SouthernWingsFan

Not sure if this is related to crowded activity yesterday or today Matt, but I have had occurances lately where the forum stops working in the Internet browser I am in, but I open the forums up in a new browser and it works fine, while the 1st browser stays down.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves for Ericsson yet. Meech though I think is making a serious push for more than spot duty (once/assuming everybody gets healthy again). Him playing solid lately along with both Lilja/Lebda struggling might yield to some healthy scratch changes soon.

If we're going by these two to get more playing time from recent games, it would be a painful choice. Do I have to choose? Kinda odd that with all these injuries to the defense core, the most "experienced" ones, Lebda and Lilja, seem to be making the most mistakes lately. I honestly don't know who I'd choose over the other right now b/c they have both been really struggling lately. Stuart will add depth and get them thinking more obviously, and I think Meech lately is making a serious push for more than spot time (once/assuming everybody gets healthy again). I like Ericsson, but it's only 3 games for him and he's got aways to go to make it up the depth chart. Solid 1st goal/shot obviously but he was pretty inconsistant this game other than that. The way I see it, and this is just 1 idiot's opinion, this is the defensive depth once everybody gets healthy. Lidstrom Rafalski Kronwall Stuart Chelios Lebda Lilja/Meech tied for 7th spot Ericsson Quincey Stafford And the gap between the 6th and 7th spot is not that wide, especially from recent play of all three, Meech being solid and Lilja/Lebda struggling.

Baby steps people, baby steps. All things considering lately with a pretty awful slump and injuries, you take a point when you can get it. 1 point tonight is 1 point more than the Wings have earned in a lot of games lately. The Wings *knock on wood* are slowly mending up, Stuart will add more defensive depth to push Lilja and Lebda and hopefully get them to reduce their recent goof ups, and this team showed plenty of urgency in the 3rd and finally started to get some breaks not hitting posts, etc. Hopefully tonight is the start of snapping out of their funk.

Sure!

Baby steps people, baby steps. Wings have been pretty awful lately overall, not just Lilja. They at least got 1 point, which is a lot more points that they've gotten overall in the past 10 games. Players will be slowly coming back. Defense will have more depth with Stuart and will get more competiton for Lilja and Lebda and hopefully get them to reduce their recent brainfarts. The team overall looks to be snapping out of their funk. The 3rd period intensity/urgency overall got me excited. Again, baby steps.

While more player movement obviously yields to more excitement, the trade deadline day for the Wings was neither a success or failure to me. Pretty much a flat C in terms of grade, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. We've seen that it can certainly happen, but do you realistically think that the Wings will continue to be without their top-4 defensemen out. We've seen two top defensemen out last playoffs, but the team right now has somewhat of a larger "minor league prescence." This team, when healthy, was winning more often than not. This team after the trading deadline when they get most people back, is going to be pretty identical to the one that was winning more often than not before the beginning/middle of this month. I don't see why that can't happen in the playoffs once everybody starts getting used to each other again and getting their timing back once healthy.

Wow I didn't know the playoffs started today! NEWSFLASH: When your top 4 defensemen are injured, IT'S HARDER TO WIN GAMES! When this team is healthy (and the looks of them getting healthy in the near future is good I think) they were consistently winning. I don't see why it can't happen in the playoffs. This roster after the trading deadline, after everybody gets healthy again, IS NEARLY THE SAME AS THE ONE THAT WAS WINNING MORE OFTEN THEN NOT! I swear, some people in here need to get a grip on their emotions or check themselves into a mental hospital for anger or depression.

I'm gonna give it a shot to see if some people will actually listen to some reason... There is a fine line between being passionate about your team winning/losing and just flat out going overboard being obnoxious, and from the looks of things today from some of the threads that were created, I think some people have gone way beyond the obnoxious level with this team and Ken Holland. I'm all for constructive criticism and the like, this team certainly wasn't "perfect" even when threy were winning more often than not, but to think that Holland is absolute garbage or it is a guarantee that the Wings are steamrolled in the first round is just being ridiculously overdramatic. There is still aways to go before the playoffs start in April and this team getting healthy again. a. This team is injured right now. It's not a cop-out for an excuse, it is just a fact. When your top 4 defensemen are out, it is harder to win games. b. When this team was healthy with pretty much nearly the identical roster they have now, they were consistently winning. I don't see why that cannot happen in the playoffs if/when they are happy again. c. 1 or 2 big names acquired at a trade deadline doesn't guarantee you a Cup. They may definitely be significant factors, BUT AN ENTIRE TEAM WINS A STANLEY CUP. TOGETHER. d. Some people think trades can instantly happen like on their PlayStation. Maybe some players don't want to come play for the Wings. Maybe all parties aren't satisfied with what each are willing to offer. I'm no general manager of a sports franchise or business but I tihnk it's safe to assume it's no walk in the park. It's pretty darned easy to play armchair GM in a sports forum drinking beer AFTER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED. Doesn't seem so easy to me when you are the one who has to make the decisions in real-time, not after real-time. It seems like some people in here are most comfortable when their heart rate is over 200 and they are either pissed off or thinking that the world is going to end when it comes to the Red Wings, and rubbing that notion in people's faces. That's not passion or caring about your team in my opinion. That's somewhat on a level of being miserable and depressed and angry a majority of a day. Maybe I'm going a bit too far but you know what I mean. I guess I don't get it, but I'd rather not being just completely angry or down in the dumps if this team isn't quite 100% "perfect".

Holland was right. There were definitely moves made today!

And we didn't need to. Look fans, I know the Wings aren't good right now. I'm not looking for a cop-out excuse, but it's just a fact that it is more difficult to consistently win when some of your top players go down to injury. Losing your top-4 defensemen all around the same time is a hard pill to swallow. Who knows what will happen in the playoffs but the roster, when healthy, was consistently winning more often than not. The roster after the trade deadline minus a few injured players, is almost nearly identical to the roster that was winning more often than not when healthy. To think that the Wings are just a recipe for disaster and done in the first round when there is still aways to go before the playoffs and getting some important players back is just ludicrous. I'm all for constructive criticism, but thinking they are completely screwed is ludicrous.

Mass Production - Firecracker

Never too early to start talking about one of the better sports out there IMO. I'll leave the Big 10 chatter to the local people who know what they are talking about, and briefly start and inform what is going on near my neck of the woods. I'm really surprised how much hype my alma mater, TCU is getting. College Football News preview... http://cfn.scout.com/2/647546.html My school is one of the better non-BCS schools out there, yes. We've finished 11-1 and 11-2 the past two seasons. I absolutely hate how TCU one of the main non-BCS schools that is going to "crash the BCS" so early in the game. Reasons this upcoming season and past seasons being... Everybody in here can probably recall our stunning upset win at Oklahoma to start the 2005 season. All of a sudden, we are ranked, could crash the BCS after WEEK 1. Guess what happens next week? Despite us finishing 11-1, we lose a clunker to a pretty subpar team in SMU after the big OU win. Last year, same thing. We had a very impressive win against Texas Tech, limiting their high powered offense to just a FIELD GOAL. Supposed to be the main candidate to crash the BCS at the time before Boise State made noise. After that week though, lost 2 in a row to a very solid BYU team last year and then to a decent Utah team, despite winning out after that and finishing 11-2. This season, TCU's defense will probably be sickening good again, but we have to groom a new QB, develop WR depth and such. Offense will be in question. A lot of people think we'll give Texas a run for their money in a game at Austin in early September and that we could crash the BCS again. One college football maagazine ranked my school 15 to start the season. I would love for all of this to happen obviously, but my school is receiving WAY TOO MUCH HYPE right now. Worry about winning our conference, then I'll worry about TCU and BCS talk. ---------- Now to LSU, the nearby school I like to follow. Love the school, cannot stand a lot of the fans, generally speaking. One of the local RBs here that was a hotshot recruit chose USC over LSU and people were saying he was a traitor to the state of Louisiana, he turned his back, etc. It was really sad. LSU fans think they are entitled to almost anything and everything. If you rememeber the name Ryan Perrilloux, he was one of the most sought-out QBs a few years ago and was finally going to compete for the starting QB this year for LSU. Well, he ran into off-the-field issues at a casino (20, illegal age) and he's probably done this season. Stupid stuff, and he had all the athletic tools to be damned good in a year or two. That being said though, LSU shouldn't drop off much with the departure of Russell and with Matt Flynn at QB. He's a senior, mature, and from the limited action I have seen him in (plus a dominate Peach Bowl win against Miami in 2005 season), he rarely tries to do too much and is a good game manager. Their defense should be sick as well. Most of their hard games come at home. Virginia Tech, Florida, and Auburn. If they can win out those brutal home three and beat Alabama on the road, they'll probably play for the SEC Championship, then who knows. Don't want to get too ahead of myself there though, just like with TCU.

We're gonna win by 10 touchdowns!!!!!!!

Lyn Collins - Think

Damn I gotta find out about this invention! No all nighter for me. My total work commute can get up to around 80 minutes, that takes a good chunk of time, and I usually wake up early in the morning between 4am - 5am (which I have done today), so I usually get at most 6 hours of sleep a day on a good day, but usually only 4-5 a day. I need all the ZZZZZZZ's I can get.

58.23093046%. I picked that number because that is how my fingers were working on the number keys this morning, and this seemed like the cool thing to do right now. *shrugs*

I doubt it. Nobody or the league is intentionally out to get the Wings I think.

There is a reason the Wings didn't offer him a contract this offseason. Why would the Wings want him now?

If that's the definition of a superstar, which is entirely subjective but I'd say it is fairly accurate to me, Flipper won't become that anytime soon. A consistent 20 goal scorer at least in the next few seasons upcoming is fairly realistic I think. I'm glad that Flipper and Franzen aren't going anywhere it seems. I'm really starting to like Franzen a lot. He could throw the body around a little more but he's turning into a solid PKer I think and he'll show some offensive flair infrequently. I don't share the discontent that others often show towards Samuelsson and Hudler of late, but they have barely done squat lately so I understand if they are part of a trade package.

Let's bring back Uwe Krupp!!!! No wait...

I can't speak for everybody, but obviously I think a lot of us want these guys back ASAP given the slump the Wings are currently in. Fortunately, they've worked up such a cushion that nobody should be getting too many grey hairs given the current situation. They are too experienced and knowledgable for this to just spiral downhill even more. Most of them will be back in time, at least on the defense, and they can get their timing/chemistry back and we'll start winning more than we are currently losing. No need to get too worried.

That doesn't always make it right or approriate.....

Hit itself wasn't dirty at all and I don't blane Laperriere whatsoever for going for the hit as he plays a pretty rugged game obviously. I question whether he could've controlled his elbows better when hitting Lidstrom around the head. Ah well, it is in the past and Lidstrom should be back soon enough and no point in holding any grudges towards Lappy or whatever, it's over and done with.

Tyrone Brunson - The Smurf Machito/Afro-Cuban Orchestra - Mambo Mucho Mambo A great Latin Jazz tune to move around to. If you've played Grand Theft Auto Vice City you'll probably recognize it.