Here it is June, and the Stanley Cup playoffs will soon come to an end. I have to say I’ve been enjoying the games. I like playoff hockey and I like the international tournaments as well. It’s a much different game than you see during the NHL regular season. In fact, if teams played hockey that was anywhere near as interesting during the regular season, I might pay attention. Unfortunately, anytime I’ve tuned into a regular season game, it’s put me right to sleep.
As gentle readers of this blog know, I’m not a big sports fan. I’m not the guy who knows all the players and follows seasons and trades and stats and all that stuff. I’m the guy who jumps on the bandwagon at playoff time. This time around, I was cheering for Montreal because, um…uh…well because they’re just down the road I guess. My my non-expert point of view there are a couple obvious problems. One is that the season is way too long. I think that’s what makes regular season games so boring. It must be really gruelling for those guys to go out there night after night and try to play good hockey. Why is the season too long? I presume it’s to pay the salaries. Like other major sports, it’s big business. I realize that none of this will change. Here in Toronto, people keep filling the arena even though we haven’t had a winning team on the ice in an embarassingly long time.
And so, I tune in at playoff time. I wish playoff time was earlier in the year though, say around March. It just seems right that hockey season should end as winter ends. Meanwhile, I’ve jumped on a new bandwagon since Montreal got beat up by Philidelphia. Go Blackhawks. Doesn’t Stan Mikita play for that team?
27th Street 
We’ve been pretty damned excited about the playoffs this year. I was rooting for Canucks…and then Montreal…but always hoping for Balckhawks too.I’m a bit all over the plavce ha ha.
It’s been amazing this year because when we go out hockey is on tv. We watched several montreal games in bars…we couldn’t beliee it. In the past…hockey didn’t attract much of an audience here at all. And it’s hilarious…many people don’t know how to watch hockey…they are hockey nerds…but the city is trying to learn the game now that the Hawks are so in…
We’re a wreck…can hardly handle waiting for tonight…can they do it?
We can hear all the tvs on in or apartment building and cheers among the neighbours..it’s been a lot of fun, if stressful ha ha.
The weather around here has actually been pretty suitable for playoff hockey. But I would trade that all in for a few warm days.
Ya Stan Makita plays for the Black Hawks but he isn’t as good as that Gordie Howe fella who plays for Detroit. I too gave up watching regular season games decades ago. It happened the first time the Russians came over to contest what was called the Canada Cup. Turns out that the players could skate twice as fast and play with 8 times the intensity that I was used to seeing in the saturday night games. I realized that the regular season was just a job and the players seemed to me to be putting the same effort as a civil servant 3 weeks from retirement and I havent watched a game since. I think though that there is one true hockey song sung by a proud Canadian and since you didnt post it then what the heck, I will.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZWxErEbQkY&feature=related