SouthernWingsFan

No lie. It's like the exact opposite of what they did some last playoff season on PPs they showed a camera view a lot from behind the net and above. I aboslutely loved that view and have barely seen that one at all this season.

I'm far from down on Kopecky. I guess I wasn't clear on my post, should've specifically said when Kopecky gets healthy again, Helm will probably take a step down on the depth chart.

Penguins fans can whine all they want about Detroit's defense, but when a team as talented offensively as the Penguins doesn't score on a 5-on-3, they have nobody to blame but themselves. I'm failing to see this "pre-lockout" game stuff as well where I'm assuming it's just dump and chase, trap, or clog up the neutral zone. While the Red Wings have played fairly solid defense overall these first five games, Pitt has had more than enough chances to score. Penguins fans should take a look at Carolina of 2002 how they played "pre-lockout" hockey, or the New Jersey-Anaheim Stanley Cup matchup a few years ago and they'll get the message of "pre-lockout" hockey.

You aren't giving up squat. You are going to watch game 5 like the rest of us (and game 6 and 7 if there are games 6 and 7), and you're going to watch next season like the rest of us, regardless of how much of an imbecile Bettman or other people might be. Get off your soapbox and calm down, it sounds ridiculous.

Lay off the coffee!!!!!!!!!!

Yes. But assuming Kopecky comes back, he'll probably be one down in the depth chart. I think though he might be in a situation like Howard though, where he'll do no good as a healthy scratch every few games. Assuming the Wings roster remains close to the same next season and assuming he doesn't have to clear any waivers, I'd keep him in Grand Rapids to get the most playing time possible. Does he have to clear waivers next year?

Beautifully put, especially your last 3 blurbs/paragraphs.

Look man I know you are trying to defend some Pittsburgh and/or Philly fans, and I know all of them are (EDIT: not like that), but you are fighting a losing battle, and I'm sorry even though I've never been to Philadelphia, some of the things I have read from their fan base doing is just beyond stupid. One of my good friends from college originally from Pittsburgh who actually now is a trainer with the Philadelphia Eagles and I caught up with him when the Eagles played at the New Orleans Saints in December...he basically told me when Eagles players go out for errands or whatever else, half the time people in the grocery stores and the like tell them that they suck or go to hell or other explicatives. This is not coming from me, this was coming from my friend at the time who is a trainer for the Eagles. Not all Philly and Pitt fans are like that, WE GET IT AND UNDERSTAND, but you have to understand that Philadelphia fans are tainted by default for pitiful past actions, and from what I have read in here about Pittsburgh fans, some of them should really be ashamed with how they are acting as well. Now Red Wings fans are far from 100% perfect angels, I get that too, but you are fighting a losing battle in here trying to prove a point to Red Wings fans.

Part of me wants this series to get over ASAP as well just for what you described, from the bickering back and forth between BOTH teams or their fans. I know it's going to be expected to a certain degree obviously, but honestly I think the whining between the fans of both teams has gotten pretty ridiculous.

How so? I really don't have much of a problem following the game right now.

The Red Wings should get more obstruction penalty calls because Malkin is too "tired" to skate.

In fairness to the referees, Gill did get 2 cross-checking minor penalties. I perfectly understand that the play where Holmstrom got injured in Gill pretty much just manhandled him and probably warranted some type of "interference" penalty. Just trying to see it from as many viewpoints as possible.

Personally I am tired about hearing about whining of the referees and/or obstruction from BOTH Penguins and Red Wings fans. Both teams in a game get their share of good/bad calls or no-calls throughout the course of a game and officiating should not be the deciding factor/excuse of why a team wins or loses a game.

In the grand scheme of things in my weird world, each team will have fans that act obnoxious or over the top, I don't care if it is Pittsburgh, Detroit, Phildelphia, or whatever other city/sports team. That shouldn't be an accurate sample though of the entire fan population of a specific team. I've definitely seen a fair share of Red Wings fans in here act over the top at times (I probably have my fair share of guilt in this as well) or be hypocritical with officials, ridiculous media bias or consipiracy, or whatever else, but to tell you the truth from what I have been reading in here, I'm pretty disappointed in Pittsburgh fans overall. Maybe I'm being too generalized and becuase I haven't read any of their media outlets or gone to any of the Penguin sports forums, but from what I have been skimming in here about reactions to their fan base, I'm pretty disappointed in them. Complaining, complaining, complaining it seems just like Coach Therien. Now I have little doubt that Therien is a good coach otherwise he wouldn't be in the SCF, but the way he handled himself especially after game 2 loss was pretty sad I think. When your team gets shut out twice in a row (and not just in 1-0 triple overtime games where chances are even for both teams, etc.), don't you think that regardless of the officiating and good/bad calls for either team, that either the team that beat you was far superior, or your team just flat out didn't show up? Take some personal accountability for yourself and your team. And from what I've read in here, Penguins fans seem to be following the same sad lead. That being said, I've seen the fair share of posts of Red Wing fans in here complain about officiating etc. as well. We are far from perfect in behaving. But if you compare the demeanor I think of the two coaches in Babcock and Therien, I'll take Babcock just about every time as he'll call out himself and his players and take sole responsibility for losing. Maybe Therien does that as well privately behinfd the scenes, but his public demeanor hasn't impressed me so far. And I'm probably being unfair to Phildelphia fans as well since I've never been there, but they get a big for me as well after the Lakers beat the 76ers in the NBA Finals years ago. Lakers couldn't even celebrate on the court due to 76ers fans being obnoxious and idiotic. Always win AND lose graciously whether you are a player or fan. Am I being unfair here?

LOL! Beautiful!

No need to apologize to me whatsoever. I try to be a voice of reason and have a middle ground stance when the team might be facing adversity, or getting people to try to consider a more general/overall perspective outside of just the Red Wings, etc. That's probably a good reason why some of my posts seem to always go against the grain on certain subjects, such as panic-attack threads and so forth, or Mr. Contrary in your specific words, which I think I understand. Honestly, the whole media thing where a lot of the attention/NHL marketing directed towards Crosby does not bother me whatsoever. I'm probably in a minority thinking that, but I have to accept and understand the fact that it bothers plenty of die-hard hockey fans, not just Red Wings fans, not just because it's a case of only OMG WHY DON'T MEDIA TALK ABOUT ZETTERBERG AND DATSYUK, but I do think the league should also consider promoting other stars. Ovechkin has that treatment somewhat as Crosby, but since the Caps got eliminated early and Crosby is the other posterboy, Crosby gets all the attention then. If I pay attention really closely, I'll probably get that it is tiring, but honestly it just doesn't bug me that much to get riled up about it that badly. I guess my stance is that I wish people would accept that Crosby is going to be one of the main marketing pieces for a long while (assuming he still produces on the ice) since he's only 20, and he's from this continent and move on. But maybe what I am failing to see or accept myself is that people already have accepted this and are maybe not tired of it, but would like to see the NHL do new stuff and promote other players as well, like you said. At the same time though, I'm pretty sure the NHL wants to try to bring in new fans. We may all make smart-allec remarks how the NHL will never be popular regardless, but they have to at the very least try. Crosby is somebody people can easily identify with I think. He'll be in the league for a while assuming he stays healthy, he has star talent, he's a "Captain/Leader" (whether you think he's a good captain or not, entirely subjective and I'll leave that up to you to decide), he's a good person to start the marketing with. Crosby shouldn't be blamed for that. Promote other stars more like Ovechkin, Zetterberg, Rick Nash et al? Of course. But realize and we have to live with the almost certain fact that Crosby is going to be one of the leading players of the marketing efforts. I'm definitely for though putting eggs in multiple baskets (marketing more than just 1 or 2 players).

You know...Bozo the Clown really does look kinda like a bozo. Clowns scare me personally, why are clowns almost always scary looking and rarely ever funny?

Speedometer - No Man Worries

Conspiracy theories are a waste of time and heartburn in the sports world, are lame excuses which does everything but hold you or your team accountable for losing or the other team playing better than you.

Perhaps so, but you're still sour over that? Time to move on then. But if you're going to get all hypersensitive to me, at the very worst, calling people "obnoxious" and "overreactionary" and that I'm being amused, you need to grow a thicker skull. I could think of hundreds of things worse that I or anybody else could easily say (and shouldn't say). And if you are going to call me on hypocrisy, you should take a look in the mirror as well. Calling me a snob, I dunno, in some people's world that could be considered a personal attack as well. Seems to fit your definition for what you are calling me on. http://www.letsgowings.com/forums/index.ph...t&p=1377104 I don't have a problem with you personally, but if you have a problem with me or are just dead set on 1-upping me, send me a personal message as to not get the thread off-topic.

Newsflash: The series is far from over. Sidney Crosby is the face of the NHL, no matter how much us Red Wings fans piss and moan and think otherwise. Now cool it with the cockiness and the personal attacks on each other.

ARice is famous! Can I have your autograph?

For the most part, Datsyuk and Zetterberg have been held of the scoresheet minus one Zetterberg goal. While I know the Penguins only have 3 goals in three games, Crosby has two of them, and he had 9 shots on goal in the first two games prior. Of course he didn't light the lamp obviously, but it's not like he was completely floating/invisible either. Datsyuk and Zetterberg are still doing important things no doubt about it, just they don't show up on the major stats you'd look to first I think (they are still hitting, etc.). That, combined with how much attention Crosby gets by default for better/worse, hence the blurb written the way it was I bet.