SouthernWingsFan

Well, I've been seeing some really good progress lately. This week I actually haven't worked out as much as I usually do, but yesterday I dealt with the heat and humidity (nearly 100 degrees, 110 heat index roughly) and cycled for a good while riding 20 miles. Just being out in the heat alone without doing anything helps burn off fat/calories, then it's just a matter of how long you can take it. So I know that helped. Despite the lack of exercise for the week, I've really watched what I have been eating lately. I've only eaten fried food 3 times in the past 2 1/2 weeks roughly. I weighed myself this morning and am at 146 my lowest ever in a good while, and have been consistently going downward over the past week and a half.

Brainwashed? That's a strong word. Because Hudler still did make the game exciting to an extent when he was out there. Samulesson to a lesser extent. You can't tell me those other two guys would make the game significantly more exciting than the others to get me to say, "Damn, I got to see a Red Wings just because Asham and Janssen are on the team!" Great goals and fights are both entertaining in their own ways. See above on my excitement reasons... Kopecky, the verdict is still out on him, but Samulesson has proven he can be a respectable 2nd/3rd line guy. Not the main goal scorer, but these past two seasons he's found a decent role for himself and the Wings, his first full seasons of respectable production in his career I think. Perhaps. The verdict would still be out. Williams was on the Wings longer than Samuelsson right now, so we'll wait and see. Sorry, but 15 goals scored in the extremely limited time he had is far from useless. He made some pretty good use of his limited time I think, which was often chump change. Nobody is saying he's the next Mario Lemieux but I think his value is a bit higher than a fighter who is only going to play 3-4 minutes a game and net 3-4 goals a year. I've watched hockey since the mid-90s, I've seen the more "physical" team from 1997-98 win a Cup, I've seen the less "physical" team win a Cup in 2002. Brainwashed would mean that there's a cult invovled. I don't think there is a Red Wings or Holland cult. You like the team to be built a bit differently, that's fine. Some are pretty content seeing the roster as is, and you know this roster made a pretty deep run to win the Cup. We just don't know if a "fighter" is just going to make that much of a difference to all of a sudden say, "HOLY S**T! Asham has just made the Wings Cup contenders even more!" Again, people aren't brainwashed. They just view the team differently than you. And , when I hear from other credible NHL sources (players/coaches throughout the year) that Holland is one of the better GMs in the league, I'm taking their words over the words of sport forum armchair GM QBs who have no experience in running a sports franchise. I don't have links/sources off the top of my head as I know you and others are going to ask, "Who said this and that about Holland?", but I have read them in the past.

Just because somebody might not think some players as are exciting or don't fight as much doesn't mean that person doesn't watch hockey.

Sutton gone now? Drat. /sarcasm

Please translate. *shrugs*

I don't think anybody's being a Holland slappie, but that's a debate for another time I guess... Would you feel differently Kp about the makeup of this team though, given that they don't drop the gloves that much, if they won the Cup last year or advanced to the SCF?

SPEAK ENGLISH!!!!!!!!! All right I got a few questions... Is Dino really a dog, or a dinosaur? Is Hoppie really a kangaroom, or a hop-a-saurus? Is Animal really an animal, a human, or is he just a thing? Is Gonzo really a weirdo, or is he an anteater? Why do almost all the Muppets sleep with their eyes open?

The Jackson Five - A, B, C....1, 2, 3 followed by... Naughty By Nature - O.P.P.

I really don't think it's worth his time to do this to please you, and only you.

Ugh…..Forgive me for sounding like a jackass but… You all know how long the lockout lasted? About a year and a half. You know how long a normal off-season lasts? Probably no more than three and a half months. That is jack squat worth of time, and it is easily the shortest off-season when compared to the NFL/college football, MLB, and the NBA. Work, exercise, go out, read, hang out with friends. Do the same stuff you always do during hockey season that’s not hockey-related. And you think you’ve got it bad right now or during the lockout? Live where I live and then compare. I’m in a non-hockey market, I didn’t have squat of hockey to watch during the lockout. No NHL, no minor league games, no college games. No skating rinks to skate at or watch hockey. Zero. Zilch. Zippo-dee-do-dah. And the amount of people who care that much about hockey down here as I do is, well it’s not a lot. And I didn’t even have my current job yet during the first half of the lockout, was doing temporary gigs, and working part-time. I had more free time than I do now. I still kept myself occupied just fine. Watching the Red Wings and hockey is an important part of my life. I rarely miss a game, but my life is not all about the Detroit Red Wings, even during hockey sesason. Again, three and a half months is absolutely nothing worth of time compared to the lockout. Sorry if I’m coming across pretty strongly but have some will power and occupy yourself with other things. And I know most of you all live in hockey markets, so play or watch a summer league game at a rink. It’s not that bad and not that long.

Sounds nice in theory, but it just greatly penalizes the weaker teams, even the mid-level teams that could make the playoffs as a lower seed. My standings/points breakdowns for regular season proposal, regardless of who you play.... I know some don't like shootouts determing W's/L's but I'm keeping them in, I like them for the most part (NO PLAYOFFS THOUGH ) 0 points for a loss, it doesn't matter when it happens during a game 1 point for a shootout win 2 points for an overtime win 3 points for a regular-time win

What if last year's team of "non-fighters" won the Cup? Would you feel differently about the assembled team? I know they didn't, but you got to admit, they were probably just two awful breaks away from at least going to the SCF, so it's probably a realistic question. The series loss to Anaheim had nothing or very little to do with the Wings not fighting or questioning their toughness. Plus they beat San Jose and Calgary that were supposed to run them out the building physically. I'm not questioning your loyalty/fan-o-meter to the Red Wings at all Kp, but I think a little too much emphasis is being put on fights.

Speedometer - Take a Chance

I'm not all that superstitious or believe that much in good/bad luck or jinkes, but to an extent I think this mindset helps some. Heck, in 2002 you could insert Yzerman in there due to how bad of shape he was in to start the playoffs, but he was still one of the best players on the ice that first round. I think scenarios like these help you get the motivation and blood boiling to start a game in any sport, but after the first few minutes of adreneline, you got to settle down. Not play soft or slow, but play how you know you are capable of playing, in a controlled manner.

I can't speak for thousands of other Wings fans if they like "those type of players" or not, but you are spot on with how Bertuzzi was treated here more often than not during his brief stint here. I can bet a lot of Wings fans might probably warm up if disliked opponents such as Jarome Iginla or even the most hated man since Napoleon Bonaparte's times, Chris Pronger, were with the Red Wings. Hypothetical examples of course, I'm not suggesting or rumoring these players are coming to the Wings. Just like any other professional team you follow tooth/nail, you eventually gain a soft spot for a hated guy from a former team due to a change in uniform, more often than not. EDIT: As for fighting, of course I like your normal one-on-one fight in a hockey game, they definitely make the game a bit more entertaining. I've said that plenty of times in here. I just don't put as much emphasis of fighting itself as one of the more important reasons in obtaining a player or as one of the more important aspects of a hockey game. Especially with this team at it's current state of players, because they already have decent depth of 3rd/4th liners (regardless of whether they drop the gloves or not). That's why I'm not itching for a lower-line guy who will just primarily fight and play just 4 minutes a game, but only contribute 4 goals a year.

Fair enough, my fault there.

Because hopefully some Wings fans aren't as snobish to Southern teams.

Balls... Juggling... Bouncing... Too many peverted jokes running inside my head right now...

Sly and the Family Stone - Dance to the Music

Speedometer - Meter's Running

Not since I took that disposable glove off about 20 minutes ago.

I often look in here and don't post. I know, it's pretty shocking... *shrugs*

Stealing a quote from the movie Mallrats... So, playing hockey realated video games is the extent of my hockey experience as well.

Adam Sandler - Ode to my Car

No, we just realize that Anaheim and Detroit both play completely different styles of hockey that made both teams successful in different ways this past season, and that Detroit showed there fight without any major big guys or fighters protecting their star players. If they were getting constantly pushed around and kept losing, then I'd understand the need a bit more. They didn't get pushed around by any of the "Big Three" physical teams in the playoffs on a consistant/dominating basis. It's not a #1 priority. Quoted for truth.