MONTREAL (AP) Police regained control of the downtown core early Thursday after firing tear gas at hundreds of bottle-tossing youths who looted businesses following the Montreal Canadiens’ Game 7 victory in Pittsburgh. The vandalism occurred after most of the tens of thousands of jubilant hockey fans left the area. Police say 41 people have been arrested in the mayhem… Rows of black-clad riot officers charged in from the peripheries, rattling their shields as a warning to the crowd before firing tear-gas canisters. Shortly after the Canadiens’ 5-2 victory over the Penguins, fireworks erupted over Ste-Catherine Street as people crowd-surfed and held aloft trinkets including Stanley Cup replicas and a stuffed penguin. The flag-waving crowd was as euphoric as the 21,000 fans who crammed into the Bell Centre to watch the game on giant screens. After the game, they spilled out into the streets chanting, “We want the Cup! We want the Cup! Montreal has a history of hockey-related violence.

This is just embarrassing.  I thought Montreal was a world class city.  But what kind of a jerkwater town riots over winning a frigging Conference Semifinal?  A city full of wine drunk, baguette eating mimes and soccer loving Celine Dion fans, that’s who.  I used to despise Canadiens fans, but now after this I just kind of pity them.  I mean, we’ve had riots in Boston before.  But those were all college douches from out of town.  And even they had the decency to wait until we won it all, not the series before the series before the championship series.  Where’s the pride, Montreal? Where’s the Delta I used to know?  Christ, Pierre, act like you’ve been there before.

PS.  You’ve got to love these cheese eaters for burning pictures of Sidney Crosby.  Three months ago he was their national hero.  Just like us after WWII, French speakers are the most “What have you done for me lately?” people on Earth.