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An Unpleasant Reality
by IwoCPO on 11/19/09 at 07:44 AM ET
Comments (62)
I considered not pointing you to this today, because it feels like I’m just piling on. But this is a post you need to see and it’s a discussion topic we’ve avoided here for far too long.
I’m not sure how much the NBA would miss the Pistons, the NFL the Lions, or Major League Baseball the Tigers, but I’m quite sure that the NHL would miss the Wings. They aren’t just an Original Six franchise, and the home away from home of Mr. Hockey, among numerous other hockey legends; in a very real sense the Wings are the flagship franchise of the league. But if a city is dying — and Detroit most assuredly is — how can anyone reasonably forecast a long-term future for any sports team there?
Like I said, today is not the optimum time to be discussing this. But no day would be right to consider the worst. And, man, that is a sour scenario. But it’s something we’ve all thought but few have voiced.
If Detroit is so bad, and not improving, how much longer before pro sports teams begin to consider moving elsewhere?
Mike Ilitch is a loyal guy and I’m positive it would never happen in his lifetime. But it’s a business and the younger Ilitch’s have an obligation to themselves, their own well being, as much as they do to us.
In the grand scheme of things, the people who are out of jobs as winter and the holidays approach, struggling to feed their families? That’s the tragedy. Losing the Wings? Disgusting to consider, but it’s hard to place that kind of heartbreak above what so many good people are going through in our state right now.
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Comments
I will follow the Red Wings to the end of the earth.
I will refrain from commenting on recent events until I cool down. I may break the internets if I don’t cool down before commenting.
Posted by VooX from Behind the Bar in the Hasek Club Car on 11/19/09 at 08:22 AM ET
I have faith that the city can turn the economic hardships around in time to keep the Red Wings there long-term. It won’t be easy, but it’ll be worth it. I mean, it’s a big hockey market; where do you move an original six team?
Besides, even if they do move, I’m not particularly emotionally tied to the city of Detroit so much as I am with the Red Wings. I’ll follow them wherever they go.
I’ll caveat that with the idea that if moving involves a name/uniform change, all bets may be off.
Posted by J.J. from Kansas on 11/19/09 at 08:44 AM ET
I can’t imagine them moving anywhere, no matter how bad it gets in Detroit. They might need a fleet of Robocops to protect the team, but they aren’t moving.
Posted by DigitalGypsy66 on 11/19/09 at 08:47 AM ET
Sorry for the Michigan guys, but I have no relation with the city of Detroit. Wings leave, I leave (metaphorically).
Posted by Guilherme from Brasil on 11/19/09 at 08:51 AM ET
Posted by VooX from Behind the Bar in the Hasek Club Car on 11/19/09 at 08:22 AM ET
What he said.
Posted by Bella on 11/19/09 at 08:54 AM ET
Fear not. This is not the first time nor the last time a city has gone through extreme bad times. The entire country is feeling it right now. Detroit no doubt is feeling the effects of the declining auto industry but you need look no further than Pittsburgh to realize a city can go through difficult times and still keep its professional sports teams. The city of Pittsburgh was built on the steel industry. That all but collapsed 20-25 years ago. I can remember moving from school to school as the companies my dad worked for shut down. It sucked for sure, but it wasn’t the end of pro sports for Pittsburgh.
Say what you want about Gary, but he will never ever let an original six team leave.
Posted by gretzky_to_lemieux on 11/19/09 at 09:09 AM ET
As terrifying as that is to consider, the league wants the Wings in Detroit, just like all of us (fans and haters alike) want the Wings in Detroit. Strangely enough, it’s the sports that pull cities through times like this, no matter how prolonged.
Posted by Bryan from Pittsburgh on 11/19/09 at 09:13 AM ET
A lot of the unemployed people really value the Red Wings in Detroit. With some of the cheap ticket promotions it gives them a couple of hours of really good entertainment (save last night) and a release from the realities of life. Taking the Red Wings away from them would be a terrible blow and really unfair. They have helped carry the league and it’s dead weight for many decades, at the very least the league should reciprocate if it ever comes to that.
Posted by Lindas1st from New England on 11/19/09 at 09:22 AM ET
I… just don’t see this happening. Ever. To any of the team. I don’t think the city is quite that bad, and I’m not sure it ever will be.
Posted by jman077 from North Detrooooit on 11/19/09 at 09:27 AM ET
Already added my two cents into the discussion at On Frozen Blog myself. I just can’t see too many of these franchises leaving. For heavens’ sake, the Tigers merited an SI cover about how the Ilitches reinvested and the Tigers fans supported, all the way until the bitter end.
I think the underrated part about this is the fact that winter is coming up… and there’s really not much else to do than check out a hockey game or a basketball game. It’s cheaper than going north to run your snowmobile, at least.
Posted by Zoogz on 11/19/09 at 09:31 AM ET
I agree with some of the later comments here. Pittsburgh managed to survive the era of 1980-85, from a sports persective, despite the collapse of the only major player in the local economy, and some pretty bad hockey and baseball, and some pretty mediocre football. You guys will get through it.
From a league perspective, you may hate Bettman, and he may hate your owner, but there’s no way in hell he lets something happen to the Wings. The League would pump money into the organ-I-zation via a backdoor deal before they ever let an Original Six team move or fold.
Oh, and regarding last night’s hosing . . .
Someone asked for anectdotal evidence of that sort of screwing ever happening to the Pens. I give you this story:
I remember being incensed when that happened, especially given the referees refused to even look at the net to see if their theory was physically possible. I remember thinking “This sort of thing only happens at MSG . . .”
Now I know this is pre-Crosby, but it’s also pre-Bettman. But that’s the point. The officiating in the NHL has been borderline criminal for many years. And it’s not likely to change anytime soon, despite fan outrage. Oh, and the ridiculous calls definitely make their way around the league, sooner or later.
Posted by Blue Meanie from Pittsburgh on 11/19/09 at 09:37 AM ET
Detroit is not my favorite city and I regret that it no longer holds the glory to back our beloved Wings. I’m not even from Michigan (though it became my second home over the years), and it is likely that I will be living somewhere else. Nonetheless it is very depressing to think that the Red Wings will have to move because of the economy. For now I’ll be optimistic and say that things will eventually be better, even if not great. Go Wings.
Posted by Gander from Ann Arbor, MI on 11/19/09 at 09:44 AM ET
This is just so ridiculous I’m not even going to address it.
Posted by Primis on 11/19/09 at 09:56 AM ET
I have faith that the city can turn the economic hardships around in time to keep the Red Wings there long-term.
JJ, you’ll have to excuse me if I don’t quite share your faith in guys like Kwame Kilpatrick, Coleman Young, John Engler, and Jennifer Granholm. Jesus, what a crew. They couldn’t turn a merry-go-round, let alone a ravaged post-industrial city gripped by brain drain and blight.
That being said, I’m with quite a few commentators here. No way does the NHL allow an Original Six team and a model franchise to move. Not even Gary Bettman would be that idiotic. At the end of the day, he may not like the Wings’ continued success, but he knows where the hand that feeds the League is, and how much history and tradition is worth. Ticket sales are now in the minority when it comes to League profits…merchandise, advertising, and corporate marketing are all now where the money is made, and the Wings are perfectly healthy in this regard. All we need is a new/refurbished arena with decent transport links.
Oh, and the ridiculous calls definitely make their way around the league, sooner or later.
Well said, Blue Meanie, but I think the real outrage here is that such calls need to make their way around the League. A consistent, uniform standard of officiating that could be seen to clearly embrace both modern technology and accountability would not have to see bad calls ‘even out’ in the end, because those bad calls just wouldn’t be made in the first place. But the League tolerates and even protects them, and has done for years. I acknowledge that it happened long before Bettman. But as the commissioner, it is his responsibility to address it. The fact that he has not, even in years and years as commissioner, says all you need to know about the man. And if anyone takes over from him and behaves in the same manner, trust me, we’ll be shouting for their heads too after a while. Sports fanatics aren’t a forgiving bunch; the sooner the people who ‘caretake’ these sports realize that the healther they’ll see their charges.
Posted by AndrewFromAnnArbor from Fortress Europe on 11/19/09 at 10:22 AM ET
I think a lot of people forget that Detroit “city” is dying, but almost more than almost any other city, the suburbs are part of the city. Troy/Sterling Heights/Gross Point/Novi are all “cities” but in reality they are part of the larger city of Detroit. The metro area is still quite large.
Will the city itself remain as the POS that parts of it is? I can’t say it won’t with the city commission the way it is. But the Wings will be the Detroit Red Wings until the city itself burns down, and even then, they will still be Michigan’s team. The Wings fandom runs through the state more than any other team.
Posted by moore00 from Columbus, OH/Grand Rapids, MI on 11/19/09 at 10:27 AM ET
I won’t happen, but if any team does leave, it will be the Lions or the Pistons. Ilitch stays.
Posted by Guilherme from Brazsil on 11/19/09 at 10:32 AM ET
I’ll caveat that with the idea that if moving involves a name/uniform change, all bets may be off.
Posted by J.J. from Kansas on 11/19/09 at 08:44 AM ET
That would be up to the Illich’s. There is a reason that the Colorado Avalanche orgainization can’t touch anything Nordiques. The old owners still have the rights and won’t allow them to.
That is why the Avs got flack for only listing 1995-2009 on Joe Sakic’s banner even though he played since 1988. We couldn’t list the years from 1998-1994.
They could only use the years the Colorado Avalanche have been in existance. They couldn’t give any nods in the Pepsi Center to the Nords. Even the Avs new third jerseys can’t use “Nordique Blue” on them. That’s why we can’t have the retired banner for Peter Stastny in the Pepsi Center or any of the other past greats of the Nordiques. They never played for the Colorado Avalanche, only the Nordiques. The Avs have to ask special permission to use anything Nordique. And they have to ask a city that is still very bitter about being one season away from a cup.
If the Wings move (yeah, sure, I doubt it) it could go like Atlanta where the name goes with the team. It could go like Minnesota where the name pays homage to the old team. Or it could go like any relocation in the last 15 years where the team has to re-invent itself. It all depends if Mr Illich wants to keep the rights to the Red Wings name.
Hartford still owns the Whalers, Quebec still owns the Nordiques, Winnipeg still owns the Jets. Atlanta was ok with the Flames going to the other side of the continent. Minnesota was ok with half their name going south.
No worries though. I think the city of Detroit would lose the Tigers and the Pistons before the Wings are let go.
Posted by AvsRock from My timeshare in insanity... on 11/19/09 at 10:36 AM ET
Good point, Moore. I guess being a Michigander myself, meeting fellow Wings fans from all over the state, this blog being populated primarily by Michiganders (transplanted or at home), I get kind of used to the fact that the Wings don’t just represent the square miles south of 8 Mile and east of Telegraph. And of course, you can’t forget the loads of fans from all over the nation and all over the world with no ties to Detroit or Michigan, who still support the team, usually not just emotionally but financially as well—every jersey they buy is another dollar toward making sure the Wings stay financially sound and won’t go anywhere.
That being said, I don’t think I could jive with the “Michigan Red Wings.” Sounds way wrong. Leave that kinda shite to the Dive.
Posted by AndrewFromAnnArbor from Fortress Europe on 11/19/09 at 10:40 AM ET
no original six team will ever move. those teams are the heart and soul of the league. as much as Gary has tried to detach the league from its history - such as changing the conferences and divisions to get rid of historic names - he will never succeed.
no matter what a waste of skin the NHL commissioner is, the fans will always have more pull. moving the Wings out of Detroit would be a gigantic mistake, and I think everyone knows it.
Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 11/19/09 at 10:50 AM ET
I know the 19 have just recently expressed their distaste for Sports Illustrated, but a couple of months ago they did a very nice piece on the Tigers and Mike Ilitch.
Like most organizations, the Tigers are focusing less on their rock-star clientele and more on their blue-collar base. Duane McLean, senior vice president in charge of business operations, studied ticket-buying patterns closely this season and found that more fans were buying tickets to games one or two weeks in advance and fewer were buying tickets one or two months in advance. They might have been skeptical of the team’s long-term prospects, but more likely they were skeptical of their own. The Tigers responded with more $5 tickets, new $5 meals and two extra $5 parking lots. Season-ticket holders were offered month-to-month payment plans and partial-season-ticket holders were allowed to pick all their own dates. Many clubs have implemented similar programs in light of the recession, but in Detroit the effects of the downturn are more severe, so the programs are more important. Elaine Lewis, vice president in charge of community and public affairs, says the team has given away more than 80,000 tickets this year and worked with more than 2,000 nonprofit organizations, even inviting them to use Tigers home games to conduct 50-50 raffles.
Class act.
So, yeah, I don’t think you guys have too much to worry about as long as Mike Ilitch is still around.
Oh, here’s the link to the rest of the story, if you guys haven’t seen it:
Posted by Flashtastick56 from Milford, CT on 11/19/09 at 10:57 AM ET
no
original six team will ever move. those teams are the heart and soul of the league. as much as Gary has tried to detach the league from its history - such as changing the conferences and divisions to get rid of historic names - he will never succeed.
no matter what a waste of skin the NHL commissioner is, the fans will always have more pull. moving the Wings out of Detroit would be a gigantic mistake, and I think everyone knows it.
Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 11/19/09 at 10:50 AM ET[/
Unfortunately money talks, we all like to think the Wings are set for life but face it no money no franchise!
Posted by Better_Than_Life from UK on 11/19/09 at 10:58 AM ET
Unfortunately money talks, we all like to think the Wings are set for life but face it no money no franchise!
how could the Wings possibly not be profitable? a few years ago I read they were the #1 team in terms of memorabilia sales. on top of that, thanks the Gary’s cap, the Wings’ salary has dropped by tens of millions of dollars in the past few years. they were making money at $80 million per year, how can they not be making money at $50 million?
Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 11/19/09 at 11:06 AM ET
Articles like this are the reason why I will never throw a low-blow “Hahah how’s the unemployment line” jab towards Wings fan.
Everyone knows that Wings fans are having tough times, but that doesn’t take away from the fiery passion they have for their team. Despite the empty seats, no one will ever question their loyalty. Pittsburgh has never been a rich city by any means, so Pens fans took a lot of flack for not filling up the arena during their dark years (2001-2006). However, the Pens local TV ratings were some of the best in the entire NHL during this period, despite the team’s awful play. The city of Pittsburgh is doing better now, and the ticket sales prove that.
Even with the Red Wings having trouble filling seats some nights, I would love to see their local TV ratings. They are probably through the roof. And that’s why the NHL would never let the most important thing to the people in one of the most hockey-important US States leave town. It will never happen.
Posted by Link_Gaetz on 11/19/09 at 11:17 AM ET
In the grand scheme of things,none of this matters. The Mayan calendar says that the world will end in 2012. This has been confirmed by a current Hollywood movie now playing at your local cineplex . Do we really need to question it any deeper than that?
Before you scoff, realize that Mayans aren’t given enough credit for their “big picture” prognostications. Legend has it that ancient leader Abul Kwanda was the first to coin the phrase “Cocaine is a helluva drug”.That’s a verifiable track record, bitches.
Once you look at the facts, this is pretty much a non-issue, eh?
Posted by dougie on 11/19/09 at 11:44 AM ET
Here’s an article that lays out NHL TV ratings:
http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/61172
Frankly, Detroit can’t touch Buffalo or Pittsburgh, even granting that the number might be a bit low b/c of the Canadian viewer factor. But among US cities, Detroit’s ratings are strong.
Did find it weird that Detroit’s ratings decrease was among the biggest in the league, though. That is disturbing. It’s not as if the quality of the team has dropped.
Posted by Cressidas on 11/19/09 at 11:44 AM ET
I picked the wrong day to sleep in.
Posted by Triple Deke Tyler from Lansing on 11/19/09 at 11:56 AM ET
Not. Going. To. Happen.
It just wont. Detroit is rocking near 30% unemployment. The state as a whole is somewhere near 16%. Times are rough. ROUGH….
But the Wings are still making money hand over fist. They’ll continue to make said money as long as they’re in Detroit. Granted, most of that revenue does not actually come from people living in the city limits. But the suburbs are staying afloat and that’s where Wing money comes from. Wait till playoffs and take a drive downriver and see how many homes fly the winged wheel. And you think those suites would ever be sold without those bastards from Oakland County? Hell, even the pricks from Ann Arbor are willing to slap a bumper sticker on their Prius and devote some time and hard-earned cheddar toward the organ-i-zation. I don’t see anything that could buck this trend, and there’s no way the Wings move.
Now, is it possible Mr. I builds a new arena elsewhere? Perhaps. Though, I doubt it. He chose Foxtown for Comerica; he’ll choose it for the Yzerman Ice Arena for Excellence. Hell, even if it came to a point where the franchise CONSIDERED relocation, the State wouldn’t allow it. At least they shouldn’t. I’m going to law school here in Chicago, and I fully intend on taking the Michigan Bar and getting back to SE Mich as soon as I’m done here. Where I tell my friends this, both the ones in the D and the ones here, they usually seem puzzled. As though I’ve escaped, why not stay escaped. There are a myriad of reasons that make the decision logical, but the one that truly keeps me interested emotionally is that you can’t make use of season tickets to the Wings while living in Cook County.
Not happening. The Wings will always be in Detroit (or at lease SE Mich). Shit, we aren’t the Pens.
Posted by CaptNorris5 from The Winged Wheel, stuck in Chicago on 11/19/09 at 12:06 PM ET
I have faith that the city can turn the economic hardships around in time to keep the Red Wings there long-term.
JJ, you’ll have to excuse me if I don’t quite share your faith in guys like Kwame Kilpatrick, Coleman Young, John Engler, and Jennifer Granholm. Jesus, what a crew. They couldn’t turn a merry-go-round, let alone a ravaged post-industrial city gripped by brain drain and blight.
I’m hoping that they’ll be replaced sooner rather than later.
Posted by J.J. from Kansas on 11/19/09 at 12:07 PM ET
Talbot…
Posted by Silverdome from Pontiac on 11/19/09 at 12:15 PM ET
Here’s an article that lays out NHL TV ratings:
http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/61172
Frankly, Detroit can’t touch Buffalo or Pittsburgh, even granting that the number might be a bit low b/c of the Canadian viewer factor. But among US cities, Detroit’s ratings are strong.
Did find it weird that Detroit’s ratings decrease was among the biggest in the league, though. That is disturbing. It’s not as if the quality of the team has dropped.
Posted by Cressidas on 11/19/09 at 11:44 AM ET
Many people in Michigan have CBC on basic cable, and prefer to watch the Wings there if they are on HNIC. I doubt that a Canadian channel is included in the ratings.
Posted by Cat from Michigan on 11/19/09 at 12:36 PM ET
Many people in Michigan have CBC on basic cable, and prefer to watch the Wings there if they are on HNIC. I doubt that a Canadian channel is included in the ratings.
that should stay fairly constant over the years though as cbc hasn’t picked up more wings game than usual….in this study they show that just last year the ratings dropped 21%....weird….on the bright side, attendance was third in the league though
Posted by Itrusteddrrahmani from Nyc by way of A2 on 11/19/09 at 12:55 PM ET
and on the subject of Detroit: dey took errr jerrrrrrrrrbs.
sorry, thats a very pop culture ref: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIzivCJ9pzU
Posted by Itrusteddrrahmani from Nyc by way of A2 on 11/19/09 at 12:57 PM ET
I have little faith in the politicians to revitalize Detroit.
But the range of citizen led projects here, from the arts to urban gardening to various renovations, gives me a great deal of hope. People have a lot of pride in their city despite, or maybe because, it’s a post-industrial wasteland. We’re a bunch of stubborn fuchs, for good and bad.
I still call for a Collective Fan Revolt. Come up with a short list of amendments we want to make, including video replay, head shots, instigator penalty etc, and pressure the league. Get the NHLPA on board.
The broad base of support on blogs can make this happen.
Posted by Osrt on 11/19/09 at 01:12 PM ET
Hell, even the pricks from Ann Arbor
Hey, I resemble that remark. Frickin’ law students…
(In all seriousness, my father drives a Prius. Even had one of the cruddy first-generation ones that was always dead. But yeah, he can be a prick and still drives the damn thing to most Wings home games.)
I’m hoping that they’ll be replaced sooner rather than later.
Most already have. It remains to be seen whether their replacements will be any better, but frankly Michigan politicians have a poor track record for turning things around, or anything else (and that’s even by the low standards of politicians).
Posted by AndrewFromAnnArbor from Fortress Europe on 11/19/09 at 01:17 PM ET
Oh and one more thing…..Detroit has clearly been going through tough times now for a while, and especially over the last couple years, yet the Wings were fourth in the league for revenue, the current value of the team is also fourth in the league, we’re one of only four teams with 0 debt, and like 28 other teams we increased in value over the last year (http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/31/nhl08_NHL-Team-Valuations_Value.html) . Perhaps that’s due to all the fans not in the motor city who buy the teams merchandise, but part of that “team” theyre buying is the Detroit part. Take the Wings out of the D and they will be stripped of an identity and you would no longer have that aura of an original six team. Undoubtedly the franchise value would plummet along with revenue. So if it is just business, then the Wings stay in Detroit until they start losing money, which is a long long (read: never) way away.
Posted by Itrusteddrrahmani from Nyc by way of A2 on 11/19/09 at 01:19 PM ET
Orst, I don’t know if they do anything, but there is a NHLFA - Fans Association. I sent them an e-mail a while ago talking about Latin America (lack of) broadcasts, and they never responded.
Posted by Guilherme from Brazsil on 11/19/09 at 01:28 PM ET
The wings are always beating up on the Flames, but even this fan realizes what a sad day it would be if the wings ever moved from Detroit. There is a reason why they are considered a flagship franchise in the league. Stable ownership, good product, loyal fanbase etc is only tipping the icerberg. The league needs the wings in Detroit and Michigan needs the Wings in Detroit.
that should stay fairly constant over the years though as cbc hasn’t picked up more wings game than usual….in this study they show that just last year the ratings dropped 21%....weird….on the bright side, attendance was third in the league though
Posted by Itrusteddrrahmani from Ann Arbor on 11/19/09 at 12:55 PM ET
With TSN picking up the rights to Canadian teams playing on Wednesday, there is more competition facing the CBC for hockey in Canada, even if it is on Saturday. CBC owns the rights to every Canadian Team on Saturday and as such the league has tried to schedule as much Canadian team vs. Canadian team on both time slots on Saturday so the chances that the wings are seen on HNIC will be very slim indeed.
Posted by lordhogie from Calgary on 11/19/09 at 01:58 PM ET
Re: the ratings,
I’ve found that in downturn times, the first expense to go is cable television. Instead of plopping down $50 per month to see a few Wings games, it’s just as easy to go to the local bar, get a couple $4 beers and see the Wings for free a few times per month, with the added benefit that the beers mellow you out. Or go to a buddy’s house who still has cable for cheaper beer. There’s ways to get to the same place, especially when you have to work with unemployment money.
Otherwise known as, “I’m really not shocked if ratings went down”.
Posted by Zoogz on 11/19/09 at 02:20 PM ET
The metro area is still quite large.
Moore hit the nail on the head. Even if the City itself disappeared off the face of the earth, there is still more than enough population and wealth in Metro Detroit to support this team for generations.
Re: Last night’s no goal. It is not Gary’s fault because the referees and the Toronto war room got it wrong. There is no vast anti-red-wing conspiracy. It is Gary’s and the owners’ fault because of a little noticed change they made a few years ago: They eliminated the goal judge.
If there is a goal judge sitting in his little phone booth with a button, that play is instantly recognized as a goal. There is no opportunity for the refs or Toronto to eff it up.
So why did they eliminated the goal judge? $$$$. Seats on the glass and the first few rows behind the glass are the priciest in the rink.
Bring back the goal judge and all of the replay calls that occur because a ref is out of position disappear.
Posted by CaptainDennisPolonich from Warm and sunny SoCal on 11/19/09 at 02:28 PM ET
Holy crap, CaptainDennis…it never even occurred to me that the lack of a goal judge is contributing to this kind of mistake. Personally, I’m a technophile. They could put a chip in a puck and make it glow on TV, so why can’t they put a chip in a puck and make it so the computer KNOWS when the puck crosses the line? Guaranteed it’s possible and probably relatively easy on a technical basis. Basically a computer goal judge. If this were the case, there wouldn’t have been any question, confusion, or review last night. It would have been a goal, and that’s it.
Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 11/19/09 at 02:36 PM ET
The NHL’s Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy admitted the NHL got the call wrong.
In all cases we want to get the right call. In this case it appears we didn’t,” Murphy said. “But, I think sometimes when you have video review people expect perfection and that’s never the case and we only let the fan down when they think it’s going to be perfect. There are situations where video review can’t intercede and we don’t want it to intercede. I don’t think you ever want video review refereeing a game.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=506731
Posted by CaptainDennisPolonich from Warm and sunny SoCal on 11/19/09 at 02:39 PM ET
Gary. Ass and Colin Campbell are talking about it on NHL Live right now.
Posted by jennyquarx on 11/19/09 at 03:08 PM ET
Holy crap, CaptainDennis…it never even occurred to me that the lack of a goal judge is contributing to this kind of mistake.
It didn’t occur to Wizdoucheski either, at least until after I wrote it:
It’s the NHL’s fault for removing human beings from in back of the net in favor of technology. Had there been a goal judge in back of the Dallas goal, that red light is flashing before LaRue intends to blow anything. But the NHL felt it didn’t need an old man in a blazer to do what cameras could do “better,” and the owners felt those extra dollars in lower-bowl tickets were worth ending the decades-old tradition.
Thu Nov 19, 2009 3:24 pm EST
Posted by CaptainDennisPolonich from Warm and sunny SoCal on 11/19/09 at 03:47 PM ET
“Gary. Ass and Colin Campbell are talking about it on NHL Live right now”
Oh I bet it’s just priceless hearing them spout off about how the ref made the “right call”. Jeebus.
Posted by Chris in Hockey Hell from COLUMBIA, TENNESSEE on 11/19/09 at 05:49 PM ET
It is very, very hard to completely kill off a city - just look at history and see how often cities were rebuilt on the same site over and over, in the face of wars, natural disasters, etc. The location of Detroit was a good location for a city when it was just a fort in the wilderness, and once infrastructure is built a city becomes more permanent.
Eventually, the country is going to have to repopulate the hurting Midwestern cities, anyway - not just Detroit, but also places like Cleveland and Buffalo. Continued development in the sunny Southwest is going to become untenable as the water runs out (and it will). People will still be able to live there, but not in high densities and not with the same water-intensive lifestyle as immigrants from wetter areas of the country are used to. It will cost too much to pay for that much water.
The Great Lakes hold 20% of the world’s supply of surface fresh water, which is the easiest to access, the least complicated to purify for drinking, and in some ways the easiest to manage because it is simpler to measure than groundwater. Not only do people need to drink water, but it is needed to irrigate crops, water livestock, and power industry - it takes several tons of water to produce a ton of steel, for example. If water in an area becomes more expensive, then so will all products, all food, everything. And importing supplies from a more distant region will increase the price because of the transportation costs. The areas of the Midwest have the resources and the infrastructure (assuming needed repairs) to support a much higher population density without stress on the surrounding environment, easily - and this is not in dispute because until recently so many of the cities HAD a higher population.
It’s just a waste of resources to build a bunch of new crap when there exists something that could be refurbished and meet the needs of people instead.
And seriously, it gets cold in Michigan? That’s it? No rabid brushfires, no fire ants, no venomous snakes (effectively, anyway), no hurricanes, no severe blizzards like the Dakotas, no earthquakes (the New Madrid fault zone is just in aftershocks, not becoming more active), no volcanoes, very few tornadoes, not as many deadly heat waves as other regions ... it gets cold in the winter and there are a lot of cloudy days. Big fat hairy deal.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 11/19/09 at 08:20 PM ET
No way the Wings ever leave Detroit.
Posted by stayouttamalibu from Temporarily in Tempe, AZ on 11/19/09 at 08:29 PM ET
I nearly never post here, but follow A2Y avidly. So, to kick this off, a few things about me:
#1. I began following the Wings when I happened to catch the playoffs on TV in ‘97. Fell in love on the spot. Instantly. I think all non-fans should be introduced to hockey during the post-season. They’ll be hooked for life…...just like me.
#2. I am no bandwagon fan. I am a longtime Lions fan and never miss a televised game. Enuff said. (Sad, huh?) I am a complete Detroit slappy and am proud of it. I live and die with every Wings/Pistons/Lions/Tigers game and am completely incapable of living with sane humans during any playoff run. Oh yeah folks, that smell coming from the back of the Hasek is me, curled up & fetal, forsaking food, water and general hygiene, because they distract from the sweet stress that is playoff hockey.
#3. I am a disabled vet, and I appreciate the Chief’s militaristic command of this blog. Completely juvenile, sarcastic & in-your-face. (Anyone with prior military experience will know the truth in that statement.) Oh, and asthma does count as a disability…..it prevented me from re-enlisting, so just deal with it….Bitches.
#4: I feel like I’ve lost my virginity after throwing out a “Bitches” on A2Y. I’m all awash in afterglow….but I digress.
#5. More to the point….I am unemployed and have been since two weeks before Christmas ‘08. Yeah, that day sucked the life outta me. Twelve years with the company & then out on my ass two weeks before Christmas. Been looking for a job ever since. It’s gotten so bad that I even….I can’t believe I’m admitting this on a public forum….I even applied for a job in….in….Ohio. There, I said it.
Okay, I’m not looking for sympathy, because there are a lot of folks that are far worse off than myself. My family still has a roof over our heads, a car that’s already paid off, and food in the fridge. But suggesting that ANY Detroit sports team would leave is just hitting below the belt. Haven’t we Michiganders suffered enough without the specter of one of our beloved teams leaving? Insult upon cruelty upon fear.
Don’t even suggest that ill fate. What would many of us have to keep us going? We depend on our teams now more than ever to buoy our morale and buttress us against ever increasing job loss totals. (Extra points for using the word buttress in conversational English.) I have no fear that any team would leave, though. Detroit isn’t just downtown.
What it all boils down to is this. We’re a middle-class, blue-collar state and we love us some Detroit sports. Take that away and you better float some firefighters with trampolines under the Ambassador, baby, because we’re hanging on by a thin, thin thread.
Sorry for the length of the post, but I had to rant.
I’m off to take that thread for a swing or two.
Posted by Thunderpriest from SE Michigan on 11/19/09 at 09:47 PM ET
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All differences aside, it sucks that Detroit has lost so many jobs. Nobody should have to struggle to feed their families. Thats all, job away.
Posted by pensfan29 on 11/19/09 at 08:12 AM ET