3 Great Things About the NHL Playoffs

Now is about that time when the inevitable debate starts to come to a close: NBA vs. NHL Playoffs, which is better? As I stated a few posts ago, I'm not really a hockey fan, and only have been watching the playoffs because the Blackhawks were a heavy favorite.
However, this hasn't clouded my vision on this debate. A year ago I would have said NBA, no question, and I still do. It comes down to which sport you prefer, but here are a few things I've noticed that make the NHL better than the NBA playoffs.
1) The players genuinely hate each other. This is something the NBA has been lacking for years. Guys get together in the offseason, play pick-up games, golf, drink cocktails at poolside, and whatever else they may do. What happened to Bulls-Pistons, Celtics-Lakers, Heat-Knicks type rivalries? It wasn't that long ago when all the star players hated each other. One of my best playoff memories is watching P.J. Brown hip throw Charlie Ward WWE style into the cameramen and set off a fight that led to the entire Knicks team being suspended. Can you imagine a scenario like that happening between NBA players nowadays? Didn't think so.
When I saw Dan Carcillo and Tomas Kopecky going at it, it made me smile inside. This is the type of playoff hatred I've been missing in my life. Between Carcillo yelling and pointing at the Hawks bench after coming off the ice, and Kopecky getting in Carcillo's face after Carcillo plowed over his own teammate, I rekindled the love I once felt a physical, hatred-filled playoff series.
2) There's only one day between games. Really this strategy makes too much sense for the NBA to implement it. You mean that casual fans would become more interested in your sport if there wasn't 4 days in between games. Die-hard fans could develop some sort of a social life because they know exactly when their team is going to be playing. I guess the NBA figures that if they make every game accessible during the opening rounds it will increase their audience. It actually just frustrates people who wish the playoffs didn't last two and a half months.
Wait, the NHL playoffs last for the same amount of time? Never mind then. Why doesn't it seem like it? Probably because I didn't watch the NHL playoffs.

3) Respected sideline reporters. Maybe this only applies to Pierre McGuire, who the players seem to respect. There are a few reasons for this. The first is that he actually knows something about the sport. He was a coach, scout, and player in the NHL, so for the most part, he's refrained from asking stupid questions. NBA sideline reporters on the other hand...Let's take Craig Sager for example, who I believe began watching basketball in 1985. How is Phil Jackson supposed to seriously answer a question about zone defense when it's asked by a guy in a purple suit and an orange bow tie? I'm surprised Jason Kidd hasn't asked him to make balloon animals at his son's birthday party yet.
The other thing about Pierre is he asks two quick questions every time. Of course, this is great for the coaches and players. Imagine being a doctor and performing a surgery. Then, moments after, a high school dropout asks you questions about that surgery, and why you didn't perform it differently. When in reality, if you performed it the way they suggested, you would have killed the patient.
There's only so much of this type of buffoonery players and coaches can take before they drench themselves in gatorade-gas mixture and light themselves on fire. McGuire's questions don't seem to illicit these reactions, so I have to assume he either knows his stuff, or NHL personnel are way more understanding than their NBA counterparts.