The "Big Whistle" finals

For all his malapropisms and excitable exclamations wrapped in a thick New York accent, the late Bill Chadwick, better known as "The Big Whistle," was bit of a hockey sage. His most astute hockey observation was that hockey was "half ballet, half brawn."  The 2013 Stanley Cup Finals, one in which hockey historians and pundits are already hurrying to classify as one of the great finals of all time, is a perfect example of Chadwick's philosophy.  We can even break it down to two players: Chicago's

brilliant perimeter playmaker Patrick Kane, and the Bruins brute force bully Milan Lucic.

Kane's ballet like skills have been on display throughout these playoffs, amazing hands, vision, speed and reflexes netted him two goals that wrecked the Bruins in crucial game 5.  Lucic, draped in black and gold, has been the most prominent hit man on a team full of hockey bullies (term of endearment in the world of pucks), wearing down every player in red by finishing his checks with lasting effect.  It would take a hundred day off season in stead of 50 for the Hawks to fully recover from the brutality of 4 series worth of hockey torture, none more severe than the finals against Boston. And that's why we love it so.

Two astute hockey my observers from my circle of puck pals have chimed in with their own wisdom.  From New England, Cranston Rhode Island's Dee Dub, who has been loving the Bruins since her little brother hung out with Orr and Shaky Walton at their hockey camp, waxed poetic about her beloved B's  "we are definitely bruised and torn up...doesn't get any better."

Chicago hockey dad Kevin, ecstatic for the Hawks and their lead in the finals, still longed for more muscle against the Bruins. "As a Hawks fan, I'm wishing we had Probert on our team."

And there's the rub, Ballerinas want a bruiser, but you don't hear the bullies longing for a dancer. Bruins fans are content with the offense they have, and just want more opportunities to blast bodies all over the ice. The last true bullies to rule the NHL were from Broad Street and Pattison Avenue in South Philly, and it wasn't just the finesse of the Canadiens who dethroned them in 1976, but a forceful Larry Robinson who smashed the life out of them.

And that's what Kevin from Chicago is yearning for.  Someone in the schoolyard to punch the bullies in the mouth.  The Hawks might be pesky, but they aren't terribly mean.  When Hossa and Keith carved up opponents, they immediately apologized.  Lucic, Chara, Seidenberg, Boychuk or superpest Marchand ever apologizing for their thuggery?  Laughable.  Boychuk broke Mayson Raymond's back in the 2011 Finals on a marginal play, and barely shrugged. Those bully B's all have impressive skills, but now more than ever, they are identified by their mean streaks. In the playoffs, that translates to winning hockey, and it the league knows brute force brings eyeballs.

 While NBC has allowed viewers to feast on replays of brilliant goals and super celi's from the biggest names in the sport, including 11 tallies in game 4, they linger gratuitously on the facial tomato sauce, knowing that those unforgettable bloody bench closeups of rich plasthma flowing from eyelids and temples and noses, staining scraggly playoff beards deep red, translates into healthy ratings. Be honest--it's compelling, you don't see it in any other sport, and you never turn away.

Game 6 returns to the Bear's den, and the hockey world knows that the Bruins snarl will be in full force. If you think the Cup is going to be handed out Monday night you are either alone or in a distinct minority. All of my Chicago hockey fellows think it's going seven, and they still yearn for someone to channel Probert to get them over the top. And unless the Hawks find someone to punch up a bully withour apologizing, the dancers won't get it done.  Just ask the Big Whistle, you need Brawn AND Ballet.