What a terrible time for the TV to die

It was an about hour before Friday night's playoff action was set to go. I was getting ready myself, for a week anxiously awaiting the Capitals and Flyers series to get under way.

This series has got the word compelling written all over it. More specifically, the battle between Alexander Ovechkin and Mike Richards, pictured above, has the makings of a classic.

Ovechkin needs no introduction. He's the league's leading goal and point scorer. Not only is he the most exciting scorer in recent years, he is also the best player in regular season play. He makes his playoff debut tonight. Can he keep it going in post season battle?

Richards is an underrated forward who will thrive in playoff wars. His undeniable legacy will be that of a post-season warrior who did whatever it took to win.

There are a lot of similarities between the battles between the great Russian Valeri Kharlamov and gutsy Philadelphia Flyer Bobby Clarke back in the 1970s. Which is funny, since Ovechkin and Richards are commonly compared to those two. Undoubtedly each will be the key to each team's success or lack thereof.

As you can see, I'm hyped about this game. I planned on watching every minute, and switch over to the Pittsburgh-Ottawa game in commercial breaks. Then comes the west coast games! And the first weekend of playoff hockey will mean countless games on the tube! What a great time to be a hockey fan.

Only one problem. My television will not turn on.

I got this nice 36 inch Sony Trinitron. It's an archaic beast (200lbs or more) by today's fast-changing-technology standards, but I like it. But if I dare touch the power button all I get is this annoying flashing stand-by light. No picture. No sound.

I look up the symptoms online. Supposedly a power surge may have fried my circuit board. Something like that. I'm definitely not a techie geek. I had to wait for my brother to come over and hook my dvd player when I first got the TV. And my Xbox more or less collects dust.

I can't get anyone to come in and fix it. And lugging a 200lb TV down to a shop is not exactly easy. Thankfully I was able to go up to my Mom's house and steal her JVC from the bedroom, not that she was terribly thrilled with the idea. I'm not sure how big it is - my guess is 15 inches.

The game is almost on. I got the mini-tv set and ready to go. Given my afternoon of anguish, NHL hockey has never looked better.