During the past week, I’ve managed to watch several hours of soccer via the World Cup coverage on ABC and a Spanish station that’s a part of our cable package. (For World Cup coverage beyond this single sentence, check out Mike’s blog.) Now, I’ve watched some of the battle for the Stanley Cup as well. Not much chance of that ever happening again in the same week.

I used to watch some hockey in college - usually, of course, during the playoffs. This was in the mid-80’s when Gretzky, Messier, Fuhr and the Edmonton Oilers were winning all of their titles. I enjoyed it then, but it didn’t really last. I have not paid much attention to it since, although I will occasionally catch some of it during the Winter Olympics. I do remember getting interested in the NHL finals a few years ago and watching it to the end, but that’s been about it.

I happened upon game 5 last week between Carolina and Edmonton when it was beginning the overtime period, which I watched to the end. I missed game 6, but figured a game 7 would be worth watching. And it was. I think people in the South don’t care much for hockey because they don’t play it and probably, like me, don’t understand all of the rules.

But it can still be very exciting to watch. I usually don’t watch much of it because the only hockey shown is the NHL and I just don’t watch much pro sports at all until the playoffs (or, in tennis’ case, the Grand Slams). I generally find pro sports boring unless the game really means something, and that only happens in the playoffs. (Most of the players look bored until the playoffs, too.) And since the NHL playoffs are usually on at the same time as the NBA playoffs, I tend to watch basketball instead. It would tie up too much time to watch them both.

But last nights game was very good, very exciting. I was hoping for an Edmonton win - I guess I was an Edmonton fan in the 80’s and it’s stayed with me. Carolina was up 2-1 until the final minute, when they scored on an empty net with Edmonton trying to rally at the end, and won the game 3-1 and, therefore, the Stanley Cup. The game actually made me wish it wasn’t game seven. I’d like to have watched a little more, and wished I’d tuned in to the finals earlier. I suppose I’ll pick back up with the NHL next May or June.

In the meantime, I’ll just go back to watching the end of the NBA finals, to a sport in which I know all of the rules, and get ready for Wimbledon next week.