We're only half way through February and already it's been quite a month for sports in the Puget Sound area - with the Seattle Seahawks pummeling the Broncos to win its first Super Bowl, and four elite Pacific Northwest athletes competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics. Tightwad publisher Pappi Swarner didn't send me to cover hockey at the Games in Sochi, Russia. Instead, I'll have to settle for something more ... local. The Rainier Hockey League has my back (or, should I say, is guarding my net. No?). With four divisions and 22 teams, the RHL has a full line-up of face-offs scheduled, including six games Saturday. Sure, right now I could be watching Slovakia vs. Slovenia, but then I'd have been denied the pleasure of experiencing 12 local teams battling it out for supremacy. And, when the Olympics end later this month, the RHL's winter season will continue until just after tax day. Bonus: My ass won't freeze during a long-winded closing ceremony.

RAINIER HOCKEY LEAGUE, 1:10 p.m., Puget Sound Hockey Center, 1918 Stewart St., Tacoma, free admission, 253.272.PUCK