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.

Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth

Washington Capitals fans are in full self-pity mode today, after losing Game 7 of their first round Stanley Cup playoff series in overtime. One of the players was quoted to the effect that beating Philadelphia would be hard enough without having to beat the refs, too.

Waaa.

The Caps had to live with a tough, but proper, no-call that cost them a goal. The penalty that left them shorthanded for the game winner had to be called, or there was no point in even bringing the referees onto the ice for the overtime.

It all worked out for the Caps and their fans. Now they can cry in their beer about how they got jobbed in overtime of a seventh game, instead of spending the summer licking their wounds after Pittsburgh swept them in four games, which is what would have happened had they advanced.

Some people don’t know when they have it good.