Hank

Hahaha. This is the Stuart I've been watching for 10 years now. He's basically Lila with better offensive skills. I've actually marveled at how good he's been these playoffs because normally he's coughing up the puck for a prime scoring chance at least once per game.

He actually said he thought it was his shoulder that caught him. That's an absolute lie as his shoulder was only involved to help his left hand slam into the side of Franzen's head. But that aside, I've always been a Roberts fan myself. He's a competitor. What we sometimes forget is that hockey is a lightning fast sport that rides on the emotional edge. Coaches, players and fans are always asking players to play with emotion but then we expect them to have the fortitude to always keep it in check. Hockey is different from other team sports in that it's perfectly acceptable, and in some cases, expected, for players to act out when things aren't going their way. Getting beat on the scoresheet? Then beat them in the alley. That's all Roberts was doing and it's happened for years and years. The Wings of the mid-80's were no exception. Regarding Therien, SI recently polled 360 NHL players about who they'd like to be coached by and who they'd hate to be coached by. #1 for most liked was Babcock, Keenan came in first for least liked with Therrien a close 2nd. I know I couldn't stomach that french accent for more than 2 seconds before I'd call my agent and tell him "Trade me right f**king now!" and then hang-up.

What's next? Putting Garth Snow in for Fleury? All of this stinks of Terry Murray and the Flyers. Poor Pennsylvania teams have no answer for Detroit.

It reminds me so much of the Wings-Devils final in '95. We walked right through the West and then got our asses handed to us by New Jersey. We all complained about the nuetral zone trap but we had no answer for it. This is the best thing for Pittsburgh. Their young kids will learn from this just like the Wings did back then.

I really can't blame him though. His team has looked like absolute crap. It's not even close out there. Not getting an even strength shot on net through half of the game is an embarassment. Plus, look at his hair cut. It's terrible. If I were in his shoes I'd be crying for the refs to help me too. That's the only thing that will save him from another brutal loss.

stud_defenseman, I understand what you're saying. It's apart of the game now and I don't like it -from the Wings or Pens. BUT, if everyone's doing it, and the league isn't going to do anything about it, then I guess it's necessary. But I do remember a time when a player had to be shot in order to flop over. It's not like that anymore. And yes, no matter what anyone says, Osgood was embelishing a lot of the falls he took. Of course he was getting bumped, but he was going down like he was shot with an Elephant gun. I have a hard time believing that everyone here defending him or the falling tactics of the Wings wouldn't be screaming bloody murder if it was happening against us.

Where do you live? You don't think you could draw in the CBC signal?

Kind of. You have to buy a special HD antenna for your TV. From what I've seen with my own two eyes, Antenna HDTV is actually a better signal than cable or satellite. But it has to come in 100%. A friend of mine has a 50" plasma HDTV and this is what he uses for HD. I couldn't believe how crisp the picture was compared to my Satellite feed. And my satellite feed is unbelievable crips and clear.

Nice TV! I have a 36" CRT HDTV at home. Once I went HD, I couldn't go back. It almost physically hurts to watch hockey in standard television now.

That's old-time hockey. Guys from the 70's and 80's did that all the time. Bob Clarke was one of the best at it.

That's the nature of the beast. Fans for every team think their team is the best and only bad luck and poor officiating are the cause for losses. There are valid points to be made as to why the Pens or Wings could win this series. I wouldn't be surprised with either outcome.

But most hobbies don't include hard-core violence. I can understand bird watching or stamp collecting, but driving 9 hours to watch two minor-pro players beat up each other in training camp seems kind sadistic. At least in MMA and boxing the whole goal of the sport is to physically abuse someone. It's like someone going to football games hoping someone gets their leg broken or neck snapped. To me, this is no different than dog fighting lovers. To be that obsessed with hockey fights is crazy.

I lilke a good tustle in a hockey game, but the fact that these guys show up ONLY for the fights is disgusting. Why not just watch UFC or MMA? I guarentee these guys are all over websites that show bootleg school yard punch-ups.

I'm shocked Marc Joannette and Brad Watson got the nod. In game 6 between the Wings and Stars I thought they missed some pretty obvious calls. Does anyone else remember when Datsyuk was on that breakaway and after he didn't score, he tailed around the boards to retrieve the rebound. Robidas followed him and in doing so, he had his stick around his waist and made at least 3 'tugging' motions with it. It was so blatantly obvious I was spitting venom. After that, they both completely blew the blind-side, interference hit on Lidstrom seconds before they scored their first goal on the PP. Both of those were so obvious and yet neither was called. The non-call on Robidas plain-as-day hook was the worst of the two in my book. They've been calling everything for two years when a guy has his stick perpendicular to the ice on a guys waist. I mean, the call Modano got in Game 1 to give the Wings a 5-on-3 was a tickle compared to that and he got wrung up. How did this one get let go. Both should be in the AHL as far as I'm concerned.

It was a very interesting read. But those hardcore fans need some serious help. I mean, having thousands of dollars of recording equipment and wasting how many hours to make fight tapes? That's insane. But I have to agree with some of the comments. Fighting was so much better in the 70's and 80's. Guys went toe-to-toe. Now, just like the game on the ice, fighting has gotten so defensive it's turned into a Royce Gracie match. Too much holding and grabbing. Remember Probie's old bouts? He'd just chuck knuckles. He came from an era where you tried to see who could take the most punches without giving up or going down. Now it's, land a few shots and then grab the pants to wrestle the guy down. Marty Lapointe has gotten to be the king of that.

I'm with you. I agree that the NHL is hurting itself going up against the NBA's Conference Finals - particularily the Pistons schedule. But at the same time, one of my biggest gripes with the league is that it's always cowtowing or hiding from the other major sports. Until the Superbowl the NHL barely uses Sunday and Monday nights. And now we're supposed to duck around the NBA schedule? Like SouthernWingsFan pointed out, hockey fans will tune in no matter what, just like NBA fans will tune in no matter what. Besides, I have a hard time believing a casual sports fan in Minnesota or any other eastern/northern state would choose to watch an NBA game over hockey.

Wings-Sharks 1994. Nuff said.

I'm fearing the same thing. This sounds to be something far more serious than a concussion or migraines. MRI's have shown it's not concussions and migraines are treatable (if that weren't the case for Mule he would have missed a lot more time in the regular season). Something tells me things aren't good. If that's the case, I couldn't care less about him playing hockey again. He needs to get healthy so he can live a normal life without the risk of dying on the ice.

I love Zubov and I would put him in the top 5 defenders in the league. He wasn't even close to being 60% in this series because of how banged up he was. When healthy he can do it all. He's a mini-Lidstrom. I'll take him over everyone BUT Nick on our defense.

Bingo! If that was said, it was meant as a sarcastic remark only to exemplify the fact that Ozzie is no backup. Man, some people just want to make stuff out of thin air. Turco's a great goalie with a lot of class.

Great analysis. I agree. The Wings have an edge in defense but not much of one. The Pens D is very underrated. The Pens also get a nod in offense. Their top 2 lines smoke ours. Especially if Cleary continues with his drought and Franzen can't go for the finals. This is the biggest concern for either team, IMO: Pens - Goaltending. MAF has been terrific but he's still prone to ugly goals. And will his youth and inexperience be a hinderance to his performance? The same could be said for the rest of the team. They could get caught up in the moment and suddenly be down 3-0. Wings - The Pens play a very aggressive style. It doesn't matter if they're up by 1 goal or 6, they come at you with all 5 players. And they have some very big top 6 forwards - Malkin, Hossa, Malone, Staal. On top of that Crosby might not be big but he's not scared to go anywhere on the ice and he'll bang too. Then there's their checking lines. All of them can skate, love to hit and can provide offense from time to time. All of us will know Maxime Talbot very well before this series is over. The Wings have always had fits trying to combat an aggressive forecheck. The Pens will not only provide this style of play but with offense to boot. Saying all of that, I truly believe the Wings will win in 5. They'll be 5 very close games, but the Wings defense and experience will prevail.

That's what I got too. Turco was depressed, nothing more. I think it was a corjul conversation. If it wasn't, Turco wouldn't have spent so much time chatting with him. He would have kept on skating.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=238164&amp...os=secStory_nhl My favorite quote from this was: That pretty much sums it up. If the Wings are going to win another game they have to outwork the Stars. Skill wins in the regular season, will wins the Cup. But now I have a new reason for the Wings to win this series; I hate TSN anaylst Darren Dreger. This guy is the epitomy of "Leaf Homer". He hates the Wings so much he can't wait to poop all over them. I can't remember the last time he said anything good about them in this postseason. I always want the Wings to win the Cup, but if it means this guy spirals into a bout of depression where he pays for sex with transexuals while watching Ellen Degeneret episodes, I'll be even happier. Screw Dreger.

I think he had the Sharks this year and I believe he had the Ducks last year.

This is the best strategy I've heard all year. Sammy is completely useless. Also, while I still like Cleary, it's obvious his broken jaw is still affecting him. But it shouldn't matter the reason, if he's not getting the job done, he deserves less time. Which is why Huddles should be on the top 2 lines. Man, I just hope we get some unsung hero to chip one in for Game 6. The Stars have gotten that two games in a row, we need it now more than ever.