A King Has Been Crowned. What Do We Do Now?
By Frank Rekas
Wayne Gretzky said “It’s a great day for hockey” after the Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup on Monday night. In case you forgot Gretzky played for the Kings from 1988 to 1996, and was a member of the team that played in the finals in 1993, where they lost to the Montreal Canadiens. The last time a Canadien team won the Cup.
"“(It) couldn’t have happened to a nicer group of management and coaches that believed in a team that clearly took their play to another level. All hard work and very unselfish, they became true champions.”"
With the season finally over hockey fans are wondering what to do with themselves. I’ve been asking myself that very same question, and have thought of some ideas that I’m going to share with you. Some of which I’ll try, some of which I’m already doing, and others that you can forget. If you have some of your own thoughts send them our way.
* Watch the NBA Finals. Ugh. I did that. Last night I watched the entire Heat game. The company that I watched the game with was great, but the actual idea of me watching the entire game was not. After it was over, I wasn’t upset that the Heat lost. I was upset that I lost three hours of my life.
* Take up a hobbie. Running. Walking. Working out. Kick boxing. Spinning. Bike riding. Darts. Poker. Collecting stamps. This went from bad to worse. Although I like to do a fast walk 4-5 times a week in the morning. The running is too harsh on my back and knees. Problem is, I can’t get my arse out of bed lately.
* Learn something. A foreign language. Riding a motorcycle. How to change your oil. Putting together a Weber Grill. Swimming. The last one is on my list. Yea, that’s right I can’t swim. You wanna teach me? I have to be able to completely trust you, so that eliminates any and all strangers. Want to give it a try? Forewarning you…..good luck. I have issues with this one.
* Play a sport. Baseball, basketball, tennis, golf, softball. Great ideas, and a perfect way to get yourself in shape, or find out how out of shape you are. I play softball once a week with the boys from the office. Just enough. You run, you hit, you sweat. And when you win, you drink beer. It’s perfect. Golf? Forget it. I’ll learn how to swim first.
* Clean out your garage. I’m sure the place is infested with stuff that you really don’t need or want. And for all of you in Florida and along the east coast, do it now while you can take your time. Instead of doing it like most of us….when a hurricane is coming and you need to fit both cars in there.
* Read. Go an pick up all the periodicals on this years upcoming NHL draft. Go through each one and try to figure out each teams’ selection. You can even do this multiple ways in the event there’s a pick or two that throws things off. Better hurry. The draft is in 10 days.
* Baseball. Yes, baseball. The slow moving pace of a sport that gives us a glimpse of excitement in very small doses. If your team is out of the pennant race (Cubs), this could be a very difficult thing to do. However for me, this should be a peice of cake. The Baltimore Orioles, a team that I have loved since I was a toddler, is one game out of first place. Trailing the dreaded damn Yankees this late into the season by such a small margin gives me hope. I haven’t checked the box scores this often since Cal Ripkin Jr. retired. I used to love basball. I think I can again.
* Watchvideo this . A perfect way to get your hockey fix is watching videos like this one here that’s dedicated to the Stanley Cup Finals. I love the way people can put music to the action on the ice. My next job in my next life? Doing that.
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Start writing about hockey
. During the offseason? Sure why not. We here at
FanSided
have numerous openings for dedicated writers to join our staff. With 30 teams, a general NHL site, and a new minor league site, there are a number of slots open. Even here on The Rat Trick. Interested? Go to this link:
http://fansided.com/join-fansided/
complete the information and we’ll get back to you. Sorry for the shameless plug, but in all honesty, this is the perfect time to start writing so that by the time the season starts it will be come such a normal part of your day.
Any ideas of your own? Let us know.
Thanks for reading. We welcome your comments and opinions.
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