55fan

There's an easy way to tell if a vehicle belongs to Cheli. As part of his fitness regimen, he'll be running down the highway carrying it.

Scoring for the Wings: Zata, Dats, Homer, Flip, Huds, Lids, Cleary. Scoring for Chicago: Hat trick by Lang. Final: 7-3 Wings. I still like Lang; I just don't want him to beat OUR team. This way, they lose, but Lang finds a home in Chi where he's loved. And we all live happily ever after.

I've just started referring to them as the Wings. It saves me the embarrasment of Detwoit Wed Rings. Then again, I played 5 years of basketball without being able to say three fro, er, free throw. Elmer Fudd- that's my laugh so hard I spit orange juice post for the day.

I agree with drop the instigater rule. I would also add: Fighing is only a penalty if one participant is unwilling or unable to participate. (obviously, it's they guy who fought who gets the penalty). Two minute penalty for failure to drop gloves and protective headgear, or for failing to allow one's opponent to do the same. The fight ends only when agreed upon by the players, or when a clear winner is determined by the officials, who shall then blow the whistle, raise the arm of the winner, and seek medical attention for the other participant. In that order. Agree with the 10 minute OT before heading to the shoot-out. Get hockey on PBS. Everyone gets PBS. Have pledge breaks during the commercial time outs. Fine announcers who say "uh" every 5 seconds. As in: "Nicklas uh Lidstrom passes to Henrik uh Zetterberg and he uh shoots."

Makes sense- Drake-Draco (Latin for Dragon). I think in Latin the a is short (as in father), but what do I know? Yeah, Tex was starting to grow on me, but Dragon is cool too. It would make us sound like an intellectual bunch. The guy's been around for awhile. What do the other players call him? Sir Dragon would work for me.

I'll have to work on the nickname thing, but I wanted to point out that a Drake is a male duck, which means that the players from Anaheim are... wait. I'm female. They can't be. No. I deny sharing a gender with them. ETA: I suppose we could call him Pimp after the way he handled the little *****-duck out there tonight.

No basis for this other than it popped into my mind, but what if they're grooming Dats for the A role now, so he'll be experienced when Hank gets the C? Lids will probably be around for several more seasons (I hope!) but he's older than Hank and Dats, so when he does leave, they'll both have the experience they need to be the leaders. Maybe they're just looking really far into the future and getting ready. As for Drapes and Z, maybe they don't mind having a few games with a little less responsibility where they can just play and have fun with it. I would guess Babs talked to them before he finalized his decision.

The NHL did send out a DVD this year that had to be shown before or during training camp that spelled out what was acceptable and what was not. Granted, Pronger and his ilk probably thought it was an instructional video and took notes, but they can't say that they weren't warned. In an interview which can be found on the Wings site, Nick Lidstrom had quite a bit to say about this. Here are some relevant quotes: (Lidstrom):It's OK, fighting is still legal. You can still score often, have a good honest fight. But I think we have to get rid of the cheap shots, the ones to the head and the ones blindsiding and jumping. That's what we have to get away from. Q: You mentioned that respect again. Is there a lack of respect among players compared to in the previous generations? LIDSTROM: Maybe a little bit. I think we had a bit more tougher guys in our lineups when I first broke into the league 15 years ago where that kind of took care of itself on the ice. You still have the cheap shots or the blindsided shots, but you had more -- I think you had more respect amongst each other, too, with that older generation, where if you had something like that happen, you would have players square off and kind of take care of that business on the ice. He said a lot more about the league needing to suspend people to get the message across.

Kronwall, with assists from Lilja and Sammy. Who says lightning can't strike twice?

Bless you! I thought I'd have to miss it. Kronwall, Lilja and Sammy- Who'd have guessed it!

I really like Quincey a lot. At least in GR he'll be available for callup if we need him. Get well soon, Kyle!

Oh, my, that made my day. I always thought someone should have added 2 "s"es after his A. Wonder what they'll have to add to the C? On second thought, don't answer that. I think I know.

Oh, absolutey! But Homer would be the one Pronger would be looking for. I was thinking "who would be the last person he would suspect?" No one would suspect Dats. He could get in at least 2 punches before anyone could fathom that it was happening. It would surely be worth the price of admission.

Variety is the spice of life! A little drivel, a little substnce. All in all, good fun. I love these light-hearted threads as much as the serious ones. To answer your questions: First goal: Cheli First hat trick: Sammy First penalty: Dats; with a major for fighting after he KOs Pronger. First injury: Dats; minor boo-boo when Pronger falls on him. Angels on a pin: I'll have to get back to you on that. We're talking bowling pins, right?

Too bad it's Pronger. Probert had more class. <-- I wonder if anyone has ever said that before? I noticed at the end of the article he said he isn't going to change his style of play. Great. Now not only is he a goon, he'll be leading others into the depths of goonery by his example. Oh, well, he had the A last year; I guess it was a natural progression. It doesn't say a lot for the team. I hope we kick their butts.

Realisticly, Dats or Zet. In my world, Homer. If it's Homer, he'll score it right after Pronger takes another shot at his head, but this time Pronger will miss and Pronger will be the one getting 13 stitches. Since he's not half the man Homer is, he'll be out for the rest of the game. To be honest, I don't know who will score first, I just hope they keep doing it.

Um, just to put things in perspective, I've never been to a professional sporting event in my life (unless you count chaperoning a bunch of very nice high school kids to a Twins game- and I don't like baseball). The distance I'd have to travel plus the ticket price puts it out of my budget. This year my family got together to get me a ticket to the Wings game when they play the Wild (closest place). It's the Christmas present from the whole family. I don't care where I get to see the Wings, it would be heaven. Even if the place is a dump, my team is there. I get to wear my Wings gear, and I get to cheer without scaring the droppings out of my hamster. A new place is always nice. Memories are important too. But for those of you who have the money and avalibility to see your Wings in action, count your blessings. You're so lucky. And kudos to those of you who take your kids! What a great childhood memory. Not trying to ***** or anything, just putting it in perspective.

If I may quote Hasek from this article: Quote: "I'm proud of what I've done in this game with the Stanley Cup and trophies and gold medals," Hasek said of being named the NHL MVP twice and winning the Vezina Trophy as the League’s best goaltender six times. "But you don't prepare for the next season by living in the past. You come here to try to do everything to win again." End quote. I think this is where we stand with the Wings with regard to Stevie and Shanny. Yes, they are gone, but their legacy lives on. Our team has had Cups and trophies, and our players have won medals. All these things are in the past, but we are proud of them for what they have accomplished, and we look to them to do it again. The past is an old friend. It's not part of the here and now, but it is what has made us what we are, and it will not, should not, be forgotten. Everything we accomplish from here on out will someday be part of the past. Someday Zetterberg and Datsyuk will be the ones retiring, and the Wings of that day will have to fill their skates. Stevie and Shanny are part of the past. They are enshrined in our hearts and memories. They are shining threads in the beautiful tapestry that is Red Wing history. We can't forget, and so when we move on without them, we only move on without them physically. I think this is what the article was saying. We have big skates to fill, and fill them we are. I didn't see it as a slight to them; rather, it was a show of respect for what they have done, and for what we are doing right now. I thought it was a good article. Now, for another drink. To Shanny, Stevie, and the future. May the Wings fly on forever.

Ain't that the truth. I watch football, hockey (when the non-cable channels deign to show it) and Star Trek reruns, then I shut it off. Back to ESPN. When Yzerman retired, I was at my parents' house, and Dad suggested after the game we switch to ESPN to see if they had anything on it. My sister replied that we'd be lucky if someone looked at the teleprompter and said "Oh, this just in: Some guy named Yizz-errr-mannn retired. Anyone know who he is?" It's not just their TV, the magazine gives the NHL one or two pages during the season and then nothing. Maybe more during the playoffs- they might do an interview with a player. Thank goodness for the internet. At least with you guys, I get breaking news, a place to rant, and amusing insights. Thanks!

I think they meant he went down with a hip flexor injury. Thanks for the laugh, graphic and confirmation of my opinions. Hopefully he'll soon come up with a hip flexor, if that's the opposite of coming down with one.

This has got to be a ploy. If the team isn't in on it, they'd have assigned the C to another player. This is not the kind of thing that makes for a great leader. FWIW, I started turning grey at 16.

One thing to remember is that his injuries haven't been recurring, as in the same injury over and over. The ones he has had will take their toll down the road, but that is for everyone. I'm going out on a limb here, but I do think that at some point in his career he'll be at least nominated for the Norris. Why not? Look what he did for GR during the lockout. Look what he did with Sweden in 2006. He'll never be another Lidstrom, but no one will be another Lidstrom. And Lidstrom likes him enough to say that Kronwall is his heir apparent as the next big Swedish defenceman. Good enough for me.

As of last night, Quincey was back to #45 on the Wings site roster. As best I can tell, (sarcasm alert on) Orr sounds like 4, which works historically, and Quincey sounds like 15 in Spanish, and 45 is like 4 with a 15 after it, if you ignore the 10, which is retired. (sarcasm alert off) If anyone needs me, I'll be on the porch with an old family headache remedy. On the rocks.

Thanks for the tip. My family is a bunch of Lang fans, so we all voted. Not easy getting a hamster to operate a mouse.

And now we know why the English language has punctuation and capital letters.