stripethree

…but it is not often I anticipate an episode of SportsCenter as I did yesterday night. Why you ask? NFL? No. College Football? No. Wait, wait, College Basketball right? Believe it or not, no.

Hockey.

Yes, I said it, the sport America loves to ignore (second only to soccer) and that nearly killed itself with a year hiatus, but yes, I said it, hockey. I have waited 15 long months since the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team from one of the last parts of the country you’d be expecting ice hockey to take place, walked away with the Stanley Cup, to see hockey again. My beloved Detroit Red Wings are aging (aren’t they always) and were last seen as the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs getting bounced by Jarome Iginla and the sixth seeded Calgary Flames who came within a game, no, a goal of winning the Stanley Cup last June. I will still, of course, cheer for them. In fact, I need an Yzerman jersey. My old Fedorov sweater is resigned to the closet at home, it no longer fits, in more ways than one. Where is he playing now?

I like the rule changes. I like the salary cap (parity!). Barry Melrose said it best on last night’s SportsCenter, it was something like ‘How can you not like the changes the game has made. Buffalo scored 6 goals tonight. Do you know how long into the season it usually takes Buffalo to score six goals in a night?’

Welcome back hockey. I missed you.

This weekend had some of the best college basketball I have ever watched. Although Maryland’s games, and the ACC tournament as a whole are definitely at the top of that list, I cannot remember when I was this interested by the games in other conferences. It’s tourney time, and even though we got a higher seed that we probably should have (c’mon, let’s be honest here), this team’s got potential. It wouldn’t be March Madness though without some “wtf”s from the selection committee: Why put the last two national champions in the same bracket, potentially meeting in the second round? Why are Gonzaga and Oklahoma State not 1 seeds? Why, instead, do we have two 1 seeds that did not even win their respective conference tournaments? I’m sure there are more…

I love this year’s tourney though, just on the fact that I haven’t the slightest clue on who to pick to get to the Final Four. All ACC? Do you know how much that would rock? Anyway, time to sleep on it. Here’s to another kick ass weekend. Three days until the beach and seven until Florida. Rock on.