The Fat Lady Has Sung & I'm Not A Jedi After All

Another season... another playoff exit without the Stanley Cup in their grasps. Deep down inside, I felt that this was their year. All the stars were aligned. The rough start to the regular season and the fantastic finish. The dramatic, entertaining, and at times stressful victories over their division rivals... the Los Angeles Kings... and their longtime nemesis... the Detroit Red Wings.

Then along came the Vancouver Canucks... the winner of this year's President's Cup given to the team with the best record in the NHL. It was the perfect test... if they wanted to be the best... they would have to beat the best.

And last night was the moment of truth and both teams came to skate. And the stars were all aligned for one team. It just wasn't my team. Seto & Patty were the only two able to slip the puck past Luongo during his amazing 54 save game. Congratulations Canucks fans... now that my team has been eliminated... I'll quietly root for you guys.

As for the my team... well... there's always next year. I told myself that I wouldn't get my hopes up... but I did. Mainly because it felt like it was your destiny to win it all. Nothing came easy... and in my mind it was a good thing... because you had to earn every win. It'll be interesting to see what management has in store for you all.

I personally hope they'll keep the heart of the team together... especially my favorite player... Devin Setoguchi... who I believe is going to be a restricted free agent this off-season.

But when it comes down to it... Setoguchi or no Setoguchi... my loyalty lies with the team, before any player. And with that... I'd like to thank the San Jose Sharks organization for another great season. There were a couple of tough games this year where it was almost painful to watch... but for the most part, the team played hard and competed. It just wasn't meant to be.

That's okay though... because we always have next year. So here's to the 2011-12 season. Go Sharks! I promise to support you playoffs or no playoffs... and Stanley Cup or no Stanley Cup. And finally... I promise to never make anymore silly jedi predictions.

So what about you guys...

Who are you pulling for now that we're down to three teams? Who do you think will win?

If Luongo can continue to be lights out in net... then I think the Canucks will be hanging out with Lord Stanley. And... although I am not a fan of them in the slightest... I'll be pulling for the Canucks... because they were entertaining to watch in the playoffs.

Oh... and I've never watched the show before... but my friend told me that Hines Ward walked away as the winner of Dancing With The Stars. Kudos to him. My friend had been pulling for him and at least one of us was happy with last night's results.

Plus it's an opportunity to show off one of my greatest flea market purchases ever... my 1999 SP Signature autograph of Ward... which I picked up for a mere $10. I love this card for a multitude of reasons:

a. It features a hard signed autograph.
b. The design epitomizes mid to late 90's products with it's wannabe hi-tech design.
c. Hines Ward is one of the handful of Asian players in the NFL.
d. He's one of greatest wide receivers in franchise history on one of the most history teams in NFL history.

Happy hump day... and until my next post... sayonara!