Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Sport Imitates Life

The Detroit Red Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins twice this weekend at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena to take a two games to none lead in the best four-of-seven Stanley Cup finals. After the game, NBC’s on-ice analyst Pierre Maguire said Pittsburgh wasn’t in trouble yet, as he thought no team was in trouble during a playoff series until they’d lost a game at home.

Maguire then threw it back to the booth, where play-by-play man Mike Emerick immediately said (without malice) that the team winning the first two games as home as a 31-1 record in Cup Finals.

My Penguins are in trouble.

Maguire’s assurance that all was well failed to take into consideration that Detroit gets the seventh game at home, if it goes that far, so Pittsburgh can win all its home games and still lose the Cup. It also now has to beat a team that had a superior record over an 82-game season four times out of five to win.

Pierre’s magnificent assurance in his beliefs in the face of indisputable facts reminds me of the arguments about evolution. On the one hand, Mr. Creationist has his beliefs, acquired because someone told him that was true. Mr. Evolutionist has an airplane hangar full of evidence.

You be the judge.

Let’s go Pens.

3 comments:

Peter Rozovsky said...

I'm not sure I'd compare Maguire to the anti-evolutionists. The more determined of those people are at least speaking out of belief, though that belief is wrong. Sports cliches like Maguire's, on the other hand, are mere spasms of neuromuscular activity, uttered with no thought whatsoever.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com

Dana King said...

Peter,
I half agree with you; many anti-evolutionists are speaking out of sincerely held belief. Unfortunately, many of those I've talked to and read have also applied no thought whatsoever. Someone told them this is how it is, and they're good with it.

Peter Rozovsky said...

Sae yourself the agita, and don't read anti-evolutionists. Read Darwin instead.
==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
“Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home”
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/