What are my North American readers doing at noon ET today?

You do know the U.S. plays Canada in the men’s Olympic hockey semifinal, right? Winner gets a berth in the gold medal game Sunday morning.

I mean everyone is planning to watch, right?

Right?

Let me do my part to grow the game of hockey. In the U.S. the game is on NBC Sports Network. In Canada, it’s on CBC. I expect your local sports bar will be showing it. Go ahead, take a long lunch. Stuck at work? You can watch online. Details here.

I’ll watch at work, where it’s a job requirement. Veronica borrowed Ryan’s iPad so she can do the same.

Of course, none of that helps my kids, who will be in school. I believe class should be canceled in favor of an all-school assembly to watch the game, but no such luck. The DVR is set. They’ll watch as soon as they get home. Ryan knows some of his teachers will be watching during breaks, and he’s going to make them promise not to tell him the score.

It wasn’t for lack of effort. Veronica picked Ryan up early from school Wednesday to watch Team USA in the quarterfinal. Ryan had a, uh, headache and came home from school early Wednesday to watch Team USA in the quarterfinal.

We can’t do that twice in three days. Er, I mean Ryan is unlikely to feel ill again. Besides, he’s too worried about getting in trouble, despite our reassurances that he did nothing wrong.

As Veronica said this morning when I kidded her about getting detention for Wednesday:

I’d do it again. And if anyone knew what hockey has done for our family, they wouldn’t question it. Besides, Ryan needs to learn that not everything is black and white. It’s OK to bend the rules once in a while.

I have three reactions to that. One, I agree completely. Hockey has contributed greatly not only to our family bond, but also to Ryan’s social, emotional, and physical development. Two, Ryan has the coolest mom in the world. Three, I married the right woman.

Out of options to get Ryan in front of a TV at puck drop, Veronica had one last card to play. Explaining the situation to one of the doctors at her office, they joked about creating a fake doctor’s note to get Ryan out of class. Instead, the doctor provided a “prescription,” using some of Ryan’s favorite language:

No, Ryan won’t be following doctor’s orders to skip school and watch hockey. But he’ll be watching when he can. He is a good G-D American.

So, what are you doing at noon ET today?