On the west side of Chicago, there was an enormously talented team of young athletes that played in a stadium on West Madison Street. Great things were expected of them, but everyone believed that they needed a year or two to gel and become a challenger for the league title.

Instead, this team took full advantage of their playoff opportunity. They won a first round series. In the second round, they took on a rival division champion. Despite lacking home field advantage, they won that round as well in six games, finishing the series with a resounding win in front of a raucous Chicago crowd.

The next challenge this team? A group from Detroit.

No, not the Chicago Blackhawks. This story is about the 1989 Chicago Bulls.



It was 20 years ago that Michael Jordan hit "The Shot" to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers and went on with the help of a young Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant to whip the New York Knicks. Yes, they lost to the Detroit Pistons in the next round, you could feel that there was something special about that group of players.

Last night, you got the same feeling about another group of players.

Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Kris Versteeg could have been wearing sweaters with 23, 33 and 54 stitched on them. Kane's final goal, which led to a shower of haberdashery, was as sweet as nifty a piece of stick work you'll ever see.

As frustrating as the Cubs have been to watch when it mattered the last few years, the last month of hockey has been a sheer pleasure to watch. And it only projects to get better.

For a long time to come.