Hmmm...how long 'til May?

I must be a horrible, horrible person. Or at least a horrible, horrible Penguins fan.

See, part of me is hoping that the Pens don't get past the Quarterfinals of this year's Stanley Cup playoffs - assuming that they even qualify for the playoffs.

A really big part of me is hoping that they get the boot...

It's not that I have suddenly lost all faith in the Pens due to their recent slump. No, I haven't jumped ship and hopped on the Flyers' bandwagon (do they even have a bandwagon??)...And it's not because I want the guys to gradually make their way up to winning the Stanley Cup, pay their dues and all that jazz.

No, my reason is much more selfish than that.

The reason I want the Pens to not make the Semi-Finals is because I want some of those guys to play in the World Championships next May. Halifax is co-hosting the event with Québec City, and Halifax has a preliminary pool that includes Canada and the USA.

And guess who just bought a 4-game pack of tickets?

Guess who's going to the Canada-USA game and has great tickets overlooking centre ice?

Yep, that would be me.

I don't get to see pro hockey - ever - unless it's on TV. I don't get to see Crosby, Staal and Whitney play in 'real life', and this just might be my only shot.

Forgive me if I'm not absolutely crushed if the Pens' season ends a little early. It's not that I don't want them to play well, it's not that I don't want them to win games, and I'm still frustrated as heck that they haven't won a game in awhile, but I'd like to get a little glimpse of what everyone else gets to see. Can you really blame me?

Here's to hoping for another golden year in 2008.

Some people go to Europe for the summer after graduating...I'm staying here and going to see a few hockey games. Sweet.