At this point in the calendar, you’re probably starving for sports.
College football is over until September. The NFL Draft is still a week away. Major League Baseball is a long way from being interesting. College baseball is nearing the postseason but still has about a month to go.
So, depending on where you’re from or if your favorite team is still playing, you have two choices for sports at their peak — NBA or NHL playoffs.
Many in south Louisiana will turn to the NBA with the Pelicans still alive and the lack of an NHL team in the area. But this year, I’ll be doing the opposite.
I’m not here to give you all the ins and outs of hockey and explain to you how it works because at this point, I don’t really understand it all that much. I started watching about two years ago, and I’m still confused one-fourth of the time.
But what I can tell you is there are few things more exciting than the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Last summer, the new major sport on the American block was soccer, and the World Cup went above and beyond in changing people’s perspective on the sport. People across the country view the international phenomenon in a new way.
I see more and more soccer shirts on campus every day, and hopefully soon the same will be true for hockey in the South.
It can happen if people actually watch the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which are fast-paced, intense and a little violent.
Hockey is typically thought of as “the sport where you’re allowed to fight.” But it is much more intricate than people punching each other. 
First, I can’t skate, so skating in general is nothing shy of amazing to me. Someone being on skates and playing a game at the highest level of competition is unreal. The game requires some of the most ridiculous hand-eye coordination from everyone on the ice. I couldn’t even imagine playing it.
The penalty box, power plays and line changes in live play are ideas I would love to see other sports, mainly basketball, implement. Think about how fun a basketball game could be if the teams could substitute in the middle of a play.
That’s a bit ridiculous, but power plays would be way more interesting than free throws.
My favorite part of any playoff game is the sudden death overtime. After three periods of a regular season game, there is one overtime period. If the game is still tied after the overtime, there’s a penalty shootout so the game doesn’t go on forever. But in the playoffs, there are unlimited sudden death overtime periods until someone scores. It is must-watch TV every time.
Any time I watch a game, I hope for overtime. The sudden death has me on the edge of my seat for every offensive chance. The players go all out, and the goalies make some incredible plays.
So, the next time you sit down and start flipping channels, check CNBC, USA Network or just go to NBCsports.com and watch a live stream. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
 Brian Pellerin is a 21-year-old mass communication junior from Kenner, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @Pellerin_TDR.