This is the kind of Stanley Cup Final the NHL has wanted for a long time.  Two cities with a lot of hockey tradition between them.  Chicago has been without a winning NHL team since 1961.  Philadelphia has waited just as long 1975.  Both of these teams have had different routes to achieving their ultimate goal of hoisting the greatest trophy in professional sports.

The Underdog

The Philadelphia Flyers were the last team to clinch a playoff spot.  Of all the ways to get in they had to beat a rival, New York Rangers, in a shootout in Game number 82.  Riding that momentum, they blew threw the number 2 seeded New Jersey Devils in 5 games.  Another rival, the Boston Bruins, had a 3-0 series lead on the Flyers.  Only 3 other times had a NHL team come from behind down 3-0 to win the series.  Philadelphia made themselves the fourth.  The Montreal Canadiens had a great run too.  They knocked out the Washington Capitals and defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins before meeting up with the Flyers.  Philadelphia didn’t let up by finishing the Canadiens quickly in 5 games. 

The Flyers have talent.  They have grit.  They have the hot goaltender.  Daniel Briere, Mike Richards, Simon Gagne and Jeff Carter provide enough offense for a team that really doesn’t rely a whole lot on it.  Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn and Scott Hartnell are reminding those fans who were witnesses to the Bobby Clarke, Andre Dupont and Dave Schultz days of the 1970s.  Michael Leighton after filling in for the veteran Brian Boucher against Boston has been nothing short of spectacular.  Was not on the roster at the beginning of the season, but he sure will be going into next year whether the Flyers win or not.

The Favorite

The Chicago Blackhawks have been near the top of every ones list to win the Stanley Cup.  Their road to the Cup hasn’t been as rocky as Philadelphia’s, but it has been an impressive run.  Chicago was given a bit of a scare when Nashville took them to 6 games, but Chicago finally got on track against Vancouver when the Canucks were considered to be title contenders as well.  The Blackhawks finally showed how great they can be against the number 1 seeded San Jose Sharks by sweeping them in 4 games in the Western Conference Finals.

Chicago is one of the best scoring teams in the NHL.  Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg are a hard bunch to slow down.  Dustin Byfuglien, Tomas Kopecky and John Madden provide the toughness that most teams in their stature don’t have.  Just look at the Washington Capitals and what happened to them.  Chicago has built itself a great offensive unit, but they do need defense and it’s provided with Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Brian Campbell.  Goalie Antti Niemi was considered a liability going into the playoffs, but has turned into a strength getting Chicago to this point.

All in all you have to like the fact that there is one team that is the true underdog and one that is the clear favorite.  Both have great history and both haven’t won in a long time.  My original pick in the Stanley Cup was Chicago vs. Pittsburgh.  I now have only Chicago to pick and I’m sticking with that pick.  However, Philadelphia would be a great championship team that has a great story with it.  You can’t go wrong with either one.

My first preview was perfect in the Western Conference.  Winners, not the exact outcome.  In the Eastern Conference I would like to have a do-over.  Alas I can’t.  Who had the Canadiens winning in seven games?  Who had the Flyers beating the Devils in five?  Who said the Sabres would not get any scoring out of Derek Roy and Tim Connolly in rout to losing to the Bruins?  The Penguins were a given, but honestly who saw the other three series ending that way?  Hopefully I will do better in the semifinals and you will see some great hockey.

Eastern Conference

4. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 8. Montreal Canadiens

I like many other Hockey fans would have loved to have seen the Capitals face off against the Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals.  Too bad so sad.  That’s what fans in Montreal are saying.  I give them a lot of credit.  Goaltender Jaroslav Halak is here to stay.  He is proof once again that if your team has a hot goalie, you will go very far in the playoffs.  Halak and his .939 save percentage will be a tough task for the Penguins to score against.  The Habs had help on offense with Michael Cammalleri (5 G 5 A 10 P) and Tomas Plekanec (4 G 3 A 7 P).  Their defense was sound with Hal Gill, Roman Hamrlik and Andrei Markov.  Montreal will need a repeat performance from Halak and the defense helping him to see the shots coming his way.
The Penguins had great success from the usual suspects against the Senators.  Sidney Crosby (5 G 9 A 14 P) was superb as was his line mate veteran Bill Guerin (2 G 4 A 6 P).  Evgeni Malkin was great (4 G 4 A 8 P) not just on even strength, but was fantastic on the power play with 3 of his goals coming with a man advantage.  The problem lies within the net for the defending champs.  Marc-Andre Fleury and his .890 save percentage are not going to cut it the rest of the way.  The Penguins could have gone down early, but Fleury bounced back and was good enough to get them into the semifinals.  The defensemen for Pittsburgh, namely Sergei Gonchar and Kris Letang have keep up the pace and give Fleury room to see what will be coming his way.
I would like to see this go six or seven games.  Mainly for the entertainment factor, but Montreal stunned a great Washington team.  They won’t do the same to a great Pittsburgh club.  The Penguins are just too good.  Pittsburgh in 5 games.

6. Boston Bruins vs. 7. Philadelphia Flyers

The most amazing fact about the Bruins beating the Buffalo Sabres in 6 games was that they did it without anyone getting more than 5 points in the series.  All that and without their best player Marc Savard.  Veterans Mark Reechi and Miroslav Satan were pleasant surprises and Zdeno Chara was a beast on defense.  Ultimately I and others underestimated goalie Tuukka Rask.  He outplayed eventual Vezina Trophy winner Ryan Miller.  That says a lot about your goalie if he is playing better than the other teams standout net minder.  Savard will be returning in the semifinals and the Bruins hope that will give them more scoring against a better offensive team in Philadelphia.
The Flyers stunned New Jersey from start to finish in the quarterfinals.  The Flyers were getting production from unexpected places.  Claude Giroux chimed in with 4 goals and bruiser Daniel Carcillo added two of his own.  The usual suspects of Mike Richards and Danny Briere were fantastic, but the big hero was goalie Brian Boucher.  The third goalie the Flyers were using to get into the playoffs showed he still has life left in his skates.  New Jersey had no answers for Boucher.  It showed in the Game 5 clincher as Boucher shutout the Devils to advance.  The Flyers will need a repeat performance from Boucher and more production from Simon Gagne and Kimmo Timonen to help stifle the Bruins defense which is one of the best in the NHL.
This is renewing a rivalry that goes back to the Bobby Orr and Bobby Clarke days.  Ultimately it will come down to who has the better defense and goalie (go figure).  I like what the Flyers have done, but Boston has showed tremendous grit and are getting Marc Savard back.  Bruins in 6 games.

Western Conference

1. San Jose Sharks vs. 5. Detroit Red Wings

No one really likes “Hockeytown” as Detroit has come to call itself, except fans of the Red Wings.  Everyone wanted to see the Phoenix Coyotes continue their great run and lets face it, it was a great story.  However, we learned something from Game 7 of that series.  Detroit is still a great team.  Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk are two of the best scorers in the game today.  Valtteri Filppula is coming of age on the big stage.  Johan Franzen and Nicklas Lidstrom haven’t had their best performances yet.  It’s a scary thought.  Goalie Jimmy Howard had an admirable series against the Coyotes.  In some cases the defense let him down, but he held his own and was masterful in Game 7 against Phoenix. 
San Jose was in a lose-lose situation.  If Phoenix won, they would have to play against a division rival and face the pressure of not losing to a lesser team.  Now that Detroit is their opponent and coming off a big margin of victory in Game 7, the Red Wings are seen as Stanley Cup contenders by almost everyone now.  San Jose’s big three didn’t play up to par against Colorado.  Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton seem to wilt under endless pressure this time of year.  They got great production and it saved their season from Ryan Clowe, Joe Pavelski and Devin Setoguchi.  Pavelski and Setoguchi were scoring goals at will late in the series against Colorado.  Clowe was setting up a lot of their scoring chances.  San Jose will need more from Heatley, Marleau and Thornton to advance to a Conference Final.
Detroit is healthy and deep.  San Jose is healthy and deep.  Two teams that just don’t like each other and it will show throughout the series.  The Sharks are the best team though.  They have the right players and mix, but I just don’t trust their goalie Evgeni Nabokov in a big series.  Red Wings in 6 games.

2. Chicago Blackhawks vs. 3. Vancouver Canucks

If you don’t remember what happened between these two in last years semifinals, then go to NHL.com and find out when your done reading.  Chicago had a scare in the quarterfinals against the Nashville Predators, but Chicago is just too talented to let that happen.  Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp came up with big goals in the entire series.  Hossa had a big game winner in Game 5 that some say should not have counted due to a boarding penalty on Hossa.  Chicago’s one fatal flaw showed its ugly head in the Nashville series.  Goaltending and their defense was lackluster.  Antti Niemi showed flashes of brilliance, but overall it was not a great showing.  They will need to shore up the defense to make it to the Conference title.
Vancouver is a great team.  Roberto Luongo is a great goalie and his performance in the last two games against Los Angeles was perfect.  Daniel and Henrik Sedin were masterful and the signing of Mikael Samuelsson is now showing in the playoffs.  Imagine if the Red Wings still had Samuelsson for their playoff run.  The Cacucks defense did suffer for the first four games in the quarterfinals, but there is room for improvement as they have the best defensive unit in the Conference.  Kevin Bieska must stay on the ice more and not in the penalty box against the Blackhawks. 
I’m much more comfortable going with Luongo in net and with the Canucks attack on offense.  However, Chicago can score just as easily as Vancouver and the Canucks penalty kill was awful against the Kings.  The reason that series was that competitive was because of the Canucks lackluster defense on the power play.  That doesn’t bode well against Chicago’s attack.  Blackhawks in 6 games.

Eastern Conference

1. Washington Capitals vs. 8. Montreal Canadiens

Congratulations to the Canadiens who have qualified for the playoffs and earn the right to play the best team in the NHL.  It’s a case of David vs. Goliath really.  Montreal has a decent offense in Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta and Michael Cammalleri.  Their defense is the real strength though with Hal Gill, Andrei Markov and Marc-Andre Bergeron.  Montreal’s goaltending combination of Jaroslav Halak and Carey Price are no match for the Capitals attack.  Halak was great in the Winter Olympics for Slovakia, but he has a daunting task trying to stop the soon to be Hart Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin and his Capitals.
Washington has Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin to go with Ovechkin on offense.  Mike Green continues to get better each year and being paired with Tom Poti on defense isn’t a bad combination.  The real key to the Capitals success will be goalie Jose Theodore.  A 30 win season with a save percentage of .911 has to translate into a successful playoff campaign for the Capitals to get past the competition in the Eastern Conference.  Namely the defending Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.  Capitals beat the Habs in 5 games.

2. New Jersey Devils vs. 7. Philadelphia Flyers

The Devils are looking to make a run at Lord Stanley this year with a deadly offensive attack rather than their patented defensive game.  Iyla Kovalchuk, Zach Parise and Travis Zajac provide an excellent attack and the great thing about it is that their young (Kovalchuk 26, Parise 25, Zajac 24).  Their shouldn’t be any kind of wear and tear on those three for New Jersey.  Martin Brodeur is back in front of the net for the Devils and after a 45 win season, he will look to have a better performance after the first round loss last year to the Carolina Hurricanes in which he gave up the two game winning goals in the last two minutes of Game 7 of that series. 
The Flyers entered the playoffs in dramatic fashion on the last day of the regular season beating the NY Rangers in a shootout.  The problem is they don’t have an adequate option in net for them.  Brian Boucher played great for them down the stretch, but on this stage it will be an uphill climb for him to stop the Devils attack.  The Flyers will be lead by Mike Richards, Danny Briere and Jeff Carter on offense while Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen will hold down the defense.  Pronger is proving again to still be among the elite defensemen in the game today at age 35.  Richards led the team in points (62) and is a rising star in this league, but it will be too much to handle in the first round against their division rival.  Devils win in 6 games.

3. Buffalo Sabres vs. 6. Boston Bruins

Essentially this is the same Boston team from last year without Phil Kessel (Toronto) and Marc Savard (injured).  Also goalie Tim Thomas has been ineffective most of the year and will give way to the hot goalie Tuukka Rask who sported a 22-12 W-L record with a 1.97 GAA and a .931 save percentage.  With that said there isn’t enough offense to over take what the Sabres have in net for them.  Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci are nice players, but are not going to turn the tide in favor for Boston.  Zdeno Chara being the force on defense will help, but Buffalo is too good to go down this early.
The Sabres sport an overwhelming offensive attack.  Derek Roy led them in points (69), but the real impact has come from Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville on the wings.  The Sabres were struggling in the goal scoring department for most of the year, but those were consistently scoring goals for them all year long.  Calder Trophy candidate Tyler Myers has been the talk of the NHL.  He led in goals (11), assists (37) and points (48) as a defensemen.  A rookie defensemen.  Ryan Miller is the clear cut favorite for the Vezina Trophy as his 41 wins and .929 save percentage were the driving force behind Buffalo’s succes.  Sabres win in 7 games.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 5. Ottawa Senators

It starts with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and it ends with Crosby and Malkin for the Penguins.  Arguably the best tandem in the game today they are hard to stop.  Just ask the Detroit Red Wings.  Chris Kunitz, Jordan Staal and Bill Guerin aren’t bad options either to go with their top two.  Sergei Gonchar is a sniper in defense waiting for his moment to strike.  Marc-Andre Fleury will have to be spectacular again for the Penguins to win another Stanley Cup.  For the most this team seemed unbeatable that is until they sputtered towards the end, but head coach Dan Bylsma will have them ready for the start of the playoffs.
Ottawa is a hard team to figure out.  They have so much talent and yet it never seems to materialize at the right time.  Goaltender Brian Elliott had an okay season (29-18, .909, 2.57 GAA), but he will need to be a Patrick Roy clone to stop what the Penguins will dish out.  Ottawa has a good veteran group on defense in Chris Phillips, Filip Kuba and Andy Sutton to be in front of Elliott, but it won’t be enough.  Ottawa is without one of their scorers in Alexei Kovalev (torn ACL).  That hurts especially when goals are hard to come by at this point in the year.  Penguins win in 5 games. 

Western Conference

1. San Jose Sharks vs. 8. Colorado Avalanche

Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley on the offense.  Rob Blake and Dan Boyle on defense.  Evgeni Nabokov in net.  An All-Star lineup if you ask most analysts.  That has been the problem with the Sharks.  All-Stars in the regular season, but failures in the playoffs.  It is in their history and it won’t change until they get to a Stanley Cup Final.  It won’t be so much the offense or defense that will do them in, but Evgeni Nabokov has to be what the Sharks know he can.  His postseason history is no secret to anyone, it’s terrible. For a team with this much talent another first round exit will call for not just a roster upheaval, but some changes in management too. 
Colorado has done the unthinkable and made it to the postseason in what was suppose to be a rebuilding year.  Boy did time fly by.  Goalie Craig Anderson started the turnaround and hopes to finish it on a high note.  His breakout season has culminated him into being considered him to be a candidate for the Vezina Trophy.  Thanks to defensemen John-Michael Liles and Adam Foote, Anderson has been able to have this kind of success.  Also a good group of scorers has helped to ease the transition from the cellar for the Avs.  Paul Stastny, Chris Stewart, Matt Duchene and Milan Hejduk have been big factors in the teams good fortunes.  Will it be enough to beat San Jose?  It wouldn’t surprise me if San Jose gets bounced, but I just don’t see it happening.  Sharks in 6 games.

2. Chicago Blackhawks vs. 7. Nashville Predators

Chicago is really good.  Duncan Keith a Norris Trophy candidate paired with Brent Seabrook is one of the best young tandems on defense.  Marian Hossa being on the team this year will help at this time for a young team looking to get over the hump.  Patrick Sharp brings more of that veteran swagger needed to go with Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Kris Versteeg.  Excellent group of youngsters that will be around the Stanley Cup Playoffs for many years to come.  The only problem that could stop the dream from coming true is the goalie.  Antti Niemi was the most stable one next to Cristobal Huet, but almost any other goalie was.  The Blackhawks hope this won’t be the year it all comes crashing down because of one position. 
The Predators are a nice story.  Great tandem on defense in Shea Weber and Ryan Suter.  An up and coming goalie in Pekka Rinne.  Plus a 30 goal scorer in Patric Hornqvist.  Bet you didn’t know that.  Martin Erat for all the criticism of his contract managed to have a good year (21 G, 28 A, 49 P).  Steve Sullivan was the point leader and will be the catalyst on offense.  With all this said the Predators just don’t have enough punch to keep up with the Blackhawks.  Chicago wins in 6 games.

3. Vancouver Canucks vs. 6. Los Angeles Kings

The Canucks have a great balance this year of offense and defense.  Christian Ehroff and Sami Salo were great sparks on defense.  The Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, were one-two respectively in total points for Vancouver.  Ryan Kesler, Alexandre Burrows and Mikael Sammuelsson each scored at least 25 goals for the Canucks.  You put all that together with Roberto Luongo who had another 40 win season and you have yourself a team that can legitimately compete for the Stanley Cup with anyone this year. 
The Kings were the hot commodity throughout the entire year.  Anze Kopitar, Ryan Smyth, Dustin Brown and Alexander Frolov were the reliable scoring options the entire year in LA.  Drew Doughty has all but assured himself of a Norris Trophy this year and maybe a few more before his career is over.  With Jack Johnson they have a big and tough tandem that the Kings would be to keep in LA for a long time.  Veteran Sean O’Donnell and Rob Scuderi are perfect fits that have helped in goalie Jonathan Quick’s success in the 2009-10 season.  If they can get the pre-olympic Quick back, the Kings will make this an interesting series right down to the wire.  Canucks in 7 games.

4. Phoenix Coyotes vs. 5. Detroit Red Wings

The surprise Coyotes are the best story of the entire NHL season.  Regardless of what happens in the playoffs, they have accomplished a lot.  Thanks in part to Iyla Bryzgalov who had a career year (42-20, .920, 2.29 GAA), they Coyotes are hosting a playoff series.  With three 20 goal scorers in Wojtek Wolski, Radim Vrbata and Lee Stempniak they have a good attack that will surprise Detroit.  Keith Yandle and Ed Jovanovski led their defensemen in points and were a big part of their offensive surge.
At one point the Red Wings wouldn’t have even qualified for the playoffs.  Now they are the fifth seed and the scary thing is they are fully healthy now.  One reason they held it together was the emergence of goalie Jimmy Howard (37-15, .924, 2.26 GAA).  Howard was finally able to show his talent and help the Red Wings establish a foothold on a playoff spot.  Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski are a great pair that always shows up when it’s playoff time.  Two straight Stanley Cup Finals appearances will do that to you.  Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetteberg and Johan Franzen are a scary trio that will do some damage before they make an exit.  Phoenix had a great season, but unfortunately have to play a healthy Red Wings team.  Detroit in 6 games.

I’ll be the first to tell you that I wasn’t always the biggest Hockey fan. I will also tell you that one reason for that is because I grew up in Southern California. Not really a place to grow up on Hockey, when you have the Lakers, Dodgers, Angels and at one time two NFL teams.

Another reason is the fact that my father had grown out of it. He grew up on all four major sports in so cal. He is my biggest example of what a lockout/strike whatever you may call can do to a sports fan. 1992 and 1994 is when it started for him in the NHL. In both of those seasons the NHL had labor issues, but they didn’t compare to the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season. By then, my father had already said sayonora to the sport.

Now he was never a die hard fan. He grew up in the neighborhood of the Great Western Forum. The former home of the Lakers and Kings. He’s seen all those great players of the 60s & 70s. It just struck a cord with him seeing the way billionaire owners would argue with millionaire players. You lose interest very quickly. It becomes a business and not just a game.

Just a week earlier before the Gold Medal game, the United States had beaten Canada 4-2. In what many considered a tremendous upset, but in no way a 1980 Lake Placid type upset. It was the first time the USA had beaten Canada in the Olympics since 1960. Fifty years is a long time folks. Now with Canada losing to the US, it didn’t mean the end of the road for them. They just had to win the next three games to play for the gold. They did and what do you know, they had to face the US in a rematch.

The NHL had first allowed its players to participate in the Olympics in 1998 at Nagano, Japan. The US placed 6th and Canada placed 4th. No medals for them. Since then NHL players have been participating in the Winter Olympics without a lot of fanfare. The 2002 games at Salt Lake City, Utah matched the two countries for the gold medal which resulted in a 5-2 victory for the Canadians. Not a lot of excitement, except for Canada.

However this years Olympics were held in Vancouver, British Columbia. Canada was the host country and felt the Gold was there’s by right. Very wrong to believe that. In 2002, the US was already recovering from the terrorist attacks of 9-11 and I don’t remember thinking that we should be given anything. All the athletes representing the US that year earned their medals and never once believed they had a right to them. The Hockey team that year didn’t have the best players, but knew if they played their best, the fans would reward them with their support.

That helped the anti-Canada sentiment this year. Everyone touting them as the winners when the games didn’t even start. The US by most weren’t given a chance to even medal. They proved to everyone that they can play with the best team ever assembled and beat them. It became clear that there are some pretty damn good players born in the US and that it could only help the NHL that they participate in the Olympics from here on out.

I understand the point of seeing youngsters get the opportunity to play because most won’t make it in the NHL. To that point, that’s why they have the World Junior Championships. So that problem is solved. I also get that owners have trouble shutting down their season for two weeks. It’s a burden on traveling, scheduling plus your players possibly getting hurt. I get that. To the point, that’s why the Olympics are only two weeks and come around every four years. If your player gets hurt in the first game back from the Olympics are you gonna blame the games? Injuries are inevitable. To answer traveling and scheduling. Get over it. You’re rich. Don’t cry to me.

These games are proof to me that they need to keep it going the way it is. It only helps the NHL more than it hurts it. The NHL is doing a great thing with the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day. This will make your sport grow exponentially. Seeing most of these players on the world stage no less will bring more attention to the last month and a half of the regular season and without a doubt the Stanley Cup Playoffs. How could you look at that in a negative light?

I watched the Gold Medal game with my father in its entirety. From the first drop of the puck to the last shot. He was truly happy to see Hockey again, I just knew it. And on the biggest stage no less. Other than a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, this was the biggest game you could see in the sport. USA and Canada, both rivals, playing for the Gold Medal. My quote to him during the game was this:

“I got you watching the Lakers again, and after this game I’ll get you back watching Hockey again.”

He still says he’ll never watch. But if this does get him back to watching Hockey again, who’s to say it won’t get the novice to tune in for a taste.

2001 Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 New Jersey vs. Colorado June 9, 2001

This was the other Game 7 I was referring to that has perhaps the best compilation of Hall of Famers to ever participate in a championship clinching game. For New Jersey names like; Brodeur, Niedermayer, Stevens, Elias. For Colorado names like; Roy, Sakic, Forsberg, Bourque. This was no doubt a game for the ages. New Jersey was up 3 games to 2, but couldn’t finish it in their home rink losing game 6 4-0. Colorado was determined to win one not only as a team, but for defensemen Ray Bourque who was participating in his only Stanley Cup of his career.

With Patrick Roy in net for the Avalanche and Martin Brodeur for New Jersey, it looked as if the storyline was going to be who would outshine who in the net. Both are considered one of the best of all time. Brodeur was tested early and often by the Avalanche who scored quickly in the first period thanks to forward Alex Tanguay. Tanguay would add another goal in the second off a rebound from a Joe Sakic break away. Sakic scored the game winner with a wicked wrister on the power play over the shoulder of Brodeur.

New Jersey would score a goal by Petr Sykora on a power play, but Roy was fantastic in net for the Avs. It was great to see two great goaltenders go at it, but even better to see a great defensemen win his first Stanley Cup in his only appearance in the Finals. Raymond Bourque went out on top to finish his career. Boston Bruins fans were watching his every move in Colorado when he was dealt in the middle of the 2000 season. You will probably never see that happen where an opposing team will root for another to win so that one of their all time greats gets his first Cup. It was truly a sight to see as we saw a great matchup in net with a great storyline to wrap it all up.