the back of the house, so to speak," Jacobs said. "I can't speak enough for the total organization and how it's moved forward. I'm just so proud of what they've achieved."It wasn't easy. Even though goaltender Tim Thomas has two shutouts and an impressive 2.29 goals-against average, and David Krejci and Nathan Horton each have 17 points through three rounds, the Bruins still had to play 18 games to get here. Wrapped around a surprisingly thorough four-game sweep of the Flyers in Round 2, were two emotionally draining seven-game series vs. the Canadiens and Lightning.Round 3 ended with a classic 1-0 victory over Tampa Bay on Friday night, in front of a charged home crowd."I think it was disciplined hockey at its best. You had to dig deep," Jacobs said. "And I thought it was great hockey. This city thought it was great hockey. That's more important than anything — that the fans came out the way they did, and that they responded the way they did. I couldn't have been more pleased with it."And keep in mind, the Bruins — in a sports town that is quick to push the panic button — opened the playoffs by dropping the first two games at home to Montreal.Boston is 12-4 since."I was disappointed we were down 2-0. I had a lot of confidence in our team, but I have to tell you — when you're down 2-0 — you've got to be concerned about whether or not you can pull that off," Jacobs said. "And to go into Montreal, and win the next two, well that was very refreshing."The Bruins will journey back into Canada on Monday after a practice in Boston. The Canucks, who defeated Chicago, Nashville and San Jose to win the West, haven't played since last Tuesday, when they defeated the Sharks 3-2 in Game 5 of the conference finals.Vancouver led the NHL with 117 points this season, 10 more than any other team. After a tougher-than-expected first round, in which they needed overtime of Game 7 to dispose of the Blackhawks, the Can't want, no matter how the proposal is cast. The Republicans have now given the Democrats an issue that my friend and fellow Fox News contributor Pat Caddell has argued could well give the House back to the Democrats. The possibility of that is certainly clear, but the Democrats themselves have taken at least steps to ensure that it doesn't happen. Instead of coming up with a plan, as President Clinton himself has argued, that would rein in Medicare spending itself and recognize the American people fundamentally want slow, gradual but inexorable entitlement reform and a balanced budget, the Democrats have also decided to substitute rhetoric for policy and simply attack the Republicans. While a number of alternatives to the Ryan plan are quietly circulating among Democrats, including one that would allow interstate competition on insurance purchasing, the party itself will almost certainly remain committed to the approach that the President and the Congressional leadership has taken-- attack, attack, attack, offer no policy alternatives, and brand the Republicans as failures and heartless. It is unclear now whether the Gang of 6 is the Gang of 5, and whether they will come out with a bipartisan budget plan. But one thing is for sure, with Senator Tom Coburn having at least temporarily, if not permanently left the group, and with Senator Kent Conrad having proposed more tax increases than he supported back in December when he was one of the architects of the Bowels-Simpson balanced budget plan, it is clear that the Democrats themselves are moving in the direction of putting forward plans that have no chance of winning broad based support. And it is a great pity, because 11 of its 18 members did back the Bowles-Simpson commission report back in December, which offered a 3 to 1 ratio of spending cuts to revenue increases as a means of cutting 4 trillion dollars over 10 years. To be sure, there are elements in the Bowles-Simpson plan that I find to be