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Am i the only person who doesn't give a crap who our sponsor is? We are still the Red Wings. Illitch is still the owner. It's not like we are the Detroit Amways or play at Joe Louis Amway Arena. Amway is footing a huge bill. Without that massive corporate sponsorship, we'll start being less competitive. I know I don't want that, do you? Would you be ok not being able to spend to the max and have the best possible team possible? It's a sponsor. It doesn't change the team and no one outside of Red Wing fanboys give a hoot who our sponsors are. I can't name more than 2 or 3 sponsors of any teams around the league, i assume most can't either.

Oh please, the whole "Made In The U.S.A." crap is a little cliche, don't you think? Tell me, where did they make your TV on which you're watching the Wings play? How about that cable box or satellite dish you ordered so you can get the games on your TV? If you can find on your TV a sticker or an etching that says "Made In The U.S.A.", then your TV sucks. Now, first and foremost, the Red Wings aren't getting jack s*** in profit margin with merchandising as compared to the sponsorship deals they're making with companies like Amway and Belle Tire. Here's why: The Detroit Red Wings and their logo are a brand. Reebok, for example, is a merchandising company that pays the Red Wings organization a certain amount of money to use their logo on their apparel. For every item sold, the Red Wings organization makes a little bit of a percentage of that money. The better the item does, the more money the Red Wings organization gets. However, this is only a small percentage since Reebok has to make their profit as well, which I will assure you is far greater than what they are sharing with each individual team for their logos. They also make money by selling stores like Hockeytown Authentics and JLA kiosks that same merchandise for a fraction of the retail value so those stores can turn around and make bigger profits so they can support their overhead. Now, with advertising, companies like Belle Tire and Amway spend millions of dollars to plaster their names all over the arenas and the broadcasts so they can implant the idea in your head that you need to get your tires from Belle Tire and you need to spend your money with Amway. Why? Because subliminal advertising works. You might wonder why sometimes you suddenly are craving a Jimmy John's sandwich after posting on LGW. It's because that big ******* sidebar gets your attention without you even really realizing it. It's this kind of advertising that gets those companies money, and since they're paying the Red Wings organization directly, they can take that money and apply it to whatever they may need it for. Combine this with ticket sales, concessions, and overpriced beer, and you have pretty much all the money that the players and the rest of the organization sees. Bottom line, the boycotting foreign goods thing isn't going to do much, if anything. For one of you "I'll only buy American made" people, there are 5 others that don't give a s*** who made it and buy it anyway. So if the Red Wings are making a 1% profit margin on apparel sales at JLA, you're stopping .0016% of their total profit. Ask Illitch if he gives a rat's ass.

I'll be there. I plan to throw a pomegranate on the ice if there's a shootout.

This stat is 100% attributed to Lilja's concussion...

One of my favorite Kronwall moments: "Did you see what he did to Dany Heatley? ... I just wish I was lined up against Kronwall." -Ryane Clowe Later on in that series... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weFx9DMiros And actually, earlier on in the year... Can't wait for the next one!

Not gonna lie I really love our third line. Loving Abs, Helm and Bert seem to get the grinding done along with creating chances....

Please do not turn this into a Bertuzzi/Moore thread. Let's keep the discussion in the present.

We'd boo Claudia from here to eternity. These fans have a DUTY to boo Big Bert.

Just because Moore won't let it go doesn't mean the fans can't either.

I had forgotten how stupid Avalanche fans are until now.

I was supposed to BE THERE ;_; instead our financial plans fell through and our anniversary trip was cancelled. In light of such horrible luck, I'm expecting a solid win from the boys

I expect the Wings to take this one on gritty performances by Verlander and Cleary.

5-2 Wings.... Hudler Hattie...Helm...Brunnstrom (is he playing?) if not,then Bert. Cabrera with 4 RBI. Avs....doesn't matter edit: Avs go up 2-0 in the first and Wings score 5 unanswered...

More like 'Common sense move'.

Wings actually scored too many goals for the goal lights to handle loooool

That's next year's announcement. Complete with scotch tape and magic marker. Hell, they may even switch Helmets over to Cascade's just to make the players as bush league as possible.

Fast forward to about 5:50. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZLyx4Gazl4

Thank god we aren't having this arguement about a soccer team. The Wings can be "presented by" Amway all they want, it's a sponsor and helps the club out financially. It's pretty hard to name a sports team that has no sponsorships, they need the money. They aren't gonna charge $300 dollars a ticket when they can charge alot less and have a sponsor put up some signage and a small audio blurb. Soccer teams have Sponsor logos right on the chest and Nascar's are covered in sponsors and nobody minds. It doesn't affect anything. We should consider ourselves lucky that Hockey is one of the sports that doesn't logo up the sweaters.

I don't know much about Amway or it's ethical nature. However, I agree with those that said this is more so about the business end of things. First and foremost, this team is a business, and just like every other business there is a budget to be balanced between income and expenses. Do you think the tough economy does not hit a business like Ilitch Holdings in some way? Part of it is the nature of sports in this era and it being infiltrated with overwhelming sponsorship, the other part is that they have to meet their bottom line or expenses will have to be cut. I, for one, would rather suffer through excessive advertisement (as much as I don't like it and think it is distasteful for such a tradition-steeped sports team/franchise) than have to worry about cuts that could affect more important things in relation to my team: keeping/hiring quality players, providing them with the best equipment/athletic training, team transportation and safety, etc. The deal so far is for three years. It may just be a bridge until economic issues improve and the need for extra sponsorship income is not needed as extensively. But keep in mind, Amway (while being the most obviously advertised) is not the only sponsor this year. You have to include DTE, Quicken Loans, VolunteerEnergy, and previous ones like Belle Tire, AT&T, Kroger, Meijer, Better Made, Tim Horton's, State Farm, Miller Lite, and the DMC. It can be an eyesore to our arena, but in grand scheme of things, I'm just happy to be able to watch my team compete night in and night out. All that other stuff just fades into the background when players like Lidstrom, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg step onto the ice.

newfy DON'T DO IT

Maybe Matt can design an LGW shirt with the Amway logo with a red line through it.

They signed a 3 year contract. I'm sure they don't want to lose the revenue from the deal, as well as having to pay legal fees against the inevitable breach of contract lawsuit that would arise from Amway. I don't like the sponsorship any more than anyone else, but unfortunately this is a done deal.

That is so sad... I'm glad you'll never be the Red Wings' GM. But please, be anyone elses.

Really Babs?! Why Conklin? Is Jimmy Howard going on 40 years old or something and he can't do back to backs?

Sorry, I can't help you with the video. But are you sure you want a video of Ericsson? I think your players would benefit more from watching 5 seconds of Lidstrom than 100 hours of Ericsson.