It’s almost hard to believe how I started the New Year. Watching a Hockey Game. Yup, that’s right. With the Rose Bowl game less than a mile down the road from my house, I eagerly tuned into the Winter Classic, Buffalo vs Pittsburgh. I don’t remember the last time I watched a hockey game on TV. Hell, the Ducks won the Stanley Cup last year, and no one in Southern California (least of all me) seemed to notice. The only thing I know about hockey since Gretzky retired is that the sport is supposed to have the worst commissioner in professional sports. It certainly has the worst TV contract.

Yet, as I think about it, I’ve always heard that hockey players are the most gracious athletes, and during the past year I don’t recall reading of one hockey player shooting steriods, killing dogs, impregnating models or shaving points. I don’t know what it was about the Winter Classic that drew me to the TV. Maybe it was the spectacle, or maybe it was just the seeming purity and joy of the game played on the outdoor rink. Two nights earlier, the NBA Celtics refused to wear throwback shorts in the game against the Lakers (who wore them for one half). Could you imagine the lordly-entitled players of the NBA playing in something like the Winter Classic? Last month I played golf with Brett Hull who was a heck of a guy. Today I watched a hockey game on TV. You know what?

Maybe it’s time I gave hockey a second chance. Sport for sport sake. Interesting concept.