Finally a moment to reflect...

Woowee! I don't know about you guys, but watching those FIVE regular season hockey games over the past two weeks has tuckered me out! I need a break, a chance to sit back, relax and reflect on the five games passed and the 77 left to go.

And honestly, I've always felt that sports should be played in five game intervals. Just something about the number five, I dunno. It's why I've always liked the Pentagon and why I never cared much for the movie "Seven." One of those is perfect and the other is just a tad too much.

Fortunately, the Hockey Scheduling Gods (Crazius Maxiums and Unnecessarius are their names) seem to agree and thus after playing a mere five games this season, our belovedly inglourious local hockey team is now off until Friday.

Sure, that may not seem like a lot especially since I'm writing this late Wednesday night. So sue me, I'm a man of many obligations. Who am I kidding? I've got nothing going on, I'm just lazy.

Look, the point is that the last Flyers game took place Saturday evening, a frustratingly unproductive shootout loss to the "Formerly Mighty" Anaheim Ducks. That's nearly a week off for no seemingly apparent reason. A week for the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins to keep winning, something that both teams seem to stubbornly keep doing.

What's up with that? I mean, the Pens I can understand, but that Rangers team is an enigma. Thankfully, they tend to start the season hot and then disappear once the weather starts to get cold. A confusing trend for a team that plays a winter sport, but what are you going to do?

Ah well, such is life. So, what's the point of all this rambling nonsense? There must be a point, somewhere in here. You've come this far, the least I can do is give you some pearl of wisdom to take with you on your journey through cyberspace.

Bad news is--- what with the economy and all--- that I'm out of such pearls. What I can give you are five tips on ways to pass the time until the next Flyers game. I ask that you add some of your own in the comments section. Please, I need all the help I can get. Remember, this is an Olympic year. Come February the league is going to shut down for two weeks and my apartment is likely going to turn into the set of "Requiem for a Dream II: Cruise Control," with me as the Jared Leto character, jonesing for a fix of that wonderful drug known as the Orange and Black.

Top 5 Ways to Pass the Time Until More Hockey

5.) Do some school work- I know! Hear me out! If you get it done while the Flyers aren't playing, you will be free to enjoy the games uninterrupted. Sad now, happy later!

4.) Spend time with friends and loved ones- This is especially useful if the aforementioned friends and loved ones aren't hockey fans. This way, once the games start again, they won't be able to complain about never seeing you.

3.) Take up an activity, like knitting or watching paint dry- really anything to keep your mind occupied. During the lock out season, I watched paint dry while knitting scarves for my entire family. Of course, I was also taking a knitting class at the time. I call that killing multiple birds with one gigantic bazooka stone.

2.) Develop an obsession with another sport- Take up baseball, football, indoor lacrosse, anything at all depending on the season. I've always heard that the best way to cure an obsession is to replace it with another obsession. Or did I hear that was the wrong thing to do? I need to do some more research on this one...

1.) Purchase "NHL 10"- one of the best sports games I've ever played. It is incredibly realistic, the game play is sensational and you can start fights after the whistle. What more can you ask for from a video game?

So there are my tips. As I said, please share yours. Together we can make it through to Friday. The Olympics will be another matter entirely...