Whiteout conditions in Phoenix.

So sure, for some of you it’s baseball season. Maybe it’s spring football season in other portions of the country (I’m looking at you, Alabama.) But for a lot of northerners and Canadians, it’s the best time of the year. For the rest of the country, it’s simply time to start watching the occasional hockey game.

If you’re a casual hockey fan or even “not” a hockey fan, and you have an HD TV (this is critical) I’d strongly encourage you to turn a game on (if you get Versus) for the following reasons:

1) Hockey in HD blows standard definition out of the water. It’s a completely different game. If you had trouble following the puck in standard definition, that problem is eliminated.

2) There’s no other venue where the players are trying their hardest for every minute of play. Yes, even the World Cup

3) You get to grow a playoff beard. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? COOLEST TRADITION EVER!

4) The passion of the fans. See the whiteout in Phoenix (obvious plug is obvious), the octopi in Detroit, the C of Red, the national anthems, the noise in general. It’s not your run of the mill regular season game, it’s time for the most passionate of fans.

5) Did I mention PLAYOFF BEARDS?

The playoffs begin on Wednesday with the Coyotes taking on the Red Wings. Like I said at the beginning of the year, if the Coyotes make the playoffs, they’ll have no problem filling up the house. I was right, as usual, as Games 1 and 2 are sold out.