REGULAR SEASON

I was in Pittsburgh for the last game of the regular season (I watched on television), and what struck me was how no one wanted to see a magical regular season end. The fans cheered loudly. The players did what they usually did at Mellon Arena in the second half of the season and won a one-goal game. Even the media loved the team so much that they awarded the whole team that Good-Guy media award. The announcers relished every second of the game.

Most of all, however, I was struck by the players, who skated around the ice after the game had ended. Fans remained to cheer. Sidney Crosby skated slowly and appeared to be taking in the atmosphere. The regular season, with no expectations, and every expectation since set exceeded, had been magical.

This wasn't necessarily a portent of things to come. But only one team's season ends as every team wishes for their season to end. And somehow, watching those players soak up every last second of a wonderful regular season was only giving them their due for a great a season.

At some future point, may that wonderful end to the regular season become a a wonderful end to the playoff season.