Hockey Fever

It might be because the one hockey team I ever paid attention to during my life is finally in the playoff hunt or it might be because I'm so sick of Mitchell Reports and Congressional Hearings that it makes me want to be like Clemens and throw my metaphorical wife under the bus for the performance enhancement prosecutors........

But, behold, my friends and I have developed hockey fever.

I know that hockey is the major sport equivalent of curling at the winter Olympics, but watching Washington Capitals games is an addictive and thrilling experience. The have one of the most skillful and flashiest players in the league in the form of $100 million dollar-man Alex Ovechkin. His incredible goal while falling onto his back has dominated highlight reels around the internet for the past year and a half and still causes jaws to drop every time it is shown.

But my opinion of hockey is developing from the fluidity of the game. It's not like football (except for maybe a two-minute drill) or baseball with stoppages between each play, and it's not like the NBA with people walking up the court shooting a 25-footer and then heading back to pretend to play defense. Every offensive push is a coordinated display of weaving, sharp passes and laser-like shots and on the defensive side, every shot brings the possibility of a brave soul flinging his body in front of the shot to help his team.

The younger teams in the league are a lot of fun to watch because hockey more than any other sport is a young man's game. The average age for the Caps is just over 26-years-old and that is skewed because of 37-year-old goaltender Olaf Kolzig.

The young players really bring a lot of energy and they storm up the ice quickly to make as many goal-scoring opportunities as possible.

At the All-Star Weekend, two weeks ago, even the skills challenges are changing to favor a younger audience. With break-away and shootout challenges to inspire crazy moves (Ovechkin did his best Tiger Woods impression by bouncing the puck on his stick and then trying to slap it out of midair for the goal but was unsuccessful). And even the accurate shooting competition is relating to skeet-shooting as there are breakable plates hanging in the corners of the goal.

The high energy and higher scoring brings an incredible excitement to the game and the shootout format to decide overtime is one of the most exciting moments in sports.

So try to make it out to your local rink and experience the hard-hitting, fast-paced game that is making a comeback.