Sporting Catch-Up

Just a week after returning from the FA Cup Final, we headed back down to Detroit, this time for game two of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. The chance to see a Stanley Cup Finals game doesn't come about often, so when Amanda's sister Kim had the chance to get tickets for game two between the Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins, we jumped at it.

The Penguins had won the Eastern Conference play-offs very convincingly, and include some of the fastest, most skillful, and youngest players in ice hockey, with soon-to-be Canadian legend Sidney Crosby their captain. However, they did not have it so easy against a very strong and experienced Red Wings team, some of whom were playing for their fourth Stanley Cup title. This experience and all-round quality proved too much for the Penguins, and though they did find their feet occasionally in the series, it was only the game 5 win in the third period of over-time, that really saw them play near their peak.

So Detroit won the series 4 - 2 to claim their fourth title in less than a decade. An excellent team and organisation, that in all fairness could probably have won a couple more in that span. The game we saw in Detroit never quite sparkled, although the home team looked polished enough and cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory, after taking an early 2-0 lead that Pittsburgh never looked like threatening.

The video above is the very entertaining introduction to the game and welcome to "Rally Al" for the Red Wings fans.

Its also finally summer here, which means baseball season! I can't think of many nicer things to do on a warm summer evening, than sit in the top deck of Sky Dome with the roof open, basking in the setting sun as the CN Tower watches over the Blue Jays.

Sadly, with the weather being so humid and thundery so far this summer, there's been almost as many days with the roof shut, as with it open to the sun. As we approach the mid-point of the season with the All-Star break, the Jays are trying to pick themselves up. The pitching has been incredibly strong, amongst the lowest runs conceded in the whole on baseball, but sadly the hitting just hasn't been productive enough, and too often games have been lost that should have been won. With the management team now replaced one week ago, results seem to be improving, as is the hitting, and there is now hope for a positive second-half of the season.

This video is the very funky graphic introduction that is played on the "Jaysvision" big screen at SkyDome before some home games. Just a taste of the atmosphere. Enjoy.