As the playoffs for Lord Stanley's cup get underway tonight, I was reflecting on some of the sites I've seen as a sports fan.  In my adult lifetime, three of my teams have won the big trophy.

It began in 1985 with the Bears, pounding the Patriots in Super Bowl XX.  Then came six championships in eight years for Michael Jordan, which had little affect on me since I'm only a casual basketball fan.  I have since sworn off the NBA and no longer follow it.

Then, on October 26th, 2005, the one championship I thought I would never see happened in Houston, as the Chicago White Sox edged the Astros 1-0 and took home the hardware.  That is a moment I will share with my grandchildren in thirty years.

The one championship that has eluded me has been Lord Stanley's cup, the coolest trophy in sports.  I remember as a ten year-old listening to Lloyd Pettit calling game 7 of the 1971 Stanley Cup finals on the radio as the Hawks fell in game seven to Montreal 3-2 (after going up 2-1 in the second period.)  I remember the heart break. The Hawks went back for the '73 finals, losing again to Montreal 4 games to 2. Except for 1992, when the Hawks were swept in the finals by Mario and the Penguins, the Hawks have not come close since.

In a recent video game simulation, the Hawks fell in six games to the Boston Bruins, who haven't won a cup in 37 years (since the days of Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr, Brad Park, John Bucyck and Gerry Cheevers.)  This is contrast to the Hawks who have not won a cup in 48 years, the longest drought for original six teams.

The odds are good the Hawks won't win one this year either.  The chances of them emerging from the western conference and playing for the cup are very, very slim.  They are a good young team, but nowhere near as good as several teams in their conference. Their coach, Joel Quenneville, has had better teams in both St. Louis and Colorado that haven't gotten past the second round. 

As the Bear fans drool over Jay Cutler and Sox fans hope Scott Podsednik has brought a little 2005 back with him from exile, the Hawks enter the playoffs against a tough Calgary team coached by Iron Mike Keenan, the last coach to take the Hawks to the finals. 

It's nice to have the Hawks back in the playoffs.  it would be nicer to see Jonathan Toews lugging the cup around the ice at the end of them.