wheelchairwing

I don't know if this has been discussed to the point of exhaustion, so if this is dealt with in another thread, please direct me to it. If there a consensus on Babcock's attitudes toward using veterans? I seem to remember (but I could be wrong) Babcock coming to Detroit with the idea that "if you don't play well, then you won't be playing" (paraphrasing). Now, I know that I may get yelled at for bringing this up but Maltby and Draper have been on the decline for a couple years now at least. I know that they are not star players and are expected to "grind" it out, but their effectiveness seems to have been wanning. I'm still at a loss for the reasons why Abdelkader (sp?) was not in the lineup last night. The energy that he could have provided might have been much more beneficial to the team. I know experience counts for something, loyalty counts for something, and that the concern of a lack of defensive skills counts for something, but I just wonder why Babcock stuck with the older veterans. I know that at least Draper will be back because we do not want tohave his money still count toward the cap if he retires. I guess I just thought that Babcock would've thought differently about using our youth. Didn't she say that he thought Ericsson should have been in our lineup last year? Who makes these decisions?

Before we get ahead of ourselves, I would think that we would have to worry about our own division first. Particularly with Chicago (or one to two years). Columbus may be a team on the rise. In order for us to make it back, our defense needs a shot in the arm. Maltby should be let go of...we have found replacements. I still don't know why he played in the finals. Our youth should be given more of a chance. I don't know if Osgood can be any better than he has been. Trying to make it to the finals three years in a row will be a hard task. If I remember correctly, Dallas was the last team that had such an opportunity, winning the cup in 1999, losing to New Jersey in 2000 and getting knocked out in the Conference finals (I believe) in 2001. I hate to be a party pooper, but it wouldn't surprise me if neither team makes it back to the finals. I don't care how young Crosby and Malkin are, wear and tear is still wear and tear. Besides, Pittsburgh has the bull's-eye on their backs now! They will find out how hard it is to win. NO ONE will lay down against them. If I were Pittsburgh, I would be very much concerned with Washington. They will be a threat to them for many years to come. I would love to see Wings/Pens III, especially now that we have the motivation of wanting to knock them off their championship pedestal and show that the Wings are not "done" as a good team, but the odds are not in Detroit's or Pittsburgh's favor.

I'm going to try and watch it. Thank goodness I still have a VCR! Friday is going to be a very hectic day for me and my family. My sister is dropping off her son on Friday and he is staying with us. My brother and his family will be in town for a wedding, and we will be watching his son on Friday as well. Of course, with both my siblings' kids being over, this means that Grandma wants to come over as well and see them. Don't get me wrong, I want to see all of my family members and I love seeing them, it's just that Game Night is going to be a little more different than usual. Of course, being superstitious, I don't know how to take this...last year, when my brother and his family came into town to watch Game Five of the Stanley Cup Finals with us, the Red Wings ended up losing...however, my sister came into town on Saturday before Game Five this year and we won...I don't know what to do...I hope that my aunt doesn't come over hours before the game for non-hockey related activities and come back for the game. The last two times that she has come over extra early, we have lost the game. I have notified her of this. She just needs to come over right before the game and watch it with us. I love her very much, but this is Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals! We CANNOT take chances! It is very serious business! In all honesty though, I think everybody that's here will be watching the game anyway! LOL! GO WINGS!

After watching the entire season and the playoffs, I would like to think that this year is just an "off year" for (especially) Lidstrom and the rest of the defense. There are times that I think Lidstrom looks all of his 39 years, and I don't think he is going to play like Chelios. Ozzie is 36 years old and may only have two to four years left in the tank. Obviously, everyone here knows the importance of Lidstrom to this team and the fact that Ozzie has allowed the Red Wings (to some degree) to maintain their competitiveness due to the fact that his salary is miniscule compared to other starting goalies. Now, I know that in the sports world, four years can be an eternity, but I have to wonder how long we can keep this going. I remember last year when Lidstrom was injured for a handful of games and we just could not get it together. Also, how are our goalie prospects doing? Is there anyone that stands out more than anyone else. This just tells me that regardless of what happens on Friday night, we should all enjoy this "era" as much as possible, because who knows when we might be able to get back to this stage. I am not being pessimistic, just realistic. I would love to see us win this year and then go for the elusive three peat, believe me (we had a chance to do it in 1999 and couldn't get the job done, it has irked me ever since!). I have to keep everything in perspective. Sorry if this has been posted at an inopportune time, it has been eating away at me all series.

I usually don't believe in these types of threads, but considering that THIS IS IT and superstitions that normally work have faltered during this series, I'm willing to try anything. To hell with the stigma against mob mentality! Go Wings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have to play our best game in order to win this series.

Back before, during, and a little after the Winter Classic, jerseys were available at nhl.com. With my budget, I really was not about to pay $240 for a Zetterberg jersey (although I have to say I really wanted one!). Now, those jerseys are not available. Might they make them available again sometime next year during the next Winter Classic? Are they available at all through legit online stores? Please point me in the right direction. I am very curious.

It's all a waiting game! I sit and wait for the game to start, and once it starts, I want it to end, hopefully with the Red Wings winning. Then, if they win, that means that the season is over. This means I have to wait until (I believe) July 1 for the signing of free agents. Then, I wait for training camp and then for the season opener, and then for the playoffs. It's very cyclical!

The compuer monitor that I have is one that supports HD video (I sound VERY knowledgeable, don't I?). Are there any web pages that have video of Wings games in HD quality? I know that Yahoo offered a beta version with a couple of Ducks games. Please let me know. By the way, thanks to everyone who responded to my earlier posts!

Could someone please clue me in on what "freezing" is, referring to one reporter's question to Datsyuk concerning the "freezing" of his foot? What is the process that is involved? Are there any risks of long-term effects in regards to this procedure? Is there any Wikipedia page that can quickly sum this up for me? I would appreciate any responses that could help me out with this. Thanks!

Earlier this year, everything in my Northwest Ohio home was wonderful...and then...just before Don Cherry's controversy with Ovechkin (sp? sorry!) Time Warner decided to eliminate CBC from our package, citing something along the lines of "repeat programming." Considering that NBC's coverage of hockey is horrible and that the Red Wings could win the Stanley Cup tomorrow, I am totally distraught, as I usually flip over to CBC when the lackluster NBC coverage ends. Has anybody on this message board ran into the same problem? Is there anything that I can possibly do about it? I have been watching as much of the CBC online programming as I possibly can, and I realize that they do not post everything that they show on television. Should I just wait on Youtube to see if anyone will post anything? If anyone has any suggestions (that are legal) or if you have run into the same problem with Time Warner or other cable companies, please let me know. I hope I am not the only one that is experiencing this travesty. I WANT MY CBC BACK!!!!!!

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Hmmm...I always think of Sydney Crosby as a type of Anakin Skywalker figure, a spoiled brat with all sorts of talent, someone who just isn't ready to be a Master. Malkin could be thought of as Darth Maul, as I have heard some people say he isn't exactly the most attractive person but has some good skills. Gary Bettman can be thought of as the Emperor. For some reason, I always think of Pavel as a Yoda-type figure with all of his awesome moves. You shouldn't judge him by his size. Maltby could be thought of as C-3PO, as I have heard that he just doesn't shut up, even to his own teammates. Hank just looks like a younger Obi-Wan. That's all I can think of...lol!

I have never been able to procure tickets at that level (don't have the money), but I don't consider JLA to be very wheelchair or scooter friendly in general. The best bet is to call Joe Louis Arena and ask about accessible areas, ordering tickets directly from the box office. Most of the time, (and this is through my own experience of going to concerts, etc.) ordering tickets through somebody like Ticketmaster or whoever does not ensure accessibility, and most of the time people don't know what they're talking about. Good luck with your endeavor, I hope it turns out for the best. Still, we need a new arena very badly. If something like Nationwide Arena were to be built for the Red Wings, I know that I would make more of an effort to go to games if I could afford it. Hopefully things will change.