betterREDthandead

As he's been Cheli for 20-plus years now, I think any attempt at a new nickname for the guy is unlikely to stick.

Let the Sharks fans think what they want to think. Last I checked there was some consensus around here too about who we wanted to play next. They didn't watch the Flames series, so they didn't see Datsyuk, of all people, slamming players into the boards and getting just as physical as anyone. They missed Cleary's and Lilja's grind-it-out style. (Yes, Lilja.) They didn't watch Filppula bounce back from a vicious (and clean) hit and keep skating like nothing happened. We know they're just being ignorant. And if the Canucks win tonight, our boys will have the chance to show them what's up.

1, if you read the whole thread, somebody did say they are glad not to have to hear O Canada any more. Which I think is a stupid thing to say, I like the Canadian anthem. 2, how many Calgary fans that came to LGW were rude? Most of them were pretty good people. Just off the very top of my head I can think of six that were class all the way and nowhere near that many trolls. The Flames fans I saw at the Joe were for the most part pretty good-natured, as were the ones I saw at GM Place when I went there earlier this year. That all said, I do think it's a bonus for the Wings not to be playing a Canadian team. There are tons of Wings fans in Texas and California. No matter who we play for the rest of the series, the arena won't be anywhere near as tough as the Saddledome. Good God that sea of red is something else. I wonder if that's why the Flames ditched the stupid black third jersey?

The announcers said it was a precautionary thing since he was cut so close to the eye. Just for examination hopefully. You never know sometimes, but I think we can expect him back for Round 2.

I hope by "get even" you mean "lay him out flat with a perfectly clean and well-timed hit along the boards, then look directly in his eye as they complete the handshake signifying the end of the series" rather than any kind of dirty play. As much vengeful pleasure as there might be in seeing him get a taste of his own medicine, the best way to get even is to badly outplay them in front of their own fans. A silent Saddledome would be the best revenge of all

Agreed, I don't think Iginla's play merits a suspension. It was scummy of him and very poor leadership, but not really suspension worthy. Langkow's punch is borderline. Could have gone either way. I'm not surprised he wasn't suspended and I wouldn't have been surprised if he had. As for the fines, I think they're right on. I'll be interested to hear it once the media finally gets a quote out of McLennan.

Earlier people were afraid this quick turnaround time would benefit the Flames and hurt the Wings because the game is being played in Calgary. I think now the quick turnaround will help the Wings. They can go in with yesterday's display of thuggery fresh in their minds and be motivated to finish this thing tonight.

A guy who walks out of the arena on crutches because he needed tugboats to get across the ice on one leg is not alright. It's quite probable Lebda's season is over.

Filppula was all over the ice. His PK efforts were Cleary-like. (That's high praise.)

Uh, yes, actually. You have one concussion, you're more likely to get another off of a hit or something that might not give someone else a concussion. Anyway, no matter how dirty you see Lebda's hit as, the retaliation is worse. Retaliation is always worse. You don't retaliate. Period.

No, you can look without registering, I do all the time and I haven't registered (unless we're talking about different boards.) It's funny how the prevailing opinion over there is that the Wings have been running Kiprusoff all series. I guess they don't notice that for every Wing in Kiprusoff's grill, there's a Flame behind, finishing his cross-check. Yeah, Kipper's been run into. A lot. And they only have Stuart and Phaneuf to blame.

If you made this thread with the sole purpose in mind of posting this, then you didn't need another whole thread to do the same. You're walking a thin line. There's something to be said for pointing that out - however, if that's the only reason you registered, to point that out, then having done that, we might need to ask if you need to continue. Be careful.

Good God man, didn't you pay attention during the whole Hudler argument?

God forbid somebody accidentally say what's on their mind.

You're not one of those people who skips breakfast every day, are you? That's a great way to lose weight the unhealthy way. Eat those three meals a day - if you gotta skip one, skip lunch or make lunch your lightest meal. And if you're worried about not weighing enough, check your body fat, heart rate, blood pressure, etc. If your doctor says those are fine, then your weight really is secondary. When it comes down to it, body weight is only a symptom.

Rob "The Hater" Parker is back at it. Today's News has a column by him calling Hank Aaron a coward. Why? Cause Aaron doesn't want to comment on Barry Bonds and his chase for the record. Rather than take one side ("Yay Barry") or the other ("Cheating bastard"), Aaron would prefer to stay out of the spotlight and live a fairly private life, which is what he's done for the past 30 years since retiring from baseball. Aaron got daily hate mail during the home run chase. More so than Bonds. Aaron got called n****r, jungle bunny, jigaboo, and every other horrible thing you can call a black person, in every stadium he went to and every time he opened up his mail. What Aaron did was similar to what Jackie Robinson did and no less momentous, in my book. And Hater Parker can do nothing but sit in his ivory tower and sling insults at the man. What a bastard.

Aaaaaaaand I think we're done here. Well put

So, uh, when the Wings car flags craze hit Detroit, round about '96 or '97, that would be nothing like what goes on in Cali, right?

So what, exactly, is going on that you didn't expect? Seems to me that if the Wings win 2, then the Flames win 2, then the Wings win 2, that adds up to Wings in 6.

Yes. Yes, I'd have to say you are. Will we be seeing you for Round 2 if the Wings win the series then?

I seem to remember pointing out the 2001 LA series when we were up 2-0. And I seem to remember being asked why I couldn't just stop being a wet blanket and let people enjoy the moment. Now we have people pointing out some very pertinent facts and they're being told to stop being such a Pollyanna. Now it seems I need to point out the '02 Vancouver series (though this isn't exactly the same.) Has it ever occurred to people that the playoffs are a marathon not a sprint and that an even keel is best? Game 2 was too early to gloat and Game 4 is too early to panic. You may panic if we lose Game 5 at the Joe, where, I might add, the Flames have shown absolutely no signs of life at all.

That's really all that needs to be said. 9 power play chances the past two games. Score on just one of those chances and we're more than likely looking at a 3-1 lead in the series. Score on two out of nine chances, as you should expect to do, and the Flames might be on the golf course. Power play sucks. Plain and simple. Sammy has got to be removed from that unit pronto, I think having him on the point trying to run the power play is a disaster.

Stand-up guy, Mellanby. One that I'd have loved to see in the winged wheel in a heartbeat. Here's to an excellent career.

Yeah, I gotta say, complaining to Wings fans about game timing won't get a whole lotta sympathy. As the only team in the league whose fans have to put up with 10 PM start times (Columbus might too, if they could ever make the postseason), we kinda like it when western schedules have to bend around us a little bit for once. Besides, I think 3 PM is a great start time. OK, I know it's 1 PM in Calgary, which is probably a bit early, but if you're a hockey junkie and you plan on watching all day that day, 3 PM is a great time to kick that off. I don't have any particular attachment to nighttime hockey.

My own personal preference is downtown (despite the Tigers game, parking's still not hard to find) but I don't have any qualms about driving further if it means more people can show. No matter the venue, I'll be there