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Abel to Yzerman

Stealing From Others

by IwoCPO on 12/29/07 at 07:40 PM ET
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I’ve maintained my pledge not to use the term “blogosphere” for more than three months.  For that, I demand your thanks and respect.  Baroque, the A2Y reader who used us as her test-bed for big words and elitist ideas before parlaying those experiments into a gig with Gramps at Hockeytown Todd, gave me a list of replacement words like bevy, litany and plethora…as if none of us had seen The Three Amigos before.

But I stuck with “Stealing from Others”.  More from Baroque in a minute, in our bevy of blog entries to keep you occupied while you wait for tonite’s barn burner in Phoenix.

A couple sites new to the hockey blogging scene popped up with Wing-related items the last few days.  First, the Red Light District and a piece on Goaltender 1A.

This guy was written off as Detroit’s backup ‘tender since he returned from the Blues (via free agency) for the 2005-2006 season. That season, he posted a 20-6-5 record with 2 shutouts but was limited to 32 games. The next year he was limited to 21 games and plagued with a hand injury and later a broken finger.

Now in 2007-2008 Dominik Hasek’s injuries and slightly less-than-stellar play has made room for Osgood to step in and reclaim his old position as Detroit’s starting goalie. He’s earned that right by posting very impressive numbers so far this year: In 20 games he’s gone 16-2-1 with 2 shutouts, a league best 1.73 GAA and a .929 save percentage, good for third best in the NHL.

Jon Levitt at Back Checking has a huge piece on Nick Lidstrom and the overall success of the Wings.

Not overly physically by any means, his strength lies in his positioning and anticipation of the play. He makes as good a first pass out of the offensive zone as any, which only means more now with the deletion of the red line. He quarterbacks Detroit’s powerplay masterfully and has a very underrated, accurate shot. He took over the Red Wings captaincy after Yzerman’s retirement following the 2006 season and continues the carry the torch that Yzerman ignited nearly 25 years ago.

And, finally, check out Greg Wyshynski’s year-in-review at the Fourth Period.  Got XM? If not, Greg says get it.

THE BEST THINGS ABOUT XM HOME ICE: The news-making commentary and informative banter between E.J. Hradek and Don LaGreca on NHL Live, which has become mandatory listening for any American hockey fan; the continued comedic charm of Jim “Boomer"Gordon, whose laid-back delivery at times obscures his often-brilliant insight; and the occasional spell-binding moment when Phil Esposito will let his guard down and let us into his treasure trove of slightly scandalous stories about hockey’s golden years.

Yeah. I know.  I subscribed to Sirius when they had the hockey deal (all games) and I’d sit in my car and listen to the Wings.  Now, naturally, XM has exclusive rights.  So I guess I should switch.  Oh wait, I would, but the idea of paying money to listen to…oh, Greg deals with that too.

HE WORST THING ABOUT XM HOME ICE: Dwayne Klessel’s daily rumor-mongering phone-in. Whatever it is about his act that (allegedly) plays well in print as part of the “Eklund” character, it doesn’t translate to radio or, as we saw on Sportsnet at the deadline, on television. There�s a better chance of Barry Melrose opening up a rib joint in Newark than something journalistically significant emerging from these XM segments. It’s like listening to paint dry if that paint was, in fact, a witless panderer whose triangulated insights have the depth of a motel kiddie pool.

“A witless panderer whose triangulated insights have the depth of a motel kiddie pool.”  Very nice.  And Greg, before too many people take you up on that pint or ten, don’t forget I’m in DC.

Alright…now finally.  I told you we’d hear more from Baroque and so we shall.  She has a few views on the sports radio issue.

Once in a while, it might be nice to see even minor news on the front page of the sports section instead of the latest Lions loss, or more than a two-second spot on the news in the evening. Not for some kind of validation of the sport, or a confidence boost from the attention – but because after a busy day at work, I just don’t have the energy to hunt down the news online for myself this particular evening. Why should football fans have it so much easier than hockey fans do?

Wings/Coyotes at 2100.  Get yer live blog here.

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About Abel to Yzerman

Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977.  No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y.  Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation.  There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature.  Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that. Your suggestions and critiques are welcome: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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