Grateful Gadsby

Somewhat off-topic: for those watching the CBC Sens-Pens broadcast, did Pierre LeBrun discuss Hudler's return during the Satellite Hotstove segment? I missed it. Thanks.

I agree. I even saw an interview with Doan before Game 3 where he was nothing but complimentary and respectful of the Wings. Also have to appreciate Babcock's obvious respect for his friend Tippett. If Babcock thinks highly of him, he can't be that bad of a guy.

The question in my mind is this: What happens with Nill? Is it a given that Yzerman leap-frogs over him to become GM when Holland retires or assumes another role? I love the Captain, but I would hope that such is not necessarily the case. There is a reason why so many teams in recent years have asked Ilitch for permission to speak with Nill about their GM vacancies. More importantly, there also is a good reason why Ilitch has always said no.

Williams played himself off the team in 2006, in my view. In that series against the Oilers when the Wings were upset in the first round, he skated around without a clue pretty much every game, and his stupid penalty and blown defensive coverage in the third period of the final game essentially handed the series to Edmonton. His remaining tenure with the organization should be spent in the pressbox, period.

Exactly. Turco is a first-rate A-hole, so he'll fit right in with Pronger, Carcillo, et al.

Having seen Kindl play a few times, I'd be ecstatic if he ended up as a No. 2 or No. 3 defenseman. My impression of him so far is that he's on track to be a No. 4 or No. 5 -- if that.

Went to the Badger - RIT game tonight at Ford Field, and watched Smith closely. He plays a fairly sound game, but I was disappointed that he wasn't bigger physically. I went down to the glass during warm-ups and was surprised that he wasn't as big as I thought he was. (I know, I know - he's young, still growing, etc.) He seems to have decent hockey sense, and generally played a smart game. Of course, RIT was completely overmatched the entire game.

^^This. He'd be a perfect fit for the St. Louis Blues, whose organizational philosophy has always been to "send a message" by gooning it up at the end of one of their (many) losing causes. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what the "message" is supposed to be, other than: "Since we're now into our sixth decade of never having achieved a damned thing, maybe sending the other team's players off the ice on stretchers will appease our fans for one more year."

Got that right. I had the misfortune of living in St. Louis for a while, and Blues fans are the absolute worst. It's nice to be able to shut them up for a good six months.

Thanks. I'm starting to think "Carman" is really a 13 year-old girl who lacks the capacity to allow inconveniently negative facts to intrude upon her idol worship just yet.

You're missing the point. Nobody (Crosby haters or Crosby lovers) would dispute Stevie Y's valid point that Crosby is a great player - he is. He also is all too often an arrogant little prick in interviews who comes off as appallingly immature, even for someone who's only 22. He even lived down to expectations after the game yesterday, remarking in an interview that he "didn't expect the game to be that close." Even if he honestly felt that way, it's totally classless to make such a comment as it shows total disrespect for the opponent. Which is why so many people hate him. Maybe that will start to make sense to you, and I'm glad to help advance your understanding.

^^This. You just don't say that, because it betrays a total lack of respect for your opponent. Of course, this is typical of Crosby, and characteristic of his attitude during countless interviews. Nobody can dispute that he's a great player, but he never fails to display the attitude of an arrogant little prick. If you watch a lot of hockey (like most here), and see enough of his interviews, you'll invariably end up disgusted with him for this reason. It really has nothing to do with "jealousy." He's an immature jerk, pure and simple.

Holy s***! My heart cannot take this. And I'm not that old ...

Not Yet! We still need one more!

This thread is freaking hilarious. It's especially rich listening to Canadians spewing nonsense about all the "advantages" US athletes supposedly have (more $, bigger pool of talent with the larger population, etc.). These would be the same underprivileged Olympic hosts who, prior to the games, restricted use of the world's fastest luge track for training by non-Canadian athletes in a screwball attempt to grab some kind of "home track" advantage. Query whether the poor, disadvantaged Canadian hosts indulged their inferiority complex at the expense of a luger from Georgia's life.

100% Pure Canadian Bulls***. The USOC doled out $58.2 million over four years to the governing bodies of the individual sports, which is half of what Canada spent. (Source: today's Wall Street Journal, Page W12; Article) Grab a few facts next time before showing up here and making yourself look like a complete idiot.

Doesn't change the fact that he has the attitude and psychological temperment of a 13 year-old girl.

Gotcha. Still, with the way the Canadians looked tonight, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them get past the Swedes. That game certainly will much closer than tonight's, however.

Maybe I misread the brackets. I thought the Canadians and Team USA could face off for the gold.

Team USA plays better defense, sure. But if (as it clearly appears) that Canada has found its chemistry (matched with intensity), they will be tough to beat, no matter how good Miller is in goal.

Fair enough. All those red jerseys in the stands could have been Swiss, I suppose.

Not half as amusing as the anti-American Canadian fans who went nuts for Switzerland this afternoon. You would have thought Canada had clinched the gold with the way the crowd erupted with joy when the video review disallowed the end-of-the-period goal.

The win was sweet of course. What made it truly delectable, however? The abject humiliation of Corey Perry. First, he runs face first into his own man (Staal), which causes none other than fellow A-hole Pronger to flop on top of both. Later, he gets out-hustled by Kesler for the empty net clincher, and is left on his knees, gazing at the boards in defeat. Absolutely priceless. The Hindus may be on to something with that Karma thing, Corey.

This. Totally agree that Doan and Bouwmeester should be on the team. Getzlaf didn't look great, but I didn't think that he looked like he was playing injured. He certainly was healthy enough to lay that cheap shot to Miller's mask with his stick in the first period.

The bad joke was staging the Olympics in Vancouver in the first place. Should have gone back to Calgary (those games were great). Anyone who has ever been to Vancouver in winter knows that the weather is a total crap shoot.