MulesWillFly93

He doesn't sound threatening to me.  Maybe I'm not reading between the lines enough, but it sounds to me like somebody asked him what he thought of the situation, so he gave them an honest answer, which is that he agrees Edmonton needs a new arena.  I agree that it's none of his business what the taxpayers and government of Edmonton decide to do with their money, and the fact that he IS putting his nose in Quebec City's business bugs me, but it doesn't sound like it's gotten to that point yet here.  It sounds like it's the Oilers who are forcing the city to do something by saying they won't play at Rexall Place after the lease is up in 2014.

Somehow I really doubt the Oilers would leave Edmonton.  Don't they have some of the best attendance numbers in the league, percentage-wise?  I mean, I would imagine that's why Bettman wants them to build a new stadium, right?  If the Oilers can suck that bad and still fill 17,000 seats, those are some enthusiastic people you've got there, so why not see what you can do with 20,000 seats?  I mean, I know QC has some enthusiastic fans, too, but hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  It makes a lot more sense to me (at least in my pea brain) to take a team like Phoenix, who has awful attendance, and relocate it, rather than doing the Canadian Team Shuffle.

If you want to park right by the Joe, I would recommend parking on Cobo Roof. It is cheaper ($10 instead of $15), and less of a pain to get out of than the arena garage. You will still have a little bit of a wait, but not nearly as much as the garage (this has been my experience, at least).

If you want free parking.. you can park at the Hard Rock Cafe's garage, go into the restaurant, go to the gift shop and have your parking validated. They have a free shuttle going over to the Joe, and they serve free shots on the ride.

I loathe the people mover after games because there are a million people trying to get on and it takes forever. I usually park on Cobo Roof or Hard Rock.

There are some hotels in Troy, which is not too far from downtown, that are nice. Also, Hockeytown Authentics is in Troy, if you've never been there, it is a fun place to visit/shop.

Good to know - thanks!  Cobo roof sounds like a good deal if I don't end up going to a casino first.  I'm not a huge fan of crowds/waiting in line forever myself, but like Sergei said, I'll probably take a ton of pictures and wander around after the game, so I guess I'll just wait and see.

Yeah, I HAVE to go to Hockeytown Authentics for sure!  I don't think I'll buy a jersey since apparently the numbers on the back are smaller, but I know I'll find something good.  I'm so excited.  Everybody thinks I'm nuts for going to Detroit in March, but I really couldn't care less - it'll be like Paris in the springtime to me!

Thats going to be real tough for the english speaking fans. I understand how they would want to have their names presented in the correct way, but when the vast majority of the teams income come from english speaking fans, we have to be able to read the names. It would take nothing short of learning the russian alphabet to figure out who these guys are if they were to change them. This would create a serious disconnect between players (especially new ones) and the fans. Just take a look at that Ovi pic...

English is legally the primary language in the US and Canada, lets keep it that way folks.

And yes I understand that nowadays its very possible that the majority speaks spanish. (I could be wrong on that)

Actually, I don't think this article is talking about putting Russian names in Russian letters; I think they're just talking about changing the Latin (English) spellings to better reflect the right pronunciation.  For example, Fedorov would become Fyodorov, not Фёдоров.  I think this is a good idea.  The only thing that really sticks out to me as wrong are the pronunciation of three letters in particular:

e = "yeh," not "eh" (I'm talking about a short "e" sound, here, like in "pet," not Canadian "eh," just to be clear)
ё = "yo" (Looks pretty darn similar to an e, right, but makes a completely different sound.  Hence, Fyodorov, not Fedorov)
o = "oh" (as in "poke") when it's in the stressed syllable, somewhere  between "uh" and "ah" when it's not (Ovechkin = uh-VYETCH-kin)

I like the IIHF's transcription.  It gets as close as possible without being totally confusing.  For instance, the two letters that don't make any sound (although they do change the sound of the letter before them) are just left out completely, and I think that's a good move since they don't make that much difference in the word.  It's close enough without making the announcers take Russian lessons.

Now, the other thing that this does not address is that they need to get the stress on the right syllable of the name (like var-LA-mov instead of VAR-la-mov).  There are no rules about where the stress falls on words in Russian, so if you haven't grown up speaking it, it's hard to know where the accent is.  In my textbooks, they put a mark over the syllable that gets the stress so we poor students can figure it out...maybe the NHL could do something similar, too (I mean on the announcers' guide sheets, not on the jerseys).

Дatcyk.

datsyuk.

why not just call him dotsook, or the phonetic datsuk?

Actually, it's:

Дацюк

Basically, what you've got going on here is D-a-ts-yu-k.

ц - this letter makes a "ts" sound.  I don't know why that sound needs  its own letter when they have corresponding T and S letters too, but  that's how it is.
ю - this letter makes a "yoo" sound.  If you were to use the Russian  letter "y," that would only make an "oo" sound.

Also, the accent is on the second syllable.  Hence, the correct pronuncation should be dat-SYOOK,  not DAT-sook.

Let's at least get a fight in.  If we're going to take a bunch of penalties anyway, might as well make 'em count!  Abs vs. SOB, doooo it.

Okay, okay, I take back what I said about Z-Bert-Mule being a good line.  Can we do something else now?!?!

I loled when they booed McDonald...obviously they haven't been watching Howard lately.

My favorite is Vikingstad.  How badass is that?  He was on the Norwegian national team at Vancouver last year.  Okay, hold the phone: check out his Wiki page - there's a whole section on his name!  "Tore Vikingstad has an awesome name that has led people in North America to believe he is a legendary nordic figure."  Holy crap, they're so right!  Swear to God I didn't see this until I went on there right now.

Other good ones:
Niedermayer (my dad has to make an Animal House reference every time he hears it, heh)
Niittymaki
Latendresse (aww, how sweet, lol)
Quick (best goalie name ever)
Bryzgalov
Del Zotto
Getzlaf
Hamhuis (Ham-hwis?  Ham-hyoos?  Whatever, it's funny however you're supposed to say it)
Festerling
Nodl (I always call him Noodle)
Lundqvist (not uncommon-sounding to me...I just like the name)

Pretty much all Finnish names are awesome.  My favs on the Wings are Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Kronwall, and Abdelkader.  We've got some good ones.  Oh dude, and I can't wait until Jarnkrok starts playing for us...Iron fricking Hook, everybody!

Yup, don't forget about Deryk Engelland.

A Penguin? Suspended? Inconceivable!

Bahaha, true, what was I thinking?  That'd be like Ron Hextall having a "Free Hugs Day."

Muleswillfly- Did you really just say break a leg to three of our remaining star players...I mean I get the reasoning behind it, but I dont know we even need to give them the hint of hearing those words given the injury bug that we got going.

Gonna be watching this one in my campus apartment with a bunch of Saudi Students who will be getting "English" lessons by watching me watch the game. Wings 4-2 Lids, Franzen, Zetts 2

GO WINGS

If they do get injured, go ahead and blame me.

Hey, that's no polar bear!  It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...Marty Brodeur!  Love it.

And for some reason I can totally picture Helmer playing Hungry Hungry Hippos in his spare time, hehe.

Maybe I'm just a violent American, but I think what's more important in drawing a family crowd is the atmosphere, rather than what's going on in the game itself.  As a woman, I like the fact that I can go to a game - in "enemy" territory even - and just sit in my seat and cheer on my team without having a bunch of completely wasted jerks around me ruining it for everyone, home team fans included.  I don't have kids, but if I did, I wouldn't hesitate taking them.  Football or basketball...I'd be a little less willing maybe.

Not that I can speak for all of us, but I doubt Americans want less violence in the game.  One thing I do know is that most of us like drama.  A lot.  Why the heck else is everybody so stuck on the Kardashians and Jersey Shore and all that stuff?  Even if we won't admit we like violence, I think, if given the chance, a lot of us would really get into all the rivalries and paybacks and trash talk that goes on, as well as the violence that happens to come along with it.  We eat that stuff up, it seems, and hockey is so satisfying because, unlike in other sports and most reality shows, you REALLY get to see some retribution take place.  Whereas Paris Hilton just keeps on acting like a little twit and nobody calls her on it, somebody eventually always catches up with Sean Avery.

Speaking as a native Californian, I agree that the reason hockey's not popular here is because it's just not on our radar.  Nobody ever talks about the Ducks or the Kings - they get a mention every now and then on the Sports page as part of their news round-up, the only hockey player people have ever heard of is Wayne Gretzky, and the hockey that does go on around here is hidden away in indoor rinks, and frankly, a lot of us just don't get into team sports period as much as other regions.  You have to seek it out if you want to get into it.  If I wasn't a naturally curious person and didn't have a serendipitous set of events that led up to me watching it, there's no way I would've become a hockey fan.  The only exposure I got to it was the Mighty Ducks movie when I was a kid and a story we read in one of my French classes about a kid from Quebec who was a Canadiens fan.  Those two things, coupled with being really bored one winter break with nothing on TV to watch, were the only reasons I started watching hockey.

I do think we Californians are a little more primed for understanding the game now, though.  My generation (I'm 26) and subsequent ones have grown up playing soccer in school, and with an ever-growing Latin American population, we're used to soccer being around, and I think knowing the rules there really helped me when I started watching hockey.  It's interesting that there have been more Californians in the Draft in the last couple of years because that follows my line of thinking: we may not be big on watching sports, but we do like to play all kinds of oddball sports.  Water polo is really popular, and it seems like lacrosse is on the rise, for example.  I think hockey's kind of coming along with that.  I think it might be partly because parents think their kids will have a better chance of getting a sports scholarship if they play a sport that's not as popular as football or soccer or whatever, so there's less competition for a spot on the team, but I couldn't say for sure.  Anyway, so while kids might not be turning into diehard Ducks fans, I think there are more Californian kids playing hockey, anyway.

Zetterberg - Slowed down a bit, but I still like his clutchiness in the playoffs
Datsyuk - *spotlight from the heavens comes on, choir of angels sings*
Lidstrom - Sucks.  Psh, come on, like I'm going to trash talk Lids
Cleary - I'm going to nickname him Murphy. Just when things are going awesome, disaster strikes.
Franzen - Can he have one of his insane streaks pretty soon?  I guess I should specify insane scoring streaks, 'cause honestly, he looks like one of those quiet guys who is secretly about 2 seconds away from snapping but you just can't tell.
Bertuzzi - Bertuzzi, on the other hand, we know is about 2 seconds away from snapping.  Speaking of snapping, right now he needs to snap out of those bad habits from last season that I thought he was over.
Rafalski - I like him, but maybe not for $6 mil.  Better than most of our D, anyway
Filppula - Arrrrgh!!!  Him and Helm drive me nuts.  I know they have it in them, but it just won't happen for them!
Kronwall - I like his glasses.  I can't make a fair judgment on him right now because I'm still too jazzed about his rad goal the other night.
Holmstrom - Chip (see Modano for further information).  Don't know how anybody takes that much abuse. He's my hero because he's a slow skater (I, too, am rather slow), but still gits 'er done.
Eaves - Again, wrong time to ask....no way am I going to say anything negative right after his hat trick. Unlike Kronwall, however, there's nothing really lurking at the back of my mind that I would say under normal circumstances.
Stuart - Stuie's my whipping boy.  Sorry Stuie.  Needs to be better around the net, I think (our net, I mean).
Hudler - My god he's short!  Seriously, I never really realized just how much under I saw them play the Ducks on the 3rd.  Don't know if his goals are just luck or improvement, but I think he's standing up for himself more and doesn't get pushed down as easily.
Helm - I love this guy.  I just wish he could shoot the puck at the net.  He does all this crazy dangle stuff on the PK, but all that disappears when he actually has to take a shot at the net.
Ericsson - Whipping boy no. 2, but he seems to fade into the background more than Stuart.  Seems like he either has a good night or an awful night.
Abdelkader - Love the physicality (and he's a good hitter, too, harrr). Like everybody's said, I think he has it in him to score more (I won't make a joke with that one...you're welcome).
Modano - Dale (see Holmstrom for further info). Hope he's ready to go in March...I'm worried that he'll go back to looking lost when he comes back.  Really wished this would've worked out better
Salei - Not bad.  Takes a lot of penalties, but on the other hand, it's nice to have someone on the team who plays physical.
Miller - Good PK, but everything else, meh.  He doesn't really do anything to make me mad, unlike certain people on our D, but he's just kind of there.
Draper - Right now, I think he's providing some important stability for a team that's kind of wonky because of injuries.  He just has that confidence that says, "Don't worry, I've done this sh!t before," which makes everybody else able to just get to work.
Osgood - Hard to judge from the amount of games he's played this year, but I'm glad he's around to mentor Howie.  Couldn't ask for a nicer, funnier, and above all experienced guy to help you down the right path.
Howard - Nicest guy ever (I met him in July).  Rather easy on the eyes, too.  Anyway, if this is a sophomore slump, it's not too horribly bad.  He could definitely step it up a little, especially when we're struggling offensively, but I'm not in panic mode yet.  I think he will improve.

Edit: grammar, forgot the Modano part of Chip & Dale, and needed to add the goalies.  Oops.

Cue Darth Vader "NOOOOO!!!" here.  Why why WHY did it have to be Cleary?  And why did STUART OF ALL PEOPLE have to do it to him?  :despair:moan:repeat:

Since all my superstitions have failed me, I suppose there's only one option left: drink more.  Pour me one for Datsyuk and one for Cleary, if you would be so kind.  Here's to a speedy and full recovery!

1) I did think the officiating was crappy.  I don't necessarily think it was biased, even if we didn't get a PP all night; it just wasn't good.  I don't think it was as horrendous as the Sharks go-round, but I saw enough on both sides to make me wonder where all the calls were.

2) Howard did not lose this for us.  Our 1 measly goal did.  Sure, it's reasonable to think he could've kept it down to 2-1, but whether it was 2-1 or 8-1, unless you expected him to stand on his head and post a SO, this just wasn't going to happen for us.  We needed more goals.  He definitely didn't help matters at all, but he wasn't what ultimately sealed our fate.

3) I don't think Franzen is slacking.  At least, I'm not convinced yet.  Give me a week or two, and then ask me again.  I honestly think he's got the flu or something...he looks like he's in a daze or something while he's on the ice.  Everybody else just looked like they had a regular shade of dysfunction, but Franzen seemed a step behind them even.  It might just be the world's biggest slack off, but he really looked less than fully alert during the last few games to me.

Really damn certain.  They are masters of using negative energy to their advantage.  With a loss like this, I expect them to come back absolutely blazing.  Add that to the fact that it's Ozzy's 400th, and it's watch out, Stars.

Of course, me saying that probably just jinxed the heck out of them, but I think they can even overcome my jinx for Ozzy's sake.

I know the Kings haven't been playing so well recently, but I'm still slightly worried.  They do have that 9-2 record at home...  I hope it follows that if we shut out the Ducks and they shut out the Kings, then handling the Kings should be no problem, but unfortunately, it doesn't always work that way.

I'm nervous about Ozzie like everybody else, but I'm more nervous about generating enough offense.  Let's just keep the shots coming, so Ozzie isn't put on the spot too often. And of course, some smart moves in our end would be nice, too.

More Wings fans then Duck fan if you ask me LOL.

There were definitely a ton of us there, and we were LOUD.  Don't know what's wrong with the Ducks fans, but even before we buried them, they weren't exactly the most enthusiastic of crowds.  Meanwhile, we were chanting it up.  Of course, in the last few minutes, they all starting leaving, so then we REALLY took over the place, and if you ignored the logo on the ice, you would've thought you were at the Joe with everybody cheering for the Wings' win.  God dang I had a good time.  I had great seats with a bunch of Wings fans around me, and HOT DOGGIE was revenge sweet for that last game at the Suck Pond!  You da man, Howard!

Edit: Can I also just say how nice it was to not have to hear Bro Hymn at any point tonight?  If there was ever a good reason to get an SO, that's it.  Here's hoping for another you-know-what at the next Hawks home game...that's even worse.

PPS: I'd also like to say that you can poke fun all you want, but you will NEVER get me to say the S-O word before a game.  Case in point: before the game, a Ducks fan in front of me said Hiller was going to get a shut-out.  I couldn't believe it.  I kinda stared at the guy for a while like he was nuts, and I then thought, "Oh well, works for me - the guy just totally jinxed the Ducks."  And wow, did he ever.  Not only did Hiller let in 4, but OUR goalie got the S-O.  Never will I be so bold.  Scoff if you will, but the only time you will hear me say the word shut-out will be in reference to one that's already happened.