The long National Hockey League lockout is finally ending this month, so hockey fans everywhere can once again catch the ice action on television — for 40 or so games, at least.

If you’re like me, though, there are a number of other things more interesting to watch on television than hockey. Here’s a list:

• Anything.

• OK, anything but “Buckwild.”

But why sit on the couch at all when you can watch live hockey at the Cumberland County Civic Center — namely, the Portland Pirates, who are playing a full season?

Or, if you prefer something a bit more joie de vivre while you’re bundled up inside a cold arena, there’s something coming up in a couple of months that’s sure to please both sports fans and non-sports fans alike: The annual “Stars on Ice” show at the Civic Center.

And thanks to GO, you might get to see it for free. More on that later.

If you’re a figure-skating fan, the only thing better than “Stars on Ice” is the Winter Olympics.

This year’s show, scheduled for 4 p.m. March 10, stars Dorothy Hamill, the winner of the gold at the 1976 Olympics and the reason most photos from the ’70s feature teenage girls with bobbed hair, and four-time world champion Kurt Browning, who will be retiring from the show after this tour.

Also on the bill are two-time Olympic gold medalist Ekaterina Gordeeva; 1998 Olympic gold medalist Ilia Kulik; 2010 Olympic bronze medalist Joannie Rochette; U.S. national champion Ryan Bradley; two-time European bronze medalists Sinead and John Kerr; Canadian national silver medalist Shawn Sawyer; and two-time U.S. bronze medalists Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre.

Tickets are $25 to $130, and are available for purchase at the civic center box office or online at theciviccenter.com.

But before you buy, try getting tickets from us — for free.

GO has four tickets to “Stars on Ice” that we are giving away in a special online contest. All you have to do is “like” our Facebook page (facebook.com/PPHgo) between Friday (Jan. 11) and noon Feb. 22. If you’ve already “liked” our GO Facebook page, you’re automatically entered in the contest. One winner will be chosen at random from those who “like” us.

That’s it. No ballots to fill out, no questions to answer, no quiz to take. Just press the little “like” button on our Facebook page, and you’re that much closer to watching Dorothy Hamill perform her famous “Hamill camel.”

Now doesn’t that sound like more fun than watching hockey on TV?

Thought so.

Deputy Managing Editor Rod Harmon may be contacted at 791-6450 or:

rharmon@pressherald.com

Twitter: RHarmonPPH