Well Chief, Gary was gonna do it at a legendary ballpark no matter what this time, and Comerica just hasn’t gotten there yet.

It’s still a pretty exciting prospect, to shove it to the Hawks in front of their newfound bandwagon at Wrigley in front of a huge audience on New Year’s Day.

Posted by Steve from New Jersey on 07/07/08 at 03:30 AM ET

Lemme guess….Sammy Headache has been a huuuuuge Wings fan for years.Sigh.

Eddy, Eddy…...why’d you do this to me?

Posted by dougie on 07/07/08 at 05:12 AM ET

You guys are old. 

Don’t you know anything about the new rage Jerkov brothers looking to penetrate a teenage daughter near you? Decrepit bastards.

Hopefully, by the time we do get the proper “Winter Classic” game, we’ll be playing in the East and Toronto can be a divisional rival who we can then appropriately, internationally, bitchsmack.

Chicago kinda spooks me. They’re young, fast, and are going to play really well in spurts; and, they’re too naive to know when to kneel before the league leaders appropriately.

Posted by Osrt on 07/07/08 at 06:22 AM ET

And those spurts are almost inevitably going to be against the Wings, because they haven’t learned yet how to bring the same effort every game.  They will with more experience, once their major goal each season is to realistically make noise in the playoffs and they know that from the start of the season, instead of their main goal being to beat the Wings.

What about Montreal at Detroit in the Big House?

Preceded by MSU at UM?

Now that would be some good hockey.

(At least Detroit isn’t participating in the European Opening Gimmick.)

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/07/08 at 06:40 AM ET

That is a hilarious pic!  Nice find.

Posted by Larry Aurie #6 from New York, NY on 07/07/08 at 08:01 AM ET

I missed your post on America’s greatest rock’n'roll band. When did you write about The Stooges?

Posted by BobS. on 07/07/08 at 08:03 AM ET

It would have been nice to see a game at the Big House preceeding U-M and MSU bowl games this January 1, but the Wings versus Chicago in Wrigley is sort of cool.  Yes, Gary craps all over our New Year’s Game tradition, but maybe we gave up this year for home outdoor ice next year in Ann Arbor.

Also, some of you may appreciate this.  My fiancee demanded that we adopt two stray kittens from the local shelter (while buying me Gatorade during a pickup hockey game she saw the notice).  I agreed, under one condition: I name the cats.  We are now the proud of owners of two male tiger kittens, Hank and Pav.

Posted by TDeters on 07/07/08 at 08:18 AM ET

I doubt they play a pro sports hockey game at Michigan stadium until they do another UM-MSU outdoor game. And it won’t happen until construction is done, which I think is still two years away. They are playing the NCAA hockey tournament at Ford Field in 2010, so an NHL game could be a guinea pig for that or they might wait until they’ve finished it and learned lessons.

Posted by cp on 07/07/08 at 08:19 AM ET

Had to drop the 19 a post while in the country that has been so good to us. How Nick, Z, Kronner, Mule or hell ,even Homer got good at hockey with this much blonde tail running around is beyond me. This is a truly magnificent city/country and the only negative I have found is that I can’t find a Hank t-shirt jersey from the national team. I got into a heated debate with one Swede outside of a bar who claimed that the Swedes that play for the Wings are pussies and that he hated them. I told him he hated himself and was an ebarrassment to this great country.

Posted by A II R from Stockholm on 07/07/08 at 08:25 AM ET

I seem to recall problems with the ice by the end of the Sabres/Pens game New Years day. I think a doubleheader might not work, unless you played at Ford Field, and playing indoors kind of defeats the purpose of the winter classic.

Also, not that there is official polling yet, but put me down for 1 vote for Dave over Sammy.

Posted by mc keeper from The Home Of lord Stan on 07/07/08 at 08:32 AM ET

Who the hell are Hagar and Roth? What the *#$%@& are we talking about?

And I can’t be too disappointed about the Wrigley game, since, barring a catastrophe, I’ll be going.

Posted by Pete K from Chicago, IL on 07/07/08 at 08:32 AM ET

A II R ?  Is that you Andrew?

We are now the proud of owners of two male tiger kittens, Hank and Pav.

That’s awesome. Now all you have to do is knit some adorably small Wing sweaters for them with their names on the back. Paris Hilton will have nothing on you

If we play this year, we won’t be playing another one for a while I think. Parity will creep into this as well. New York(2), Montreal, Toronto, Minnesota, Nashville amidst other great hockey areas will need to be accommodated before we get another shot methinks.

Posted by Osrt on 07/07/08 at 09:21 AM ET

betty never seems to get it right.  since the Lions won’t need Ford field after the final NFL game why not Ford field in February.  Possibly one of the sunday’s when there isn’t a NFL game.

the hawks will be very competitive next season.

Posted by rocketman from detroit on 07/07/08 at 09:44 AM ET

That’s awesome. Now all you have to do is knit some adorably small Wing sweaters for them with their names on the back. Paris Hilton will have nothing on you

Definately cool cats, but please do not kit them sweaters. People who dress their pets should be shot. Just give em each a Puck to play with.

I dunno. I’m not a big fan of the outdoor game. It’s unique and a nice nod to the game’s history and a fantastic marketing device. And I’m not saying axed the game. But I dont think I’d care to be at one of these games. A football or baseball stadium will simply dwarf the ice surface and the fans sit so far away it would be awfully tough to see what’s goin on. Doubly so if the weather is anything like overtime in the previous game.

Still, if they’re gonna involve the Wings, go for gusto and use the largest stadium in the country.

Posted by Nate A from Detroit-ish on 07/07/08 at 09:59 AM ET

A II R ?  Is that you Andrew?

Nope.  Two different people.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/07/08 at 10:26 AM ET

I don’t think we’ll knit them sweaters, but there will be some sort of Red Wing-themed Christmas card featuring Hank and Pav.  They already exhibit some of their namesakes’ traits.  Hank, for example, is slightly bigger and more athletically gifted.  Pav, meanwhile, has a real sense of puck (or should I say mini-soccer ball) possession.  Hank will destroy a toy mouse, while Pav enjoys dribbling mini soccer balls around the apartment.

Posted by TDeters on 07/07/08 at 10:30 AM ET

I saw Van Hagar a few years ago at the AssCan, and it was awesome, had front row tickets right in the middle of the stage. Hagar had a bottle of tequila lowered down, poured two shots, gave one to me. I took a shot with Sammy, and now that I know he’s a Wings fan, its even more awesome (awesomer?).

Then I went and saw the Van Halen show here in Dallas a few weeks back. I probably prefer the Diamond Dave songs, but as far as putting on a show goes? The concert with Hagar was ten times better. Not even close.

Just my two cents. (or for Andrew, thats what .01 euros?)

Posted by rwingscup19 from Dallas on 07/07/08 at 10:44 AM ET

A II R ?  Is that you Andrew?

Not I, Osrt.  I’ll always go by this moniker.  I think A II R is a law student studying over here; he mentioned earlier that he was in Rome and was going to Stockholm for a little bit before heading home.  And BTW, I think you’re absolutely right about the Winter Classic.  This is the only one we’ll get for a few years, and the fact that the League didn’t see fit to hold it at Michigan Stadium (the fourth-largest stadium in the world) or Ford Field is absolutely criminal, but again, unsurprising.  So let’s hope that we actually host one…in about twenty years or so, when Bettman’s gone.

Just my two cents. (or for Andrew, thats what .01 euros?)

Little bit more, but we won’t get technical because economies all over the world are in the crapper.

I got into a heated debate with one Swede outside of a bar

A II R, as long as you’re going to be in Sweden, let me give you a bit of unsolicited advice.  Not every Swede is hockey-knowledgeable, and most have only a passing familiarity with the game, but if there’s one player EVERYBODY in Sweden can name, it’s…not Nicklas Lidstrom.  You guessed it, it’s Postage Stamp Boy Peter Forsberg (BTW, that’s pronounced Force-Berg in Swedish if you want to fit in).  Say the name ‘Foppa’ to anyone in the street, and they’ll tell you about their national hero.  Now, what do you think that does for your average hockey fan?  They’ll hate them some Wings because Foppa does.  If you want people who are knowledgeable about hockey and would appreciate the Swedish Winged Wheel contingent as we do, you’d have to go to a game.  But since it’s the offseason, guess you’re out of luck.  Though it IS worth it to go to Djurgardens, the royal island where the athletic club (including the famous hockey division) was founded.  Lovely gardens and buildings and amusement parks.  Like a larger version of Belle Isle with more people around.

this much blonde tail running around is beyond me.

Is everybody taller than you?  That’s the thing I noticed when I first went to Sweden.  Everybody, even the short people, the old people, and an alarming proportion of the children, was taller than me.  It was weird.  Thankfully, nobody seemed to hold my short stature against me.

Oh, and one more thing—while you’re there in the summer, I have four words for you.  Ice cream with akvavit.  An experience you won’t soon forget.  It’s like having your brains beaten out with a cool creamy sweet brick.  Only better.

And since the debate just isn’t raging enough, I’ll throw in this grenade: Roth was classic, but Hagar had gravitas.  Certainly, there are merits in both.

But Bob Dylan is better than both of them.

Posted by AndrewFromAnnArbor from the A2Y 19, waiting to get banned on 07/07/08 at 11:18 AM ET

Finishing out some preseason business and I’m not sure if this has been answered already, but are we going to continue to stick around in the Hasek Club Car now that he’s gone or is anybody else going to join me in the Lilja Caboose now that everybody’s favorite good-for-at-least-one-defensive-gaffe-that-leads-directly-to-an-opponent’s-scoring-chance-per-game defenseman has a contract?

Posted by J.J. from Kansas on 07/07/08 at 11:19 AM ET

Certainly, there are merits in both.

But Bob Dylan is better than both of them.

Do you stay awake nights comparing Gordie Howe to PeeWee Hockey stars?

Posted by HockeyTownTodd on 07/07/08 at 11:43 AM ET

I found this brilliant take posted on KK Main.  Kudos to the author, even if it seems he likes the sound of his own voice.

The NHL knows the Wings can be screwed with because of its deep and resilient loyal fan base, and they abuse it.

This is another example of the NHL’s total lack of awareness of the fans’ perspective.  Play an outdoor NHL game on Jan 1 in the heart of Big Ten country while 3 or 4 Big Ten teams will be playing in Bowl Games.  Why not, everyone knows the NHL already gets huge TV ratings and can afford to go head to head with college football’s biggest day!

Are these people aware of the outside world?  If you’re going to have an outdoor “classic” (I guess doing it once earns the much misused “classic” label) why not do it on the Sunday afternoon open date before the Super Bowl?  There’s no competition from football.  It’s not going to be discernibly colder than Jan 1.  The expected TV ratings would be higher.  And the NHL would not be screwing with Detroit’s New Year’s Eve tradition.

Why Jan 1 in competition with an already over saturated TV sports menu?

Incredibly bad idea, but expected from NHL,inc.
Posted by RWBill from celebrating my birthday present 4 days early.  on 07/07 at 12:23 PM

Pure Genius.

Posted by RWBill from the Land of 12 in 12. on 07/07/08 at 11:44 AM ET

Also let me state that Chief and you people ruined my 3-day weekend. I should have been clearing up the house and yard, making trips to the dump.  But no, you had to keep posting your witty remarks and comments, and Paul K. kept putting up new hockey stories in the middle of July.  I wasted half my 3-day weekend with my face in this screen.

Thanks a lot, hosers.

Posted by RWBill from the Land of 12 in 12. on 07/07/08 at 12:13 PM ET

Incredibly bad idea, but expected from NHL,inc.

Making the Wall Street assumption that

‘bad news is followed by more bad news’

Up next:

The National Anthem performed by
Roseanne Barr accompanied by Jose Feliciano

Posted by HockeyTownTodd on 07/07/08 at 12:15 PM ET

But Bob Dylan is better than both of them

The only time I saw Bob Dylan, I couldn’t even tell what song he was playing half the time. Apparently thats part of his thing now that he’s old, but I honestly could not understand an f’ing word he said.

Posted by rwingscup19 from Dallas on 07/07/08 at 01:40 PM ET

love what Jamie Samuelsson had to say in the Freep about this ... (quote: Don’t you just love (translation - hate) how the league just uses the Wings and their popularity again?  Detroit gets to host no good Eastern Conference games, yet goes into all the other venues because they are a big draw.  Now, a tiny hockey fan base like Chicago gets this game with the Wings as the road team knowing that any empty seats will be filled by Detroit fans.  And what quietly falls by the wayside? The New Year’s Eve game. The one, the only one tradition the Wings had on their schedule is gone because there is no way to play a day game in Chicago after a night game in Detroit.  It’s amazing how the Wings mean everything to the NHL and yet are totally taken for granted time and time again.))

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/07/samuelssen_outdoor_game_wont_s.html

Posted by MzHockeyFan from Michigan on 07/07/08 at 04:59 PM ET

I am unfamiliar with both Hagar and Roth, and have only heard Dylan parodies by other people.  Not a rock person, I guess. 

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/07/08 at 07:24 PM ET

How can anyone have lived in the US anytime in the last 45 years and not have at least an accidental familiarity with Bob Dylan?
Awareness of certain elements of art and popular culture (Dylan, “The Godfather”, “The Simpsons”, Stephen King) are essential if only for their being referenced in other works of art and popular culture, not to mention they’re largely how Americans are known (and appreciated, unlike our representation by our government) in other countries.

Posted by BobS. on 07/08/08 at 08:00 AM ET

I know Dylan was a musician and apparently raised a ruckus when he switched from an electric guitar to an acoustic guitar, or the other way around, or something.  But wasn’t he from the 60’s?  That’s my parents’ generation. 

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/08/08 at 08:39 AM ET

How can anyone have lived in the US anytime in the last 45 years and not have at least an accidental familiarity with Bob Dylan?

Eeaaassssyyyy there big fella. To each their own. The only reason I even know who he is, is the fact my mom was a huge hippie.

I don’t know if my dislike of Bob Dylan stems from my general dislike of hippies, or the fact that the CD player in my first car became permanently disabled when it jammed up with a Dylan CD.

I hate that Bob Dylan

Posted by rwingscup19 from Dallas on 07/08/08 at 08:47 AM ET

I’m a DJ of 20 years and have utter disdain for the noise that Dylan fans call ‘genius.’ I just missed being of the hippie generation and am pleased to have missed the likes of him and Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell and all the other musical oddities of that speed bump in American talent.

His voice is like dirty chard in a blender…almost as annoying to me as Pronger or the DC….just almost tho.

Your mileage may be different….but I prefer Shostakovich.

Posted by Scott H from Kalamazoo on 07/08/08 at 09:51 AM ET

The only time I saw Bob Dylan, I couldn’t even tell what song he was playing half the time.

Same thing I witnessed when I went to see Meatloaf.  Hey, free tickets and booze.  I needed the booze.

Posted by cementslinger from Midland MI on 07/08/08 at 10:04 AM ET

I don’t listen to a lot of Dylan myself, although I can see wherein the attraction lies.

Girl From the North Country performed together with Johnny Cash, is one of my favorite tracks.  There is a raw chemistry somehow, between their unschooled voices.

Posted by lilja4ever on 07/08/08 at 10:29 AM ET

Andrew, I wish I was armed with that knowledge while I was still there!! I am back in sweltering Rome, sweating my balls off. It was so nice to get a break from the heat in Stockholm.

And yes, people are tall and so many of them look like models. I made sure to spend a night at an upscale club to get a view of the cream of the crop and it did not disappoint.

I also didn’t get out of there with out buying a Swedish national team jersey that set me back 600 Kronor, but was well worth it.

Posted by A II R from Rome, ITA on 07/08/08 at 10:37 AM ET

Hey AIIR,

Thanks for the updates re Stockholm.

So did you finally meet anyone with a bit more sympathy for the Wings?  Surely, there must be some people who know that Kronwall is from Djurgardens IF?

Anyways, how was the upscale club?

Posted by lilja4ever on 07/08/08 at 10:46 AM ET

Roth and Hagar both suck, but Van Halen with Hagar was a travesty.  And on his solo “career,” I Can’t Drive 55 has to be among the lamest creations in the history of music.  So it figures he would be a Wing fan.

Posted by rwhater on 07/08/08 at 11:47 AM ET

Didn’t write anything about liking or listening to Dylan. Just that it’s hard to imagine anyone being unfamiliar with any of his music (or Van Halen’s, for that matter) with the ubiquity of electronic communications. Particularly when that someone grew up in an age of FM radio, cable TV, and the internet.
By the way, Scott, composers like Shostakovich, Stravinsky, and Raymond Scott were played along with Coltrane, Hendrix, and Dylan on the so-called “underground” free-form radio station WABX in Detroit. With the exception of the occasional college or public station, the last 20 years of music radio in this country has increasingly sucked (thanks largely to forces of media consolidation like Clear Channel, the same reason afficionados of blogs like this should be taking an interest in net neutrality)- it’s why I’ve got Sirius now.
rwwingscup19, sorry to hear about your mom’s weight problem.
On the subject of Dylan, one of my good “hippie generation” friends is still playing hockey with the guy who drummed on Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited, the album that produced Like A Rolling Stone.

Posted by BobS. on 07/08/08 at 11:51 AM ET

Thanks for the insight Bob….a bygone era for sure.

Too bad for rwhater that Captain and Tennille haven’t put out a hit for awhile…kinda like the St. Louis Blues, of which I am sure he is a fan judging from his desperation to post something somewhere in the blogosphere in the off season in the hopes that someone might pay attention to him.

(Intentional run-on sentence for added immaturity!)

Posted by Scott H from Kalamazoo on 07/08/08 at 12:30 PM ET

Roth was classic, but Hagar had gravitas. Certainly, there are merits in both.

Agreed.

But Bob Dylan is better than both of them.

Was Dylan with VH before or after Gary Cherone?

Oh, and for what it’s worth…Chief, while I may have disagreed with your request that the Wings acquire the dread (or is that dead?) pirate Tucker, I was perfectly fine with your Van Halen/Ken Holland post.

Posted by YzermanZetterberg on 07/08/08 at 01:20 PM ET

while I may have disagreed with your request that the Wings acquire the dread (or is that dead?) pirate Tucker

Well, now you can look forward to Tucker with the Flames, and Nolan with the Wild being a thorn in the Red Wings side all season.

and

Without a suitable replacement for Drake,
TooToo will no longer be invisible against the Wings.

Posted by HockeyTownTodd on 07/08/08 at 01:45 PM ET

OOps, make that Tucker in Colorado….
I’m getting old…need some slack

Posted by HockeyTownTodd on 07/08/08 at 02:15 PM ET

Well, now you can look forward to Tucker with the Flames, and Nolan with the Wild being a thorn in the Red Wings side all season.

Nolan would have been fine with me, but $2.5 million/year for two years (or whatever the Wild gave him) seems pretty steep. Plus, didn’t Tucker sign with Colorado?

Without a suitable replacement for Drake,
TooToo will no longer be invisible against the Wings.

I know he’s nowhere near Drake yet, but would guess Uncle Mike is envisioning Kopecky taking on more of that type of role next season (I’m pretty sure this was mentioned during last season, with Drake mentoring him somewhat). And if Tootoo doesn’t keep his head up, he may find himself lined up by Kronner and/or Stuart, too. Plus, you never know who might be invited to TC this year. Basically, I’m in “In Ken We Trust” mode right now.

Posted by YzermanZetterberg on 07/08/08 at 02:16 PM ET

Solution for Tootoo is to spike his water bottle with dysentery.  Told you that would solve the problem! 

(Or wait until he annoys Datsyuk.  Enough of the Lady Byng stuff.)

Or Franzenstein.

But I’m betting on Kronwall and/or Stuart.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/08/08 at 04:56 PM ET

I know Dylan was a musician and apparently raised a ruckus when he switched from an electric guitar to an acoustic guitar, or the other way around, or something.  But wasn’t he from the 60’s?  That’s my parents’ generation. 

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/08 at 09:39 AM

Wow, I was having erotic fantasies about Baroque but come to find out she is pretty much jail-bait.  Dodged a bullet.

Posted by RWBill from the Land of 12 in 12. on 07/08/08 at 06:07 PM ET

Parents were born in 1946, so they were on teh very leading edge of the boomer generation.

Jailbait, eh?  Just not a fan of that time period, I guess.  I’m 38, but thank you for thinking I’m younger. 

(And keep your erotic fantasies to yourself, thank you very much!  Happy birthday anyway.)

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/08/08 at 06:26 PM ET

Wow, I was having erotic fantasies about Baroque but come to find out she is pretty much jail-bait.  Dodged a bullet.

No, I think maybe she’s just led a sheltered life…

OR, maybe…

her studies were her ‘Shelter from the Storm’

Posted by HockeyTownTodd on 07/08/08 at 06:32 PM ET

her studies were her ‘Shelter from the Storm’

Posted by HockeyTownTodd on 07/08 at 07:32 PM

That is deep, very 60s.

I’m 38, but thank you for thinking I’m younger.  Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/08 at 07:26 PM

Hey! Close enough to my age!  W00t!

Posted by RWBill from the Land of 12 in 12. on 07/08/08 at 08:07 PM ET

The new guy on the Cornelia Marie from Deadliest Catch sports a Wing’s hat.  I just noticed that.

Posted by jrl123 on 07/08/08 at 08:28 PM ET

His voice is like dirty chard in a blender…almost as annoying to me as Pronger or the DC….just almost tho.

oh snap!

Without a suitable replacement for Drake,
TooToo will no longer be invisible against the Wings.

What about Mac and Downey? They’re no Drake, but they don’t really need to be. We’re team tough…grrr…

btw. I hear Dats is training at the Kronk gym now.

Posted by Osrt on 07/08/08 at 09:00 PM ET

Lils, the one guy I was talking to had no respect for any of the Wings besides Kronner. He was quite fond of his open ice hitting ability. As far as the club, this should answer your question:

Posted by A II R from Rome, ITA on 07/08/08 at 09:29 PM ET

And I do not exaggerate when I say these two probably weren’t in the top 20 I saw that night. They were literally EVERYWHERE.

Posted by A II R from Rome, ITA on 07/08/08 at 09:30 PM ET