The Mutt of Sports

What do you get when you mix baseball, football, basketball and soccer? You get what i'm going to call for the time being, the mutt of sports, hockey! For those of you who haven't taken the time to really sit down and watch hockey, I really really recommend that you do so. It is a fascinating sport and there is not a better time than right now to catch a game as the Stanley Cup playoffs are in full swing with great matchups going at each other nightly.

Baseball - baseball for the most part in my book is all about hand/eye coordination. Hockey uses tons of hand/eye coordination while catching the puck, passing the puck or shooting the puck. The major difference between hockey and baseball when it comes to this is that in hockey you are being slashed by an opposing teams stick or dealing with somebody throwing their body weight into you. Did I mention that you are on ice while you are trying to do this?

Football - the inner barbarian in us all comes out in a game of football. We want to see big hits and some of the best athletes on the planet go toe to toe in an effort to get the ball from one end of the field to the next and cross the goal line. You watch each play and hope for a game changing play to occur (from your team) whether it be creating a turnover, connecting on a 50 yard pass or running between the tackles, getting through the linebackers and then winning that footrace against the opposing secondary. You never know when one play will change a game. Hockey brings 60 minutes of guys putting the opposing team into the boards with hits that make you cringe and every now and then you will get to see a good ole fashioned fist-a-cuff. Does it get more barbaric than a sport that allows (with a 5 minute penalty of course) two guys to just throw haymakers at one another until one of them hits the ice? It is part of the game, that I hate to say, I love. I will say this though, while fighting in hockey can be just for the sake of disliking the player you are "dancing" with, but it is also very strategic and is also many times done to protect your teams "golden boys" In game 6 of the opening playoff series between the Penguins and Flyers, you saw the strategic fight take place http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAkIC8DDaAk. Down 3 - 0 the Penguins needed a spark and needed to shut the Philly fans up. The Flyers had all the momentum, had 18,000 rowdie Vince Papale's in attendance and the Penguins were about to get laughed out of the building. Pittsburgh Center, Max Talbot, decided he had to do something and that something was pick a fight with the biggest and baddest dude for the Flyers that was on the ice at the time. He knew this would provide a spark for his team but also just break up the rhythem of the game and boy did it ever. Max didn't win the fight (actually lost it hands down) but the Penguins bench began banging their sticks on the boards in appreciation of his efforts and showed a sign of life they hadn't shown through the first period of play. 30 seconds later they put one past the goalie. This was the first of 5 Pens goals in a row that resulted in a 5-3 Penguins victory to clinch the series. America loves physical sports. Football and hockey are the two at the top of the totum pole in that respect.

Basketball - in basketball you have to put the ball through the basket to score. Easier said than done considering you have 10 guys in a confined space ranging from 6' to 7' playing in your face defense and doing all they can to stop you from doing so. They hand check, they bump, they go for steals, they block shots, nothing comes easy. Hockey is no different. There is a little more spacing but the net you are trying to put he puck into is protected by a goalie with 35lbs of padding making his 5'10, 200lb frame an intimidating 6'3, 235 lb Jason Voorhies look alike. Did I mention the other team slashing your stick with theirs or laying their bodies on the ice to block passes that are to set up scoring chances or even blocking shots (with their faces!). While the spacing is a little better, it still takes absolute precise shots to get through the traffic and through the goalie.

Soccer - while Soccer isn't the top sport in the US, it is worldwide the most played and watched sport. Fans pack stadiums to sometimes, live and die (literally), for their teams. These people are nuts. most soccer matches to the average person here in the US are too low scoring and not enough action, but to the diehards in England that is the beauty of the sports. Constant motion combined with that 1-goal in the 80th minute can send a crowd into a frenzy and all of a sudden those first 79 scoreless minutes are forgotten and the celebration has begun. Hockey like basketball but more so soccer is a sport played with continuous moment for large amounts of time. Baseball has a break between each pitch, football between each play. Hockey players put the brakes on for the occasional offside penalty or a puck that has deflected into the crowd. Scoring is limited, so you never know when that goal is going to take place that puts you in your happy place http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCpoG5oaFyU&feature=PlayList&p=873C79D235168D8C&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=3 or the one that sends you home disgruntled and ready to jump off a bridge.

If you are a fan of any of the sports above, chances are you a fan of more than 1 of them. If you haven't given hockey a chance, please tune to Versus and just sit and watch a game. You will be amazed by how quick and graceful these guys are on the ice despite how rough the sport is. You will quickly appreciate the amount of skill that goes into playing the sport and when you hear that home crowd go nuts after a goal, you will feel the hair on the back of your neck will stand on end, hell you may get some goose bumps. The sport is lead by some very young (early 20's) superstars that are really helping put hockey back on the map. Sydney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are the future and this is why:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8QisFSAXgE