44 Reasons to watch the Stanley Cup Finals

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1. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin: The most exciting tandem since Gretzky and Messier, these franchise cornerstones are a combined 41 years old, which is still five years younger than …

2. Chris Chelios: A first-ballot lock for the Badass Hall of Fame, he's one of the fittest athletes you'll see in any sport. He might be the only one to have actually threatened his commissioner with physical violence.

3. Not one word about Spygate.

4. Not one word about Roger Clemens

5. The opportunity to relive the joy of rooting against a seemingly indestructible foe dressed in red. (The fate of the entire world is in your young, delicate hands, Mr. Crosby!)

6. The opportunity to get in early on the big new thing: NHL hockey … the iPhone of sports!

7. Georges Laraque.

8. To soak in some of the history in two of the NHL's oldest arenas: Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena, the league's oldest (opened in 1967), and Detroit's Joe Louis Arena (1979). And the best seats to soak in that history? The obstructed-view ones behind massive columns, so you're not distracted by the action on the ice.

9. The subtle artistry of a tape-to-tape pass. The effortless logistics of a line change. A deke. A spin. The sound of steel carving ice. And more video of Laraque beating the @#%^ out of people.

10. Brian Engblom's hair.

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