As many people who have met me, I shave my head. But not many people know the reason why.

Sure, my hairline was receding faster than a Chris Pronger cheap shot. Seeing my Dad hold on to his precious strands of hair by combing them over a la Homer Simpson caused me to swear if I ever lost that much hair, I'd go the jean Luc Picard route.

But mainly, my head is slick due to a foolish bet made way back in 1994. It was the summer after the Kings had lost to the Montreal Candiens in the Stanley Cup Finals. I was riding a wave of euphoria due to the fact that the pieces had fallen together for a magical run. We had the greatest player of all time, we had key role players, we had good goaltending. And we had company.

Turns out, the Summer of 1993 brought forth the expansion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The name brought many snickers from everyone I worked with. At the time, I was working as a stock manager for a major athletic shoe store in SoCal. The manager, Joey, proclaimed that he was now, officially, a Ducks fan. He even went so far as to purchase a leather jacket with the Ducks' emblem emblazened across the back.

After several cracks about his silly-looking jacket, I was confronted by him one day.

"I'll bet you that the Ducks will win the Stanley Cup before your Kings ever do," he exclaimed.

"You're kidding, right? We've been to the playoffs seven times in a row. You guys haven't even had one game yet," I countered.

"Then bet me," he chided.

"For money?" I asked.

"No, for something more degrading," I responded. "I want your dignity crushed."

So I suggested the fatal words: "Tell you what, I'll shave my head if the Ducks just make it to the Finals. They don't even have to win."

Now, what his side of the bet has been a major bone of contention to this day. He claims the bet was he'd shave his head, but I'm sure that I insisted on something a little more... degrading. But it's a moot point, because in 2003, the Ducks met the Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals, and I started buying razors in bulk since then.

He offered again, after the Ducks played for the Cup in '03, to re-up the bet. And even though the Kings had made the playoffs the three previous years, I backed down. I figured my bet had doomed the team, and it was a curse that I was finally free of. Well, the curse still stands, because the Kings fell out of contention the following season all the way through the current season.

But now it hits me. I possess a power greater than even imagined. I could've altered the results from these playoffs just by making a bet. Now, on the eve of one of the darkest days in Kings history, I decide to get a epiphany. I must bet FOR the Ducks. It's our only hope.

So now, in front of the everyone, I make the greatest bet I have ever made: I bet that the Ducks will win the Stanley Cup before the Senators do. If I lose... I will wax a Stanley Cup onto my back in front of everyone who cares to see. It's a bet that I don't treat lightly. That will hurt. A lot. But it will pale in comparsion to the pain of seeing the Ducks raise the Cup on the ice at Ponda Center.

So, write it down, Senators in seven. It's a lock. Of course, there has only been one team that has come back three games down, and that team was the 1941 Toronto Maple Leafs. But, this is now become the Senators' destiny.

Do it for the pride, do it for the people... do it for the pain!