IILeiBlazeII

Don't know if this should go in the Water Cooler or not, as it tangentially has something to do with hockey, but I guess if it needs to be moved, a mod can do so... Basically, this girl who plays/played for Yale's Women's Hockey Team needs either a near-perfect bone marrow donor or a stem cell donor (like if someone is having a baby and they donate the umbilical cord), or she's gonna go with a 9-10 match that may end poorly. *I* only heard about it from a re-tweet that good ol' Shanny posted on Twitter. I guess the complicated part is heritage plays a big part in it, and this girl is of German/Russian decent. I won't try to pretend I know a damned thing about medicine, so I'll just throw up the link: http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2010/06/01/friends-family-race-against-time-for-mandi-schwartz Again, I'm in no way related to this girl, but I figure Red Wing fans are some of the best people in the world, and if we could fly some complete stranger from South America to see a Wings game in Detroit, maybe we can make a difference here, too.

Please. The kid gave the goalie the snowshower of the century and he got his butt handed to him by a guy who wanted to drop the gloves. I'd take that kid that pounded him every day of the week instead of a chicken**** who wants to snow your goalie when your team is ALREADY WINNING. If this kid got pounded outside of a sports event, sure, levy the charges, but if someone in football got squarely tackled, people would be out of their seats... and if you just ran up and tackled a guy on the street, you'd get arrested. its the same thing here. The only cheap shot was the smart*** who got pummeled when he snowed the goalie... if anything, his team should have been down a man after that.

Clearly the players disagree with you, as it was the PLAYERS that have voted in favor of grandfathering it in. I have no clue why people think just because you *can* do something (like playing without a visor, without a helmet, etc) you *should* do it. The world changes and evolves... and everyone should be evolving along with it! Player safety is an issue that isn't going to go away, and with the expansion of medical knowledge comes the understanding that head and face injuries can have long-lasting effects on the brain. Why do you want 18 year old finesse kids coming into the league and getting their brains scrambled when the majority of big, strong, manly NHL players don't? Tough guys (which I'm all for, btw) can still drop their gloves and TAKE THEIR HELMETS OFF to fight - they still have that choice, though you rarely see them do it anymore.

1) The ABSOLUTE easiest time I've had as an out-of-towner getting in and out of the Joe (as long as you're willing to drop some cash and stay a night) was staying at the Greektown Casino and taking the, what, $.50 people mover (the monorail that moves around Detroit) to and from the game. There is a stop literally inside both buildings, so you don't even need to walk the streets. This eliminates the stress of getting out after the game, imo. Bonus? Delicious Greek food before the game! There is also payed parking down in Greektown, but I'm not familiar enough with it to recommend it. 2) I believe that's correct, but I've never tried to get in before 1 hour. 3) There will be assholes chirping you, even with young kids. I'm sorry in advance. Unfortunately, it happens everywhere (I can remember getting chirped throughout my childhood when my folks took me all over to away games). I don't think you'll have to worry about physical altercations or getting "beered" or anything like that, but I'd suspect nothing more than if a Wings fan tromped into the United Center and got "Detroit Sucks" yelled at them on the concourse intermittently. I agree completely with Cali that you should wait till the masses shuffle out (or - gag - leave early) before taking your leave. You aren't gonna get anywhere fast, no matter what you do. Hopefully you have fun and good luck (with getting to the Joe, not winning the game! haha)! GO WINGS!!!

Aw, yeah! Series win and a shorty by Abby has $7 on the board for me! Let's keep 'er going, boys!

$5 for a series win. $5 for a series sweep. $2 per short-handed goal. $10 if/when someone knocks off the Pens (and an extra $5 if its the Islanders in the first round or the Red Wings in the finals). LET'S GO WINGS!!! MAKE ME PAY!!!

Man, this made me so angry... and I hope at least most of you agree with me that this has no place in hockey... http://nesn.com/2013/03/ontario-hockey-player-brett-cook-sucker-punches-ref-gets-lifetime-ban-video/ ... what is going on in hockey that is producing so many cheap shot artists? I don't remember stuff like this happening in the late 80's, the 90's or the early 00's. Physicality? Yes. Fighting? Absolutely. Hits and ticky-tack stickwork that would be considered penalties in today's NHL? Those too. But blatant disrespect and carelessness towards the safety of others on the ice... what the heck is going on??? Is there something wrong at the youth level? Is it just a generational thing? I don't know the solution, but I *REALLY* wish it'd stop. :\

Maybe you're right, Carman... I guess there are the McSorely's and the Simons out there during that period too. When I see this sort of stuff it gets my blood boiling, though. It just seems like its happening more frequently (again, probably because of the saturation of media as you mentioned)... but if one of my teammates would have done that, I would've slugged him, ya know? I guess I just have a low tolerance for the behavior.

Well, if we're using the 2000 Expansion Draft as a guideline, via Wikipedia: "26 of the 28 teams existing in the league at the time of the draft were each allowed to protect either one goaltender, five defensemen, and nine forwards or two goaltenders, three defensemen, and seven forwards. For teams protecting only one goaltender, there was no experience requirement for those left unprotected. For teams protecting two goaltenders, each goaltender left unprotected must have appeared in either 10 NHL games in the 1999–2000 season or 25 games in the 1998–99 season and 1999–2000 seasons combined. A goaltender had to be in net for at least 31 minutes in each game for the game to be counted against these totals. At least one defenceman left unprotected by each team had to have appeared in at least 40 games in the 1999–2000 season or 70 games in the 1998–99 season and1999–2000 seasons combined. At least two forwards left unprotected by each team had to have met the same requirements." The goaltender bit is brutal... guess under those rules, we wouldn't be able to protect two of them (Jimmy and Mrazek) unless we let McCollum walk this offseason so he isn't on our roster (because he has less than 10 NHL games played)? Am I reading that right? Leave Quincy unprotected (to satisfy the 40 game requirement)... It actually seems easier to tap players that *wouldn't* be protected! haha

That's the American Dream, isn't it? I agree with 55fan - this forum in general has gotten a lot more whiny and a TON more disrespectful since I joined back in '07. The man single-handedly put Detroit back on the map as a sports town. He has provided most of us (including me) a hockey team that has made the playoffs in almost every year I've followed them with his own money... and don't think he was making wild profits back in the lean years when he was giving away a car every game to get people in the seats. I think he deserves a reward - both in money and *RESPECT* - for bringing sports, fans and jobs to my favorite city in the world.

~shudder~ When I saw Howard go down last night, all I could think about was "Oh god, I hope they call Mrazek up if this is long term..." Fortunately, Howie got back up, but I have precisely 0% confidence in McCollum being serviceable in even a backup role. I get that he's battled back a bit since Mrazek showed up to steal his job down in GR, but I just don't see him being anything more than a 1B Minor Leaguer.

Hey, I know this side of the LGW forums doesn't get much traffic, but it seemed like this should go here instead of GenDis (if I'm wrong, PLEASE move this over to where more people are likely to see it, mods!). I just recently moved back to Pittsburgh, and was wondering if anyone knows of any Red Wing-friendly bars in the area and, failing that, if there are enough Pittsburgh-area Wings fans that we could organize and try to convince a bar with cable and NHL Center Ice that it'd be worth their while to show wings games in exchange for the regular red-and-white clientele that would shuffle into their establishment. Hopefully there already *is* a place, but if not, hopefully we can get some interest!

Yeah, all the preseason games were pre-printed and Olympia Entertainment is lazy and sucks . You got the right tickets (my folks are season ticket holders, so that's how I know).

At least the BJ's walking out of tonight with a point assured... that was damn humbling.

Here in Pittsburgh and Comcast, they're saying $49.99 for the full season, same as Gamecenter. What you have to realize with Gamecenter, however, is that literally half the season is blacked out for national broadcasts (NBC and the like). So is $50 really worth it? I had them cancel it this morning... Gamecenter will be free till the 31st and I'll make my decision then...

Yes, everyone makes mistakes (god knows I made PLENTY at Riley's age)... but the issue people forgiving Sheahan aren't grasping is that while plenty of people do stupid things while their young, Riley endangered not only himself, but the people around him. I've been on-my-butt drunk plenty of times, but not one of those times did I ever sit behind the wheel. It isn't hard for you (or the establishment you're drinking at... or the DD at a party) to call a cab (and if you say the cab is too expensive, you probably can't afford your alcohol tab you just racked up). Don't you guys have loved ones (or at least care about yourselves)? I mean, double the legal limit or more is BAD NEWS BEARS. If I lived in Grand Rapids, I wouldn't want him driving in that state with my wife on the road, too... Now, am I saying damn him to hell? Not hardly. Do I want him out of the Red Wings organ-i-zation? No (assuming he turns his act around in short order). But don't make excuses for the kid, either. Second offense - he already got his warning. I hope he doesn't get coddled by the law 'cause he's a big-shot hockey player and gets the book thrown at him so he learns the hard way (like most of us had to do).

Not *entirely* sure if this is worth its own thread (mods can move if they like), but the Wings media let this slip before the official announcement at 10:30: http://video.redwings.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=-6&id=156115 Game on!

Sad to see the kid get his brain scrambled, but a beautiful hit lined up perfectly by the Wisconsin kid and the kid in black put his head down while entering the neutral zone at the last second. Keep your head up and keep up the clean checks!

http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26334 "Rule 44 - Clipping 44.1 Clipping - Clipping is the act of throwing the body, from any direction, across or below the knees of an opponent. A player may not deliver a check in a “clipping” manner, nor lower his own body position to deliver a check on or below an opponent’s knees. An illegal “low hit” is a check that is delivered by a player or goalkeeper who may or may not have both skates on the ice, with his sole intent to check the opponent in the area of his knees. A player may not lower his body position to deliver a check to an opponent’s knees. ... 44.3 Major Penalty - If an injury occurs as a result of this “clipping” check, the player must be assessed a major penalty (see 44.5). 44.4 Match Penalty - The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a match penalty if, in his judgment, the player attempted to or deliberately injured his opponent by clipping. 44.5 Game Misconduct Penalty - A game misconduct penalty must be assessed anytime a major penalty is applied for injuring an opponent by clipping. 44.6 Fines and Suspensions – There are no specified fines or suspensions for clipping, however, supplementary discipline can be applied by the Commissioner at his discretion (refer to Rule 28)." Honestly, it looks like a low hit. When I think hip check, I think hip-on-hip, and this is below the hip, taking his legs out from under him. If one agrees with that assessment, then as per the rulebook, Marchand gets the major, the match and the game misconduct (and possible fines and suspensions). I don't think Salo was going for the high hit, but I suppose we'll never know, now. More reason for the NHL to remove the instigator penalty and let the players duke it out, IMHO... then again, it *is* Vancouver we're talking about. I'm just glad it wasn't a Red Wing on the giving or receiving end.

UGH. Why do you have to *ASK* that question??? THEY ARE SIGNING UP TO PLAY HOCKEY. A GAME. Like... I get physicality. I get it. I really do. I love a nice open-ice hit as much as the next hockey fan. *But* I don't want to see human beings turned into a puddle on the ice from a headshot! Fight the guy if you want to fight, but at least then you're both agreeing to the possibility of concussions. Headshots WILL lead to brain damage and brain damage can (but doesn't always) lead to misery later in life. I can't believe I'm actually using this as an argument, but one of the best skilled players in the league right now - Sidney Crosby - is sitting on his duff (metaphorically speaking) not playing hockey right now. That is bad for the game, regardless of how much we hate the bastard. Headshots just need to be cut out of the game, regardless of intent. They need to be punished and dealt with until players learn its not ok to follow through or cause headshots.

Maybe you would sign up for that, but that isn't what NHL players are signing up for. I'd like to think NHL players have more respect for fellow humans that that.

I don't voice my opinion here all that often, but I just feel the need to say something about this Smith hit. I know I'll probably get negative votes for this, but I would be more than happy for Smith to get the book thrown at him for this infraction. I'd be glad to have a Wings player be a catalyst for change in the NHL and have better player safety. The NHL isn't going to change the "football style" shoulder pads, because there's marketing involved. The NHL isn't going to change the faster skates or add the two-line pass back in, because fans love the faster game. Players need to watch out for each other. Hockey is a game, for gods sake... no matter how much we like to think of it as a religion. The players aren't animals. Hockey players aren't cattle, or dogs made to fight for our enjoyment. This Smith kid (the one from Chicago) is a goddamned human being. I don't care if he toe-dragged. I don't care if his head went down. He's a human being. He has a right to not get his head smashed off by our Smith. Smith could have drilled him shoulder or shoulder. He could have - gasp - *hipchecked* him! That's what an old-school hockey fan should want... not this high hit chickensh*t crap. It shouldn't matter if the player that gets hit puts himself in the position to get hit in the head. You JUST. DON'T. FOLLOW. THROUGH. THE. CHECK. I'm sorry, but I LOVE hockey... I LOVE the Red Wings... I LOVE physical hockey (Joey Kocur was my hero when I was growing up, followed closely by Stevie)... I *REALLY* like Smith... but I HATE the high hits and concussions that the NHL is facing on a far too regular basis. Smith seems like a tough young kid. Throw the book at him... he can take it, and hopefully he - and the rest of the NHL - can learn from it.

I'm in the camp that *hopes* Hudler can knock my socks off again like he did in 08 and 09. I don't *expect* it, but I *hope* for it. Good to hear he not only was training, but skating as well. Also good to know we have a deep line of people ready to steal his spot if he's a no-show again.

I don't particularly like the Hawks, but Toews seems like a pretty cool guy - I respect him like I respect Joe Sakic. With all the kids on the ice, I'm sure it gets crazy and I really don't think he meant to flatten him. I'm a pretty big guy and it seems like every time I walk through a public place like a mall, little kids are around and like to play chicken with me and I have to be a frikkin ballerina - I'm scared you-know-whatless that I'm going to inadvertently level a kid like that and get my pants sued off! Difference between me and Toews? He could afford it! :X

http://twitter.com/#!/SlavaMalamud Russian Emergency Ministry is saying Salei was on board. Galimov didn't survive. I'm sorry, I misread - Galimov burns are "fatal", but he hasn't died yet. Fight, man... fight.