Lord Stanley and His Cup

I have never been a huge hockey fan, but something is really driving me to pay attention to the Stanley Cup this year. Perhaps it's the fact that we have two opponents squaring off against each other who are going to go down as two of the best players of all time. I'm talking about Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. If you're looking for a hockey analogy for these two guys, they're the Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux of this generation. No seriously, I have no doubt that these guys will be close to those two players in the history books when all is said and done. If you're looking for a basketball analogy, then let's talk about Magic Johnson v. Larry Bird. Are you starting to understand the implications here? It's hard to pass up watching a series that you can label as "history in the making." The only real tragedy is that they are forced to meet each other in a second round playoff series instead of in the finals, but since both guys play in the Eastern Division, that is just how it is.

The Johnson and Bird analogies go even further. Ovechkin's personality is comparable to Magic Johnson in that he's a flashy player who likes to run his mouth as he soaks up the limelight. Crosby is closer to Bird in personality and he rarely shows his emotions. He takes a workmanlike attitude onto the ice every time he competes, although he does allow Ovechkin to rile him up. The two players don't really like each other as has been evidenced by post-game interviews.

On the ice, the reverse can be said about the Johnson/Bird comparison... Ovechkin is more of a natural scorer (ala Bird) whereas Crosby is more of a playmaker (ala Johnson). It's possible that I'm way off in all of these assumptions as I admittedly haven't been watching either of them for very long, but those are my initial interpretations of their games/attitudes.

I've obviously adopted Ovechkin's Washington Capitals as I live only 2 hours from DC, and I hate every professional sports team that associates itself with Pittsburgh. Lousy steelworkers. I'm not sure what fuels my passion for this series more... my fondness of DC or my dislike of the Steel City, but whatever it is, it's going to lead to a lot of beers being drank, and that's not good for anybody (except me).

And hey, if you didn't like this hockey post, I can assure you it will probably be my last. I just don't know enough about the sport. So cool your jets, Maverick.