"I don't really care," he said. "Let's talk about the Dodgers. I don't think anybody really watches hockey anymore."

- Tiger Woods when asked about whom he wanted to win the Stanley Cup finals.

I ask Tiger one question and I do so stating that he is one of our generation’s greatest athletes:

Can you honestly tell me that golf at any level, in any event, for all the marbles, is more exciting than two NHL teams battling for the right to hoist the Stanley Cup and playing a game like the Red Wings and Penguins did in Game 5 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, where the Penguins extended the series with a 4-3 win on a Peter Sykora goal 9:57 into triple overtime?

Go ahead and bring up all your accolades and I won’t dispute the greatness of any of them. Bring up the 1999 Ryder Cup, brilliant! But honestly Tiger, the majority of the time people only watch for you and your above-human skills. Other than that, golf is boring unless you’re playing it, and even then, unless you're somewhat good, you need some cold ones to get you through 18 holes and the hot sun!

So, now I ask you Tiger, to watch Game 5 when you can and then answer the above question. I bet you’re like me and respond by saying:

“I don’t care, just give me more!”

If you don’t, you’ve lost your passion for sports! I give you the phone conversation I had with my father, a former fan of the NHL who hasn’t watched more than a few Bruins games since Cam Neely retired:

“What a game huh?” my Dad asked.

“Dad? What are you doing up?” I replied.

“What am I doing up? Do you think I could go to sleep watching that game? That was probably the best game I’ve seen since Bobby Orr, maybe the best game ever! And that [Petr] Sykora, he called his shot! Unbelievable! That Pierre McGuire deserves a lot of credit for reconfirming it. You know, they never did that with Ruth because they just assumed him pointing confirmed it. Good job by Pierre! Just great TV!”

Subsequently I was in touch with Pierre via text and like my Dad said, “just a special moment for the league and this game!”

So Tiger invest in the DVR and make sure you catch the next game or even maybe a Game 7 after that. Or else, start calling a hole in one and then maybe you can back your opinion of hockey up!

Let me just say that yesterday started with Murphy’s Law and it continued straight through until face-off. I had planned to start my day with a trip to grab a iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts (Yes Stocker, Dunkin iced coffee in Massachusetts is better than any other Dunkin’s iced coffee!), and then come home and unload my feelings on the first four games of the Stanley Cup Finals plus other various thoughts I’ve had over the past week. But then this blog’s namesake kicked in as I locked myself out of my house on the way out to grab the coffee!

Thanks to my good friend Kevin Greenstein of Inside Hockey who drove to my wife’s work, grabbed a key for me and delivered it promptly, it was a short delay. But once I had found my way back into my home office, the phone never stopped ringing and numerous other tasks required attention. Then came the news that one of the greatest musicians of all had passed away: Rest in Peace, Bo Diddley!

But the weirdness of the day wasn’t over. As I started to unwind and settle in for the game, my wife yelled to me from the kitchen with a “Houston, we’ve got a problem” tone. Our tub was leaking through the ceiling and after a visit from the best hockey-playing plumber ever, Jim Craig (not the gold-medal winning goalie) it was determined we have a very expensive and immediate house project ahead of us! Needless to say, Mrs. Murphy wasn’t happy and she probably won’t be today, but that’s OK. We’ll get through this on the high of that game last night. Besides, this is what owning a house is all about eh?

Then came the game and where do we start with what turned out to be one of the greatest games these eyes have seen in a long time! From Pittsburgh coming out and saying “we’re not going away” by taking a 2-0 lead to the Wings coming back to take the lead with the most exciting hockey they’ve played all series, to the extra attacker and good guy, Maxime Talbot tying the game with 35 seconds remaining, this was a game for the ages.

Oh wait there was more? Yes two-and-half more periods of this exciting brand of hockey. But since I don’t have time to go through more details we’ll just describe the overtime session with one name: Marc-Andre Fleury!

His 55-save performance, specifically the 13 saves in the first extra frame, will go down with the likes of Bill Ranford in Game 1 of the 1990 finals or Ken Dryden in 1971 or Patrick Roy during the 1993 Canadiens Cup run. Lock this kid up now Ray Shero!

So for now, the pains of owning a house and of a league that has been irrelevant in the United States will be pushed to the sidelines because of that glorious Game 5 and what promises to be a fun game 6 and if we’re lucky game 7. For a moment, hockey was back in the United States! Friends that watched the game religiously when we were kids, texted me as if they were an eighth grader on a first date or an Irish kid just discovering Guinness!

That was a game to remember for old fans and new! Let’s just hope that the NHL recognizes that and doesn’t keep trying to cater to the people that don’t care. No need to tell us “the next goal wins” in triple overtime as Mike Emrick did too often. We realize that if Pittsburgh wins there will be Game 6 and if Detroit won there wouldn’t be! Those non-fans you’re aiming for, well chances are the majority of them weren’t watching, but those that were, aren’t dumb and can figure out the obvious.

So Doc and the powers that be, just be in the game and be happy that you got some old fans back in Game 5. Stop looking to non-hockey markets. They will always be that way! Bring back “The Whale” and while you’re at it, head north and bring back the Nordiques!

Maybe Tiger even watched last night and he’s back now as well! But hopefully, when and if I have kids in the near future, this game is where it was when my Dad stopped watching and where it was during Game 5 of the 2008 Stanley Cup finals!