Hockey-Tonk Tuesday and P&Q’s Awesome New Super Bowl Contest!

Are you nuts? A bounty? We could all end up in the clinker for this. You can’t put a bounty on a man’s head.

I just did.

~from “Slap Shot”

Somebody asked me once why I loved hockey. Without hesitation I responded, “It beats either therapy or anger management.”

Actually it’s a lot deeper than that. I’m a sports junkie in general who loves, by varying degrees, everything from football and baseball to horse racing and Grand Slam tennis. But hockey has a special place in my heart. I didn’t grow up in the Snow Belt and didn’t even lace up my first pair of skates until my preteen years. I’ve been in love ever since.

Things have changed a lot in fifteen years, though. My knees are too gimpy for full-contact hockey anymore. There are hockey teams in non-traditional markets, including a surprising following here in Nashville. Hockey is becoming more mainstream. And, with the slow decline of baseball and the NBA, it’s not surprising. It’s a working man’s (and woman’s) sport, by and large, without a lot of the absurdly large contracts in other major sports. It’s certainly a physical sport…when was the last time you saw a bloodied and bruised shortstop or point guard? And it’s a hell of a lot of fun, both to play and to watch.

We're the Nashville Predators...get it?

The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced hockey is in my blood. The Czech tradition includes a number of NHL stars, among them Dominik Hasek, Tomas Vokoun, and Jaromir Jagr. Hockey is the modern-day equivalent of Attila’s Golden Horde sweeping down on an unsuspecting Roman legion. OK, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But it’s a sport of warriors. (It also keeps a bunch of dentists and orthodontists permanently in business.) I’ve always fancied myself a warrior. So hockey is logical for me as well.

I’d encourage any hockey virgins to take in a game whenever they can. It may look boring on TV, but it’s a different experience to be there in person. And the seats are generally cheaper than NFL or MLB games. Sit relatively high, and bring binoculars…you’ll get a better view of things. Don’t forget to join in the chants with the home crowd. If for some reason you can’t make it, well, there’s always Slap Shot or Mystery, Alaska or Miracle at your local library.

As for me, I’m gonna try and find another no-checking league to join. It’s like Brokeback Mountain. I just can’t quit hockey. I gotta play. Maybe the over-55 crowd could use another goalie or defenseman? With all these gray hairs I’m suddenly getting (shudder)…

Find Orbitz coupons and fly there if you have to.

Now, on to the news I know my readers want to hear! We’re having another contest!

It's Super Bowl time again!

With Super Bowl XLVI right around the corner on Sunday, February 5, I decided to have a contest both sports fans and non-sports fans could enjoy. Here’s how it works!

1. Predict the outcome of the game. You can include teams if you like for extra credit, but all I want is a final score.

2. Give a guess as to how long it will take the national anthem to be sung (ie, 2 minutes, 1 second.)

3. Share a Super Bowl-related memory. It doesn’t have to be about football…it could be your family, a stupid commercial on TV, that really great casserole your mom always that day.

The combined closest guess to the totals (game score and national anthem) will win an amazing prize pack courtesy of the Howling Mad Express. Plus, EVERYONE who submits their Super Bowl memories will get a virtual prize of some kind (FB swag, etc.) Entries will be accepted until kickoff on Super Bowl Sunday. You can email them directly to me at wikusandmurdock@yahoo.com or simply comment on this post. Sound like fun? Well, what are you waiting for? Enter!

Ray-Ray entered the contest!

Enjoyed this post? Be sure to click “Like” and subscribe to P&Q so you’ll never miss another moment of heart-stopping excitement!

~ by Howlin' Mad Heather on January 10, 2012.