Thanks again, Okie.

Let’s keep the “W"s coming.

L.G.R.W.

————————————————————-

Also, from the last thread.
This ought to get the hockey blood pumping.

I just popped in to mention the McCarty-Lemieux interview on TSN.  It shows the hit a few times and McCarty’s description of what he saw (and heard!) made me a little squirmy.

Posted by Lola from down by the bay on 03/19/10 at 12:31 AM ET

GOOD stuff!!!
Thanks for the pointer, Lola.

http://watch.tsn.ca/off-the-record/off-the-record—-march-18/#clip278020

Posted by stonehands-78 from the beginning ... a WingsFan, on 03/19/10 at 09:00 AM ET

Thanks Jeff, nice job.

Posted by HockeyTownTodd on 03/19/10 at 09:06 AM ET

Okie, great work as always.  My, hasn’t Patrick O’Sullivan just flourished since he left the Kings…and of course, now look at the Kings.  I hope to never see him in the Winged Wheel.

And because I’m a sucker for punishment, from the last thread…

Well Andrew, let’s not forget your observations of the fan base is skewed by living in the U.K., where your observation is probably “spot on”, as they say.

OK, I’ll grant you that the majority of my experience with fans is not in the most conducive of countries to having a good experience with them, but I’ve worked all over Europe—for every waste of skin that is your typical Millwall fan, he has a French counterpart Marseille fan who would gladly torch the nearest mosque if he thought he could get away with it, an Italian counterpart Lazio fan who thinks making the Fascist salute and geting a swastika tattoo is showing respect to his team, a German counterpart St. Pauli fan with a liver like a rock and twenty counts of aggravated assault on his criminal record, a Croation counterpart Hajduk Split fan who will deny the existence of Jasenovacs death camp even as he walks through it, and a Spanish counterpart Real Sociedad fan who will say of Stalin that the ends justified the means.  The fan base of soccer in Europe is riddled with the unsavory and irredeemable.  I’m not saying they’re all like that, and there are some notable exceptions (who unfortunately tend to abandon the live games because of the rest of the fans), just that they make up a large, and disproporionate amount, of the harder fans.  South America I know little to nothing about, perhaps the disporportionate majority of soccer fans there are friggin’ Rhodes Scholars for all I know.  Herm, care to field this one?

Edillac, good point about it being a game that is easy to play and organize and requires very little—I had forgotten about that, and it’s true that its success worldwide is attributable to that.  A game that even the poor of the slums and favelas can play will catch on in popularity.

Posted by AndrewFromAnnArbor from Fortress Europe on 03/19/10 at 09:08 AM ET

Unabomber/Miller/J-Will:

The line has a big body in Todd Bertuzzi, a shooter in Jason Williams and a speedy guy in the middle in Drew Miller.

The trio will be playing its fourth game together when the Red Wings face the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place tonight—the first time the Wings have played since a three-day excursion to Kelowna, British Columbia, following a 2-1 victory Monday at Calgary. Miller’s line had several good chances Monday, keeping the puck in Calgary’s zone and testing Miikka Kiprusoff. . .

Uncle Mike:  “I like what they’ve done,” coach Mike Babcock said after practice Thursday at Prospera Place. “They played well last game, and they controlled the play last game when they were out there, and that’s all you can ask.”

TPH:  “They are good at hanging onto the puck, whether it’s in the offensive zone or the neutral zone,” Nicklas Lidstrom said. “I think Millsie is playing real well at center, and Bert and Willie are so good at hanging onto pucks, so that makes it harder to defend against them.”

Huh?

Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Quest for 12 on 03/19/10 at 09:14 AM ET

Well done as always Jeff.
The best part of the D-Mac beat down on Lemieux is when D-Mac has him up against the boards in front of the bench & he kinda holds him up so he can knee him a couple of times. Beat down with a serving of hate.

Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 03/19/10 at 09:26 AM ET

Bert is good at hanging onto pucks?  what games is Lidstrom watching?

Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 03/19/10 at 09:27 AM ET

Thanks Jeff, nice pregame reads….
Thanks Lola for history….
Thanks Stonehands for pics….

I think I have Red Wing withdrawl, so glad there’s a game tonight!!!

Pumped!!!
Lets Go Red Wings!!!

Posted by Little Redhead from the Engineer's chair on 03/19/10 at 09:30 AM ET

This might feel like a home game for you guys as much of Edmonton is simply cheering against Calgary.  Just make it close so we feel a little bit better about ourselves!  Suck it Calgary!

Posted by LD from Edmonton on 03/19/10 at 09:32 AM ET

After sending his parents to the hospital during the first intermission Monday, Bella Jr. (a.k.a. William Alexander, a.k.a. Billy) was born two ticks past midnight on St. Pat’s Day. And get this for your future Wings power forward: 9 lbs. 12 oz., 22 inches. NHL douchebags circa 2035 better watch the fuch out.

Congratulation, Bella.

(Herm, if you read the above screed, I’ll be avoiding you next week for fear that you’ll shake my hand and then take a swing.)

Absurd, Andrew.

South America I know little to nothing about, perhaps the disporportionate majority of soccer fans there are friggin’ Rhodes Scholars for all I know.  Herm, care to field this one?

I admit, we are a 2nd-tier country. Few guys with all the money, too many people with nothing. People work around the clock to pay for ridiculously expensive tickets for a soccer game.

About soccer, let me say a few things:

-Never try to compare World Cup soccer to national league soccer. Just like the NHL and the Olympics, the level of play and intensity are completely different. Which leads to…

-soccer is boring. Well, to be fair, it is. Teams happy with a 1-0 win, players affraid to take risks, stuff like that. If you have the time, look on Youtube for “Gavioes da Fiel”, the “organized fans” of Corinthians. We chant and clap and praise the team for the entire 90 minute run, mostly to send the boredom away. But those fans are a big part of soccer success. For instance…

-September, 1976. Corinthians was 22 without winning a title (around 04 championships), and they would play the Brazilian League semi-finals on Rio de Janeiro (266 miles away), and 70 thousand people traveled to Rio. Look it on Guinness, it is the biggest people flow in peace times of all time.

-Soccer fans are stupid. Some are, just like some hockey fans or some football fans. It’s unfair to generalize those things, and look no further than the blind passion of the 19 to relate that to other sports. Unfortunely, the bad seeds spread the bad fame.

-On the fly substitutions: sorry guys, but that would be stupid on soccer.

Sorry for the long off-topic, I’m just catching up on the discussions.

Posted by Guilherme from Brazsil on 03/19/10 at 09:51 AM ET

An Edmonton fanconign on to ask for a painless execution.  Thanks LD, that just might be the Kiss of Death.  Gramps may be right.  Get out of my head, Gramps!

D-Mac has him up against the boards in front of the bench & he kinda holds him up

I always thought that was to show Drapes the bloody mess of LePuke’s face.  Rub in the revenge a little.

Posted by AndrewFromAnnArbor from Fortress Europe on 03/19/10 at 09:55 AM ET

Lola, thanks so much for that link, awesome interview.

Herm, I’m a soccer fan, an ardent supporter of West Ham United in the EPL:, luckily I live in a city that has the number 1 soccer bar in America and go there to watch with all other soccer fans, who are VERY knowledgable, be they ex-pats or american fans of different teams in leagues.

It is boring to the casual eye, but I’ve found by supporting a team, I’m much more into the games, 0-0 ties piss me off though, also Arsenal is going to destroy us tommorow.

Posted by FranzensMouthguard from Chicago, IL on 03/19/10 at 09:56 AM ET

Thanks for the info, Herm.  I think I’m just cranky today, and somebody brought up a sport I hate in a positive context, so I just had to vent.  Rant over.  I’ll buy you a beer in a week’s time as an apology for disrespecting your (second?) favorite sport.

Posted by AndrewFromAnnArbor from Fortress Europe on 03/19/10 at 09:59 AM ET

It is boring to the casual eye, but I’ve found by supporting a team, I’m much more into the games, 0-0 ties piss me off though, also Arsenal is going to destroy us tommorow.

Exactly, and not only to soccer. With most sports, if you’re not attached to any team, you’ll find it boring.

And I have some simpathy for Arsenal (like Corinthians, they are good in domestic competitions but choke on continetal ones), so I hope you’re right.

I’ll buy you a beer in a week’s time as an apology for disrespecting your (second?) favorite sport.

Second, absolutely. I don’t love soccer, just worship my team. If Corinthians have nothing to do with the game, I rather watch Florida vs Atlanta (but I can’t cause my internet sucks… second provider that falis me in a week).

And hey, just a week away! My heart is popping through my throat right now!

Posted by Guilherme from Brazsil on 03/19/10 at 10:05 AM ET

So… a miserable team with nothing left to play for save a #1 overall pick… CHECK.
A goalie that hasn’t even won a game yet… CHECK.
A west coast swing… CHECK.
March road game against a Canadian team… CHECK
Important points on the line for the Wings… CHECK.

Posted by Primis on 03/19/10 at 10:07 AM ET

It is boring to the casual eye, but I’ve found by supporting a team, I’m much more into the games, 0-0 ties piss me off though, also Arsenal is going to destroy us tommorow.

In fairness, most sports are boring to people who don’t have a rooting interest.  I can never appreciate the draw of NASCAR, but I took a friend’s advice once and watched an entire race focusing in and rooting on a single random car.  I made it through 300 miles of actually being able to watch and I didn’t feel bored more than three or four times.  It wasn’t worth doing regularly, but it was a good way of looking at things.

I don’t like NBA basketball, but I felt drawn into last year’s Eastern Conference Finals by a friend in Orlando.  By the time that series was over, I was more rooting against the Cavs (and the refs)  than I was for the Magic, but it made for entertainment in a sport I don’t find particularly entertaining.

Heck, I was a Red Wings fan for many years before I really started considering myself a hockey fan.  I could watch Red Wings hockey nonstop, but put two non-Detroit teams out there and the product was as stale and uninteresting to me as grocery-brand wheat bread.

Posted by J.J. from Kansas on 03/19/10 at 10:11 AM ET

I wouldn’t say that’s completely true, though—I watch rugby union as a nonpartisan observer and still find it interesting, but that could be because I’m a keen amateur player.

Posted by AndrewFromAnnArbor from Fortress Europe on 03/19/10 at 10:34 AM ET

Soccer’s biggest problem is that it’s somewhere between a play/turn-based stoppage sport (football or baseball), and a perpetual action one (hockey, basketball, lax, auto racing, etc).  There’s not nearly enough strategy to satisfy the chess/curling/whatever crowd, and not nearly enough real action to satisfy the typical North American fan that can watch about 15 other pro sports leagues as well as all collegiate sports and get something with more zing.

By the way, the wife and I attended the US Curling National in Kalamazoo last weekend.  Didn’t know how curling would translate to watching in-person, but I had a good time, and my wife had an ok time.  For being somewhat bored, after about the 6th end she and I spent the rest of the match nonstop discussing what was happening, what they should have done, etc…

Posted by Primis on 03/19/10 at 11:01 AM ET

Interesting how the landscape of the Western Conference has evolved in the last month.  The POS has fallen away from #8 by 5 points, but still in range if bizarre things happen to both DET and CGY. 

Now even SJS and the Golden Boys of the Windy City are in shooting range of PHX and VAN.  They probably have started coasting since they were so far ahead, and this can just lead to a funk equaling first round elimination to a team that has been busting its cajones for 6 weeks.  We’ve been on that end of it before.

Posted by RWBill from the Land of 12 in 12. on 03/19/10 at 11:09 AM ET

Jimmy Howard 51, 27-15-8, 2.32, 0.924

27 MF ing wins!  Huge.  Nice job Jimmy, I didn’t expect it from you, very nicely done.

Posted by RWBill from the Land of 12 in 12. on 03/19/10 at 11:15 AM ET

This is what’s hilarious about rank amateurs and blogs.  Anyone really see the last Chicago game?  Coaches and players did.

Posted by RWBill from the Land of 12 in 12. on 03/19/10 at 11:21 AM ET

Caught this over at CBC.ca:

It’s foolhardy to forecast results based on the remaining schedule, but Detroit plays seven of 13 against non-playoff teams to end the season. The ledger includes the Oilers twice, Columbus three times, plus St. Louis and Minnesota.

A pair of games against Nashville, who they currently trail by five points, will help determine if Detroit can climb in the standings. The Wings finish the season against Chicago. . .

The Red Wings should be motivated for the game at Rexall Place, as Edmonton beat them twice in five weeks when they were mired in their early-season funk.

Detroit is likely to face Edmonton rookie goalie Devan Dubnyk, who fell to 0-8-2 with a loss to Minnesota this week.

T-R-A-P(!)

Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Quest for 12 on 03/19/10 at 11:38 AM ET

Posted by FranzensMouthguard from Chicago, IL on 03/19/10 at 11:56 AM ET

Mama, baby and daddy all are doing well,

Congratulations Bella, Billy, and Dad. God love ya. My wish for you is good health and a son that will run you ragged. I mean that in a good way that only a Smother would understand.

Lets Go Red Wings!!!!!

Posted by Kate from Pa.-made in Detroit on 03/19/10 at 11:57 AM ET

Wow, lot’s of stuff

Congrats to Bella!  Blessings to the newest of the 19.

Great interview with D-Mac and that other guy.

Okie….good stuff.  let’s see if a little fan interaction and snowmobiling have teh Wings in teh right frame of mind.

Posted by Rumbear from Top O da Hasek, when in doubt, pinky out on 03/19/10 at 01:20 PM ET

Congrats to Bella. And the Legion grows.

I’ll be missing tonite’s LB, but I’ll likely drop in on you bitches for Saturday’s game. CBC goodness too. Good thing Sammy is out.

Posted by Nate A from Detroit-ish on 03/19/10 at 01:23 PM ET

I’ll be missing it too probably.  I’m joining a buncha other old dudes for some pickup hockey.

I’ll get with you bitches when I get out of the ER. 

Posted by 42jeff from Minot, North Dakota on 03/19/10 at 01:28 PM ET

Brother in-law’s b-day dinner celebration means I’m late to tonight’s LB if I’m there at all.  The low-key version at the in-law-parents house tomorrow means the same there.  Either way, I expect a lot of vomit in the Hasek this weekend.

Posted by J.J. from Kansas on 03/19/10 at 01:58 PM ET

After sending his parents to the hospital during the first intermission Monday, Bella Jr. (a.k.a. William Alexander, a.k.a. Billy) was born two ticks past midnight on St. Pat’s Day. And get this for your future Wings power forward: 9 lbs. 12 oz., 22 inches. NHL douchebags circa 2035 better watch the fuch out.

Congratulations Bella! Blessings for good health to your future destroyer-of-goalies’-confidences.

Posted by Aphaea from Pennsylvania on 03/19/10 at 02:16 PM ET

I think Millsie is playing real well at center

I didn’t realize this woman played for us.

Posted by MarkK from Maryland on 03/19/10 at 02:25 PM ET

BTW, it is a trap.

Fingers crossed for good mojo at the LB.  I’ll miss it tonight, as dinner at Pizza Uno’s with the GF’s fam is in order.

Posted by MarkK from Maryland on 03/19/10 at 02:31 PM ET

Posted by AndrewFromAnnArbor from Fortress Europe on 03/19/10 at 10:08 AM ET

Well since you brought it over from the last thread…I’ll respond to a few things you mentioned.

About the passing, you’re right that they do pass and pass and pass.  The thing for me is though, I like that when there is purpose to it, like the elite international soccer teams and the puck possession beasts of recent Red Wing history.  It isn’t easy to set up beautiful plays with crisp, accurate, and quick passes while maintaining vision of an end result usually a few passes before it happens.  I recognize that soccer is a low scoring game, but a lot of what I love about hockey applies to soccer for me as well - just because there isn’t scoring non stop doesn’t mean that there aren’t many things (many times very subtle) to appreciate about what’s going on.  The dominating Red Wing teams of recent history would do the same thing - incredible and almost mind reading passing and setup plays that led to gorgeous goals.  Because soccer is such a low scoring game, when a team finally does score it’s usually pretty breathtaking because of how hard (and usually smart) they had to work to make it happen.  Most people don’t seem to really get how skilled you have to be to make even the “simplest” of touches in soccer.  I guess growing up playing soccer my whole childhood I have a much bigger appreciation than most people for the subtleties of it, although I do acknowledge that something is lost between childhood and adulthood regarding the game.

The thing about the fans of it is totally irrelevant.  There are idiotic fans of every sport, look at Pens and Flyers and Steelers fans (I guess there’s a location based theme going on there…).  Myself and a lot of my friends are huge international soccer fans and we are nothing like the people you described.

In the end, if you have no loyalty to any particular team it’s going to be significantly less enjoyable to watch any team sport.  I still have a much lowered interest in watching non Wings hockey, but I am INSANE for some Wings hockey.  The funny thing about this conversation is that for me, the World or Euro Cup tournaments are some of the only situations where I can watch any two teams play and still totally enjoy it because of how beautiful the game can be at times, and way more often in those tournaments than in other soccer situations.  I enjoy the Premiership here and there, but even that still pales in intensity to the international tournaments in my opinion.

Anyways I’ll stop now as I’m pretty clearly outnumbered, but I just felt the need to defend a game I still love a lot.

About tonight, I still feel good about the game.

Posted by stayouttamalibu from Temporarily in Tempe, AZ on 03/19/10 at 03:08 PM ET

Posted by stayouttamalibu from Temporarily in Tempe, AZ on 03/19/10 at 04:08 PM ET

I’ve always thought soccer was for guys who loved hockey but couldn’t skate.

And as for your “theme”...I think they have paintings and pancakes there as well.

Posted by 42jeff from Minot, North Dakota on 03/19/10 at 04:32 PM ET

CONGRATULATIONS BELLA!  Glad everyone is doing well.

Let’s Go Red Wings!!!!!

Posted by hockeychic from Denver, CO on 03/19/10 at 05:45 PM ET

Stayouttamalibu, from the small amount that I’ve been following along, I’m pretty strongly in your corner, especially regarding international events. Premier league can suck it almost as hard as MLS. I don’t have the time or patience to care about matches between rival tribes in a distant land.

Posted by MarkK from Maryland on 03/19/10 at 06:29 PM ET

And congrats to Bella and welcome to the world Bella Jr.!

Posted by MarkK from Maryland on 03/19/10 at 06:30 PM ET

Congratulations Bella!  Glad all healthy and well!  Looking forward to Pics!

Lets Go Red Wings!!!

Posted by Little Redhead from the Engineer's chair on 03/19/10 at 06:31 PM ET

‘Sup you dirty bitches. I haven’t been around in a bit so I hope you haven’t forgotten me or the incredibly subtle humor and insight I bring.

Hey, you know when you’re teabagging someone and there’s that weird tingle at first, that’s weird isn’t it?

Moving on.

I hear we have a player named Milsie with gray hair and a snake bite on his shooting hand. And this other guy, a big dude who plays the game with the all around brilliance of Larionov. We’re blessed people. Know that.

Re: Football/ Soccer: I find it interesting for a lot of the reasons Malibu mentioned. It’s fun to watch the subtleties and “ball possession” game even if there isn’t a ton of scoring. Because of my ignorance about teams and players, I watch with a scouting eye to see if I can pick out who the really talented players are and what their particular strength might be; it’s a lot more interesting to discover the game and it’s players that way.

I’m really looking forward to meeting all you guys and drawing shaving cream mustaches on Herm and TDT.

No LB but will be watching the game…woo…

Posted by Osrt on 03/19/10 at 07:25 PM ET

Congratulations Bella!

I assume you gave birth to a baby or got a new baby seal you’ll beat for its tears. Either way, the best to you and yours

Posted by Osrt on 03/19/10 at 07:27 PM ET