After the Kings beat the Ducks last night in Anaheim, they were blasting “Don’t Stop Believin’,” the rock ballad by Journey. They couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate song for the team or their fans. I only know of one Kings fan unhappy with the Kings this season. He claims if I had to purchase my tickets I’d feel differently than I do, but he couldn’t be more wrong. When I found out he was cheering against the Kings (except for last night, since he doesn’t want the Ducks in the playoffs either), so they don’t get into the playoffs this year, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I thought perhaps Sprint (who I’m getting rid of tomorrow – YES!) had garbled the text message. But no… he really doesn’t want the team he’s been cheering for since they played in the Forum to make it into the playoffs this year. I don’t get it.

Playoff experience is always good for a team. He thinks if they just barely make it into the playoffs the Kings will be knocked out by the Sharks or Red Wings in the first round. So? The Penguins were knocked out in the first round in 2007 and went to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2008. Their first playoff run with Sid the Kid lasted only 5 games. The next one got them within a couple wins of the Stanley Cup. Would any Penguins fan wish that the Penguins had missed the playoffs in 2007 instead of getting in them only to be sent home after five games? I don’t think so, but I can’t imagine how anyone who claims to love the Kings could want them to fail this year.

The Kings have exceeded expectations this year and are only three points out of the 8th and final playoff spot in the western conference. Considering how much flack I got for liking the way Dean Lombardi was handling things, most people did not see this coming. One of my friends even mentioned that if he were a Kings fan he’d be upset that the Kings didn’t really shake things up and over pay for a bunch of new guys on their roster (as the Lightning did). He asked if I was upset that they didn’t do the same thing Tampa Bay did in the off season. I wasn’t then and I’m not now. Tampa Bay (with 49 points) is 17 points out of 8th place in the eastern conference. I’m guessing that many of their fans are wishing all their prospects hadn’t been traded away for a team that cares about the money and not the team.

Dean Lombardi often compares what he’s trying to achieve to the late 90’s Yankees. The team that had a core of players they brought up in their system (including Jeter, Posada, & Pettitte) along with the players they bought to complete their roster. Rich Hammond quoted Lombardi as saying that he wanted a Jeter, not a Rodriguez and I couldn’t agree with him more. Any Yankees fan (and most other baseball fans) knows how much more important Jeter has been (and will be) to the franchise. Kings fans should appreciate the fact that Lombardi cared enough to do what no other GM in club history has done, though many said they were doing it… REBUILD. Skeptics have started to see the light and fans are clearly pleased with their teams’ serious talk of playoff hopes. The last few years when the Kings’ season ticket playoff ticket priority was mentioned, I heard fans ask if that meant they were going to be given a chance to buy tickets in Anaheim early, since clearly their team was not going to make it to the playoffs. This year, the Kings have a chance and whether they make it or not the end of the season is more exciting for Kings fans than it’s been in 7 years. They should be enjoying this time and believe in their team.

I know many will say “Finally? Therrien just took the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Finals last season!” However, I would argue that the talented team got Therrien to the finals and not the other way around. Sometimes, a team is just too talented to allow management to see that their coaching choice wasn’t the best. I’ve wanted Therrien fired for a long time (ask anyone who knows me well – they’ll all say I was the first to mention the idea to them. Therrien often said his team wasn’t prepared when the Pens didn’t show up for a game. As I’ve mentioned many times, that seems to be the number one job of a head coach – make sure your team shows up for each and every game. With a team like the Penguins (they have the #1 & 2 scorers in the NHL), this should not be difficult. Barry Melrose didn’t last long in Tampa Bay, but I’m guessing even he could motivate these guys.

I’ve always thought the way Therrien changes lines during each game was an issue. Though Colby Armstrong pointed out that the Penguins knew Therrien changed lines more often than any other coach out there before they promoted him to the Penguins head coach (from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, their AHL affiliate), I’m not sure they fully examined the down side of this approach at the NHL level. Perhaps it works better with young players, which would explain why it was initially effective for the Penguins.

I don’t see how a team with the two top scorers in the NHL (or two of the top three, since Ovechkin and Crosby have gone back and forth this season) can excuse having a power play that’s 6th worst in the NHL. While I understand that the Pittsburgh power play took a huge hit without Gonchar and Whitney earlier in the season, a team with so many talented players should be able to move past that obstacle. I also understand how important Colby Armstrong and Ryan Malone were to the Penguins. However, as in the days of Mario Lemieux & Jaromir Jagr, the Penguins should be able to move on and keep winning with qualified substitutions as other players move to other teams making more money than they may currently be worth.

Dan Bylsma may have better luck with the NHL Penguins than his predecessor. I’m sure all Penguins are hoping he will. If nothing else, the Pens should have the initial winning streak most teams experience when they get a new coach. The good news for all Penguins fans is that (unlike many teams in the past) the Penguins have made the move to fire Therrien in plenty of time to turn the down turn of their season around and make the playoffs. Shero saw the Penguins fall out of the playoff standings and took action. The Penguins are currently ranked 10th in the east, 5 points behind 7th and 8th.

With Therrien gone from the Penguins, the talk will certainly turn to who’s next to lose his job as head coach in the NHL. Will it be Tom Renney of the New York Rangers? Randy Carlyle of the Anaheim Ducks? Someone else? Time will tell. A few people I talked to tonight at the Ducks game think Randy Carlyle should be worried and I’m sure he’s thought about the possibility that he might lose his job, but I think there might be enough excuses in Anaheim to save him long enough for Tom Renney to be fired first. New York is also a much tougher market than Anaheim. The Ducks just don’t have the fan base the Rangers do and the intensity of the media coverage may be another factor in how long each coach can last. Of course, I did not think the Penguins (who gave Therrien a 3-year contract extension after they made the Stanley Cup Finals last year) would be the first to fire their coach, so perhaps the Ducks will surprise me and move more quickly than the Rangers. Either way, I think both coaches are probably thinking about what they plan to do after their current team fires them.

I picked a very good night to attend my first ECHL game – ever. I didn’t plan to drive to see the Ontario Reign for the first time in the rain and thought the traffic would be horrible to get there, but it didn’t take long at all to get there, in spite of the rain.

When I heard about the Reign’s Pink at the Rink night raising money for breast cancer awareness, I thought it was a great idea, but that the jerseys would be that hideous light pink (the color of those horrible jerseys the NHL seems to think women will like) and all colors on the jersey made pink. Fortunately, I couldn’t have been more wrong. The color they used was a nice darker pink and they basically just seemed to replace the orange on their normal jerseys, which are navy blue and oranges, to a deep pink and add pink ribbon accents. After examining their original jersey more closely, I could see that they made more changes than that, but it was still the most tasteful use of pink in a hockey jersey I could ever imagine. Whoever designed that jersey did an amazing job. If I regularly attended games there, I would need to win one of the auctions and get one of those pink jerseys.

According to the Reign’s site, there will be a live game worn jersey auction. I don’t know if that means jerseys could only be bid on at the game last night. They had Zatkoff’s jersey on display, since he is injured and did not play. If it’s still possible to bid on the jerseys, I’ll post the information as soon as I get it. I sent an email to the communications staff last night when I got home and couldn’t find the link on the Reign’s site.

The game was very exciting at the end, too. There was no score in the first period and in spite of some good chances for the Reign, the Alaska Aces had the only goal in the 2nd period (a short-handed goal). The Reign tied the game when Starling scored his first goal of the season at 5:57 in the 3rd. The game remained tied until regulation was almost over. At that point, though I was watching the game, I wasn’t even considering the possibility that either team would score. Perhaps it’s just something they do in the NHL, but typically at that point in a game both teams play cautious hockey and simply ensure that they get a point in the game. The Reign were clearly not satisfied with the idea of having to win in overtime. Jon Rheault scored with just 20 seconds remaining in the 3rd period. Denny Johnston put the final nail in the coffin when he got an empty net goal (his first goal of the season) at 19:56.

The Ontario Reign definitely know how to make a game exciting. I’m looking forward to attending another game in Ontario. If you haven’t checked out the newest professional hockey team in southern California, I recommend you check out the Reign at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario. The Ontario Reign website is easy to navigate and single game tickets can be obtained for as little as $12 on a weekend & $10 on a weekday. There is definitely not a bad seat in the arena (which seats 9,736 for hockey and had over 8,000 in attendance last night for Pink at the Rink night). Parking is free and the concession prices are definitely lower than the prices in other arenas and attractions. You can check out the players before they get to Manchester or the Kings and enjoy a good hockey game at the same time.

The 2009 Super Bowl was a more interesting Super Bowl than I can remember in recent history. I know it’s not due to the fact that I cared this year (I like the Steelers, though I’m no a huge NFL fan), since I didn’t find the Steelers’ win in Super Bowl XL particularly exciting and that one was the “one for the thumb” everyone had been wanting for years. If it were a Steelers bias, I’m sure I’d find that one the most entertaining. The Cardinals and the Steelers made this year’s game a nail biter for the fans of both teams. Tomlin’s response after the game about the Steelers playing for all 60 minutes and their wins not always being pretty, but they don’t give up, was perfect and all Steelers fans know the truth of that statement. Steelers fans go through a lot of close games that scare them, but Tomlin’s team this season managed to win most of those and came out on top as Super Bowl champions. NBC and all those who paid for ad time must be thrilled.

It was great to see Mike Tomlin become not only the youngest coach to coach a team in the Super Bowl, but also the youngest to win the Super Bowl. It’s too bad Hines Ward wasn’t feeling better. He may have said that he was feeling great, but I really think he would have been a bigger part of the Super Bowl XLIII win if he had been fully healthy. I’ve also had a lot of knee problems and don’t see complete rehabilitation in 2 weeks as possible; no matter how many experts you have working on your knee. Santonio Holmes definitely seized the opportunity to become the hero of the day and clearly deserved the MVP award he earned.

For his part, though Ben Roethlisberger definitely made some mistakes (not uncommon), he’s one of only 10 quarterbacks to win multiple Super Bowls, which is pretty impressive for a guy that will turn 27 next month.

The commercials this year seemed to be a bit better than the last couple years (which disappointed me over all). Sure, there were some that were too cheesy and clearly aimed at the Neanderthal in men, but there were some very clever ads, too. I liked last year’s Budweiser commercial (with the Dalmatian training the Clydesdale, which beat out the Mean Joe Green Coke commercial in the previous night’s competition as best Super Bowl commercial of all time) better than this year’s ads, but this year’s were still good. I also really enjoyed the Bridgestone Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head, the Telaflora talking flowers, & the Coke remake. When I heard that they were remaking one of the most famous commercials of all time (the Mean Joe Green Coke ad) with Troy Polamalu, I wasn’t really sure I wanted to see a new ad done the same way with a new player. I think Troy Polamalu is great, but the Mean Joe Green ad is a legend. In the end, I loved what they did with the ad. I’m very happy that they didn’t simply remake it with new people and a new Coke product. I think they did a great job honoring the classic commercial with a new spin on the ad. Coke should be very happy with their advertising department.