Kings of L.A.

Oddly enough, I was taken to my first hockey games by female friends. When I was in college, my friend Monica had an extra ticket to a Kings-Oilers game. This wasn't long after Gretzky arrived, so there was a lot of animosity between the teams. I recall L.A. fans taunting Edmonton's Craig MacTavish, who spent a year in jail for driving drunk and killing someone. They kept waving car keys and yelling, "Have a drink on me, MacTavish!" The game set a record for penalty minutes and one guy got checked so hard that the plexiglass popped out. Awesome! My pal Joy invited me to my second game. She worked at Epitaph at the time, and her friend was on tour, so we sat in his season seats. It was great. When she got her own seats, I became her +1 whenever her roomate couldn't make it. All I had to do was drive her from Pasadena to the Fabulous Forum in Inglewood. Once I picked her up when the dudes from Green Day were camping out at her place. They were whining about how they didn't get to go to the game. Now they probably have a box at the giant toaster in San Jose.
These days, I have to buy my own ticket and the Kings lack the star power and buzz that they once had. To make matters worse, expansion teams like the Ducks and Sharks have become conference powerhouses, while the Kings are welcome mats. But the new GM and coach have been making decent moves, and there are tons of exciting young players coming up. Kopitar, Frolov, and Cammalleri have loads of potential. Dustin Brown dishes out checks as well as he scores and Jack Johnson will be a defensive cornerstone once he leaves school. Too bad the new goalie, Cloutier, isn't so hot. At least Staples Center is closer than the Forum.
Last night, the sloppy-yet-spirited Kings came back twice from one-goal deficits to tie the game, killed key penalties, and beat the slumping-but-respected New Jersey Devils in a shootout. It marks only the second time the L.A. skaters have won back-to-back contests this season.
By now most of you have tuned out, but there's at least one guy out there who cares. MC Ren, I haven't forgotten you, and this is for you.
Look for a new best-of NWA CD/DVD after Christmas.