It's Sunday morning, January 6, 2013. I wake up groggily and, as was the case every morning, automatically and without thinking I reach my hand to grab my blackberry from the night table and check Twitter in case there was something new from the CBA negotiations. And guess what. Just like that the tweets start to pop saying it's done, it's done, it's done! I jump up, now fully awake, and snatch my husband's iPhone (better, obviously), and so here we are, people. After a long, arduous, ridiculous 112 days of absurdity that had me and every other NHL fan in fits, we are finally ready to turn to what really matters, and that's watching our Pens take the ice. I always thought I'd be ecstatic if this day ever came. I'm more relieved than happy, because this hasn't exactly been smooth. Seeing Tanger in his SKA hat and shirt was really hard. At least SKA is my favorite KHL team, I told myself. But it was still painful. So it will take time for me to really forget all the ugliness. Anyhow, hockey is back.

In the eloquent words of our captain, Fuck Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!