I don't know what it is about NHL hockey that is so intoxicating. Every game I'm on the edge of my seat, yelling at the tv, spilling beer all over myself.. I just love it.

Hockey is my reality away from reality. A lot of people have their obsessions with movies or tv shows, and thats where they go to escape everyday life and just get away for a while. I love hockey for the same reason, and above tv or movies because its real. Real people in real time doing real things. Nothing is scripted, nothing is predetermined, every moment is a true moment. It is captivating.

And I have so much respect for hockey, above all other sports. Just the fact that they are doing this on ice increases the difficulty level tenfold. You can't just be fast, you need to skate fast and you can't afford to lose your balance and fall on your ass. You need to be able to take a good hit and recover from that quickly. And you need to manuever a tiny little puck into a small net thats heavily guarded. Soccer, basketball, football, baseball--I can keep going-- they've got nothing on that.

"Hockey is my porn" my friend Mel and I say. Sure most of these guys have beat up faces, broken noses, missing teeth.. but every so often you find a real pretty boy. At first you're like "hey he's cute" but then you watch him play, you see a few interviews, and you fall in love. Whats the difference between being in love with Sidney Crosby or Johnny Depp? Your odds with him are slim to none, but its still fun, its a little something extra to make hockey even more interesting.

So this is what I do several times a week. I throw the game on (Go Habs Go), cheer on my boys, drool whenever I see Maxim Lapierre (Montreal Canadiens #40) and sometimes even Carey Price (their starting goalie), and get pissed off when we do something stupid and lose the game (ahem Steve Begin, last night, thanks a lot). I swear I'm developing ulcers from the stress of playoffs-- and possibly also the increased intake of alcohol during every game. But its ok because its all in good fun, and for about 2-3 hours every few days I get to immerse myself in an alternate reality, which most of the time is more exciting and interesting than my own life. What's wrong with that?