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Is it just me, or does it feel like Mike Modano is about to take his Cup and go home?

So, Stars fans, do you feel any better knowing that your team put up a better fight against the Detroit Red Wings in the West finals than the Pittsburgh Penguins have in the Stanley Cup finals?

Didn't think so. Nonetheless, looks like the Wings will hoist their fourth Cup in 11 years in about, oh, nine hours.

And, Stars fans, are you as iffy about Mike Modano’s return as – apparently – he is?

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In hockey, two heads are better than one.

In news that should surprise no one, the Dallas Stars have inked co-general managers Brett Hull and Les Jackson to concurrent three-year contracts running through the 2011 season.

It seemed a desperate move when owner Tom Hicks fired former GM Doug Armstrong and replaced him with two guys. Like with football quarterbacks, if you have two GMs it usually means you don't have any.

But, give them credit, Hull and Jackson not only got along, they made the key acquisition of forward Brad Richards in February that helped Dallas push the Red Wings to a Game 6 in the NHL Western Conference Finals.

With them back and Mike Modano announcing he's returning next year for a 19th NHL season, Stars' fans likely can't wait for training camp.

Me? I'm about done writing hockey. Wake me up next April. -- Richie Whitt

Sleep well, Stars fans. Sleep well.

After teasing us with hints of a monumental comeback, the Dallas Stars were finally buried by the better team last night. Red Wings 4, Stars 1 wasn’t as close as the score indicates.

Detroit, which advances to a Stanley Cup Finals series against Pittsburgh that I’m just sure we’ll all be glued to, took control early with a goal by Kris Draper, assist to his face. From there, the Red Wings skated out 4-0 and coasted home.

Brenden Morrow gave away a goal, the Stars weren’t as detailed defensively and the Red Wings’ goalie on this night was Chris Osgreat. But as I’ve said before, it’s no shame losing to Detroit.

Regardless, the Stars’ season was a smashing success and one that signaled their return to the living in the Metroplex sports scene.

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Goodbye, monkey. Hello, history?

The Dallas Stars got their pride. They got the Joe Louis Arena monkey off Marty Turco’s back. Now – believe it or not – they’re trying to get even.

For those of you that figured the Dallas Stars were primed for cremation when they fell behind the mighty Detroit Red Wings 3-0 in the NHL Western Conference Finals, the exculpation line forms right here. Behind me. As I cavalierly wrote in last week’s Dallas Observer column:

-- if the Stars win the series I'll skate around the Galleria's rink at Christmas in nothing but a black-and-green thong --

It was a joke. An outlandish, humorous, visually disturbing “what if” that had zero chance of “iffing.” Well, almost zero.

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One more time for all the old times.

I was wrong. And, perhaps for one last night, the Dallas Stars were right on.

Stars 3, Red Wings 1 needed its share of luck. Detroit hit a post early and had a goal disallowed via a horrible call. But give Dallas credit. The Stars played last night’s Game 4 at American Airlines Center for pride. And that’s exactly what they got.

Well, that and a Game 5 Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on NBC. Yes, I said Channel 5. See, it was worth it huh?

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Hmm. Take another cross-check to the ribs or chase the Mrs. around the house? Decisions, decisions.

Face it, tonight's Game 4 could be the last game of Mike Modano's Stars-studded career. I know! It's not a guarantee, just a frightening possibility. With Detroit having sucked the drama from the series, at least it gives us some motivation to tune in to Versus at 7 p.m.

The Stars could find a way to sneak a win from the mighty Red Wings and the series could live another day or two. Or, even with a loss, Modano could decide that 18 years and 528 goals isn't enough and return next season.

Still, if Dallas loses you'd better give him an extra 10 seconds -- no, make that 10 minutes -- of adulation before he skates off the ice. Just in case.

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The dream is all but dead.

Well, that’s what it feels like, eh?

For three games and 180 minutes over five days in two rinks your Dallas Stars have hurled their unyielding will at the Detroit Red Wings’ superior skill. It’s not that they haven’t won a game. They have never even had a lead.

Yes, it’s that lopsided.

Bless their stubborn hearts, the Stars tried everything in last night’s Game 3 loss at American Airlines Center. They came out with lots of early “jump”, twice launching shots that chipped paint in the first two minutes. They won their share of face-offs. They threw big hits, attempted to match Detroit’s open-ice finesse and even juggled their lines. They tried to turn Detroit’s ballet into a rugby scrum. But in the end, Detroit 5, Dallas 2 felt like an even bigger blowout.

The Stars are now down 0-3, and out. Out of the series. Out of ideas. Out of gas.

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For the Stars to keep playing, he needs to stop slashing and start scoring, eh?

Good news: Dallas Stars catalyst forward Mike Ribeiro will play in tonight’s Game 3 of the NHL’s Western Conference Finals at 7 p.m. in American Airlines Center.

Bad news: Lose tonight and the Stars might as well line up for the handshake.

Ribeiro getting fined but avoiding suspension for his not-so-subtle two-handed slash of Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood was about the only good news to come out of Games 1 and 2 in Detroit. I know, Osgood clearly agitated him with the butt end of his stick up around his playoff beard and then flopped like an octopus upon absorbing a half-hearted chop to his chest pad, but Ribeiro’s loss of composure and radical retaliation was about as ridiculous as Taco Bell trying to convince us that chicks go to bars with bacon in their purses. (Insert Long John Silvers joke here if you want, but I'm not touching it.)

As if the Stars need some bulletin-board motivation, how ‘bout a little dis from Detroit’s Darren McCarty:

“"Gutless," he said of Ribeiro. “To swing your stick like a baseball bat, not just at anybody but our goalie, that's unacceptable."

The gutless Stars will not only have to be madder than Detroit tonight, but also better.

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Red Wings' fans throw octopi on the ice when their team scores. How very SpongeBobby of them. And stupid.

The Dallas Stars’ bandwagon – so desolate three months ago that team president Jeff Cogen was bending over backward to win back fans – is suddenly more congested than the complaint line at American Airlines.

Just as it should be. Because Dallas isn’t a sports town, but rather a winners town. And the Stars, in case you’re late to the party, are four wins from the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Stars, in their first Western Conference Finals since 2000, begin their series tonight against the hated Detroit Red Wings at 6:30 on the most obscure sports channel in the history of ever, Versus. If you find it, you’ll see a hell of a series. One that ESPN.com predicts the Red Wings will win in seven games but The Hockey News envisions the Stars winning in seven.

Me? I was at American Airlines Center in February when the Stars smothered the Red Wings, 1-0. How could I not pick Dallas in six? Actually, I can’t.

A series primer for fans ranging from life-long puck-heads, to “hey, is that frozen water?”-types and the rest of us in between:

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While most of you were sleeping, this guy scored.

Exciting. Excruciating. Exhausting. …

Exalting.

In an epic hockey game that climaxed a fantastic series and prompted lots of bleary eyes, Brenden Morrow scored in the fourth overtime — at 1:23 a.m. thank you very much — to give the Dallas Stars a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks and a berth in the Western Conference Finals.

After goalies Marty Turco and Evgeni Nabokov traded unfathomable saves for more than five hours, Stephane Robidas sent a nifty pass in the crease to Morrow, who rather casually tapped-in the series clincher and the goal that ended the eighth longest game in NHL history and the third longest in Stars’ history.

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Paybacks are hell, eh?

That sound you hear is coming from Buffalo. In the form of laughter.

It took almost a decade, but the hockey Gods may have finally evened the score with the Stars, as Brenden Morrow had what clearly looked like a legal goal disallowed in a Game 5 Dallas eventually lost, 3-2, in overtime.

Game 6 is tomorrow night at American Airlines Center. And suddenly the Stars, who led the series 3-0 and coughed up late leads in the last two games, have all the pressure.

In 1999, I bet you recall, the Stars' Brett Hull scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal at Buffalo while Sabres fans to this day claim he was illegally in the crease and it should’ve been no goal.

Morrow seemed to score late in the second period to make it 2-0 Dallas, but after a looooong replay review the referees ruled he scored by intentionally kicking the puck with his skate.

Again, I’m no hockey aficionado, but that was more accident than purpose.

Whatever. Hold onto your chairs. Because the Stars seem to be reaching for their throat. -- Richie Whitt

I smell a shutout. That, and a really stinky "room."

I could sit here and try to analyze and dissect tonight’s Game 5 between your Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks all afternoon. But it’s 82 and sunny and, honestly, I don’t wanna.

Besides, what would it help?

As close as these two teams are – three of the four games have been decided by a goal and two have gone into overtime – it’s always a quirky bounce, some rubber off metal or even a deflected slapper off a defenseman’s leg that decides things. You’d have to be crazier than Rev. Jeremiah Wright to think we’ll be treated to anything other than a tight, intense rumble.

And you know what? That’s the beauty, the allure of playoff hockey.

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Sorry, Stars fans. Put 'em away.

Admit it, you got greedy. The Cowboys lose in the first round and the Mavs puke in the playoffs three years in a row and the Rangers remain the Rangers. So, naturally – finally -- when your Dallas Stars took a 3-0 series lead and 1-0 edge in last night’s Game 4, you left the TV to rummage through the broom closet in anticipation of stress-relieving sweep.

Call it premature evacuation.

Thanks to uncharacteristic gaffes by veterans Sergei Zubov and Mike Modano – the most unlikely terrible twosome on the roster, eh? – the Stars lost 2-1 and now must head back to San Jose Friday night for Game 5. Not exactly time to reach for this, because not since 1975 has an NHL team rallied from 0-3.

But still …

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