I am not one to gloat, but I did pick the Penguins to win the Stanley Cup. I kind of figured that if everything fell into place they would have a shot at conquering Detroit’s depth and in the end they did. The other reasons were matching strengths and the young Pens desire was not anymore than the Red Wings want to win, just the star power was more mature and evident from the start of the playoffs.

Evgeni Malkin proved to be the premier player that he is and when it counted most, the young Russian superstar stepped up and was very deserved of his Conn Smythe Trophy win.

What can you say about Captain Sidney Crosby? How tough did it have to be to sit out half of game seven, unable to contribute? What a player and what’s with the bashing of our home grown superstar? What’s wrong with Canadians who refuse to see his greatness? Are you jealous? If anything, screaming about his talent and beating our chests with pride should be easy to do, instead I hear he whines and cries and he’s no Gretzky. Well whining and crying is okay in my books if it supports your team and who really can be as great as the great one anyway.

I thought Marc Andre Fleury bounced back from game five in a huge way and didn’t you love his patting of the cross bar late in game seven?

The Penguins made a believer out of me in the opening round series against arch rival Philadelphia. A lot has been said about being down 3-0, Talbot’s fight and how it changed the game. Sure, it just may have, but the Penguins served notice.

The Crosby-Ovetchkin head-to-head was another one of the great playoff stories and surviving that series against Washington made them aware of their destiny.

Some observations: Wasn’t it great to see Mario Lemieux hoist the Cup and then host the Cup party at his sprawling estate? Have you seen the pictures on the internet of the players swimming with the cup in his pool? I thought that was why they sent a ‘Cup Keeper’ everywhere it goes. It won’t surprise me if we haven’t heard the last of this story.

Chris Draper was upset at Sidney Crosby for not shaking hands. Chris, it would have more teeth if you guys had won and the kid skated off the ice and ignored you. That was the dumbest after-Cup story that surfaced. Congrat’s to the Pens, something tells me they will be back real soon.

What is going on in Ottawa? Dany, say it ain’t so! If he really wants out and it appears it is now a must-do for GM Bryan Murray, look for the wholesale changes to follow, that will in-effect blowup that once very promising team. The draft this weekend should solve a lot of mysteries and look for several big moves.

Hey, were you part of the ‘Make it Seven’ push for Hamilton’s bid for an NHL team? I was, and I can’t help but wonder how much the Commissioner played behind the scenes. I think it will happen, however it appears that Jim Balsillie will have to wait for another team that gets no fan support and is hardly mentioned on the sports pages in their home city. This other Toronto bid called the Toronto Legacy project is puzzling at best. Surely they could have came up with a name more suited to the area. How about Towers, Lakers or Monarchs before settling on Legacy.

On the home front, the Akwesasne/Cornwall simply known as the Junior “B” Celtics lacrosse joint relationship had some growing pains, however those pains have translated into a playoff berth. Check local listings for playoff dates beginning this week.

The Junior “A” Indians have not had the success of last year and will be hard pressed to make the OLA Junior “A” playoffs. In senior or major series action the St. Regis Indians are 6-4 and it appears they may not be playing at home again this year.

So hockey is in the books and baseball is plodding along. Football season is a week away and the St.Hubert's “Golf to End MS tournament raised over $18,000. Thanks to everyone involved.

Oh, one last thing, did you know "everybody loves Kenny Benelli."

Email: thom_racine@ hotmail.com