's got a good Mennonite name, and comes from a hardcore Mennonite town like Winkler. I remember watching him play two games at the 2005 World Junior Championships. He wasn't quite as spectacular as Crosby, but you could tell he was damn good.

Thirdly, my dark desire for the Ducks to win is driven by my absolute love for Brian Burke. The Burkian-Canucks were better than the Dave Nonisian-Canucks. The new Canucks have Luongo, who granted, is ten times the goalie Cloutier (I can't even remember his first name right now) could dream of being. But offensively and defensively the Canucks were better under Burke than Nonis. Brian Burke did leave behind a hell of a farm club (the Manitoba Moose) for Dave Nonis to pillage.

Labels: NHL, sports