Now that I've got your attention, I'd like to discuss with you:
THE NHL FINALS
by Matt Minucci
Wait, don't go. I'm serious. Look, when I was a little kid, the time between the end of the football season and the beginning of the baseball season, seemed to last an agonizingly long peroid of time. It literally seemed like forever. So, I tried to get into other sports. And since I couldn't sink a basket if you gave me a tennis ball, a step ladder and a net the size of Rhode Island, I decided to look at hockey. As I got older, I fell in love with the sport. The grace on the ice, the majesty of the goaltenders, the speed of the game, the fights, the blood. It was pure joy to an eight year old boy. My buddy Ray and I even build a net out of two hammocks and PVC piping and got our entire neighborhood involved in street hockey. I was the goalie and playing in sub-zero temperatures, with a roll of electrical tape as a puck combined with shoddy and improper equipment, I ended up having every single one of my toes shattered. Yes, I turned myself into a freak for the sport I loved. I never said I was bright, just passionate.
Not pictured: My toes.
But, with football season lasting longer, baseball starting earlier, the meteoric rise in popularity of college hoops (March Madness - which is awesome) and the NBA, hockey got pushed back to fourth or even fifth tier status. And then, making matters even worse, commissioner Gary Bettman helmed one of the most disasterous events in a major sport, as the 94-95 NHL lockout derailed and cancelled the 88th NHL season.
Bettman's lockout murdered hockey more than anything else.
That's right people, as of 2007, professional hockey has been around 100 years. It truly is a grand old game - but no one knows about it. The damn lockout caused a rift with ESPN and other major networks, and now the NHL is lucky if it can get national exposure on the QVC and the Home Gardening Network.
It's gotten so bad these days, people would rather talk about tennis, golf, boxing, horse-racing. Hell, I read an article recently that discussed the merits of Ivan Lendl. Ivan Lendl? We're talking about tennis players that retired 17 years ago over Henrik Zetterberg? Really?
I used to play tennis. Now I sell paint.
Even MMA fighting is more relevant than hockey, which is just freakin' sad. People nowadays know more about Chuck Liddel and Tito Ortiz than they ever will about Evgeni Malkin. And that's a shame. Because really, hockey has MMA built right into it! In addition to crisp passing, hard checks, exciting goals and fantastic goal-tending, you have an excellent chance of seeing Niklas Kronwall get the crap kicked out of him by Matt Cooke. Look, when something like MMA gets to be more popular than hockey, it gives rise to all sorts of problems. Like this.
You'd rather watch this guy than Sidney Crosby? Really?
That's right, more people know who Kimbo Slice is than Pavel Datsyuk. And that hurts.
So, I have a homework assignment for you all. And sadly, hockey almost feels like a chore these days, because it's impossible to find out exactly when and what channel it's on. But I'm going to make this assignment easy for you.
Friday Night. 8 PM EST. On NBC - and if you have it, NBC hi-def - and I strongly urge you to watch it in hi-def. Hockey is a sport made for hi-def. This is Game 7 in what has been a wonderful Finals so far. The Detroit Red Wings take on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Winner takes home Lord Stanley's Cup. I want you to watch it. I want you to watch the Red Wings stars like centers Henrik Zetterberg, who had 31 goals and 42 assists this season, and Pavel Datsyuk, who had 32 goals and 65 assists. And there's probable series MVP, goalie Chris Osgood, who went 26-9 with 2 shutouts. On the other side of the ice, watch the NHL's future, in center Sidney Crosby, 33 goals and 70 assists and his partner in crime, center Evgeni Malkin who had 35 goals and 78 assists. And don't forget goalie Marc-Andre Fleury who went 35-18 with 4 shutouts.
I want you to watch this game. If you only watch one hockey game all year, watch this one. It's a Friday night, and if you're reading this article, you clearly have nothing better to do. So sit down, pop open a brew or a soda, order some pizza, and watch Game 7 and enjoy.
Oh, and if you've made it this far, I appreciate it. And here you go:
