Live from the Stanley Cup finals
As the words "We stand on guard for thee" trailed off in the pregame rendition of "O Canada," and someone in the RBC Center crowd hoisted his sign -- reading "REDNECK HOCKEY" -- it was clear what we have in these Stanley Cup Finals is a clash of cultures, nation vs. nation. That point was hammered home when, after the Hurricanes took three penalties in less than two minutes late in the first period, a Canes fan said to me: "They should repeal NAFTA."
The Oilers lead 1-0 on Fernando Pisani's rebound goal. For those who can pick up the CBC on their dishes, hope you enjoyed Don Cherry's bright-colored Hawaiian blazer during the intermission ... and of course his typically irreverent rants.
For those who like to scan the International press on the Internet in the morning, there were quite a few non-U.S. publications credentialed for these Finals. In addition to two Edmonton papers and media from Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and other points north, there was my favorite journal -- Blick, from Switzerland. And the Gothenburg Post, the Sport Express Daily (Russia), Galaxie Sport (Czech), Spits Newspaper (Netherlands, I believe), Turun Sonomat (Finland), Asahi Shimbun (Japan), Veikkaaja, TV4 Sweden and ... well, you get the picture.
Oh, and I waited in line for my media pass behind none other than former Soviet goalie Vladislav Tretiak, arguably the greatest goaltender in hockey history.
It's Glasnost in the Carolinas.
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Second-intermission update:
Things pretty much came apart for the Canes when Nic Wallin covered the puck -- illegally -- in the crease in front of goalie Cam Ward. Few in the red-hued crowd noticed ref Paul Dvorski pointing to center ice for a penalty shot. But, when they heard the call, the expletives (and boos) did fly. Chris Pronger's snap shot past Ward's blocker made it 2-0, then a bad screen/deflection by defenseman Aaron Ward made it 3-0.
We're 3-1 Oilers after two, and home-ice advantage seems quite tenuous at this point for the Canes, who have not seemed themselves all night.
Posted on June 5, 2006 9:57 PM