the 4th star

Thankfully, the National Hockey League has abandoned its original ridiculousness for a Stanley Cup Final schedule and found a better option. The rematch between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings is set. First time there will be a repeat final since the Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders battled it out in the eighties, with the Isles winning in 1983 and the Oil exacting some revenge in ’84. That’s good news for the Penguins, I guess.

Here’s the schedule. All times are Eastern:

So it all starts Saturday. And then again on Sunday. I’m sure the Detroit Red Wings, who played without two of their all-stars the last couple games, are thrilled with the idea of playing back-to-back this weekend. Such is life in the hockey world. Stupid schedules are everywhere.

Which is my wordy way of switching over to the Calder Cup Final, where the Manitoba Moose and Hershey Bears will also get their series underway on Saturday. You want to talk ridiculous? Thanks to a building conflict in Hershey, there will be exactly one week between the first game and the third game. To make things even more bizarre, a potential Game 7 at MTS Centre would fall on June 14 — two days after a Stanley Cup Seventh Heaven.

Here’s the Calder Cup schedule. Games are on CJOB. No word on television yet. All times Manitoba time. South Central, yo: