Jolt Country

The Carolina Hurricanes are in the Stanley Cup finals.

Can I just tell everyone how plain WRONG it is? Thats just horrible.

Lowest rated Stanley Cup Finals EVER, on the way.

(Even the first 'Cup, back in 1920 something, will have had more viewers than this one).

Oh, come on now! Be fair.

First off, I am fucking pumped that Rod Brind'Amour has a chance to get his name on the Cup. Is there a player in the game who deserves it more than he does? I don't think so. Everybody was laughing at that franchise for giving up Primeau for him, but I'll say it -- the Canes got the best of that deal. By FAR.

Additionally, the Hurricanes didn't get there as a fluke. They knocked off the Devils, who represented the east last year. So they went right through the previous conference champs, 2000 New Orleans Saints style. You can discredit them for then having to face a #8 seed, but Jesus, it's hardly their fault that #1 seeded Boston and #2 Philly are laughable, backwards organizations who simply Do Not Get It, and who probably never will. Believe me, I'd have no problem if the third-best division winner did not get special seeding, but I don't think it would matter much this year. What, they were going to face up with the aforementioned Boston or Philly? Come on. Canes take both those teams, you know it, I know it, the American People know it. Maybe the Senators would have creamed them, but that's a pointless and arbitrary thing to fault them for. Hell, they went through two of the goalies on the Canadian Olympic team that won the gold.

Furthermore, if the NHL or ABC or whoever thinks that Carolina is going to produce shitty ratings, then maybe the NHL or ABC or NBC should have thought of that before allowing the team to MOVE to Carolina. Why are small-market teams expected to suck all the time? I think your east-coast, New York Yankee-supporting, non-revenue-sharing bias is showing here, Kingsman. What's the league going to do when -- inevitably -- Columbus gets good? Or Nashville? They'd better move all these teams to L.A., then, because otherwise the very real possibility that a team from a city with less than 4 million people downtown is going to crash the Stanley Cup party.

(I'd make the point that it'd be even worse from a ratings standpoint if they were still in Hartford, but ... well, actually, I guess I just did.)

Anyway. It angers me to no end that THE WHALE is not going to the Cup finals here, but still. I won't say that Carolina will make it a seven-game final series or anything, but I predict that no matter who they face, they will be competitive and the games will be good.

Ugh. 1am, and I really dont want to discuss it. Just suffice it to say that this is going to be the WORST finals in any professional sport in memorable history.