SouthernWingsFan

Quite an imagination there..... I'm definitely trying not to judge like that, I probably would have little problems with Jamie McLennan the person off the ice. I don't really have problems with his attitude or anything like that, minus this incident, on the ice either. Who/what should I compare his incident to then?

Because it's so much easier and so much fun for many to just blame Gary Bettman for s**ts and giggles on here, like it is to have a few LGW whipping boys that seemed to be blamed for things for no apparent reason.

I don't think VS is going to reach that status of ESPN in the immediate future, so ESPN I don't think has to worry about much in terms of that, but I am glad that you pointed out that VS is going a bit more in the direction of what we might call "mainstream" sports. They started broadcasting college football games from the Mountain West Conference last season, as well as some MWC college basketball games. The college I went to is in that conference so I caught them specifically on 4 broadcasts on the network I think last season, 1 a few days later as I took a road trip back up for that game. While I don't pay that much attention to what annoucers might say vs. (no pun iintended) the action on the field, the broadcasts were good I thought. Solid picture, the announcers did their homework it seemed, and all that good stuff. They have also seemed to take some/all coverage of 2007 America's Cup from ESPN as well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versus_(TV_channel)

How many consecutive years will it take then to prove how tough they are then? Two? Five? Ten? Fifteen? Why can't we just give them fair credit where it's due? Last season when it matter most they showed "toughness" and "desire" more often than not.

I'd like to buy a vowel on that one...

While I can back you up that something that retarded has happened before (see Marty McSorely or Todd Bertuzzi), to accept what McLennan did or suggest that this is a normal thing in the NHL is not good.

Which is precisely why I didn't go on any formal diet plan when I lost about 35 pounds a few years ago in a matter of about 4 months. I already knew I was mentally strong enough to exercise almost every day, I rarely need motivation to exercise, it was just a matter of doing things a little different with my diet, and they were my own choices, no books/charts or nothing. Just very little beer during the time, very little fried food, and much more pasta, salad, grilled food vs. fried, etc. I always gave myself an infrequent reward though to eat fried food, because those cravings just don't go away and you don't shed all that weight overnight, it takes time. I'm doing the same thing now in terms of just trying to shed around 5-10 pounds. Minus last night when I ate some cheese fries, I don't think I've even touched fried food all week, and I've either run hard or did spinning class every day this week so far other than Thursday. Thankfully my mental discipline hasn't gone away in terms of exercising, and it's getting better again on the food portion as well.

Insert overembelished ESPN is the worst network since TV was invented post *HERE* ESPN isn't killing hockey, and the game isn't going away. We get so overhyped on why hockey isn't the most popular sport or why more viewers don't watch the game. We need to let it go. The game isn't going away, and as long as it's on TV somewhere, we are going to watch it. I watch hockey and sporting events on TV for the action on the field, court, or ice. I barely pay as much attention to what commentators say on a game live. I could care less what station NHL games are played on, whether it's ESPN, VS, The Family Channel, Cartoon Network, or FX. Just be on some station. If I thought the commentary was that torturous to watch a game through, I'd hit the mute button. There is nothing wrong with ESPN. There is nothing wrong with VS. It's on TV, so that's fine with me.

Selanne or Forsberg definitely wouldn't hurt, I'm 99.9% sure they wouldn't be bought in to be "the guy" to carry the team, some kind of 2nd-line role in all likelihood. I'm all for bringing Markov back too, but it wouldn't kill me if he left if he still stays high on his salary demand. This is just me speculating without any credible sports/journalist source, but I honestly think he's going to try to stay high with his demands, not be content intially, there will be a waiting game a little longer, then he'll re-sign with the Wings sometime next month around or just above what he made last year, somewhere in the $2.5M - $3M/year range. Plus there is the trade deadline, but I'd much rather sign somebody before the season starts that we all know should help the team's cause. I think offense is the bigger need first, so try to ink one more 2nd/3rd line guy. If nothing happens with any of these three though, I'm fairly content with the current brass starting the season, then being patient and waiting to see what happens. I already know what a bunch of people are going to say though...WHAT, THERE'S VERY LITTLE SIZE HERE, DAMN IT!

That was definitely a funny image of him scoring a goal and playing a huge part in saving the Wings series against San Jose. Good for Lang to get $4M a year in Chicago. Doesn't really affect me one way or the other that he's gone with the Wings (probably because I'm too lazy and I suck too much to notice ), but the ripping on Lang is just over the top ridiculous all the time. But, I know all of this is going to go over people's heads, and people will insert the next overly dramatic Lang is terrible post *HERE*.

Actually, the Blues had a stretch of making the playoffs for 20+ seasons I believe, despite not winning a Stanley Cup. They don't have the "tradition" of an Original-6 team, but that's still shows some good consistency and historic and "traditional" things to back up on, to a certain extent. And for me personally, I could really care less if the Red Wings are America's team, if it is the Rangers, or if it is the District-5 Pee Wee hockey team. I like the Red Wings and that's what matters most. The Cowboys were America's football team at the time when I went to college in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the late 90s/early 00s. Good for them. Didn't really affect me one way or the other, I've always been a Saints fan for the most part, not much was going to change that.

And don't anybody come at me with...."Well if we had an enforcer," Pronger wouldn't have injured Holmstrom in game 3 of the Anheim series. That game was all but settled when it happened, you knew the game was going to get chippy, and Pronger isn't going to change his game for you, me, Bob Probert, Georges Laraque, or anybody else (and let's save the overdramatic Chris Pronger is the anti-Christ posts).

What does Petr Nedved have anything to do wtih this thread or the Sharks?

Happy birthday!

Yikes, looks like we need a reality check after reading some recent posts in here, at least in terms of setting expectations. This team, nor any other team in the NHL, is not going to make the SCF year in and year out. I’m all for setting lofty goals to achieve, but we have to have some realism here. We often want too much, too fast. A lot of us are ridiculously spoiled as a fan base, and there is no way of sugarcoating it. I don’t care who you are in this forum, if I’m your best buddy or talked to you through an IM or e-mail or if you don’t like me. A LOT OF US ARE SPOILED by this team, myself included. That’s not always a bad thing, but when you let that get your expectations to be unrealistic (like expecting to win the Cup year in and year out), it’s a problem. Now, with "enforcement" and whether it would've made a difference this season in the playoffs or not. It probably could've been used in many recent years where they've been eliminated early, yes. 2003 getting eliminated early by the Ducks, or 2001 getting eliminated early by the Kings are good examples. However, in 1999, the Wings were eliminated in the 2nd round, despite some trade-deadine acquisitions of snarl in Chris Chelios and Ulf Samuelsson. Two guys known to be “tough†and “physicalâ€Â. In 2004, eliminated in the 2nd round, again with Derian Hatcher on the team supposedly being the “tough guy†knocking people into the next zip code. Let’s not get into whether he should/shouldn’t have been playing, I’ve torn my ACL/MCL from playing basketball, and I’m not athlete, so I have an idea of how hard it is to get back into shape, so I’m cutting him slack. But another example of a hard hitter he is. And, if “enforcers†are supposed to be a major solution to the Wings problems, how come they didn’t win the Cup in 1999 with a guy like Ulf Samuelsson on board? In 2004 with Hatcher? Both can hit hard, etc. Why didn’t they win then? Back to expectations...Again, I’m all for setting big goals, but given the recent crappy playoff performances, I’m pretty happy how far they have advanced this past postseason. Completely satisfied? Of course not, but we got to keep our expectations in check sometimes and be REALISTIC. If you think, when the playoffs started, that they would just waltz into Stanley Cup Finals or come close to it, given the recent early playoff exists, I’d be really interested to know how you came up with those thoughts. They finally figured it out this past season to put the 3 Cups aside in the past, work hard and all that stuff in the playoffs, enforcer or no enforcer. San Jose and Calgary were supposed to knock this team in submission. They did not. I don’t think Anaheim really just outhit the hell out of the team either to where the Wings just backed away. Again, I stress that I like physical play. Is there a need for it fir the Wings (or any team for that matter)? Absolutely, but I get so tired of reading how overhyped enforcement is and how it’s close to being the “end of all end†solutions to solve Detroit’s problems, especially after this team made a pretty deep run this past postseason without a lot/any “big tough guys†(again).

For my personal sake, Red Wings and NHL games could be on the Cartoon Network for all I care, as long as it is on some station that I can watch. I certainly don't mind games on VS, they seem to really give a lot of attention to the sport with their broadcasts, they sometimes go to broacasts on TSN/CBC, they show hockey-reated movies every now and then, etc. There'd be more competition if it gets back on ESPN obviously, but it'll definitely be mpre availabile to watch in more homes as fast. And, contrary to popular belief in here, ESPN doesn't stink up the joint. I'm not expecting this to happen anytime soon though.

And to think some people in here tihnk that this offseason has gone in the sh***er.

From Sesame Street/The Muppets.... Why do Bert and Ernie always sleep with their eyes open, and why is Scooter's eyes always "in" his eyeglasses, and not on his face?

This is just 3-4 days from my last blurb, but what I am doing seems to be paying off. I was able to do lengthy early morning workouts Monday - Wednesday with a large emphasis on cardio work, and some weightlifting of the upper body. I've pretty much run 3 miles every morning at as fast a pace I can take to kill as many calories as I can, and doing sit-ups and other stretching and resting in a sauna room to relax the muscles. And my dieting these past few days consisted of very little fried food, pretty much the main meal was some form of pasta, grilled food/sandwich (vs. fried/greasy), or some kind of salad/wrap. It's paid off so far, as I put myself on a scale and weighed in at 148.

This "sof tteam of European wusses" almost went to the SCF last year, not primarily because of lack of toughness or lack of desire or lack of effort. Unless Babcock's I.Q. just tumbled overnight, he's not going to change his coaching methods. He won't let them slack off, and I highly doubt the desire and work ethic of the players is going to disappear anytime soon, because a lot of the current players on the roster haven't won a Stanley Cup either. Now, can we please all drop the all Europeans are soft stereotype as it holds no merit, as well as acting like little 10-year old policeman jerks to each other and keep this thread civil?

Yikes, you really got me there Internet tough guy! More than I will ever know? Well, 2 + 2 = 4, so I guess that's a good starting point to know something. *shrugs*

Shut the naysayers down with "Dolla Holla"? You just posted like you are a 17-year old gangster wannabee!

Sigh..........the great enforcer debate in here again. First off, let me say I like physical play like anybody else. I like your run-of-the mill hockey fight between two skaters every now and then. I don't like games just falling out of control physically though. There has often been complaints about players not sticking up for one another on the Wings. I remember attending a game live against St. Louis in December in Detroit, and I forgot the exact incident, but I think Lebda got injured or run at and nobody did anything about it after the scrum. I also want players sticking up for each other as well, but that doesn't have to be done by an enforcer type, and it doesn't have to be a big fight. Just throw checks at the guy continuously and play aggressive towards him giving the message that you aren't getting away clean with what you did. Again, I want players to stick up for each other, but it doesn't need to be done by an enforcer, and an enforcer cannot prevent the goalie from being run at or hard hits from happening. And I don't want an enforcer on the Wings that just plays a garbage 2 - 4 minutes a game, lays one body check, and does absolutely nothing else to contribute physically or do nothing to generate scoring chances (see Brad Norton). They have proven this playoff run against San Jose and Calgary they can match "physical" teams with good checks and tenacious play. They won't quit, they won't get bullied or pushed around. All the Wings need to do is stick up for each other. Why do you alway insist on stereotyping and generalizing all European-born hockey players as either being small or soft or being wusses?

OH NO ALL OUR TOUGHNESS IS GONE! /sarcasm