betterREDthandead

Dare I say this season might be a little more special than most? This game....let me count the reasons the Wings usually lose. Bad passing. Puck possession game not working. Not particularly gritty. And of course, it's the middle of the dreaded Western Canada swing, which always, always brings with it a losing streak. Ugly game all around.....and yet, they won. Not a game they usually find a way to win, but they did.

I love Schilling, but I think one graybeard in the rotation is enough, if Rogers comes back. If Rogers doesn't return, then hell yeah.

Remember how I said Kitna was my second-favorite Lions QB behind Scott Mitchell and that if he did something totally awesome he would leapfrog ahead to #1? Done. Mitchell is beat at his own game. I didn't think anything could top the Big Buck costume that Mitchell wore at a team Halloween party one year (pillow under the gut, antlers on the head, bullseye on the back and a huge cigar) but that did it.

In the other leagues with salary caps, those didn't come about until after a lengthy labor fight involving partially or completely lost seasons. If that's what it takes to institute a salary cap in baseball, I don't want it. Besides, you'd have a hard time arguing that there isn't a reasonable amount of parity in baseball when this century's World Series winners look like this: Red Sox Cardinals White Sox Red Sox Marlins Angels Diamondbacks Yankees And the list of losers..... Rockies Tigers Astros Cardinals Yankees Giants Yankees Mets Pretty diverse list. It does suck that for the foreseeable future, the Red Sox and Yankees will be the dominant teams. But the Red Sox didn't even make the playoffs last year. And since 2000, the only teams NOT to make the playoffs in that stretch are: Blue Jays Orioles Devil Rays Royals Rangers Nationals Reds Pirates Brewers That's only 9 out of 30. And the Brewers came damn close this year. Tough to make the playoffs, but once you're there, it's pretty clearly been proven that anyone can beat anyone. The only teams facing a real competitive imbalance are the three AL East teams not named Yankees or Red Sox.

That one's a new one to me. I like it, but I'll save it for when I make fun of Florida State or Da U. Works better that way. How do you make Spartan cookies? Throw them into a bowl and beat them for three hours. If two Spartans get divorced, can they still be brother and sister? It's the 4th quarter of the 2007 UM-MSU game. Michigan's up 21-17 but State has the ball on Michigan's 3. Fourth and goal, and Mark Dantonio needs some divine inspiration. During the time out, he prays. "God, I really need your help. This is the biggest game of the year. I really need to know what play to call here." God says, "Throw a pass to the tight end in the right flat." Dantonio thanks God and sends in the play. Hoyer drops back....interception, returned for a touchdown. Michigan wins. Dantonio is in utter despair. "God," he says, "why did you have me call that play? It was a disaster!" God says, "I dunno. Hey, Bo, why did you want to call that play?" How do you get to East Lansing from Ann Arbor? Go north til you smell cow s***, and west til you step in it.

I just think it's funny that an MSU fan would make fun of Michigan on any subject related to bowls How do you get a Spartan off your lawn? Pay him for the pizza. How do you keep him off forever? Put up goalposts.

If they play together all year, teams will figure out how to stop it long before the playoffs roll around. Break 'em up, or they'll be ineffective when it counts.

Oh, that. Feh, Cone was the third quarterback in the game. Let the jokes begin..... Why isn't there ice on the Michigan State sidelines at football games? The guy with the recipe graduated. Good. Only took 'em six years to learn how

Here's a blurb from MLive regarding the TV implications: So I guess I'm wrong about the national TV schedule being set already. Forgot about the crazy new flex scheduling for this year. But it's neat that Fox saw two Lions matchups as ones they didn't want to lose. The annoying thing would be if the game at Lambeau were moved to nighttime. It's bad enough the league makes us play in Green Bay in December every year. At night would just make it that much colder.

Well, there's Thanksgiving. To answer your question, I'd say 10 - what it should take to get to the playoffs where all games are on national TV. I'm pretty sure the regular season national TV schedule is set. But next year, even if the Lions go 8-8, they should at least earn themselves a Monday night game.

'Sheed complaining that the NBA is fixed does not exactly carry the same weight as Tim Duncan saying the same thing. Or even Chauncey Billups saying the same thing. 'Sheed is not exactly what you'd call a credible witness, being that he and the refs have a pretty obvious vendetta against each other. And the only reason there's a "rumor" that other refs might also be fixing games is because people are simply wondering whether Donaghy was alone. No evidence behind it, just people thinking out loud.

Did he really say that? What a joke. It was 27-10 before Carlos Brown busted out that 85-yard run that against most defenses would have been a 3-yard run. Hell, that play was Michigan running the old sit-on-it offense, it's not quite the same as going for it on 4th down with a 38 point lead. I don't think Michigan will come in fat and happy for the Spartans game. I've gotten the idea for a couple weeks now that Michigan has had a circle-the-wagons mentality ever since Oregon. Playing with a chip on their shoulder. If that's true, they'll handle Sparty.

Yup, Center Ice.....it's a godsend. I watch every game (at least, every game that I'm home for.) No more circling national TV dates on the calendar. Whatcom County sucks by the way lol....kidding. Mostly. I'm just bitter about the time it took me 2 and a half hours to drive between the BC border and the Skagit County border because Whatcom was the only county that didn't plow or salt I-5. Scary trip but it's actually a beautiful county in the daylight and on dry roads.

One advantage of being on the West Coast is you get first look at the GDT in all its magnificence So here's the big difference between the Wings and Oilers that I see. On the Oilers, the top pair of defensemen is Steve Staios and Ladislav Smid. On the Wings, a friggin' legend of the game is listed as 3rd pairing. Folks, this is not a playoff team the Wings are facing tonight.

Totally different. Figuring out where a free agent will go is based in large part on inside information which these reporters often have access to. They've got their finger on the hot stove pulse a lot more than we do.

Frankly, that's 100% Scott Boras. That's his modus operandi. The guy's a prick. Notice it was him apologizing in the article, not A-Rod. Admittedly my desire to bring back Maroth is at least 2/3 sentimental. For that reason too I'd like to see Jones retire a Tiger. And yeah, Zumaya right now is needed as that 8th inning guy, though I have no doubt he'll be a phenomenal closer when it's his turn.

I agree with most of what you're saying. A-Rod: AMAZING hitter. If he were to hit .320/30/100, it would be a terrible season for him. Also definitely not a pompous ass. We've had the discussion on Inge's hitting already, so I won't go there. But A-Rod is actually in the bottom tier of fielders at 3B in the AL, while Inge - I would venture - is far and away the best. Consider some numbers: Assists - Inge blew the field away. He had 325, almost 40 more than the next guy. A-Rod had 251. And A-Rod, by the way, played more innings at the position than did Inge. Inge also led the league in total chances with 434 - A-Rod had 370. That doesn't mean teams hit the ball to third base more often against the Tigers, it means Inge's range blows A-Rod's out of the water. Some sabermetric stats: Range Factor and Zone Rating. Zone rating is the percentage of balls that go through a typical 3B fielding zone that the player actually fields (whether or not he does it successfully). Inge is the league's only regular 3B with a ZR over .800 (.803, actually.) Next best among regular 3B is .778 and A-Rod is at .765. Then there's Range Factor, which is (PO +A) / G. Inge's was 2.86, A-Rod's 2.42, which is below the average of roughly 2.65. A-Rod is at best, an average fielder, and below-average in certain categories. There are worse in the league - Casey Blake, Chone Figgins, etc. But Inge either leads the league (and when he does, he blows them away like A-Rod does with the bat) or is well above average. So there'd be a pretty big dropoff. I'd still slobber on myself if the Tigers signed A-Rod though. Might be able to sacrifice a little defense in the outfield and put A-Rod at DH, Sheff in right and Maggs in left.

Frankly, A-Rod is not pompous. Overpaid? Prolly. But actually he's one of the more down to earth athletes in the game. To say that he wants all the attention couldn't be further from the truth - A-Rod's definitely happier NOT to have all the spotlight. And while I said it's wishful thinking that the Tigers land A-Rod, that doesn't mean I wouldn't love for it to happen. Hell, it's Ilitch's money, not mine. I'd probably slobber and drool all over myself if A-Rod put on the Olde English D, though it would mean the quality of our defense goes down at third base. What the Tigers really need is a LF though. I like Thames but as an everyday leftfielder, probably not. And as for the pen....like I said earlier....sign Maroth! Wouldn't take much money. He put up crummy numbers with the Cards but his elbow was hurting. Get that healthy and we know he's dependable. Perfect lefty long relief option.

Granted, yes: The league sucks at the whole making money thing. They could take a lesson from, say, MLB's attempt to advertise on the bases.....the fans and media threw a fit and MLB canceled the idea. I just don't like the notion that the NHL is the only league out there doing things for money rather than the sanctity of competition, which to me is how the article came across. They all are. The NHL is just bad at it.

I've said for a while.....he's no top-4 defenseman, but he's a better 6th defenseman than most other teams have. Go Pain Train.

No. Wishful thinking. It'll probably take $30 million a year for five or six years. Ilitch has money but not that kind of money. Feh. Disappointing end to the season. I hate the Red Sox.

I think you could get it for 25% off, although it's getting a wee bit exciting here as the ref waves off a Canuck goal.

It's pretty much the same on both sides. I don't want to say they're just going through the motions, but this game is nothing special. If games came in boxes, this one would be in a plain white box with the words HOCKEY GAME stenciled in plain black font.

No worries....we don't bite..........much Welcome!

Because Kronwall is not.