It's been a while since my last rant so here goes...
Poor Poor Bettman
NHL Ninconpoop Gary Bettman is now demoralized again. First, his beloved Pens were eliminated. Next, he finds out that Crosby was holding out on him on his condition (so all along Gary held onto the hope that Crosby would be back just in time for naught). Now, his second favorite team (albeit red headed stepchild indeed) is gone. Tampa Bay eliminated the Craps in 4 games today. This behind 75 year old Dwayne Roloson's stellar play. Hey Wild fans, Roloson is in the Eastern Conference Finals. At least one former Wild is enjoying life right now.
In any case, I can revert back to being a general hockey fan now that the Craps are gone too. Perhaps we'll get to see what the NHL PR department has up its sleeve now that they have to try to promote someone not named Ovechkin or Crosby and not teams like Pittsburgh or Washington. I can't wait to see their creative juices flow.
Finishers anyone? Maybe finished is the better term.
Yup, I'm calling out the Red Wings. They've played San Jose close. Too bad they've rarely played San Jose well. They seemed lackadaisical at times and almost over confident. This OT was the first time I saw Detroit actually taking it to San Jose... only to see the D abandon them once again.
They now find themselves down 3-0 to San Jose. The big question, from my seat, is thus: Will Detroit end their season being swept or will they at least take one game? Right now, they seem to be unable to finish. San Jose seems to find finishers when they need it the most. Oh, and weak goals are great, right Howard? Setoguchi's second goal was W-E-A-K. Detroit's stupidity at D helped San Jose tie the game.
It's a stupid charge but... if Detroit wants to prove something, they're going to have to win Game 4 in big fashion... like by 3+ goals. I'm not saying Howard has to pitch a shutout, because with the D in front of him, that's like asking positive thinking along to stop mudslides from occurring in California. It's just not going to happen. Game 3 was a must win. They lost. buy a lottery ticket folks, you have a better chance at winning than Detroit has to move on. Stats and odds be darned.
Win or you're considered a pretender not a contender. I'm not going to say that Detroit has to win out to prove themselves because, this Red Wings fan thinks that there's now way Detroit advances. But if they want to have ANY respect at all from me, they're going to have to challenge San Jose more than they already have.
Color me a pessimist, but I doubt it.
And before anyone calls me out for daring point to a bunch of hockey players and call them pretenders or losers and then cite how I vehemently defend UND and collegiate hockey players know this: Datsyuk isn't an amateur. Howard isn't an amateur. Detroit isn't a member of the NCAA. These guys are PROs. They are being paid hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars per year to push their team towards the Stanley Cup. Detroit, further more, isn't the Atlanta Thrashers or Florida Panthers. They shouldn't just be happy to have made the playoffs.
Play like you want to be there or dress all your young players so they can get playoff experience and pack it in.
Oh, and last but not least...
Anyone want to earn some notoriety? I hear they're looking for a goaltender in Philadelphia. They've got plenty of backup goaltenders ready to push for your starting job so there is some pressure involved. The good news is, if you can stop a beach ball from going behind you, you have a pretty decent team in front of you. With Pronger on the ice, your team may even injure enough players to make it even if it isn't!
Showing posts with label Detroit Red Wings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Detroit Red Wings. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Friday, July 09, 2010
Thursday, July 08, 2010
NHL News (sorta) and LeBron James
Ok, I'm lying about LeBron James.
I'll let all those basketball rubes inflate his ego beyond all precedence. He needs it. I disliked Kobe because of his antics in Colorado but now... well. I don't see how anyone can be a LeBron fan. Not even Jordan had this kind of ego. So much for LeBron being likable. At least, after tonight, ESPN can return to normalcy... waiting to hear what Brett Favre has in mind.
Anyways, similar to LeBron, everyone's waiting for Ilya Kovalchuk to hold a press conference to let us know how well orchestrated his obliteration of the fun of the early free agency period has played out.
Seriously, I hope he joins Evgeni Nabokov in SKA St Petersburg of the KHL. Leave the egos to the NBA and NFL.
Nabokov left for the KHL and with him, goes the best free agent goaltender on the market. I know he never quite did well in the playoffs. I know his work ethic was questioned at times. I know his inconsistency as the season wore on. However, I give you this for consideration: Watch San Jose this season. They'll be ok, but not as good as they were with Nabokov. Why? Because I think Nabokov meant more to the Sharks than most people realized. And when that happens, failure happens. The Hawks didn't win because of Niemi. In fact, I think Niemi was their weakest link (and he played well so...). The Pens didn't win their cup because of Fleury. Fleury is still the weakest goaltender still playing today whose name is on the Cup... I know I know, Chris Osgood sucks, but he's got an excuse. HE'S OLD!
Rumor Nabokov got paid $24 million over 4 years with the KHL. Good for him. No way was he going to get that kind of money in the NHL.
This leaves the Flyers looking for a #1 goaltender. They've shown interest in Tim Thomas, but that fell through. They showed interest in Nabokov, but that's out of the question. They are left with Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher. They did great last post season but I doubt they'll repeat even with the dynamic defense Philly has put together.
So where does that leave them? They could stand pat (and they may have to) or they could go after Marty Turco (which is basically Turco's only shot at being the #1 at this point) or they could do what Chicago and Minnesota have done in finding a hidden gem in the Finnish Elite League.
Who knows.
In Detroit news, the Wings resigned former MSU Spartan Drew Miller and former Shattuck product Patrick Eaves. But they lost Lebda to the Maple Leafs.
They've made waves by going after Mike Modano, but I don't know if that's going to come to fruition.
I've maintained they need to get younger. And Modano isn't young.
They still have Meech, Abdelkader, and Helm unsigned and only $4.3 million to do it. If Modano signs with the Wings, ESPN suggests that it will cost at least $1 million. Abdelkader is going to be a multi year deal and could cost a pretty penny.
Unless they fail to sign the youth, this offseason is going to be long for a Red Wing fan.
I'll let all those basketball rubes inflate his ego beyond all precedence. He needs it. I disliked Kobe because of his antics in Colorado but now... well. I don't see how anyone can be a LeBron fan. Not even Jordan had this kind of ego. So much for LeBron being likable. At least, after tonight, ESPN can return to normalcy... waiting to hear what Brett Favre has in mind.
Anyways, similar to LeBron, everyone's waiting for Ilya Kovalchuk to hold a press conference to let us know how well orchestrated his obliteration of the fun of the early free agency period has played out.
Seriously, I hope he joins Evgeni Nabokov in SKA St Petersburg of the KHL. Leave the egos to the NBA and NFL.
Nabokov left for the KHL and with him, goes the best free agent goaltender on the market. I know he never quite did well in the playoffs. I know his work ethic was questioned at times. I know his inconsistency as the season wore on. However, I give you this for consideration: Watch San Jose this season. They'll be ok, but not as good as they were with Nabokov. Why? Because I think Nabokov meant more to the Sharks than most people realized. And when that happens, failure happens. The Hawks didn't win because of Niemi. In fact, I think Niemi was their weakest link (and he played well so...). The Pens didn't win their cup because of Fleury. Fleury is still the weakest goaltender still playing today whose name is on the Cup... I know I know, Chris Osgood sucks, but he's got an excuse. HE'S OLD!
Rumor Nabokov got paid $24 million over 4 years with the KHL. Good for him. No way was he going to get that kind of money in the NHL.
This leaves the Flyers looking for a #1 goaltender. They've shown interest in Tim Thomas, but that fell through. They showed interest in Nabokov, but that's out of the question. They are left with Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher. They did great last post season but I doubt they'll repeat even with the dynamic defense Philly has put together.
So where does that leave them? They could stand pat (and they may have to) or they could go after Marty Turco (which is basically Turco's only shot at being the #1 at this point) or they could do what Chicago and Minnesota have done in finding a hidden gem in the Finnish Elite League.
Who knows.
In Detroit news, the Wings resigned former MSU Spartan Drew Miller and former Shattuck product Patrick Eaves. But they lost Lebda to the Maple Leafs.
They've made waves by going after Mike Modano, but I don't know if that's going to come to fruition.
I've maintained they need to get younger. And Modano isn't young.
They still have Meech, Abdelkader, and Helm unsigned and only $4.3 million to do it. If Modano signs with the Wings, ESPN suggests that it will cost at least $1 million. Abdelkader is going to be a multi year deal and could cost a pretty penny.
Unless they fail to sign the youth, this offseason is going to be long for a Red Wing fan.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Former Redwing Bob Probert dead at age 45 (linkorama)
character from a video gameLinks to the Story
“I’ve always thought, ‘I’m Bob. I’m big guy Bob. I don’t need anyone’s help,’” he once told me. It was the kind of bitter honesty that made you want to give him another chance.
He got a lot of them.
Young kids won’t understand our fascination with Probert. They don’t make his kind anymore. But there is a reason you still see people wearing his jersey at Joe Louis Arena, more than 15 years since he last played for Detroit.
Coming up in the 1980s, Bob Probert was the sort of warrior they now model video game characters after. Relentless. Brutal. Single-minded. Unafraid of blood. He was an enforcer, a goon, a guy whose main purpose was to make sure nobody messed with his team’s stars. Someone touched Steve Yzerman? Bob Probert touched back hard. Someone ran the goalie? Probert ran him harder.
His fights are legendary and are no doubt being downloaded at a record clip this morning, after news of his sudden death Monday while boating with his family on Lake St. Clair.
His time in Detroit ended badly
“Even when he’s just gotten in trouble,” Jacques Demers once lamented, “he has that look that says, ‘I’m sorry. Help me.' "
And you wanted to help. You wanted Probert to shake his demons. He had that ruddy face, that goofy grin, that tousled hair, the look of a man who could be so happy when he was happy. And he had such skill. So Demers, the coach, stuck out his neck, and Jimmy Devellano, the general manager, stuck out his neck, and Mike Ilitch, the owner, stuck out his neck, and in the end, they all got burned. Probert walked away after a motorcycle crash, signed a free-agent deal with Chicago and made millions more before retiring, finally, in 2002.
By that point, he was a memory here, part of the Bruise Brothers days, a guy who averaged more than 3.5 penalty minutes a game. Ironically, he checked out before the Wings began winning Stanley Cups and he never did get a ring. He had several incidents with the law and alcohol in 2004 and 2005. Most of us don’t know what the last few years have held.
He was 45 when he collapsed Monday afternoon. News spread quickly around here — “Bob Probert died?” — and we were stunned because he seemed so indestructible.
But no one is indestructible. Who knows what finally took him? But it took him too soon. Even to the end, you wanted Probert to make it. He should not be remembered by the worst he did, and he cannot be whitewashed by the best. But whether an opponent, an image, an addiction or a past, Bob Probert was always fighting something. He can lay down his arms now. And finally be at peace.
[Detroit Free Press]
Bob Probert was boating when chest pains struck [Detroit Free Press]
How we'll remember ex-Red Wing Bob Probert [Detroit Free Press]
Joe Kocur: Bob Probert was the brother I never had [Detroit Free Press]
Bob Probert still fights the battle of his life [Detroit Free Press]
Ex-NHL enforcer Probert dies at 45 [CBC.CA]
Former Red Wings, Blackhawks enforcer Bob Probert dies at 45 [USATODAY.COM]
Bob Probert Dead: Died At 45 [The Huffington Post]
Bob Probert, Legendary Tough Guy, Dead at Age 45 [Bleacher Report]
Former NHL tough guy Bob Probert dead at age 45 after collapsing on a boat [Winnipeg Free Press]
Remembering Bob Probert as the 'teddy bear', the 'heavyweight champ' and 'one of the toughest guys ever' [Puck Daddy]
Ex-Hawks enforcer Probert dies Collapses on boat after complaining of severe chest pain he was 45 [Chicago Tribune]
Ex-Blackhawks enforcer Bob Probert dies at age 45 [Daily Herald]
Former Red Wings enforcer Bob Probert, 45, dies after collapsing on boat [MLive.COM]
Summarizing the reflections on former Red Wings enforcer Bob Probert's untimely death [MLive.COM]
Former NHL tough guy Bob Probert dies after collapsing on boat [CNN.COM]
Bob Probert fight log at Hockey Fights [Hockey Fights]
Bob Probert Dies at 45 [Hockey Fights]
Bob Probert suffered 'severe chest pain' before collapsing, father-in-law says [Windsor Star]
Legendary NHL tough guy remembered for kindness, generosity and love of family [Windsor Star]
FORMER NHL ENFORCER PROBERT PRONOUNCED DEAD [TSN.CA]
Farewell Bob Probert [The Ciskie Blog]
Troubled former NHL enforcer Bob Probert dies at age 45 [Vancouversun.com]
Former NHL tough guy Bob Probert dead at age 45 [Globe and Mail]
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