Chargers&Wings

I've put my original blog down below for those that haven't read it yet, but I needed to say something considering the position the Wings find themselves in. For those who don't know, the Wings were up 3-0 in their Western Conference Final series with the Dallas Stars. Going into Game 4, the Wings were better than the Stars in every aspect. Now, after 2 lackluster performances, the Wings are still trying to close this thing out, as Dallas has stormed back to get the series to 3-2.

Dallas was in the exact same position in the second round that the Wings are in now. But were Dallas fans freaking out, convinced (on at least some level) that the Stars would blow it and become the 3rd team ever to lose after being up 3-0? Probably not. But I can guarantee you there are a lot of Wings fans out there who KNOW that the Wings could very easily blow this thing, and forever be linked with the major choke jobs (yeah, I said it) in the past: the '42 Red Wings, the '75 Penguins, the '04 Yankees. The funny thing about all this doom and gloom? The Wings are still the ones winning the series. Yet to hear experts and fans of other teams talk, the Wings are done. Finished. And a lot of fans, while outwardly projecting confidence, are dealing with the internal struggle I find myself going through today: will the Wings win? Can they find a way to banish the demons of seasons past and move forward? Are we looking at the continuation of a 33-year pattern? A week ago I was convinced the Wings would win the Cup; now I'm not even sure they will make it out of this round. Such is life as a Wings fan.

My original posting:
"Folks, if ever want to experience total frustration, utter incomprehension and paralyzing paranoia, become a Red Wing fan. I guarantee, the amount of stress you will put yourself through will make you stronger in all walks of life. No team can prepare you for the trials and tribulations of everyday life like the Red Wings. I mean, the dizzying highs, the crushing lows, the complete lack of trust in an entity that you love so much; isn't that life?

The Red Wings were up 2-0 in their series against the Nashville Predators, and 4 minutes away from being up 3-0. Then a funny thing happened; the Wings turned into their old selves. It doesn't matter who's on the roster, who the coach is, what year it is, some things never change, and the one of those things is that the Wings will not make things easy for themselves in the playoffs. No matter what the situation, the Wings will ensure that their fans go through the most amount of stress watching them go through it. Think about it; in the last week, the Wings went from winning 2 big games at home, to completely dominating (no pun intended) the Predators through 2 periods in Game 3, but because of something they talked about avoiding (quick goals by the Preds), they are now tied 2-2 going back to the Joe on Friday night. I could take this if it were the first time; but in 2001, the Wings were up 2-0 in a series against the Kings, and were leading 3-0 in the third period of Game 3, and lost that series. Eerily familiar, eh? Just last year, the Wings were up 2-0 to the Flames, went to Calgary, and came back to Detroit tied 2-2. They went on to win that series.

Is it sad that a part of me lives for this every year? I know the Wings will do this to me, and yet here I am, cheering for them, riding the roller coaster that is the playoffs with them operating the controls. I don't know if we'll get over the hump and move on, or if the ride will break down before even starting. But, that's being a Wings fan. Knowing your team is more talented than their opponent, and watching that opponent win when all odds and experts say they shouldn't. Seeing them have complete control of a game, only to watch it disappear in less time it takes to go to the bathroom (which happened to me in Game 3). So everyone, hold on tight. It's going to be a bumpy ride."

Gentlemen, I was listening to your program as I usually do on Monday morning, and you were talking about the NHL playoffs. After I cleaned up the coffee I spit all over my dashboard, I listened to what you said. You (specifically, Golic) said that the NHL needs Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup playoffs more than they would have needed New York, because the NHL needs a "face" to market their product. You then said that "this sport is dying" and "this sport is in trouble". Greeny did not say much because he was too busy thinking about that 5K he ran over the weekend.

I have a few issues with what you said. First, while I commend you for actually including hockey in your football-lovefest that is your radio show, maybe if you actually took the time to talk about it more, you would have some credibility when discussing the state of hockey. I find it laughable that you say "this sport is in trouble" when attendance, tv ratings and revenue are up pretty much across the board. I don't really care what you have to say about hockey since you NEVER TALK ABOUT IT. Perhaps part of the reason that hockey "is in trouble" is because your very own network refuses to give it even 5 minutes of airtime in it's 4 hour marathon Sportscenter shows. Game 2 of an NBA basketball game ends, and we get 2 hours of coverage. But Game 6 ends in a 4 OT thriller, and we get a casual mention of it. Plus, when you have Barry Melrose as your "face" of hockey on your network, we all know you don't take hockey seriously. Please, for the sake of hockey fans everywhere, either learn something about the sport so you can talk about it intelligently, or don't mention it at all. If I want true NHL coverage and analysis, I'll stick with TSN.CA and the NHL Network. Just continue to talk about what you know best: football, baseball, a tiny bit of basketball, and Roger Clemens.

Signed,
A True Hockey Fan

Folks, if ever want to experience total frustration, utter incomprehension and paralyzing paranoia, become a Red Wing fan. I guarantee, the amount of stress you will put yourself through will make you stronger in all walks of life. No team can prepare you for the trials and tribulations of everyday life like the Red Wings. I mean, the dizzying highs, the crushing lows, the complete lack of trust in an entity that you love so much; isn't that life?

The Red Wings were up 2-0 in their series against the Nashville Predators, and 4 minutes away from being up 3-0. Then a funny thing happened; the Wings turned into their old selves. It doesn't matter who's on the roster, who the coach is, what year it is, some things never change, and the one of those things is that the Wings will not make things easy for themselves in the playoffs. No matter what the situation, the Wings will ensure that their fans go through the most amount of stress watching them go through it. Think about it; in the last week, the Wings went from winning 2 big games at home, to completely dominating (no pun intended) the Predators through 2 periods in Game 3, but because of something they talked about avoiding (quick goals by the Preds), they are now tied 2-2 going back to the Joe on Friday night. I could take this if it were the first time; but in 2001, the Wings were up 2-0 in a series against the Kings, and were leading 3-0 in the third period of Game 3, and lost that series. Eerily familiar, eh? Just last year, the Wings were up 2-0 to the Flames, went to Calgary, and came back to Detroit tied 2-2. They went on to win that series.

Is it sad that a part of me lives for this every year? I know the Wings will do this to me, and yet here I am, cheering for them, riding the roller coaster that is the playoffs with them operating the controls. I don't know if we'll get over the hump and move on, or if the ride will break down before even starting. But, that's being a Wings fan. Knowing your team is more talented than their opponent, and watching that opponent win when all odds and experts say they shouldn't. Seeing them have complete control of a game, only to watch it disappear in less time it takes to go to the bathroom (which happened to me in Game 3). So everyone, hold on tight. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

So, I'm watching the preview show last night (thank God for the NHL Network), and the question was "Which team is most likely to pull off an upset?" The choices were Nashville, Calgary, Boston and Ottawa. Darren Pang and Mike Milbury both said that Nashville had a decent chance to knock off the Red Wings because the Wings are not as tough and older (like we haven't heard that before). Bob McKenzie picked Calgary. They also mentioned that the Wings have had problems in the first round in the past. All 3 of them did pick the Wings to win the series, though.

If people think the Wings have a genuine shot at losing the series, then would a series loss be that much of an upset? Last year, a lot of the "experts" picked Calgary to upset the Wings. They then picked the Sharks to beat the Wings. It was only after the Wings beat the Sharks that people picked them to beat the pre-season Stanley Cup favourite, the Ducks. The pattern seems to be the same this year, even if the formal pick is not for the Predators to pull off the upset. I think this bodes well in the Wings' favor. No one is talking about them the same way they are talking about the Sharks, Ducks, Canadiens, Penguins, and even the Capitals. I think, even though they won the President's Trophy, the Wings are flying under the radar. And they will surprise a lot of people.

Wings in 5