Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader was both tired and cranky this morning. The day didn’t get much better.

So… Why exactly was your Maximum tired and cranky?

You might have heard that your Maximum Leader’s beloved (but oft-ill fated) Washington Capitals were defeated by the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday night in OT.

Your Maximum Leader and his lovely daughter, Villainette #2, were in attendance at the game. It was a tremendous experience. your Maximum Leader believes it has cemented Villainette #2 as a true hockey fan. She really had a great time.

Well… A great time except for the losing part.

Now, if you have watched any sports program today you have likely seen the winning goal. Caps goalminder Cristobal Huet (France’s greatest sporting export - and a close second after champagne) thought he had deflected the puck to his left, when it in fact had gone right. It was an easy goal for a professional. (Your Maximum Leader, a piss-poor skater, couldn’t have done it in a million years.) And so the game was lost.

Of course, the game should never have gone to overtime. The clip you may have missed, unless you live in the greater Washington DC area, or are a real hockey fan, was the incident in the second period. In that incident, Flyer Patrick Thorsen pushed Capital Shaone Morrisonn into Caps goalie Cristobal Huet. The result of the push was that Huet and Morrisonn and Thorsen wound up in a pile on the ice to the left side of the goal. Flyer Sami Kapanen shot the puck into the empty net and the goal lifted Philly to a 2-1 lead. (The game would later be tied by Alexander Ovechkin.)

Now, in any regular season game, that goal would have been reviewed. It was clearly interference against the Flyers. But the refs made no call. Your Maximum Leader saw the play live. He’s now seen it on tape a number of times. It looks like interference to him. It looks worse than lots of plays that were called interference during the season. That goal should have been reviewed at the least. In your Maximum Leader’s opinion, the goal should have been disallowed. The Caps was robbed!

Your Maximum Leader got into a huge screaming tirade today. He found himself yelling at Barry Melrose on the TV. Melrose was saying that Thorsen was “going for the puck” and the non-call was the right call. Allow your Maximum Leader to go on the record and say that Barry Melrose is a stupid mullet-topped fuck. He should go back to Kelvington Saskatchewan and leave hockey commentary on ESPN to someone who knows what the hell they are talking about. (Like Don Cherry! Who, alas, is not on ESPN.) Your Maximum Leader doesn’t remember a time he’s been so angry at some idiot sportscaster. Mrs Villain had to tell her irate husband to keep control of himself as the children were likely listening.

Well… As the saying goes… There is always next year. The Capitals are poised to be a great team in the NHL for a number of years. If they can sign a top flight goalie (as Huet is a free agent now…) they will be in a great position to go further into the playoffs next year.

Other than being robbed of the game, a great time was had by all.

Carry on.