Since 1993, when the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series and the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup, no Canadian-based pro sports franchise has won league championships in hockey, baseball and basketball. Until Thursday night.
The Toronto Raptors, who began their existence in 1995, won the NBA championship with a 114-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the Finals at Oakland, CA. Pascal Sickam and Kyle Lowry both scored 26 points to wrap it up for the Raptors. Kawhi Leonard, whose one-year sojourn in Canada before moving on to free agency resulted in a title, was named the MVP for the playoffs.
The Warriors were in their fifth consecutive Finals, going for their third straight championship. This was not their best team, though Stephen Curry almost pulled a title out of his hat with his late-game heroics. But "Strength In Numbers", their head-scratching slogan, became a misnomer when two of their stars went down to injuries. Kevin Durant, who was not able to play for most of the playoffs, made an ill-advised comeback in Game 5 at Toronto, suffering an Achilles injury. Klay Thompson tore his ACL in Game 6, which sealed the Warriors' fate. Both are not expected to play next season.
The fact that Leonard, Durant and Thompson are all going to be free agents, and whose fates might determine how much they're worth to whichever team they sign with, can't be overstated.
The Raptors got this far by going through the Eastern Conference playoffs, leaving the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks (in that order) in their wake. The Warriors defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers to represent the Western Conference.
The Raptors' TV ratings went through the roof in Canada, but that didn't help ABC, which couldn't count Toronto into their numbers. Neither did the lack of LeBron James (who played for the Los Angeles Lakers this past season), or the continued presence of the Warriors in the championship series. But it did go six games, so ABC got decent ratings for that.
The normally reserved Canadians, led by unofficial head cheerleader Drake (who has touched more people than presidential candidate Joe Biden these days), have gone nuts over the success of the Raptors. Why, the team might even get a photo-op with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
"We The North" indeed. It's time for the Maple Leafs to step up. They haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967.
Friday, June 14, 2019
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
The Stanley Cup Marches Into St. Louis
In St. Louis, where baseball and the Gateway Arch dominate the landscape, hockey fans are no longer singing the blues over their team. Instead, they're singing "Gloria", a 1982 hit record by Laura Branigan that became their victory song.
The Blues defeated the Bruins in Boston 4-1 Wednesday night, winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in their 52-year history. Ryan O'Reilly and Alex Pietrangelo scored goals in the first period of Game 7, followed in the third by Brayden Schenn and Zach Sanford to wrap it up. Goaltender Jordan Binnington stopped 32 shots. O'Reilly won the Conn Smythe trophy as the MVP in the playoffs, having scored goals in four consecutive games. No one had done that since Wayne Gretzky.
The Blues were a rags-to-riches story this season, having sat at the bottom of the National Hockey League standings on New Year's Day. Then a coaching change was made, with Craig Berube replacing Mike Yeo. Then they ripped off a string of victories, thanks in part to Binnington's goaltending, that ended with a high playoff position in the Western Conference.. The Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks all fell before the Blues along their playoff run.
The Bruins more or less benefited from upsets that had rocked the Eastern Conference during the playoffs, which included the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning getting swept in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Carolina Hurricanes dethroning last year's champion Washington Capitals. Boston took care of the Blue Jackets, Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs to make it to the finals.
The Blues entered the NHL in the 1967-68 season with five other expansion teams (Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars and Oakland Seals) that played in a division of their own. St. Louis represented that division in the Stanley Cup finals for three consecutive years, losing the Cup to the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins without ever winning a game. Then came a half century of waiting, as all anyone remembered of the Blues' last trip to the finals were endless replays of the Bruins' Bobby Orr flying through the air after scoring the championship-winning goal in overtime at Boston Garden.
The city of Boston has won enough professional sports titles since the beginning of the 21st century. It's time for some other city to enjoy that honor, and look what's come marching into St. Louis. Laura Branigan, who died in 2004, must be very proud.
The Blues defeated the Bruins in Boston 4-1 Wednesday night, winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in their 52-year history. Ryan O'Reilly and Alex Pietrangelo scored goals in the first period of Game 7, followed in the third by Brayden Schenn and Zach Sanford to wrap it up. Goaltender Jordan Binnington stopped 32 shots. O'Reilly won the Conn Smythe trophy as the MVP in the playoffs, having scored goals in four consecutive games. No one had done that since Wayne Gretzky.
The Blues were a rags-to-riches story this season, having sat at the bottom of the National Hockey League standings on New Year's Day. Then a coaching change was made, with Craig Berube replacing Mike Yeo. Then they ripped off a string of victories, thanks in part to Binnington's goaltending, that ended with a high playoff position in the Western Conference.. The Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks all fell before the Blues along their playoff run.
The Bruins more or less benefited from upsets that had rocked the Eastern Conference during the playoffs, which included the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning getting swept in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Carolina Hurricanes dethroning last year's champion Washington Capitals. Boston took care of the Blue Jackets, Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs to make it to the finals.
The Blues entered the NHL in the 1967-68 season with five other expansion teams (Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars and Oakland Seals) that played in a division of their own. St. Louis represented that division in the Stanley Cup finals for three consecutive years, losing the Cup to the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins without ever winning a game. Then came a half century of waiting, as all anyone remembered of the Blues' last trip to the finals were endless replays of the Bruins' Bobby Orr flying through the air after scoring the championship-winning goal in overtime at Boston Garden.
The city of Boston has won enough professional sports titles since the beginning of the 21st century. It's time for some other city to enjoy that honor, and look what's come marching into St. Louis. Laura Branigan, who died in 2004, must be very proud.
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