Rhubarb Report: Episode 43

In Episode 42, I mentioned the zombie apocalypse that took place in Miami recently. That was two weeks ago. A lot of crazy things have taken place in the sports world over that time period. Once again, Miami has been at the heart of the story. There is more rhubarb upon us yet again.

With that said, let’s explore Episode 43 of the Rhubarb Report, where the thrill of victory was a wild and wooly story unto its own on both coasts.

1. Apparently the end of the world is upon us again – only this time, on the west coast. How do I know this? It’s pretty simple really. You know it’s taking place when the Los Angeles Kings – ye of the 45-year NHL history (and drought) – have finally won the Stanley Cup. As REM once said, “it’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine”. Well, as a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, I don’t feel fine when Los Angeles wins a Stanley Cup.

I remember the day when Wayne Gretzky announced he was leaving Edmonton to play in Los Angeles. Imagine the horror of it all. Canadian hockey fans were mortified. I sat in front of the TV in disbelief as daytime television was interrupted for this news report. In some countries, “breaking reports” consist of war and global turmoil; in Canada, they take place when Gretzky leaves the building. End of story.

Twist the knife a little more when Gretzky single-handedly beat the Toronto Maple Leafs (with 3 goals and 1 assist) and move the Kings into the 1993 Stanley Cup finals. Fortunately, the Kings were beaten by Montreal. This was the last time that a Canadian team won Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Sadly, there was a time in the not-so-distant past when a Canadian team winning the Stanley Cup was commonplace. Now it seems that the Cup resides south of the border – and a long ways south more often than not. The team with the longest Stanley Cup drought now? The St. Louis Blues are tied with yes, you guessed it, the Toronto Maple Leafs  Strange, indeed. Ugh.

2. I will be the first to admit, I have had my doubts about “King James”. I wasn’t a big fan of the stunt that LeBron James pulled when he went on national TV to tell Cleveland “see ya later”. This was at the same time as Kevin Durant quietly inked his latest contract (which I discussed here) with no fanfare whatsoever.

But I am also the first to acknowledge a fine performance worthy of a true champion. James brought his “A” game to the NBA Finals and lead the Miami Heat to an NBA championship. In game 5 tonight, he had 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists. After all these years, LeBron has his championship ring – finally.

Now that he has finally got that ring, maybe the officials will take it upon themselves to call a fair game when LeBron is on the court. The “flagrant foul” called on Derek Fisher when James deliberately dropped his shoulder into him was unacceptable. But I digress.

3. Don’t leave Miami just yet. While King James and D-Wade were celebrating, there was another important story taking place. Shift the focus a few seats down the bench and you will find none other Juwan Howard, he of 18 NBA seasons and, many years ago, Michigan’s Fab Five. Howard also got his first NBA championship ring tonight. It was good to see the smile on Howard’s face after all these years and 10 stops at 8 different NBA teams.

Photo credits: Wikipedia