Gorilla Crouch

After a rough series against the Chicago White Sox last week, it looks like the Tigers will miss the playoffs for the second straight year. The good news is Miguel Cabrera looks like he’s finally come around and is hitting the way he should. Trading Pudge didn’t work out too well with Kyle Farnsworth looking worse than Todd Jones [and that’s pretty tough to do].

So talking trades, here is my first motivational sign. It’s for general manager Dave Dombrowski.

A little sarcasm is warranted. Edgar Renteria has struggled during his second stint in the American League while Jurrjens has been a solid pitcher for the Braves.

I’ve been all over the place regarding manager Jim Leyland. When I first heard he was coming out of retirement to manage the Tigers I was furious. I really didn’t want a guy who didn’t seem to have anything left in the tank to guide the team. Leyland showed he did have something left and his tirade early in the 2006 season has widely been seen as the turning point that led the team to an American League pennant and a berth in the World Series. Here’s my motivational poster for the “skipper”.

Leyland has one year left on his contract. I don’t think there’s any way Dave Dombrowski would sign him to a new contract - but this is the guy who signed Todd Jones to be his closer so all bets are off. Perhaps Mike Illitch steps in and says “hey guys I didn’t spend all this money to miss the playoffs again”. Leyland also supported the Penguins during the Stanley Cup finals. As much of a douchestick as Larry Brown is, at least the world’s biggest carpetbagger would support other Detroit teams during the roughly 1.45 seasons he actually had his heart into coaching the Pistons.

If Leyland decides to head back off to retirement it might help to solve the persistent problem of Todd Jones being designated the closer despite all evidence showing he is no longer fit to fulfill this role. There might be only one way to explain why Jones was consistently used in the closer role.

Of course this is another sarcastic poster. Jones had a great career as the Detroit Tigers’ closer. It’s time to move in another direction. One guy who really looked like a whiny little bitch given the way the season started was Brandon Inge. The Tigers brought in a guy in Cabrera who projects to be one of the greatest power hitters in the history of the game and Inge whined about how the Tigers used to be motivated by going up against the teams with the highest payrolls. So here’s my motivational poster for Inge.



So those are my suggestions for the Tigers. The core of the team is pretty solid. While this season looks like another lost year a few important changes could help get the team back to competing at the highest levels.

Tigers

August 12th, 2008
Categories: Tigers . Author: Dave . Comments: 2 Comments

There are a couple challenges when it comes to rating prospects. The two biggest challenges are trying to determine what a player’s true ceiling is and making a determination of how close a player is to competing for a spot in Detroit’s lineup. There appear to be two players who have a decent shot at cracking the Red Wings lineup.

Let me start off by showing the methodology I will use to rate each prospects. I prefer to have some way to quantify my views on where a prospect fits in the pecking order. There are three basic ways I rate a prospect.

First, I look at each player’s potential. The best way to gauge this is via Red Wings Central - the bible for prospect information. The ratings work like so:

Potential

Rating	Forward	Defender	Goaltender
1	4th line forward, no ST	3rd pairing d-man, no ST	Career minor-leaguer
2	3rd-4th line, 1 ST	3rd pairing, 1 ST	AHL’er, some callups
3	2nd-3rd line, 1 ST	2nd pairing, 1 ST	Backup netminder
4	2nd line, 1-2 ST	2nd pairing, 1-2 ST	Potential #1
5	1st-2nd line, 1-2 ST	1st-2nd pairing, 1-2 ST	Long-term #1

ST = specialty teams

Next I take a look at the level where the prospect is currently competing. The higher the level the better idea we have of his potential and the closer he is to making the team. Here is how I rate this part of the prospect’s development:

Level of Play

Rating	Level of Hockey
1	Starting career at college/CHL level or play has stagnated there
2	Maxing out college/CHL or struggling at AHL/SEL level
3	Starting out at AHL/SEL or maintaining level of play there
4	Successful at AHL/SEL, etc
5	High level performer in AHL/SEL, etc

Finally, the last rating I use is development. This gets some mention in the level of play section but it focuses more directly on this prospect’s development.

Development

Rating	Status
1	New prospect, no improvement from draft year, or play has leveled off
2	Improved performance at current level [college, AHL, CHL, SEL, etc]
3	Moved up a level [SEL, AHL, etc]
4	Performing at highest level, ready for callups
5	Maxed out development

With that out of the way here is how I rate the prospects. This is a snapshot based on their past season, so a player like Jakub Kindl doesn’t fare very well. I break out the groups based on four categories: imminent NHL’ers, ready for call-ups, 1-3 years away, and 3-6 years away.

Imminent NHL’ers

Name	2007-08 team	Position	Potential	Level	Development	Rating
Jonathan Ericsson	Grand Rapids	D	5	4	5	14
Darren Helm	Grand Rapids/Detroit	C	2	4	4	10

The organization has indicated that Ericsson is ready to play at the NHL level. Helm showed he could fit in quite capably on the fourth line. If his true long-term potential was as a scoring line forward he’d be guaranteed a return trip to Grand Rapids. However his potential has always been pegged as a checking line forward. With a lower ceiling I think he has an outside shot at making Detroit’s roster.

Ready for Callups

Name	2007-08 team	Position	Potential	Level	Development	Rating
Jimmy Howard	Grand Rapids	G	4	3	2	9

Howard was an AHL All-Star last season, but he didn’t have the consistent play the Red Wings want to see out of him. He should be one of the top netminders in the AHL this season.

1-3 Years Away

Name	2007-08 team/league	Position	Potential	Level	Development	Rating
Dick Axelsson	SEL	W	4	3	3	10
Cory Emmerton	OHL	C	4	3	3	10
Jan Mursak	OHL	W	4	3	3	10
Dan Larsson	SEL	G	4	3	3	10
Justin Abdelkader	NCAA	W	3	3	3	9
Joakim Andersson	Swe-2	C	3	3	3	9
Logan Pyett	WHL	D	3	3	3	9
Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	D	5	2	1	8
Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	C	3	3	2	8
Brendan Smith	NCAA	D	5	1	1	7
Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	W	3	3	1	7

Jakub Kindl is obviously the highest rated prospect amongst this group but his rough first season in the A lowers his score and negatively impacts his overall score.

3-6 Years Away

Name	2007-08 team/league	Position	Potential	Level	Development	Rating
Sergei Kolosov	RSA	D	2	3	3	6
Zach Torquato	OHL	C	3	1	2	6
Randall Gelech	Grand Rapids	W	2	3	1	6
Ryan Oulahen	Grand Rapids	C	2	3	1	6
Jamie Tardiff	Grand Rapids	W	1	3	1	5
Johan Ryno	SEL	W	2	2	1	5
Nils Backstrom	NCAA	D	1	1	2	4
Randy Cameron	QMJHL	C	2	1	1	4
Bryan Rufenach	NCAA	D	2	1	1	4
Nick Oslund	NCAA	W	1	1	1	3

Brendan Smith Bryan Rufenach Cory Emmerton daniel larsson Darren Helm dick axelsson evan mcgrath Jakub Kindl jamie tardiff Jan Mursak Jimmy Howard joakim andersson Johan Ryno Jonathan Ericsson Justin Abdelkader Logan Pyett Mattias Ritola Nick Oslund nils backstrom Randall Gelech Randy Cameron Red Wings sergei kolosov

August 11th, 2008
Categories: Red Wings . Author: Dave . Comments: No Comments

Lindsay was so despised he received death threats

I saw this linked over at the forum located at Red Wings Central. NHL.com reports that Ted Lindsay is one of this year’s winners for the Lester Patrick, which is awarded annually to acknowledge people for their contributions to ice hockey in the United States.

Others who will be acknowledged this year include Anaheim general manager Brian Burke, retired defenseman Phil Housley, and former owner Bob Neagele. Lindsay joins Steve Yzerman and Red Berenson who were each awarded the Patrick two years ago.

Lindsay was awarded in part for his role on the Wings dynasty from the 1950s, for being an icon in Detroit, as well as establishing the first hockey school in North America. The article also points out his role in establishing a player’s union but Lindsay deadpans that “you don’t do those things looking for accolades”.

Sure enough his “antics” resulted in him being traded to Chicago. There’s a great story in David Dupuis’ impressive biography on Terry Sawchuk where one player - I can’t remember the name right now - is traded from that great Red Wings team to Chicago. Someone asked him about the trade and the prospects of playing for the Hawks and he said “shit, I’d rather be going to Korea.”

That would be going off to join the Korean war. Gotta love hockey players.

Red Wings Ted Lindsay

August 8th, 2008
Categories: Red Wings . Author: Dave . Comments: No Comments

One of the things that was mentioned during the playoffs was that Kris Draper looks a bit like Chuck Norris when he’s got the full beard going. So what I decided to do was see what other Red Wings - or hockey related people - look like people who are more famous than your typical NHL’er.

Kris Draper and Chuck Norris

There’s definitely some similarity between the two what with the red hair and beard and looking [in Draper’s case with the bloody eye] reasonably rugged. It helps that Drapes is rockin’ the buzzcut while Chuck is stuck with the John Tesh ‘do. So there’s some similarity there.

Moving on, how about Brett Ledba?

Brett Lebda and Artie Lange

This isn’t really fair to Brett Lebda as he’s nowhere near the slob comedian Artie Lange has become. There’s a little similarity in the hair but they’re not that close. Artie’s numerous chins and pudgy cheeks kill any resemblance.

Okay, neither of these guys are Red Wings or famous celebrities, but the thought had to have entered your head and made you wonder if these two guys were actually the same person.

Paul Kukla and Mo Cheese

We’ll have to get Paul - proprietor of the excellent Kuklas Korner hockey blog - to show us his dance moves to get to the bottom of this one.

Not only is Hank Zetterberg a superstar on the ice, but he’s got movie star looks. Check it out:

Hank Zetterberg and Jaret Leto

This doesn’t really fit because he’s not famous, but my cousin who is currently a student at the U of M law school looks quite a bit like Valtteri Filppula.


Vulcan hair + Punk Rock hair = Valtteri Filppula’s vulcan rock hair style

My cousin Matt doesn’t look that much like Filppula when you include the hair, as Val has a sort of Vulcan Punk-Rock thing going on while my cousin has short-ish but wavy hair. His father [my uncle] had the totally awesome poofed out Jew-fro [think Dr. J if he was a white guy who worked in Detroit as a civilian employee for the Army Corps of Engineers rather than one of the greatest leapers in NBA history] back in the 1970s and my cousin Matt has similar hair but keeps it shorter.


Seriously my uncle’s fro back in the day,
only with brown hair instead of black

But when Fil is wearing his helmet I think he looks pretty similar to my cousin.

Red Wings

August 8th, 2008
Categories: Red Wings . Author: Dave . Comments: 1 Comment

Hockey Analytics has published their statistical analysis of last season. There are some observations that are probably obvious [Nick Lidstrom is pretty good] and some that might not seem so obvious [Pavel has been the best forward in the NHL over the past five seasons].

Alan Ryder starts off by looking at value as far as guys playing above their contract number. Henrik Zetterberg obviously was a great value at $2.65mm last season, but so were Chris Osgood, Chris Chelios, Johan Franzen, Valetteri Filppula, Dan Cleary, Jiri Hudler and Brett Lebda as all played above their contract amounts. It remains to be seen if Fil and Cleary can continue to do so with new deals on the books.

Ryder also provides a statistical basis for saying what we all know: the Maple Leafs way overpaid for the talent they assembled.

Alexander Ovechkin was ranked as the top forward in the game [not a shock]. Datsyuk and Zetterberg both finished in the top 5 ranking amongst forwards. Ryder ranks Pavel Datsyuk as the best forward in the game over the 5-year period from 2003-08. That just provides more data to suggest Datsyuk is worth every penny of his current contract, although I think criticism of that contract has been completely silenced.

Ryder also awards Datsyuk the Selke trophy for the second straight year. I think most people expected Zetterberg to win it this year but this dude has been pimping Datsyuk for two straight years so he was leading the bandwagon I guess.

Hockey Analytics awards Lidstrom top d-man [not a shock] but Dion Phaneuf is nowhere to be found. Brian Rafalski finished 4th. Lidstrom, like Datsyuk, is the top player at his position group [in this case defensemen] over the past 5 seasons. But Brian Rafalski and Mathieu Schneider rank 5th and 6th over the past half decade.

Lids ranks #2 as the top defensive defenseman in the NHL behind Marc Edouard Vlasic. Rafalski ranked 5th. Brooks “free candy” Orpik is nowhere to be found. But he did have that one shift in the Stanley Cup finals.

Pavs has got the Lady Byng in a chokehold. That bitch belongs to him. Lidstrom and Rafalski are old-timers who still kick ass.

Pavel Datsyuk is #2 in terms of drawing the most penalties but taking the least. Ryder has Datsyuk and Lidstrom as 1st team All Stars and Rafi as a 2nd teamer. Lidstrom and Datsyuk make the “All Defense” team and “All Even Handed” team. Zetterberg and Rafalski make 2nd team on the “All Power Play” team.

So in short:

1. Nick Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk are freaking dominant NHL’ers
2. Zetterberg and Rafalski kick all kinds of ass
3. The Red Wings have cheap talent but - just as important - it’s cheap talent that plays above their contract amount

Brian Rafalski Henrik Zetterberg Nick Lidstrom Pavel Datsyuk Red Wings

August 7th, 2008
Categories: Red Wings . Author: Dave . Comments: No Comments

There are a few posters over at HF Boards who live in fairly close proximity to a few Red Wings. So that means they’ve been able to get pictures of the players with the Cup, either in person or through the local paper. Ti-Girl knows Darren Helm and she’s posted some awesome pictures of the young grinder posing with the Cup:

Pimping ain’t easy - unless you’ve got the silver goblet

This one’s a little more restrained:

Helm shreds Stanley whilst air guitaring

HDW was able to get some pictures when Jonathan Ericsson had the Cup and posted them over at this website. The gigantic defenseman does what comes naturally and poses with the Cup lifted triumphantly over his head.

I hope that’s a replica sweater or he might have grown to 7′6″

I have a similar story but no pictures since I wasn’t there. My brother got married a couple weeks ago and a bunch of us got together after the rehearsal dinner for a drink or two at Sean O’Callaghan’s in Plymouth. One of my brother’s college friends lives in the neighborhood and it turns out Chris Osgood also lives in the area. Well he tells me that one night he’s there with his wife and who shows up at the bar but Chris Osgood with the Stanley Cup. His wife was able to take a picture of him drinking out of the Cup. He had a copy he’d printed up on a laser printer and pulled out for all of us to see. That was pretty cool.

On to next year’s schedule. The good news is the Wings will play every team in the NHL. Detroit will get Pittsburgh twice which should be a great matchup for the NHL and will no doubt give Pensbloggers plenty of ammunition while they work on their Marian Hossa photoshops. The Leafs will be in attendance on opening night when the Wings raise their latest Stanley Cup banner to the rafters. The Habs will visit the Joe but unfortunately the one game against Alexander Ovechkin and the Caps will be on the road. Sergei Fedorov has to be happy tho since he won’t get booed.

The first long road trip takes place in late October as the team plays Chicago, LA, Anaheim, San Jose and Vancouver over 9 days.

The next big road trip takes play in mid-January when the Wings will face off against Dallas, Anaheim, LA, San Jose, Phoenix and Columbus over a 17 day stretch. So at least there is some spacing there as the NHL All-Star game is likely to take place some time between the Phoenix and Columbus games.

There are two short trips to Alberta and BC, where the Wings face Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver in late November and then make a return trip to take on Calgary and Edmonton in late March.

The bulk of the games against the Central Division will take place later in the season. Detroit will face each opponent six times, but 14 of those 24 matchups will take place over the last 2.5 months of the season.

Oh yeah, in addition to playing each other at Wrigley Field in the Winter Classic, the Wings and Blackhawks will square off in the final two games of the season. Those could end up being two pretty important games. Will they play a role in determining which team wins the division? Will the Blackhawks need points in those games to secure a playoff spot? It remains to be seen but the schedule is yet another sign pointing to a rekindled rivalry between Detroit and Chicago.

Darren Helm Jonathan Ericsson Red Wings

August 6th, 2008
Categories: Red Wings . Author: Dave . Comments: No Comments

Detroit’s AHL affiliate had an awful season last year and looks to rebound and regain their position as one of the better franchises in the A. The big move was at the top when they let head coach Mike Stothers go after one season and replaced him with Curt Fraser. Fraser has tons of NHL playing experience in addition to a solid career thus far as a head coach.

Starting from the net out, Jimmy Howard is likely to return for a third and final season as the top netminder. In past seasons he hasn’t had competition that could really push him for playing time and that could be part of the reason he hasn’t been as consistent as the Red Wings expect him to be. This year 2006 draft pick Daniel Larsson should provide plenty of competition in net, as he won rookie of the year and goaltender of the year in the Swedish elite league last season. So if Howard struggles at any point there will probably be an opening for Larsson to try and move up the depth chart for Red Wings goalies.

On defense the Griffins will be young but have pretty solid talent to work with. Jakub Kindl is coming off a terrible season, but given his talent level there’s every reason to expect him to improve once he gets a better handle on the mental part of playing defense. Here’s a quote from Grand Rapids’ general manager [via Red Wings Central]:

“At times he wants to carry the puck and his decision-making sometimes is a little bit questionable and that’s why his plus-minus is where it is. He’s shown flashes. He’s better when he has less time with the puck because he does it on instinct — he just moves it quickly. The more time and space that he has, the more he wants to think it through, rather than just react.

Jonthan Ericsson will be the wildcard. Based on talent and preparation he’s clearly ready to play in the NHL. Both Ken Holland and Mike Babcock have said as much. But given the log-jam on the blueline and the fact he can be sent back to Grand Rapids without clearing waivers he could be SOL. That would be unfortunate so I hope Detroit can work out the trades that are necessary to get his NHL career started. If not he should be dominant in the AHL. He could potentially follow in Niklas Kronwall’s skates and win the Eddie Shore award for best defenseman in the AHL.

Rounding out the Red Wings prospects on the Griffins’ blueline, Logan Pyett and Sergei Kolosov will both play in Grand Rapids. Pyett is coming off a spectacular career in Regina playing for the Pats. He projects to be an offensive defenseman but this will be his first season in Grand Rapids. Kolosov is a big, physical defensive defenesman who will likely replace Kyle Quincey in the Grand Rapids lineup.

The team should be solid down the middle at forward as both Evan McGrath and Cory Emmerton should center the two scoring lines. McGrath seemed to finally find his game at the A-level over the later part of the season and could be a point-a-game player this season. Cory Emmerton has been compared to Jumbo Joe Thornton in terms of his vision and playmaking ability but will get his first taste of regular AHL action. Jan Mursak and Mattias Ritola will both play on the wings on scoring lines and Finnish free agent Ville Leino will likely start the season in Grand Rapids while he gets up to speed with the North American game. He’ll join AHL super sniper Darren Haydar and help round out the scoring lines for the Griffins.

Like Ericsson on defense, the big question is whether Darren Helm plays in Detroit or gets sent to Grand Rapids. A fixture centering the fourth line during the playoffs, does he make the Red Wings? He could benefit from getting stronger and more physically mature spending the season as a Griffin and getting some callups; but does he center a scoring line when you have McGrath and Emmerton, who are both high-end offensive players? If not it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to send him to Grand Rapids to center the third line. It could happen and if it does the Griffins will be stacked at center. Rounding out the final pivot spot Ryan Oulahen has re-upped with Detroit and would likely center the third line if Helm winds up in Detroit. If not he’ll probably center the fourth line.

That pretty much covers each Red Wings prospect who has a good chance at playing in Grand Rapids this season.

Cory Emmerton daniel larsson Darren Haydar Darren Helm evan mcgrath Grand Rapids Griffins Jakub Kindl Jan Mursak Jimmy Howard Jonathan Ericsson Logan Pyett Mattias Ritola Red Wings Ryan Oulahen sergei kolosov ville leino

August 6th, 2008
Categories: Red Wings . Author: Dave . Comments: No Comments

New Jersey Devils – Niccolo Machiavelli

Loophole Lou Lamoriello’s artful, devious and cunning exploitation of the salary cap would no doubt earn Machiavelli’s approval. And the dreadful trap that made hockey about as much fun to watch as paint dry is the perfect middle finger of realism pointed directly at the fans of teams that like them lots of totally sick dekes and pretty tic tac toe passes but haven’t won crap.

Wikipedia entry:

“In contrast with Ottawa and the New York Rangers, the ideal offensive team is not the aim. In fact, Lamoriello emphasizes the need for the exercise of brute power where necessary and demonstrated as much through the play of Scott Stevens.”

Sometimes you just need to concuss the hell out of idealism

Anaheim Ducks – Friedrich Nietzsche

You wouldn’t normally associate Walt Disney with the king of nihilist philosophy. Brian Burke on the other hand has completely retooled the organization, losing the Mighty moniker and the cutesy Duck imagery. Burke’s biggest goal seems to try and gain street cred amongst the Canadian fans and media who make up the lion’s share of the NHL audience. He’s done this through populating his roster with Canadian players, fighters, and sharing some interesting views with Don Cherry when it comes to players from overseas. Oh, and he’ll probably greet you with an epithet if you ask him “how’s it going, eh?”

Wikipedia entry:

” Part of the difficulty in interpreting Burke arises from the uniquely provocative style of his outbursts…He frequently delivered trenchant critiques of player salaries and of fellow GMs like Kevin Lowe in the most offensive…terms possible given the context. His arguments often employed ad-hominem attacks and emotional appeals, and…he often jumps from one grand assertion to another (escalating player salaries, tampering), with little sustained logical support or elucidation of the connection between his ideas.”

The philosopher of the hammer
meets his mustachioed pugilistic counterpart
Parros photo: The Third Man In

Toronto Maple Leafs – Renee Descartes

Is there an organization that better fits Descartes’ assertion that merely thinking of something makes it so? Of course there isn’t. Jeff Finger being paid $3.5 is what will make him a great defenseman in Toronto, not the silly idea that his performance to date should determine his value to the Maple Leaf organization.

Wikipedia entry:

“To further demonstrate the limitations of valuing a player based on his past performance, Cliff Fletcher proceeds with what is known as the Wax Argument. He considers Jeff Finger as a piece of wax; his senses inform him that Finger has certain characteristics, such as being a career AHL d-man who had his best offensive season in his NHL career last season playing for an offensively talented Avs team. When he brings the Finger to Toronto, these characteristics will be expected to change completely as does a piece of wax that is brought near a flame, as every player in the NHL dreams of one day playing for the Leafs. Therefore, in order to properly grasp the nature of Jeff Finger, he cannot use logic or rational thought. He must go out of his mind and pay out his ass to acquire him.”

Rumors that Cliff Fletcher signed Descartes for $7 million per season to be Toronto’s replacement for Mats Sundin cannot be verified at this time.

Edmonton Oilers – John Stuart Mill

You offered Thomas Vanek how much? Dude. Not cool.

The Oil are the diametric opposite of the Maple Leafs. While the Leafs’ executives believe that overpaying players guarantees they will perform at a high level, the Oilers’ front office believe that players who perform at a high level should gladly accept nickels and dimes on the dollar for the privilege of playing in the icebox that is Edmonton.

The Edmonton bloggers tend to the Mill philosophy known as utilitarianism, as they are more likely to value a player based on the number of shots the opponent creates while said player is on the ice when playing 4 on 4 with the backup goalie in net. Behind the Net and Time on Ice are both excellent tools created by Oil bloggers and no hockey fanbase seems to have embraced the baseball concept of Moneyball more than they have. They have also ripped bad deals such as the Sheldon Souray and Dustin Penner signings

Detroit Red Wings – Immanuel Kant

Even when D-Mac tries to look pensive
it looks like a profane gesture
photo: skate2stick

If there is an NHL franchise that can be said to use their a priori knowledge of what it is they are looking for in prospects and use a posteriori experience to determine when those prospects are ready to play for the big club it would probably be Detroit. That’s important because the Wings haven’t been able to draft can’t miss prospects by the tried and true method of sucking for a couple years and getting lottery picks.

The Red Wings are so convinced they don’t know how long it will take their prospects will develop that they’ve turned to drafting college-bound players as it extends their development window. Kant has also been viewed as a late bloomer who wrote his most important works later in life, which again is par for the course with many Red Wings draft picks.

Anaheim Ducks Edmonton Oilers new jersey devils Red Wings Toronto Maple Leafs

August 5th, 2008
Categories: Red Wings . Author: Dave . Comments: 2 Comments

To: Bill Ford, Jr.
From: Dave, Gorilla Crouch

Subject: The Chicago Blackhawks

Bill, we’ve never chatted so allow me to introduce myself. I started a blog back in September 2006. It began as a way for an ex-pat who lives in Chicago to offer his views on the Detroit sports scene. But I soon realized that it was next to impossible to pay close attention to each Detroit sports team, so I morphed the blog to focus almost exclusively on the Red Wings. While that is the case I still offer the random take on the other professional teams and University of Michigan athletics.

There is an interesting parallel between your Detroit Lions and the Chicago Blackhawks. You see, both franchises have just flat out sucked for the longest time. I guess this is the point where I should mention your GM/President is 50 games below .500 so I can support this opinion with facts, although I am sure you are astute enough to not question this characterization.

Over the recent past the Hawks and Lions have both been guided by owners who had no idea what it took to run a successful sports franchise. They each took what was once a highly successful and proud franchise and ran them into the ground.

For the Blackhawks it was a refusal to show their games on television or to pay the price for the best talent. It could have been worse I guess - team owner Bill Wirtz could have grossly overpaid for mediocre talent, but the Maple Leafs hate that sort of competition. You see it’s kinda their niche. But I digress…

With your father I’m sure it’s too close and painful so let’s not go into too much detail about how he’s run the Detroit Lions. All that needs to be said is the team has won one playoff game during his 44 year tenure as the sole owner of the franchise. At least Bill Wirtz saw his Blackhawks play in the Conference Finals and compete for lord Stanley’s Cup. Dollar Bill Wirtz simply fell out of step with the times over the past 10 or so years before he passed away last year.

I was at the Chicago Blackhawks opener this past season [they were playing the Red Wings]. Their general manager Dale Tallon spoke briefly before the start of the game to “honor” the recently departed owner Bill Wirtz and the crowd booed lustily throughout the entire eulogy. It was shocking, but entirely understandable given that the hardworking people had shelled out their money year after year after year and showed up to games to be embarrassed by the product on the ice.

But rather than dwell on those negative thoughts I think it’s best to look at the job Rocky Wirtz has done replacing his father as the head of the Blackhawks. Buoyed by first round draft picks Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, the franchise has been on a very clear upswing of late. They had two big free agent signings this summer [sorry about Jonathan Vilma], are going to play the Red Wings in only the third outdoor game in NHL history, and just signed the best coach in NHL history to serve as an advisor for their club. They have given their fans hope and reason to believe they’ll make the playoffs and the response has been very, very positive.

Given your recent public involvement as the Ford face for the franchise, I can only assume you will be the Lions’ version of Rocky Wirtz. So do all of us Detroit sports fans who are embarrassed by the current state of the Detroit Lions a favor and study what Rocky Wirtz is doing.

While your franchise is in dire straits please understand one thing: the Lions are in nowhere near as bad shape right now as the Blackhawks were just after the lockout. I think that’s likely because the NFL is the dominant league in professional sports. The NHL struggled mightily coming out of the lockout but is rebounding strongly. Right now the NFL is where the NBA was during the 1980’s so if you can turn things around when you assume the reins of the franchise you will have very strong fan support.

Your first move when you assume control of the franchise? Well Rocky Wirtz brought in John McDonough from the Chicago Cubs. McDonough has done a great job as the president of the Blackhawks and has played an integral role in their rebound. So shit-canning Matt Millen and hiring a competent general manager and president would be a great way to show there’s a new sheriff in town.

And if you want to totally win over the fans a “FIRE MILLEN” sign always works as a crowd pleaser.

bill ford jr bill wirtz Lions rocky wirtz William Clay Ford

August 4th, 2008
Categories: Lions . Author: Dave . Comments: No Comments

I’ve decided to appropriate the Lowetide meme of trying to prognosticate what will happen in training camp this fall. He uses Warren Zevon as a segue into the article but I’ve never been particularly up on Zevon’s work. Of course I am familiar with Werewolves of London [a Classic Rock staple] as well as Lawyers, Guns & Money [which was included in the well done “Gonzo” documentary on Hunter S. Thompson I saw last weekend]. I think if I grew up in Chicago I’d probably be more familiar with Zevon, but being a native of the metro-Detroit area Bob Seger is the ’70s rocker I’m more familiar with.

With that being said, here are 10 predictions for some things that will happen with the Detroit Red Wings before the end of training camp.

1. Can Jonathan Ericsson earn a spot in Detroit?

magic 8 ball: outlook good

2. Does Marian Hossa play on a line with Valtteri Filppula and Johan Franzen?

magic 8 ball: cannot predict now

3. Will Darren Helm make the big club?

magic 8 ball: ask again later

4. How about Jimmy Howard?

magic 8 ball: don’t count on it

5. Will a trade take place before training camp ends?

magic 8 ball: as I see it, yes

6. Is there a player no one would think has a shot at making the roster who will impress during camp?

magic 8 ball: outlook not so good

7. Does the team carry 8 defensemen when they break camp?

magic 8 ball: you may rely on it

8. Will Jiri Hudler have a strong training camp?

magic 8 ball: yes - definitely

9. How about Andreas Lilja?

magic 8 ball: my reply is no

10. Okay, I’ll ask again: Darren Helm?

magic 8 ball: most likely

Andreas Lilja Darren Helm Jimmy Howard Jiri Hudler Jonathan Ericsson Red Wings

August 4th, 2008
Categories: Red Wings . Author: Dave . Comments: No Comments