GO WINGS GO!

Hi, my name is Astin and I'm a Leafs fan.

I've been a Leafs fan for around 20 years. This is slightly less than half the time since their last Stanley Cup win.

During the majority of this time, the Leafs major conference rival was the Detroit Red Wings. Once Ken Dryden took over the team as president, he got the Leafs moved to the Eastern conference, where they belonged. This put them in the same conference as the Montreal Canadiens, our biggest rival by far. Sadly, it also meant that we barely saw the Wings anymore.

In the 1993 playoffs, the Leafs had an epic 7-game series with the Wings in the playoffs. Massive come-from-behind victories, overtimes, heroics from all corners. In the end, Nikolai Borschevsky scored a winner from Dave Ellett for the good guys to advance.

So it's always been hard for me to cheer for the Wings. In fact, I was pulling for Calgary when the playoffs started this year.

But as everyone knows - money can change opinions. As I was putting together my entries for my hockey pool, I looked at Detroit's stats and was floored. How could they NOT win the cup this year? Their 3-5th scorers would be superstars on another team. I liked Osgood in goal, and Hasek is Hasek. I had no choice but to pick them as the winners. In fact, once I broke down the teams and ran through possible matchups, a Pittsburgh-Detroit final was a forgone conclusion.

So last night, when the clock finally ran down, and the scoreboard read 3-2 Detroit, I couldn't have been happier. The Cup win boosted my points over the top to take down the pool. I now have a nice little bankroll for Vegas next weekend. 125 entries, $20 each, 75% of the pot for first. You do the math.

Go Wings Go!!! Unless they're playing my Leafs that is.