betterREDthandead

Little older than you think I am, sister. Beukeboom retired in 1999. And I don't know what "Beukeboom question" you want me to answer. I even re-read the thread. You said, quote, "Jeff Beukeboom" and then your next mention of it was like you expected everyone to address your two-word epiphany. Yes, I know how his career ended. So what? Do you really expect the league to designate certain people for special protection? "OK, it's a 5 game suspension for a sucker-punch to the head, but 8 games if it's Johan Franzen." Nobody, but nobody, gets special treatment like that. You're either healthy enough to play the game and assume the associated risks, or you're not. Period. Just because it was Kornheiser that said it doesn't make it less valid. If he'd been talking about football or baseball, the point would be the exact same. Again. You play the game and assume the risks, or you don't. Period. No special treatment. You don't get to play the game but have the league immunize you and you alone to the risks involved. A gutless sucker punch is a gutless sucker punch. Should you get two minutes for roughing, but four minutes for roughing Jiri Hudler because he's smaller and more likely to get hurt? Two for cross-checking, but four for cross-checking someone who once had a back injury? Bulls***.

I notice the Sun article postulated that Andersson would have come along with Scotty to Toronto, if they'd hired him. So yeah. Either the usual delusional crap from Toronto media, or the Leafs are the stupidest organization ever to turn down Scotty and Andersson. Both are equally likely and probably at least a little bit true.

I guarantee, as fervently and strongly as I possibly can, that there will be no lineup changes. As sure as the sun rises in the East, McCarty won't be in the lineup, barring an injury that we don't know about.

Haha, I was thinking something similar. More to consider: They're only hurting their own city. Say the Joe was 1/10th full of Pens fans from Pitt. That's 4,000 people for the two games. They had to pay the Wings for the tickets (about $60 with parking), stay at least one night in town ($100), buy gas ($50) and probably at least three or four meals ($50). Over $800,000 pumped into our s***hole of an economy. That's assuming they didn't shop, gamble, visit other local attractions, stay an extra night or two..... So if Pittsburgh wants to cannibalize their own economy and not have any brought in from out-of-staters with disposable income, their loss.

True enough about the playoffs. But I remember when Wings tickets used to be like getting past the velvet rope. Even on Tuesday nights in the dead of January. I think the factors hurting ticket sales are these, in order: #1 Success breeding familiarity. #2 Economy + ticket prices. #3 People actually going to Tigers games now. Cause I'll tell ya....it's a semi-valid point about the seats available for Lions games vs. Wings games, until the Tigers get thrown into the equation. They sold 3 million tickets last year, an all-time record, and should break that this year. They'll probably average 40,000+ for all 81 games.

I don't care about the concussion. Kornheiser had a point on PTI. (I think it was him. Anyway.) If he's not ready to go, if he's truly at risk for further injury, DON'T PLAY HIM. There's a reason teams lie through their pieholes about injuries. If you say a guy has bruised ribs, of course he's gonna get hit every time. Nobody considers that a cheap shot. A cheapshot is a cheapshot regardless of injury. The Wings are at fault for putting him at risk if he's liable to be seriously hurt by playing in the game. Roberts' punch was a low thing to do, but Franzen's injury doesn't make it worse. It'd be just as bad if he'd done it to anyone else.

41 games, dude. Also, 20,066 seats. So, 520,000 against 822,706. BIG difference from what you're claiming. Anyway this isn't the first time. Carolina did the same thing in the '02 Finals.

Q. F. T! Exactly what I was trying to say earlier.

The goal happened because Flip was better than he was on that play. Period. Flip beat him. You can add as many qualifiers as you like, but trying to argue the point you're arguing comes across very strongly as taking something away from the goalscorer.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...7017/&imw=Y Just as big a deal as Zetterberg's. Andersson's scouting has been as important to the Wings as Steve Yzerman's leadership. He's so trusted, he recommended to Kenny to draft Franzen when Alex Edler was taken, and Holland made the move, sight unseen. And obviously, he was right. Extremely good news for the team and fans

Interview at the draft.

I always thought Orr went flying because he was tripped by the goalie's stick.

I don't think it's that the East can't hang with the West. No way Dallas or Anaheim or San Jose shuts down the Pens like this. I think it's more like the East can't hang with the Wings.

Used to be $5 for the earlier rounds and $10 for the Finals. I'm not sure how this is not a money-maker. I've been to JoeVision just once (it happened to be one of the "Greatest 5 Games"....Game 3 against Carolina in '02....the place completely exploded when the Wings scored the game-winner, it sounded like a bomb went off). Anyway. $10 a pop, the place was about half full, so, $100,000, and the parking fee surely boosts it. Skeleton staff. Just some on-ice entertainment, security, ticket windows, that was about it. Probably half profit. Cheap and easy way for Mr. I to make a quick buck and please the fans. There's no reason they shouldn't do it for at least the last two rounds of the playoffs.

Start Having My Babies.

What spots?

Holland isn't building a fantasy team, he's building a team. You don't have to spend just for the sake of spending. For one, I bet Mr. I appreciates the five million bucks saved.

I can't agree. Roberts just did kind of a drive-by. Just a split-second thing. One punch and that was it. Bertuzzi stalked his victim for like 10 seconds, pounced, drove his head into the ice and continued whaling on him. No comparison.

QFT and a little bit of perspective. I expected to see a little blood or something. I think toby's right - either Franzen got a poke in the eye, which is pretty damn painful even if you're expecting it, or he was doing a little European soccer thing there. Could be a little bit of both - his motions from the bench after the play showed he thought there was an elbow. Anyway, it only shows their desperation. It's about the only thing they had left to do, after being outskated, outworked, outshot, outscored, outeverythinged.

Being on the brink of winning your first Cup will have that kind of effect on people I don't see any reason not to keep him though. As long as there's cap room to do it, what with a lot of people locked in for pay raises already and Z and Flip due for extensions and raises too. A lot of teams in the league would have him as a top-pairing defenseman....if we can keep him at a discount and at #4, it's the kind of luxury that'll keep the Wings on top.

Which is why I never got involved in goalie battles. I still have the utmost confidence that if Ozzie went down in the first period of Game 3, Hasek would come in and win us the Cup. No team in the league has anything close to the goaltending depth we have. Most teams don't even have one goalie as good as either of ours.

Malkin's line from Game 2: -2, one minor penalty, zero shots on goal. Just for reference.

He did. He took a roughing penalty for retaliating after Malone hit Z late.

Precisely. The only reason Roberts threw that punch is because it was the only thing left he could do. He and his team got shut out twice. They can't outskate, can't outwork, can't outhustle, can't outshoot, can't outthink, and can't outscore the Wings. So why bring it down to their level? Besides, since when did we not "retaliate" during that game? We mixed it up when they half-assedly ran our goalie. We mixed it up when Malone hit Zetterberg after the whistle (AND IT COST US A POWER PLAY, when the outcome was still in doubt.) And what did that get us? They still tried to make it chippy.

Gary Roberts is 42 years old. He is not gonna decide not to punch someone just because there's a chance he'll get facewashed for it. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. You wanna know the best way to keep our players injury-free? Play as few games as possible. Finish this off early.