betterREDthandead

thatz so u inbred hix can afford tix and beer at teh same time hurrrrrrrrr

Lost in the smack talk is that hockeycrazy has the answer right. The Wings shoot at the 114/115 end twice, which only makes sense because then you would take two of three warmup skates in front of your own bench.

Really? I bet they would. Ticket prices are ridiculously highly priced because of scarcity. I bet the Wings could sustain a 30,000 seat arena without much trouble. Maybe they'd miss selling out every once in a while, but that's not the worst thing in the world - they'd still be getting 27-28,000 where other teams can only pack in 18.

But look on the flip side: that also means Calgary's got to step up their play when they come to Detroit and not give up seven goals like they did in February. And it weighs more heavily on their shoulders, cause of the whole home ice advantage thing.

Sorry, but the back will always be an issue. Like for the rest of his career. Back injuries are like concussions, you get one once and you're at increased risk. Right now he looks to be as healthy as he's going to be and that's the main thing.

Nice to know we're still the kings of the Central. That is if they don't pull a Tigers and blow it in the final two games. What's also nice is that they're having to fight for it and be in do or die mode all the way up to the playoffs. Unfortunately I'd rather not play Calgary. They're still the rough-and-tumble team that knocked us out in 2004, and they have the same goaltender. I went to the Canucks-Flames game in Vancouver on Saturday and not only was Calgary the more physical team, but Kiprusoff stood on his head. As usual. Games like tonight's in the playoffs will get us steamrolled.

Yeah, but not necessarily 20 good minutes. I won't go so far as to say we're better off without Kronwall, but it's amazing how often the puck slips off his stick in the wrong direction. If we had to lose a non-Lilja defenseman, Kronwall might just be the best choice.

Boston firing Lewis would be like screaming at the waiter because the food is terrible. He didn't cook that s***.

Yes. He's a teammate of O.J. Mayo at Huntington. Top remaining uncommitted recruit. He's considering, in no particular order, Virginia, Kentucky, Florida, Wake Forest, Duke, and West Virginia. And he's really dragging his feet - he originally planned to narrow his list to three a couple weeks ago, then last weekend.....still hasn't. And I have to wonder if it's because two of those schools have seen the coaches that recruited him jump ship. Some tough competition, too - Kentucky, and his home state school. I'm really crossing my fingers. Patterson would take a LOT of pressure off Sean Singletary, finally providing us with a scoring option down low. He'd turn UVA from a talented but somewhat overachieving team in the ACC to a legitimate top-15 team in the country.

Al Sobotka.

West Virginia is another contender for the services of Patrick Patterson (who I mentioned in response to the Tubby Smith departure from Kentucky.) Nice.

See why I can't really pick a Premiership team? I always thought Chelsea was kind of like, say, the Vancouver Canucks - always a decent team that you can't make fun of for lousy play, but kind of nondescript anyway. The impression that I have is that Man U is the evil empire team, what with them having some kind of partnership with the Yankees and all - that and the rep that I've heard that people actually from Manchester go for City instead.

Soccer for me is an every-four-years thing. If MLS puts a team in Detroit, I'd jump on it. The English Premiership is cool, and if I picked an overseas team it'd be from that league (certainly not the filthy corrupt Italian league) but it's hard to pick a team when they're all kinda the same from here.

Here's the article. They do this every year. Ultimate Standings Of the 122 major league pro sports teams, Detroit has 3 in the top 20. The Pistons rate 5th (3rd in the NBA), the Tigers are 12th (2nd in MLB) and the Wings are 18th (5th in the NHL). (Ignore the Lions, as they are DFL ) Some stats: - Of the top 20 franchises, only Detroit has three of them. Dallas (Mavs, Stars) and Anaheim (Angels, Ducks) have 2. - The Pistons rated 3rd overall in bang for the buck (fan revenue divided by wins over the past three years), 6th overall in ownership (owner honesty, loyalty to players and city), and 5th overall in title track (titles won recently and expected soon.) - The Tigers are 9th overall for ownership, 10th for affordability, and 2nd overall for coaching quality, losing out only to the Mavericks' Avery Johnson. - The Wings are 5th overall in fan relations, 2nd in ownership, and 3rd in title track. - There are 14 cities in the country with teams in all four major leagues (or otherwise have at least four teams so as to include LA.) None of them have anywhere close to having three teams so highly rated. Some very notable (and glamorously portrayed by the media) teams near the bottom: Knicks (120th), Redskins (108th), NY Giants (101st), Maple Leafs (99th), Cubs (98th), Red Sox (88th), Cowboys (83rd). Our third-best team is rated 18th. The next highest third-best team, out of the 14 cities, is 50th (Bears). Some so-called great sports towns? Boston's best team is 31st (Patriots). Next best is 88th (Red Sox). Two teams in the 100s. New York? Top team is 48th (Yankees). Two teams in the 100s. Philly, same story. And though the Lions are the worst of the worst, the fans still sell out Ford Field. My conclusion to all this (though it's really only more of a confirmation of how I already feel): DETROIT IS THE GREATEST SPORTS TOWN IN THE UNITED STATES. PERIOD!

I think the Rogers injury will be a blessing in disguise. Guess who will be fresh for the stretch run? Three months out, scheduled to come back maybe around the All-Star Break - perfect, especially for a guy who's got a bit of a reputation for having tough second halves. Have I ever mentioned how much I absolutely love finally having a really good baseball team to root for? Just think, only a year ago this was a team with a hellish losing rep. And now, articles like this one, which pretty much gushes with praise for our boys: Tigers have built themselves a superpower By the way, it's not mentioned in the article, but guess who the author's pick for AL MVP is? Gary Sheffield. And Bonderman is getting a little Cy Young love in the predictions category too.

Oh do tell. Why should there be no team in Houston? Because it's too far south? Silliest thing I ever heard.

For me it's the Penguins. Always kinda liked them starting in high school when it seemed like every year they were making the playoffs and scoring upsets against the odds. Always liked Mario too. And the new version of the Pens is fun too, I think Crosby is the real deal. If the Wings aren't in the Cup Finals, for me to root for a team from the West would depend a lot on who's playing from the East, but I'd root for the Pens against anyone. After the Pens would be the Thrashers. Kovalchuk is fun to watch.

A quick note on Tubby Smith: A side benefit of him leaving Kentucky is that Kentucky is one of the competitors for five-star recruit Patrick Patterson, who is also considering Duke, Florida, West Virginia, Wake Forest, and - you guessed it - Virginia Apparently Patterson is pretty surprised and not entirely pleased that Smith no longer coaches at UK.

It looks that way. They've declared Schaub the starter (YES!) and have said they're actively seeking to trade Carr. I'm going to be pulling a lot harder for Houston this season. I'm disappointed the Lions didn't get (or go for) Schaub but I'm thrilled to see he's got a starting gig.

Friday: Toronto @ Buffalo Los Angeles @ Chicago Colorado @ Edmonton Dallas @ Anaheim Saturday: NY Rangers @ Boston NY Islanders @ Philadelphia Atlanta @ Pittsburgh St Louis @ Detroit Buffalo @ Toronto Washington @ Montreal San Jose @ Carolina Ottawa @ Tampa Bay New Jersey @ Florida Los Angeles @ Minnesota Dallas @ Phoenix Nashville @ Edmonton Sunday: NY Rangers @ NY Islanders Boston @ Pittsburgh Calgary @ Chicago St Louis @ Columbus Colorado @ Vancouver

Remember Roy Williams' little outburst when asked about the Carolina job right after Kansas had been knocked from the tourney a couple years ago?

QFT. To recap: UMaine hockey played 14 home games in a 5,700 seat arena and allowed about half the crowd in for free. UMaine football season tickets cost $60 - a single game cost $16. No hockey prices are listed, but can you imagine them being much different? Many NHL tickets go for more than $60. I used to think the three H's (Halifax, Hamilton, Hartford) were the nuttiest ideas I'd ever seen for an NHL team, but Maine absolutely takes the cake. What's next? Iqaluit? Barrow?

Maine???? If that's not the stupidest idea.....I have ragged on people that suggested Hamilton, Ontario......but that's a genius idea compared to Maine. The population of the entire state of Maine is less than that of nearly every metro area in the NHL. Put down the damn doobie.

Go for it. I thought that's what we were going to do anyway.

Re: Amaker - I think the firing comes at the right time, but Michigan fans oughta thank Amaker anyway, as he did a yeoman's job with a program that had fallen on the worst of times. Now - go 'Hoos! Beat Tennessee.