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WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS – GAME 2
CALGARY FLAMES AT DALLAS STARS
SEPTEMBER 23, 2002
As told by Don Vito Corleone
My dear friends, sometimes in this life... there are men who do everything right — who fight with honor, who swing their bat like a soldier swings his sword — and still, they lose. That was Amenzu Jabiri tonight.
Three home runs. Four hits. Six runs driven in. He gave everything he had for the Family in Dallas. But it was not enough. The Calgary Flames — organized, calculating, relentless — came to the American Airlines Center... and made an offer the Stars couldn’t refuse.
Final Score: Flames 12, Stars 9. Calgary leads series 2-0.
Now I’m not a man who celebrates violence for sport... but this? This was a baseball bloodbath. Two powerful Families locked in a war of bats and strategy, and tonight, Calgary had the muscle. They came in like Luca Brasi with a bat and a mission — and they carried it out to perfection.
Lloyd Braun.
You might not know the name, but you will now. This man? He settled all Family business in the ninth inning. A 3-run home run off O. Fuentes. His second of the day. Boom. Just like that, Calgary led 12-5, and the game was over — even if the box score says it wasn’t.
Amenzu Jabiri — a warrior, make no mistake — he didn’t go quietly. He hit a 3-run shot of his own in the bottom of the ninth. That made it 12-9. He kept swinging, hoping maybe — maybe — he could pull off a miracle. But miracles are in short supply when you give up 15 hits and walk into a trap.
The Flames — the real Corleones of the diamond tonight — they spread their offense across every inning like it was territory. Grubin, Kadri, Braun, Gutierrez... all of them showing respect to the plan, to the discipline. They didn’t panic. They didn’t celebrate early. They just kept going.
That’s how you win a war.
Calgary’s Numbers Don’t Lie:
Lloyd Braun: 2 HR, 5 RBI. The enforcer.
Nazem Kadri: 4-for-5. A silent assassin.
M. Grubin: On base all game like he owned the block.
V. Gutierrez: 3 hits, 3 RBI. The man showed up with his own crew.
15 hits. 12 runs. No errors. That’s a professional job, my friend.
As for Dallas... look, they had heart. R. Grubin homered. Costanza got his hands dirty with a 2-RBI double. But their pitching? Sloppy. Weak. N. Kunisada couldn’t get past the fifth. Fuentes gave up the killing blow in the ninth. The Stars bullpen... it’s like sending Fredo to negotiate in Vegas. A mistake.
Now the series moves to Calgary.
Wednesday. Game 3. The Flames are back on home turf — and they’ve got the power now. The Stars? They’re not out, but they’ve been warned.
If they want to survive, they’d better remember: Revenge is a dish best served cold... and Calgary’s got plenty of ice.
Player of the Game: Amenzu Jabiri — he lost the battle, but he earned the Family’s respect.
Weather: Clear skies, but the air was full of betrayal.
Attendance: 42,195 — witnesses to a baseball war.
“A man who doesn’t take the game seriously, who doesn’t protect his lead, who gives up a three-run shot in the ninth... can never be trusted.”
– Don Vito Corleone
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