Avalanche Rock The Stanley Cup

 Since the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver in the mid-1990s, the newly-renamed Colorado Avalanche won two NHL Stanley Cup titles in their first five seasons (1996, 2001).  Sunday in Tampa, Florida, they claimed the Cup for the third time in defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 to win their series in six games.  Arrturi Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-winning goals for the Avs in the final game.  Cole Makar received the Conn Smythe trophy for playoff MVP.

The Avalanche had the most dominant team in hockey this past season, roaring through the regular season and into the playoffs with the efforts of Lehkonen, MacKinnon and Makar, not to mention the contributions of such players as Gabriel Landeskog and goaltender Darcy Kuemper.  They defeated the Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs to get here.

The Lightning, who were already the two-time Cup champions, tried to become the first team from the Salary Cap Era (dating from 2005, when a labor lockout put the kibosh on an entire NHL season) to win three in a row--something that hasn't been done since the New York Islanders of the early 1980s.  Unlike the Avs, the Lightning struggled through the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers (OK, they were swept) and New York Rangers to get to the final round.

In the Pandemic Era, the Lightning had to claim their championships inside a bubble in October at Edmonton (2020), and after a shortened but rapidly-paced schedule ending in the month of July (2021).  This season was extended to allow for NHL players to compete in the Beijing Winter Olympics, which they never did because of COVID postponements and misgivings about China's handling of the virus.  Tampa Bay lost the Cup a few days into summer.

Now it's the Colorado Avalanche's turn to hoist the Stanley Cup, then show it off to family and friends from around the world before starting the next season defending it.  They'll be the favorites to do so, but it won't come easy.  Just ask the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Golden State Wins Another NBA Title

 The 2022 NBA Playoffs were missing LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time in years.  But Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors picked up the slack in winning their fourth NBA championship in the last eight years (seventh overall, dating back to their origins in Philadelphia in the 1950s), and their first since moving from Oakland to San Francisco's Chase Center.

The Warriors beat the Celtics in Boston 103-90 Thursday night to clinch the title in six games, with Curry scoring 34 points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists.  For this and other exploits during the series, Curry is taking home the NBA Finals MVP trophy for the first time ever.

There were also contributions from players such as Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.  But Andrew Wiggins did not go unnoticed.  He also had a great series concluding with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists in Game 6.  In Minnesota, where the Timberwolves finally made it to the playoffs, Wiggins will be remembered as another disgruntled former Wolf making a name for himself someplace else.

The Warriors made their way to the championship through the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks.  The Celtics got to the Finals by beating the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks (the defending champions) and Miami Heat.

This was not the most entertaining playoffs, with blowouts and one-sided games more the rule than the exception.  But watching the highlight video that is Stephen Curry certainly made up for it.  And for that, the Bay Area can celebrate another NBA championship.