Summer Came Too Fast

In DC, it's been a beautiful weekend. Maybe you did the cookout thing with friends and family. Took a trip to the National Mall and went to the Vietnam War Memorial or Arlington Cemetery to pay tribute to those that gave the ultimate sacrifice. Or you were like me, stuck inside with the AC cranked watching the Stanley Cup Finals and the NHL Network for my hockey fix.

We are just three wins from the end of the season (or four wins for those who still entertain the hope that the Penguins can defeat the Red Wings). I don't know about you, but the end is too near. It can't be over. In a matter of a week it will be though.

No more hockey, the World Championship is over, the AHL will wrap up soon too. And that's it. Back to our alter egos as normal members of society contributing to the greater good. The ice will melt and the Internet collective will no longer be searching for their favorite players or looking at their choice blogs for information. That is until the draft and development camp and then training camp in September.

Maybe it's because of the Capitals success this past season that has me feeling so anxious at the conclusion of the season. Or that our arch nemesis is still playing. What ever the reason, I find myself holding on to every last game, watching them intensely and replaying them over and over on my tivo (I still have the last Caps/Panthers game where the Caps clinched!).

But it's here, I couldn't stop it as I bit into a dripping Bar-B-Que rib and sat back in a lawn chair sipping the innards of a lemon mixed with an irrational amount of sugar. Summer has come, and hockey soon will just be the anticipation of another season that seems to far off on the horizon.

So now it will just be talk of who needs to be signed, who didn't. What did the Caps draft, who did they trade for. Who will be the dark horse to be in a Caps sweater come next October. Who is the new face guarding the net. And are the Caps going to beef up the defense. All until we see the puck drop once more.