Sports are the Greatest

As the Staples Center crowd counted down the final five seconds of Game 6, you could feel the energy and excitement in your bones.  The Kings Stanley Cup win was transcendent as history was made with the first Cup win in the franchises 44 year existence.  The entire playoff run was indeed fit for Hollywood, and ended with a high on home ice in front of a raucous crowd and friends and family.  Every hockey player dreams of putting that Cup above their head.  Watching the players unleash their unbridled joy as they raised the Cup was awe inspiring.  It was surreal.  It was the greatest thing I have ever had the opportunity to be around.  The adjectives are endless. 

Alec Martinez celebrates with the Stanley Cup after a 6-1
drubbing of the New Jersey Devils in Game 6

The face of Alec Martinez reflects every player on the ice, in the locker room, and at the post game celebration.  Every guy was elated as they celebrated the win.  I found myself smiling and laughing uncontrollably with excitement as the Cup was raised again and again.  Captain, Dustin Brown, carried it around like it was his fourth child as two of his boys were draped from him all night.  Parents hugged their boys as any proud mother or father would.  The emotions ran high, and in the best way possible. 

The grind of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is well documented.  It takes true on ice warriors to win 16 games and get your name forever imprinted on the Cup.  Defenseman, Rob Scuderi, embodied this in the final game as he took a vicious hit from behind leaving him bloody on the ice behind the King's goal.  He missed the rest of the period and was stitched on his nose and mouth.  He was clearly shaken from the hit, but made his way back to the bench and played meaningful minutes on the penalty kill as Kings pushed towards the victory. 

Winning the Cup takes true family and loyalty from the entire organization. After the Scuderi hit, the Kings responded the right way, emphatically scoring 3 goals on the five minute power play and essentially ending all hope for the Devils.  The organization is classy and takes care of their own.  They have believed in players when they have seemed to hit a wall in their career (Jeff Carter, Dustin Penner, Simon Gagne).  They have put their trust in young guys to step up and make every play required of them on a nightly basis (Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick, Jordan Nolan, Dwight King, Alec Martinez, Trevor Lewis).  They have locked down proven performers that have led the team on and off the ice (Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, Mike Richards, Willie Mitchell, Rob Scuderi, Drew Doughty).  Ownership has put their trust in their hockey operations management and involved the most popular King, Luc Robitaille.  They do it the right way and have been rewarded in the best way.

The locker room, post game, was an amazing site.  Champagne was of course everywhere as the celebration was on for the Champs.  What is always special is seeing grown men hug each other and share smiles and tears as they begin to realize what they have accomplished.  Some just sat in their stalls taking in everything around them, their face showing the unbelievable feelings they were clearly experiencing in this life changing moment.  Others led the way filling the Cup with bubbly and attempting to drink from the chalice while mostly just getting swamped in champagne.  No matter where you stood in that room, you saw ecstatic joy and of course adult beverages sprayed in your face.  There was no holding back, and why would there be?  The Kings won the Cup!

Winning the Cup is why sports are the greatest.  It is not the truest form of reality TV; it is REALITY.  Real human beings like you and me, going through unscripted ups and downs and dealing with it all minus any outside help.  There is no relying on anyone except for the people inside the four walls of the locker room.  Losing truly depresses people and forces them to reevaluate their drive and become more determined to get to the top.  Winning creates euphoria that is immortalized with your name on a trophy that every player dreams of raising.  The best season in sports has come to an end and as usual it did not disappoint.  Thanks Tino.

mf

24 Hours to LA and Back

Because it was such an awesome time going to game 4 in LA, here's a little recap of the whirlwind 24 hours.  I am fortunate enough to have one of my best friends playing for the Kings making it the greatest Stanley Cup playoffs ever to follow.  Many hockey players will never get the opportunity to play in the NHL, let alone a chance at winning the Cup. 

When Alec Martinez called and wanted me and few other close friends to be there when they had that chance, I was stoked!  This is a once in a lifetime event so answering yes to that request was simple.  (A little side note: I have always planned on being in LA on June 11 for a potential game six always assuming the Cup Finals would be a battle that saw at least 6 games; hopefully it will go 5.)  Jumped on a plane Wednesday morning and by 2 PM the five of us (Bill Loupee, Jeff Zatkoff, Vincent LoVerde, Brandon Smith, and myself) were valeting our rental car under the arena and heading to LA Live to grab some food.  It was a complete zoo down there making the atmosphere amazing with the Cup in the house.  There were Jeremy Roenick and Barry Melrose sitings.  Chants of "Go Kings Go" and "We want the Cup" were everywhere.  LA fans generally get ripped for not be good sports fans, but I saw the exact opposite outside of the Staples Center.

With a game time of 5 pm PST, we went in the arena around 4 to purchase some beverages and see some of the warm-ups.  It was electric in the building and you could feel the excitement as we talked with other spectators around us.  As a group of guys that played/plays hockey, we had great seats up in the club level corner to the left of Quick.  We could see the game as it developed and still feel the on ice action.  Leading up to the drop of the puck was fully energized.  The building was packed to standing room only as the music and pregame videos electrified the arena.  The Kings entire player and game intro video is awesome and set the stage for what we had hoped would be the best night ever. 

Let me say that the five of us before the game felt very confident the Kings we going to sweep to the Cup win.  Quick has been in the head's of the Devil's players and the King's relentless pressure on offense would show up again to push them to the franchise's first championship.  The Devil's truly have a good team, but the King's have played at a level well above anyone else in the playoffs.  So again we felt confident when the puck dropped.

Seeing Alec on the ice with a chance to win the Cup was amazing.  We all dreamed of it as long as we laced up our skates.  Again, skating in the NHL is the pinnacle, but on the ice with the Cup in the building and your name could be on it in a few hours...not many people do that.  We all had huge smiles on our face and felt all the excitement as the game commenced.  No slight to everyone watching the games that have no hockey experience, but being with the guys watching that game made everything that much better.  There's no explaining what happened or asking about nuances of the game.  It was all nods of understanding and appreciating great plays all over the ice regardless of them being a scoring chance or not.  Don't be mistaken, these two teams are playing at the highest level in the world on the most important stage for hockey.  The speed and skill that each team has displayed is phenomenal and hopefully is appreciated by hockey fans everywhere. 

As the game went on you could feel everyone getting tense.  No score through two periods gave all of us the feeling that the next goal would be the winner.  When the Devils got that goal it was so deflating, but thank goodness for David Clarkson's stupid penalty and Drew Doughty's PP goal.  Staples was electric again and the confidence that the Kings were now going to win was back.  We once again felt the momentum on the Kings side and felt the Cup close at hand.  Then Adam Henrique scored one of the best goals of the playoffs kicking a cross ice pass up off the outside of his right skate and labeling a wrist shot under the bar to Quick's right side.  The five of us knew this may have been the end of the game.  There was not much time left and expecting the Kings to respond as they had already done once was farfetched.  The penalty two minutes later confirmed our feeling as the Devils put in the empty netter and ensured there would be a game five back in New Jersey. 

Usually a loss in such a meaningful game brings many dejected attitudes and disappointed people, but right away there was the understanding that all was okay.  There were three more chances and surely the Kings would continue their road dominance in game five clinching the first cup for the Kings.  We waited post game in the friends and family area below the stands by the Kings locker room.  Everyone was of the same mindset: everything is fine, we will get it in game five.  When Alec came out he was more disappointed that they didn't get it done for us!  Regardless of the outcome, we had a great time and were disappointed that the Kings didn't finish it off in a sweep, but the reality was that it will happen soon enough.

As we were waiting to leave the arena we saw another friend and former teammate Andy Greene.  Greene is a top defenseman for the Devils just as he was at Miami, but is also a great guy and talked with us until everyone was on their bus ready to leave.  The entire 24 hours was great because of being with and seeing good friends all in the midst of an intense battle for the Stanley Cup.  With the Kings not departing until the next day, we had a late dinner and had some time to be with Alec.  It was old times with guys ribbing each other (especially Loupee as always) and having many laughs reliving memories from college and everything that had happened that day.  I have no doubt the Kings will win this series.  It’s just a matter of time with the odds steeply against the Devils winning four in a row.  Hopefully everyone will be able to make the celebration this summer when Alec has his day with the Cup!

Thanks Tino!

mf

Sporting Checkup

It is a great time for the sports world right at the moment.  Here's a quick checkup on all that is happening in the next 10 days.

Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup will be raised in the next week.  Tomorrow night features game 5 in New Jersey with the Kings looking to put away the Devils once and for all.  You still have to like Jonathan Quick between the pipes for the Kings.  He is by far the best goalie in the league right now and will continue to show that as long as this series continues.  The Kings have not lost on the road this season and I do not believe that will start any time soon.  They will continue to pressure the Devils and make it difficult for the them to sustain any of their own pressure in the Kings zone.  Kings 3-1 to win the Cup.

NBA Playoffs

The NBA Finals will be established and begin following what should be an exciting game 7 between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics.  I see the Heat finding a way to win this game.  The Celtics are a worthy contender but may have hit the end of their run, especially if Lebron has a say in the deciding game.  Regardless of who wins to face the Oklahoma City Thunder, they will surely be the underdog against the young team on fire.  Durant, Westbrook and the Thunder look comfortable playing at a high level and should dismantle either team they face.  The Thunder have gotten outstanding play from all of their top players and their supporting cast has been excellent.  That will continue in the Finals and the Thunder should win the series.

US Open Golf

The US Open begins next Thursday and there are some awesome pairings for the first two days.  Tiger, Phil Mickelson, and Bubba Watson is quite possibly the best group ever to follow especially considering the stage.  Tiger is coming off a big win last weekend, Bubba is the reigning Masters champion and Phil is of course Phil.  Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, and Rory McIlroy will also be fun to watch.  All three are some of the best players in the world and of course all hail from some part of the British Isles.  Then there is that stage, the legendary Olympic Club in San Francisco.  It is an amazing course that will be in perfect condition and ready to challenge the best field in golf.  It would be great to see Tiger get another major, but likely it will be another first time, young guy that pulls through in the end to continue the current trend of young up and comers putting their stamp on the golfing world.

French Open Tennis

The French Open wraps up over the weekend with an epic men's matchup and hopefully a win one of the best on the women's side.  Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic square off pitting 2 vs. 1 and the best clay player of all time against the best player of right now.  I expect a 5 set thriller with Djokovic cementing his status as the best player in the world and pounding on the door of the elite of all time.  This win would give him all four majors at one time, a tremendous accomplishment, and certainly set him up to go on a run for the next couple years that could be unmatched. 

Euro 2012 Cup Soccer

The Euro 2012 Cup has begun in Poland and Ukraine and will continue through all of June.  Spain looks to repeat and Germany will try and reestablish themselves as the best in Europe.  This tournament is usually ranked as the second best international tournament behind the World Cup.  It is always exciting watching countries face off on the pitch and the high level of play will make this another tournament to remember.  Watch for Germany to breeze through the early rounds and stake their claim as the world's best, defeating Spain in their attempt for the repeat.

The Belmont Stakes

The Belmont is Saturday, but has become a footnote as I'll Have Another has pulled out and another Triple Crown opportunity gone.  It will be a fun race to watch, but has certainly lost its luster.  Let's hope a long shot wins and someone makes millions off a random last minute bet.

There is plenty to hold us over through June as we enter the traditional dog days of summer sports.  Once all of these exciting events are over, we get the Olympics in July.  Here's to a great some of athletics!

mf