Stanley Cup Finals: Chicago vs Philadelphia

Game 1 at Chicago
Saturday May 29 8:00pm EDT
TV: NBC

Game 2 at Chicago
Monday May 31 8:00pm EDT
TV: NBC

Game 3 at Philadelphia
Wednesday June 2 8:00pm EDT
TV: Versus

Game 4 at Philadelphia
Friday June 4 8:00pm EDT
TV: Versus

Game 5 at Chicago
Sunday June 6 8:00pm EDT
TV: NBC

Game 6 at Philadelphia
Wednesday June 9 8:00pm EDT
TV: NBC

Game 7 at Chicago
Friday June 11 8:00pm EDT
TV: NBC

Prediction: Philadelphia in six games.

More Artwork From Benjamin's Art Gallery

More art from Benjamin's Day Care:

A Horse With No Name


A couple of Zoo pictures





Snakes!


Iguana

Benjamin's Final Mini Soccer Session

Saturday was Benjamin's final Mini Soccer Session. He did well, listened to his coach and did all drills the way he was supposed to and he learned about sportsmanship and teamwork. He was also a leader during some drills. Overall, he had a great time and he smiled throughout each session. In the Fall, we hope to get him in a more competitive program as he turns five in October. The two Spring seasons of Mini Soccer that he's participated in was a great introduction to the sport for him. Stay tuned.

Golf

Not much to write about so I'll pass along this hole in one story and include a drinking story as well....

My friend John e-mailed me the other day to let me know he had accomplished every golfer's dream: A hole in one. 173 yards with a seven wood, as he put it just a bit down hill, big bunker right, mounds left with a front center pin.

He's getting a nice plaque from the course (someplace in Waldorf MD) and the ace enabled him to beat his playing partner by one shot. Very cool.

My Dad has two at Chevy Chase (#9 & #10, par 3's, one in 1975 and the other in 1976) and my Mom got one in South Carolina but the ace in an official round eludes me. I say official round because during my golf maintenance summers from 1981-1984 we used to hit drunken tee shots off #10 at Chevy Chase Club.

Here's the story: The Golf Maintenance shed had an apartment there for a couple turf students to live and I used to sleep over there a lot. My day would start at 6:30 AM and end at 3:30 PM. A lot of times I'd grab my sticks and play until dark, then grab some food and cook out while drinking a beer or several with the guys staying there. Fall asleep and do it all over the next day.

Forward to the Summer of ’84 and four of us were a little intoxicated one night and we were whacking 7 irons off #10 (150 yard par 3) like we always did at dark. We each had a couple balls so we hit them and when we went to look for them, I couldn’t find one of mine. A couple racks of suds probably weren't much help.

So I’m looking around and a friend yelled and said there was a ball in the hole and he read off the ball, which was one of the ones I was playing.

A hole in one, right?

When we were all collecting our balls to re-hit I think he found my ball and dropped it in the hole just to mess with me. He never came clean with it, but there's no way could I have hit it in from 150 yards in my Otis Campbell condition.

Twenty six years later, my friend has never come clean and that night I played along and for the hell of it all of us signed the ball. I still have it in a shoe box some place. For the record, I don't drink anymore (21 plus years, day at a time) and don't even play golf much anymore. When I do it’s a victory for me to get the ball to within twenty feet of the hole on a par three.

I do manage a few holes in one when playing mini golf with Benjamin though.

Stanley Cup Playoffs: History Will Be Made

The Philadelphia Flyers came back from an 0-3 series deficit to tie the series at 3-3. In game seven, they were down 3-0 to the Bruins, but they scored the next four goals to steal the series. The 7th seeded Flyers play the 8th seeded Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Versus does these great History Will Be Made videos. Here is Philadelphia's. Look at the dejection on the Bruins side as the Flyers celebrate. Very cool video.



Here is Montreal's: Glad it was the Pittsburgh series they showed and not the Caps.

Montreal wins another road game 7

Game 7, Eastern Conference Semi-finals
Montreal 5, Pittsburgh 2

For those keeping score, that scrappy #8 seed in the East has:

Knocked off the team that had the best record in hockey (Washingon Capitals).

Knocked off the team that won the Stanley Cup last year (Pittsburgh Penguins).

Both game seven's were on the road.

Respect the Montreal Canadiens. I did watching them in the mid and late '70's when I first became a hockey fan and they won four straight Stanley Cups. I did two weeks ago as they beat the heavily favored Caps here at Verizon Center. They are just a good, solid and patient team.

As painful as it was seeing the Caps lose to them two weeks ago, I'll admit I had a smile on my face seeing the Canadiens beat the Penguins. Can't gloat too much though as the Caps still have yet to win a Stanley Cup.

I'm rooting for Montreal the rest of the way.