It's Just a Game, Right?

It's taken me a few days to digest the Leafs' loss. Not the loss, per se, but the way they lost — up 4-1 with 10 minutes left, only to lose in overtime. Then again, it's just a game, right? I guess it reminded me of how the Canadian Juniors lost to their Russian counterparts in a similar fashion. I thought I didn't care. Then I watched a few minutes of the Sens vs Pens game and I realized I cared too much. I don't think it's about the teams but just the general lack of sportsmanship. In this aspect, the playoffs can be terrible to watch. When the ref pockets the whistle, the injustices, perceived and real just pile up and when I saw Orpik slam a much smaller player into the boards, in a play that at any other time of year would have been any number of infractions (boarding, cross-checking, interference — take your pick) I felt my blood pressure rise and my cheeks redden. But that's "playoff hockey". I think there's probably something better to watch than bullies beat up on "pesky" players (read: a player who takes many minor cheap shots to the point of annoyance). Perhaps a cartoon about a boy and a dog or something with vampires in it.