Love, Hate, Indifferent! I place the LA Kings and New Jersey Devils in the indifferent category which raises a concern with the Stanley Cup Finalists. 

I venture to suggest most hockey fans do not have a rooting interest in this series, unless they have money involved or are diehard fans of either of those teams, and those hard core supporters are few and far between.

Let’s start with the Kings: They have never won a championship and their status in and around the NHL has been irrelevant since the Gretzky days. Although they lack high profile players, the Kings deserve being in this position as Western Conference champions and three wins away from a Stanley Cup; nonetheless, they are not the kind of team one roots for or against.

Does one cheer against LA because captain Dustin Brown is an agitator with talent, a player any team would love to have; or, hope against them because Coach Darryl Sutter is not exactly as friendly or “excited” as Tim Tebow ?

Conversely, does one cheer for them to show the Canucks made a mistake in letting Willie Mitchell go or the Flyers made a bigger “boo boo” in trading both Mike Richards and Jeff Carter ?

These are not reasons of enthusiasm either way. The Kings have 13 Canadians, 6 Americans and 3 Europeans but collectively don’t have the polarizing figure of a Roberto Luongo, a tandem that brings you out of your seats like the Sedins, a whiner/diver like an Alex Burrows or a sound bite like a Kevin Bieksa. Yes, most despise the Canucks outside of BC, which is good for the game. 

In the East: The Devils were not even in the playoffs last season and like the Kings, have seemingly come out of nowhere to reach this point. New Jersey lacks identity with players from everywhere. The Mixed Nations roster consists of 7 Americans, 5 Canadians, 3 players each from the Czech Republic and Sweden, 2 from Russia and 1 each from Lithuania and the Ukraine.

Certainly, at the age of 40, seeing Martin Brodeur win his 4^th Cup would be a nice touch, but don’t tell me your mood will be altered in any way if he doesn’t get it.

The NBA is fortunate to have the Miami Heat as a premiere team. Now that sparks emotion, intrigue and even outrage. LA and New Jersey don’t bring out that kind of passion in the NHL. They may be worthy hockey teams this year but they are also bland, insipid, and prosy and that’s an issue that hurts the game. 

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I’ve never been a fan of Ilya Kovalchuk because I prefer players that always give a full effort, are battle tested, committed to both ends of the ice and will sacrifice whatever it takes to win. However, no one can dispute Kovalchuk’s talent. When it comes to skill and flash, he is arguably in the top 5 in the NHL. 

When “Kovie” wants to play, he is a pleasure to watch. Kovalchuk turned it up a notch in the last three games against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final with five points in those three wins, victories that included a goal and an assist in the 3-2 overtime series clinching game six.

Kovalchuk is the leading scorer in the playoffs with 18 points and a league-high 11 assists. Five of his seven goals have come on the power-play. That’s the kind of impact he can produce offensively, however, he’s minus-4 in the plus-minus department which is an abysmal 320th among all playoff skaters. I don’t know how he can be a serious Conn Smythe Trophy MVP with that kind of negative stat even though he averages 23:09 of ice time per game. In comparison, Dustin Brown and his line mate, Anze Kopitar, are arguably more complete players but not as skilled, and both are +14 after the Kings first 15 games. Kopitar stole the show in game one of the Cup Final scoring the overtime winner in the 2-1 decision.

Until this year, Kovalchuk had never been on a team that won a playoff series. Now he is finally enjoying some post-season success thanks to all the chips falling into place. Lost in the shuffle is that the Devils were twice one goal away from elimination in both game six and seven of the first round series against Florida, as New Jersey won both of those match-ups 3-2 in overtime.

Kovie now has an opportunity to shine under the biggest stage of a Cup Final. This isn’t the World Championship where second tier players represent their country. He is in position to demonstrate not only pride but leadership and intangibles. Being recognized as an elite playoff performer in the clutch is something that cannot be bought, even with a $100 million contract. 

From the Quote Rack: 

An Ottawa coroner has confirmed a package delivered to the Conservative Party of Canada’s headquarters in downtown Ottawa contained a human foot. Police say the owner of the foot is not known but it appears to be the right size to fit in Brian Burke’s mouth.  

The judge ruled against Roger Clemens request for a dismissal of all charges and said the matter should be judged by a jury of his peers. Unfortunately Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire and Jose Canseco were unavailable for duty.

Contributor Derek Wilken of Calgaryhttp://smacksport.blogspot.com

 The Brewers’ Jonathan Lucroy went on the DL with a fractured hand after his wife dropped a suitcase on it. This confirms a scouting report on him that says that he ‘comes with baggage’. 

Serena Williams lost in the first round of a major for the very first time. ‘Don’t worry. It’s not so bad once you get used to it’, tweeted Anna Kournikova.

Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California

Dario Franchitti drove into the winner’s circle Sunday for his third Indianapolis 500 victory.
Hey, if you were married to Ashley Judd, you’d hurry home, too.

Comedy writer Jerry Perisho http://monologuewriter.blogspot.com/

The Miami Marlins’ Juan Carlos Oviedo, caught playing under the fake name of Leo Nunez, has been suspended by MLB for 8 weeks for age and identity fraud. The pitcher will be eligible to return July 23. Guess he’ll be known around the clubhouse as the “player to be named later.” 

ESPN has contracted to keep showing the July 4 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating contest. The contest pulled a 1.3% rating last year. Coincidentally, that might be about the same average rating for the Stanley Cup between the Kings and the Devils.

Contributor Janice Hough of Palo Alto, Californiawww.leftcoastsportsbabe.com

Short list for this year’s Stanley Cup Final major sponsor: Benjamin Moore, Dulux Paints and Sherwin Williams. Also bidding is College Pro Painters.

I felt sorry for this “Squeege Guy” while stopped at a red light today, so I gave Terrell Owens a Loonie. 

Comedy writer TC Chong of Vancouver (http://alwaysfunny.com/)

 Donovan McNabb is reportedly trying to get into shape by throwing balls in the ocean. Just like Tim Tebow, only on purpose. 

The NY Post reports Rex Ryan has lost 90 pounds. But enough about his ego. 

Comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com        

And in case you missed it: 

Michael Vick and his fiancée, (Kijafa Frank), are set to marry on June 30 in Miami Beach, Fla. The couple is registered at Pet Smart. 

Comedy writer Gary Bachman 

Hartley Miller is the sports director for radio stations 94X and the Wolf@97fm. He also writes for the PG Free Press. Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to hmiller@94xfm.com.