The perfect game that wasn't

A few days ago we learnt all about a "perfect game" in baseball, and about how rare they are. Well last night, Detroit Tigers' pitcher Armando Galarraga came oh so close to recording the second perfect game in less than a week.

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Then on the very last batter in the very last inning, something a little crazy happened. The batter hit the ball and headed to first, but Galarraga got there in time to tag him out, or so it seemed to the 17,000 plus fans in the stands, the sportscaster calling the game, and the millions watching at home.

Somehow, though, umpire Jim Joyce saw something different. He called the batter safe, and in the process robbed Galarraga of his perfect game.

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Now, the replay CLEARLY shows that the guy was out. But in baseball, the "human element" means that mistakes happen - they are a part of the game.

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Out by a mile at first.

The umpire feels terrible, saying "I just cost that kid a perfect game....It was the biggest call of my career."

Galarraga has graciously accepted his apology (and gained a whole bunch of new fans in the process, I'm sure). "He apologized. He feels really bad," he said. "Nobody's perfect. What am I gonna do?"

I feel pretty bad for Galarraga, but then I remembered that he's making $400,000 this season, and decided he would make it through this tough time.

In hockey news: The Philadelphia Flyers won in overtime last night. The Chicago Blackhawks now lead the series 2 games to 1. Game 4 is on Friday.

An overtime goal gives the Flyers a victory.

Flyers get knocked down again

Good thing the people of Philadelphia have Roy Halladay's perfect game to be happy about... their Flyers lost again last night to the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Hawks now lead the series 2 games to zero. Remember, you only have to win 4 games to win a series. That means they are only 2 little victories away from a Stanley Cup.

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People are talking about...Roy Halladay's perfect game

On Saturday, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy "Doc" Halladay pitched a perfect game.

A perfect game means that no player on the opposing team reaches base for any reason - not a hit, not a walk, not a home run. In other words, every batter that comes up to hit goes right back to the bench to sit down.

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A perfect game is rarer than Lindsay Lohan showing up to court; in fact, it's happened only 20 times in the history of major league baseball. That's 20 time since 1880 folks, or 20 times in the last 130 years.

It's so rare and so special that the Florida Marlins (the home team in the game) have put the unsold tickets for the game back on the market. People can buy their own little piece of history and have some collateral when they lie to their grandkids about being at the game.

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This perfect game is bitter-sweet for me. Halladay used to play for my team, the Toronto Blue Jays, but got traded before the start of this season. It's hard to know we gave up the best pitcher in baseball, and it would have been great to see him do this in a Blue Jays' uniform.

But Halladay is the type of guy you have to be happy for. He played for 15 years in Toronto, and was always classy, humble, and good to the fans. When he left Toronto, he even took out a full-page ad in the paper to say goodbye.

On a personal note, I once saw him in a Sobey's grocery store. He is very tall. My guy spent 45 minutes following him around like he was RPatz.

Three things to know about Game 1

1. The Blackhawks won, 6-5.
2. Flyers goalie Michael Leighton got pulled out of the game after giving up 5 goals on 20 shots (that's pretty bad).
3. The game-winning goal was scored by Tomas Kopecky, who had been sitting out for the last 5 games. He only played last night because someone else was injured.

That's it, you're caught up. Game 2 is Monday night, 6pm PT/9pm ET.

Leighton out, Boucher in.

The Holy Grail

Yesterday we talked about the conference trophies, today, a little history lesson about the big enchilada:

The Stanley Cup, also known as Lord Stanley's mug or the Holy Grail, is probably the coolest trophy in sports because A) if you win it they engrave your name on it for all eternity and B) you can drink out of it.


It's also the oldest trophy in North American sports, donated by then Governor General of Canada the Lord Stanley of Preston in 1892. It was just a bowl, but they've added rings to fit people's names in.


Another cool thing: unlike most other sports trophies, where a new one is made every year for the victorious team to keep, this one is returned by the winners before a new champion is crowned. Each player gets a day with the Cup to do whatever he wants, and the Cup has had some adventures. It's been around the world, starred in the soap opera Guiding Light, and met Presidents and Prime Ministers.

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The Cup's also been used as:

1. A baptismal font
2. A dog dish
3. An engagement ring bearer
4. A sleeping companion (many players have admitted to taking it to bed with them)
5. A urinal (seriously)

It's also been thrown in numerous pools, dropped in a bonfire, left overnight on the side of the road, and drop kicked across the Rideau Canal.

New Jersey Devils' goaltender Martin Brodeur takes a dip.

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Teemu Selanne (right) of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and his neighbour's baby.

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Pool party!

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Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins takes a nap.

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Scott Niedermayer of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks gets contemplative at Kootenay Lake.

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Buddy, Sean O'Donnell of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks' dog, enjoys lunch.

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Brad Richards of the Tampa Bay Lightning on his boat.

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The Stanley Cup is not a trophy that sits in a display case, but rather one that's meant to be shared and enjoyed. Tonight when the Flyers and the Blackhawks face off, I'm sure their plans for the Cup will be dancing in their heads.

To touch or not to touch?

Tomorrow the Stanley Cup finals begin between the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers.

To get there, each of these teams had to win their conference by beating 3 other teams. The Blackhawks won the Western Conference and the Flyers, the Eastern Conference.

Each conference hands out its own trophy to the winner.

The Western Conference has the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:

And the Eastern Conference has the Prince of Wales trophy:

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There's some debate among players and fans as to how to celebrate a conference championship. Some believe that it's bad luck to touch these trophies. The real prize is supposed to be the Stanley Cup, and the superstitious think celebrating prematurely could jinx their team's performance. Others feel that winning the conference is a huge accomplishment in itself and should be celebrated as such, trophy and all.

This year, Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews refused to touch the Bowl, explaining "You know, big deal, it's not what we're after. We're here to win the Stanley Cup.... We're not satisfied yet." What else would we expect from Captain Serious?

In the East, Flyers captain Mike Richards had the opposite reaction:

"It was actually a little bit of a debate on the ice.... My first instinct was to grab it.... We haven't done anything conventional all year, especially in these playoffs. So might as well go against the grain one more time."

We'll have to wait and see who had the better strategy. For the record, last year the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrated with the Prince of Wales trophy, and they won the Stanley Cup. Their competition, the Detroit Red Wings? They had refused to touch their trophy.

Trevor Linden, celebrating after the Vancouver Canucks were crowned Western champs in 1994. Not only did he pick it up, but he dropped the lid (see, it's already fallen off in this picture). The Canucks lost in 7 games in the Stanley Cup final.

Stevie Y in TB

Some news today in the hockey world: Steve Yzerman, whom you might remember as the man who put together Canada's gold medal winning Olympic team, is the new General Manager for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Steve Yzerman used to play in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings. He won 3 Stanley Cups with the club before retiring in 2006. He's from Cranbrook, B.C. and is often referred to as "Stevie Y."

In my humble opinion, he is also one of the most handsome men in hockey.

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His new job as a General Manager (or GM) basically means that he is responsible for signing players, negotiating their contracts, and trading them.

He has his work cut out for him: the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004, but have been terrible since then and have seen their attendance drop steadily.

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Also, there are a couple of Tampa Bay players, Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, that Stevie left off of Canada's Olympic team, so he may have some hurt feelings to deal with too!

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Best of luck to you Stevie Y!!