I think Cherry’s got a pretty good point, actually.  Generally, Detroit fans do prefer the knock-down, drag-out, kick-you-in-the-teeth style that reigned when Probie and Kocur, Gerard Gallant, etc., were in town.  And I think the fans might respond a bit more strongly to this team if there were more of elements of, I dunno, senseless bloodlust and random violence in its game.

That said, I think he needs to point the finger directly at Little Gary, Collie Campbell, Walkom, the need breed of owners who know nothing about hockey other than it’s a good tax write-off, etc.  Take away the instigator penalty, guys.  Let the players police themselves a bit more the way they used to.  Quit penalizing Homer for playing his game, and playing it well (y’know, despite what the Versus twangs and everybody else seems to think, the blue paint is fair game these days), and let Turkey Nuts and his band of Merry ***holes deal with it if it makes them so upset.  You can have suspensions for cheap-shot, intent-to-injure crap, and have fighting and physicality (remember, it’s all in good fun), and have increased scoring, simply by keeping the goddamned officiating on a tighter leash. When Sasquatch stomps somebody, or smashes faces into glass, suspend his ass.  For a while.  When McLennan or Ribeiro goes all “Here’s Johnny” on some player from the team kicking their ass, suspend them- and show NO mercy, playoffs or not...

To me, I don’t see “protecting players” and allowing fighting and a significant degree of self-policing as mutually exclusive.

Little Gary, OTOH, is trying to sell the game to soccer moms in Tampa, Atlanta, and Orange County.  And those ladies can be, er, sensitive when it comes to Random Acts of Senseless Violence, especially when their children- the children, we must protect the children!- are watching.

So, it’s no wonder auto workers in Detroit resent the fact that ticket prices go through the roof as they struggle to put food on the table, all while their game is being sterilized for mass consumption by a league desperately pandering to far-away, Sun Belt markets full of people who’d really rather go golfing or horseback riding, and sip some white wine while watching the sun set… Romantic, but pussified (at least to many people). 

I’m not saying one side is right or wrong, but the Detroit fans obviously were hanging around the NHL game long before the Johnny-Come-Latelys in Dallas, Nashville, Florida, friggin’ Phoenix, and so on… Put an NHL team in Las Vegas, and I guarantee you Don Cherry’s head’s gonna explode.

Which would be pretty cool to see, actually, but… you get my point.  You can’t deny the fact the economy has something to do with the Wings’ attendance issues, such as they are, but there are other factors, too.  It’s not that the Wings’ dazzling skill turns people off, as Cherry implies, but that the lack of violence in the team’s game reflects, to many Wings fans, at least, the sad direction the NHL game as a whole has taken in recent years.  Add in the fact that the Tigs and Lions play in fancy new stadiums (a novelty in itself for many sports fans), and the Pistons play out in the suburbs (sparing fans a trip downtown), and you have a recipe for, well, apathy, or at least a withholding of fundulation for tickets till the FINALS.

I’ll show up when the Cup is on the line- that’s where a lot of people in Detroit are at, and, setting aside jadedness from having such a good team for so long, you can’t really blame them.  No matter what the Delicate Genius has to say about it.

Posted by mudshark from Divetown, Colorado on 05/11/08 at 10:08 AM ET

mudshark, great post.

The only point I take issue with is the Ribeiro thing. I think this “slash” is being blown way out of proportion. Yes, it was a stupid play on Ribeiro’s part, and perhaps a sly play on Ozzie’s part, but after taking 90 MPH shots at that chest protector all day, I don’t think it hurt too much.

The problem I would have with suspending Ribeiro is that Ozzie, god knows I love him, made a meal of the situation. So if you suspend him, you’re telling goalies to dive even more than they already do. If Ozzie had just kept his cool and shrugged it off, I think we’re talking a different story.

Posted by Nathan on 05/11/08 at 10:20 AM ET

I have no problem with goalies diving as long as they don’t draw BS interference penalties in the process.  If Turkey Giblets wants to flop around on the ice everytime he sees Homer’s derriere in his face, fine- we’ll take all those goals, thank you very much.

I think you’re conflating Ozzie’s reaction with what Ribeiro did- which was a vicious attempt to injure, no two ways about it.  I mean, the video is pretty clear on that much.  As for the claims Ozzie instigated it, sure, he got in Ribeiro’s way, and he led with his stick even, but he admitted as much... Not exactly sounding like a guy with something to hide.  His flop afterwards, yeah, that’s a bit worrisome, if only because I hate to see Ozzie following Dom’s lead in any regard, but I think any goalie in the league would’ve reacted the same way, and I can’t say I blame them.  It’s pretty bush league when players go after goalies- not get in their kitchen, but go after them, cuz goalies wear so much padding that they can’t really, you know, move around so well.  Ott tried to start shit with Ozzie after the play a few times in these two games, so I can’t blame him for doing what he felt he had to to draw attention to what just happened.  Call it shock, exhaustion, an Oscar-worthy performance, whatever.  It pales in comparison to what Ribeiro did.

Not that the league will see it that way, mind you.  Aside from Tippett and Morrow and Turkey Neck sobbing to the Diggers, et al, you have hacks like Melrose and MacKenzie fingering Ozzie for starting the whole thing.  That, to me, is, as they say at Channel Two News, ri-goddamned-diculous… But hardly unexpected.  Ribeiro’s a bit of a punk, so he does it and nobody gets hurt- what happens when Sasquatch, or Chara, or some freaking Neanderthal does it, and actually puts a goalie out of the game?  Flopping is one thing, but while Homer’s caboose may be annoying, it’s hardly a deadly weapon…

Posted by mudshark from Divetown, Colorado on 05/11/08 at 10:34 AM ET

And another thing, Ribeiro DID NOT GET BUTT-ENDED IN THE FACE- he didn’t even get butt-ended… He got PUNCHED in the face, repeatedly, by Kris Draper, god love him. 

And Melrose has about ZERO credibility on anything related to the Wings, let alone hockey.  Bad haircuts and coaching resumes consisting entirely of washing Wayne Gretzky’s jockstrap for a season or two an expert on all things hockey doth not make.

Posted by mudshark from Divetown, Colorado on 05/11/08 at 10:37 AM ET

Society has changed in general - there is less open acceptance of violence in sport, although the appearance of violence is okay, and that is the apparent trend that the league as a whole is responding to.

If a team was constructed according to the way Don Cherry thinks would appeal more to the city of Detroit (and how such a large city can share a hive mind I can’t figure, anyway), it would both lose and stink, because it couldn’t cope with the current rules, and thus would not make money for ownership.

The biggest factor is the economy, but I also wonder about a lot of other factors.  People consume entertainment of all sorts differently than they have in the past - fewer people go out to see movies when they can watch on large screens at home on DVD and see the movie they want exactly when they want, at the volume they want, at the room temperature they want, with the food and drinks they want, no lines anywhere for facilities, no travel time, and no previews before hand.  With so many people working and commuting long hours, how relaxing is it to contemplate a long drive out to a movie studio when you can watch at home on a giant screen you have already paid for and want to get some good use out of?  People use DVR or Tivo to time-shift what they want to watch so it fits their schedules instead of scheduling around events, they watch on streaming video on the internet instead of on television if they don’t have that channel or they aren’t around a television, etc.  The entire culture of entertainment has changed not just in the number of options but also in how people choose to exercise their choices.  Teams are going to have to market themselves differently to maintain attendance and relevance, and new arenas and multiple options in the sporting complex are part of that.

Although I have a hard time taking anything that man says seriously when he looks like he stole draperies from an Oriental brothel to make his jackets. 

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 05/11/08 at 10:48 AM ET

Regarding Osgood’s dropping after getting whacked - he was turned a little toward the side so he might have caught the stick on his arm more than right across the chest, but he was probably startled more than anything because it wasn’t as though he had to stop that many shots.  He might have gotten a little unused to the feel of something hitting his chest in that third period and went down out of shock.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 05/11/08 at 10:53 AM ET

The officials really let this get out of hand.  Turco was giving Homer shots in the back of the head on several occasions - nothing was called.  Ozzie gave Ott a shot when he backed into the crease and Ott even got into it with Osgood - nothing was called.

So is it a surprise that things elevated to the point where Ribeiro swung his stick over the goal and hit Osgood?

By all means, don’t call that stuff.  But don’t be surprised when someone [no surprise it was Ribeiro] takes things a little too far.

Posted by Dave on 05/11/08 at 11:44 AM ET

mudshark wrote:
I’m not saying one side is right or wrong, but the Detroit fans obviously were hanging around the NHL game long before the Johnny-Come-Latelys in Dallas, Nashville, Florida, friggin’ Phoenix, and so on… Put an NHL team in Las Vegas, and I guarantee you Don Cherry’s head’s gonna explode.

I feel like getting the man drunk. 

Perfect.

Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 05/11/08 at 12:14 PM ET

Oh Dave, didn’t you see the officials give Turco a stern warning. I think one even went over there and talked to him about being a good boy.

draperies from an Oriental brothel

Simile of the Day!

Posted by Osrt on 05/11/08 at 12:55 PM ET