Sport Break

Anybody else out there following the hokey playoffs? Apparently, this is not something Americans do, but I can't get enough. Trying to watch the NBA playoffs after hokey is difficult, if not impossible. Basketball seems so slow and it's like football in its seconds of action, long break rhythm.

Having no "home team," I am able to pick a favorite in a series, so I always have a rooting interest. Currently, I'm rooting for the Sabers, Canucks, Red Wings, and the Senators. In fact, I keep being tempted to ask PopTart to pick me up a Buffalo jersey, but I could do it via internets and would open myself up for anti-sport, anti-Buffalo, and anti-guys-wearing-jersey posts.

I also discovered last weekend that hokey is infinitely better on a giant screen tv, as it makes seeing the puck all that much easier.

In other sporting news, did you all catch Tony Stewart's anti-NASCAR tirade? I know you did. The link was just for grins. Now I am not a huge Stewart guy, which is odd because I kind of like his little bad-boy image, he drives the #20 Home Depot Chevy and there's nothing not to love there. Might it be the orange-and-black color scheme? I think it might be that he drives for Joe Gibbs racing and I can't root for anyone associated with that particular football team in Washington. But I digress.

Stewart basically called NASCAR for being full of shit, comparing them to pro wrestling in its match-fixing skills, something that I've marveled at for years. Without going into a lot of detail, NASCAR is owned by one family and they literally make the rules. Sometimes in the middle of a race. Stweart called them on their habit of throwing cation flags just when it would come in handy for certain racers. Let's say the top 5 racers are all low on gas and are going to need to pit before the end of the race. If they pit under green, then they are going to lose position to some scrubs who don't need to pit. Invariably, almost as soon as the announcers make this known, a caution for "debris on the track" will come out, the leaders will pit under yellow, not lose position and not lose the race. Now when I say "invariably," I don't mean, "how come I always hit a red light when I'm late? (irony)" I mean every freakin' time. Stewart called NASCAR on this. He was hauled into a 6 am meeting (why 6 am?) and now has withdrawn all comments and wants to assure us all that NASCAR is on the level, the up and up, and is all square.

Alright, Rangers and Sabers is on. Time to go.