Another attempt to get back on the horse...

This will be my fourth post of the year, and it comes on April 30. That's one post per month. Pretty pathetic; almost as bad as my lack of running in 2010. But I think I'm going to try and re-enter the blogosphere one more time, and hopefully, I'll stick to it with recaps of the Wings' playoff games from now on. For now, I'll start with game one of round two: Wings 3, Sharks 4.

I literally can't believe how much bullshit the Wings had to put up with in this game and still almost tied it to force overtime. First, they start strong and outplay San Jose for the game's initial eight minutes. Then, the referees call a very weak slashing call on Filppula (he didn't even break the damn guy's stick!) and thus began the Sharks' scoring barrage. One, two, three and it was 3-0 San Jose just that fast. The first was a good shot on the powerplay by the suddenly surface-of-the-sun hot Joe Pavelski (who everyone is having such a good time calling "The Big Pavelski" -- We get it. The Big Lebowski except with Pavelski. Hilarious. Go snip your brainstem.) and then the Wings blow coverage in front of the net on Heatley's goal and then Setoguchi has a puck bounce right to him and he dumps it in the open net. Amazing series of events that all started with a crappy call that a referee shouldn't make in the playoffs. How in the world can a guy of Filppula's soft hands and moisturized hair slash someone hard enough for a penalty? I just don't see it.

Anyway, Cleary comes back with an easy one. Then the Wings outplay the Sharks for the next 20 minutes and Franzen snipes a beauty. But then the Mule gets slashed in the face, necessitating more than a few stitches and much bloodshed, and the man gets called for a tripping penalty. WAIT, wait wait. I'm sorry. I was wrong. I did some research, and apparently the NHL has changed the definition of a tripping penalty.

Straight from Lil' Gary's Book o' Rules:

• "Tripping: When a player trips another player with his stick or when a player aggressively lodges his face into another player's stick and forces the pansy him to fall down due to the strength of his fantastic skin."

In that case, Franzen was guilty. But seriously, instead of the Wings having a legitimate four-minute powerplay to end the period, the Sharks get a powerplay that soon becomes a 5-on-3 when that sneaky little Diving Shark (yes, it's a new breed) Setoguchi gets whacked in the chest by Filppula and goes down in perfect Rosby form for another penalty on the Wings. I usually don't argue high-sticking calls because they are so damn inarguable, but multiple replays showed Fil's stick never touching Setoguchi's face at all. Not even an inch. Then Pavelski rolls another strike down the center of Howard's lane (Ha ha ha, another Big Pavelski joke. I hate myself) and the Sharks are back up two at the start of the third. Raffy get's us back in it after a beautiful feed from my boy Datsyuk and then the Sharks hang on for a crapshoot game one victory.

I hated it, I was frustrated for the game entirety, and I'm not going to be able to sleep for a while tonight. But I have to agree with what Mr. Triple Deke tweeted after this one wrapped up: "Not worried either. Still love this matchup."

He's right. The Wings outplayed the Sharks for almost the entire game (not vastly outplayed, but outplayed nonetheless) on the road, less than two days after the end of a tough seven-game series, and still only lost by one thanks to some bullshit from the refs. I have to think that's a good sign somehow about this matchup. The Sharks aren't playoff tested. The Wings are. They're both really talented, but the Wings have the drive. I still like the Wings a lot in this one. Let's do it again in game two.

Oh, and the best part about game two on Sunday? Not on NBC, not in the afternoon. Night game in the Shark Tank. Let's tie it up boys. Go Wings.

Return to Blogging: Wings-Flames Live Coverage

It's been two months. I have no excuses; most of my thoughts about hockey have been better expressed through 140 characters than in long form here. Anyway, now I'm on spring break and I have little to do over the next week other than celebrate my 22nd birthday on St. Patrick's Day and lie around my house. So, since this game with the Flames is huge (regular-season-wise), I thought I'd check back into the blogging hotel for a night and see what my lazy brain comes up with. Enjoy.

Detroit Red Wings at Calgary Flames

First Period

• Oh, half a minute in and Holmstrom skates off with a knee injury. I'm regretting this already.
• It gets better! Wings turnover results in a Flames goal less than two minutes in annnd we're down 1-0. Jeez, what a way to start the biggest game of the regular season so far. The fact that I typed that sentence combined with my Red Wings fandom verbs my noun in ways I can't even comprehend. When was the last time a regular season game actually mattered for the Red Wings? March 26, 1997 is the last one that comes to mind, and even that one was just bragging rights.
• Lidstrom giveaway down low almost ends in a goal if not for save by Rookie Goaltender. Who is this team?
• I like the looks of the new Cleary-Filapoola (Babcock pronunciation) - Zetterberg line. Talented, hard-working. If only they could put the puck in the net.
• Shorthanded two-on-one and no goal. Surprised? Not me. Not this year.
• Random deviation: The incredibly messed up episode of South Park with Kenny and his "cheesing" addiction is on. I love the show, but this one was just weird. Cartman posing as the Anne Frank for cats and Kenny high on cat urine for the whole episode? Just...weird. The new one where Matt and Trey take on Tiger Woods (airs on Wednesday) looks pretty interesting though. Could be hilarious if it doesn't get too crazy like the one they did about Britney Spears a while back. Anyway, back to the game.
  
• This play-by-play on FSN-Detroit is so boring. I mean it's a one-goal first period, but Mickey is talking...so slow. He's using....silence as...a filler. Maybe that's why I'm watching the game on my computer, live-blogging and glancing at the TV all at the same time. Pick it up in the second, Mick, please.
• End of the period, still down 1-0. A few chances from the Wings, but mostly just a back and forth period with an early goal scored off a turnover. Maltby's pretty bad as an announcer, by the way, but then again so is Matthew Barnaby and he got a job at ESPN. Nevermind, I don't care. Bring on period two.
  

Second Period

• Very little happening. Random thought: Does anyone else think that if the Wings had the money/means to trade for huge talents like Olli Jokinen and Jay Bouwmeester that they'd be thriving and leading the league in just about everything? The Wings develop players better than any other team. I'm not biased or anything.
• Nice, retaliatory play to check Holmstrom in the back of the head for...being Holmstrom. The drunk Canadian crowd loved it though.
• Where did this Kiprusoff come from? I thought he was still all high and mighty about playing for Finland and giving up a ton of goals to U.S.-born players. I guess he likes Calgary better. Seems like the same place to me. Cold. North. Not America. Yeah. Same place.
  
• Random deviation #2: Love that I have an automatic mute button on my MacBook: it's perfect for when that still-retarded Fillet-O-Fish commercial comes on and I don't have to have that song stuck in my head for hours. Thanks, Apple; I'm sure that was what you were thinking when you designed it.
• Yeah Mickey, Drew Miller for the Vezina this year. And I thought Murph was the lovable idiot on this telecast. Jeez I'm critical tonight. Perhaps it's just boredom. Or an overload of ice cream. Both? Nevermind.
  
• J-Will rings an easy goal off the post. Ugh. He's a perfect fit as Samuelsson's replacement.
• Nice save, Jimmy Howard. I tell ya this kid better win the Calder this year after all the crap he's been through in the minors. He's proven his worth.
  
• Do the Red Wings defensemen know they're playing in Calgary and not at the Joe? Shoot the puck at the net, not the boards, guys. They aren't the same up here in Canada, eh.
• Score. Power play. Let's capitalize.
• Bullshit. Terrible call. That's called good defense on a breakaway. Wait. How the hell is that a penalty shot? Dear God. Please Jimmy, please....THANK You. Nice save. Let's get this power play going again.
• Tie game! What a shot by Datsyuk. Honest to God I'll never get tired of watching that man play hockey. Sure, Yzerman will go down in history as my favorite hockey player of all time, but Datsyuk is the best to watch. His talent is unmatched. I feel like I should go put on his jersey. But then it would cover my "Got Yzerman?" shirt. A conundrum only a Red Wings fan would have.
  
• Oh, the period's over. 1-1 and headed to the third for eighth in the West. Let's do it.

Third Period

• The Wings have come out with a lot of fire to start this period. They better keep it up and take the lead instead of let it die out and lose it in the final minutes.
• Crap. Unavoidable four-minute power play for the Flames. Pleeease kill it.
• Whew. What a kill. I was going to interrupt it a couple times but didn't want to jinx it. Big penalty kill. Won't matter though if the Wings can't score and put the pressure on the home team.
• Son of a...Kronwall rings another post. Nice move though. Datsyuk probably would've just chipped it calmly over Kipper for the goal like this beauty, but he's a hockey deity. Can't blame Kronwall for simply being good and not perfect.
  
• Are the Red Wings really going to play a full season with Todd Bertuzzi on their roster? It's still hard to believe and the signing happened last summer...
• Five minutes to go and I'm dreading overtime or a shootout. Yeah, they're fun to watch, but Detroit has 12 OT or shootout losses this year. Not sure why, but they can't close the deal when the extra point is on the line. End it in regulation, please.
• That's what I'm talking about! 2-1 Wings after another ho-hum (amazing) deflection goal by Holmstrom in front of the net and only a minute and change remaining in the game. That's exactly what the Wings need to take this game. Hold on Jimmy!
• Nice save Jimmy! 14 seconds to play. The kid has really been huge and if the Wings make the playoffs (never thought I'd ever think those words), I say the spot is his to lose.
• Awesome comeback. 2-1 Wings final score. Big win to move three points up on Calgary and one behind Nashville with the stretch run still to come. Yes, yes and yes.

Post Game Thoughts

• Tight game. Playoff-type game. And the Wings won it with solid goaltending, good defense, a clutch penalty kill, and a timely even-strength goal. That sounds more like the championship-caliber Wings I've been watching for years.
• Four days off before what should be an easy win against Edmonton might be a bit of a buzzkill after the momentum generated from a big game like tonight, but I think it'll be good for the team. Good for rest, good for focus, good overall. I like the Wings' chances after tonight. They look determined.

I have nothing else to add. This was...fun? Yeah, fun. Perhaps I'll be back while I'm still on break, but don't count on it. I'm sure by now you've all deleted me from your bookmarks anyway. I don't blame you. I blame Sidney Rosby. He's the reason for all the world's problems.

Five Reasons the Hawks Won't Win the Stanley Cup

I stirred myself up a bit re-reading my blog today (hey, somebody has to keep the page view numbers up) and felt an urge to write again. I know I said "wake me in April" just yesterday about the NHL, but I've got a couple more stones to throw. The league's "best" team right now is the Chicago Blackhawks and all the hockey pundits are smiling as if they've just let loose a huge fart and blamed it successfully on someone else -- they called it. They all said the Wings would be too tired, too old, too every-excuse-in-the-book to compete for the Central Division again this season and the fresh new Hawks would reign. Well, statistics and standings say those smug, so-called experts are right on the money. I say they're still wrong.

If the Blackhawks hold on to win the first non-Detroit Central Division title in many years -- still a big 'if' in my book -- there's a huge mountain to climb afterward that they have no chance to summit: Lord Stanley's Cup. These Blackhawks won't win it. Here's why.

• Cristobal Huet. He's never shown he can be counted on in the playoffs and his stats this season are ridiculously misleading. He has the seventh-best GAA in the league at 2.17, but that's all Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook's doing. The better stat to look at is his 26th-best .908 save percentage. That's not going to get any better this year and it'll get worse in the playoffs. Huet is a headcase and he can't bail out his defense when they make a mistake. Goaltending is the most important piece of the puzzle in a Cup run, and the Hawks don't have it.

• Marian Hossa. Sounds like sour grapes, doesn't it? Well, I won't deny that seeing him in a Hawk uniform or a Hawk headline makes me cringe a bit, but the motivation to have him on this list is warranted. Hossa was a no-show in last year's playoffs for the mighty Wings. He hid behind Zetterberg and Datsyuk and Franzen, and he'll do the same behind Toews and Kane and Sharp. The Hawks will count on him for points and he won't produce. He's not a clutch player; I learned that much last year when he disappeared in the two biggest games of his life (games six and seven of last year's finals). He's driving himself crazy trying to coast his way to a Cup, but a championship is earned (except of course in the Penguins' case). Hossa's lackadaisical playoff play will sink the Hawks.

• Joel Quenneville. The guy's got a great resume, good rapport with his players and one helluva mustache, but that won't get you sippin' out of Stanley. Here's an interesting comparison for you. Quenneville-coached teams in the playoffs since 1996 have won nine series -- he beat the Kings, Coyotes, Sharks, Stars, Blackhawks, Stars, Wild, Flames, and Canucks. Quenneville-coached teams in the playoffs since 1996 have lost 10 series -- he faltered against Detroit, Detroit, Dallas, San Jose, Colorado, Detroit, Vancouver, Anaheim, Detroit and Detroit. Six of the teams he lost to went on to win Stanley Cups. None of the teams he's defeated strikes me as a legitimate contender. Translation: he can't win the big one. He's hockey's Marty Schottenheimer; he'll win plenty of games for ya and getcha into the playoffs, but don't plan on raising any banners the following season.
• Jonathan Toews. One of the few players on the Hawks that I like and respect, Toews is a great player and has many great years ahead of him. But he's 21 years old and he'll be called upon to lead his team to a championship. Somehow, I don't see that ridiculous outcome happening two years in a row. Youth is tricky to judge, but in almost all cases, the veteran teams win out. I hope that bodes well for the Wings, but even if it doesn't, I can see other teams stepping in to level the chances of Toews and his baby Hawks.

• Common sense and experience. A team two years removed from the league basement doesn't win a Stanley Cup. Maybe a Super Bowl or an NBA title, but not a Stanley Cup. The road is too long, too tough, too much for a bunch of young punks to break through that quickly. And they are a group of young punks: the only guy on their roster with his name on the Cup is John Madden, the Eastern-Conference version of Kris Draper.

It all adds up to one thing: they're just not there yet. Chicago hasn't won a Stanley Cup since 1961 -- that's 48 years for you English majors out there -- and that drought will stay dry for another season. As I see it, they'll be lucky to make it back to the conference finals. Go Wings.

Twenty Ten

Happy New Year. It's been more than a month since my last post and there's no legitimate reason why. I've been writing constantly, though mostly in journal/grad-school essay form, and I've had a ridiculous amount of time on my hands during my 45-day winter break from school that ends in two weeks, but I haven't touched the blog and rarely read others anymore. I haven't read the Chief in months and I never make the usual trip down the blogroll to see what others are saying about the Red Wings' season anymore. (I still read the Triple Deke, but who doesn't? Those guys not only write hilarious and consistent posts, but now they're providing video entertainment too. A Blogger's Gold Standard, I say). Perhaps it's shame from not ever writing about the Wings anymore, but mostly it's just the fact that I'm getting a little sick of the NHL. Not hockey, not the Red Wings, not Datsyuk and Zetterberg and Lidstrom and Draper and all my favorites, but the NHL. I'm sick of everyone's infatuation with Crosby and Ovechkin. I'm sick of Pierre McGuire and NHL on NBC. I'm sick of everyone crowning the Blackhawks and the Sharks already. I'm sick of the injuries and call-ups the Wings are forced to use day in and day out. I'm sick of the Avalanche doing well despite a team no one thought could compete prior to the season. This season is just annoying. So, since it irritates me, it's hard to follow it the same way I usually do. Go Wings as usual, but with the exception of the Olympics, I say don't wake me til April.

Now that we have that squared away, I'll start by addressing the new year. It's 2010. That's twenty-ten or two-thousand-and-ten. I have no idea what I'll be doing in four months time. That prospect is slightly terrifying, but I'm 21 years old (22 come St. Patty's Day) and need not worry about the future just yet. I figure if I read enough books, write enough stories and make the most of my days, I'll find a way to make ends meet and enjoy my time doing it. Jobs are scarce, graduates are panicking. I could certainly fall right in line with that fear -- and I've had bouts of that thinking just about every day I've been home this winter -- but I'm going to make my main goal of 2010 to stay calm, take what comes my way and live. Just live. Sounds like something a hairy happy hippie might say, man, but that doesn't mean I'm going to throw my best shirts in a bowl of tie-dye and groove to the Dead's greatest hits. No; it's just a choice. I figure I won't have too many other periods of life where things are this good or this free, so why not just sit back and enjoy it.

Quick hits on some topics that have passed me by in my blogging absence:

• The whole Tiger Woods situation surprised me. I'll admit it: the guy's an idiot for what he did. But it changes nothing about why I idolized him, why I still do. He plays golf really, really well, and I admire that. I love the game and I love watching him play it with unmatched skill. Maybe some will say that's ignorant, but I never really planned on taking notes about relationships or character from professional athletes. Seems like a road with more bad endings than good ones.
  
• Pete Carroll's decision to leave USC for the NFL's Seahawks is a puzzling one. I really liked Carroll at USC and I don't understand his motive for leaving. Perhaps he'd like to feel what it's like to screw up a football program again rather than rebuild a contender.
• The Colts were stupid to rest their starters and lose their last two games. A team's objective is to win games at any cost. I think it's stupid for a coach to ever think otherwise; it doesn't matter what you've wrapped up already. You play to win the game. It's that simple. You don't play for the Super Bowl. You play to win every down, every minute, every quarter, every game. That's the whole idea. When you lose sight of that by resting guys who don't need resting, you send the wrong message.
  

I'm all out of words, ideas and rants for the evening. I might be back soon or I might be gone another month. Hard to say without any real inclination of what each day will bring. I've resolved to read 100 books this year and I've already finished three through the first 10 days, but it'd be nice to get some suggestions in the comments for some others if you feel so inclined. Goodnight.

The Finished Product

Here's the final product of my multimedia project about my dad and I running in the New York City Marathon. Enjoy.

What the hell is going on?

This blog is basically toast. It should get back up to par over Christmas break when I get some time to write write write but it's been out of touch all semester. Who are the Red Wings even starting nowadays? I got Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, an 80-year-old man posing as Tomas Holmstrom, four Yzerman cutouts for intimidation, and a boxboy from Best Buy that loses fights and goes by the name of May. And who the hell is Drew Miller? I can't remember a time where I had absolutely no clue who a player was that was in the Red Wings organization, but Drew Miller fits that bill. I read his name on one of The Triple Deke's latest recaps so he must be real, but as far as I'm concerned he still pitches for the Tigers and was never traded to the Marlins.

Seriously, what's happening with the NHL right now? The Wings have won 13 games and lost 13 games and have about 13 injured players that are making about 13 million bucks apiece. I'm more confident in Jimmy Howard than I am in Chris Osgood, which isn't saying much but considering I thought of Jimmy Howard as more of an aborted fetus than a hockey player before the season started, I'm pretty surprised that he's risen to the occasion so quickly. I'm annoyed that the Hawks are doing so well, Hossa included, but since goaltending and coaching are two of the most important aspects of playoff hockey, I see a first-round choke job in their future. At least last year they had no expectations. This year, they'll be sure to keep Hossa on the personal train of epic life decision failures.

I'll end this ridiculously random post that does nothing but continue to show this blog as the old senile bastard of Red Wings blogs with a simple prediction that the Wings finish eighth in the conference and lead a 16-0 charge to Stanley's silver chalice. Hooah, what a season it will be. Go Detroit Cougars! Falcons! Red Wings!

The Captain

Steve Yzerman. Stevie Y. The Captain. His long journey through the ranks of the NHL came to a close at the top this week, as he was rightly inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. People say it was an incredible Hall of Fame class with Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille and Brian Leetch too, but there's no one who compares to Yzerman. He's the greatest overall hockey player I've ever seen. I don't care if you show me statistics; I don't care if you show me highlights. He proved his worth to me with 22 years of loyalty to the Detroit Red Wings, with humble interviews and speeches, with unmatched skill in the 1980s and determination in the 1990s. He's a complete player and the game hasn't felt the same without him since his departure in 2006.

Steve Yzerman is the reason I love hockey. He's the reason I love the Detroit Red Wings. He's the reason I still cling to my first Red Wings jersey, even though now it fits me like a t-shirt would. I think my passion for all sports would be severely less developed and undoubtedly less passionate if not for Steve Yzerman. Why? It's his funky name that only hockey fans can seem to pronounce. It's his humility that showed the world that professional athletes don't all have to be stereotypical, money-grubbing buffoons. It's his tremendous skill that he used to make a name for himself then tossed in his back pocket when he realized it wasn't what the team needed to succeed. It's his goal in the 1996 quarters that will never cease to give me shivers.

It's his 19. There can never be another 19. It's his C. There will never be another captain like him. It's the way he picked up the Cup in 1997 and held it for all of Detroit. It's the way he handed it to Vladdie in the wheelchair in '98. It's the way he avoided the spotlight, despite the fact that he was the one everyone wanted to see and talk to. It's the determination to win another Cup. It's the selflessness to take less money so the team could go out and pay for more star players. It's in the grimaces. It's the way he dragged himself off the ice time after time in the 2002 playoffs. It's his gap-toothed smile.

There's no way I can encompass all that Steve Yzerman has meant to me as a Detroit Red Wings fan. He's got the top spot cemented for my favorite player of all-time; everyone else is just fighting for number two. I might wish for every other fan in the country to feel the same way about a certain player they look up to, but that's impossible. There's just no single athlete in the world like Steve Yzerman. There's a reason he's referred to as "God" in so many Red Wings circles: he's on par with one.


I don't know...his legacy has meant so much to me as a hockey fan that it was really special to see him in the spotlight again. Even though he was wearing a black suit and delivering a speech in Toronto, it almost felt like he had pulled on that Wings sweater again and was skating a lap or two around the Joe. I wish he'd never left the game, and I felt that an honorary post about him was necessary. I haven't touched on much Wings content this fall, but hopefully this does the franchise some justice. Stevie sure did.