Stanley Cup: The Originals in Six (Games)

Stanley Cup in Hockey Hall of Fame (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Until 2010, the Chicago Blackhawks had not had a Stanley Cup in its possession since John F. Kennedy was President (that would be 1961).  That was the longest drought between professional championships, unless you count the Cubs.  Now the Hawks have won the NHL title for the second time in four years.

After an amazingly close series in which three of the games finished in overtime, the Hawks stunned the Boston Bruins in Game 6 Monday night with two late goals with a minute to play in regulation, coming from behind to win 3-2 to take the series four games to two.  Then the Hawk players took turns lifting the Cup on the melting TD Garden ice.

In this shortened, post-lockout season Chicago ran the table, dominating its Western Conference foes during the 48-game regular schedule and in the playoffs with players Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and goaltender Corey Crawford leading the way.  The Bruins, were the only Eastern Conference team they've faced all season.  This was the first time since 1979 that two teams from the NHL's Original Six faced off for the Stanley Cup.

Now a little history lesson, which Mike Emrick of NBC may or may not have had time to pass along during the playoffs.  When people talk about the NHL's Original Six, this is what they mean:  From the 1940s (when the Montreal Maroons and New York Americans folded during World War II) to the 1960s, the NHL had six franchises--Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.  That era ended in 1967, when the NHL doubled in size to 12 teams and has since proliferated to the present 30.

The series was a relative TV bonanza for NBC and the NBC Sports Network, whose ratings were the best in years.  Then again, it's late June in what is hardly hockey weather across North America, and your competition is mostly reruns and reality shows.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was booed by the Boston fans--and not just because the wrong team had won--as he awarded first the Conn Smythe trophy for playoff MVP to Kane, then the Stanley Cup to the Blackhawks.  And why not?  Bettman is a physical reminder that there would have been no hockey at all this season, had the owners not dragged their feet until January to get the deal they wanted from the players association to end the lockout.  In Bettman's two decades at the helm, there have been three work stoppages--one of which canceled an entire season.

Enough about the past.  The Stanley Cup will take up residence in the Windy City for the next year.  Then we'll see how dominant the Blackhawks can be over a full schedule.

NBA Finals: Another Title in South Beach

NBA player LeBron James answers questions during a press conference after a preseason practice session Sept. 28, 2010, at the Aderholt Fitness Center at Hurlburt Field, Fla. The Miami Heat used the fitness center for their week-long training camp. James is a forward for the Heat. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In a series where no team had won consecutive games in the NBA Finals before Game 7, the Miami Heat won two consecutive games to win their second consecutive title.  They defeated the San Antonio Spurs 95-88 Thursday night.  LeBron James, on the verge of not living up to the hype when it comes to winning championships (see:  Wilt Chamberlain), scored 37 points on his way to winning a second straight playoff MVP award.

The game was tight all the way, but the Spurs made too many crucial turnovers late to keep the Heat at bay.  And James had to will his team to play the way they did down the stretch.  That's what becomes a leader most.

This was kind of a bookend series, with four blowouts sandwiched in between three great games:  Tony Parker's buzzer beater to win Game 1 for the Spurs, the Heat coming back with a Ray Allen three pointer with seconds left in Game 6 to later win in overtime, and then the almost-anticlimactic Game 7.

The Heat had been expected to win another title, and in beating the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers during the Eastern Conference playoffs, they didn't always look dominant until it was time to assert themselves.  And again it was LeBron James who pulled his teammates through to get here.

The Spurs, with their aging lineup of Manu Ginobli, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, dominated the Western Conference during the regular season.  Then they went through the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies during the playoffs.  Given the fact that, with Gregg Popovich at the helm, the Spurs have won four NBA titles since 1999, this might very well be the last roundup.

So now King James sits atop the NBA throne clutching two Larry O'Brien championship trophies, ruling all he sees with sand and palm trees in the background, and Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Shane Battier as his royal princes.  How long will it be before James seeks out a new fiefdom, with more riches to behold and more titles to bestow upon him?  But that's for another day.  Right now in the NBA, hoops royalty resides in South Beach.

Changing Nicknames, Changing Attitudes

Former alternate logo for the Washington Redskins (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Washington's National Football League franchise, known as the Redskins, has been in business since the Great Depression of the 1930s.  That was an era when few folks cared about the impact a sports nickname can have on certain ethnic groups.

Its original owner, George Preston Marshall, reflected the racism of professional sports at that time.  While other NFL teams brought in African-American players after World War II, for example, Marshall's team was the last to integrate--in 1962.

In the last couple of decades, movements to rid athletic programs of offensive nicknames considered demeaning to Native Americans have had mixed success.  High schools and universities have done the most in that department, exchanging Indians and Redskins for the more benign Blaze or RedHawks.  The NCAA forced the University of North Dakota to drop its Fighting Sioux nickname, but has allowed Florida State University to keep the name "Seminoles".  It seems that the Seminole tribe gave their blessing to the name, while North Dakota's tribes did not.

As for the pros?  In the NFL, we still have the Redskins and the Kansas City Chiefs.  In Major League Baseball, there's the Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians.  The National Hockey League has the Chicago Blackhawks.  Despite protests, no real effort has been made to change those names.

The most recent attempt to get rid of the Redskins nickname is apparently going to fall flat.  Ten members of Congress, including Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), have urged the NFL to force the Washington team to find another name.  NFL commissioner Roger Goodell replied that the Redskins' name "is a unifying force that stands for strength, courage, pride and respect".  How patronizing.

Current Washington owner Dan Snyder's response can be summed up in one word:  Never.

It's not hard to see why.  Names like Braves and Redskins are too well-established in the public's mind and make too much money to make a change for the sake of the political correctness crowd.  The owners don't care whether their fans are black, white or yellow.  All they see is green, as in the color of money.

These same owners complain that name-changing will cost too much.  Let's see . . . In the NBA alone, the Washington Bullets became the Wizards.  The New Orleans Hornets became the Pelicans.  The Charlotte Bobcats want to change its name back to the Hornets.  And there have been several relocated franchises that have had to change their identity, such as the original Cleveland Browns becoming the Baltimore Ravens, the Houston Oilers turning into the Tennessee Titans, and the Seattle Supersonics morphing into the Oklahoma City Thunder.  So it can be done.

Changing offensive nicknames is one thing.  Changing the attitudes we have about Native Americans is quite another.  From the day white Europeans first landed in North America, Native Americans were vanquished and sent to reservations.  In the movies and on TV, if they're not portrayed as savages who kidnap white women and children (only to be rescued by the likes of John Wayne), they could also be portrayed as simple-minded dunderheads who say nothing but "how" all the time. (Some of these actors weren't even actual Native Americans.)  More often than not, they're ignored and called names.  They don't have the political or financial clout needed to get more respect in Washington, unless you count the few tribes who have profitable casinos on their reservations.

Is it too much to ask professional sports owners to get rid of nicknames that claim to "honor" Native Americans, but really don't?  And for the rest of us to have an attitude check regarding the people who inhabited North America first?  Don't hold your breath.