oooo, can you smell it? No, it ain't what The Rock is cookin', I can assure you. It's Stanley Cup season and this southern girl is loving it! Which I guess, begs the question, just how does a southern lifer, raised on SEC and Big Ten football become such a huge hockey fan?

The answer is easy and goes back to the 1980 Olympics. Yep, I was all caught up in the USA vs Russia match. That was the first time I remember seeing the sport. I didn't understand it at all at that time, but it was fast paced and dangerous. Of course, since I did live in the south, and most of the teams were up north, I didn't really have a NHL team I followed and no one I knew was even into hockey, much less knew anything about it.

But Mark followed hockey, and so when we hooked up I could finally watch it, learn about it, and get into it, and boy do I.

My team is already out of the playoffs. Every year it seems they have to face San Jose, and every year it seems they can't get by them.

So for those who just don't know, let me tell you about the game and why I love it. I love it because it's brutal. Yep, it is the last true gladiator type sport. There's no, "I can't play because I hurt my thumb." like Kurt Warner. or "I can't play because I bruised my toe." like Deon Sanders. You play dammit, no matter how much you're bleeding, how badly you're cut or how badly you're bruised and broken. Stevey Yzerman played the playoffs with a banged up knee. He'd zip from one end of the rink to the other, knocking guys down as he fought for the puck. In between plays, during the stopages, he'd have to use his stick to help himself up off the ice and hobble over to the bench. But each time his shift came, he was back on the ice, skating and fighting for all he was worth.

I love the brutalness of hockey. Guys picking, poking, prodding, tripping, slamming, stabbing, punching at each other, all trying to stay on their skates, while trying to shoot a little rubber puck into a net. Oh my! And when two guys get fed up enough, what other sport allows them to throw off their gloves and start punching? None. Football players are a bunch of babies. And while Basketball players are getting rougher in their play, they still don't have to worry about a 250 man slipping with terminal velocity across the ice to slam them into the boards.

God, I feel a tear welling up in my eye. Hockey's such a great game. Here's to the modern Gladiators!