Got Six? Go Fish

Is your 6th Anniversary a day for the couple or for the family? Six of one, half-dozen of the other. Considering that our first-born was delivered 9 months and 2 days after our wedding day, I’d say that we’ve been in a family way for just about all 6 years.

So we made the road trip to Charleston to visit the South Carolina Aquarium. Kids and adults both had a fun time. I mean, who doesn’t like penguins. Right? Reminds me of a joke, but that’s for a later post.

In a fortunate dose of serendipity, we were all hungry when we arrived in Chuck-town, and swung by a Mellow Mushroom about 1 mile from the aquarium. We all got to see the end of one of the all-time epic tennis matches, with Roger Federer making history, and breaking Andy Roddick’s heart again.

I’m the guy used to taking pictures not being in them, so the opportunity presented by the Welcome Center was worth the price tag. Is this the family portrait for the time capsule?

Cross-Checking Game Sevens: Penguins March past Washington

Usually, Game Seven of a Stanley Cup Playoff series is pro sports' most enjoyable theater. It's when the stakes are highest and emotion, pressure, attrition, and desperation all reach a crescendo, especially if you reach a gut-wrenching overtime period (or two).

I remember driving through the midwest late at night in May of 1993, hitting seek on my AM radio. I remember being captivated by an OT Game 7 between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto upset the heavily-favored Wings, and I heard two stunned radio announcers say goodbye to each other for the off-season before they signed off. Talk about finality.

So I put Tuesday's Yankees-Blue Jays game on the back burner for what I was hoping would be one of the great TV events of the year.

Last night's Game 7 didn't provide that type of drama. By the middle of the 2nd period the Pittsburgh Penguins were blowing up the Washington Capitals 5-0 before cruising to victory. The defending Eastern Conference champs served some serious notice with this road thrashing, in a game that they didn't commit a single penalty.

Sidney Crosby, the Pens' 21-year old mega-star, won the showdown with the other "best player in hockey," the Caps' Alexander Ovechkin. And Crosby did it big time with 8 goals in the series, 6 on the road, and a pair in the clincher.

The Penguins seem on track to return to the Cup Finals. And it's an underdog story since they were languishing around the .500 mark in mid-February and summarily fired their coach. But at this moment, only the defending-champ Red Wings are favored ahead of them in Vegas to win it all. And Detroit has their own Game 7 tonight against Anaheim.

In fact there are two Game Sevens tonight. Might just have to put the seat belt back on. Ducks/Red Wings is at 7PM on Versus. Hurricanes/Bruins is at 8 PM on ???? People always argue that hockey isn't a TV sport. Well it might be if you could find it on TV.