jeffreymark

NEOPURITANISM II

The Rush Limbaugh/NFL affair ought to incense Americans to the point that they no longer stand idly by and watch a corrupt media continue to play the role of the old Communist Pravda. Britisher Mark Steyn posts a piece by his old British buddy Toby Harnden who comes to Rush's defense. Steyn introduces the piece by explaining:

...Toby Harnden, has a piece on Rush and the fake slavery/James Earl Ray quotes that's better than anything you're likely to read in the dying U.S. monodailies.

Styen goes on to present the flawed logic behind liberal accusations characterizing Limbaugh as a racist:

Meanwhile, the geniuses at Media Matters say: You want chapter-and-verse on those "Slavery was great/Give James Earl Ray the Medal of Honor" quotes? Okay, here's some stuff Limbaugh has said about Obama . . . The race deck is all trump cards: Step One: You can't say that. It's racist. So you don't. Next: Step Two: You're using "code language". As I always say, "code language" is code language for "I’m inventing what you really meant to say because the actual quote doesn’t quite do the job for me." Still, you steer clear of "code language." So then: Step Three: We'll just concoct it out of whole cloth, and, after running for a week with "Slavery Advocate Wants Medal of Honor for MLK Killer", our fact-checkers will confirm the accuracy of that statement by citing something you said about Donovan McNabb or Obama's economic policy. Close enough.

So a nice upper crust degree from Harvard proves your intelligence. And, your pseudo-intellectualism trumps all arguments. But, here's one you liberals never knew how to deal with: selfish hearts (Christians use the old fashioned term"sin")trump the highest I.Q.'s and lead to a legion of evils. Your selfish desires for absolute power has corrupted you absolutely and turned you into foolish idiots.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

The youthful, Cinderella Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup final in last night's 7th game. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made a last second spectacular game ending save to assure a win. Penguin's dark horse Evgeni Malkin won the Con Smythe trophy for most valuable player of the playoffs. Malkin lead the team with 36 points-the most since Wayne Gretzky's 40 points in 1993.  Sidney Crosby is the youngest captain ever to play in the Stanley Cup final. For more on individual player's accomplishments go here.  The video below offers some key highlights of the game. Move the video cursor to 8:56 and watch Fleury's unbelievable save. Oh yes, one must get through the commercial before viewing the highlights.

A PENGUINS DYNASTY IN THE MAKING

They're young, dominating, and have a Gretzky like player in Sydney Crosby. Oh, and yes, did I mention they have Sydney Crosby? I may have forgotten to mention Sydney Crosby's name. He's the youngest player(20) in NHL history to serve as captain of a team. Fox sports gives us the rundown on this impressive youthful hockey team:

Everybody in the NHL knew these Pittsburgh Penguins would be very good, and soon. How could a team with players as young and talented as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury and Jordan Staal not be?

This good, this soon? This dominating, and this determined to succeed? Hardly.

The Penguins didn't listen to all that speculation that a team built around so much youth needed another year or two to mature, gain experience and become wise with the ways of the NHL playoff world.

With a growth spurt like this, the rest of the NHL must be wondering if they can keep up. The Red Wings, the league's best team during the regular season, will find out if they can when they meet the Penguins in the Stanley Cup finals starting Saturday night in Detroit.

The Penguins, whose core players barely average 21 years of age, blew through the Eastern Conference playoffs with only two losses in 14 games. Just as impressively, 10 of the 12 wins were by multiple-goal margins, even though most of these Penguins had previously won only one playoff game during their NHL careers.

Twelve playoff victories in a little more than a month's time. Two years ago, the Penguins won only 22 games during Crosby's rookie season.

"I don't think we had any expectations as far as I was concerned," said Crosby, the youngest captain in NHL history at age 20 when the season began. "I think we did everything in our control as players to have the right attitude and learn as much as we could, as quick as we could. We're lucky to have a mix of guys, with veterans and younger guys, that have really shown they can play, even early on in their careers."

The Penguins never let up after quickly opening a 2-0 lead in decisive Game 5 of the conference finals against Philadelphia on Sunday, winning 6-0 to secure the franchise's first trip to the Stanley Cup finals since 1992.

Putting that in perspective, Staal was 3 the last time Pittsburgh played for the Cup. Sid the Kid really was a kid at 4. Malkin was 5. Fleury was 7.

There's also this to consider: Crosby is playing for the Stanley Cup in his third season, Malkin in his second. Wayne Gretzky didn't do so until his fourth season, Penguins franchise icon Mario Lemieux until his seventh.

Continue reading about this phenomenal team here.

DALLAS STARS GOT US SWEATIN' BULLETS

Four overtimes, 3 Advils, and one bottle of Valium later, fans survived what I consider as one of the greatest hockey games ever played. The Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks battled it out in a must win 6th game Western Conference semifinal for the Sharks. The off ice mild mannered, unassuming Brenden Morrow, however, turned into a monster and almost single handedly picked off the Sharks one by one. Even though Morrow scored the winning goal, his star shown brightest when he put this bone crushing hit on the ever dangerous Milan Michalek.

Read more Dallas Stars here.

LIVE BLOGGING DALLAS STARS GAME 6

Dallas Morning News bloggers give Dallas the first period despite the fact that both teams put 8 shots on goal and the game remains scoreless.

But it's 0-0. Great action and the Stars really came out with the pressure. They have to keep it up and the Sharks need to find some more legs if they want to go back to San Jose for Game 7.

Razor called the Stars' first period fabulous. Indeed they approached the first period with much more intensity than in game 5. Time for goalie Marty Turco to prove to the world he can win with the greats. We shall see what we shall see during the next 40 minutes.

STARS' SECOND SEASON

Hockey fans often dub playoffs the second season. My Dallas Stars, led by center veteran Mike Madano's intangibles, have the Ducks down 2-0. This year the Stars, known for their physical defenses, added offensive firepower. Stars commentator Daryl "the razor" Reaugh explains the necessity for doing so:

The Ducks appear to be learning the lesson modern playoff hockey has been teaching - and they have company in the classroom.

You see, no longer does the phrase "Defense wins championships" ring true.

In today's game the ability to put the puck in the other teams net is paramount.

Just look at the teams that find themselves down 0-2 in the opening round; New Jersey, Boston, Ottawa (playing without Alfredsson and Fisher), Nashville, and Anaheim who are the weakest scoring team from the regular season in this years playoffs. All of them have serious issues when it comes to their attack and the warts are showing.

Devils - a new coach but the same checking based system that's just fantastic - with a lead.

Bruins - trap happy system with a cheesey d-corp and unproven netminding, oh, and your best offensive player is concussed. Good luck with that.

Senators - they have the potential to score, but with the injuries and the general flounder that last year's Eastern Conference champs seem to be in...potential can't be realized.

Nashville - they were a one-line offense in the regular season and one line is usually easily shut down in the post season - even if your not the best defensive team in the league - which their opponent the Red Wings are.

Anaheim - the Ducks sacrificed offense for defense in their quest to repeat and it isn't panning out. With leading goal scorer Cory Perry injured and Andy Mcdonald and Dustin Penner elsewhere, they are relying on brooding Todd Bertuzzi, 38 year old Teemu Selanne and their checking line to beat Turco - it's not working.

And apparently it's not just about the number of goals you can manufacture, it's also about who strikes first. The team scoring the first goal of the game has gone on to win an incredible 15 of the 16 opening round games played so far.

In the Stars - Ducks series Dallas is scoring first, scoring often, and scoring with relative ease against an Anaheim club that isn't scoring, defending or playing with any hockey sense. If this continues, and there is every indication it will, the Stars will be the latest team to prove that playoff hockey in 2008 rewards the attacker more than the defender.

Lock it down?

How about Fill 'er up.

DALLAS STARS ON A ROLL

The Dallas Stars look like the old Stanley Cup champions of 1999. Currently they rank second to the Detroit Red Wings in total points. Always an exciting game, the two battle it out today. Even though several players from the 1999 team remain with the Stars they sport little resemblance to the old championship team. They have no standouts this year. Their wins illustrate a total team effort. Defenseman Stephane Robidas tells Fox News the reason for Dallas' success:

The Stars rebounded from their only loss this month with a 4-2 victory Friday at Anaheim to snap the Ducks' win streak at five. Defenseman Stephane Robidas scored twice and Marty Turco made 20 saves for his 200th win as Dallas extended its lead in the Pacific to six points over Anaheim. "I think we worked hard. Marty is playing really well," Robidas said. "It's a team game and that's why we have been winning and successful - everyone is chipping in, everyone is doing a little more. That's the key to our success." Turco is 6-1-0 with a 1.98 goals-against average in his last seven starts overall, but he has never fared well against Detroit. In 16 starts versus the Red Wings, Turco is 1-9-0 with five ties and a 2.98 GAA. The recent return of right wing Jere Lehtinen has provided Dallas with a boost. Lehtinen, who missed more than two months following sports hernia surgery, has two goals and five assists in eight games since rejoining the lineup.

The Anaheim Ducks won the first West Coast Stanley Cup in the history of the NHL. Their experienced veterans combined with an outstanding young goalie, Jean-Sabastien Giguere, made them one of the better hockey teams in recent history. Read more here.

Congratulations to the Ottawa Senators and the Anahiem Ducks who will face each other in the NHL Stanley Cup final Monday May 28, in Anaheim. My money's on the Ducks. They strike a critical balance between youth and experience. Brothers Rob and three time Stanley Cup player Scott Niedermayer team up to form a dominating omnipresence. Defenseman Chris Pronger is the best in the business. While Ottawa's players possess the better stats, Anaheim played in a tougher conference. Duck's goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere rates second to none. In my opinion his outstanding goaltending placed Anaheim on top. And, Giguere passed the playoff test before. In 2003 he won the Con Smythe Trophy as the playoff's MVP. So far he's on target for a repeat performance posting an amazing 1.78 goals against average. Furthermore, who can ignore the future Hall Of Famer Teemu Selanne? He scored the winning overtime goal in the 5th game against Detroit. That goal, in my opinion, dispirited the Red Wings. Selanne provides the edge in leadership. Watch out, however, for the Senator's one two combination of Danny Heatley and Jason Spezza. Together with Daniel Alfredsson they form the most dangerous offensive line in hockey. They'll take Giguere to the outer limits. The Senator's explosive offense encountering the Duck's experienced defense should make this year's Stanley Cup one to remember.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ANAHEIM DUCKS

The Anaheim Ducks won the first West Coast Stanley Cup in the history of the NHL. Their experienced veterans combined with an outstanding young goalie, Jean-Sabastien Giguere, made them one of the better hockey teams in recent history. Read more here.

SENATORS VS DUCKS

Congratulations to the Ottawa Senators and the Anahiem Ducks who will face each other in the NHL Stanley Cup final Monday May 28, in Anaheim. My money's on the Ducks. They strike a critical balance between youth and experience. Brothers Rob and three time Stanley Cup player Scott Niedermayer team up to form a dominating omnipresence. Defenseman Chris Pronger is the best in the business. While Ottawa's players possess the better stats, Anaheim played in a tougher conference. Duck's goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere rates second to none. In my opinion his outstanding goaltending placed Anaheim on top. And, Giguere passed the playoff test before. In 2003 he won the Con Smythe Trophy as the playoff's MVP. So far he's on target for a repeat performance posting an amazing 1.78 goals against average. Furthermore, who can ignore the future Hall Of Famer Teemu Selanne? He scored the winning overtime goal in the 5th game against Detroit. That goal, in my opinion, dispirited the Red Wings. Selanne provides the edge in leadership. Watch out, however, for the Senator's one two combination of Danny Heatley and Jason Spezza. Together with Daniel Alfredsson they form the most dangerous offensive line in hockey. They'll take Giguere to the outer limits. The Senator's explosive offense encountering the Duck's experienced defense should make this year's Stanley Cup one to remember.