The Hockey Stop

Last night in Dallas it was the amazing disappearing act of LeBron James. Tonight in Boston it was the Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, who vanished when their team needed them the most (Many in Vancouver will blame goalie Roberto Luongo for the two losses, but that would let the guys in front of him off the hook).

In order for the two teams that on paper are supposed to win the NBA and NHL championships -- that being the Miami Heat and Vancouver Canucks -- to actually get it done, then their stars must be stars. And the stars have not played to their potential, which is why it is 2-2 in both series.

That is not to take anything away from the Mavericks and Bruins. They are both hard-working, talented teams that each deserve to be where they are at this point in the season. But, they both should have met their matches in the Heat and Canucks. And curiously they have not so far.

Game 5 is obviously critical in both series. And the most important player on the hardwood in Dallas will be James. If he doesn't play his best game of the season then Miami will be on the verge of losing a series that they should have won. And if the super Swedes Henrik and Daniel don't find their game and start scoring goals, then good luck going back to Beantown down 3-2 and surviving to see another day.

Will the stars shine for Miami and Vancouver in Game 5? If you are a fan of the Heat or Canucks, you better hope they do.

I know this is a hockey blog and I'm not supposed to be writing about college basketball. But as a George Mason University alumnus and longtime supporter of the Patriots men's basketball program, I felt compelled to write this tribute to one of the greatest coaches to ever step on the hardwood -- Jim Larranaga.

The sad news comes today that Larranaga is leaving Mason to take over the head coaching duties at the University of Miami. CAA for ACC. Northern Virginia traffic for hurricanes. Pine trees for palm trees. The Patriot mascot for Sebastian the Ibis mascot.

When I attended George Mason's suburban Fairfax campus from 1997 to 2002, it was very much a commuter school that was sorely lacking in any school spirit. I was one of the few students who lived on campus, and many nights I would walk around Patriot Circle to see the basketball team play at the Patriot Center. And on most nights it was me and a dozen foreign exchange students cheering on the home team. And that was it.

While I was an undergrad at Mason, we went to the NCAA tournament twice -- losing to the Cincinnati Bearcats in the first round in 1999 and losing by only three points to the Maryland Terrapins in the first round in 2001.

My friends and I had school spirit. We went down to Richmond both years to witness Larranaga and the team tear down the nets as Colonial Athletic Association champions. I'll never forget storming the Richmond Coliseum court both those years to celebrate.

We even went so far as to drive from Fairfax to College Park in the middle of the night to plaster Maryland's campus with Mason's colors -- Green and Gold. It was reported in the Washington Post that before the game against the Patriots, Terrapins player Juan Dixon found out that Maryland's campus was vandalized by Mason students and that he was pissed.

But our school spirit was the exception, not the rule. I graduated from Mason in 2002 and headed out to California. I was living in Los Angeles in 2006 when the Mason Miracle happened. Coach Larranaga did the improbable. He took a no-name, rinky-dink commuter school and made Mason a household name by leading the Patriots to the Final Four -- destroying powerhouses Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut before losing to eventual champion Florida.

I was doing cartwheels in my apartment in L.A. and then driving down Wilshire Boulevard honking and screaming about the Patriots going to the Final Four to anyone within earshot. It was a magical moment. And where else would I have rather been for a Hollywood ending then Hollywood itself?

Since that amazing run that shook the sports world, when I tell people in California or Canada or anywhere for that matter that I went to Mason, they immediately mention "oh yeah, that school that went to the Final Four!" So thanks, Jim Larranaga, for the 2006 Final Four run and for putting Mason on the map.

Since then Larranaga has been a tireless advocate for the school itself. He touts its construction boom and world-class faculty to anyone that will listen. And as a result the stories aren't just about the Patriot Center now being filled to the rafters with nearly 10,000 fans on a weekday night for a game, but also the spike in applications from across the country and the tougher admissions process to get into Mason. In short: George Mason is now not only a basketball powerhouse but an academic heavyweight as well. So thanks Jim Larranaga for being the best ambassador Mason has ever had.

And just this past March Madness, he made Mason Nation believe again in miracles when the Patriots beat Villanova at the buzzer for the school's first tourney win since 2006. Once again I was going crazy, but this time instead of lonely Los Angeles, I was at a downtown Washington, D.C. bar cheering on the team with my fellow Patriots.

This loss will sting for awhile. But I wish Larranaga nothing but the best at Miami. I've tried to describe some of Larranaga's enormous legacy he is leaving in Fairfax, but there is so much more he has done for this community that it is beyond words.

All I can say is thanks.

This past Super Bowl weekend was simply awesome for fans of hockey and football, and specifically followers of the Los Angeles Kings, Washington Capitals and New Orleans Saints.

Most of the Monday morning water-cooler discussions rightfully centered on the Saints' feel-good victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Miami. New Orleans' win was the tonic this nation needed to have something to feel good about in the midst of a seemingly endless jobs drought and divisive rhetoric about, well, almost every issue being debated in Washington. Plus the still raw memories of Hurricane Katrina's devastation.

This nation and the city of New Orleans needed a Saints victory and we got it. So thanks to Drew Brees and company for a hell of a performance last Sunday. You gave the whole country (outside of Indianapolis) something to celebrate and come together over and that is special.

If the Saints had won the Super Bowl and nothing else happened that would have been enough. But two of perhaps the most exciting hockey games of the year took place in rainy Los Angeles and snowy Washington, D.C. and what a treat they were!

First on Saturday afternoon at Staples Center I was lucky enough to nab two $100 seats for $20 each from my co-worker to the game. So my friend and I hopped on the subway and headed downtown to the arena where we took our seats seven rows up and one section to the right of the visitors bench. I was so close I could almost hear backup goalie Chris Osgood talking shop with Todd Bertuzzi, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom and the rest of the Detroit Red Wings teammates.

The many Detroiters in attendance had a lot to cheer about in the first period as the Wings built up a seemingly impenetrable 3-0 lead going into the intermission. But then the Kings came alive and scored four unanswered goals in the final two periods to win 4-3 on a shot by Michael Handzus past Jimmy Howard to send the purple-and-black-clad fans into a frenzy.

The win was L.A.'s ninth straight, which set a franchise record for consecutive wins. As I waited for the Blue Line train at the Pico station with the celebratory Kings fans, I couldn't wait for NBC's national telecast of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals in D.C.

Because of the record snowfall in D.C. the game was somewhat in doubt. The Pens had lost in Montreal 5-3 the day before and since the D.C. area airports were closed they had to fly to Newark and take a bus down to Washington. They even stopped at a rest stop in Maryland to pick up some Burger King (I won't say it was the fast food that caused the Penguins to lose because the meat industry might sue me).

Like the Kings, the Caps had to overcome a three goal deficit to extend their winning streak to a mind-boggling 14 games -- only three short of tying Pittsburgh's 17-game streak set in 1993. The Caps were down 4-1 before Eric Fehr cut the lead to one and then two goals by Alex Ovechkin for a hat trick tied the game before a near capacity crowd ready to let loose after the Great Blizzard of 2010. Caps fans were rocking the red at the VC no matter what the conditions were. They probably would have sledded across the Arlington Memorial Bridge, along the National Mall and up 7th Street to get to the game if that was the only form of transportation.

And the Caps provided these loyal, courageous fans with a thrilling finish. With everyone in Capitals Nation still feeling the bitter sting of the 7th game playoff loss to the Pens last year, the Caps turned the table for at least one day by beating the Pens 5-4 in overtime off a Mike Knuble tip-in past Marc-Andre Fleury to send the red-clad crowd into the snow happy (and this Caps fan doing cartwheels in his apartment in Los Angeles).

What a weekend!

Other notable news from around the rink:

Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke's son dies

The hockey world is in mourning over the tragic loss of Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke's son Brendan at the age of 21. Burke, the student manager of Miami University's NCAA hockey team in Oxford, Ohio, died along with a friend at the scene of a two-vehicle collision during heavy snow in Wayne County, Indiana at around 2:50 p.m. Friday. Brendan was driving back from Michigan State in East Lansing because he was interested in attending the law school there.

Burke's youngest son made headlines last November when his father revealed to the media that his son was gay.

"I think it's important my story is told to people because there are a lot of gay athletes out there and gay people working in pro sports that deserve to know there are safe environments where people are supportive regardless of your sexual orientation," Burke said.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a news release that Brendan was "a young man of courage and character. Words simply cannot express our sorrow over his loss."

New owner for Lightning

Boston Red Sox minority owner Jeff Vinik has agreed to buy the Tampa Bay Lightning pending approval from the league's Board of Governors. The St. Petersburg Times writes about how GM Brian Lawton will be on the hot seat as he tries to impress his new boss.

Caps-Pens TV ratings

NBC's broadcast of the Caps-Pens last Super Bowl Sunday scored a 1.3 overnight rating, which tied the season high of the Pens-Flyers telecast of two weeks ago. It was also the best ever rating for a Pittsburgh-Washington game.

Caps embrace social media

The Washington Post's Gene Wang has a story on the Caps and owner Ted Leonsis' embrace of social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter to promote the team. Here is an excerpt courtesy of Kukla's Korner Hockey Blog:

"The Washington Capitals in recent years have moved more aggressively than any other NHL team toward embracing social media Web sites such as Twitter and Facebook, targeting supporters who get their information from non-traditional outlets.

Now, with the team in the midst of a franchise-record winning streak led by one of the world’s most dynamic hockey players in Alex Ovechkin, owner Ted Leonsis is hoping the social media strategy will pay off in expanding the club’s popularity and engagement with fans.

“The team blew up, and the team got great with really young kids who were very identifiable by the same generation that used that technology,” Leonsis said last week from his office at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. “So the co-mingling of this understanding of social media and technology and the team doing great, and the city wanting a winner, has really made this a very magical time for the franchise.”