My ten greatest sporting moments.

Scanning through "Twitter" yesterday as i battled the realms of boredom, i noticed that trending on the site was the caption #1goaluwillneverforget. Immediately I thought of one certain goal, the standout if you will, which will be revealed later in the list, although anyone who knows me could tell you.

However this got me to thinking, why limit to football, and why limit to goals, so with that in mind, I decided to devise my list of sporting memories. I stuck with just 10, shuffling the order in the duration, but these are my top 10 memories.

10) Everton 0-1 Oxford

Despite this being a great moment following Oxford, one of the first times following Oxford wasn't full of bitter disappoinments and flattering to deceive, it starts sour. The home game prior to the trip to Goodison, the half-time break consisted of a prize draw, between me and another kid. The prize- being mascot and leading the team out. I lost a 50-50! Typical!

The game itself was miraculous, back when the Carling Cup was called the Worthington Cup, and back when the 2nd round was played over two legs. The early 00's, not the dark ages. The first game ended 1-1 at the Manor, a game if i'm being completely honest, I don't have any memory of. The 2nd leg, a Joey Beachaump wonder strike went past the goalie (Thomas Myhre if i remember rightly) and the floundering Division 1 side (Championship to anyone under 15) stun the Premier league big-wigs. The real win is that this got "giant killing of the month" in the Sky sports annual.

9) Twice is nice.

Although I don't support the New England Patriots, i've always rooted for them after the 49ers season deflates into nothingness, after more bad coaching, ownership, drafting...rinse, lather, repeat.

After the Pats beat the Rams in 2001, behind young, unproven Quarterback Tom Brady (amusing looking back), in was the single-greatest underdog victory in Superbowl history (Vegas had Rams 14 point favourites) the Patriots had to prove it wasn;t a one time thing.

Two years later, the tables flipped one-eighty as the Patriots were heavily favoured over the resurging Carolina Panthers (a team who finished 1-15 the previous year, hope for next year for them then?) The game itself, a remarkable game, a game in which Mike Vrabel, a hard-tackling defender showed slick hands filling in at tight end to catch a touchdown (the football comparison is the Tony Adams 1998 goal to seal the title against Everton). The Pats won a high scoring game 32-29 and for the second time in three years, it was Adam Vinatieri's boot whoch won the Patriots the Vince Lomardi trophy.

The following year they repeated, and it officially became a dynasty.

8) Wales 2-1 Italy

After a win in Helsinki to kick-off the Euro 2004 qualification, Wales faced a great test against an Italy team full of world class talent, Nesta, Buffon, Maldini, Totti, etc. I was at this game, and like most times watching Wales (co-incidentally this may be the last time Wales played well), a thought of a win was more pipe-dream than a hint of reality.

After 11 minutes, the world underwent a paradigm shift when Simon Davies put Wales in front, and left the Millenium Stadium in a combination of ecstacy and shock. Twenty minutes later order was somewhat restored when Alessandro Del Piero put the ball in Paul Jones net and the inevitable Italian was seeming increasingly likely.

As the second half progressed, Wales playing way way above themselves (like a 6 chatting up a solid 9 in the bar and the charm working), and when Craig Bellamy scored what ended up being the winner with twenty minutes remaining.

A great win for Wales, the poster win of the great 2004 run, which ended in a playoff defeat to Russia.

7) The comeback!

Late on a Sunday night, with school looming the following morning, a Monday, with the inability to fall asleep I went downstairs and flicked the TV on. Working my way through the channels, finding less than nothing on to fill the void of sleep. Going through the sports channels I settled on "Live NFL", and a game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants. The game, midway through the third quarter, saw the 49ers trailing 38-14, in what the commentators were referring to as an "unassailable lead".

The 49ers began the 4th quarter 38-22 behind and still searching for somewhat of a miracle, and found it with a 17 point quarter, failing a 2 point conversion on their last score to make it a 3 point game. I remember the Giants driving  to end the game and getting into field goal range only to botch the snap and lose the game.

From that moment, I signed myself up to the life of torment and followed the 49ers.

6) Beating the Scum.

Something you learn very young supporting Oxford United is to detest Swindon Town, detest the club, the fans, the players, the staff. That's the theory and the first Oxford-Swindon game you attend is like a rite of passage.

In my years of this rivalry, i've had the opportunity to go to one game between the two teams (until August 20th). The one game, an FA Cup 2nd round tie, live on BBC, full house at the Kassam Stadium, a deafening, partisan atmosphere. Swindon, who were a league above Oxford were favourites heading into the game, led by striker Danny Invincible (by name, not nature).

I remember it as a nip and tuck game, with precious few chances, the solitary goal scored by Jefferson Louis, although Steve Basham claimed it, cue wild celebrations and a nervy finish to the end. Relief and pride circled around Oxfordshire after the win...oh, and the small matter of Arsenal in the third round would of been a welcome bonus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hce7oyZ7__E (highlights from the second half)

5) Seventeen!

For the Boston Celtics, there had been very little to cheer about since Larry Bird retied in the early 1990's. In 1998, the Celtics drafted forward Paul Pierce out of Kansas. Pierce spent the first 8 years of his career being the "franchise player" for the Celtics. However, with not much support, and few playoff appearances, it was no surprise when there were rumblings of a disgruntled Pierce wanting out of Boston after a terrible season, where they earned a lottery pick in the draft.

With that in mind, the front office got to work, acquring Ray Allen, a three point shooting machine (who become the all time 3 point king this past season) . They didn't stop their however, and sent ripples all across the NBA when they shifted pieces to Minnesota and packaged a deal to the Timberwolves for "The Big Ticket" Kevin Garnett. With the newly named big 3 in toe, the Celtics stormed out the blocks, going 20-3 in their first 23 games.

Ending with 66 wins, the Celtics struggled early in the postseason, needing 7 game to get by the Atlanta Hawks. They needed 7 more games to beat LeBron James and some other guys who made up the Cleveland Cavaliers (The Pierce-LeBron battle which was severely underrated). In the conference final, they got past the Detroit Pistons in 6 games, booking a date (or 6) with the old enemy Los Angeles Lakers.

After the first three games went with home court (Celtics 2-1), the C's won game 4 in the "Staples Centre" before winning there first NBA title in 22 years with a 39 point massacre in game 6 back home in the "TD Garden". The win was the Celtics 17th NBA Championship, and fitting that Paul Pierce was the Finals MVP.

4) 90 minutes away!

After the heartache of the Exeter play-off semi final 4 years previous, where Exeter beat Oxford on penalties after recovering from a 1-0 first leg deficit to win 2-1 at the Kassam Stadium and reaching Wembley on penalties.

Fast forward to 2010, after a 1-1 draw at Nene Park, Oxford and Rushden did battle again for the right to go to Wembley to play in the play-off final. Like all games of this magnitude, it was tense all around the ground, moreso for Oxford fans, for whom promotion was far more crucial for than Rushden & Diamonds (those reading in the future, Rushden and Diamonds are a football club who used to play in Irthlingborough

and at one point made the 3rd tier of English football).

With the game still all square early in the second half, two goals in 4 second half minutes from James Constable, then Matt Green (those two combined for 36 goals that season) put Oxford within touching distance of the playoff final.

When the final whistle went, a pitch invasion ensued, however with the sceptic in me taking over, I didn't celebrate this game, as winning a semi final is pointless unless you win the final, it's like watching a movie, and leaving just before the end.

3)  Lord Stanley's return.

Our most recent addition to the group. The whole playoffs for the Bruins was like the Rocky saga (well the first 5). The first round, they finally overcame the old foe, the Montreal Canadiens, or the Apollo Creed of this metaphor. Moving on to the Philladelphia Flyers, who like Clubber Lang won the first fight/series, only for the Bruins/Rocky to gain vengenance and retribution.

Next should be Drago, but this metaphor isn't chronologically accurate. Next it's Tommy Gunn, or the Tampa Bay Lightning, the young up and coming superstar(s) (ok, maybe not Marty St.Louis) took the first blow, only for the wily elder veteran to step up and put the kid in his place.

Last up, the Drago, or the Vancouver Canucks. To be more specific, I thought up this metaphor thinking about Luongo's transition from home to road games, I found it to be similar to the part in Rocky IV when Rocky hits Drago, and once he's hit, he's easy prey. For the first two games, Luongo beat up on the Bruins, and looked set to be difference-maker in the series, but once the Bruins hit him once, they didn't stop hitting, and eventually put the knock-out blow on the Canucks.

The Bruins parade garnered the support of 1.5 million people in the streets of Boston, the most attended parade of all 4 of the major sports in the New England area.

2) ...Back to Foulke

For 86 years, Red Sox fans had to suffer, watch the Yankees win numerous titles, and listen to ramblings and rumblings of "The curse of the bambino". I started supporting the Red Sox in May 2003, so my first postseason was that season, or as Red Sox fans remember it, "Grady f*****g Little and Aaron f*****g Boone".

The following year, the Yankees and the Red Sox met again in the ALCS, the Yankees took two close game at Yankee Stadium (the old charismatic one, not the bandbox they play in now), with Mariano Rivera getting the save in both. Game 3, looked like it was the death warrant for the Red Sox, after they were humilated 19-8 at Fenway Park.

The next night down a run in the 9th inning, Rivera on the mound, it looked curtains. The rest of the series, why don't i just quote the abominaton that is "Fever pitch" to tell you the rest of the series.

"Rivera walked Millar...Roberts pinch runs and steals second...Mueller drives him....Ortiz wins it in extra innings.... Ortiz in extra innings the next night...Lowe and Pedro find there form....Schilling's bloody sock in New York...Damon's grand slammy...Bye Bye Bambino."

Yes, the Red Sox became the first team to overturn a 3 game deficit, and rallied to win four straight and go to the "World Series" and face the St.Louis Cardinals. The Red Sox swept the Cardinals in a series where game 2,3 and 4 were dominated by Red Sox pitching, and the superhuman effort by Keith Foulke, the closer , who fielded the bouncer right back at him, which led to Joe Buck calling this bit of commentary...

"back to Foulke....Red Sox fans have longed to hear it, the Boston Red Sox are the world champions"

For Red Sox fans who thought they wouldn't ever live to see it, the odyssey was over for them.

The Red Sox won the Championship again in 2007, and this could easily have slotted in th top 10 (around 5 or 6) but I thought I would group them together. The Red Sox had antoehr comeback in the ALCS in '07 (from 3-1 down to the Cleveland Indians) then sweeping the Colorado Rockies.

The days of curses are long gone, like a decent Adam Sandler film.

1) Oxford United are back in the Football league !!!

The game that followed the Rushden game, at Wembley, in a sea of yellow and blue, 33,000 Oxford United fans taking over London. Everything about the day, from the train ride, to the pre match, to the game itself was nerves personified.

Oxford scored two early goals, a great strike from Green and an accomplished finish from Constable had Oxford 2-0 up within 20 mins. The delirioum in the stands was reciprocated all throughout the yellow half of the ground, although a shock to the system occured when 'keeper Ryan Clarke dropped a Ben Purkiss cross (who ironically signed for Oxford about 6 weeks later).

2-1 half-time

Second half saw York have the majority of chances and possession, and had a golden opportunity to level through Michael Rankine, but he blazed over. Then in injury time, from a york corner, Rhys Day won a header and...well this is the ogal i won;t forget, my dad won;t forget, no Oxford fan will forget.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fvMtHhhr5I&feature=related - Just note the crowd reaction to note the amount of relief.

For me, who had held my dad accountable for his "come and watch Oxford" talk when I was 5. 5? What could I say, "no Dad, i'd rather watch "countdown". I went, I become an addict, he told me it wasn't always great, but it wasn't always bad. For 12 years thought it was mainly bad, three relegation, from the second tier, to the third, to the fourth, in the midst of anonymity, we fell further, completely off the football radar.

Well all this was happening i was envious, envious that all older Oxford fans had a promotion in the mid 90's, the Milk Cup in 1986, the days in the top flight. I watched other teams have success, sat waiting for it to us.

For a long spell, in the drab months of the football season, the ones where you go to places like Grays and Tamworth, because you can, when you're in mid table nothingness playing the seaosn out. Those months felt longer, there was neve rmuch to shout and sing about, but finally that's begun to change, from winning at Wembley, to being back in the league, and even being tipped for another promotion. I can now say, my Dad made the right decision taking me to the Manor.

*Sidenote, if the day comes where Oxford gain promotion to the premier league, or the 49ers win a superbowl, this list should, I imagine remain the same. And given the two examples i've given, it seems more likely we see Amy Winehouse sober and Lindsay Lohan in a stable home-life before either of my examples come through.

Good times' a Bruin.

Just after 8pm local time, the city of Vancouver descended into rioting and anarchy. Shops and banks were looted, cars turned over, fires blazing all across the city. From the birds-eye pictures, it looked as if chaos had presented itself. For the people of Vancouver, and Canada as a whole, rioting after losses in their national sport isn't something new, it's happened in Montreal and it's happened once before in Vanouver (1994). I ponder, and somewhat fear the severity of the riot that would of ensued had Team Canada lost the gold medal game in the olympics last year. They didn't!

Inside the sold out Rogers Arena in Vancouver, the Vancouver Canucks had just been soundly beaten by the Boston Bruins, whose 4-0 victory saw them secure their first Stanley Cup since 1972, a 39 year drought ended. With stellar play from Conn Smythe trophy winner Tim Thomas, matched by 2 goal salvo's from Patrice Bergeron and rookie Brad Marchand, the "Black and Gold" secured their first cup since the days of Bobby Orr.

For the Bruins, who since the turn of the millenium have seen the Patriots become a dynasty, the Red Sox become a perennial powerhouse, and the Celtics return to prominence, had finally ended their drought, and cleared their name as the "Fredo" of the Boston sports picture. The Bruins for a long time had been regarded as a faliure, they went 19 years (1992-2011) without winning consecutive playoff series. They choked a 3-0 playoof lead to the Flyers (2011).  They traded Ray Borque so he had a chance at winning the cup, then threw a parade for him when he did...for Colorado. Trades of Phil Kessel and "Jumbo" Joe Thornton amongst others were castigated as the Bruins found themselves at the cellar, looking for a way back.

No more.

This years' playoffs were different. Overcoming the hated Montreal Canadiens after being 2 game to none down. That didn't happen, the Habs usually win, right? Then using that momentum to exorcise any demons that remained fromt he previous year's playoff debacle. A debacle which is now history, and holds little-to-no significance.

After breaking the nigh on 2 decade drought of winning back-to-back seires in the postseason, the Bruins ousted Tampa Bay in 7 games (their 2nd 7 game series of the playoffs) and booked a date with the Canucks. Again, the B's found themselves 2 game to 0 down, against the "hot goalie", or so we thought, as Luongo was shellacked in 4 of the last 5 games of the series, whilst "Tank" Tim Thomas remained sizzling, stopping a Stanley Cup finals record 238 shots, and a playoff record 798. All these postseason accoldes, added to his regular season dominance, where he set the all time record in save percentage (.938) eclipsing Dominik Hasek's record.

In the final game 7, the Bruins third of the playoffs(becoming the only team to win 3 game 7's), the Bruins went into a building where they had an 0-3 record in this series, but had only lost by 1 goal in each game, one in OT, one with 19 seconds to go and the other 1-0. A near flawless performance, and a further game where the Bruins defence kept key Canucks like Ryan Kesler, and the Sedin's (Henrik and Daniel) the latter of which guaranteed a win. The 3 key players on the Canucks were anonymous for the whole series.

The Canucks will undoubtedly look back and lament missed opportunities, and scour the video to see where things went wrong. After a Raffi Torres game winner in game 1, and Alexandre Burrows avoiding suspension for biting Patrice Bergeron in game 1, then going on to score twice in game 2 (icluding the OT winner), the Canucks headed to Beantown up 2.

For the first period in Boston, it was a nip-tuck game, but two things happened in that game that turned the series, and shifted momentum entirely to the Bruins.

- Zdeno Chara, the Bruins captain calling his team out in the locker room apparently had the right effect, and resonated with alot of his teammates.

- Aaron Rome's late hit on Nathan Horton (arguably the best scorer on the Bruins) leaving him with a concussion, and out of the series. For the Bruins, i think this was where the series flipped 180. Similar to Rocky 3, where Rocky is down and out, after being destroyed by Clubber Lang, Mickey dying, he was down on his luck, until Apollo came back to help him, and train him, to motivate him. Inexplicably, Aaron Rome was the Bruins Apollo, except without the awkward beach hug scene.

After a game 3 trouncing, finishing 8-1, the Bruins carried that momentum through to win game 4 by four goals to zero. Vancouver stole game 5 with the help of home-ice. Game 6 was more of the same, as Boston scored early, and scored often, as they won 5-2 to take the series to game 7, where, as you know, they poured it on the Canucks.

The great thing, in my opinion about the Stanley Cup, is the stories. Unlike reality show sob stories where their appealing for votes, and adualtion, the Stanley Cup has co-incidences and fightbacks. As the Bruins lifted the cup and one player handed it to another, there was a story for all of them.

-As Chara lifted the cup, he screamed so loud, that if he was painted green you would confuse him with Reptar. For Chara though, he long had been questioned about his ability to lead a team deep in thr playoffs. Thart theory is gone.

He passed it to Recchi, who had just announced his retirement, for a 43 year old legend of the game to go out on top is a fitting ending no doubt. Recchi gave the cup to Patrice Bergeron, who scored two goals in the game, 4 years after missing an entire season with a concussion, with surely a fear he may never have returned to the same standard as before. He did!

Then on to Tim Thomas, the MVP, the hero. The man who next week will seal his 2nd Vezina trophy in 3 years, but sandwiched in between them seasons is one filled with injury, struggles and eventually him watching from the sidelines as Tuuka Rask took over goalie duties inthe playoffs.With rumours of Thomas being traded this offseason, he decided to put together one of, if not the greatest goalie season in the history of the sport.

The cup found it's way to Horton, who with no bitterness about missing the game had a beaming smile on his face, with his jersey and his skates on, not feeling left out. Onto Lucic in his hometown, then Marchand, the pesky rookie who shocked the front office with his confidence. Marchnd was given the ultimate repsect he could of asked for after a series of instigating, clutch scoring and being a nuisance to the Canucks. As he lifted the cup, a chorus of boo's that were saved for him, yet were drowned out by the sound of grown men screaming and celebrating like kid son the playground.

After all the interviews, me finding myself more awake at 4.30, and being every bit as delirious as the players, joining in the celebrations, albeit by myself. The interviews were conducted the same, the player introduced his family said how it was a dream come true and moved on. Except Thomas, who took time to say what a great team Vancouver was, and how he thought Luongo, who had ripped him afte rgame 5, saying the goal would of been "an easy save for me", was a great goalie.

For the Bruins now, the drought has ended, after weeks of  "we want the cup" being the echo of fans at the garden, the team delivered, and the icing on the cake, was the team picture on the ice to end the season. A piece of history i always found to be slightly cringeworthy, and pointless seemed alot more rewarding and wonderful when it;s the set of players you watched play all season, every season.

I guess finally the "Big and Bad" are back...let us hope it;s not another 39 years before the Cup's won again.

Heroes and Villains.

For every great comic book hero, their feats and their conquering of evil can only be truly complete when they overcome the super-villain. For Dirk Nowitzki these past couple of weeks, he's had to to overcome three.

For those who don't follow the NBA or those who have lived without ways of media for the past 9 months, the Miami Heat this past off-season assembled arguably the most dynamic and polarising lineup to grace a basketball court. Their acquisitions of LeBron James (regarded as the best player to play the game since Michael Jordan) and Chris Bosh (a silky smooth 7 footer) to come to Florida and play alongside stalwart Dwayne Wade.

The shockwaves that rippled through the NBA were totally unique, and interest in the upcoming season increased rapidly when they had a championship style party to INTRODUCE them. (see above). The summer of the "LeBron sweepstakes" being two years in waiting, with teams pitching their plans and ideas to the man dubbed "King". A player who was tipped for greatness in his mid-teens, named "The chosen one", "The Phenom". Heck, there's a film about his high school team.So seven years after being picked first in the draft by his hometown team the Cleveland Cavaliers, turning htem into a perennial championship contender, how did he decided to leave.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTeCc8jy7FI&feature=related

Oh, that'd be right, a one hour tv special where nobody (not even the Cavaliers) knew what team he would announce he'd play for in the upcoming season.

As soon as "i'mma take my talents to south beach" was uttered, LeBron went from public darling to being castigated from all onlookers, a fall from grace quicker than Ron Burgundy in "Anchorman". To go from the comic book hero, trying to take league domination from Kobe Bryant (our original villain), he becomes a bigger, and more narcissistic villain it seemed than anyone had thought possible.

All this follwed by unrelented media coverage, every talk show, every sports bulletin, every newspaper column, a grinnign LeBron James. Be it bumping his coach, lack of chemistry on the court, or a Florida based journalist insisting that he be forgiven and we appreciate his talents.

Fast forward to the playoffs, and Miami looking in imperious form, chemistry issues aside, the team had to endure a battle with the plucky Philladelphia 76ers before turning on the style against the Boston Celtics (although if Rondo didn;t get hurt, i think we take that series to 7 games...at least). The team, led by Dwayne Wade's offence and LeBron's stellar defence on MVP Derrick Rose (who is fast becoming our future comic book hero, yet failed on this occasion) saw the Heat convincingly book their place in the NBA finals.

On the other side of the coin, a 7 foot German maverick named Dirk had decided he was going to take on all-comers, playing a level of basketball superseeding anything seen in this year's playoffs. After Dallas struggled past Portland, they swept the defending champion Lakers, before putting the young, energetic Oklahoma City to the sword.

A classic irresistable force up against the immovable object. Something had to give.

With Dirk being the last great superhero left to defeat the evil, his quest began in vain as evil took game 1, then held what looked like a n unassailable lead, before Nowitzki and his men fought back and stunned south beach with a historic comeback leavign Heat coach Erik Spoelstra with his evil scientist grin, which i've seen far too often during these playoffs.

As the series headed to Texas for 3 games, it became apparent that despite the best efforts of America's biggest bandwagoner Colin Cowherd, people hadn't forgiven LeBron James...in fact i would say their distain for him had only been excacerbated by success. With the Heat taking game 3, Dirk took the court with a 102 fever, realising this realistically would be his last chance for a title (and Jason Kidd's last) and playing a game reminiscent of what's known as Jordan;s "flu game" where he played through the influenza barrier.

After Dallas won game 5, and look poised to take the series, an uncomfortable scene was caught on camera of Wade and James mocking Nowitzki sneezing then giggling like the cowardly school bullies in the lunch room with the belief that nobody was as "cool" as them. Nowtizki branded them "immature", probably the perfect word to describe them off the court, and some of their highlight reel maneuvers on it.

Like all great comic books, evil was defeated as the Mavericks won game 6 in convincing fashion, but rather than celebrate evil's fall, i found myself pleased and relieved for our superhero, and the desperate veteran (Kidd) and the down-to-earth owner (Mark Cuban). With heartfelt moments in the aftermath, seeing Wade shake Maverick hands, seeing LeBron shake Kidd's than vanishing down the tunnel (one more than he shook after the Celtics bounced the Cavs last year). We saw Nowitzki shooting coach from Germany teared up in the crowd, we saw Cuban let the Mavericks maiden owner lift the Larry O'Brien trophy.

And last, but no means least, we saw Celtics legend Bill Russell, no reason that's heartfelt, but just a "brucie bonus for me".

The moral of the story being good triumphs over evil, revenge is sweet (Miami beat Dallas in the 2006 finals)...but like most great comic books, they'll undoubtedly be a sequel, probably with new good guys, but I think these villains will win not 1.. not 2...etc.

The Stanley Cup preview.

The general consensus is that i'm not big on previewing sporting events, however, given that this years "Stanley Cup" (which starts 1am CET Thursday) is pitting the Vancouver Canucks going head-to-head with my Boston Bruins. Without bias coming to the forefront of the article, the tension and excitement awaiting this series is something which isn;t experienced often, and with the Bruins, ever.

Onto the series itself, and a mouth-watering prospect it is for all Hockey fans. The Canuckleheads mix of solid defence, good special teams and "The Sedins's" (Daniel and Henrik), Vancouver since day one has been regarded as the best team in the NHL, and the favourites to win the cup. The regular season saw the Candian outfit amass an astounding 117 points (14 more than the Bruins 103) and won the "Presidents trophy", for garnering more points than any other team in the NHL.

The Bruins on the other hand have had to combat their inconcstencies, overcome the demons of last summers playoff "choke" against the Flyers, and undergo a meteoric rise to prominence inthe landscape of sport in New England. A season that started in Prague, Czech Republic, saw the Bruins start the season with great form before a mid-season drop-off saw them in a battle with the hated Montreal Canadiens for the Northeast division. The "Chara-Pacioretty" incident (linked above) seemed to spark a rivalry between the players that mimiced the same passionate dislike for one another the fans had. From that moment, maybe co-incidentally, the Bruins fortunes seemed to change for the better in the preperation for the playoffs'.

The playoffs' themselves have seen both teams' undergo "heart attack hockey" and have to dig deep to stay in the tournament.

Round 1

Canucks-Blackhawks (4-3)

The Canucks race out to a 3-0 lead in the 7 game series against the champion Blackhawks. However after Jonathan Toews decided to release his inner superman and drag the 'Hawks off the floor and tie the series up at 3, it took a spirited, determined effort for the Canucks to finally oust Chicago in 7th, and final game.

Bruins-Candiens (4-3)

How fitting? In retrospect, the Bruins going through the Habs to win their first cup in 39 years, is almost a given. THe Celtics had to go through the Lakers in 2008. The Patriots had to go through the "Greatest show on turf" in '2001 and most famously, the Red Sox come back from 3 games down to beat the Yankees in 2004. New England sports seems to dictate, you have to overcome all obstacles if you're in a title drought.

After going 2 games down (both on home ice) the Bruins rallied and won two games at  the deafningly loud Bell Centre, with a bunch of seething French Canadians booing captain Zdeno Chara everytime he touched the puck. Andrew Ference offered them "the middle finger salute" in my favourite moment of the 2011 postseason. The Bruins went up 3 to 2, with a double overtime game in the books, and a long, draining series, the Habs tied the series at 3. A Nathan Horton overtime drive that sailed past Carey Price sent the Bruins into the 2nd round.

Round 2

Canucks-Predators (4-2)

I'll be honest, early. I didn't watch alot of this series, as the Bruins series and the Red Wings-Sharks series seemed to eat most of, if not all my hockey time. However highlights and articles tell me that this was a great battle of goaltenders. Roberto Luongo overcame his first round issues and outdueled fellow Vezina candidate Pekka Rinne. The Canucks split the first to games at home, but 3 wins in Nashville was the difference as they booked their ticket in the "conference finals".

Bruins-Flyers (4-0)

If beating the Canadiens was bittersweet, overcoming the Flyers was a mix of revenge, and karmaic payback. After being 3-0 up last year and inexplicably losing the series, after a game 1 deomlition in Philadelphia this year, the Bruins didn't let up with an overtime win in game 2, and two 5-1 victories in the TD Garden saw the Bruins breeze through to the conference finals.

Round 3

Canucks-Sharks (4-1)

To say describe the Canucks as in "imperious form" doesn;t do justice to how dominant they looked in the first 2 games as they dispatched the talent-laden San Jose Sharks, a team accustomed to regular playoff faliures. After a game 3 loss, the Canucks slammed the door shut on San Jose with a game 4 win and a game 5 double overtime victory, where they tied the game with 13 seconds left of regulation, showing their "never say die" spirit.  A Kevin Bieksa goal saw the Canucks one series away from their first Stanley cup since their inception in 1970.

Bruins-Lightning (4-3)

If the series against Montreal wasn;t enough for the ticker, the Bruins thought it would be more enjoyable to play more "heart attack hockey". After being thrashed in game 1, the Bruins won a crazy game 2, then went to Tampa and behind a Tim Thomas shutout led the seires' 2-1.

Game 4 saw "a game of two halves", to quote a cliche. After being 3 goals up very early in the game, including 2 goals (one shorthanded) from Patrice Bergeron, the Lightning reeled off 5 unanswered goals to tie the series up, and send it back to Boston at 2-2.

Boston won game 5, before Tampa returned the favour in game 6 in anothe rcome from behind win. Game 7, for a game that had so little, never offered so much, with no penalties in the whole game, and no goals until Nathan Horton (again) scored a tap-in past the veteran Dwayne Roloson to send the Garden delirious, leading to "We want the cup" pouring down all the way from up in the "nosebleeds".

For the Bruins, the key to the series is to keep the twins as quiet as possible, meaning the 28 minute marathon outings from the Chara-Seidenberg partnership becomes crucial for the Bruins. The series doesn't seem like it will be full of goals, with the likely Vezina winner (Tim Thomas) facing fellow nominee Roberto Luongo. The two goalies are tied gor a 2.29 GAA in the playoffs, and they were 1st and 2nd respectively in GAA in the regular season (the first time the two leaders in the stat have met in the finals since Roy/Vernon in'89)

On the offensive end, the Bruins top line of Horton-Krejci-Lucic needs to carry on delivering in clutch situations, and sporadic production from the other lines, and solid defence will be the key for Boston to have a chance of stopping a Canadian team lifting the cup for the first time in 18 years.

Prediction:

First i predict the green men to be totally outrageous during this series, almost distracting attention from the game, with their juvenile, yet hilarious antics by the penalty box.

However this is tough, because after all the momentum the Bruins have garnered, it's hard to pick against them, and their my team, so i don't want to. However, the prowess and ability of this Canucks team, they just seem to be a class apart above any other team in Hockey. After they saw off Chicago, they have gone from strength to strength, and seemto have the upper hand on Boston on special teams and offensivley, so disicipline is crucial for the Bruins. I see a herculean Bruins effort, but similar to the Celtics last summer, i see that effort just falling short.

Vancouver Canucks win the Cup in 7 games (4-3).