Saturday, May 24, 2008

That's it, that's all and that's everything

"We didn't have much left. I'm not going to sit here and bash my guys. It's been an incredible run."
-- George Burnett

Really, that's all there is to say. Except maybe this:

"I hate to look back on this game and reflect on it, because it doesn't reflect our team."
-- P.K. Subban

The Rangers are a wonderful team, built to win a championship. Belleville was also a wonderful team--one that may have won a championship in any other year. But, as a Bulls fan you can't be too bitter. Unlike 1999, when the OHL champion Bulls lost the national semi-final to a team that they had already beaten in the OHL playoffs, this year's Bulls came up short twice. You can move on knowing that Kitchener was the slightly better team.

There was no shame in losing to Kitchener. This Bulls team will still go down as the greatest ever to wear those beautifully ugly yellow jerseys.

Hopefully the one-sided game last night will allow Kitchener to enter the final with fresher legs than it might have otherwise. It says here that the hosts finish the job Sunday by defeating a good Spokane team that very well may be back at the M-Cup next year.

Notes:

1 comment:

sager said...

Here's some more background to go with D.R.'s last link, which is to a story about the OHL passing the "Brody Todd rule."

Todd was the player who sued the Kingston Frontenacs and the OHL when it tried to deny him his education package, since he'd left the Frontenacs in the middle of his second season (he ultimately played 5 years in the O with 4 teams). Let's be clear in saying that we don't know what motivated the Frontenacs organization's actions back in 2002 (six years ago). They also probably aren't the only team which ever thought about trying something similar.

The bottom line, though, is that it was dead wrong. The OHL has done what the WHL did from the get-go with the education package -- which is administer it on the league level, and save the GMs and owners from inflicting their own worst impulses and weak moments on a young adult. The junior teams were put in a vulnerable situation since it's a struggle to be profitable and paying a former player's school tab is not cheap.