Last night, the Carolina Hurricanes whipped up on the Edmonton Oilers in game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals to bring North Carolina its first major league trophy of any kind. Of course, there are those who would argue that hockey isn’t really a major league sport, and you are entitled to your opinion.
Whatever the case, the game was a good one, unless of course you are a fan of the Oilers. From the quick score at the beginning of the game to the wacky almost-a-goal, almost-a-penalty-shot, then nothing at all at the end of the first period to the ‘Canes power play finally getting a goal and then a sweet empty net goal with under two minutes to play to really seal the deal, it was a hard-checking team that came to play. Where they came from, I don’t know. They sure didn’t show up in Edmonton on Saturday night
The only thing I was left wondering is if NHL commissioner Gary Bettman knew where he was. At least three times, he mentioned the NHL “coming to Carolina”. While there are those who will say that the Hurricanes belong to both North and South Carolina, as there are those who say that the NFL’s Carolina Panthers do, let’s face it – Charlotte almost straddles the state line, so that’s a decent argument. Raleigh, meanwhile, is a solid two-hour drive (by interstate, no less) from South Carolina. That’s more of a stretch.
Bettman just had no clue where he was and didn’t want to blow it by saying the wrong state at such an inopportune moment. That’s okay, Gary. We still have the cup for the next year.