SouthernWingsFan

I'd rather not pick my poison. Everybody was so jacked up to see the Wings play a team with a "similar" style in Edmonton in the 1st round of the 2005-06 season, and look what happened... Every team will pose a threat and if you think the Wings will win a first round series in a cakewalk because of one team over another, I'd be careful not to be overconfident. Sorry, I know I'm not any fun...

United States overall, while definitely far from perfect, is a fairly civil country when compared to others. Columbia is not. And no, I know all Columbians are probably not like that before somebody yells my head off about being too generalized.

The suspense is killing me!!!!!!

I would think it'd be easier to play it in the Meadowlands since it is more of a bowl shaped stadium, but I guess this is why I don't make any major decisions in life. Still can't do much wrong hosting it in such a historic venue as Yankee Stadium.

Big leads being blown (that sounds really wrong ) shouldn't be a shock to anybody in here, whether it is the Wings blowing leads or any other teams. It's happened to the Wings once this year that I can easily recall, twice in recent playoffs as well. The Canadiens blew a 3-0 lead to a loss to the Rangers. They came back from 4 or 5 down in another game. It isn't a new occurance, it can pop up at anytime and they arent doing it on purpose. Hopefully it won't happen in the playoffs, I'm not wanting it to happen, but it shouldn't come to a surprise if it does.

Who do you dislike or disrespect more out of the 2 who seem to be the biggest public enemies in here? Tootoo for me by a wide, wide margin.

I like whenever I get to hear Cherry because he can get pretty nuts. He's hilarious and passionate. That being said, nothing against Jovanoski cause he's a solid d-man, I highly doubt he's much in the running.

Ouch. Definitely not one of my favorite guys, but you don't wish injury upon anybody and I can't imagine how painful the injury might've occured on TV. Who is going to tell Datsyuk that he's going to get it though? What is he supposed to be getting?

The amount of scoring, or lack thereof whenever it happens, rarely bothers me. I don't signficantly feel that much more positive seeing a 5-4 game vs. a 2-1 or 1-0 game. As stated, inconsistent penalty calling will always be with us. Referees are human, they make mistakes just like you and me. There are bound to be errors from time to time. In extreme cases though, you review stuff/goals like what has happened recently in 2 Wings loses where referees played a major contribution in Wings losses. The "illegal" goalie equipment complaining is getting tiring. Does equipment help? Sure, but it isn't just the equipment that makes the save. If Giguere or Luongo is wearing illegal equipment, higher ups will deal with them. If they are playing within the rules as they are stated, what's the problem? If it is that big of a deal, tweak the rules in the offseason. Get rid of the damned instigator rule for "questionable hits". You might see more fights, but that will yield to more accountability and a good chance of a reduction of cross checks to the face or whatever else.

Definitely won't paint a broad generalization of your fans at all, and I'm glad you responded in defense that some, or perhaps a good chunk of, the fan base is not like that. As for Tootoo... I don't ever wish or want bad things to happen to people, not even public enemy #1's in here such as Pronger, Tootoo, Perry, Giguere, Foresberg, or whomever else. I certainly like when people play intense and on edge. Tootoo though is going to eventually get what is coming for him with his "retributal" crap and antics hitting people from behind or cross checking in the face or whatever. I hope it doesn't come to that but he's asking for it with his reckless style of play. I know he has to have some skill level or hockey I.Q. or he wouldn't be playing in the NHL, but I'm losing respect for him more and more. People give Pronger here a lot of s**t on here, some deserved and some undeserved and overdramatized, but I can at least respect him to a good degree because he is one of the better defensemen in this league and doesn't just blatantly going out trying to chop people's heads off all the time. Tootoo just runs around like a chicken with his head cut off when he's on the ice.

Invisible Man's Band - All Night Thing Good R&B/disco tune from the late 70s.

(not that you're done, clap cause I am pretty much 100% in agreement )

No, he isn't.

No lie. While I think many in here go incredibly off the deep end sometimes when they talk about Pronger, I don't think that he understands that he's done enough in this league (not intentionally so much and he doesn't necessarily have a bulls eye on him 24-7) to where people are going to want to get under his skin.

Because he took their lunch money in grade school. *shrugs*

This is a bunch of feces!

Pretty much how I exactly feel about what replays should be in hockey. I doubt we will ever see "challeneges" like in college football or the NFL, and I don't want to actually review every. single. little. play. Reviewing goals like they do now, is fine with me in terms of instant replay. EVERY goal/non-goal situation should be reviewable though, as we've experienced officiating play a major, major role in 2 recent Wings losses with a "no-goal" in the crease vs. Anaheim and the netting incident in San Jose. Tweak whatever rules there are, or make rules, to have every situation that officials might be unsure of in the heat of the moment to be reviewable. It keeps fans waiting and might slightly diminish fan experience at a game if you really want to get over-detailed about it, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

Recall that the game got extremely solid ratings when it was played on New Year's Day in the afternoon, competing for viewership for sports at least with the busiest bowl game day in college football. And, to the general population, it's a pretty safe bet that college football is more popular or easier to identify with than hockey. So all in all, I'd say the event this year was a success. I don't see the harm, at least for now, in doing this once a year every year.

Nothing to get too riled up with IMO. I've certainly been impressed with Meech a lot lately, but I think Lebda and or/Lilja need to play as much as possible until the playoffs to reduce any of their brainfarts that are usually more glaring than other defensemen on the Wings. Right now I think Lilja has the edge over Lebda. As for Ericsson, he is best suited for the most playing time possible in Grand Rapids. It's all but determined though that he'll be back down there after tonight's game so why not just given him as many opportunities in his limited time here to see how he fits into the Wings future plans? I think the coaching staff has seen enough positive things of Meech to know what he's capable of. Being scratched tonight doesn't take away from that IMO.

Bottom line is his attitude will always be in question. Some people, especially grit slappies, will be definitely willing to cast close to a blind eye to that because he plays some form of that type of game. If the price was right, I'd consider a move and would be willing to take a chance in spite of any doubts I might have towards his "behavior", but not at $4M a year. Avery hasn't earned that IMO. I perfectly understand why though people don't want him back in Detroit, and those reservations are pretty legit I think.

And Steve Yzerman probably wasn't the best center all-time, if at the very least we were talking from a statistical standpoint. F.Michael generally you hit home runs on pretty much most posts that I read of yours and you are a valued poster at least to me, but I'm sorry, you can play the "It's my opinion" game all you want, we have our "opinions" as well. Comparing Favre to Yzerman and just completely brushing Favre off like a case of fleas is pretty ridiculous I think. Maybe Favre wasn't the absolute best #1 QB ever. Maybe Yzerman wasn't the best #1 center ever either. But it is impossible to argue that these two belong among the greats of both professional football and hockey for their performances on the football field/ice and their leadership abilities. You, I, and everybody else can debate who is the best until we lose our hair due to old age, but that will take absolutely nothing away from the fine career of Favre, and Yzerman's for that matter. I'm sure there were people outside of Red Wings fans and non-hockey fans who really didn't care much for Yzerman's retirement either. No need to be harsh. Now I certainly didn't get affected that much by Favre's retirement either as I'm not much of a Packers fan (nor any other team outside of my local Saints, don't really dispise or hate any team), but athletes and careers like his or Yzerman's careeer come few and far between. They affect so many people to just the average joe's in such a positive way. Favre has affected so many people in Madison, around the Gulf of Mexico coast (his college area of Southern Mississippi), and I couldn't possible imagine how many teammates or other NFL players. We might not pay as much attention to all the news, but his successful career demands respect even from the average joe that might not like the Pack, or him, or just not watch football that much. He's more than earned the right for his retirement to be largely recognized across the country.

KC and the Sunshine Band - Boogie Shoes

Big risk obviously with his attitude, but I wouldn't mind trying to get Avery back for somewhere around $2 - $2.25M a year. I don't keep up with NHL news that well in general, but it hasn't seemed like he's acted like a drama queen lately, which seemed to be his specialty in Los Angeles. People in here have goofy dreams about wanting grit/hustle/toughness. Avery brings that and has developed somewhat of a scoring touch it seems. Again, attitude is the big question but I'd be open on taking a chance on him again if the situation made sense.

I'm not reading too much into this, at least from Ericsson's vantage point. He needs as much PT as possible, and Grand Rapids is the place for that if/when the defense corps is healthy. I'm just guessing the top brass wants to give him the most opportunities up here as they can when, at least for now, his time at the top level is more limited. I'm 50-50 on who to scratch. Meech has really impressed lately obviously, but I'm still cautiously optimistic that Lebda can get his act together on a more consistent basis. I think we've seen overall that Lebda (and Lilja as well) as the top d-men, not the best solution (though coaching staff really had little choice obviously given the situation). Lebda as a 5th/6th d-man, less mistakes, better solution.

I'm now having flashbacks of the Hasek-Gaborik incident thread that turned into a complete train wreck, and people rioted even when Hasek did his job RIGHT. I'm not sure if I should be laughing hysterically about that or just be thinking "Are you freaking kidding me?!" I guess both would suffice all right concerning this.