double-d

Long time lurker infrequent poster... I think the RW's upgraded with Rafalski. I would have loved to see him in a Ducks sweater.And this coming from a long time Ducks fan.... The Samuelis have already stated that if Scotty decides to stay on board, he is more than welcome to do so and they would cough up the cash. Thinking about the possibility of having 4 super talented D-men next season is very exciting however unfortunately,we all know which way Scotty is leaning. And no, you do not need to make $5 million a year to live on the Strand. My cousin owns on the Strand in MB and does not make near $5 million...not even $1 million. And the commute from MB to the Pond is not that bad since he will more than likely commute during the off hours...with moderate traffic he should be in Anaheim within 40 minutes max (30 if he drives like me).

Long time lurker here, posted a couple of times last series, but allow me to chime in here... Ranking fans based on attendance is inaccurate. The avg percentage should be used since some arenas have larger capacities than the Ponda. The percentage of seats in an arena is a more accurate evaluation. I know plenty of people who wanted to attend games, esp. the weekend games, and could not get tickets in Anaheim in the later half of the season. Second, the upcoming number of viewers for tomorrow's (well today's) game will be a better indication of the interest in the SCF's. Everyone can get NBC, but not everyone has VS or even know where to find it. I have a bunch of family and freinds in Sharks terriroty who wanted to watch the first two games but could not. They listened to it on the internet (where are those numbers??). It's really easy to take these numbers and translate it however one wants, but in a nutshell, we in the OC know the Ducks and NHL have almost a cult following here (that has been growing, even before the playoffs started...our Lady Ducks won their title and what kid in my neighborhood doesn't have a hockey stick), but the fans are good people who are incredibly passionate about the sport. Our numbers have improved and that's a start.

I haven't read any other posts on this thread but keep in mind that the LA Times is our bandwagon newspaper. The are Kings loving homers and since their team is long gone to the links, they are hopping on the Ducks wagon. They will put the Kings 80th loss of the season on the front of the sports page and the Ducks record breaking season in a small article nect to the discounted asian massage parlor ads.

Whoever boos Chelios at the Ponda is a moron. We used to boo him because of the bad blood between him and that sob Kariya. There is no reason for anyone here in Anaheim to boo the dude. Bertuzzi- he'll get boo'ed and more if he pulls any repeat performances ala Moore. Other than that, why boo a guy any team would love to have? Still say Ducks in 6.

LA and Anaheim/Orange County are two different areas. LA has the Kings and they have all been golfing for about a month. That's like saying New York is New York when discussing the Sabres and Rags.

Yup, Ducks are screwed. Everytime Barry picked our opponent in past years' postseasons, the Ducks won. He is cursed...oh, and I saw him running the Strand in Hermosa/Manhattan Beach and FYI, he runs like a girl. I am a girl and I evern said, "damn barry runs like a girl!" I am sure you will see a lot of red and white jerseys at the Pond...one year a wings fan jumped onto the glass and partially pulled it out And this was early in the regualr season. Ya'll are nuts! I think this series will finally test both teams to the brink and whoever wins truly deserves the right to move on to the SCFs.

This is going to be a GREAT series- the two teams in the west who deserve to be here are here in the WCF. There isn't that uber-underdog team that rode into the playoffs barely making the 8th seed and defying all odds to get here. No, the top two who are right where they belong. This is going to be awesome. I have been a lurker on this board for years. Love the wit, the intelligence the majority of you here display, a great all around board. Being a hockey fan for only 13 years, I felt like a newbie reading some posts. I have friends off of 11 mile who I visited one year for Christmas- the RW fan support is insane. You guys display more support for your team mid-season than we do right now in the playoffs. It is a really cool atmosphere. So someone kick back with a sac of fries, some bettermade chips and a sub from tubby's for me out there... and let's enjoy this series as it should be and deserves to be.... On that note, DUCKS in 6!!! (But I give Detroit the first win on Friday....)