GO PENS!!!
Must say that having lived in Pittsburgh for 2 plus years that I still enjoy watching their sports teams do well. Our son was born there and I'm sure that contributes to that feeling although I have to say he hardly remembers any of our time there and doesn't share my enthusiasm for Pittsburgh sports teams. I'll add that it's uniquely strange to have grown up a Houston Oilers fan and root for any Pittsburgh sports team.....but here I am today saying I love it when they make the playoffs and enjoy seeing their teams win it all!!!
Growing up in Houston following the Astros baseball teams and the Oilers football teams I hardly got into hockey. Houston had a team, a pretty successful one in the Houston Aeros with Gordon (Gordie) Howe and his sons but still I never got into it. Just wasn't a mainstream sport in our town or household. No youth hockey leagues or real passion for the sport. I tried to ice skate once.....failed miserably. Then I saw blood on the ice. I was done!!!
"Went to a fight and a hockey game broke out" is one of my favorite lines about the sport. Still amazes me how the refs allow the fights to play themselves out before stepping in and separating the players. No players are penalized for participating in fights. Noone gets sent to the penalty box or ejected from the game. Gotta love a sport where almost anything goes........except maybe tripping.
I figure the refs realise they can't see everything that goes on on the ice and that if a fight breaks out it was usually provoked by some manner of dirty play that the refs missed and the players just govern the rules of fair play by taking matters into their own hands when it's called for.
I don't advocate violence in sports or anywhere else but there's something about watching two guys go at it on ice skates. Fun stuff.
I'm an extreme novice when it comes to NHL hockey so if I get any of my musings wrong know that there's a good reason why. I did watch with genuine interest as the Pens battled the Flyers last week. It was apparent early the Penguins would easily handle the Flyers and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. Looks like they will have their hands full and a worthy opponent in the Detroit Redwings.
I'll be watching!! :
GO PENS!!!
Highlights on espn this morning showed the Pens hard fought victory over the Wings in double overtime. What a game!