It's no secret that I despise the Pittsburgh Penguins, but they played one of the best road "Game Sevens" that has ever been executed. Add to that one of the most ridiculous seasons ever, and you have what dreams are made of. Enjoy it, Pennsylvania....

I have no idea why league websites always do this, but if you go to NHL.com right now, you can buy your very own Detroit Red Wings 2009 Stanley Cup Champions T-shirt! Take a look....


I mean, I'm rooting for them as much as the next person (sorry...have hated the Penguins since birth), but that could be a little damning. Hopefully they haven't planned the parade already too.

Reebok Detroit Red Wings 2009 Stanley Cup Champions Locker Room T-shirt (NHL Shop)

Both Pittsburgh and Detroit had been holding viewing parties inside and outside of their arenas for away games, but those fun times have come to an end. Last week you may have noticed a giant jumbotron screen missing from Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, and today comes word that the NHL told the team to remove it. Via Detroit News....

There will be no "Joe Vision" broadcast of Tuesday night's Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals because NBC would not rescind its exclusive rights to the telecast.

The game will not be shown at Pittsburgh's outdoor plaza either.

At issue is television ratings, and a large crowd at Joe Louis Arena could be hundreds -- if not thousands -- of television sets not tuned in to NBC.

"It is certainly something we wanted to show but were unable to secure the rights," said Steve Violetta, Senior Vice President of Business Affairs for the Wings.

NBC representative Brian Walker did not immediately return a phone message for comment, but NHL media relations vice president Frank Brown confirmed the situation while expressing sympathy to Red Wings fans.

"We are very much in tune and very sensitive to the great experience that fans have by coming to a great venue and watching a great hockey game," Brown said. "That said we need to be sensitive to the business end of things and that business is ratings driven."

Really? Really NBC? You're trying to make the argument that a thousand or so people not watching the game at home would cause a dip in the ratings? Really?!?! That's just idiotic. Ratings in those two cities will still be through the roof because it's a Game Six, and to deny Red Wings fans a chance to witness their team win the Cup in their own arena, is just plain wrong. Hopefully wiser heads prevail, but with the game starting at 8pm tonight, there's not much time to change the decision.

NBC blocks Joe Vision broadcast of Red Wings-Penguins (Detroit News)

Ahh, hockey. Where else would you find a clip of Def Leppard playing a concert on Versus, having members of the Red Wings bring the Stanley Cup on stage, and the lead singer subsequently placing the thing on a podium upside down?

Rock! The years of drugs have probably destroyed Joe Elliot's brain cells, but seriously....who would ever think that a trophy would go little side down? Hell, the thing has names written all over it. You'd think that would have been a clue.

Def Leppard Singer's Upside-Down Stanley Cup (Going Five Hole)

Every year, whether I've watched much of the Hockey Season or not, I watch a clinching game of the Stanley Cup Finals. I watch it not for the action itself (which is always awesome) but for the celebration. There's nothing else like it in Sports.

You celebrate at the buzzer, you shake hands with the other team, you celebrate the Conn Smythe winner, and then you pass the Cup around. Every single league should adopt this policy and credit the NHL. It's the best trophy and the best celebration.

Detroit got to celebrate tonight, and for the 11th team as a team, but it wasn't without a scare....

It goes without saying that Detroit was just too fast and too strong for the Pens, but it was a great Series none-the-less. Let's hope the NBA Finals follows suit.