Abel to Yzerman
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Humor…Why It’s Necessary And A Guy Who Had It
by IwoCPO on 11/18/09 at 04:26 AM ET
Comments (22)
First, I don’t think the Gore could handle another Wing/Pens Final. The whole thing would just implode. I can’t remember if it was Game 6 or 7 of the SCF last year but I was in some airport somewhere flying back to DC. Saw a guy in one of those slick powder blue #87 jerseys.
I was wearing something Wing related, a hat maybe. I walked right up to him, looked him in the eye, considered all the bad things Pen fans had said about me, my town, my team, my blog…and wished him luck. “Great series so far, nice hair, enjoy your flight.” He looked at me with hatred in his eyes and really laid down the law, “You too friend. Fly safe and good luck to your team and your family.”
Later that night, on the internet, I kicked his ass.
It’s become the norm, and I’ve contributed to it…a lot. I also don’t plan on stopping any time soon. There’s too much fun to be had. But, and I can speak only for me, a sense of humor has to be the common denominator. “Rosby”? That’s funny. Minus the c? It just is. Making fun of Nick Lidstrom getting speared in the nuts, now that it appears his nuts have recovered, at least according to reports, that’s funny also. Any nut joke is funny and you know it.
I’m not calling for a truce, not ever. Not realistic. But, we can do this and keep it funny.
As funny as Brendan Shanahan coming off the top rope and crushing Patrick Roy as he tries to keep Darren McCarty from pummeling Claude Lemieux in ‘97?
Nothing was better than that. Well, maybe Shanny’s ‘02 empty netter to seal #10. Or, hell, maybe even the Statue of Liberty goal a few weeks prior. All that was fun and we owe Shanny for those moments.
And we may owe him more than that. By now you’ve probably read that Scotty called him “the missing piece” in ‘97. and that was true. I always felt it was Shanahan who complemented Yzerman’s quiet leadership. We’ll never know because insight into that room has always been impossible. But, knowing what we do about Shanny’s personality, you have to think he realized the time and place for levity and a voice and used both when necessary.
You’ll see some suggestions the next few weeks, but it’s a pipe dream to think Brendan Shanahan could ever be NHL commissioner. Believe me, it will never happen. That’s an owner-filled job, one created for lawyers (no offense boys), by lawyers. If the commissioner isn’t smoking owner pole he’s gone or never hired. Gary’s got that down pat and Shanny would never stoop to it. More likely a role with the NHLPA where he can stick it to Bettman…all for the good of the game, of course.
A GM job? Maybe, eventually. Politics? Maybe. Hollywood? Probably. Whatever he chooses to do, Shanny was a huge part of three Cups and a Wing for life. I, personally, didn’t agree with the team letting #14 back into circulation so soon. Retire it? Nope. But just hold off on it for a bit.
Would have been nice to hear the Irish Jig one more time. And maybe that’s not out of the question. A Brendan Shanahan night at the Joe is a good idea. Tick Tock?
Couple YouTube ditties for you. First a great Shanny/McCarty moment on ESPN followed by a good look at his career, including more than a few episodes of Shanny just abusing Patty Roy and the Dive.
See ya Shanny.
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Comments
Thanks chief, great way to start a busy hump day
Posted by gunnar from Ada, Mi on 11/18/09 at 05:47 AM ET
I always loved Shanny. Back in high school, we used to joke that he was my alter-ego (although I think that had more to do with the Irish blood than anything else). There aren’t nearly enough guys like him left in the league. I’m pretty sure I’ve got the Irish Jig on a CD somewhere from back in the day. I might just have to dig it out in honor of his retirement.
Posted by Kris from MI on 11/18/09 at 06:00 AM ET
There will always be a special place in my heart for Shanny. What I miss is the way the guy would score one-on-one with the goalie with perfect snipes. No traffic needed in front, just a straight shot to the upper ninety.
At the 3:10 mark of that tribute, notice how he holds the guy he’s pummeling from hitting his head on the ice on the way down, then starts lifting him back to his feet to continue beating the snot out of him. I didn’t realize he wore the 19 before Detroit. Long and storied career, and only 10 short of 666 goals. His would be an athlete’s biography I would definitely read.
Shanny was my girlfriend’s favorite player (like with Guilherme, his name amused her). When we first started dating I was playing NHL Hitz a lot and he was my go-to guy on the one-timer.
Posted by MarkK from Maryland on 11/18/09 at 06:53 AM ET
That went well with my morning coffee. Thank you.
Posted by Jeff from Loveland, CO on 11/18/09 at 07:19 AM ET
I have my issues with Shanny, but I will never in a million years deny that he was the missing piece. He gave the Wings the shot in the arm they needed to be a Dynasty. He clothes lined Roy like Hulk Hogan. One of my all time favorite moves.
I remember when asked by the press if anything hurt, he raised the Cup and said “not anymore.” Bitches.
Lets Go Red Wings!!!!!
Posted by Kate from Pa.-made in Detroit on 11/18/09 at 07:29 AM ET
That went well with my morning coffee. Thank you.
That’s what she said. (couldn’t resist….)
Posted by MarkK from Maryland on 11/18/09 at 07:30 AM ET
What an allsome(awesome is just so tired) video….To honor Shanny’s retirement ,might I recommend a Jameson shot, or Irish coffee with your breakfast today? I certainly enjoyed mine.
Posted by dougie on 11/18/09 at 07:34 AM ET
“...Holmstrom is maybe the funniest guy on our team. Just because he usually butchers the english language. But he still won’t shut up…Most guys…well…he’s great. I’m sure he’s funny in Swedish, too.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ba_PMWpeaM
Posted by mrfluffy from Long Beach on 11/18/09 at 10:07 AM ET
Dude - get a life. Please
Posted by McFly on 11/18/09 at 10:09 AM ET
Not long ago, one of the 19 posted a Shanny interview where he said he left Detroit because he wasn’t nominated captain after Stevie. Does anyone have the link to it?
Posted by Guilherme from Brazsil on 11/18/09 at 10:15 AM ET
Shanny was one-of-a-kind. I could watch a clip of that empty-netter every hour of every day for the rest of my life and not get tired of it. Like Tyler wrote over at the Triple Deke, it was just pure joy.
Posted by Bella on 11/18/09 at 10:51 AM ET
I remember the buzz when Shanny came to the Wings. The idea that it could take us over the hump…finally. The thought that maybe we’d be tough enough to go all the way. The early doubts. The conflict…the fights…the forging of a new identity. Hockeytown. Shanny was a big part of that, maybe even the biggest. That trade took a bunch of perennial Cup bridesmaids and didn’t make them the bride, but the hulking, three-hundred pound gorilla of a groom. For me, he’ll be a Wing for life because of ‘97. Ending a drought that lasted far too long. Thanks, Shanny. Enjoy your retirement, you’ve earned it, old warrior.
(And he’d make a kick-ass PA chief.)
Posted by AndrewFromAnnArbor from Fortress Europe on 11/18/09 at 11:18 AM ET
For me, he’ll be a Wing for life because of ‘97. Ending a drought that lasted far too long. Thanks, Shanny.
Seconded. It depresses me knowing he retired without a team, he deserved better. Hell, I almost could have forgiven him if he joined the Dive for a few months just so someone would retire his number.
Posted by Gabriel from San Diego, CA on 11/18/09 at 11:27 AM ET
Loved Shanny, and agree that Stevie couldn’t have been the man without him. Shanny yelled and fought. Stevie spoke and did.
Posted by Osrt on 11/18/09 at 11:28 AM ET
Hell, I almost could have forgiven him if he joined the Dive for a few months just so someone would retire his number.
Posted by Gabriel from San Diego, CA on 11/18/09 at 11:27 AM ET
Speaking of the Dive… go over to the KK main page and scroll down to “Tweeting Trouble” by that jackass Dater. This guy is a journalist? Man, how the fuch did this douche ever get hired? Oh yeah… that’s right, he works in Denver.
Posted by calquake on 11/18/09 at 11:34 AM ET
I went to every home game in the 70’s until they moved to the Joe.
I remember Polonich, and he was a real glue guy, full of energy, not much of a skater.
I had only been watching live hockey for about 25 yrs so I really had not learned to appreciate
the job he did. You would watch him skate down the ice from behind and he always looked like a bow-legged bull dog. Wasn’t that big but very solid and hard to tip over.
NIce post, bringing back memories of Giacomin, Dennis Hextall, Nick Libbet, Walt McKechne, and Danny Grant. I think Grant was the next captain. They must have traded Rick Lapointe when Polonich was captain.
I remember Delvecchio sending McKechne out for every faceoff no matter how tired he was.
Polonich:
“There were just too many general managers and I had 11 coaches in eight years,” he said. “There were some good coaches, but they weren’t allowed to stay behind the bench long enough to really do anything with the team.”
My brother ran into Dennis Hextall last Saturday, and he said the same thing.
Posted by HockeyTownTodd on 11/18/09 at 12:03 PM ET
I asked Chief about it this spring but for some reason forgot to ping the 19.
I recall a commercial from the mid 90s or so with Shanny sitting on the bench in a locker room talking about the other sports and how hockey is like all the other sports in one.
“The hand eye coordination of a baseball player” with clips of swatting the puck out of the air
“The physical ability of a football player” with lots of big hits
“And the pure athletic grace of a basketball player” with some twirls and dekes
And then he grins : “But we do it on ice, so you’ve got to respect that.”
Am I hallucinating or does anybody else remember this as well?
Posted by 42jeff from Minot, North Dakota on 11/18/09 at 04:00 PM ET
My favorite Shanahan moment was during the 2002 playoffs in Denver. He’d been sent to the penalty box and a female Dive fan was banging on the penalty box glass, just screaming at him. He looked at her, raised his arm and gestured like he was dragging a razor in his armpit. “A little fuzzy under there.” I just cracked up, and John Davidson, doing color commentary, was at a loss for words.
Posted by Cap'n Bill from The State Down South on 11/18/09 at 07:39 PM ET
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Brendan Shanahan, one of the greats. One of the guys that made me a hockey fan, I knew him first in video games, where the H looked like N, and for a long time I had fun with that “Sha-na-nan” guy.
Then one of the first games I saw on TV, 26th March 1997, there he was. And the only Cup I’ve seen on live TV, there he was scoring the greatest empty netter ever. Oh, and the playoff goatee was awesome.
Salute, #14 (get outta here, Meech, I’m talking to Shanny)
Posted by Guilherme from Brasil on 11/18/09 at 05:44 AM ET