September 27, 2008

So I finally managed to go over to You'Tude and check out that Kopecky hit from the first pre-season game against Montreal, and DAAAAAAAAAMN!!! Kopecky absolutely destroyed Mathieu Carle! And he did it cleanly, too. No elbow, no leaving his feet, just a good, solid, well-placed shoulder to the noggin. But of course You'Tude being You'Tude, there are a whole gang of Montreal fans lamenting the hit as a dirty cheap shot, even though the coach of the Canadiens admitted the hit was clean. Actually, one of my favorite comments was from HolyHellPreacher who said, "This is hockey. Not nice hockey." Okay, let's pause here for a minute. While this seems like a simple statement, even an OBVIOUS statement, I think it speaks volumes when comparing hockey to other pro sports. Because other sports ARE nice. Look at football. After nearly every play you have these so-called "warriors of the gridiron" bending down and helping their opponents up off the turf. Basketball, too. "Oh, you fell down! And even though you guys are destroying us by 40 points, here, let me help you up and then pat you on the butt." Not hockey. After Kopecky dropped the shoulder bomb on Carle, what did he do? He skated back down the ice and crashed the net for a scoring chance while Carle lay face-down, unconscious, bleeding all over the ice. Maybe that's what separates hockey from other sports. The passion to win, no matter what. You give 100 percent all the time, even during pre-season. And you definately don't pass up a hit.

Spetember 26, 2008

So I see in the paper today that tonight's Wings game against the Bruins will be aired on the radio, and I'm pumped. I mean, it's the next best thing to watching the game on TV, right? So a few minutes before the puck drop, I get out my trusty CD player/radio and tune i to 1270 AM. Well, I TRY to tune in, but all I get is static. So I think, "No problem, I'll just dial it in on the car radio and have a couple of beers while I listen to the game." But when I turn the knob to the station, the signal is so weak I can barely hear the announcer's voice. Not to mention I'm getting coverage of a high school football game coming in OVER the 1270 signal. So I turn off the ignition, head back into the house and open up my laptop, thinking surely there must be a way to listen to the game on the Internet. After a little snooping around I discover 16 Detroit radio stations, all airing coverage of... the TIGERS! Need I say more? Probably not, but I'm going to anyway. Okay, we have the Red Wings, a championship team embarking on the defense of their 4th title in 11 years, and we have the Tigers, a last-place, underachieving, cellar-dwelling, collossal FLOP of a franchise going absolutley nowhere (except maybe a little deeper into the proverbial hole), and every last one of these pathetic stations decides their game is more important. Huh? I mean, I know the Tigers game is a regular season game, and the Wings game is just an exhibition tilt, but HUH??? Sorry for the repetition, but that's the only expression that comes to my mind when I try to make sense of this. When something defies logic, my brain tends to get a little scrambled.

So I'll either check out NHL.com later on for the final score, or wait until tomorrow and read about it in the paper. IF I can find it anywhere. The good news is the September 30th game against the Canadiens is scheduled to air on Versus, and after that two more against the Leafs and Sabres. Then the regular season starts. 82 games, all on TV. No dialing through static on the radio, no surfing the Net for updates, no scanning newspapers the next day only to find that word that screams poor journalism, inconclusive. Just me, my cozy chair, an ice cold beer, and the Red Wings. God, I love October.

September 25, 2008

I started this blog for two reasons: 1. I love watching hockey 2. I love to write. It only seems natural to combine the two. In a way, this little endeavor reminds me of George Costanza's attempt at combining his two great passions, food and sex. Like the Seinfeld character's attempt, it could be tricky, and I might end up making a fool of myself. I am very much, as the title suggests, wingin' it. But there are just too many times during the course of the 82-game season when I find myself asking the same questions night in and night out:

• How many times can Andreas Lilja turn the puck over in the defensive zone?
• Why isn't Aaron Downey on the ice against an opponent known for its physical game?
• How can Tomas Holmstrom be called for goalie interference when he's a country mile away from the crease?
• Is Nick Kronwall the best open-ice hitter EVER?
• Are referees and linesmen offered vision plans with their health benefits, and if so, will they ever use them???

The ability to ponder these thoughts on the screen might not help me reach any solid conclusions, but it's better than arguing about hockey-related subjects on YouTube.

Speaking of YouTube (which I will from this point on refer to as You'Tude to reflect the attitudes regularly encountered there), has anyone noticed how most of the comments on NHL footage are either "Crosby's the Best!" (posted by Pens fans who are either unaware of or ignore the fact that Sid the Kid dives more than a submarine) or "Red Wings Suck!" (usually posted by Avs fans who hold onto the old Wings/Avs rivalry because it was the last time their team had a pulse)? And even when a debate starts off intelligently, it often tends to deteriorate into a verbal war of tasteless insults and off-topic remarks until it no longer even resembles a discussion about sports. After about three of these "discussions" I gave it up.

On to the state of the league...

Since I live in Michigan, home of the Stanley Cup Champions, doesn't logic dictate that the area would be absolutely crazy with the regular season right around the corner? Well, guess again. I've seen no flags flying from car windows, no jerseys, and barely a mention of the upcoming Stanley Cup defense in the local papers. And it doesn't surprise me. Even though every other professional team in the region STINKS, it just doesn't surprise me. Why? Because hockey, in general, barely registers as a blip on the pro sports screen. For instance, I went to Target the other day to see if I could find a Red Wings shirt for my son. There were racks upon racks of Lions, Tigers, and Pistons apparel, but no Red Wings. And it was the same story in the sports card section. There were football cards, baseball cards, and basketball cards, at least five different brands of each. There were HANNAH MONTANA cards, for crying out loud! But again, no hockey. And that's sad. It's sad because hockey is the fastest, most intense, most exciting sport out there HANDS DOWN, and it doesn't even register. And this is Michigan I'm talking about, home of the most talented hockey club in the world last year, and a favorite to repeat as champion. If this is how we celebrate and appreciate one of pro sports' finest products, we better really enjoy this upcoming season. We better enjoy and remember every hit, every goal, every fight as if it was the last we'll ever see. Because as far as mainstream America is concerned, there are three sports worth recognizing, and hockey isn't one of them.