NBA Finals time...yawn?

With all of the talk about the NBA Finals, it's easy to say that they're hard to ignore. I've had a hard time getting into them once again this year, but have seriously considered it. On the one hand, it's another sport to follow. On the other hand, it's another sport to follow. It's kind of like trying to decide if I want to add another television show to my weekly lineup, when the two I have are such an emotional commitment as it is. Being the typical Type-A personality that I am, I made a Pro/Con list to decide whether or not to tune in for the rest of the series. Here it is, insanity and all:

Pro: Lamar Odom
If you think this reasoning has anything to do with the fact that he's an extremely talented player that is becoming more and more critical to the Lakers' lineup with each game, you're wrong. I'm much more shallow than that. Come on, let's look at the more obvious reason: he's a Kardashian-by-marriage. He's married to my favorite Kardashian, Khloe, and since their wedding was televised on cable TV, and I was an invited guest accordingly, I'm practically family. Plus, he cameos in those funny little Taco Bell commercials.

Con: My grudge with the NBA
I've preached for ages, and I'll preach it again. In my opinion, the NBA lacks the kind of heart that makes basketball so enjoyable in the first place. I'll gladly watch March Madness games all day long, but when it comes to the NBA, I just don't see the same kind of passion. At the end of the day, win or lose, these guys get a whopping paycheck. Sort of a turn off for me.

Pro: Cool Tattoos
Another pro, another ridiculous musing. You can't watch a pro basketball game without noticing the crazy amounts of ink these guys have. As a girl who's a bit inked up myself, it's interesting to see all of the different "art" (and I use that term loosely) different players have. Between Kobe's butterfly crown on his bicep (so very masculine looking) and Nate Robinson's blur of ink on his arms, it's like a two-for-one show: a game, and a gallery.

Con: No Bulls
To put it simply, I've just got no dog in this fight.

Pro: Celebrity Sightings
With the Lakers home base being the epicenter of celebrities, there are always stars sitting court side at their games. Any opportunity to see David Beckham without actually having to sit through a soccer game is a few hours I can get behind.

Con: My heart's just elsewhere
With the seven game series against the Flyers going on, I really don't know if I can detach myself from the Stanley Cup Finals long enough to put any spirit into the NBA. The Hawks need me sitting alone on my couch 600 miles away screaming "Chelsea Dagger" after every goal. It's just that simple.

In the end, my relatively lame reasons to watch the finals were outweighed by everything else in the entire universe that's more interesting. That being said, go Lakers!

Sarah Palin, Beer and Hockey: A Love Story.

One of the most...let's call it "memorable" quotes that former Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin made during her months of cringe-worthy campaigning was the following: "The difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick."

I remember when the media first started citing this quote from Palin. I also remember my reaction: what the hell is she talking about? Not that this is a strange reaction to anything that comes out of that woman's mouth. Generally quotes from her end with a contorted face and the scratching of the head, but this time was for a different reason entirely. I remember thinking something along the lines of "Oh that is just so Northern of her."

Growing up, hockey was always something that I associated with frozen tundras, maple syrup and horrible nasal accents. It's a sport, yeah, but not really .

Once I moved to Chicago, my opinion didn't change all that much. I stumbled upon free prime tickets to Blackhawks games on two separate occasions, but used the games more as opportunities to drink overpriced beers and flirt than to actually watch the games. Sure, people were running around on ice with sticks and a puck. But you know what else was icy? This beer some dude just bought me. Beer 1, Hockey 0. Thanks, dude.

Then, I started dating one of those hockey-crazed dudes. I saw the similarities between him watching a Hawks game and my Dad watching a Tennessee football game. Screaming at the television? Check. Cursing at players that can't (and never will) hear you? Check. Multiple beers consumed? Check. Maybe there was something to this hockey thing. My patient boyfriend was an excellent teacher of all things hockey related. I started to understand this strange sport that wasn't really much more than a hybrid of soccer, football and ice skating. It was rugby on ice...but not.

Things started getting serious around playoffs time. First, I flew my Yankee boyfriend (Hawks hat and all) down to meet my family. Soon after, I was watching my first hockey game alone...voluntarily. Round 1, game 1, Blackhawks. Screaming at the television? Check. Cursing at players that would never hear me? Check. Multiple beers consumed? Check.

A few hundred hours of playoff games, and one very irritated face from those Playoff Beard kisses later, I'm back down South for the summer, and my (new) team is in the Stanley Cup Finals. I've gained a whole wealth of knowledge about a sport I never would have imagined I'd be interested in.

Sarah Palin and I now have two whole things in common, which actually makes me slightly ill, and I've fallen in love with two things since I started watching hockey: the Blackhawks, and Patrick Kane. As for the hockey-teaching boyfriend? He's alright too.