The Whole Delivery

They come up big in the massive moments .

In the minds of most hockey fans and analysis, an Olympic Final that did not pit Russia vs Canada would have been a disappointment for maximum buzz and attention. Unless, of course, that final turned out to be the United States vs Canada instead. That alternate dream final is what has been given to hockey fans, sports fans, and casual nationalistic fans of all rounds today, as the two neighboring states will battle in the climactic event of this Vancouver Olympiad. The stage for this final was set last Sunday, when an inform Ryan Miller outplayed an aging Martin Brodeur in the US's impressive upset over the Canucks 5-3 last Sunday. That win sent a struggling Canada team into having to face the Russians two rounds earlier than expected, in a quarterfinal where one of the two superpowers were going to leave British Columbia without a medal to show. And it was Canada, buoyed by a much needed kick start 8-2 domination of Germany, who took it to the Russians in that quarterfinal ...

I'm back from going to dentist (ughhhhh). Anyway, here are today's headlines: Yeah, I'll talk more about the royal hissy fit Senators Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham are having. It was nice when you didn't have to hear from their mouths. Sports Threads will come up on these. And remember, it's one of four days for the newest member of America's soldiers. The headlines today....finally.

Illustration from ESPN.com It's the rematch everyone in the league wanted, as the Detroit Red Wings try to go for the franchise's 12th title against a Penguin team hungry to lift the Stanley Cup for the first time in 16 years ESPN's asked their analysts eight key questions in the series, including this first one : 1. Which captain makes the bigger contribution in this series? Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom or Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby? Burnside: Got to go with Crosby, who leads the NHL in points (tied with teammate Evgeni Malkin) and goals, especially given that Lidstrom is just now returning to the lineup for Game 1 after missing the past two games of the Western Conference finals with a lower-body injury. Hradek: Being the offensive threat, Crosby's contributions likely will be more tangible. And, as usual, his every move will be under the microscope. He has taken his total game to another level during the first three rounds of the playoffs, but the challenge wi...