The Pens are Mightier than the Flyers

It's all over, 'cept the crying. I don't think anyone will tell you, myself included, that the Flyers were the better team coming into this series. Heck, there's a good case that can be made that the Penguins were actually the number 1 seed in the Eastern Conference this year. I saw them play twice in person and several times on TV during the regular season and playoffs. They certainly deserve to be where they are; they really are that talented. But, I'm let down in the way in which the Flyers fell out of this year's playoffs. The regular season was topsy-turvy. The first two rounds of the playoffs were impressive for the Flyers; they knocked off the numbers 1 & 3 seeds. But so many of the players who had previously been standing as tall as ever were just simply silenced and shut down. The Penguins just simply were faster, better puck handlers & communicators, and ably showing off their incredible young talent. So, I'm surprised how little respect the Penguins are already getting against their next (presumptive) challenger, the Detroit Red Wings. Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going about collecting all of the goods that were put up for the beer wager between Philly & Pittsburgh, The Brew Lounge & Craft Beer Radio. The Philly faithful came through strong with 11 establishments pledging all sorts of beer related stuff. Jeff Bearer at Craft Beer Radio is back from SAVOR (keep your ears open for the series of SAVOR podcasts that he's already begun to publish) and putting together a process for distributing the goods to his listeners. If all works out, I may even put together a roadtrip to Pittsburgh to humbly turn over the winnings to Jeff and his listeners...and drink a few beers...and catch a Pirates game. Stay tuned...