Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend, and Stanley Cup Finals Prediction

Bud: ~Feb 14, 1993 - May 19, 2008

Hi everyone. We'll it's been a long last couple weeks. Our cat Bud, was put to sleep on Monday. Now, for those who aren't animal lovers, this probably will sound a bit overdramatic, but I lost a very close friend. He battled Chronic Renal Failure, CRF, for the past couple years. The last 2 weeks, his appetite stopped, he vomited frequently, began to weaken to the point of being unable to get around, and finally, his one working kidney ceased to function.





Even today, 5 days later, I feel an emptyness that hasn't quite healed. It has been hard to write, even with this fantastic Stanley Cup Finals about to begin in just a couple hours. I think that pets are an extension of ourselves. They are with us in the good times and bad, and without saying anything, they sense our every emotion and feeling. Bud was that kind of cat - one that was with me nearly every step I took.





In an email to friends, I quoted the Tragically Hip's song, "Heaven is a Better Place Today", a song dedicated to the passing of Atlanta Thrasher, Dan Snyder, killed in the car accident a few years back that also involved (now) Ottawa Senator winger Dany Heatley. The song's main lyric, "Heaven is a better place today, because of this, but the world is just not the same" is indeed fitting. Bud is in a special place now, not suffering anymore, and hopefully laying on a porch with the glorious sun's rays drenching his white fur.



Alright, in this limited time before they drop the puck for Game 1, my glorious Stanley Cup Finals prediction. Since I don't have time to scrape up statistics, I'll have to go on gut feelings for this one. Since the series is 2-2-1-1-1, which I feel is the preferred format vs. the NBA and MLB's 2-3-2 format (ironic, considering both the NBA and MLB have way more revenue, but use the supposed "travel friendly formats"), I like the fact that Pittsburgh can come out and try to steal one of the first 2 from Detroit. Pittsburgh has been fantastic at home, going 8-0 so far in the playoffs. I really think the pressure is going to be on Detroit to try and get both games at home, even though Detroit is a fantastic road team. They are also a bit banged up right now, especially if leading goal scorer Johann Franzen does not play (due to post-concussion syndrome). How Detroit stops both Crosby and Malkin will be interesting. I really think Pittsburgh is an underrated defensive team and showed in the Rangers series, they are willing to play the 1-0, or 2-1 type games. And Chris Osgood has yet to be tested this playoff round.

The glory days return to the Steel City. Pens in 6.

Here's to a fun, great, exciting, non-sweep playoff series.