WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some people wait all year for March Madness. For some, it's the World Series. For me, the most wonderful time of the year is almost upon us. Yes, the NHL Playoffs begin on Wednesday.

Why is this the greatest playoffs in all of sports? Because of players like Ryan Malone, who gets hit in the face with a hockey puck and thinks nothing of returning to the ice a few minutes later. Because you can literally watch nothing but hockey for the first few rounds. Because of sudden death overtime. Because of the hatred you develop for a team after playing them up to 6 times in the regular season and another 7 times in the playoffs. Because it's not always Crosby or Lemieux or Gretzky or Ovechkin... it's the guys like Talbot or Kasparitis who score the goals you'll remember forever. Because of playoff beards. Because of the energy in the Igloo during a whiteout game. Because of 8 seeds who make it to the Finals. And because the Stanley Cup is the coolest, most bad-ass trophy in all of sports.

Go Pens.