As the weather slowly but surely gets warmer and the days begin to last longer, the attention of our nation starts to turn once again to our great national sport.

That sport, of course, is hockey. The NHL playoffs are heading down its final stretch run, and

America is riveted to television screens for all 60 minutes of action.

I have yet to hear one person not show their appreciation for the Calgary Flames, who have seen their last three playoff games head into the overtime stanza. Unfortunately, two of those came against my beloved Red Wings, so I wasn’t very pleased with the final outcomes of those contests. Oh well. There’s always next season for Detroit as long as Steve Yzerman and the like don’t die of old age.

It’s nice to see so many American teams dominating an obviously American sport as well. Of the four teams still standing in the hunt for the Stanley Cup, three are from the United States. The plucky Flames are the only team from our neighbor up north, who I understand only recently discovered the sheer joy that is the game of hockey.

This is why I feel that so many people are finding themselves caught up in the storylines that have comprised this season’s NHL playoffs. America is continuing to dominate its national pasttime. After Calgary’s game-one victory over the San Jose Sharks, I found myself losing track of the number of times I heard people discussing the game the next day.

“How about my boy Steve Montador?” one of my friends asked. “The guy doesn’t score all throughout the playoffs, then nets the game-winner in overtime?”

My retort came quickly and sharply.

“Yeah, but that wouldn’t have been possible if not for the superb goaltending of Miikka Kiprusoff,” I said. “The man is practically a household name. Also, it’s not difficult to pronounce his name.”

As if a 4-3 overtime victory wasn’t enough, there is another series going on as well to keep this hockey-loving nation on its toes. After a thrashing Monday night, the Philadelphia Flyers find themselves deadlocked with the Tampa Bay Lightning with the series tied at one game apiece.

I was as stunned as the rest of you when Lightning goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, fresh off allowing only one goal in the first game of the series, allowed four in the second game as the Flyers won game two. Also, his name is not difficult to pronounce.

But I’m sure you knew that already. It’s this time of year that I naturally begin to feel bad for the other, lesser sports, such as baseball and basketball. Does anyone actually pay attention to these games when there is playoff hockey on? Not if they call themselves an American!

In case you haven’t noticed by now, this column is dripping with sarcasm. There is a reason for this.

America is not a hockey country, and I realize this. But my purpose in writing this column is to encourage you, the reader, to actually tune in to an NHL playoff game. Hockey is becoming an endangered sport in this country, and as a result we could be seeing the league in its death throes. A lockout is looming and teams are hurting for profits.

The league is looking to shorten future seasons in an effort to tighten its finances and increase interest in the season. We are looking at the NHL as we know it for the last time. Let’s try to give it a fair send-off. Watch the finals. And look out for my boy Miikka Kiprusoff.

Adam Jardy is the Lantern sports editor and a third-year senior majoring in journalism. E-mail him at [email protected] to arrange dates to watch the playoffs with him at BW3.