dr_lobster

When Steve Yzerman was retiring, can you imagine how odd it would be if he'd announced he was playing with the idea of playing for the Dallas Stars, or another team? I'm not looking for a football discussion, but Brett Favre's drawn out his "am I retiring?" situation for months -- since the Super Bowl, really. The Packers' franchise player, the face of their organization and literal hero for most of the state's sports fans -- chooses to put all this strain on the team he's carried for years, on the fans and teammates that've supported him. The Packers are seemingly so unhappy with the situation (they don't want him to be their starter), that they're offering him more than $20 million as a "marketing" payment to retire, essentially a bribe or "go away" fee. When was the last time a Red Wing pulled that kind of stunt? Uwe Krupp? Brett Favre seems to think he's bigger than his team, and seeing his selfish, careless way he's treating his organization and fanbase only makes me grateful for the way players like Yzerman, Lidstrom...hell, Crosby, Ovechkin, Iginla, whoever, conduct themselves within our game. I know it's not a universal thing, but it's refreshing to have so many superstars that represent themselves well off the ice.

Just for contrast, here's Drew Sharp's take on Hossa. Aside from stating the obvious, it's a decent read. http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID.../807030351/1053

Hey, good for them. A more proven player, and can score and create plays equally well offensively. I welcome any and all interesting roster changes in our division.

Hey, it's one of the benefits of having a front office that treats its players well, and only seeks out players that buy into the "we're here to win together" mentality. Hossa signing with us isn't simply us winning the Cup, or Holland being a good GM, it's helped by our history as a franchise over the past decade-plus.

Take that, Penguins. First we beat you, then we take your FAs!

Let me take this opportunity to note how much I appreciate having European fans frequenting LGW -- cheers to our "board scouts!"

Whyyyy do you have an secondary actress that nobody cares about from a movie that's three weeks old on, but not two athletes from a well-loved sports franchise that just won a championship? Jay Leno's never been funny, but now I've got another reason to never, ever watch his show again. And likewise, Local 4 news showed a clip at the end of their show of Osgood and Lidstrom in the studio with the cup, talking -- meaning they had recorded a segment with them, but chose not to air it.

I'm most impressed by how he's just embraced his role and minutes -- looks confident along the boards and entering the zone on the PP, plays pretty hard defense from what I've seen. Good for him for not curling up and working to be visible out there.

Can I just note how nice it is that this is a difficult question to answer? Thanks, Red Wings.

Osgooooood. You're so, so consistent, and I love you.

Man, I dunno. Z/Dats seem like the safe bets, but it'd be too sweet to see Drake or Chelios get it, evoking Borque (different situation, obv.) a little bit.

Yes, but I specialize in arthropods. I skipped mollusk physics in college. Nevertheless, I retire to my lab!

Guys. ...Guys. Listen. Does anyone have a gun, or trebuchet-like device, that could shoot an octopus.

Yeah, I saw this a second ago. Say what you want about Pens fans, but skimming through those threads, they show a good sense of reality, humility, and appreciation for the game.

Yeah, let me take this opportunity to remind people: Your impressions of players shouldn't be based simply on what you see in an interview, hell -- even what you see on the ice. Leadership and character happens at practice, on the bus, in the locker room, in the hallway, whenever.

Unless he somehow doesn't show well in training camp, it's a no-brainer. Forgive the sacrelige, but his wheels make him the next coming of Draper.

I'd be interested to read that Malkin quote in-context, if you can find it. But yeah, I mean. Crosby and Malkin are pretty explosive, dynamic players, but so far (and I'll withhold my entire judgment until the end of the playoffs), their will to play in both ends and bring leadership can't measure up to D/Z. Like Dabura said, though -- just because they're relatively comparable tandems doesn't mean we can use the same measuring sticks to compare their value -- age and experience in the NHL are the advantage that Dats and Zetter have, and it's good to see them putting it forward on this stage.

Much appreciated.

Well refereed, yeah. Everyone's probably gonna bring up the cheap shot on Franzen (it seemed like two officials had a view of it), but it happens. Things seemed pretty consistent.

I'm not one to call out another on their futile opinion, but poor sports writing like this is pretty upsetting. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...RTS05/305170012 Good Lord. This guy seems dead-set on emphasizing individual talent over how someone fits into a team, which hey -- last I checked, you play hockey as a team. I have no problem admitting Turco to be a great goalie, but saying that he's a better "pure" netminder? What the hell does that mean? That he's flashier? His ability to play the puck is impressive, sure. It just feels like this guy is grasping at straws, and with little maturity...who writes something like "If he is Hall of Fame material, explain his Islander days please. Waiting, waiting.....did not think so." ...to try and invalidate someone? Why do the two goalies even need to be compared? But really, what logic is it to say: "Well, Osgood isn't great, he's just good...lead-the-league-in-stats good, because you have grrrreat players in front of you to make him look better." Is it really that simple? If we swapped Osgood for Luongo, even -- there's no guarantee that we'd be doing better, because Osgood performs consistently, is responsible, is known and loved in the locker room, and fits into our style of play very well. Here's to stamping out the goalie that has "superstar stamped to his forehead" tonight.

Yeah, exactly. They're trying to be professional and do their jobs. Nothin' wrong with it.

I like Jones & Engblom enough, but yeah -- it's a case of Messier not being a seasoned broadcaster (I know he did NBC for awhile, but yeah) and telling it like it is, not trying to spin things a little to keep viewers invested in the series.

'greed. Hockey's hockey...scrums happen, hell -- Draper cross-checked someone in the face in the last series without it being called. Cheap or not, folks need to have confidence that our players have been doing this for the better part of their lives and are capable of absorbing the lame frustration Pittsburgh throws our way. Honestly, as long as the refs are calling it, I hope it's a tune they continue to play in their building.

Just makes me that much more grateful for Babcock. Dude is always so dead-set in his message, but has a sense of humor. On the channel 4 post-game, he was saying the Wings play their best when they're playing with reckless abandon.