Beginnings and Ends
The good news is we'll have a Stanley Cup champion by Friday at the latest, perhaps tonight at the earliest.
Maybe they'll be a debate over whether the best team won - remember Brett Hull in '99? - but it's a conclusion that will be essentially black and white.
You win or you lose. And the Pittsburgh Penguins have no more losses to give.
The bankruptcy hearing today in Phoenix, however, probably offers nothing even close to a black and white conclusion.
Even if something is actually decided today, which seems unlikely, the loser is unlikely to accept the result or go quietly into that good night. The fight will have just begun.
Lawyers, you see, rarely accept a decision unless they have to, or unless their client runs out of money, which isn't likely to happen here.
So if the decision goes against the NHL, they'll appeal. Stupid judge who didn't understand the issues will be their conclusion.
And Jim Basillie? Well, he's convinced himself that he's fighting for the country, for the flag, so he'll undoubtedly find some way to fight on, perhaps with an anti-trust action of some kind.
So that story won't end today, and probably not this week, and maybe not this month.
If only it was as simple as declaring a champion.
"Stupid judge who didn't understand the issues will be their conclusion."
You're almost having a Jon Stewart moment there, Damien.
Posted by: chris | June 09, 2009 at 10:17 AM
Hey Damien,
Why so anxious to have the stanley cup end so fast?..... it has been a great playoff. Once this is over the media is going to have to resort to finding something to write about, and that means "burke" headlines of "trading up blah blah blah". Either way you write about hockey so i dont understand why the rush to finish this season........ Can't wait to read your June 23 post and Jul 7th post on how the leafs are gearing up (sarcasm)......
Mario
Posted by: mario | June 09, 2009 at 01:06 PM
Damian, it's funny, but reading the transcript of the hearing, there was a significant goof: the judge (I think) stated that no Canadian city had ever acquired a team from the US.
Admittedly, it's been a while, but does anyone else remember how the Flames wound up in Calgary in the first place?
Posted by: Stephen | June 09, 2009 at 01:43 PM