National Baseball League

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Alright, we go to Chicago, Game 5, pivotal game in the Conference Finals, and the Blackhawks get it done, 9-5, they take a 3-2 lead in the series. And listen, folks — this was Connor Bedard’s game. Bedard goes 4-for-5, four RBIs, big home run in the eighth, that was the dagger. That put the game away. He’s been the difference-maker in this series, there’s no question about it.
Now, Dallas had their moments — Montez goes deep, Jabiri does what he always does, gets on base, runs the bases well, but it wasn’t enough. Dallas had chances — five runs, seven hits, they left runners on, they couldn’t cash in when it mattered. And then, the bullpen… Quezada comes in, he gives up two, Ramirez comes in, gives up three, and that’s your ballgame right there. That seventh and eighth inning completely flipped it.
For Chicago, you had Bedard, you had Kim with a big RBI hit in the seventh, Foligno setting the table, Klompus with the long ball — they got contributions all through that lineup. Fifteen hits, nine runs, they took control late.
And give credit to that bullpen — Rivera comes in, two innings, shuts the door, doesn’t allow a hit. That’s what you need this time of year.
So now, Chicago up 3-2, going back to Dallas for Game 6. Stars gotta find a way to extend this series. They can’t rely just on Jabiri every night, somebody else has to step up. But right now, folks, you gotta say — Chicago looks like the better team, they look like the team headed back to the Cup Final.
That’s the story from Game 5.

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Chicago Blackhawks: 4th Stanley Cup Finals berth
1999 2001 2003 2004

Alright, so the Chicago Blackhawks are back in the Stanley Cup Final again — that’s four times since ’99, second year in a row. They close out Dallas, 7-3, win the series 4 games to 2, and folks, this was not complicated. Chicago was the better team, period, end of story.
The key to this game? Defense. Chicago turns five double plays — five! That’s how you shut down an offense. Dallas never got into any kind of rhythm, every time they had a chance, Chicago wipes it out with another double play. That’s championship baseball right there — or hockey, whatever you wanna call it in this universe.
Now offensively, Nick Foligno was the guy. Four hits, four RBIs, two home runs — he was the difference. Ron Hextall, terrific, two bombs of his own. Bedard chipped in, as always. They got production up and down that lineup.
For Dallas, let’s be honest — they never got it going. Jabiri gets on base a couple of times, Grubin hits one out, and then in the ninth inning, George Costanza — yes, that Costanza — hits a meaningless two-run homer with two outs. Window dressing. The game was over, the series was over, Chicago had already booked their ticket to the Final.
So, Blackhawks move on, they’ll face the New York Rangers — we’ve seen this matchup before, it’s a heavyweight fight, two dynasties colliding again. You couldn’t ask for a bigger Stanley Cup Final.
That’s all she wrote for Dallas. Chicago advances, they were the better team, and now we get Chicago–New York for the Cup.

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2004 Stanley Cup Final

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Mike: Alright, back on the FAN, talkin’ hockey — if you wanna call it hockey, Chris, because I don’t know what I was watchin’ last night at the Garden. Rangers 14, Blackhawks 10, and I’ll tell ya right now, this was not hockey, this was Coors Field in July, alright?

Mad Dog: Hahhh! Mikey, you said it! FOURTEEN TO TEN, Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final! What is this, the ‘99 All-Star Game in Denver?? You can’t give up FOURTEEN runs and expect to win in the Finals, Mikey! CHICAGO’S PITCHING IS A DISGRACE! ABSOLUTE—DISGRACE!

Mike: Salgado, Sanchez, Morales, Celis… Chris, that’s your rotation? That’s your bullpen? C’mon. Every time Chicago put a run on the board, New York came back and doubled it. And the Grubin brothers — Avery, Eli, Mike — they were all over the field. Avery, 41 years old, still hittin’ bombs in October.

Mad Dog: Ohhh Avery was FANNNN-tastic, Mikey! Two for three, three runs scored, three knocked in, workin’ the count, two walks, and then boom! Hits the homer! I don’t care if he’s forty-one, I don’t care if he’s fifty-one, that is a BIG-TIME performance in the Garden!!

Mike: And then you had Bedard, Chris, for Chicago — two home runs, four RBIs. They had offense, no question. Klompus with a couple, Foligno with a shot, Hextall went deep. Chicago had twelve hits, they scored ten runs. That should be enough to win a hockey game in the Finals, but when your pitching staff gives up fourteen… forget it.

Mad Dog: AND DON’T FORGET THE BRAWL, MIKEY! Seventh inning, Wang and Foligno, they get ejected, benches empty, Garden crowd goin’ nuts! You know Ranger fans LOVED that — they wanted blood, they wanted the fight! That’s Madison Square Garden playoff hockey!!

Mike: That’s fine, Chris, but you can’t lose focus in the middle of a Final. Foligno gets tossed, Wang gets tossed, and from there, Rangers take control. Rice with the dagger in the eighth, that two-run homer, put the game away.

Mad Dog: YOU CAN’T GIVE UP SIX RUNS IN THE FIFTH, MIKEY! SIX RUNS! Eli Grubin with the big two-run single, Escandon with the double, Mark Grubin with the bomb — game turned right there! Series is OVER if Chicago doesn’t fix this pitching!!

Mike: Easy, Chris, it’s one game. It’s a seven-game series. Chicago can still steal one tomorrow, get it back to 1–1, go home tied. But if this becomes a slugfest every night? Rangers got too many bats, too many Grubins, too much Garden mojo.

Mad Dog: OH IT’S A MOJO BUILDING, MIKEY! Fifty-four thousand in the building, chilly October night, wind blowin’ left to right, and the Rangers score FOURTEEN in the Stanley Cup Final!! You can’t make it up!

Mike: Bottom line: Rangers up 1–0, Garden rocking, and Chicago’s got a pitching crisis on its hands.

Mad Dog: CRISIS!! TOTAL—CRISIS!!

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Mike: Back on the FAN, Rangers, Blackhawks, Game Two, and Chris, I don’t even know what to say anymore. Twenty-six to thirteen. That was the score. And yes, this is the Stanley Cup Final.

Mad Dog: HAHHHHH! TWENTY-SIX TO THIRTEEN! YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP, MIKEY!! What is this, the NFL playoffs?? Jets and Bills put together don’t score that many!!

Mike: Chicago pitching, Chris, is a catastrophe. That’s the only way to put it. Rodriguez doesn’t record an out. Morales, Flores, Gould, Celis, Sanchez, Lago, Moon — eight pitchers, they ALL got shelled.

Mad Dog: AN EMBARRASSMENT!! AN ABSOLUTE EMBARRASSMENT!! You can’t give up TWENTY-SIX RUNS IN A CUP FINAL!! I don’t care if it’s Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium, or Madison Square Garden — you give up 26, you’re DONE!!

Mike: And the story of the night, Mark Grubin. Forty-one years old, four home runs, seven runs driven in, six runs scored. Chris, it was like watching Reggie Jackson in ‘77, only with gray hair.

Mad Dog: OH IT WAS BIGGER THAN REGGIE, MIKEY! FOUR BOMBS! FOUR! Against the Blackhawks in the Final! And you know what else? His brother Avery hit one, Rice hit one, Isaac hit two — it was a HOME RUN DERBY at the Garden!!

Mike: Foligno and Bedard tried to keep Chicago in it. They combined for four homers, seven RBIs. Gonzalez hits a three-run shot late. Offensively, they were fine. But when you can’t get a stop — when you can’t record an out in the first inning, and you’re down 8–2 before you blink — that’s the ballgame.

Mad Dog: SERIES IS OVER, MIKEY!! I DON’T WANNA HEAR IT!! RANGERS UP 2–0, HEADING TO CHICAGO, AND THEY’RE GONNA SWEEP ‘EM OUTTA THE BUILDING!! CHICAGO HAS NO PITCHING, NONE!!

Mike: Well, slow down, Chris. It’s 2–0. Now listen, you don’t come back from giving up 40 runs in two games very often, I’ll give you that. But you go home, you win Game 3, you make it a series again. That’s what Chicago has to do.

Mad Dog: THEY’RE NOT WINNING GAME 3! THEY GOT NO ANSWERS!! NONE!!

Mike: Bottom line: Rangers up 2–0, Grubin making history, Garden crowd loving every second. If Chicago doesn’t fix the staff in the next 48 hours, this thing’s a coronation.

Mad Dog: IT’S ALREADY A CORONATION, MIKEY!!

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Mike: Back on the FAN, Rangers–Blackhawks, Game Three, Chris, and let me tell you, I have been watching hockey a long time, I’ve seen comebacks, but this one last night was an all-timer. Rangers down 6–0 early, down all night, down 11–7 going to the ninth inning — and what do they do? They score FIVE in the ninth, they win it 12–11, and now they are up three games to none in the Stanley Cup Final.

Mad Dog: HAAAA! MIKEY! IT’S ONE OF THE GREAT WINS IN THE HISTORY OF THE FRANCHISE!! YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP!! DOWN SIX–NOTHIN’, IN CHICAGO, CROWD GOING BANANAS, AND THE RANGERS RIP THEIR HEARTS OUT!!

Mike: Will Cuylle, Chris. That’s the story. Two home runs, three hits, four runs batted in. He ties it in the ninth with that shot off Rivera, and then Ben Rice — of all people — comes up, homers to give them the lead.

Mad Dog: BEN RICE!! WHO WOULD’VE THOUGHT IT?? CUYLLE WITH THE BIG BLOW, AND RICE PUTS ‘EM AHEAD!! THIS TEAM IS UNBELIEVABLE!! EVERYBODY CONTRIBUTES!!

Mike: Chicago had everything lined up. They hit nine home runs in this game. Hextall with two, Klompus with two, Foligno with two, Trevino with two, Bedard with one — the offense was there. Eleven runs at home, Chris, you’re supposed to win.

Mad Dog: AND THEY DIDN’T, MIKEY!! THEY DIDN’T!! BECAUSE THEIR BULLPEN IS A DISASTER!! RIVERA BLOWS IT, WATTS BLOWS IT — THEY GOT NOBODY WHO CAN GET A BIG OUT!! NONE!!

Mike: The Rangers now one win away from their twelfth Stanley Cup, their third in a row. And if you’re Chicago, you’re done. No team has ever come back from this in hockey. You can’t lose a game like that at home, not in the Final.

Mad Dog: SERIES IS OVER, MIKEY!! IT’S OVER!! BOOK IT!! SWEEP COMING TOMORROW NIGHT!! YOU CAN PUT THE CUP ON ICE!!

Mike: Well, listen, Chris, you still gotta play the games. But the Rangers right now — this was the dagger. This was the backbreaker. You don’t come back from losing a game like that.

Mad Dog: AND THE RANGERS, MIKEY, THEY’RE A DYNASTY!! THIRD CUP IN A ROW, BOOK IT!!

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Mike: Back on the FAN, Rangers had a chance to sweep, Chris, they had a chance to wrap up their 12th Cup, their third in a row — and the Blackhawks said not tonight. Chicago wins it 12–9, Jack Klompus with the big blow, two home runs, three hits, the game-winner in the eighth inning off Winn Bunney, and the Hawks live to fight another day.

Mad Dog: HAAAHHHH! MIKEY, HOW ABOUT KLOMPUS!! YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP!! HE’S 35 YEARS OLD, HE HITS THE BIGGEST HOMER OF HIS CAREER, AND THE BLACKHAWKS, THEY AVOID THE BROOM!!

Mike: Rangers actually got plenty of offense. Cuylle, again, three hits, four RBIs, a homer. Bliebernicht, three hits, four RBIs, a homer. Rice with another one late. They put up nine runs, they hit four home runs — but Chris, you give up 12 on the road in a closeout game, you’re not winning.

Mad Dog: RANGERS’ PITCHING WAS A MESS!! MACIAS TERRIBLE, MURAOKA TERRIBLE, PASILLAS TERRIBLE, BUNNEY BLOWS IT IN THE EIGHTH!! YOU CAN’T DO THAT IN A CLOSEOUT GAME, MIKEY!! YOU CAN’T!!

Mike: And give Chicago credit. Trevino homers, Hextall homers, Klompus with two, everybody chipping in. They answered every Ranger rally. Every time New York pushed, Chicago pushed back.

Mad Dog: AND THE CROWD WAS GREAT!! UNITED CENTER WAS JUMPIN’, THEY WANTED ONE MORE GAME!! THEY GOT IT!!

Mike: So now it’s 3–1. The Rangers go home to the Garden for Game Five. You still have three cracks to win one. You’d expect them to close it out at home.

Mad Dog: THEY BETTER, MIKEY!! DON’T MESS AROUND!! YOU DON’T WANT TO GO BACK TO CHICAGO!! YOU DON’T WANT TO GIVE THIS TEAM ANY LIFE!! GET IT DONE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT THE GARDEN!!

Mike: Bottom line: Klompus the hero, Blackhawks survive, Rangers still in command. Game Five, Madison Square Garden, October 20th — chance to put the Cup on ice.

Mad Dog: GET THE PARADE READY, MIKEY, BUT NOT YET!!

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New York Rangers: 12th Stanley Cup Title
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1991 1992 1995 1998 2002 2003 2004

Mike: Back on the FAN, Chris, and this game, honestly, was over before the first pitch. You knew it. The Rangers lose Game Four in Chicago, they come home, and if there was any doubt at all, they erased it immediately. Five in the first, four in the second, seven in the fourth — a twenty-to-six demolition. They win their 12th Stanley Cup, their third in a row, and they cement themselves as an all-time dynasty.

Mad Dog: HAAAA! MIKEY, IT WAS A BEATDOWN!! IT WAS A SLAUGHTER!! THE RANGERS SCORED IN EVERY WHICH WAY!! CUYLLE THREE HOMERS!! BLIEBERNICHT FOUR HITS!! THE GRUBIN BOYS ALL HOMERIN’!! BEN RICE TWO BOMBS!! IT WAS A PARADE OF HOME RUNS!!

Mike: Will Cuylle, again, Player of the Game. Three home runs, five runs batted in. Series MVP Itsuro Bliebernicht, four hits, two homers, twelve total bases. They had 21 hits, 20 runs, Chris — you’re not losing that game at home, in front of that crowd.

Mad Dog: AND THE CROWD WAS INSANE, MIKEY!! 54,000 IN THE GARDEN!! THEY NEVER STOPPED!! THEY KNEW THIS TEAM WAS GONNA BURY ‘EM!! THIS IS DYNASTY STUFF!!

Mike: And give Chicago credit — Bedard hit a three-run homer, Foligno hit one, Trevino hit one, Gonzalez hit one — they got their shots in. But their pitching staff, Chris, completely annihilated. Rodriguez, Morales, Flores, Celis, Gould — all disasters. ERA’s through the roof. They had no chance.

Mad Dog: THEY DIDN’T HAVE THE ARMS, MIKEY!! THEY DIDN’T HAVE THE ARMS!! SIX PITCHERS, EVERY ONE OF ‘EM GETS LIT UP!! THE RANGERS COULD’VE SCORED 30 IF THEY WANTED TO!!

Mike: Manuel Santiago gets his third straight Cup as manager. The Rangers finish the year 149–13, best record in hockey, and they cap it with another championship. The parade down the Canyon of Heroes is next.

Mad Dog: BOOK IT, MIKEY!! THEY’RE A DYNASTY!! ONE OF THE GREATS!! THE YANKEES OF HOCKEY!! THE CELTICS OF HOCKEY!! THIRD STRAIGHT CUP, 12TH OVERALL, PUT ‘EM IN THE HISTORY BOOKS!!

Mike: Rangers 20, Blackhawks 6. Series over, 4–1. The dynasty rolls on.

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2004 NHL Awards

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Award Winner since 1990