Leaf season

 The Toronto Maple Leafs won a playoff series last night for the first time since 2004, which goes to show no one can be a schmuck all the time. Also, if you give a guy enough chances, sooner or later he's gonna get it right.

I say this because for six seasons in a row, the Leafs screwed around and lost in the first round. They lost 11 straight elimination games until last night. Last year, memorably, they blew a 3-2 series lead against Tampa Bay, falling in overtime in Tampa in Game 6 and then losing Game 7 at home, 4-3.

This year they beat the Lightning in six games, winning three games in overtime and wrapping it up with a 2-1 win last night. And you can bet they partied like was 2004 in Toronto last night.

2004! Remember that?

"Isn't that the year we found out we hadn't actually won the war in Iraq, Mr. Blob?" you're saying now.

Yes! It was. It was also the year George W. Bush, the architect of that mess, won a second term. And the year the Patriots won the Super Bowl again. And the year the Pistons upset the Lakers to win the NBA title ... and the year the Red Sox won the World Series and ended 86 years of tort-cha, absolute tort-cha ... and the year Buddy Rice (remember him?) won the Indianapolis 500 and celebrated indoors because a massive thunderstorm rolled over the Speedway and a tornado touched down a couple of miles south.

So, yeah, a long damn time ago, and that it happened to one of the Original Six made it worse. Somewhere Dave Keon and Frank Mahovlich and Syl Apps and Tim Horton must have been hollering and throwing things every time the Leafs blew it the last 19 years.

Well, not today, boys and girls. Today, one of the most decorated franchises in NHL history finally brought it home.

For now.

"Shaddap!" Turk Broda just snarled.