Transitional Seasons

Mid way through the NHL season, the Detroit Red Wings were in dire straits.  Their superstar players were injured.  Their off season acquisitions which were suppose to support the superstars were injured or nowhere near where the team or fans thought that they would be.  Their roster was full of kids from the AHL affiliate.  Yet, through it all, they find themselves in another Stanley Cup playoff.  Twenty three years and counting.  So how has this happened?  When you hear about the big name players going down with injuries, no matter what sport, the team's season (and post season) is in jeopardy.  I don't expect great things from the team once the playoffs start.  In fact, they could be done in the first round.  But that is okay.  Because they made it to the playoffs.  And that's what matters...and not the Stanley Cup....riiiiiiight.

The Red Wings are reaping the benefits of having great teams in the late 90s and early 2000s.  When they were winning their Stanley Cups and getting late round draft picks, they were finding the talent.  They did not have to try and find the next great player to step up right away and play at a level they were not ready for.  You do have your exceptions to the rule, but for the most part, it seems that the eighteen and nineteen year old players that are getting drafted at the beginning of the first round are never ready.  And unfortunately, they are sent to the NHL to learn as they go.  Look at Edmonton.  They have been bad for so long, and have had top draft picks, but they have faltered because they do not have time to mature.  They are thrown to the wolves and eaten alive. 

The talent has had time to mature in Grand Rapids for the Wings.  The scouting team has done an excellent job finding the skilled players that will fit the organizations style of play and the coaching staff has done an excellent job working with them and making them NHL ready.  They have benefited from playing on the same line in Grand Rapids as they do in Detroit, so they know each other and their tendencies.  The younger players bring a new kind of energy to the team.  You have the veteran players that have been on the team for seven or eight year, so making the playoffs and scoring goals is nothing new.  To the younger players, this is an exciting time.

I do not expect a deep run into the playoffs especially with their first round being against Boston.  But you never know.  In a few years, if all these players are still around, deep playoff runs and Stanley Cup contention will be the expectation.  Until then, I hope they enjoy the ride.

Fun fact:  Reily Sheahan, who scored the game tying goal that gave the Red Wings a playoff berth, was not born when the streak of twenty three straight years of making the playoffs started.

28/120

Hockey on TV

Right now, Washington and Pittsburgh are playing on NBC which is fine because I will never turn down hockey being played on national television.  NBC has been scheduling these two teams ever since Crosby and Ovechkin have come into their own.  The problem is that both of these players are having horrible years.  Crosby has practically been out since last January with a concussion or concussion like symptoms.  Ovechkin has been having a down year in the scoring columns.  Both are still very skilled.  Both still have drawing power.  Both suck this year.  So who wants to watch Washington and Pittsburgh play if the two biggest names aren't playing or playing well?  For NBC, I guess, it doesn't matter because they can try to put a new spin on the rivalry.  I know that today there aren't many games being played so they just have to go with their plans, but if there were a slew of games, why would they not find a game between two contenders? 

Right now, in the Eastern Conference, two of the top teams are the Rangers and Flyers.  They played the Winter Classic game this year.  Both are in bigger markets.  And it's a great rivalry, both as cities and as sports teams.  I know that you are going to see some east coast bias when it comes to sports, that's just how it goes.  Bigger cities and bigger markets means bigger returns for the television.  I get it.  And I think that if you have a choice between a New York/Philadelphia game and something like a Vancouver/San Jose game, obviously a national network would take the New York and Philadelphia game, it just makes sense.  But if Vancouver and San Jose are fighting for first place in the conference and New York and Philadelphia are struggling overall to make the playoffs, a true hockey fan would want to see the former game as opposed to the latter.  But why doesn't a network see that?  In the end, it's all about the money. 





And that's too bad. 

The curious case of Todd Bertuzzi

For the longest time, I hated Todd Bertuzzi.  There are several reasons why.  He played for the Vancouver Canucks for several years and gave the Detroit Red Wings and their fans fits because they always seemed to match up perfectly in the regular season and the playoffs.  He played like a goon, but had the talent to play and not fight.  And the incident with Steve Moore.  No one can forgive him for that.

When he played with Vancouver, he and Markus Naslund were both just so big and physical and talented that they offered a one-two punch that most teams could not match.  Bertuzzi would just plain knock the guy off the puck and skate away, Naslund would use his stick and brain to pick pockets and skate away.  How do you counter that?  Bertuzzi was also there to protect Naslund, the role of the enforcer/goon.  He's what some would call a power forward.  He can beat you with his skills and his fists, a great physical combination.  The problem is that he came into the NHL about a decade too late to be called a true enforcer and gets labeled a goon because the style of the game had changed.  I'm not going to say that there isn't a place for enforcers in the NHL now, they are just more of an anomaly than a frequent sighting on teams.  And while he may have relished his role as an enforcer, it put a damper on his career and put his skills as a passer and a scorer not on a back burner, but on a smaller burner perhaps. 

Let's talk about enforcement.  Let's talk about the Steve Moore incident.  It is quite possibly the worst on ice incident I have ever seen.  It was retaliation for a hit Moore put on Naslund, a hit that was considered legal by the referees and did not draw a penalty.  The hit gave Naslund a concussion and a bone chip in his elbow.  A week later, half way through the third period, Bertuzzi punched Moore from behind and drove him to the ice, breaking his neck and ending his career.  Bertuzzi became enemy number one throughout all the sports world, regardless of which major sport people were talking about.  Bertuzzi held a press conference in which you can tell he was remorseful for what he had done, but the damage was done.  His reputation had been tarnished forever.

After that, he was suspended indefinitely and was eventually reinstated.  He was traded after the 2006 season and bounced around a little bit (Florida, Anaheim, Calgary) before eventually landing with Detroit.  I don't think he could have stayed in Vancouver after this incident.  It would have sent a bad message around the league.  They wouldn't want to appear to be a safe harbor for dirty players, even if they have been instrumental in your team's success the past few years.  He's still a strong, physical player but you don't see him fight.  He uses his skills now while playing for the Wings and it's good to see.  He has help invigorate the spin-o-rama move during overtime shootouts.  It's a thing of beauty to see a huge man use some skills.  

He has stayed down since the incident and has quietly put together a nice career, it's just too bad that his name will forever be linked to a bad decision.

The visor debate

Earlier this month, Chris Pronger returned to the ice after missing close to two weeks worth of play with an eye injury.  An eye injury that was caused by an inadvertent stick to the face.  One of those injuries that everyone talks about as a career ending injury if it had been just a few inches either way, it certainly could have.  When he returned, he had a visor attached to his helmet.  Just recently, Ian White of the Detroit Red Wings, missed a week's worth of games for accidental blocked a shot with his face.  It broke a cheek bone, another reason you can never question a hockey player's toughness.  So, it has brought up a debate of whether or not visors should be required for all NHL players.

It seems to be one of those things that players acknowledge is a good idea, but can hinder their play.  Visors apparently cut down on their peripheral vision, and vision is key to the game of hockey.  Those no look passes don't create themselves.  It also can create issues with the enforcers.  If they get into a fight, how can your fist go through their face if there is a piece of plastic in the way?  Any argument you hear is just a mask for the real argument against the visors:  it's not manly.  I know that hockey is a game of manly men, but there also has to be a point when safety comes before masculinity.

I wasn't around for the debate about everyone being mandated to wear helmets, but I'm sure it went the same way.  It blocks my vision, it doesn't feel right, if I punch someone the helmet hurts my hand.  Everyone got over it and it was for the better.  You can't tell me that helmets are a bad idea.  Visors are the same way, it's a smart safe advancement for the players.  I think that they should be mandated for every player.  I don't want to hear this debate again after a player can't lace up his skates anymore because of an eye injury.  All the league would have to do is grandfather everyone in.  Anyone who is playing in the NHL right now, doesn't have to wear a visor, but anyone who comes into the league from this season onward must wear a visor.

The big thing that I don't understand is that in the lower leagues, they wear visors or cages, so what is the issue?  I don't know if they restrict vision of the players, but it will keep them safe and that is what the commissioner should take into consideration.  No one will question any player that wears a visor.  I sure wouldn't.  Would you want to be considered manly for not wearing a protective visor and having a shorter career because of eye or facial injuries or be considered less manly and have a longer career because your face is safe?

Keep it up!

Thank you so much NBA for having two greedy sides on the negotiating table.  The first two weeks of the regular season has been cancelled.  With that, now is the time for the NHL to step up to the plate.  Note the references to three of the four major sports within one paragraph, it just kind of happened.  Touchdown!  There.

The NHL needs to take advantage of the NBA dealing with this lockout.  For the longest time, hockey has been seen as the fourth of the major sports.  Looking at the ratings for the sports, hockey does come in last and the major part of that is the television contracts that they have.  The NHL has a contract with NBC and Versus.  With NBC, you see the games at the end of the season and into the playoffs, which is cool but if you don't have Versus you're sunk.  And I suppose if you live close enough to Canada, you get to see the games on the CBC and CTV. 

So what can the NHL do to help boost their numbers?  Talk with NBC and get as much exposure as possible.  They have taken steps in the right direction with the 'Winter Classic' and I know that all the games cannot be played outside, but they need to showcase the great teams.  They need to stop showing Washington Capital games.  They aren't that good.  They need to delve deep into talented teams and get them in the national spotlight.  Take Tampa Bay for example.  They have young hungry players that are talented beyond belief.  I would watch them play.  They make the game look fun and energetic. 

They need to get rivalry games like Detroit/Chicago.  Buffalo/New York (Rangers).  Boston/Philadelphia.  Games that are intense from the first drop of the puck to the last drop of the gloves.  I know that NBC loves Pittsburgh and Washington because of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, but you can only watch those games so many times because they focus just on those two players and the game is more than that. 

All I know is that the NHL cannot sit idly by while the NBA bickers over billions of dollars.  They need to see into the future and show the world that there is more to the sports world than football and basketball during the winter time.  They need to smell the blood on the ice and hook the disenfranchised basketball fan base. 





Do you hear me Gary Bettman?  Get off your ass and do what's best for the sport that hates you. 

Forward thinking

Growing up, Bob Probert was the biggest bad ass around.  I only ever saw him on the rink, so everyone understands where I'm coming from.  His primary focus was to fight.  Protect the assets. 

However, the greatest thing he ever did for hockey was pass away.  I do not mean that in an awful, soulless, uncaring way.  I mean that in the 'the death of one can benefit hundreds of others' kind of way.  After he passed away last summer (from heart failure not brain damage), his family struggled with the idea of letting this happen.  Apparently, he and his wife talked about donating his body to science.  For a guy known for being a bruiser and a bit of a goon, you have to give it to him for thinking about this after his retirement. The end result?  Probert was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) [don't worry, I had to look it up too].  In essence, brain damage from repeated head trauma.  Of course, it makes sense.  The guy got paid to take punches.  He doled out his fair share of abuse as well.  It is sad to think about.  Granted, I highly doubt he (or anyone) knew about CTE when he was playing.  But, if knowing now what we do, would he still have done it?  To what point do you lay too much on the line for your job?  That is what professional sports are.  Jobs.   

NFL players are starting to take this path as well.  There have been outspoken former players that are wanting/going to donate their brains to science so that they may be studied to see the effects that the sport that they love has on their most important organ.  It is good to see and hear about this.  Watching the sport, one does not think, 'gee, I hope that doesn't damage his brain in any way, shape, or form' while in the moment, but it definitely gets the mind waves going about this kind of situation.  At the end of it all, it's extremely scary. 

Think about physical professional sports.  Hockey, football, boxing, MMA, rugby.  If links can be made between repeated blows to the head and brain damage, why would someone continue to damage their body in this way?  For love of the game?  Possibly.  For the money?  Most likely.  If that is the case, what are the governing bodies going to do to curb the abuse?  You cannot take the fights out of hockey.  Well, you could.  It would be a horrible idea.  What you can do, is ensure that any fights that take place are few and very far in between.  The role of the goon has all but been removed from the NHL level of the game of hockey, but it still exists in the lower levels.  Allowing fights that are unnecessary can be stopped.  Fights for the sake of fighting can go by the wayside.  Fights that are fought to protect your star player or your goalie are still a viable solution to violence that feeds the fan. 

I think of myself as a hockey purist and that fights are part of the game.  However, the last thing I really want to see is someone to get seriously hurt.  Broken jaw from a fight?  I can deal with that.  Shattered eye socket from a deflected shot?  That's part of the game.  To see someone make it in the NHL for the purpose of fighting?  The game isn't like that anymore.  It's a finesse game now.  Goons are part of the history, not the present. 

Gary Bettman, please look at the data and get this one right.  Come on, you man crush Sidney Crosby is dealing with an elongated concussion and you cannot handle that.  For once in your commissionership, get a call right. 

More fights!

Have you ever heard the phrase 'I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.'?  It was a great way to encompass the game in the seventies and eighties.  It has always been a part of the game, and it is what has distinguished it amongst the four major sports.  There are the occasional fights in baseball, football, and basketball.  Well, not basketball.  A couple of guys swinging at each other and backing up at the same time does not constitute a fight.  It is the only sport that allows a fight and the player to return during the same game.  It's what makes the game great, primal, and neanderthalic. 

I bring it up because the past two games involving Pittsburgh and the New York Islanders there have been a rash of fights.  I'm talking hundreds of minutes of fighting majors and game misconducts.  Last night, there were three hundred and sixty plus minutes of penalty minutes because of all the fights and other penalties, but mostly fighting majors and game misconducts (which are five and ten minutes respectively).  At the end of the game, there were barely enough people for full line changes.  This isn't the only instance of major fighting taking place during a game recently and there are some sports reporters that are calling this a bit of a publicity stunt by the NHL.  And if it is, the job is getting done because people are talking about it.  Right?  Personally, I think it is not a publicity stunt and it is just some bad blood that is flowing from one person to the next on each team.  That's the way it goes.  Each person has his teammates back.  The glory of a team. 

It's a throwback to some old school hockey, or it's like watching Slap Shot (watch it if you have no idea what it is).  It slows the game down, but it also brings more tension to the games.  Not every team is throwing down every three periods though so it isn't a league wide thing.  The game is faster now and has more finesse, which is great, but I feel that it has gotten away from it's roots.  True enforcers aren't needed anymore and are relegated to minor league or independent teams.  There is a difference between a goon and an enforcer.  An enforcer protects the assets of the team.  Someone takes a run at a franchise player and the enforcer comes out and beats the holy hell out of them (see:  Probert, Bob; Williams, Tiger; McSorley, Marty).  A goon is someone that takes a run at a franchise player or a defenseless player (see:  Lemieux, Claude; Avery, Sean; McSorley, Marty).  Although there is a fine line between enforcer and goon, know the difference.  The players sometimes cross that line. 

It's good for the sport that fights are breaking out.  It adds a dimension to the sport which has been a little absent the past five years or so.  I enjoy the new, quicker game, but it is good to see players dropping the gloves.  More importantly, I'm happy to see the refs letting them fight. 

No respect

I always gave ESPN a little bit of leeway with NHL highlights on their show 'Sportscenter'.  I know that they offered to have a contract with the NHL to show their games on the ESPN family of networks and the NHL thumbed their nose at the offer and started their own network, Versus.  So, for the past couple of years, hockey highlights have been at the tail end of the show or just real quick blips and a few highlights of a goal or two.  And that's it.  However, as I was watching the show this morning, I was saddened at the fact that they glossed over the highlights for the NHL all star game that took place yesterday.  Hockey is sadly the fourth major sport in this country despite the fact that it is far more entertaining than basketball.  Therefore, you don't much focus on it except for during the Winter Classic and the Stanley Cup finals.  Not the rest of the playoffs, but just the finals. 

NBC is taking it in the right direction by showing the game of the week on Sunday afternoons and the games they show are with decent teams and always entertaining.  The game last weekend was a close game, there was a great couple of fights, and in one instance, blood ended up on the glass.  How awesome is that?  Now, I don't expect there to be a ton of hockey games televised but it would be nice to see more than four a month without having to go to a sports bar. 

I went out Saturday evening with some friends to watch the Kansas/Kansas State basketball game.  I was more interested in hanging out with friends and drinking beer than I was in watching the game.  Before halftime of the game, it wasn't a game anymore.  KU is a far superior team and it was boring to watch.  Luckily, we were at an establishment with more than one television, and the NHL skills competition was on one of the t.v.s we were facing.  So I started watching that as opposed to the snoozefest I initially went there for.  It was amazing!  The breakaway competition (the hockey equivalent to the slam dunk [BORING] competition) was mind blowing.  From bouncing the puck on the stick to skating around in circles and backwards to shooting the puck with the shaft of the stick.  The talent these guys have and the hand-eye coordination they have is fun to watch.  Another competition that was on was the hardest shot.  The winner hit the puck at 105.9 miles and hour.  Oh yeah, you read that correctly. 

It's just disappointing that a sport that requires some of the most talent is overshadowed because it is a regional kind of sport.  You don't see kids in Kansas skating with hockey gear on at the age of three and four.  And it's because it isn't part of the culture down here.  Back home, completely different story.  My five year old nephew has been playing hockey for a couple of years now (granted it's like kids playing soccer, they all just swarm to the puck) but they are all very coordinated.  The coaches teach them the skills needed to play the game first and then they can focus on playing the game proficiently.  Same thing goes for the pros.  These guys have been playing this game for so long, that they make it look so easy, but it is insanely difficult.  I'm not saying that it is easy to throw a football fifty yards down the field and hit a person in the hands or that it is easy to throw a baseball in such a way that it appears to fall of the face of the earth, it's just that with hockey there is more to just one facet of the game.  It's both offense and defense and it's non-stop.  On the ice for a couple of minutes and then on the bench to catch your breath just in time to hop over the boards.

If you have never had much of an interest in the sport of hockey, give it a chance.  It can easily win you over with one single fight.   

Marketing genius

The St. Louis Blues hockey organization has developed what I think is an amazing idea to get people in the seats. They have dubbed it the 'Every Game Counts' package. Here's the deal: you buy season tickets and pay half the cost. If the team makes the playoffs, you pay the other half of the cost. The cheap seats, if you only have to end up paying for half the games, is four hundred and fifty dollars. There are forty one home games throughout the season, so that would end up being about eleven dollars a game, which ain't all that bad. However, that doesn't count concessions. On the other hand, if they make the playoffs (and they missed the playoffs by five points [which isn't much for you non-hockey people out there]) you will end up paying about twenty two dollars per game. And for cheap seats, that could be stretching it. For the more expensive seats, if they made the playoffs, you could end up paying just under nineteen hundred dollars. Yeah, that's nineteen with two zeroes behind it.

One reason why I think this is a great idea is because it'll get people invested in the team. By the way, they have already sold about two hundred of the six hundred tickets they are making available for this promotion. So there are some people out there who think that this is a great idea. You could have a group of people who enjoy hockey but have never wanted to buy season tickets. With this deal now, you can gather a couple of friends, pool the money, and split the cost. It's cheaper that way, even if they do end up in the playoffs, as opposed to buying the tickets by yourself. So the casual fans are sitting around the bar one night getting drunk, like you do, and they hear about this. Before you know it, they are seriously considering it. It's cost efficient, and it's a group of people, with some cash flow, that wouldn't have done it in the first place.

The bigger concern with markets like St. Louis is making ends meet. With all the contracts for the players, the cost for upkeep of the building, the cost for the coaching staff, private jet, all of that goes through the organization and the owners of the Blues. Now, if you get people to invest in this crazy idea, you could be making more money than you usually would. If you make more money, you'll have a higher interest. The St. Louis Blues have had a faithful following (from what I can gather), but they haven't always been able to trade for talent because they haven't had the money. Because they haven't been able to go after the big name players, or the most talented players, they haven't been able to compete for Lord Stanley's Cup. It's a simple formula. More money equals better players plus happy fan base.

The obvious risk here (for the organization) is the team not making the playoffs. They'll be losing half of their sales from these tickets for the 'Every Game Counts' packages. Granted, they are still making money from the single game ticket sales and the smaller package sales that they have, but this is still a ballsy move. From the fan base, if it were me and I bought into this idea, I would be kind of pissed that the team made the playoffs because that'll mean ponying up the second half of the cost. So you would have to keep that in mind and start stashing the money away. However, I would be happy that the team would make the playoffs. I would also want first crack at home playoff tickets being a season ticket holder.





Bu then again, I'm selfish like that.

Hockey: the tough man sport

Last week, NHL star Alex Ovechkin was jawing back and forth with Tampa Bay Lightning's Steve Downie. Downie is seen as a bit of an enforcer and can really handle himself in a fight, Ovechkin is a big guy and can probably handle himself but would get pummeled when fighting a fighter. So, after serving matching minor penalties, they both came out of the box and Ovechkin chased after Downie and they dropped the gloves. No sooner had the gloves dropped and the players sized each other up, and Downie knew he was going to just destroy this guys face, Matt Bradley came charging in and fought Downie. Most people have been supporting Bradley's move to protect Ovechkin because he is who the people come to see play. The guy is an amazing player, real top notch, no one owns Matt Bradley jerseys, no one watches intently every time Bradley touches the puck waiting for him to do something amazing. He was protecting Ovechkin. Which is fine. Enforcers are meant to do that.

But only if the other team is making a run at your star player. If they are taking cheap shots at your million dollar baby, you send out the goons to pummel each other and send a message. When your star wants to drop the gloves and try to be a tough guy, I say you let them. Once. When they get embarrassed by someone who has gotten inside their head and taken them out of their game, and they want to drop the gloves, let them. When they come back to the bench with a bleeding face and missing teeth and a hurt ego, you yell at them. If your star wants to act the part of the tough guy and gets taken into a corner and his face is caved in, you get to tell them 'Told ya so' when they get back.

Last night Rangers star Marian Gaborik got taken to the cleaners by Flyers tough guy Danny Carcillo. And he deserved it. He was going back and forth with Carcillo and in the process dropped his gloves and Carcillo smelled blood in the water. It was a four punch fight. But hey, that's what you get when you try to be a tough guy. Later on, Sean Avery sought out Carcillo and they fought. All was right with the world again. People were taking the Rangers players through the wringer because they didn't step in and protect Gaborik, but he deserved it. He wanted to fight and he got it, it is just too bad for him that he wanted to do so with an enforcer.

History for and history against

The day that the Stanley Cup finals started, I wrote a post that stated that the Wings would win in six games.  Oops.  Game six was a game of almosts for the Wings though.  The passes were just missing, posts were hit, and the Penguins goalie and defense stood tall.  It was the best the Wings had played in Pittsburgh all series, with the exception of the first period.  Both teams were awful in the first period.  

Game seven is tomorrow night, and I cannot wait.  This series has been great.  With the exception of a five to nothing beat down shutout by the Wings in game five, all the games have been well contested.  I have seen two bits of history in regards to the Cup finals that I thought I would share.  

Bit o' history part one:  The last time two teams met in consecutive Stanley Cup finals, they split the wins.  The scary part is that the Wings won last year over the Pens.  

Bit o' history part two:  The last time the road team won a game seven in the Stanley Cup finals was in 1971.  It was the Montreal Canadiens.  There have been six game sevens since then, all of which won by the home team.  The good news is that the game is in Detroit tomorrow.  

So which past of the history will game seven be a part of Friday night?  Obviously I want it to be part of the second bit of history.  And I think it will be.  The Wings have only lost once at home this post season.  Eleven and one!  I hope it will be twelve and one at home and that they will hoist the Stanley Cup for the twelfth time.  

Two in one day?

Normally, I call one blog post a day a valiant effort.  But two?  Holy shit!  Maybe it is because four in the morning seems so long ago that right now feels like today and this morning feels like yesterday.  

I wanted to post this because the Stanley Cup finals start tonight.  A rematch from last year, Detroit v. Pittsburgh.  For those who don't pay attention to this great sport, Detroit won four games to two.  And they were all well played games.  Last year, I thought the Wings were going to win in five games.  I was confident about that prediction.  This year, I am cautiously optimistic that they will win again.  

I say cautiously for a few reasons.  One is history.  The last time there was a repeat of Stanley Cup foes, the previous loser went on to win the next year.  Scary!  Many people have looked to Detroit being banged up as reason to favor Pittsburgh, but they are wrong.  Detroit is too deep on the bench to have a few injuries slow them down.  The last two series the Wings played were draining.  Anaheim took them to the seventh game and Chicago's youth looked to be catching up with the Cup defenders.  One thing that they can take away from the Chicago series is that did keep up with their youth, which could help them prepare for Pittsburgh.  

The age and experience that the Wings far out-weighs the Penguins, and those two factors count for a lot in the playoffs.  Detroit is getting scoring from all over the place, Pittsburgh is getting it mainly from two sources:  Crosby and Malkin.  Those two have been playing fantastically awesome hockey.  They are a great face for the NHL to have.  

In the end?  Detroit repeats, four games to two (again).  All of them will be great games, and I hope clean games too.  I hate to see a series get nasty when it doesn't need to be.  

Skate on the throat

Tomorrow night, the Detroit Red Wings have a chance to advance to the Western Conference Finals against either Chicago or Vancouver.  First things first though, they need to beat the Ducks.  The biggest thing that irritates me about that franchise is that their existence is based on a Disney movie.  Without it, this franchise does not drive me crazy.  They couldn't have put the team up some place where hockey means something, say....Wisconsin or Minnesota (even though Minnesota has a team now).  Oh no, they put it in southern fucking California.  California already had one team too many and they gave them another one.  

I want to watch the Wings tomorrow night drag the Ducks out to center ice and tear their collective heart out, take a nice big bite out if it, give their fanboy the middle finger, and skate away laughing.  That would make my night.