Howard, Red Wings Need To Rebound In San Jose

Every playoff game is a must win, just ask the Capitals.  Tonight is a little different but still critical in the Wings making a deeper run in the postseason. 

The defense needs to move the puck better, bottom line.  Its hard to generate an attack when you can't move it past the blue line with any regularity.  The turnovers are even worse.  Ericsson has regressed considerably since the end of the season, and Stuart can only hit people now.  Rafalski can't handle passes and Lidstrom is looking more and more like hes forty years old.  Howard hasn't played great, but hasn't played awful either.  Hes doing pretty darn well considering the bad spots hes been put in. 

Franzen really needs to turn it on and have an amazing game.  He has been solid, but he should be able to take over games at times.  Datsyuk seems to be heating up, and Zetterberg has been playing like a beast.  Holmstrom needs to get in front of the goalie and dominate.  Babcock may still have a line change or two up his sleeve.

San Jose can blow a series at any time.  They play the Wing's system and break down often.  Look at the last game, where they almost blew a three goal lead.  The Wings need to play more like the Wings, and less like an undisciplined team.

Adding Fuel To The Flames

After another pitiful Sunday afternoon performance, the Red Wings looked uninspired and flat.  Especially pathetic was the defense, which is normally a backbone.  Brad Stuart made another bonehead play with the terrible neutral zone turnover which led to a goal.  I saw Rafalski fumble more than one pass in the critical first period power playapalooza. 

Rubbing salt into our own wound was (my boy) Jimmy Howard.  His comment that Phoenix got lucky only adds more incentive to an already hungry team and city.  Phoenix wasn't lucky, they outplayed Detroit and outworked Detroit (Valenti voice) AGAIN!  MAKE PLAYS!

Detroit got two steals from Howard in game 4 and 5.  He played average and out of position the first three games, with Zetterberg and the offense winning a game in Phoenix.  Zetterberg has been solid, but outside of Filppula, nobody else has really impressed me.  Datsyuk has a moment here and there but it does not match his huge potential.  Franzen has been fairly silent.  Bertuzzi has be relegated to being a grinder.  Helm brings the energy and Albdelkader brings the pain.  Draper looks awful, this could be it for him.

I still think Detroit, the better team, will win on Tuesday night.  I don't care that it is on the road.  Detroit has too much experience.  But anything could happen and the Coyotes could outplay Detroit.  I have a strong hunch that the game will be a high scoring New-NHL thriller.  Lets just hope Jimmy can get lucky.

We're All Counting On You

It is frustrating to watch the Wings in the playoffs.  So many talented players are on the team, and somehow, someway our offense doesn't get production.  I know the intensity is turned up all the way to 11, but even still.  We have a Hall Of Fame Defender and still give up 4 goals to the Doan-less Coyotes.  After the fun and offense of Game 2, Game 3 was absolute garbage.

Howard will get the start in net, but needs to be on a short leash.  He gave up a goal too quickly Game 3, and was out of position consistently.  He looked like the future in the regular season, now he is looking like Manny Legace.  He wasn't helped by the defense with two awful neutral zone turnovers and sloppy puck carrying.  The game was sloppy non Red Wing hockey.  It was there, but only in flashes.  I went away from the game with a bad taste in my mouth.

I believe this is Lidstrom's and Draper's final go at a Cup.  Lidstrom isn't playing at an elite level anymore, and next year he could be a shell of his former self.  Draper just looks old and his skills have eroded.  He can be replaced nicely with Helm.  Luckily, Detroit opted for Abdelkader over Jason Williams (who I won't ever understand why we resigned him) and instantly paid off.

Without their best player, the Coyotes are more vulnerable.  But they have a lot more veteran depth than you think and a Vezina finalist in net.  The Wings need to possess the puck more and get more good shots.  Those shots they take from the side of the net aren't working.  Bryzgalov gives up some big rebounds and the Wings need more people floating around the circles in front of the net.  The Coyotes are being more physical, and the Wings need to knock that off.  They aren't a gritty team, but somebody hit somebody.  If the Wings don't win tonight, then we can start panicking.  But right now we need to keep our championship composure and take Game 4.

Around The Sports World

Steve Yzerman has recently gone on record saying he regrets coming back to the NHL after the lockout. I know it sounds selfish, but I think Yzerman made the right call coming back and giving the fans of the Red Wings something to hope for in seeing one of the greatest hockey players win one more Cup. I never knew the super scoring sweet skating young Yzerman many remember from the Dead Things era. I only remember a man who went out and played in great pain most nights leading a team to victory. The warrior he was and always will be was something to be proud of in Hockeytown. He was so relatable to so many people in Motown by his work ethic and unselfishness towards his organization, his gritty determination and how humble he was. The rebirth of a city and hockey team came under his leadership after so many years of losing. I am glad he walked away from the game when he wanted and was around for me to enjoy him play all those years. I will always be grateful for him coming back after the lockout ruined an entire winter for so many fans.

Tate Forcier may transfer out of Michigan. RichRod may leave. It is all rumors now, but lets look at the state of this program. They are asking for patience from the fans. When is that ever a good thing? When does that ever end well? How the mighty have fallen. Forcier can transfer. It is obvious he isn't the same player who can shred MAC teams we saw earlier this year. Boy he looks killer against Indiana. Yeah he probably will win the Heisman and be the next Tim Tebow. I've got to be wrong. He has an awesome website to "help future recruits" and talk about how humble he is. People sure weren't over reacting after his second career start. Have Devan Gardner start next year. He committed (and recommitted after reports came out about how he decommitted) and said he would enroll in the spring to get extra work. Losing Forcier's stupid fumbles and poor play wouldn't hurt this team. Their offense has to be even better since their defense could be all time bad next year. Sure, let RichRod recruit little fast guys for his defense. Keep telling yourself it will work Michigan fans. Keep believing Bill Martin that Rodriguez is the guy. He was your third choice but that's ok. I mean its not like you passed over Brian Kelly who is winning in Cinncinati. Having Lloyd Carr was so much worse than this.

Jay Cutler isn't that bad. You have to remember he is playing on a team with his top receiver is a converted Cornerback and kick returner. Give him time, he is a gunslinger on an awfully over hyped team. Their defense is very old and injured. This is a team that will be rebuilding over the next few years. I think Lovie Smith should be fired. He went to one Super Bowl (I know I am making that sound small since I would love a playoff appearance from Schwartz.) and hasn't done much else since. His defense has been awful most of the time. It is going to be worse. Hire Shanahan, a Chicago native who has a good relationship with Jay Cutler. Give it a few years and see what happens. You're better off with Cutler than without him.

Red Wings Need Scoring, Goaltending Help (And Can't Do Much About It)

The Red Wings have had a rough start to the season. After going 0-2 in Sweden (a "home" team for many on the squad) to the resurgent Blues, the Wings put a nice game together against the loaded Blackhawks. Then, the wheels fall off and they lose Johan Franzen till at least March (maybe the season) and Osgood gets shelled against the Sabres. The offensive juggernaut the Sabres are, I began to realize we might be seeing a team in much more trouble then we think. A lot of people seem to have forgotten how poorly Osgood played last season. He got sent home to work with a goalie coach while Ty Conklin (now a Blue) carried the torch (as he did for Penguins in 07-08 when Fleury was out). Jimmy Howard obviously isn't the long term answer in net either as a backup or starter. If Osgood gets hurt, the Wings will be in a world of hurt. A veteran goaltender would be a solid pick up now that we know for sure Howard can't handle starting duties. If he turns it around, I'll be as happy as anyone, but now it sure does not look like it.

Johan Franzen's loss is extremely painful. With no real room under the cap to get another scorer (or keep the ones they already had last season)the offense could be hurting bad. Holmstrom is aging pretty quickly, Zetterberg and Datsyuk can only go so far and Betruzzi is not going to find any magic. Hes a solid inexpensive pickup that I like (especially on the Power Play) and it is nice to get some of our Griffins to play in the big leagues. Developing young players is going to be huge in the New NHL and the cap.

The Wing's biggest problem is probably going to be the penalty kill. They were 75% last year with a Hall of Famer playing most of the time. Lilja may be done for his career, which is sad because he finally made some strides last year. Jakub Kindl is not Babcock's kind of player and Ericsson has been surprisingly well. Still, that is not enough to carry any team into the Stanley Cup with less scoring and only can kill 3 out 4 PP.

The wheels are not falling off anything. The Wings are loaded with talent and can reload after almost any year. The hangover from losing the Cup in 7 games is tough and the injuries are pretty abundant for Detroit. Yet I still believe the team can go far in the playoffs, if they make the right moves. Maybe its lineup shuffling, maybe its a call up, maybe its a trade. Whatever the case, I just don't feel too confident in this version of the Red Wings, with a loaded Chicago, solid Columbus and St Louis and pesky Predators breathing down our neck more than ever.

Todd Bertuzzi Returns to Detroit, Kane indicted

The Red Wings added some grit and veteran scoring adding Todd Bertuzzi to the roster with a 1 year 1.5 million dollar deal. As you remember Bertuzzi played in Detroit in 2007, but was injured most of the end of the season. He played decently in the playoffs, having a two goal game against Calgary. But he could not shake his injuries and never lived up to the trade. Bertuzzi scored 15 goals and 29 assists last season in only 66 games. The price tag is not bad, and the one year deal is less risk for the Wings. He should see his numbers improve, but this could mean less playing time for Justin Abdelkader. Bertuzzi also adds grit to the team; with Lilja probably out for a long time still suffering effects from his concussion.

Patrick Kane has been indicted today for a misdemeanor in relation to assaulting a cab driver in Buffalo with his cousin. Kane, 20, was intoxicated with his cousin when he and his cousin assaulted the cab driver over him not having 20 cents in change to give Kane. This has been a complicated affair, with the cab driver’s lawyer saying the situation has been overplayed. Patrick Kane is scheduled to appear on the cover of NHL 10, due out in October for all major video game systems.

Stars Find New Homes

• Pedro Martinez is going to work out and possibly sign with the Phillies. He has been battling injuries these last few years, but could be a good mid season upgrade for the world champs. You can never have enough pitching, and his veteran presence could help out the Phillies in a pennant race.
• Rasheed Wallace was introduced to the fan of Boston yesterday. After saying he would retire to spend more time with his kids after his contract with Detroit ran out. He looks to be gunning for another ring with a sure contender in the loaded Eastern Conference.
• Lance Armstrong is in third place by eight seconds entering the grueling stage eight tomorrow. He looks to take the lead doing what he does best, mountain stages.
• Jiri Hudler joins Thomas Kopecky, Marian Hossa and Mikael Samuelsson as forward to bolt from Hockeytown. Hudler will join a team in Russia's mega league KHL. The Red Wings should receive some draft picks in compensation and will be well under the salary cap next year. The cap did not change in amount from last year.
  

NHL Free Agency heats up

The Blackhawks struck gold in this year’s free agency period, signing Marian Hossa and Thomas Kopecky from the Red Wings. Hossa’s deal is 12 years $63.5 million and Kopecky’s is for 2 years. Hossa signed with an up and coming team and the rivalry will certainly heat up between the Blackhawks and Red Wings. The young Blackhawks got some much needed experience and got much better offensively. Kopecky adds some physical grittiness, valuable come playoff time. Chicago showed their confidence in Huet by letting Khabibulin leave for the next 4 years in Edmonton.
Marian Gaborik signed a 5 year $37 million dollar deal with the New York Rangers. The rebuilding Rangers signed the dynamic Slovak, who despite his injury problems is ultra talented.
Although I wanted the Wings to sign him, in not doing so Holland puts Detroit well under the cap. Conklin was also allowed to leave in free agency going to St Louis for the next two years.
This should be a quiet year for the Red Wings, as the only players they would sign is someone for depth or a role player or two.

How I would Reload the Red Wings

After the absolute crushing heart breaking loss to the most hated Pittsburgh Penguins, Red Wings fans such as I have already become restless. After last year’s Cup and the addition of the best free agent available in Hossa, I thought a repeat was a lock. Hossa was dynamite in the regular season but lacked that same scoring prowess in the post season. I’ll be frank. Dump Hossa. He locks up money the Red Wings could A. use to sign other high priced talented scorers, (Marion Gaborik, Vincent Lecavalier) or B. make our case for the Bouwmeester sweepstakes (yeah Calgary, he’ll test the market just like Leopold) or C. use at the trade deadline. Hossa has only showed up for one Stanley Cup playoffs in his career (Pittsburgh 2008) and is a liability for distracting press coverage and lack of production in the playoffs.
So Hossa is toast. Next, let Samuelson walk. He has little production and Ericsson can replace his cannon at the point on power plays. That’s money saved and a freed up roster spot for Leino, Abdelkader or a FA. I’d like to resign Hudler, but I’ll assume he finds “greener” pastures elsewhere. Another roster spot and more money available for Holland. Kirk Maltby is worthless, and hardly played any. He doesn’t produce and is only mildly a grinder who won’t drop the gloves. He can go to Grand Rapids or anywhere he likes, just not on my Red Wings. Holland is right in letting Chelios go. He played little and the young defenseman coming up can develop more in the NHL than Grand Rapids. Stuart forgot how to play as Stuart during the finals especially Game 7. A lot of people are calling for his head, and maybe they are right. If a trade is pending, his value is still high and moving him wouldn’t be devastating. Kronwall came into his own and Ericsson is going to be an elite defenseman. A gritty winger (please no more Darren McCarty!) or some depth forward could be valuable. Lilja’s injury could be career ending. That would be brutal because of the amazing progress he made this year. I am a former Lilja hater, but he really turned it around and it would be a shame to lose him. This is not a popular decision, but I would let Conklin go. It is put up or shut up time for Jimmy Howard or Daniel Larsson. Howard has had plenty of seasoning and he needs time up to show what he has. If he falters, the Wings can trade for a solid backup in the season. Then we will know whether Howard is worth having around. The Red Wings first rounder from last year Thomas McCollum is waiting for his chance in just a few short years.
Assuming no retirements or trade requests from anybody else, the Red Wings should look very similar from last year. Not that it’s a bad thing as we were one game from repeating. The changes I would implement would be summed up as following: Hudler, Samuelson, Conklin, Hossa, Chelios, are out. That would save the Red Wings roughly ten million dollars, moving us around ten million under the cap, which stayed at last year’s total. Call up Leino, Abdelkader, Helm (if his spot isn’t already locked up), Kopecky, Howard or Larsson and possibly Jakub Kindl or Derrick Meech. Ericsson would resume playing in Detroit like he did in the playoffs. With the money we saved from letting people go and our core locked up for the next decade we go after Gaborik. Lecavalier will most likely want to stay in the Eastern Conference. He already has a Cup too, so that will not factor as it did last summer for Hossa. Gaborik has spent his entire career in Minnesota and with a new coach, he could want out. He would be signable for the Wings as well, with a short term deal possible. I know what you’re saying, “Weston, another Cup hungry scoring winger? What is the difference?” We got to get the bad mojo away from Motown and sign somebody who is used to the Western Conference and for once play in an offensive friendly system. Without him being held back in the defensive Wild style of play, he can truly show off his amazing skills. That should be enough to carry the Wings to the top of the Conference, and a move before the deadline can put us over the top.
In recap, it is a lot of staying put and rebuilding from within. It is hard to forecast who will be on the trading block come the trade deadline. I am counting on a lot of youngsters to step up like they did in the postseason, but I hate to see prospects rot in Grand Rapids when they earned a chance to play in Detroit (see Kyle Quincy, now a LA King). We reload the Griffins with deep drafts every year, but it could be a lean year for mid season call ups. I can see this team going to the Stanley Cup Finals again, and with the added experience and Babcock coaching, anything can happen.
Weston’s 2009-2010 Detroit Red Wings Starting Lineup
Forwards:
Gaborik-Datsyuk-Franzen
Zetterberg-Filpula-Holmstrom
Helm-Abdelkader-Cleary
Kopecky-Draper-Leino
Defenseman:
Lidstrom-Ericsson
Kronwall-Rafalski
Lebda-Lilja (if not recovered, substitute Meech or Kindl or an untraded Stuart)
Goalies:
Osgood
Howard

Weston Corbitt's Pregame Speech to the Detroit Red Wings, Gam 7 Stanley Cup Finals

Goalies, Defenseman and Forwards of the Detroit Red Wings!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have
striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The
hopes and prayers of real hockey loving people everywhere march with you.
In company with our brave allies and brothers-in-arms on
other Organizations, you will bring about the destruction of the Pittsburgh war
machine, the elimination of Penguin tyranny over the oppressed peoples of
Pennsylvania, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well
equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 2009! Much has happened since the Penguins triumphs of
1991-92. The National Hockey League have inflicted upon the Penguins great defeats,
in open ice, man-to-man matchups. Our umbrella powerplay offensive has seriously reduced their
strength on the penalty kill and their capacity to wage war on the ice. The Joe Louis Arena have given us an overwhelming superiority in talent and players, and placed at our disposal great reserves of ultra talented Euro players.
The tide has turned! The greatest fans in the world are cheering together to
Victory!
I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in the Stanley Cup Finals. We will accept nothing less than another Stanley Cup!

Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty Gordie Howe upon this great
and noble undertaking.

Thoughts From My Desk May 4th Edition

• I am back from a bye week after college got out for the summer. I also wanted some time to reflect the draft before writing on it (because who wants to hear “WE PASSED UP CURRY?!?!” again?) and will break it down over the summer leading up to the opening kickoff.
• The Red Wings look to regroup after a marathon 4-3 loss in triple overtime to the Ducks Sunday. With the series shifting to Anaheim, the Wings look to down the giant killers before it gets out of hand. Rafalski and Draper may play.
• The Cubs might be putting it together after a sweep of the struggling Marlins. It is just a lot of little things hurting the Cubs now. We are lucky to get the Giants at home for the next three to right the ship.
• I’m not a fan of Ovechkin. I’m less of a fan of Crosby. But I am rooting for Ovie over Syd the Kid in the NHL dream series. Ovechkin is a better player and not a diver (but somewhat of a showboat, I adore Don Cherry) and love to see a 7 game battle. Right now we need to root for the NHL almost as much as anybody.
• As a WMU Broncos fan and a huge Detroit Lions fan, I am pumped to see Safety Louis Delmas play this season after hearing Lions coaches praise his play all during camp. Our first overall pick Matt Stafford will probably start the season on the bench. GM Martin Mayhew said Daunte Culpepper will start the season at Quarterback for the Honolulu Blue and Silver.

Franzen Re-signs with The Red Wings

• Ken Holland has done it again. He has locked up Forward Johan Franzen for the next 11 years for less than 4 million against the cap per year. I am ecstatic for this deal. If I had to choose one player to re-sign, honestly I would take Franzen. His hands and size are amazing and has the knack to make big goals in big situations.
• The Tigers have righted the ship returning to .500 with a win over Texas. Verlander had a solid start with 8 strikeouts in 5 innings. To shut down the best offense in baseball is impressive as the pitching is coming around. Miguel Cabrera is on fire and is continuing to play as well as he did at the end of last year.
• The Cubs wasted a great start by Rich Harden losing to Milwaukee 4-3 yesterday in Miller park. Harden had 10 strikeouts in 6 innings (the prototypical Harden start) as the bullpen could not shut down the Brewers. Kevin Gregg has looked shaky at best as the closer, but I am not calling for Carlos Marmol to close....yet.
  

Quick Hits April 10th Edition

• The Cubs open Wrigley Field Monday afternoon against the Rockies. First the play the Brewers in Milwaukee this weekend at Wrigley North. The Sunday match up will be Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN.
• The Red Wings play a home and home series against the Blackhawks to close out the regular season. The Sunday game is the Game of the Week. It is a good way for the Wings to close out the season. They play a good team (possible playoff preview) don't travel much and can play their lineup accordingly. I wonder who will get the starts in net this weekend?
• The NFL draft is two weeks from tomorrow. Anybody else have a countdown going?
• Geovany Soto could be on the DL for the Cubs. They are seeing if a few days off could do him better. This could really slow down the Cubs in the beginning of the year for offense and defense. Koyie Hill should fill in for now. He has been bouncing around the big leagues for a few years, and beat out Paul Bako this Spring. He is good defensively but could hurt the offense. It will be the Cubs first challenge this year. Let's see how they respond.
  

How Good are the Red Wings?

This years edition of the Detroit Red Wings are an enigma. How could the goaltending be so bad? How many points could we score in a 7 game series? Can we outscore teams to win the Cup?

Well, the answers to those questions will be revealed to us shortly as the Wings enter the marathon for Lord Stanley's Cup. I think the Wings are getting healthy at a good time. Zetterberg's back has been fairly strong this year and Rafalski is coming back at the right time. I think Mike "Best Hair in Hockey" Babcock will go with Osgood in the playoffs but we could see Conklin quick as we did last year. Hasek was pulled midway through the series against Nashville in favor of Osgood. Osgood has 2 cups in his pocket but has played terrible this year. A microcosm of that was last night's loss to Nashville, where he imploded just in time for the Preds to tie it up.

The offense will be solid, and usually Babcock has stellar special teams. But goaltending could do the Wings in. Unless Osgood or Conklin find some April magic it could be a quick exit for the defending champs.

Lions Lock in on Stafford, Baseball Season Underway

• The Lions have appeared to brushed away other choices for the Number 1 overall pick in favor of Georgia QB Matt Stafford. I have accepted the fact that we are going QB number 1 after we lost the Cutler sweepstakes and now hope the pick that defines Schwartz pans out unlike other QBs we have taken high in the draft. Personally I would prefer Sanchez's mobility, cannon arm and accuracy. Maybe the rest of the draft we can fill in the rest of our holes.
• Maybe Culpepper can be decent this year. He is under his old Offensive Coordinator in Scott Linehan and has lost a lot of weight (currently around 30 pounds off his frame) and has a full season of training camps and working with the offense under his belt. I'm not saying he will return to MVP form, but could be a good stopgap till Stafford can step in.
• The Cubs won their first series against Houston, with pitching and hitting stepping up when needed. Our starters played well with the bullpen being underwhelming. I kinda like the move Sweet Lou did with Kevin Gregg closing down games for now. I don't like Marmol starting the season closing anyway, he has electric stuff but it takes a special person to be a closer.
• The Tigers looked flat and didn't deliver in Toronto. Inge is stepping up despite being treated poorly by Tigers staff these last few years. I am a fan of a guy who hits in the low .200s and slugs 25 homers. Verlander looks awful and after that, it isn't too much hope in the Motor City. Unless Verlander gets back to his old form or Willis stops his "anxiety disorder" problems (I'd have anxiety if I was an overweight bust who couldn't hit the strike zone) this could be a long season for Detroit.
  

Breaking Down MSU vs UConn Part 2

• For Part 2 of the MSU vs UConn match up I will break down the starting forwards for each team. It is part 2 of the 5 part series this week.
• When looking at this new match up, an obvious size advantage is shown with the 6'9'' Stanley Robinson and the 6'7'' Jeff Adrien leading the way. Adrien averages a double-double this season with 13.7 PPG and 10 RPG and Robinson adds size and solid production from a dominating front court that compliments Thabeet well. Raymar Morgan is more of a headache for me. He was showing the promise he was expected of since his freshman year before he got sick with a combination of Pneumonia, Flu, Mono, and whatever else. Now he hasn't played all too well and now has to deal with a broken nose as well. With his absence MSU was able to play some of there younger guards and get a glimpse of what the future holds for Spartan Nation. Playing solid minutes Freshmans Delvin Roe, Draymond Green and Senior Marquise Gray have shown potential and skill to be a starter on an elite team. Gray has seemed to be here forever, and Green has played fairly well coming off the bench. Delvin Roe is the future by far. Turning down UNC to play at MSU, we can see why the Tar Heels pursued him so much. He is probably the Spartans best inside presence outside of Suton and is an absolute beast playing well beyond his years. UConn can hardly say they have the depth MSU does. But do they have better talent for there starters? I have an upset brewing and saying MSU has the better forwards. I like the potential and versatility that Roe-Morgan brings. I have seen what they can do any given game and believe Izzo will have them battling and prepared. I love the duo UConn can bring, but my nod goes to the Green and White.
• John Calipari left Memphis today to take the coaching job at Kentucky and the 8 year 35 million dollar deal to be the highest paid coach in NCAA basketball. With this, he could pluck a few top 5 prospects to join him. This could decimate the soon to be dynasty that Memphis could have been (that is if they ever won a National Title).
• All 5 NHL Western Central division teams are in the playoffs as of today. They may not all make it, but I am confident at least 4 will get in, as the Blues may just miss the playoffs after a late season charge. This looks like a trend that will continue as the perennial contenders Red Wings are joined by four young talented teams hungry to contend. The consistent Predators somehow put it together under Trotz to play on. The Blue Jackets should make the playoffs for the first time in their history with Calder (my selection) Winner Steve Mason, Captain Rick Nash and Jack Adams contender Ken Hitchcock. Chicago is finally able to put it together with a young dynamic offense and St. Louis may be ready to contend next year as their youngsters are playing well. Looks like an exciting end from the former NHL Comedy Central.
  

Basketball is running my life, so I can kinda ignore how terrible the Wings play sometimes....

• Sorry no new blogs in a while, a combination of the flu, school, and Resident Evil 5 and of course, sports held me back. Hopefully this won't occur again.
• MSU has played very well lately. A solid win over USC and defending champ Kansas has the Spartans with a Elite 8 showdown with the Louisville Cardinals. With Morgan playing despite a broken nose Lucas needs to step up and show the talent he did against KU. Mark it down, I am going on the record saying Kalin Lucas will be a serious contender for the Naismith award next year.
• For MSU to win, they need to have everybody running on all cylinders. Suton doesn't have to stop a super talented big man like Aldridge and worry about foul trouble early. Allen needs to be the X factor he is and be lights out from behind the arc. Lucas needs to be the quarterback and score as well and we need our role players to do well as Pitino's bunch will be ready to play. I expect a great game and the Spartans have enough talent, coaching and drive to win. GO GREEN!
• The MSU Lady Spartans lost in an absolute heart breaker against 4 seed Iowa State tonight. The Spartans let up 8 straight points to end the game, 5 coming off of terrible turnovers. The lack of a true point guard hurts MSU again. Dehaan and crew played well but weren't enough to go on to the Elite 8 after knocking off top seeded Duke.
• The Lions accidentally leaked their new logo (or was it the NFL?) and I have to say I love it. Bubbles looks for meaner and rougher. The uniforms look not too much different (from the other leaked linked pictures I have seen) but I guess that's OK considering too much might result in ugly jerseys.
• The Red Wings for the most part have played awful a lot this year. We out scored a lot of teams and that's about it. Osgood puts out a good game every five games or so and Conklin is still consistently the best, although hasn't played to the elite level we all expect from the Wings year in and year out. We need to clean this up fast our a first round exit is completely likely. Anybody have Hasek's number?
• Pitt went down tonight in an amazing contest versus Villanova. After almost throwing the ball out of bounds, Pitt recovered and Levance Fields had ice in his veins making two free throws to (seemingly) send the game to Overtime. Nova then drew up an amazing inbounds play and made a shot with .5 seconds left to go to the Final Four. It is a worthy contender for best game of the tourney so far.
• Findlay won the D-II Basketball championship over Cal-Poly Ponoma in OT with a long range buzzer beating three. What an awesome game from both teams giving it there all.
• The Pistons are struggling to make the last playoff spot. When does free agency start again?