Congratulations to the Carolina Hurricanes, the 2006 Stanley Cup winners!

I didn't have a horse in this race after my Penguins were eliminated in October and the Sabres lost to Carolina in the Conference Finals, but I was leaning toward the Oilers. Sorry, Edmonton.

AP: Carolina Hurricanes win Stanley Cup
A couple of low-scoring Carolina defensemen put Edmonton's comeback on ice and Cam Ward stopped nearly everything that came his way, giving the Hurricanes their first NHL championship with a 3-1 victory over the Oilers on Monday night.

More congrats to:

The Edmonton Oilers for a heck of a run.

Those noisy Carolina fans.

Those noisy Edmonton fans.

Cam Ward, a rookie goalie, for winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP.

NBC for the HD and the best annoucing team in sports, Mike Emrick and John Davidson. (Too bad you didn't broadcast more games.)

To the NHL, for coming back strongly. Don't worry about the tv ratings. Hockey fans and real sports fans know how great your game is.

Extra Special Congratulations:

To the Edmonton fans who finished singing the last two stanzas of their national anthem after the hired singer stopped and held his microphone aloft before Game Six. (Nota bene: This happened in western Canada, kiddies.) I wish something like that could happen in the good ol' US of A.