RedWingAbner

I know, at least in my wife's case, that some non-hockey fans are rooting against Canada because they are sick of hearing about how good Sidney Crosby is. Case in point--even a person such as my wife, who never paid attention before last year, would say things like "Why are they making such a big deal about him? That Ovechkin guy is so much more exciting. Doesn't he score more, too?" The only people who like Crosby and his antics are people in Canada (some) and people in Pittsburgh (bandwagon). I wouldn't be surprised, though, if Bettman ends NHLer Olympics if Crosby wins. Then, his little quest would be complete. Then again, if he loses, Crosby might whine to get a shot in Sochi. Who knows. BTW, I hate Sidney Crosby.

YES! And, I hear Sabrina Ladha is a UFA, so the Wings should sign her! Come on friend. This proves nothing.

Face it....Canada couldn't expect to win with their current roster. No team, save one, could....and Finland is ecstatic that Valterri Filppula is theirs. All joking aside, Babcock can't stop the puck, and last night, neither could Brodeur. Honestly, goalies have bad games (which Broduer had), and the Olympics makes it look that much worse--a bad game can cost you the tournament. He could switch to Luongo and Canada could roll through the rest of the way. I don't think it's bad coaching, just dumb luck at the wrong time.

Who is the Filppula guy? According to Babcock, there is a player named Filla-poola....is that who you are referring to?

If the country ever takes to it, Australia will rise. They are currently like 39th in IIHF rankings, not so impressive, but there is a pro league there now.

I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, but what is their record without Flip vs. with Flip?

A figure whom I invented by not reading a screen name correctly. My bad.

Damn. I was hoping for your endorsement, too. I understand the irony of trying to argue against an accusation of my sarcasm with a sarcastic comment. In all seriousness, it's fine for you to not buy it, but considering how snarky I am (generally) and how angry people have been (lately), I figured it'd be nice to at least have something positive to look at. Anyways...

I didn't post that, either. I just bumped it up and said I missed the guy because LGW has descended into an ogre's party. I won't quibble with you over who is more intelligent or who is what, etc, etc, etc. If by "people," you mean you and 3 others, then I'll take it with a grain of salt.

PS-- Nobody gives a s*** what you say. As long as it's the RedWingAbner announcement board, that is. Ease up. So, since I have been a member since 2004 and don't post every day....I must be gone? That makes sense. I've been on the boards long enough to know that you generally don't have much to add to a conversation other than to drive the thread into the realm of insults and personal attacks, so I am gonna ignore you like the chirping bird that nests over my car. Does it exist for other things than to make noise and s*** on my vehicle? Probably. Do I care? No, it's just annoying, but not worth dealing with. Nice talking to ya, but at least Z+D+C and Finnish Wing have an exchange with me that makes the debate somewhat fun.

Why don't you, zachmorris, Howardhedoit, and ElizabethGangsta go play "Hide and Go f*** Yourself." Ok, now that senseless act is done....sorry, but did anyone actually read my post? I didn't rip on the original poster, didn't *****, didn't point fingers. Just brought it back to have us look back at it, is all. And I did say I missed Snazzy. The optimism was nice. (Thanks to those who pointed this out--I know you have a choice when deciding to read LGW message board posts, and RedWingAbner would like to thank you for not immediately taking the opportunity to hate on me).

Is there someone who takes care of you during the day? I hope so. No, he's not a 3rd liner because I say so. He's a 3rd liner because he typically plays on the 3rd line and produces third line point totals. Marian Gaborik, on the other hand, is a proven commodity. And no, stupid, Cam Neely wasn't a third liner the year he played 13 games. You are arguing apples and oranges. Fact: Filppula plays on the 3rd line, occasionally on the 2nd, but on EVERY depth chart (except yours) he is listed as our 3rd line center. Fact: Filppula has only put up a high of 40 points with 3 full seasons under his belt. Marian Gaborik only played in 17 games last year but still managed 23 points. Rather than say "that projects to this," his previous game/point totals were 77/83, 48/57, 65/66, 65/40, 81/65, 78/67, and 71/36. That's in ascending order to his first season, so by year two, he had topped 60 points. Not a third liner. Fact: Black bears are the superior bear. Fact: Bears eat beets.

My point is, arguing about someone being 106th in ppg is so stupid it doesn't need to be discussed. Your ranking is subject to your opinion. Filppula is not a 2nd liner because our top 2 centers are Datsyuk and Zetterberg, our top 4 wingers are Franzen, Bertuzzi, Cleary, and Holmstrom. Is he a 2nd liner somewhere else? Maybe. But he's not here, and if we are paying him like we are, we shouldn't be playing him on the 3rd line (which, on a healthy Wings team, he'd be on). Calling something ridiculous when it is ridiculous is not a cop out. It's just not worth the time to go down your little bunny trails. It'd be like me trying to say that statistically, it is better for Super Bowl teams to play and beat the Buccaneers-- because up until this year, no team that lost to them in the regular season went on to win the Super Bowl. It is there, on paper, but it's not much to base an argument on. Bunny trail-- as in, so and so is 106th in ppg among forwards. It's a waste of time.

I don't ignore them, I just respond to others and go to bed. I know you used that ridiculous stat, and others picked it apart, but come on. It's just silly. This needs to stop. I know you like Flip. I wonder, honestly, if you would be so insistent on his ability if he was from Sweden. But as I said to others, it's not an argument worth having. Neither of us will convince the other, and you particularly are so insistent that I answer every single post-- it's not worth my time, or yours. You like Flip. I do too, just not as much.

Yeah, he's just to polarizing. It was easier when we had a crap team that we could lash universally. Ah, Tim Cheveldae, where for art thou?

Ok, I am going to give this a shot, because things seem to be calming down here. It's not pulling names out of my ass when I am making a point about the difficulty of gauging potential. I've admitted that I could be wrong and Filppula could do amazing things and that I would really love that. Yes, in another thread, I did take offense at namecalling. But then we picked it up again here, and I figured we were shooting the s***, and I just went with it. I know you don't like Fox News. Neither do I. Common ground. Now, I don't want to have this thread get hijacked, but the point I made about Cleary is solid. There are players who make $3M as a scrappy, in your face guy; there are guys who get $3M as a physical defenseman. I think Cleary is a solid deal because he combines scrappy play and decent touch. Nothing special. I think he's a better forechecker than Flip and a better "netfront" guy. Could I see the Wings trading him (Cleary)? Yeah. Would I get upset? No, depending on what came back. Don't get me wrong, I don't want Cleary to be sent out, and I am not making that case. I think we agree on a basic point. As a 3rd line center, Flip makes too much? Perhaps I am reading too much into your earlier comments about dealing him somewhere else so he can play on the 2nd line. In the words of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"

I second the motion. I think everyone knows where everyone stands on the issue. Some people want him decapitated, some want him enshrined (dramatization). It's interesting that you mention The Office; I wrote an unsolicited episode of that show that is is pre-production. If they air "Religious Awareness Day," that's the one.

Glad I could make you happy. In all seriousness, I was trying to lighten things up by using your trademark line there.

Apology accepted. I really wish you guys would just realize that I am not a Flip hater. It's not that I can't live with the label, but I'm just not a Flip lover. That doesn't mean you can't be, it's fine. I just think he's a decently valuable trade chip.

I brought up politics? Nope, that was your buddy. I know you guys like to try to make each other feel good, but at least get your facts straight. I could care less if an inferior intellect like yours doesn't catch the point I'm making. Every so often, a grownup comes on and tries to get you idiots to realize that you aren't even making sense. Boom, that just happened.

First off, your fuzzy math at the top makes absolutely no sense. I agree that point totals are a good way to project things, but they aren't a guarantee. And until Flip does it over the course of a season, I don't think he can. You completely ignore my point--Cleary does more than dye his tips and play good d. What Sarah Palin says about Rush Limbaugh is nonsense, as is 90% of your responses to me. Any point I make is "obviously" a Filppula dig. Not true, but you want so bad for me to hate him, you make it so. I don't pull names of of my ass like you pull stupid projections and promises out of yours. Let's just call it a truce and you can continue to love Filppula and (in your mind) I can continue to "hate" him on the basis of the fact that I could stand to see him traded. I'll give Filppula credit......when he does something. Nice goal in the finals, good d, and way to blow a prime scoring chance in two crucial games (at Pitt, vs. SJ). Finally, dips***, I keep bringing up the names of other players as a point of comparison. A player's potential is no guarantee of his success. Filppula, until he DOES IT, is a 4th year player who has topped out at 40 points. You can't argue that. However, my goal is to give you examples--Anders Eriksson, most recently--of players who had high potential but leveled off and never did much more. Do you think Chicago would've traded Chelios for Eriksson in 2000? 2001? Probably not, because most had soured on him and realized he was not a #1 defenseman in training--he was a #5, at best, #7, usually.

You are such a goddamn moron. I wasn't suggesting anything other than players whom coaches like do get traded.

Just bumping this up. Also pointing out that I miss ole Snazzy, haven't heard from him since October.

Agreed, but players coaches like get traded, too.

I haven't mentioned him being overpaid in this thread. Cleary, at $2.8, is a great deal-- he gets to the front of the net, scraps, and can (and has) scored 20 goals before. Jesus man, you cannot keep saying that Player X has done this, but player Y is CAPABLEof this....it doesn't work. It's like saying that Al Montoya had potential, so thus he was a better goalie than....Craig Anderson. Yeah, potential is nice, but let's see him do something. Filppula hasn't done jack s*** and people try to give every reason possible as to why he's awesome. I've said over and over and over that I don't personally dislike Filppula, but you hardcore jagoffs are making me hate the guy. It's like....Sarah Palin could be tolerable as a governor of Alaska, but morons keep jamming idiocy down our throats and propping her up as something she's not. Just give it up! Filppula is what he is. He's a 3rd liner. Good guy, but not someone who is untouchable simply because you, or Finnish Wing, or anybody else thinks he has the potential to put up 60 points. He hasn't. And don't try to argue that I mean that any young player is immediately at their top level--ie, Taylor Hall or the like-- just because I say this. Filppula has 3 full seasons to go on. Yeah, he had alot of assists in the playoffs. You know who else did? Keith ******* Primeau, and we shipped his 3RD LINE CENTER ASS OUT OF TOWN TO GET A SCORING WINGER. Uggh. Sorry to go caps. It's just hard because it's every point that you (and others) try to twist to get the conversation going on why he has the potential to get 60 points and thus people who don't see it are wrong. It makes me want to see him dealt even more just so people can shut up about his damn potential. How's Anders Eriksson doing polishing his Norris Trophies? Ah, potential.