Tonight, professional men’s basketball advocates will open the gift of gifts, namely a Game Seven to decide the NBA championship between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. It’s the two biggest and boldest brand names in the history of the game, both permeated with a smattering of the game’s most touted individuals, having engaged in a high-stakes arm wrestling bout for as long as the rule books allow.
It’s just too bad that kind of eventuality is scientifically impossible in collegiate sports, especially women’s hockey. And especially these days, given the look of the landscape as it was in the 2009-10 campaign and all of the enticingly unpredictable prospects for 2010-11.
The three-way regal animosity between Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth, and Wisconsin has spoken for itself ever since this became an NCAA-sanctioned sport 10 years ago. Innumerable one-shot deals have become instant classics as the three Midwestern powerhouses have toiled for WCHA and NCAA banners.
But can you imagine if, when the Badgers/Bulldogs/Gophers dealt a nick to the neck of one of their rivals, the losing team did not have to make plans to take their minds elsewhere for the summer but rather make adjustments for Game 2?
Or how many ears would suddenly open to the noise in the forests of upstate New York if the likes of Clarkson and St. Lawrence could engage each other four-to-seven times in a row for the ECAC title? (I’ve been to those parts before, and it doesn’t seem like there’s a whole lot to do around the neighboring towns of Canton and Potsdam, so…)
Hockey East, though, currently pines for a best-of-seven postseason approach more than any other league. The inimitable Boston College-Boston University rivalry has already been incited by back-to-back playoff matchups, one going to each team. And with the return of two U.S. Olympians to Chestnut Hill along with the all-but-formally-confirmed signing of two gold-medal Canadians by the Terriers, it is only going to grow more intense on the ice and in the human interest department next winter.
Really, with the parity we’ve seen of late, you could select any pair of the WHEA’s top six programs and find at least one storyline whose legs could last through two weeks of back-and-forth engagement. Northeastern and Providence have the international goaltending rivalry between rising juniors Florence Schelling and Genevieve Lacasse –a rivalry of Crosby-Ovechkin proportions, some might argue. And based on her sophomore season, Connecticut’s Alexandra Garcia appears to want her own spot on that unique pantheon.
For those who prefer offense, BU and New Hampshire could probably launch sustained fireworks on each other for a while. At least, we know they could have with the lineups they dressed last year. But if it happened next year, promoters would certainly have the Jenn Wakefield storyline to sustain themselves for a week or two.
And, of course, the Friars and Wildcats have that time-honored rivalry that needs no introduction. Seeing them square off with no one but each other for two weeks with hardware at stake would be like watching the Canadiens and Maple Leafs battle for the Prince of Wales Trophy.
Unfortunately, this is college. There is no salary cap. Just a limit as to how many regular season contests a team may conduct (34). No way will you ever see any of these leagues take their postseason any farther than a best-of-three conference quarterfinal followed by strict single elimination all the way to the Frozen Four.
Sigh. This sport will just have to promote itself the plebeian way, making a lot out of a little. I suppose pro football manages that way well enough.
But it’s still fun to fantasize, is it not?
Al Daniel can be reached at adaniel@beyondthedashers.com
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