O Hockey, Where Art Thou?

I miss professional hockey. Yup, I admit it. It may seem geeky or dorky or whatever, but I miss the NHL. Outside of the country of Canada (eh?), most people probably don't care, but I do. At this point in the year, they would be in the playoffs heading toward the Stanley Cup Finals. There would hardcore checking, great saves, and amazing goals. I should be listening to Barry "The Mullet" Melrose, Darren "The Little Goalie That Could" Pang, and John "Oh Baby!" Davidson talking about Marian Gaborik's incredible speed and Martin Brodeur's amazing consistency on shots. But I'm not, because there is no hockey this year. Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow made like In-Action Heroes (no, I am not plugging, just explaining), and stole away the season. Both the players and the owners should be ashamed. Sorry, almost went off on a rant there. This post isn't about denouncing those two punks. No, no, no, no. Rather this is about how much I miss the "Coolest Sport on Earth."
At the end of last year, the Minnesota Wild invited me to become a season ticket holder. Without hesitation, I gladly accepted and purchased two upper deck seats (real fans sit above where they can see the whole game). Both my wife and I were excited for the upcoming season. We were going to see Matt Johnson beat the holy hell out of opposing players. We were going to see Gaborik flying down the ice to score. We were going to discuss how the Wild need to have Matt Foy on their second line as soon as possible (a thought I still have to this day). The lockout ended all of that. Did I cry? No. I think my brother-in-law did though. See, he's a Canadian boy who loves (and I do mean LOVES) the Calgary Flames. He's the kind of guy who would go to the game, take off his shirt, and have some sort of mural or picture painted on his chest. He got so mad during last year's finals that he put his fist through a wall, broke his glasses, and cried (the Flames did lose, you know).
Anyway, as baseball rolls along, and basketball's season comes to a conclusion, I keep thinking about what could have been. Would the Wild have returned to the playoffs this year? (I think so.) Would an unexpected team win the Stanley Cup? (Again, I think so.) But there is no hockey this year. The Xcel Energy Center has The Minnesota Swarm (a lacrosse team) to replace hockey (it doesn't). Now that the Worlds are over (take that Canada, Czech Republic shut you out!), there's no hockey for awhile. There's even the possibility of no season next year as well. (BETTMAN AND GOODENOW!!!! Sorry.)
So, in honor of the sport that I miss, tomorrow I will be talking about my hockey memories. Basically, games I attended and events that occured there. Some are funny, some are sad, and some are just insane.
Come back soon, NHL. I'm jonesing for some wicked checks, incredible saves, and JD's "Oh baby!"