SouthernWingsFan

:caution: There ya go s**thead.

Good for you.

Honestly, I think you would look just as "smoking hot" weighing 123 vs. 115. I'm all about getting fit/in-shape and I work out nearly every day, but I weigh about 146/147 pounds now, compared to years ago and up to this past December when I was pretty much 140. My point is even though I've gained a few pounds I still look pretty slender (only about 5'7" for my height) and while I'm no body builder, I have a somewhat decent build. I lost a few pant sizes when I lost around 40 pounds a few years ago to the low 140s. There's pretty much little/no differnce in how I look now weighing b/w 145 - 150, as opposed to me weighing around 140. I think I look good and I feel good about my physical health more often than not cause I usually eat right and keep up my exercise. I will wear the same pants size weighing 140 or 147. I'm definitely not stopping you from losing a few pounds, but in your scenario here and my insight just now, I wouldn't fret about it too much.

Good fricken god are you people ever going to stop? This is getting insane, it's too much. I’m fricken worn out reading the same predictable scripts from both sides over and over again. We all know who's one what side of the extremes of the enforcer/not-so-much enforcer debate. I’m sorry for sounding like a crybaby complainer here and I’m not signaling anybody out in particular, but enough is enough with this enforcement/non-enforcement crap for crying out loud, from both extreme sides. The subject has been beaten to death so badly in here that it’s well under the mud, well under the Earth’s crust, and way under the Earth’s core by now. At the end of the day, nobody's viewpoints are going to change. I never thought I’d say this, but this has gotten as bad as the stupid goalie debates that go on in here. Sorry, had to get that out of my system. Yeah yeah I know, just don’t open the damn thread then and all that well screw you too crap in the would-be responses to my post giving me attitude back…

Perhaps it's on the same channels as other sports networks (i.e. Major League Baseball network) while that season is still in progress. My local cable provider still has NHL Center Ice being in the "off-season", b/c it's on the same station numbers as the MLB package until MLB gets in the playoffs. And baseball still has the regular season for another week or so. Once that ends it switches to NHL Center Ice right in the beginning of October to order/view the first week for free once baseball playoffs roll around. So I wouldn't sweat or fret just yet, just be patient.

Good f**king grief!!!!!!! What do you not understand about this?!?!?!? Yzerman himself said during a live interview in one of the playoff games this season that his body could no longer take the punishment and normal wear/tear, given all that he has gone through. He said himself that he couldn’t help the team anymore on the ice to significantly make a positive difference. That answers your question right there, and any specualtion on your part or other fans for that matter on whether he could've made a big difference. So, when you think about it, he’s probably saying that he’d be holding the team back if he was still playing. After 2005-06, he was done, finished. He himself made up his mind to wrap us his career as an athlete. Not my decision, not yours, not other fans, not upper management. Nobody forced him out. IT WAS HIS OWN DECISION. So your comparison DOESN’T MATTER because Yzerman wasn’t going to be out there on the ice to begin with because he is RETIRED! And Calder barely even played for the bazillionth time so why you keep on bringing either of the two up in playoff discussions this past season, or are comparing the two, makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. They barely played or didn’t play at all! And why are you even thinking about if they would give Calder #19 AFTER THE JERSEY HAS BEEN RETIRED PERMANENTLY IN THE ORGANIZATION. Once a jersey is retired, nobody can wear the number again UNLESS THE RETIRED PLAYER APPROVES OF IT. Stop asking irrelevant questions. You just keep digging yourself deeper and deeper to idiocy with excuses and pointless scenarios that make absolutely no sense. Stop. Now.

So? You wander where players ever gave Yzerman credit. I pointed out an example. You didn't say anything in the rules about it being "current" or "former" players. Since you are so ridiculously anal retentive over this though, I'll point out where a current player gives him credit. That same series in 2002 in the Cup video recap, Hasek, THE CURRENT STARTING GOALTENDER OF THE RED WINGS, said Yzeman was an inspiration to the Wings and, now I'm quoting him, "Our leader" (our referring to the Detroit Red Wings) in how he was marvelous being the main focal point getting them past that first round against Vancouver. Now, if you go on to say, but that was 2002, I want to see a teammate from 2004-05 before he retired give him credit, I will jump through my laptop and smack you silly. I can guaran-damn-tee you that even though the Wings were bounced out of that first round, players would've said he was one of the best players in that series against Edmonton. How do you know? You have a magic crystal ball or something? And again, what did Calder do to hold back the Wings last playoffs? HE BARELY PLAYED! So your comparison between the two is ridiculous, when Calder shouldn't be considered an emotional/mental leader or one of your main point-producers. You are just reaching for excuses and you can easily insert player ABC or player XYZ for Calder in this ridiculous comparison. And you're making a lot of assumptions, A LOT MORE RIDICULOUS ONES, about stupid story spin-offs and possible conspiracies of people somehow disrespecting the man, when they ARE NOT TRUE. If a player on the Red Wings didn't learn anything from Yzerman, especially in the latter part of his career, that player is an idiot, and I'd sure hope Lidstrom learned "something" from Yzerman, or he'd be a lousy captain now. Your statement here is beyond any sensible logic. Good.

Ok, I'll give you one of many examples... Yzerman was playing his rear off on a gimpy knee in the first round of the 2002 playoffs, leading the team despite barely being able to stand up. Their recap video of the Cup that I have, Fedorov said that made him bust his tail off as well in the latter part of the first round to help put Vancouver away, and Fedorov was just dynamite in game 5 in that first period. Now, for the love of god and everybody else in here.... LET IT GO!!!!!!!

Hasek was a backup years and years ago.....in Chicago. That's a long time ago and he's certainly done a helluva lot since then to be a starter anywhere.

Remember how long the lockout lasted? Much longer than an off-season. So spare me the "I'm not a real Red Wings fan" bulls**t just because I miss a few pre-season games that don't count in the standings, or don't remember the stats of Tim Cheveldae from 1991, or that Jamie Pushor was a Red Wing for X amount of games for 2 seasons, etc. etc. etc. I'm no more/less, no better/worse of a fan than you, any other member in here, or any other Red Wings fan. Thank you. As much as I like the Red Wings, my life is not all about them and I got other stuff going on in my life as well.

They give Yzerman credit for being a leader, learning from Yzerman, etc. Now get of your conspiracy theory high horse and let this s**t go for crying out loud.

More like version 119.1 Whenever I see yet another endless debate in here about this subject that predictably yields no results/change on the extreme sides, I usually think...

Interesting... While I think it's been documented in here, and in other sports sources following the Wings, is that Howard is the future in goaltending for Detroit, and I want him to get his chance here, but there's no sense in rushing him. He's young, only in his early 20s, and has plenty of good years ahead of him if he continues to develop. Hasek/Osgood for one more season, let's see what the Wings want to do with Osgood after this season is up whether they re-sign him or not. I'm assuming (don't know/just speculation by a dopey fan) in all of this that Hasek will retire after this season, but he's the wild card in all of this. If he can "do it again" this season like last season, he could be back again. I'm guessing in 2008-09, it'll be Osgood/Howard, but I could be dead wrong as it's way too early to be certain about anything.

So? Just because somebody doesn't play hockey doesn't mean they always don't know what they are talking about. Some people who have never played hockey still can get pretty knowledgable about the sport by WATCHING the sport.

Meh, it's the preseason, the games technically don't count. I could care less about the preseason in any sports. If they were on regular TV down here I'd glance at them, but nothing too much more or get emotionally out of whack as a result. Case in point I watched the New Orleans Saints first preseason game down here off/on, first game coming off nearly going to the Super Bowl, they don't play that good, and many fans are on suicide watch after 1 PRESEASON game from the stuff I was listening to on the radio on the way to work the next morning. Pretty pitiful. Besides, I like watching college football a lot, almost as much as I like watching the Wings, and I will rarely miss any games from my alma mater and one of the bigger schools down here when they are on TV or live. Once regular season starts early next month, I will be all eyes/ears when the games matter.

Man, I watched one of the most pitiful 21-7 wins ever last night. Thank goodness my school still has a ridiculously high pulse on defense, cause their offense is just terrible. Against the nation's worst passing defense they couldn't move the ball for crap, only have one offensive touchdown, and they turn it over in the red zone again, TWICE! If not for an interception return for a TD and a blocked punt for a TD, my school's season is even more down the drain.

No, there is no lack of respect for Yzerman. And the Yzerman/Calder comparison is a ridiculous apples to oranges comparison since Calder barely played at all in the playoffs and Calder isn't considered one of your main emotional leaders or main point producers. I'll say it again, you are :looney: with this stuff.

:looney:

There isn't.

That was just a sweet sequece. Holder of the FG just flips it over his head, David catches it, TD baby. Shockingly though, that's not the first time I've seen a play like that happen. It was another LSU game, I think back in 1999 when they were struggling a bit was hosting Auburn. Auburn had a short FG attempt of probably no more than 25 yards, but they faked it and the holder flipped it behind his head the exact same way, and the Auburn kicker ran it in for TD untouched. Watch college football highlights sometime today or tomorrow, it was a damned sneaky and fun play. Wasn't the prettiest win, 28-16, but it was raining most of the day in Baton Rouge, expected some sloppy play and some mistakes. South Carolina is a better team than a lot of people give them credit for. I'll take the win. LSU's defense is just so fast. If you watch any future games of LSU, pay attention to defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, #72. He's all but a top draft pick assuming he stays healthy. He's a beast. Hopefully my alma mater can follow suit tonight. Kudos to both Michigan and MSU for wins today. EDIT: Also, heard a few minutes ago that Appalachian State lost their first game today on the road by about 10.

I didn't watch much of it last night, but from what I saw....damn....Oklahoma is pretty scary. They've shown so far that they are a legit top-5 team. I know Tulsa isn't a world-beater, but they are far from a pushover and starting midway in the 2nd quarter Oklahoma just completely took over. I hope both state schools in Michigan win today. And I hope like crazy that my school can rebound to even their record at 2-2, or many of my school fans will be on major suicide watch, given the high expectations of my school this season (much like Michigan). The opponent is SMU. They got a decent QB so if they can contain him, shouldn't be a problem, b/c SMU's defense so far has been horrible (though my school can't finish drives for anything once they get in the red zone on offense ).

Great perspective. Now for mine... I can appreciate both old and new stadiums alike. I went to college and lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area from 1999-2004. I didn't go to many Dallas Stars games, but I'd usually go to 1 or 2 a year and saw them play the Wings a few times. I've seen them play both at their current arena, American Airlines, as well as the old Reunion Arena. AA is damned nice, I've also been there for a fair amount of Desperado games (arena football). Surprsingly, I never went to a Mavericks game when I was there. Anyways, you could compare their old place, Reunion Arena, a lot to JLA. Just 1 level of concessions/walking area, and just a basic bowl shape to view the game action. I liked seeing them play in Reunion. It was compact/tight, barely any bad seats. I was on the very top row of the 2nd deck there and it still seemed like I was on top of the action. And Reunion Arena could get very loud, very quickly. I have made trips to seen games at Joe Louis Arena as well the past two seasons. A lot like Reunion Arena. Could JLA use a facelift? Without question. But I am not hard to please at all. Just give me a bathroom to give back to Mother Nature, decent A/C settings in the arena, and I am pleased. I go to a game to see the action on the ice/court/playing surface first, not for an "overall fan experience first". I don't need all the other entertainment stuff.

Again..... You, AND ONLY YOU, are making a big deal out of this, where there is nothing to make a fuss out of. Nobody is disrespecting anyone in this column.

Ribs is a pretty big deal, depending on where he hit them at. Back in high school I was just watching a baseball game (remember, JUST WATCHING), small collegiate stadium, I was walking down the stairway and mis-stepped and fell, and I hit my ribs smack dab on a railing. I didn't come close to breaking them, but they were damn sore for a good while. I remember trying to play golf a few days later and I could barely even swing the golf club. At least it got a few laughs out of some people, at my unfortuante expense of pain. Ribs is nothing to mess with, and I'd be careful not to push too hard too soon if I was Cleary, esp. since it'll be preseaon/early regular season. Plenty of time to get better.

Johnny Gill - Rub You the Right Way Awesome upbeat R&B song from the early 90s.