Crosby's conduct inexcusable

Shortly after an oh-so-close fall to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom lined up to shake hands with Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby.

Except Crosby wasn't there. He was too busy celebrating his Stanley Cup victory. The length of his celebration made Alex Ovechkin look like Pavel Datsyuk (I hope you're reading this, Don Cherry). Kris Draper was among those who agreed that the Pens' captain messed up

Enough about the argument of Crosby being caught up in the moment. This is the NHL, a league where being respectful has a much higher value than in any other. Yes, he did shake hands later, but leaving Lidstrom waiting was just flat out wrong. If Sid the Kid wants to act like that, then let him pick up a basketball.

Also note that, as a captain, it was Crosby's job to set an example for his fellow teammates. If I were the Penguins' coach, I'd probably take away the C and demote him at least to assistant (then again, if I were coach, Crosby probably wouldn't be captain in the first place, but I digress).

Yes, Lebron was a lot worse, but no, that doesn't mean that Crosby's off the hook. The fact remains that what he did was both disrespectful and wrong.

Mind your manners, Mr. Crosby, because when it comes to the NHL, it's a very important category.

Stripes to blame?
Several Red Wings fans are angered by the refereeing in the Stanley Cup Finals. One such ticked-off fan writes "This will go down as the first Stanley Cup Final to have a winner predetermined. Congratulations to having a friend higher up, Pittsburgh." I don't like to criticize officials, but I sort of agree with the guy. The Penguins first goal in game 7 should have been an icing call. Had the men in stripes called it right, the game could have changed completely.
But even though the refs were pretty bad, I still have to admit that the Wings could have won it anyway.

From basher to supporter
Former Red Wings basher Berry Melrose seems to have mellowed a bit since being fired as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Heading into the playoffs, he predicted that the Red Wings would face the Capitals in the final. After the Wings fell to Pittsburgh, Melrose basically said that the Wings were the better team and that they should have won the series.

Awards
Alex Ovechkin won the Hart Trophy (league MVP) for the second year in a row as well as the Lester B. Pearson Award (MVP chosen by players) and the Maurice Richard Trophy for most goals. Pavel Datsyuk finished third in Hart Trophy voting and was able to once again claim the the Selke (best defensive forward) and Lady Byng (sportsmanship and gentlemanly play) trophies. The Vezina Trophy for best goalie was won by the Bruins' Tim Thomas, while the Norris (best defensman) went to Zdeno Chara. Evegeni Malkin received the Art Ross Trophy for most points, and Steve Mason recieved the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year. Finally, Bruins coach Claude Julien won coach of the year.