Slap shot!

Pardon my limited arsenal of hockey speak, but that's about all I know. Although I learned a few more tonight at the AV'S GAME!

Ahem. Sorry. A little excited there. As I'm sure many of you already knew. I've sort of been... you know... talking about it nonstop for the past week. Whatever.

Yes, it was the best Christmas present from the best older brother ever; We went to see the Avalanche play tonight.

Now, I'm not sure exactly what it is about the Av's, but I love 'em. Always have. I think this love may have found its roots when I was a child. I remember crowding around my parents tiny little t.v. in their bedroom on the night of the Stanley Cup, watching in excitement as one of the players skated around the rink with the trophy held high in his hands.

It was magical.

Not to mention, I got to stay up past nine. Woah, man.

Anyway, the Av's have been my favorite Colorado team for as long as I can remember. I don't really have anything against the other teams, but they're just not as nice, you know?

No, wait. Scratch that. I have never liked the Nuggets. There's just something about when I think of a team and the first thing that pops into my head is an ego the size of a moon that makes me put up a mental barrier against them.

Besides, hockey is such a fun sport to watch. Unlike football, it doesn't have more down time than actual play time, and it's pretty easy to follow.

And anyone who pays any attention to the players' feet should have no question at all in their mind as to whether or not hockey is an awesome sport. They are just so damn graceful. I mean, in what other sport can a player be moving backward, slide down onto their knees to block a shot, and get back to a perfectly stable vertical position without once breaking motion?

Sadly, the Av's lost to the Phoenix Coyotes, a 0-2 shutout. But they played well. And I got a t-shirt.

Life is good.

Them Crazy Russians

So I really should be doing homework right now, but this was just too good to pass up.

Thanks to Xbox LIVE's new partnership with ESPN, I have been opened up to a whole new world of entertainment.

I am talking, my friends, about Russian hockey.

If you thought that American hockey players were angry, just wait until you see the Russians.

They're angry genetically. Then add the fact that they're playing hockey, and, well...

It's entertaining. To say the least.

But that's not the best part.

It's in Russia, right? So all of the dialogue boxes are in Russian, the sportscasters are speaking Russian, it's all so very, well, Russian.

But what do they play during the time out breaks?

Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.

In their Russian little world, they blast from their speakers none other than the classic representation of the American pop world.

Oh, you silly Russians. We thought you were just angry, but it turns out you have a soft spot for eccentric female pop singers, even though you can't understand a word they're saying.

I guess we really couldn't read your poker face.