PLAYOFFS!

I am most of the way done with a second hockey story. It's about an injured player and his fight to get back into shape after nine long months of recovery. Like the last one, this has been a joy to write. I hope the trend continues. I have eleven ideas for future books.

The NHL Playoffs have begun and the Kings have a good chance of winning the Stanley Cup again. Sure, they lost their first game against he St. Louis Blues, but it's just one game. I have faith they can win four games. Their coach said that a few of the players hadn't ever played in the Playoffs before, and it's a completely different experience than playing during the regular season. The pressure, the crowds, the intensity, the physicality, the emotions--everything is magnified to insane levels. If I were a player in the Playoffs, I'd have lost all my hair by now, have a mouth full of canker sores, and serious gum disease. That's how my body deals with stress.

And get this! They were playing a commercial for some medical center and the doctor talks all about ACL injuries and how they perform a tendon graft to repair it. And that's exactly what the hero in my second book goes through! It's a sign, I tell you, a sign!

Pictured are (left to right) Mike Richards, Drew Doughty, and one of my very favorite players, Dustin Penner. This picture was taken during the parade following their win of the Stanley Cup. Good times!

Note to PrimeTicket: You guys suck. The cut to the basketball. The f-ing split screen??? Are you kidding me? Basketball: First quarter. Nothing happening. Hockey: SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME. Epic fail.

Photo by JulieandSteve (cc)