Let Derek Actually RIP

Maybe Derek Boogaard did die of the cumulative effects of right hooks and left jabs.

Maybe he died of an enlarged heart, as so many other young athletes have in recent years.

Maybe Derek Boogaard died because it was simply his time.

Enough's Enough

photo courtesy: NHL/Getty Images

Thank you, Alex Ovechkin and your Washington Capitals. The Rangers needed that.  They needed a five-game reminder of how far away they are from true contention in the Eastern Conference, let alone the NHL as a whole.

The Capitals outscored the Blueshirts by just five goals overall in winning their first round series, but the talent disparity might as well have been 50.  Ovechkin, Alex Semin, and Marcus Johansson were far more impressive than any Ranger.

Good Gary, Bad Gary

Gary Bettman is annoying...despite the occassional effort like above to make us giggle.

The NHL Commissioner oversees an operation that alternates between near-genius and buffoonery.  Just when you'd like to hand out a rare pat on the back, you're forced to pull your hand back and shake your head in disbelief over another incongruous decision from league headquarters.

But we may have to be nice to Bettman for a while following today's announcement of a fairly historic 10-year, $2-billion-dollar television deal with NBC/Versus.