If Al Sobotka's twirling of the octopus is so wrong...

,,,And the clueless asshats at NHL league HQ now say it is...

I don't wanna be right!

If the NHL is intent on pissing off a one of their more passionate fanbases, they are doing a damn fine job of it.

Keeping the Red Wings in eastern time zone exile by leaving them in the Western Conference, never playing Original 6 teams, the instigator penalty essentially eliminating fighting, having a cable network no one can find on their system as the main carrier of hockey in the US, the insanely stupid lockout and countless other fuckups has made hockey a niche sport, even in cities like Detroit!

Now the NHL powers that be are dissing the tradition of the octopus? As the Chief at A2Y so aptly says...

"Thanks, Gary...Ass."

Detroit fishwrap comment of the day - Interference? What interference? You see interference?

In a nationally televised game Sunday, the Red Wings and Ducks battled in a game played with playoff intensity. They would have played to a tie in regulation...Till the refs waved off the tying goal from Nick Lidstrom, thanks to a phantom interference call on Thomas Holmstrom. First, here are Homer's thoughts, and a breakdown of the play in question, from Mlive's game coverage...

"That was a really weak call," Holmstrom said. "That cost us the game. It was just terrible."

After falling behind 3-1 in the second period, the Red Wings perked up in the third. Johan Franzen's power-play goal at 6:06 cut their deficit to one. Then, in the final minute, the Red Wings, already on a power play, pulled goalie Chris Osgood for a six-on-four advantage. Lidstrom blasted a shot past Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere with 40.7 seconds remaining.

Referee Dan O'Halloran immediately waived off the goal, however. The ruling was Holmstrom made contact with Giguere, not enough to warrant a penalty but enough to disallow the goal.

What has happened to the NHL? What I witnessed was NOT the NHL I grew up loving. It's just another sign of the of oncoming NHL apocalypse, lead by the bane of all long-time NHL fans everywhere (or what's left of them), Gary Bettman.

If that was interference, then interference should be called on EVERY power play, any time a screen is set in front of the goalie. If that was interference, then the rules of hockey have forever changed. Here's a comment from your typical pissed off Red Wings fan, in this case Mliver Hockeytwn4ev.

Sure am glad I wasted a whole afternoon watching this CRAP!!! If this is the "new NHL" they can have it, because their tv ratings will only decline, until they eventually die. Am I the only one wondering why close calls like the one on Homer in the last two minutes of a professional contest cannot or isn't reviewed. Even College football has protected itself from having the striped shirts determining the outcome of a game with replay. I mean, come on!!--Are you kidding me Gary Bettemen? Is this seriously what you were hoping for on a nationally televised game of the week? The Duck are all goons, PERIOD--->if they are to represent the "new" NHL, forget it. I'll spend my $$$ elsewhere. Makes me SICK TO MY STOMACH. I hope we see these punks in the playoff time (with some different refs, for sure)!!!

As I was watching the replay before the call was announced, I'm thinking, "They waved off the goal? WHY? Where's the penalty?" I honestly didn't see it. When it was called interference, the NBC broadcast crew gave a collective "WHAT?" I'm sure if NBC wouldn't receive a gazillion dollar fine from the puritans at the FCC, I'm positive we would have also heard "THE FUCK?"

If there is such a thing as incidental contact, then J.S. Giguere being grazed by Holmstrom's backside was it. It was obvious whatever contact was made had absolutely nothing to do with the puck going into the net. That call had Mickey Redmond is spinning in his hospital bed. (Get well soon, Mick!)

It's a shame such an intensely played game was decided by a clueless referee's borderline call. Thank God it wasn't made in a playoff game. What I'm afraid of is that in today's NHL, it will be...

Does anyone care that the Red Wings season is starting?

Tomorrow night the Detroit Red Wings drop the puck on a new season, and the general reaction around town is either "So what? when do the playoffs start? or "Really? I had no idea."

The start of the NHL season has taken a back seat to the NFL, NCAA football, the MLB playoffs, the chase for the Nextel Cup, the start of the new TV season, the release of Halo 3, The Rock's new movie, Notre Dame's valiant attempt to have a winless season, and damn near anything else you can think of. The NHL, even in a city known for it's love of hockey, is so far out of the public consciousness, saying the fans are apathetic would be an encouraging improvement.

I have a few reasons why the start of the Red Wings season has gotten little more than a yawn out of me...

The schedule, the schedule, the schedule - The NHL's unbalanced schedule absolutely screws over the Red Wings, and their fanbase. As a long time fan, one who remembers the old rivalries, I want to see the Maple Leafs, Habs, Rangers, and Bruins come to town more than once a decade! Think I'm going to get fired up when the Wings play the Blue Jackets for the 7th time? Now ask me that same question, but substitute the Toronto Maple Leafs for the BJ's. You'll get an enthusiastic yes, rather than a bored off my apathetic ass no.

Being an eastern team in the western conference - I've lost countless hours of sleep over the years, thanks to the Red Wings road trips to the west coast and western Canada. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to stay up till 1:30 in the morning to watch a regular season hockey game. I'm not even going to go into the playoff bullshit, and the unfair competitive advantage the time zone issues give the Red Wings opposition.

No fighting - I've waxed romantic in the past over the days when Bob Probert and Joe Kocur laid down the law, and protected the Red Wings' stars. I long for the days of the "Gordie Howe hat trick." The NHL has devolved from a league full of honorable players that dealt out their own justice, to one full of cheap shot artists, and of brutal, sometimes near lethal, stick work.

Versus and NBC - Versus is a Mickey Mouse network, so it's a quite fitting broadcast partner for a Mickey Mouse league, and NBC treats the NHL worse than a parent treats a red headed step kid. I know the Red Wings will have several games broadcast on those networks, but due to the total lack of promotion, I have absolutely no idea when they'll appear.

The Red Wings as an organization - There isn't a team in Detroit that has taken more from their fans, yet given back so little. Their ticket prices are ludicrous, even though the Michigan economy is the worst in the nation, and the Wings payroll is $25-30 million less than it once was. They expect prompt payment for playoff packages, but will take their good old time in offering refunds. They gave their season ticket holders the laughable "Joe bucks" rather than cut prices after the lockout. The Wings make little effort to connect with their fanbase, as their PR department would rather come up with some lame ass playoff catch phrase than offer the fans any kind of promotions. They play in an arena that has all the amenities of Saddam Hussein's spiderhole. Yet the Red Wings wonder why they are having trouble selling tickets.

The regular season means zip - This is the biggest reason why fans are reacting to the NHL with a collective yawn. The Red Wings will play 82 games that mean absolutely jack shit. There is literally no drama to their upcoming season. Considering the lame duck ownership in Nashville, and the incompetent ownership in the rest of the NHL Central, the Red Wings are a near lock for a division title, and a high playoff seed. If you are a casual fan, a disillusioned fan, or even an avid fan, there's no compelling reason to watch the vast majority of the Red Wings games. None.

In other words, wake me up in the 2nd week of April when the real season starts, and the games finally mean something.

How would sports commissioners handle the referee betting scandal?

David Stern, NBA: "Donaghy? He's dead to me. I will crush him like the bug that he is. I want his head on a pike. By tomorrow. He sleeps with the fishes, capice?"

Bud Selig, MLB: "Who? What? Huh? I have no idea what you are talking about. Everything is fine. Nothing to look at here. I said all is well. ALL IS WELL! And who? Barry Bonds? No-a speak-a da engrish."

Gary Bettman, NHL: "I'd promote Donaghy to 'Head of officials.' Give him a raise, too. Know anyone with a spare TV contract laying around? On a channel that's not in the 300's on your cable?"

Roger Goodell, NFL: "Is Donaghy well known? A famous VIP? We'll let the feds do their job, as it's not my position to be judge, jury, and executioner. You know, in America, you're innocent till proven guilty. He's not? Just a ref? Oh. Well, that's entirely different then. Throw the damn book at him. Fired immediately. Banned for life. No appeal. Case closed."

Bill France, Jr, NASCAR: "Donaghy can still referee, and I'll put him on probation for 6 games. But I'll suspend his crew chief for 10 games, not allowing him near the arena, and fine the entire officiating crew $10,000."

David Baker, Arena Football: "Whatever ESPN tells me to do."

Tim Finchem, PGA: "Whatever Tiger tells me to do."

Ty Votaw, LPGA: "You actually care what I think? Oh, you'd rather talk to Natalie Gulbis instead..."

Michael Slive, SEC: "A ref placed bets? Big f'n deal. Hell, that's nothin! You should see the stuff going on behind the scenes at Alabama and Arkansas right now. They got boosters buying off players, coaches, refs, school presidents, left an' right! If I told ya what Bear did back in the day, now that'd be a God damn scandal!"

Jim Delaney, Big 10: "Whatever the SEC would do, we'd do it bigger, better and faster. They'd only fire him? We'd kill him! Because we're the Big 10, and they aren't. We have our own cable network, you know. The SEC doesn't. I told you we were better."

Myles Brand, NCAA: "I'll have an answer for you in 4-6 years."

Bernie Ecclestone, Formula 1: "I'm richer than God. I hate the USA. I could give a shit, you damn imperialist empire builders."

It's good to be a Swede

(My apologies to the women that read TWFE, and I know there are a few, but the following post is going to outright pander to TWFE's vast male readership. We are all pigs, as if you didn't already know...)

Earlier this week, in a interview with the Swedish media, Henrik Zetterberg claimed that he wants to spend his entire career as a Red Wing. As good to hear as that is, it does brings up one important question.

Will Emma Andersson be with him as well?

Emma and Henrik sitting in a tree Volvo, K.I.S.S.I.N.G.

Turns out that the Zetterberg & Andersson pairing is the Swedish equivalent of TomKat or David Beckham and whatever Spice Girl he hooked up with. (I believe it was "Skinny Spice.")

If you think the above picture is nothing special, that Andersson's just "Cute," or "Perky," let's see what else I found while poking around the series of tubes called the internets. Turns out she's quite the dish.

As Ralph Kramden used to say, "Homina-homina-homina..."

If you'd like to see more, lots more, wink-wink-nudge-nudge-know-what-I-mean, check out this NSFW link.

As I like to think that TWFE is an equal opportunity blog, I did a 3 page Google image search my best to find a beefcake shot of Zetterberg for my female readership (All 5 of you), this was the best I could do.


I hope you like the scruffy, Colin Farrell lite, wearing a thrift store track jacket while trying to appear pensive, look.

Obviously, I'm thrilled to hear that Henrik wants to remain a Red Wing, as he is a Hell of a hockey player, but the side benefits aren't bad, either. Glad to see a Red Wing step into Sergei Federov's skates on, and especially off, the ice.

TWFE predicts the Stanley Cup finals

With the NHL Stanley Cup finals starting tonight, I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.

So, I predict..

That I'm not going to watch.

Why? You would think that as a Red Wings fan, and that someone geeky enough to write a sports blog would want to watch and write about the NHL's penultimate series. Well, I have a few reasons for not watching...

1. Hockey shouldn't be played in JUNE!

Admit it, hockey geeks. You know it, and I know it. The season is too damn long, and there is no good reason on God's green earth that the Cup finals should start on F'n Memorial Day. The baseball season is 1/4 over, and hockey is still going on? Makes no sense whatsoever for a winter game to be played past the day that is considered the start of summer.

2. I'm more of a Detroit Red Wings fan than a hockey fan.

In fact, that statement is probably true for the majority of Wings fans. I'm being honest when I say that I love the Red Wings, but I'm no hockey expert. I never played the game at any level. I do know the rules, in that I can explain icing, offsides, and so on. I can say that I know hockey, but I don't KNOW hockey, if you get my drift. I can break down strategy in other sports enough to be dangerous, but not the one played on ice. If the Wings were in the Cup finals, I'm watching. Otherwise, I might catch some of the games here or there, but my priorities are elsewhere. That being the Tigers and Pistons.

3. What network is showing the game? What channel is it on? The Hell if I know.

I'm not going say the CBC, because as a native Michigander, that's obvious, and only works in border cities like Detroit and Buffalo. The CBC is only an option if you can tolerate the CBC's blatant Ottawa homerism, and Don Cherry's xenophobia. When you have to research what network is carrying a specific Cup game, you aren't going to have anyone but the hardest core of the hardcore hockey fan watching. The NHL's TV contract becomes more and more asinine in hindsight.

4. I'm not going to get much, if any, coverage from the local or national MSM.

The city that is known as "Hockeytown" has 2 large, nationally respected newspapers. Neither one is sending a writer to cover the Stanley Cup, they'll depend on wire copy instead. We all know how marginalized the NHL is on the worldwide leader. I rag on the MSM quite often, but I can see where they are coming from on this issue. The majority of Americans that do watch hockey are just fans of their respective team. As for the rest of America? They just don't care at all. So why waste the resources?

5. I can't get fired up about a series that has a team whose own home market doesn't give a crap.

How many people in SoCal even know that there is a hockey team in Anaheim, let alone one that is in the finals? The Ducks are another in a long line of NHL teams placed markets that could not care any less about hockey in general, let alone the NHL. Just look at the issues going on in Nashville, where a top tier team has been sold, and on the verge of moving to the great white north. The Predators aren't being supported, and the team has lost money hand over fist. Why is it even a surprise to Gary Bettman that a team in Tennessee can't draw flies? Sure, every city that has a NHL franchise does have fans, even rabid ones. But having 15,000 hardcore fans who actually show up for games does not a well supported franchise make.

I can say without question that the Stanley Cup is the best trophy in sports. It's unfortunate that the league that awards the Stanley Cup is the worst run in all of sport.

The Red Wings might be down, but they are far from out

The Red Wings season is over, and I'm not all that upset. Once you get past the disappointment of a tough loss, you have to admit that the Red Wings had a very good season.

The Red Wings exceeded my expectations all season. If you had told me in October that the 2006-07 Red Wings would end up winning their division, earn the 2nd highest points total in the league, have the number 1 playoff seed, and advance through 2 playoff rounds despite several injuries to vital players, I would have been damn happy with that result.

Losing in the conference finals to a very good Ducks team is nothing to be ashamed of.

If this was the pre lockout era, I think I'd be more torn up about the loss. When your team has one of the highest, if not the highest, payroll, your expectations are that much higher. But in the Gary Bettman-ized NHL, where teams all have the same salary restrictions, we should get used to seeing different teams in the Stanley Cup finals most every season.

In the “New and improved” NHL, it only takes a playoff berth and a hot goalie to make a long playoff run.

A cup finals appearance is not a Red Wings fans unalienable right. They should no longer be considered the Yankees of the NHL. I always thought the “Red Wings = Yankees” comparison was a mistaken assumption made by jealous small market hockey fans. Detroit just used their available funds much better than most teams. And for the most part, they still do. The Red Wings of the past 15 or so years have been a smartly run team.

The Red Wings brain trust is why I have the utmost confidence that in the future, early playoff KO's that were the bane of a Red Wings fan existence, are going to be the exception, rather than the rule.

I'm not saying that the Red Wings will be in the cup finals every other year. That's being delusional. But they will be a threat to go that far every season. The team is too well run to think otherwise.

Next season, the road to the Stanley Cup will still run through Detroit.

The NHL is on NBC...Unless it's a tie game

Turd Ferguson: Give me "Sports on TV" for $200, Alex.

Alex Trebek: The question is, "What is the lowest rated, and worst treated, sport in TV broadcast history?"

Sean Connery: What is, "Me plowing your mom?" Suck it, Trebek!

Turd Ferguson: What is, "The NHL on NBC?"

How far has the NHL fallen? When the NHL has fallen to the point where I can make a really bad "Celebrity Jeopardy" joke, I don't think it could fall any farther.

The NHL playoff game between Buffalo and Ottawa is dropped after regulation time by NBC in order to cover a horse race. I never thought I'd write that about ANY legitimate sport. What's even stranger is that the NHL has their own version of the Heidi game, and save for a few hockey hotbeds, no one really cared.

I guess it's kismet that NBC was the culprit in both cases.

The whole situation between the NHL and NBC is almost pitiful. The NHL is acting like a high school kid desperate to keep their hot girlfriend. They are so desperate, they'll agree to anything in order to continue the relationship, even if that relationship is self destructive.

Gary Bettman is sacrificing an already shaky future in order to say that his sport is carried on a major network. Even if NBC is the lowest rated of the Big 4 networks, and is behaving as if they are doing the NHL a huge favor by even allowing such a low rated sport on their precious airwaves. Other niche sports are treated better by their networks than the NHL is treated by NBC.

The following list is what I'm guessing are NBC Sports' priorities, in order of importance, when it comes to the sports properties on which they hold the broadcast rights.

1. NFL - The king of all sports, whatever they say, goes. The NBC Sunday night football pregame show has a higher on screen population than most small towns.

2. Notre Dame football - The crown prince to the NFL kingdom, NBC isn't called the Notre Dame Broadcasting Company for nothing. When Charlie Weis eats, expect NBC to be there with exclusive coverage.

3. Olympics - In actual Olympic years, move it to number 2. If the summer games are held in the USA, all bets are off, the sky is the limit.

4. PGA golf- Has a small, but high income, demographic. Plus, Tiger Woods = Ratings.

5. Poker - On Saturday, 3 hours of network airtime was devoted to their "Heads-Up Poker Championship." 'Nuff said. When network TV devotes an inordinate amount of time to something as faddish as tournament poker, you know it's reached the saturation point. Saturated market or not, NBC still runs the tape to its conclusion.

6. Figure skating - Notice how skating is always shown as alternative counter programming when a huge sporting event is on another network? Plus NBC has to push to get a few prepubescent skaters known in preparation for their Olympics coverage.

7. Horse racing - An entire afternoon is devoted to the Breeders Cup. And we all saw what happened on Saturday for the Preakness coverage.

8. Tennis - NBC carries the French Open and Wimbledon. Americans only remotely care about 2 tennis tournaments, NBC has one of them in Wimbledon.

9. Dew Action Tour - I have no idea what this is, but NBC sure shows plenty of it.

10. Pro rodeo bull riding - Somebody must watch this, as NBC seems to use it as filler.

11. NHL - Has any of the above sports and activities been treated as shabbily as the NHL?

If the NHL and NBC believe ratings are bad now, just wait. As someone who enjoys hockey, I hate to say this, but if the Stanley Cup finals turns out to be Anaheim vs. Ottawa, which even as a Red Wings fan I have to say is very likely, no one the USA but a handful of fans in SoCal will watch.

We could see national ratings in the negative numbers, if such a thing is possible. Despite the record low ratings, bad publicity, lack of respect and horrible treatment, at least the NHL is on an American broadcast network, right?

Robert Lang saved the Red Wings. I sure didn't see that coming...

I'm keeping things short today, as I'm tired and cranky. Spending the afternoon with doctors and my mother (No offense mom!) does that to me. So does watching a hockey game well into the night...

I really don't have much to say about the Red Wings - Sharks game as a whole, as I missed most of the 1st period thanks to "Lost" (One Hell of an episode last night) and from yawning every couple of minutes.

Much like Ian, my ass was dragging this morning. I managed to stay awake and watched till the not so bitter end. It was just one more reason I'm growing more and more disenchanted with the NHL.

I don't want to be watching the Wings till 1:30 in the morning. I've ranted and raved about the asinine scheduling the Red Wings have to put up with with their being a eastern time zone team playing in the west. But it's in the NHL's best interest to keep one of their Original 6 meal tickets in the west. Lack of sleep of what fans the NHL has left, or casual fans no longer bothering to watch, be damned.

It's not as if I have to get up at 7am, as I once did when I was still able bodied and working. At this point, it's the principle of the thing. At that time of night, I'd rather be...Well, definitely not watching hockey. The time is going to come when I won't.

Other quick thoughts about last night...

I still think Robert Lang is an overpaid waste of space on the ice, but if he can score a few more clutch goals, I'll get rid of the "Waste of space" when referring to him.

If Lang could show even a bit of the hustle and toughness of a Tomas Holmstrom, I'd get rid of "Overpaid" as well...

Dominik Hasek is outplaying Evgeni Nabokov. By a big margin. It's wonderful that Lang beat Nabokov, it may have saved the Wings season, but you have to admit it was a soft soft goal. Did I say it was soft? Cause it was...

At the very least, if the Red Wings win this series or not, I can no long claim that they are a soft, weak willed, team that lacks a hunger to win. Could you see the Red Wings of the past few playoff runs wining last night's game? Me neither.

Who's watching the NHL playoffs?

To answer my question, if you go by attendance and TV ratings, maybe 15,000 people in Detroit. Sure, I'm being facetious, but the lack of interest shown in the Red Wings playoff run is striking.

The Red Wings can't sell out a 2nd round playoff game. Michael Rosenberg says in today's Freep that it may have been the worst playoff atmosphere he's ever seen in a Detroit facility. Dave at Gorilla Crouch fittingly compares us to Atlanta.

So just where are the fans? If you go by our local and state economy, probably trying to keep their homes from being foreclosed.

Honestly, I'm not surprised. I don't know how season ticket holders can afford buying full rounds in advance. The Red Wings brought it upon themselves by anal raping fans with their playoff price points. I sure as Hell can't afford to go. Most people I know either can't afford, or aren't willing to be bent over by the Wings.

Here's the ticket pricing straight off of ticketmaster.com.

EXECUTIVE LEVEL (LOWER BOWL)
US $135.00 - US $153.00 (What would the Cup finals run? $400 and your 1st born?)

ARENA (UPPER BOWL)
US $72.00 - US $135.00 (I'll guess that the $72 tix are the top 2 rows of the Joe. I've sat there plenty of times, they ain't worth that much)

STANDING ROOM ONLY (DESIGNATED AREAS)
US $77.00 (That's just criminal)

Jesus. I decided to see what 2 of best available tickets would run me...

Tickets (Detroit Red Wings Semifinals Round 2 Home Game 2)

FULL PRICE TICKET US $90.00 x 2 (Upper bowl seats, with the real fans...)

Total Convenience Charge(s) US $5.75 x 2 (Convenience my ass! I love this, $11.50 for just the opportunity to buy seats)

Order Processing Charge(s) US $4.25 (I have no idea what this is, as what are they actually processing? I'm going to get my tix at will call, or print them myself. This exists for no other reason than to twist the knife just a little more into your wallet)

TicketFast Delivery US $2.50 (Hilarious! This allows you pay for the privilege to print your tix!)

TOTAL CHARGES US $198.25 (Big Al looks in his wallet, sees...Not that much! About a $190 less...)

Whoa. $200 just to get in the door, and sit in the nosebleeds. When you factor in parking, beer, a couple of pretzels, it's $250+ for 2 people. If I had asked my dad back in the day to spend that kind of coin on a playoff game, he'd have asked me where we were getting the loan from.

The Red Wings finally reached the point where price + expectations - past performance - lockout - Pistons, Tigers, Lions + hubris = Fans not going to the Joe. They have priced themselves right out of their blue collar market.

As much as I enjoy hockey, I don't kid myself, unlike many hockey fanatics. Detroit is not "Hockeytown." That is nothing more than a marketing slogan. The NHL is, at best, number 5 in the sports pecking order in Detroit.

Just off the top of my head, I'll guess the order is this...

1. Lions - The NFL is king in this country. No ifs, ands, or buts. What's the hot topic this week? Not the NHL or NBA playoffs, not the Tigers, but the NFL draft.

2. Tigers - Detroit has always been a baseball town, and was the #1 team for much of my life. It took close to 2 decades of awful baseball to nearly kill it off, and only 1 summer of good baseball to bring it back to it's rightful place in the Detroit landscape.

3. Michigan football - If the NFL is king, NCAA football is the prince.

4. Pistons - The Pistons get it. The Palace is a great arena, a team that connects with the blue collar fanbase, and they don't screw you over (Nearly as much) at playoff time. The NBA has a much broader fanbase than the NHL, even in Detroit.

5a. Red Wings - Unfortunately, hockey is a niche sport. Even in the northern USA.

5b. NASCAR - Say what you will about cars making left turns, people watch NASCAR. Lots of people. Millions more than hockey.

I'll be honest. I watched maybe 10 minutes of the Red Wings game last night. The lack of energy at the Joe was palpable, even over the TV. It sounded dead, it felt dead, and after the Sharks scored twice, it was dead. After the 2nd Sharks goal, I could feel that the game was already over. If you've watched any playoff hockey, you knew it was over. I changed the channel to the Pistons.

On the other hand, the Pistons game was intense. The Magic and the Orlando crowd were into it. So were the Pistons, if you go be the 4 technical fouls. It was a fun game to watch, unlike Wings - Sharks.

Tomorrow afternoon, when we have the Red Wings, Pistons, Tigers, and Lions all (Gloriously) overlapping, in most households the the Red Wings will be on the backburner. I'm not saying it's right, but that's the way it is...

I had all the respect in the world for the Calgary Flames...

...Until the last 10 minutes of game 5 with the Red Wings.

Talk about gooning a game up. Cheap shots abounded. It was stickwork at it's worst. I have no problem with physical hockey, in fact I enjoy, as they say, old time hockey. But I'm not talking about the mid-70's Broad Street Bullies, whom the Flames were channeling in the 3rd period.

It was a disgusting display of goonmanship. I have a feeling that the Flames may have knocked the Red Wings out of their stupor with their idiotic attempts to injure. I bet they come out flying Sunday night.

I don't have time tonight to go into my full thoughts about today's Red Wings win. It's probably a good thing, as I might say some very nasty things about Iginla, McLennan, Langkow and the rest of the Charlestown Chiefs Calgary Flames.

"Power play? What power play?" Thoughts on Red Wings - Flames game 4

1. It's gotten to the point that watching a Red Wings playoff road game is sheer torture. Over the past 4 seasons, I've learned to expect the Red Wings to struggle in mightily in these games. It's not much fun to watch hockey while hoping for the best, but expecting, and then getting, the worst.

2. The "Power play." It's a simple term, and it should be simple to execute. There was once a time when the Wings made the power play look effortless. It was once an outright pleasure watching the Red Wings find the open man. It was pure hockey artistry. But now? For lack of a better term, their power play is ugly. Now it's painful to watch a talented team struggle to even get off a shot with the man advantage. It sure as Hell isn't an advantage.

If the Red Wings can't improve on the power play, they won't win the Cup. They may not get out of this series.

3. Did Hasek even touch Iginla with his stick? I'm still trying to figure out that call which gave the Flames their first 5 on 3. Hell, there were strange calls all night long, against both teams. Good call or bad call, doesn't matter. Thanks to the continuing struggles of the Red Wings special teams, whenever the officials get involved, it's going to be to the advantage of the Flames.

4. That was the Bertuzzi we were expecting to see. A force on offense, and physically intimidating. He's only going to get better as the playoffs go on. I only hope the playoffs last longer than the next 3 games.

5. Robert Lang was a little better, but he's still not playing near expectations. It's obvious that Mike Babcock is not going to sit him. I hope to Hell he finds even a semblance of his game soon.

6. Dominik Hasek is being outplayed by Miikka Kiprusoff. There's no question about it.

7. If I'm going to listen to homers, I'm going to listen to Mickey Redmond and Ken Daniels. I still find it hard to believe that the announcers of a national broadcast, such as HNIC's, would be outright homers. Yes, I know it's a Canadian broadcast, but it just seems unprofessional. The Red Wings announcers are paid by the Wings, so you expect a certain level of bias. But you'd think the HNIC crew was paid by the Flames.

8. I'm convinced this series is going 7 games. There's nothing in the Red Wings recent playoff history that would allow me to think otherwise. They don't deserve the benefit of the doubt. Hell, if I go by their recent history, they'll lose the series in 6 games.

9. The majority of what I said in my post about game 3 works for game 4. The Red Wings outshot Calgary, outplayed them for long stretches, Kiprusoff made some huge saves, the refs made some very questionable calls, and the Wings played well enough to win, but still lost. So feel free to use any of the following clichés when talking about the Red Wings. "It's the same old same old," "It's déjà vu," "The more things change the more they stay the same," "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss." They all fit...

Robert Lang is missing, and other thoughts on Red Wings - Flames game 3

1. Last night's game was a typical Red Wings road playoff loss. Let's go through the Wings fan checklist, shall we?

• Did the opposition's goalie stand on his head? Check.
• Did role players score all the goals for the Wings? Check.
• Did the refs look intimidated by a raucous home crowd, making some questionable calls? Check.
• Were the HNIC announcers totally biased towards the Canadian team? Check.
  
• Did the Red Wings play just well enough that they could of won, yet didn't, totally frustrating Red Wings fans in the process? Check.
• No one in Detroit got any sleep? Check.

Yep, it was a typical Red Wings road playoff loss.

2. Going with the theme, Dominik Hasek played just well enough to lose. He has to make the stop Jarome Iginla's game winning goal. Miikka Kiprusoff has been making those sort of saves all series.

3. Where's Robert Lang? There's someone on the ice wearing his sweater, but it can't be Lang. The guy on the ice sucks. We can start with the Lang's picture on a milk carton jokes. I'm joining the chorus who's saying he needs to sit in game 4.

4. As soon as Dan Cleary made the awesomely big hit on Dion Phaneuf, and set up Kris Draper's goal, you know what was my first thought? It wasn't sheer glee over watching Phaneuf stumble around as if punch drunk after Cleary rung his bell. I didn't celebrate a change in momentum. My first that was. "How soon before we see a Calgary power play?" And what do you know...

5. Chris Chelios shattering the glass at the end of the 2nd period was a damn cool sight.

6. What else is missing, other than Robert Lang? Where in the living Hell is the Red Wing power play? The Wings look better when they are 5 on 5 than when they have a man advantage, for chrissakes! I'm deathly afraid that the Wings impotent power play is going to cost them a playoff series.

7. Still, it was only one game. It was a sure thing that if Calgary was going to win a game, it was going to be game 3. The Flames were embarrassed in Detroit, so you knew they were going to come out guns ablaze. I'm not saying that Game 4 is a must win, but this Wings fan would feel much better about their chances if they could come out of Calgary with a split. The Wings lose tomorrow night, and you know that the Chicken Littles will be out in force Friday, fearing the worst.

8. I know he's not nearly the player he once was, but I miss Darren McCarty. To be honest, it's sad to see him sit out this series as a healthy scratch for Calgary.

9. I hate hate hate these western playoff road games. I absolutely dread them. Bad things happen, man...Bad things...

10. Still no sign of Robert Lang.

4 overtimes are bad for your health

If you don't think that the NHL needs to tweak, or possibly even blow up and re-invent, playoff overtime, you didn't watch last night's NHL playoffs. I know this might be heresy to hockey purists, but last night's (Or should I say this morning's) 4 OT Canucks - Stars snoozefest was, to put it bluntly, boring.

Yes, I watched. And watched, and watched...Till my eyes finally betrayed me at 3:25 am. I was rudely woken by Dave Strader's call of the winning goal for Vancouver at 3:30 am. That's not a typo, 3:30 am EDT. I didn't get much sleep, but at least I now know where Versus is on my cable system.

You would think that playoff OT would be thrilling. But once it gets past a certain point, usually not long into the 1st OT, both teams start playing it safe. Extremely safe. The hockey turns conservative to a fault. Sure, there was a post hit a time or 2 during the OT's, but true scoring chances were few and far between. There were a handful of power plays, but even those didn't add much excitement to the proceedings. Odd man rushes were impossible, as no one would take even the slightest chance, in fear of making the mistake that could cost them the game.

Both teams playing not to lose leads to long stretches of monotony, mixed in with short bursts of dullness.

Do I believe that the NHL should go to the regular season 4 on 4, 5 minute long OT, and then a shootout? No, as I honestly think shootouts are not the right way to decide a playoff game. I find it kind of silly that soccer allows their premier event, the World Cup, to end with a shootout, and the same goes for international and Olympic hockey.

But going 4 on 4, with normal length periods? That could work. There is no way you would have 4 additional periods of tedious hockey, played mostly between the blues lines, with both teams shorthanded. I'm sure there are other solutions, but I'm too damn tired to think of any...

I'm not saying that all OT hockey is awful. Unfortunately, excitement can be squeezed right out of a game by the massive pressure of OT. It's the one downside to what may be the most hotly contested playoffs in all of sport.

Warm up your octopus throwing arm, it's time for the NHL playoffs

How on earth can the number 8 seed be considered the favorite over a the 1 seed in a playoff series? When you are talking about the NHL.

I'm not sure what to make of the Red Wings going into the playoffs. I think most fans feel the same way, considering the fact that more than a few playoff tickets are still available. Go to the Red Wings web site, and you are greeted by a huge splash page saying that first and second round tickets are "On Sale Now!"

Between the slower than expected ticket sales, and after all the recent early round flameouts, it appears that the fanbase is telling the Wings to "Prove it" before they fully commit to jumping on the bandwagon.

It may be the quietest this area has been in 15 years about a Red Wings playoff team. Let alone a number 1 seeded Red Wings team. I think I know what's up.

There's nothing in sports more painful to a fan than a tightly played Stanley Cup playoff loss. We're all holding our breath for the first bad loss. You all know the type I'm talking about.

The Wings out play the opposition for long stretches, out shoot them by 35 shots, yet somehow lose 2-1 in double OT, while we all stay up past 1 am watching the painful loss. You know it's going to happen. It happens every playoff season. As of late, it seems as if every Red Wings playoff loss follows that M.O.

I'm not going to break down the series with Calgary. It's being done 10x better by the Wings' bloggers. All I can add is that I'm feeling somewhat more confident about the Wings playoff chances this season than I have since the 2002 Red Wings. If they are healthy, and get good goaltending, expect some late nights over the next 2 months.

I'm not all that worried about the goaltending, as a healthy Dominik Hasek trumps most, if not all. As for health? I'm holding my breath (Again) and waiting to see who's on the ice for game 1. And who remains healthy after game 1.

We'll know much more as of Thursday night, when the most hotly contested playoffs in all of sports begin. I can't wait...

Revenge was a dish best served by Darren McCarty

I think every Red Wings fan knows where they were om March 26, 1997. Me? I was in a bar, watching the game, as my friends and I knew, along with every hockey fan in North America, that Hell was going to break loose that night against Colorado. We weren't disappointed.

We all remember the fight like it was yesterday. Darren McCarty sucker punching Claude Lemieux (Yes, I'll admit it was a sucker punch, but since it was Lemieux...) , then continuing to pummel the turtling evil Lemieux, Brendan Shanahan flying through the air, Mike Vernon leaving Patrick Roy's face a bloody mess, those are iconic images that will forever live on in Red Wings history.

When the Wings won the game 6-5 in OT, I think the fans, and the Red Wings themselves, knew that this was the year that they would finally win the Stanley Cup.

In honor of the 10 year anniversary of one of the greatest nights in Red Wing history, let's watch the highlights!



And here's the fight in it's awesome entirety. Enjoy...

Liveblogging the Red Wings trade deadline...

2:15 est - Let's see, the Sports Inferno is mulling over tonight's Wolverines - Spartans game. Before that though, the talk is that about all that's left out there is Todd (Neck breaker) Bertuzzi. ESPN News has had the Blues trading Bill Guerin to the Sharks "Breaking News" up for a good hour now.

2:20 est - Nothing on the Wings front. Let's surf the web... Motownsports.com has a poster saying that WDFN reported the Wings get the neck breaker from the Panthers, no other details. Switch to WDFN, and they are back to Jim Rome. Nothing about Bertuzzi on WXYT as of yet.

2:30 est - WXYT is now reporting the same, Bertuzzi is a Wing. I'm not sure hat to think of this, depends on what Ken Holland gave up. ESPN News is reporting on the baseball HOF veterans committee didn't elect anyone. What about the NHL!?! Oh yeah, it's ESPN...

2:35 est - WDFN saying draft picks and possibly a prospect is the cost for Bertuzzi. More details to come, obviously.

2:35 est - For all things NHL, let's go to Kukla's Korner. Bingo! A little more info, there are medical issues to yet be sorted out, a draft pick and a prospect is the cost.

2:38 est - Browser crashed! AAAARRGH!

2:45 est - TSN.ca says it's a conditional pick. Also a little more on the contract, he's in the last year of a 27.8 million dollar deal.

2:50 est - "Breaking news" replacing the Guerin trade on ESPN News! Jon Bon Jovi and John Elway are coming up at 3 pm!

2:54 est- One of the best Red Wings bloggers, iwoCPO over at A2Y, has a post up. His take?

I like it. I’ve liked it all along. I’m assuming a physical will determine when or if Bert actually dons the Winged Wheel.

Anyone want to guess how long it will take little Little Mitch to pen a sobbing column of outrage? I’m betting 24 hours.

3:00 est - It's over... The deadline has now passed. Still waiting to hear more trade details.

3:02 est- Mullet boy, Barry Melrose, is on ESPN News. His take is that it's a good move for the Red Wings, as the cost wasn't much. His exact words were, "A can't miss for Detroit." Well, if Melrose likes the deal...

3:06 est - Stoney & Wojo lead with Bertuzzi. "PANIC IN WESTERN CONFERENCE TOWN!" I hate radio Wojo...

3:07 est - Wojo finally calms down, likes the trade. Stoney says the pick could be a number 1 if the Wings make the WCF, and Bertuzzi plays.

3:11 est - Kevin Allen of the McPaper tells S&W he likes the deal, Bertuzzi thinks he's healthy, and the Wings will give him all the time he needs to be ready for the playoffs. Says the Wings wanted grit, and they got it with the 2 trades.

Wings fans love to hear that word, "GRIT."

3:18 est - Tune over to WXYT, and the Sports Inferno. Mike Valenti LOVES LOVE LOVES the deal, saying the Wings "Got a beast!" So far, from everything I've read and heard in the MSM, both the expert and not so expert, like the deal.

3:21 est - Wings play by play announcer and mouthpiece, Ken Kal, comes on the Sports Inferno. Likes the 2 deals, "Terrific" was the word used. But would he actually say anything other than that? I think not.

3:30 est - WDFN reporting that if the Red Wings do resign Bertuzzi, who's a free agent at the end of the season, an additional 2nd round pick goes to the Panthers. Nothing new on the trade at the 2 Detroit fishwraps, other than that Bertuzzi is a Wing. Almost forgot, the prospect is Shawn Mattias. But as A2Y would say, "Kahn!" Anser Kahn is all over the trade at Milive.

The full details of the trade....

It's official, the Red Wings have acquired Florida's Todd Bertuzzi for prospect Shawn Matthias and up to two conditional draft picks, the club announced.

Florida will get either a first-, a second- or a third-round pick in 2007 based on Bertuzzi's performance and the success of the team. Florida will also get a second-round pick in 2008 if Bertuzzi, an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, re-signs with Detroit.

Kahn! also gives his opinion, which is favorable...

The Wings had to do something, especially after San Jose acquired Guerin from St. Louis earlier today. If Bertuzzi is fine and healthy, he'll go a long toward solving the Wings size and toughness concerns. With Bertuzzi and Kyle Calder, acquired on Monday, the Wings are much more gritty and tougher to play against, which has been their objective all season.

There's that word "GRIT" again...

3:45 est - Ken Holland is interviewed on WXYT. Uses "Grit," "Gritty," "Grittiness," or some variation thereof, countless times when talking about both trades. Even the Red Wings GM LOVES that word...GRIT!

4:00 est - God damn f'n browser locked up! Grrrr.

4:15 est - My thoughts... The Wings had to make a move. Absolutely had to. Considering the insanely high prices paid for the likes of Geurin and Forsberg, the Wings did pretty damn well. Bertuzzi is still young, has GRIT, and unquestionably very talented. A power forwards power forward. When healthy, that is. As someone with huge back problems, I have to wonder just how healthy can Bertuzzi be? You're never quite the same once you start having back issues, so it's a huge concern.

As for the elephant in the room...


As I'm sure most any Red Wing fan is this afternoon, I'm torn. I'm in a moral gray area. Bertuzzi's cheap shot on Steve Moore was one of the worst I've ever seen. It was damn near evil. It was a despicable move. Moore will never be the same.

But the NHL has seen fit to allow Bertuzzi to play again. He served his suspension. Bertuzzi is in the good graces, for better or worse, of the NHL, and has every right to play. If he can help the Wings, and their braintrust obviously think he can, I'm going to defer to their judgment.

If they think Bertuzzi will fit in the locker room, and win them some games, then I'm for the trade. I may not like Bertuzzi, but I do like the Wings. So I'll root for Bertuzzi. I'm not sure I'm going to like myself afterwards, though.

Then again, I once despised Chris Chelios too, and actually grew to appreciate him. Maybe the same will happen with Bertuzzi...

While I was away...

Bear with me, as I wanted to add my 2 cents to some of the topics that made news while I was away from TWFE...

Dre' Bly wants a trade, and the Lions are willing to listen to offers: If things couldn't get any worse for the Lions, we learn that Dre' Bly wants out of Detroit. Why couldn't it be Matt Millen making that demand? Damn...

If that wasn't enough of a hoot, I then read that many fans are saying, "Don't let the door hit you on the ass, Bly!" The one question I want to ask those fans is, "Just who do you think is going to replace Bly?" You hear any manes, other than "Bueller?" I sure don't.

Bly isn't the prototypical Tampa Two corner, but he is still the best (When Shawn Rogers is taking the play off, that is...) defensive player on the Lions. If Millen lets Bly go, they best have a replacement under lock and key, let alone under contract, and get more for him than what they got in return for Joey Blue Skies from Miami. (That being a 2nd day draft pick, Ricky Williams' bong, a gift certificate to Shula's Steakhouse, and a Betamax copy of the pilot to "Miami Vice." Millen sure played hardball with the Fish...)

I doubt Bly isn't the only veteran, on either side of the ball, who wants out of Detroit. He is damn near the only one worth anything in return. Put Fernando Bryant on the block, and the silence from other NFL teams would be deafening.

To put it simply, the Lions are a joke, wrapped in a clusterfuck, surrounded by a fiasco.

Tomas Holmstrom signs an extension with the Red Wings: Good, good, good! In my mind, this is another nice move by Ken Holland.

Since the Wings renaissance over a decade ago, there has been one constant with their roster. That being the lack of players who are willing to do the dirty work of pissing off opposing goaltenders by working the front of the net. Save for Homer, of course.

I was thrilled to see that the Wings will have Homer for another 3 seasons. He's sacrificed his body for the greater good more times than any other Red Wing this side of Steve Yzerman. I'd bet that Psycho Eddie Belfour alone has carved up the back of Holmstrom's legs to the point of leaving them looking like a road atlas. I'm happy to see a blue collar player who does whatever is necessary to win get rewarded.

Scottie Pippen contemplates a return to the NBA: Migraine Boy wants to come back to the league? Amazing! Even more amazing was reading NBA writers were actually taking Pippen seriously, thinking he could actually contribute to a playoff team! Who in the NBA would want a 41 year old used-to-be, who has never won a damn thing unless he was acting as Michael Jordan's caddy? Well, other than Pat Riley. I know there are a boat load of incompetent GM's in the NBA, but there's no GM that certifiably stupid.

40-somethings don't improve your chances of winning a NBA title. Players who retire, then con someone into giving them a shitload of money to return a few years later don't improve your chances either. Jordan couldn't do it. Magic couldn't do it. And Pippen is nowhere near as good as those two. (Don't get me going on Pippen being on the "Top 50 NBA players of all time" list. A travashamockery of the highest order) It's sad to see players tarnish their careers by attempting to come back, even though they are only a shadow of their former selves.

Michigan is still in the hunt for a (very) low NCAA seed: Honestly, I'm not all that thrilled about it. What does the fact that U of M is still on the NCAA bubble prove? Just that the Big 10, save for Wisky and tOSU, is God awful. (Considering that God awful state of the Big 10, just how good are Wisky and tOSU? Probably not as good as their records) Say the Wolverines do somehow manage to sneak into the NCAA's as a double digit seed. I'll give you odds that Michigan gets knocked out in the first round, and it won't be in a close game.

It's sad to see how far the program has fallen, hoping against hope to get one of the last at-large bids. It's obvious that Tommy Amaker is not the coach to make the Wolverines a NCAA tournament regular, and the sooner Michigan AD Bill Martin realizes as much, the sooner this embarrassing farce of a Big 10 program can move on.

NASCAR throws the book at Michael Waltrip's team for cheating: I thought that NASCAR was actually going to begin enforcing their rules with an enthusiasm they have never shown before. Get caught with an illegal car in the past? NASCAR will fine you 25K, and say "Tsk, tsk, don't do that again." When a top tier team spends 15-25 million a season, that's probably what they spend on baseball caps for one weekend. Big damn deal.

But they actually made an example of Waltrip, and Toyota for that matter, when inspectors found some sort of combustible substance (Jet fuel, Hank Hill endorsed propane, Micheal Jackson's hair, NASCAR's not talking) in Waltrip's intake manifold. Waltrip got a 100K fine, 100 drivers and owners points were deducted (That really hurts, his chance at a championship ended right there), indefinitely suspending his crew chief and team manager, and impounding the car. I thought, "Good for NASCAR, about time they started doing more than just giving slaps on the wrist for cheating violations."

Then Jeff Gordon's 24 car was found to be not quite kosher after his qualifying race. NASCAR's ruling? "You can keep the win Jeffy, you aren't disqualified from the Daytona 500, you just have to start next to last. 'K?" Same old same old. Then there was the fiasco on Sunday, when NASCAR just plain ignored their rule book at the end of the race.

I'm sorry, but if NASCAR wants to be taken seriously by more than the hardcore race fan, the series has to be consistent with how, and when, they apply their own rules. Get caught cheating? Make it hurt. Hurt the owner, the driver, and most importantly, the sponsor. If that means sitting a team for a week or more, so be it. Send home a team with a big dollar sponsor for a week or three, and you'll see cheating become the exception, rather than the rule.

For example, say Chad Knaus, the crew chief for defending Nextel Cup champ Jimmie Johnson, who has a long history of bending the rules, gets caught again. Do you think that their big time sponsor, Lowes, would be happy to hear that the 48 team, the team they give an enormous amount of money to, the team that is literally the face of their company to much of the public, was sent home for blatant rules violations? I think there would be Hell to pay in the boardroom of Lowes, and that Hell would roll all the way downhill to Johnson, Knaus, and Hendrick Motorsports.

Penalize the sponsor, and you'd see the teams follow the letter, not just the spirit, of the law in Nextel Cup. As it stands currently, the old racing adage, "If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'" is still true.

Bruce Campbell gets it. The NHL doesn't

B-movie God (And Detroit area native) Bruce Campbell talks of "IT" in this brilliant Old Spice ad.



Thing is, Bruce is not just necessarily letting us know who wears Old Spice, he could easily be talking about the National Hockey League. They don't have it, they don't get it, and most likely never will.

The reason I'm agreeing with Bruce is due to some of the strange decision making coming out of the NHL meetings during the All-Star break. (Quick aside... Why on earth is the NHL playing their showcase for their best players, the All-Star game, in the middle of the week? Let alone on a channel no one can find? There is absolutely nothing going on this weekend, and NBC could carry the game on a Saturday afternoon. Instead, the NHL would rather go up against the ratings juggernaut that is "American Idol?" Smart thinking, eh? But I digress...)

The schedule has been a hot topic amongst puck fans recently, especially we fans of the Red Wings. If there is one team that is constantly screwed over in the schedule making process, it's Detroit.

I listed the Red Wings Western Conference conundrum as one of my biggest sports pet peeves very early on in the life of TWFE. As an eastern time zone team playing the vast majority of their games with teams well out of their own time zone, they have been at a competitive disadvantage for years. The Red Wings get jet lagged, while the teams in the east have leisurely commutes in comparison.

Due to the Red Wings being stuck in the west, some of the most loyal and knowledgeable fans in hockey are also screwed over royally by a league that lacks many things other than "IT," including common sense. Their unbalanced schedule denies Wings fans from some seeing the best players in all of hockey.

In Detroit, we hear rumors about mysterious young players who can do amazing things. But they only do so on the Eastern seaboard. I believe their names are Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. Not that we Detroiters would know.

I also hear that there are teams that were once fierce rivals of the Wings, who play in such exotic cities as Boston, New York, Toronto, and Montreal. As we NEVER actually see these teams come to town, I honestly think they are just figments of my overactive imagination.

Instead of allowing teams in the west to see some of the great players and legendary teams, the powers that be in the NHL voted to keep the status quo. Wonderful, just wonderful. Another year of seeing Columbus and Nashville 16 God damn times.

What's even stranger is what comes out of the NHL's mouth in regard to the Red Wings schedule. This quote from NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly is utterly flabbergasting in its total cluelessness.

"I think in a perfect world, they wouldn't want their games starting at a time that's different than the time zone they're in. But that's something they've been dealing with for quite some time now. So it's not as if it's a new burden."

So it's obvious that the NHL realizes that the Red Wings have to deal with more adversity in their schedule than most every other team. They have for years. But since the Wings have had some of the hardest travel requirements in all of sports for so long, the NHL says it's something that they can just "Deal" with? That makes no sense.

I wonder what the Toronto Maple Leafs would say if they had to travel cross country in every playoff series. Let alone the bitching and moaning from a bleary eyed fanbase that would have to stay awake till the wee hours of the morning to just watch their team play. Welcome to Red Wings fandom, folks. If numerous other eastern time zone teams had to travel like the Red Wings (And the Columbus Blue Jackets as well), things would quickly change.

But the cluelessness doesn't stop there. Here's Daly on the idea of the Red Wings moving to the east.

"Detroit would clearly have a strong case, but by the same token, there are other teams in the Western Conference that depend on Detroit being in the Western Conference."

What? The west "Depends" upon the Red Wings? Just read between the lines. I'd interpret that as Daly admitting that many of the teams in the west have such a limited fanbase, they would have trouble surviving without the Red Wings filling their building 4 times a season. If that isn't admitting that your league isn't in the best of shape...

There is an opportunity for the Red Wings to move to the Eastern Conference, but it would be at the expense of another established fan base. Pittsburgh Penguins fans are desperately hoping against hope that some sort of arena deal can be brokered that will keep the Pens from bolting to greener, and likely warmer, pastures. And those pastures are west of the Mississippi.

If the Penguins move west, that opens the east facing door for the Red Wings. It would be necessary for the NHL to realign. There's an easy solution, as you would think that the Red Wings would just trade conferences with the Kansas City/Houston/Whomever gives Mario Lemiux an arena Penguins.

So I have to root for another team to leave their their loyal fans in the lurch, in order for the team I root for to have a fair schedule? That isn't right. I would never want to find myself in the same situation as the Pittsburgh fan.

But...From reading the quotes about how important the Red Wings are to the attendance starved teams in the west, there is no guarantee they go east. Despite what Jimmy Devellano might believe, I'd venture a guess the NHL would have something else in mind. It's even money that the Columbus Blue Jackets would be the team to go east, despite what might be best for the Red Wings. Columbus would then be supported by cornerstone franchises like the Bruins and Rangers, and the Red Wings would continue to be the tent pole in the west.

No matter what happens, could you picture any other supposed major league treating one of their most storied and influential franchises with such a lack of respect?

No. Only in the NHL. The league that'll never have, or get, "IT." Or for that matter, a clue...

I was a Red Wings fan before it was cool

I've seen the Detroit Red Wings numerous times over the years, more than I'd care to count. My Red Wings fandom goes far back, before all the Hockeytown hype, before Joe Louis Arena, before Ted Lindsay and his "Aggressive hockey's back in town" mantra, which was sadly misleading.

My fandom goes all the way back to the very late 60's and the old barn on Grand River, The Olympia. My dad would take me 4-5 games a season, and I have vauge memories of watching Alex Delvecchio, Nick Libett, Roger Crozier, Garry Unger, and of course, Gordie Howe. But I wouldn't call them players of my era, so to speak. That would be the next generation of Red Wings.

Unfortunately, I have much clearer memories of that generation of Red Wings players, which we all know, not so fondly, as the "Darkness with Harkness" and "Dead Things" years.

The Wings that I grew up watching, the teams of the mid to late 70's, were horrid beyond belief. My best memory, and pretty much the only pleasant one, being Bill Lochead's one moment in the spotlight, his highlight reel goal that beat the Atlanta Flames in the first round of the 77-78 playoffs. For a fan who knew nothing more than Detroit sports despair, that was a glorious goal. To the Red Wings fans that grew up in the 70's, that was, sad to say, in our young minds, the greatest moment in Red Wings history.

Obviously, the Wings gradually got better, as do my memories. The 2nd date with my now ex-wife was Red Wings opening night in 1984. I was actually able to buy tickets to the game that same day, and only be halfway up the lower bowl. Things sure have changed...

I would occasionally get SRO tix, and bond with drunk Canucks. I had SRO tix the night me and ny 2 best buds saw Lee Norwood tangle with Tiger Williams. Norwood won the fight with a memorable, and bloody as Hell, head butt. (Amazingly enough, a quick Google search led me to dropyourgloves.com, which confirmed that Norwood took on Williams on 3/25/87. Obsessive hockey fight fans are a wonderful bunch.)

One of my best memories was of being in a suite the night Bob Probert took on Troy Crowder in 1991. Earlier that season, Crowder had beat Probie, and this was one of the most hyped rematches ever. The local papers even ran a "Tale of the Tape," and it was a given that they were going to go a couple of times. Dropyourgloves.com confirms what I remember, as my friends and I had their 2 brawls scored a draw. Probie winning the first fight, and Crowder taking the second. The Wings lost big to the Devils that night, and to be honest, no one cared. It was all about Probert vs. Crowder. And Don Cherry making an appearance. Lord, I miss hockey fights...

I guess the previous paragraphs are my drawn out way of saying that I'm a long time Red Wings fan who's let himself fall out of the hockey loop over the past few years.

As I told you on Thursday, I was going to be attending Friday's Red Wings - Minnesota Wild game. Last night was the first Red Wings game I've seen in person since before the lockout. So we are talking at least 3 years since I'd last been to Joe Louis.

I'm used to sitting in the top couple of rows of the upper bowl, with the hard core hockey riff-raff. Last night though, we had great seats, mid ice, top row of the lower bowl. It's been quite a while since I've had the opportunity to sit relatively close to the action, with Detroit's hoi polloi.

Without question, the night confirmed one thing for me. I'd forgotten just how wonderful hockey is to watch live. God damn, it's a great game in person!

I took some lame photos and video, and I doubt you want to see them. But as it's my blog, I can post whatever the Hell I want. So you get to see the results of my lack of any photography skill.


This is the GF and I during the game. She pulled up her hoodie in hopes of keeping her identity secret. Sorry, Kiddo.


This is an incredibly lame picture taken with my Sprint bribe phone's camera. If you squint your eyes, you can see that it was very early in the first period whem I took this pic.


I'm doing my Popeye imitiation while drinking my Festivus gift, an $8.50 Miller Genuine Draft. Festivus for the rest of us! I'm quite obviously ready to pin the head of the household at this point of the night.

And here is TWFE first official You Tube video. Grainy, no discernable action, and me talking incoherently. I'm so proud...



What I'm trying to say with this post is just one thing. Despite what many outside of the Original 6 cities might think, hockey still matters. This blogger just needed to be reminded of it.