Congrats, Dynamo, Yada, Yada, Yada

BOULDER, Colorado -- The Russian bandy season is over, and I have not put up a post in over a month. Can you blame me? The final standings shook out just like everybody expected them to, and again, Dynamo Moscow bought themselves another championship. Well done.

I also have not really been in the mood for bandy of later, because a few things in the hockey world have had me depressed. The Boston Bruins completely imploded and will miss the playoffs again. Dynamo Moscow (the regular hockey team, not the bandy team) only made it to the playoffs because they expanded the field mid-season, and then made a swift exit in the first round. The various college hockey programs I support (Middlebury, Yale, Quinnipiac) have had disappointing seasons. I probably would have been happier had I simply rooted for Baikal-Energia, as they posted the most respectable finish - fourth place - of any of these clubs.

Here are some of my thoughts on this year's bandy season.

It's hard to follow Russian sports from North America. I am not referring to the fact that Russia is far away, and they speak a totally different language - I'm referring instead to the different sports sensibilities that exist in the two places. In North America, we are accustomed to parity and some degree of transparency in our sports leagues. None of this exists in Russia, and it gives at least the appearance that professional sports are completely unfair and rigged.

The new playoff format was designed to guarantee that Dynamo won the championship. Who ever heard of a playoff system in which the points you earned in the regular season carry over? With the lead they had built up, no team had a chance of catching them. And take note of my previous point - this change was pushed through without any real discussion in the league.

The debacle in Kemerovo. Further proof that a team like Baikal-Energia, which has neither the finances nor the connections with the powers that be in the federation, will never win the championship.

So, my conclusion is that the deck is stacked against us, which, while depressing, makes the end of the season all the more meaningful. We beat Dynamo Moscow, at home, 3-2. I wish I could have been there, packed into the bandbox of a stadium, Rekord, to watch it. I'd like to say hello to Alex, a visitor to Irkutsk who took interest in Baikal-Energia, and I hope to see him in Boulder sometime soon to discuss the season I was forced to listen to over the radio.

I suppose this is the last post of the season. Thanks to all people that visited the site and sent me feedback. By the summertime, I hope to have a real website up and running to spread the word about the greatest sport on skates. So stay tuned.