george27

does Kari Lehtonen have a picture of Uma Thurman in Kill Bill on the side of his mask? intersting, did not know she was a hockey fan. i've always liked DiPietro's from what i've seen on t.v., the back of Cam Ward's and Ryan Miller's, too. funnily enough i had mentioned this earlier in an unrelated post - but everytime i see it, i secretly wish i could smash John Grahame's mask with a hammer... not with his head in it or anything... i just think it's hideous and trashy. also always kind of freaked out by masks like Toskala/Tim Thomas's. looks like it's eating their head.

i live in Richmond, but my family is in No.Va... i drive past you guys all the time to get up there! it usually means i have about 20 minutes to mentally prepare myself before the traffic starts to stroke me out. i heard good things from a coworker about Royal Oak, too. i really liked it when i looked it up. and people watching is always a bonus. hmmm, just as long as it doesn't turn sexy around my mom at nite. haha. and i was stoked on the GLI and good restaurant info (plus directions!), too!

going to my first Wings game Monday vs. the Caps. my mom and i are heading up there Saturday from the Va/D.C. area, probably get there late, then spending Sun./Mon. around Michigan/CA before the game. we're kind of operating on a vague agenda, as we've never been up there. i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions about ANYTHING, particularly game days/The Joe. haha, we haven't even settled on a place to stay yet and are still on the fence Windsor vs. Detroit. so far we've talked about driving out to East Lansing/MSU as well as visiting University of Michigan (boo, no hockey games, i checked), hitting Cheli's Chili at some point, maybe Hockeytown Cafe?, Tim Horton's, maybe doing something other than eating. i heard the downtown/Comerica Park area is relatively safe, but obviously we're not planning on skipping down any dark alleys holding hands, handing out cash. but yeah, sights, hangouts, places to eat/stay, warnings - i appreciate any suggestions. we're leaving Sat., but will have internet access, so i can check the board whenever. Thanks! p.s. sure this kind of blatant nerding out is looked down upon on here, but i've been a Wings fan since i was a kid and never seen them play (i'm in my 20's). needless to say, i'm a little excited.

speaking as someone who sees a lot of the Canes down here in the SouthEast division, when they lose, they do it all the way. they can really be a team that does what it takes, gives up the body, whatever, to play a strong defensive game. unfortunately for them, they also seem to have fragile confidence in that area, and when things start to go downhill they fall apart in front of their net-minder. personally Cam Ward seems to be having a great season and really coming out of the slow year ("sophmore slump" if you will) he seemed to have post-Stanley Cup win: lost some weight, strict training regiment, etc.. (i mean, the kid snaked backwards in all his gear when that Datsyuk breakaway came as he was leaving the ice). but the D dropped the ball. as somebody pointed out earlier, Mike Commodore, who has really developed into a core defenseman for them and a big asset to special teams, has been out on and off, and it really hurts the Canes. not to take anything away from them, they are still great hockey players, but it's no secret that Wesley and Hedican are getting up there. i think they really lose some of their base when the big red afro is hurt. as for their back-up goalie, i have never been the president of the John Grahame Fan Club (i wouldn't mind running his current goalie mask over with something heavy enough to crack it); however, i have seen him play some amazing games and make some sick saves - with those same D problems. i don't think that the team isn't confident in him, i think it's a Cam Ward team and a Cam Ward town. Grahame's there to fill the backup role in the literal sense, and it will stay that way. done rambling, hah. thanks!