drupha

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  1. drupha

    Nicklas Lidstrom Sportsman of the Year 2008

    You clearly know NOTHING about swimming. Nick Lidstrom is one of the all time greats, but I think it would be a hard argument to say that he was the best hockey player of all time. Conversely, most people who know anything about swimming would probably put Phelps there at this point. Harder to do in the 70's? Like most other sports, the last few decades have seen a high degree of specialization within the sport. For example, Aaron Peirsol and Lenny Krayzelburg (if you don't know these names, you don't know swimming), are considered to be among the great swimmers of the last decade, but they specialized only in the back, and didn't swim competitively in the other three strokes. In the last Olympics he beat: Ryan Lochte in both IM events, when Lochte trained almost exclusively for the IMs (and who would have a huge stash of gold if he'd been born ten years earlier) Ian Crocker, the world record holder who trained exclusively for ONE event at the Olympics Every mid/sprint freestyler, many of whom specialized in the freestyle The hockey equivalent of this feat is being a better center than Datsyuk, a better defender than Lids, and a better goalie than Hasek (in his prime). Lidstrom is an amazing defender, but he doesn't even show Phelpsian versatility in his own position. If what Detroit needed was a Derian Hatcheresque hulking bruiser, could he do it? No, he doesn't have the size to. And that's what differentiates Phelps. He dominates in swimming like no one is supposed to. And lastly, there's something to be said about going out and winning eight straight times. As Wings fans, we all have seen firsthand that even if you have the best team, upsets happen, lapses in mental toughness happen. It didn't happen to Phelps and his relay teammates. I don't think you can emphasize that enough over eight finals. That being said, would I be surprised if he had a positive steroids test? Not overly. I don't think he did, but it wouldn't surprise me.
  2. drupha

    LGW's Pucks & Pigskin II

    I too am interested if there's still a spot
  3. drupha

    Still Bitter about Game 5 loss

    If you really were a "good" fan, you would have paid attention to when tickets went on sale officially, and been able to get tickets multiple tickets for $300. Do you know what the difference between you and a "good" fan is? I took my chances with game 5, thinking that there was a chance that the game would be clinched then, but that the $100 ticket would be well worth the ticket regardless of circumstances. You waited til it WOULD have the chance to be a clinching game before you bought a ticket, thus making you just as bad as all of the "rich bandwagon" fans you claim to abhor. Tickets to game 5 before the game 4 win were selling for under $250 each.
  4. drupha

    Still Bitter about Game 5 loss

    I was at Game 5. If you think you guys had it bad, I still had to drive 3.5 hours back to Columbus Ohio after the game. For everyone complaining about how high ticket prices were, I can't claim to understand. Tickets at face value from Ticketmaster were available pretty easily at face for about a day after they went on sale. I bought tickets to 5 and 7 for $100 each. After game 5, I was really pissed. So you know what I did? I spent $250 for a ticket and drove to Pittsburgh, not a bad drive from either Columbus or Detroit, and watched us hoist the cup. Completely worth it, and no regrets.
  5. drupha

    Which of These Players Should Make the Hall of Fame?

    WTF is GGA? Assuming you're talking about goals against average (GAA), it's an entirely overrated statistic, especially in Detroit, because he faces significantly less shots per game, which makes it easier to keep a low GAA. I think Starter A/Starter B says that the coaching staff didn't have full faith in either goalie, but had more in a past his prime Dom, as he started the playoffs. This season, when some of our defenseman were hurt, Ozzie really struggled. He's definitely better now than he was 10 seasons ago. I feel that he's underrated too. He's not great though. If he were great, the board wouldn't get wood thinking that Ryan Miller was going to come here next season (before he reupped in Buffalo).
  6. drupha

    Which of These Players Should Make the Hall of Fame?

    I've always thought that the Hall of Fame should tighten the standards so that it's not the Hall of Solid Careers. Joe Nieuwendyk was a good, solid player for his entire career, but he was never "the guy." At one point in their careers, Bure was the best goal scorer, and Forsberg was considered by many the best all around player. Chris Osgood, until this year, was considered the NHL's equivalent of Trent Dilfer in that his team won (in 98) in spite of him and not because of him. This season he definitely redeemed himself, but still likely isn't in the top 5 goaltenders in the league. While he's had successes, he's had more than enough high profile failures at inopportune times to be a shoe in for the "Let the puck in from beyond the blue line/center ice" HOF. We owe a large part of this last Stanley Cup win to him, but he's no Hall of Famer. These are my top five Ozzie memories... 5) Osgood scores 4) Osgood gets yanked in 97, SC won 3) Jamie Langenbrunner scores the game winner from half way in 98 during a key game, we win the cup anyways 2) Osgood wins the 08 Cup, and should've won the Conn Smythe 1) Osgood crying in the locker room after we got knocked out by SJ after he let in another goal from center ice Chris Osgood has never won the Vezina trophy. Jim Carey 1, Chris Osgood 0. Can you really put someone in the hall of fame who was never, ever the best at anything. He was likely only top 3 in a few of the years he played. And yes, I do realize that he played in a good era of goalies and Red Wings goalies are always overlooked because of the stellar defense. To that I say he wouldn't have dominated any era, and that he wasn't a standout when he left the wings for a spell. So to summarize, Chris Osgood was and is a good, but not great, and certainly not elite goaltender. PS to all: please don't count World Championships as reasons people should be in the Hall. It's kind of like saying, "My country's 'all=knocked-out=of-the-playoffs-early' team is better than yours."
  7. drupha

    Lidstrom called "Best European Player Ever".

    I think you need to clarify your question. For example, if we're talking about the Russian player who is active in the NHL and has had the best career, Fedorov widely trumps Ovechkin and Datsyuk, based on his body of work. If you're talking about best player as of today, Fedorov wouldn't stand a chance. So are we talking about the best players, not only active, but as of this moment?
  8. drupha

    The Great Brett Favre Kerfuffle of 2008

    Completely different scenario. The Red Wings would've taken him back. Hell, if Stevie decides he's getting the itch right now, Illitch would sign him to put more fans in seats.
  9. drupha

    Waterford Crystal 2008 Stanley Cup Puck

    I think you're overstating the collectibility of these. I got the 97 and 98 versions for $30 each at Hockeytown, and I think that they were ever so slightly lower of a production run.
  10. drupha

    have any of you ever written to NHL players?

    It was game six of this year's series against the Pens, haha. I think he was a healthy scratch for that one.
  11. I expect him to hold the Stanley Cup over his head while wearing a white and red Detroit Red Wings jersey. If he can do that and is outscored by Darren McCarty, I'm still good with it.
  12. drupha

    have any of you ever written to NHL players?

    Autopenning is when a machine with a sharpie replicates a person's signature as many times as needed. So it looks just like a normal autograph would, with a normal sharpie and everything, but it's not regarded as a "real" signature. As far as Fedorov, he was actually one of the first to get an autopenner. Check the cards together and compare the signatures. While most people can closely replicate their signatures, they don't get it exact, as the autopen machine can. http://questforautos.blogspot.com/2007/08/...ei-federov.html The Red Wings get deluged with requests due to their popularity, which is why the autopenning machine came about for them. I don't begrudge them this, because I don't mind if they spend their time worrying about their on the ice game. Some of the guys are even slightly dodgy if you spot them before a game. I was at game 6 in Pittsburgh, and saw Stevie run from a massive crowd of two Wings fans trying to get autographs an hour before the opening puck drop. Good news though. Pasha's one of the friendlier signer in the game. Great player, great guy.
  13. drupha

    have any of you ever written to NHL players?

    I'm sorry to report that the Red Wings are one of the worst teams about players seeing mail and signing through the mail. Even if you right directly to the players, the Red Wings are one of the most wide users of auto penning, so even if something comes back signed, depending on the player, he may not have ever touched your card or item you sent in.
  14. drupha

    The closest "Future Yzerman"

    It's going to be Sidney Crosby!!! Didn't you guys watch the telecasts where he was "The Captain"? Excuse me for a minute, because I just made myself sick...