THe NHL playoffs start today. If the San Jose Sharks win the Stanley Cup, I will win a little over $100. But hockey has already made me a winner. By winning my fantasy hockey league, I have won a steak dinner. I've only had one steak in the last 6 months. (That was in Vegas, where it doesn't really count because what happens in...whatever.) I was telling people the next steak I eat was going to be from winning a fantasy hockey league, followed by people giving me that strange look that no longer fazes me. Steaks won always taste better than steaks paid for.

I guess the NBA playoffs are also starting this weekend. It's not nearly as exciting as the NHL though. Only 4 teams have a chance of winning: Pistons, Mavericks, Suns, and Spurs. Kobe, Lebron, Wade, and Carmelo in the playoffs mean nothing because even if their teams get hot, they aren't good enough to knockoff the top dogs anyways. Throw in 4 eastern conference teams that barely won half their games, and I'm not even watching the first 2 rounds of NBA action.

In the NHL, all it takes is a well timed deflection of a slap shot or a breakaway opportunity for a top seed to fall. Every score counts big. No fouling at the end of games to make 32 seconds last 19 minutes. Instead of just running your mouth and posing after scoring, you can knock opponents into the boards or fight whenever you want to. How can you not like that?