Ferrablog

The Fahrenheit 9/11 trailer can now be viewed here.

The best and most insightful analysis of the Stanley Cup Finals I've read to date is this article by ESPN's Jim Kelley. And before the Thugary fans dismiss Kelley as a hack, or biased, note this recognition Kelley has received for his writing. Kelley notes that Thugary has gone to the trap:

Calgary often lays off the forecheck and reads off Tampa Bay's defensemen. Lightning defensemen often throw cross-ice passes in their own zone to facilitate their break out plays. When the Calgary forwards see that, they'll send in just one forechecker to force the pass, then set the trap for the Lightning receiver as he attempts to come out the other side. It's a complicated read, said a coach not associated with either team, but it's been happening a lot in the series. This "soft trap" slows Tampa's skating game while allowing Calgary to attack off the transition should they force the defensemen to surrender the puck between the blue line and the red line. It worked well in Calgary's Game 3 shutout and resulted in several scoring chances in Game 4. The Lightning got a bit of a handle on it in Game 4 and were chipping the puck out of their zone rather than try to pass it out.

He also points out that:

The perception from the Calgary side of the ice is that it was out of control in Game 2 (a 4-1 Tampa Bay win) under referees Stephen Walkom and Brad Watson, and got even worse in Game 4 (a 1-0 Tampa Bay win) when the crew of Kerry Fraser and Watson awarded the Lightning a five-on-three power play early in the game. The duo also was blamed by Calgary fans for taking the Flames out of contention with a five-minute major to Ville Nieminen for attempting to wallpaper Vincent Lecavalier to what appears to be non-stick glass in the Calgary Saddledome.

the truth is ... well, nothing can be further from the truth on this one.

Through the four games, the Flames have taken several physical liberties in their game of attrition. Tampa has many skilled players, Calgary has many hard workers. Sending skilled players to the training room is an equalizer tactic and an accepted one in many circles. It's also a reason many people have stopped watching hockey, but that's a column for another time.

It's no wonder Kelley won hockey's highest sportswriting award.

James Fallows has a lengthy, brilliant piece in The Atlantic on what to expect from the upcoming Presidential debates between Bush and Kerry. A must-read.

The Calgary Flames' Ville (shouldn't we just drop an "l" from his first name so he can be named more accurately?) Niemenen was suspended for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals, scheduled for tomorrow night, for his cheap shot hit on Vinny Lecavalier. The suspension was warranted, but it's still a hoot to listen to the Flames fans whine in the comments section immediately below the story linked in this post.

My only disappointment with the suspension is that I'll be unable to yell at Niemenen at the game tomorrow night, having secured seventh row seats at the bargain price of $180.

Obviously, I haven't been blogging the series to date, but I'll throw in a few thoughts. I still like the Lightning, albeit in 7 games now. I'm predicting they'll take Games 5 and 7, losing in Calgary Saturday...Game 4 might have been the least enjoyable Lightning win I've sat through, as it was basically 57 minutes of the Bolts holding on. If anything, Calgary was most dangerous when shorthanded, leading me to think that the Bolts should have declined the penalties unless it resulted in a 5-on-3. It was bad enough that every time they went up a man, I thought "jeez, they've got to kill this power play"....There's no question Calgary is looking to win this series on sheer thuggery, and it was fitting that such play came back to haunt them in Game 4. Maybe I should just refer to them as "Thugary" instead of Calgary from here on out....Has anyone seen Cory Stillman? 80 points in the regular season, second leading scorer, AWOL in the playoffs. Freddy Modin needs to step it up, too - it was his miss of a gilt-edged chance in Game 3 which turned that game in Thugary's favor. Perhaps he'll come through late in the series, as he did in the previous round against Philly.