The five day pause between the Flyers’ Game 5 victory to clinch the Eastern Conference and Saturday’s opening game of the Stanley Cup Finals is proving to be a torturous experience. Finally, we are here.

Hockey is hot across the country, with the teams from two of America’s largest cities representing their respective conferences, but only one is getting all the pub nationally: the Chicago Blackhawks.

Inevitably, when the pick is made, each certified expert speaks along the lines of “You have to give the Flyers credit for all they’ve battled through, but…Blackhawks in five.” One of such writers, ESPN.com’s Pierre Lebrun, went so far as to title the Western Conference finals the real Cup Finals. These are the same Western Conference Finals that ended in four games, with Chicago sweeping San Jose.

If that is what embodies a true championship series, then we’ll have to take back our enjoyment of the Flyers’ dramatic run up to this point. After all, these Flyers weren’t supposed to beat Martin Brodeur and the second-seeded Devils, couldn’t possibly have come back and defeated the Bruins after losing the first three games of the series and certainly weren’t going to easily solve the Ovechkin-and-Crosby-slaying Montreal Canadiens and Patrick-Roy-reincarnated Jaroslav Halak.

They definitely weren’t going to do all of that after losing Simon Gagne, Jeff Carter and Ian Laperriere, nor keep playing long enough to get any of them back. They weren’t going anywhere with Brian Boucher in net or, after he was injured, with a just-returned Michael Leighton.

Sure they weren’t.

The Flyers are here though, and for all the talk of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Dustin Byfuglien, Marian Hossa, Kris Versteeg, Duncan Keith, Seabrook and Antii Niemi, there is Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne, Danny Briere, Claude Giroux, Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen and Michael Leighton. Is there a definite disparity in talent there? A resounding “No” rises from the rational, the objective and the sane.

Yeah, but…

We know. The Blackhawks swept the postseason-impotent San Jose Sharks and psychologically tormented Gold-medal winning goaltender Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks. It did take them six games to beat Nashville in the first round (a result that may have been quite different if Marian Hossa had been properly penalized —and if Martin Erat felt like holding on to the puck longer) but of course, because it did take six games, it just proves Nashville obviously to be a scrappy band of pluckers, grinders and muckers — and the Blackhawks all the more impressive for beating them.

No one has yet to make a convincing argument for Chicago’s supposed advantage in every aspect of the game. Where is this obvious gap between the two teams? Where is this chasm of talent between the high-flying Blackhawks and the knuckle-dragging Flyers?

It’s not there. Regardless of who they played to get here, the Flyers are in the Stanley Cup Finals and have as good a shot to win the damn thing as the Blackhawks do. Period.

Recapping the conference finals: Andrew picked the Cup matchup; Joe picked the bronze-medal game. For the playoffs, Andrew is 9-5, Joe is 6-5.

Andrew: Flyers in six (Gotta stay with what works — haven’t been right yet, but the Flyers haven’t lost yet.)

Joe: Flyers in seven

Maybe things changed after the Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 World Series (Remember that? It was sweet), but we always fancied Rays manager and Hazleton, Pa. native Joe Maddon to be a pretty genuine Philly guy.

Guess not.

Because Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey knows a guy who knows a guy who robbed the Blackhawks of millions of dollars (Martin Lapointe), the Tampa Bay Rays will be the official MLB cheerleaders for the ‘Hawks in the Stanley Cup Finals.

From Puck Daddy via USA Today’s First Pitch:

“I think we’re going to get 20, maybe 25 guys to do it,” Hickey says. “Nothing like a little pro-Chicago, anti-Philadelphia sentiment. I thought we could share our mutual dislike for Philadelphia sports teams.”

Who would’ve thought — people don’t like Philadelphia teams! This is certainly an odd match, especially considering a team from Tampa will support Chicago’s hockey team more than the two baseball teams in the Windy City. Who’s jumping on the bandwagon next: the 1980 Kansas City Royals? The 1975 Buffalo Sabres? 1985 Georgetown Hoyas?

We’ll take any bad luck Chicago can get. Though it feels like the Phils haven’t scored a run since the 2008 World Series, they haven’t had a perfect game thrown against them in each of the past two seasons like the Rays have — or at least not yet.

One thing you can say about the Philadelphia Flyers:

They are who we thought they were…in September.

Yes, your Flyers will represent the Eastern Conference in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals — surprising considering their regular season performance, not so much when you consider the preseason expectations.

How did the Flyers get here? By beating the second-seeded New Jersey Devils in five games, coming back from a 3-0 series deficit to beat the Boston Bruins and allowing a whopping two goals in four wins over the Montreal Canadiens.

All that leads to a matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks, a team the Flyers beat 3-2 on a last-second Chris Pronger goal in their only meeting this season. The Blackhawks, like the Flyers, have progressed rapidly in the last three seasons, led by their abundance of youthful talent.

(more…)

…Then he’d wear No. 22.

Per Deadspin, this photo of a matador in Spain pretty much tops any list of worst sports injuries:

Yes, the bull’s horn is exactly where you think it is.

Yeesh. If you thought Ian Laperriere’s injury was nasty…well, it was, but this is on quite another level.

As Hemingway said, “There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing and mountaineering; all the rest all merely games.” Hard to disagree.