Things aren’t quite what they used to be around Hockeytown this year, and with realignment looming, it isn’t even clear that the Red Wings will get to seek needed playoff revenge against the Predators this year, much less turn the tide against the Blackhawks. Right now, the Wings season in one play looks something like this:
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This might be the new NHL division map. No one seems to know for sure, and the internet is full of conflicting maps. This one appears to have come from Canada, though, so that seems legit.
We covered the initial saga of the latest episode of this story back in December 2011. What foundered then now is coming to be realized, at least in the short term: the NHL is rearranging itself into two conferences, each with two divisions. You can read about the details, consequences, and history of the negotiations over this issue in this article.
The NHL’s problems don’t have much to do with realignment issues, so I feel free to evaluate this proposal purely as a myopic fan of my team, the Detroit Red Wings. The linked article tells me that, from that vantage point, I’m supposed to be happy about all this:
[T]he Red Wings and the Columbus Blue Jackets love the plan, because they were Eastern time zone cities playing in the Western Conference. Detroit owner Mike Ilitch had been lobbying commissioner Gary Bettman for 15 years, so his team could have better travel and his fans could have better TV start times, and he felt he was owed the move to the East. The Wings are an Original Six team that sucked it up and played at a disadvantage for a long time.
I don’t like it, though, even if that means I’m out of step with Mr. I. Here’s why: Continue reading
ALDLAND is disappointed that we couldn’t bring in our promised special guest for a podcast this week, but rest assured he or she will be on soon for all sorts of fun discussion. What we do have for our loyal listener(s) is discussion of last week’s Super Bowl, as well as some choice stories from around the sports world. There’s even some soccer thrown in, for our listeners across the pond. So just listen already. And tell your friends. If you aren’t telling your friends then you are failing in your social obligations.
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I didn’t think Detroit sports could leave me speechless twice in one week, but then I saw this story. From MLive.com:
Detroit Red Wings prospect Riley Sheahan had a blood-alcohol content of .30 – nearly four times the legal limit and nearly double the threshold for the “super-drunk’ charge he faces following his arrest in late October by Grand Rapids Police.
Sheahan, 20, who plays for the Grand Rapids Griffins, was wearing the costume of a purple Teletubby, also known as Tinky Winky, when he was pulled over by police on Oct. 29.
He also was charged with providing false information. He was carrying the Michigan driver’s license of Brendan Smith when he was pulled over by police on Ottawa Avenue NW in downtown Grand Rapids.
Sheahan, who is from St. Catharines, Ontario, is teammates on the Griffins with Smith, also a touted Red Wings prospect.
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Full story here: http://mobile.mlive.com/advannarbor/pm_115751/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=Vv3ROLss
Based on the information I’ve seen online, police arrested Sheahan right outside an office building in which I used to work.
(HT: Laura)
After another short-ish break, Aldland is back with another podcast, this time featuring blog creator AD. We have doubled the number of listeners to our podcast, and are producing an appropriately epic podcast to honor the occasion. Listen as we talk baseball, Saints bounty program and obviously, about the biggest news story of the year. Click that play button!
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Dear Mr. Parise:
The word on the street is that you are about to be an unrestricted free agent. A lot of teams are going to be calling you up and offering you ridiculous sums of money to play for them. The Devils, the Rangers, the Wild . . . they are all going to be courting you. The Detroit Red Wings will also likely be placing a call to your agent. You should totally sign with them, and here’s why:
It was unfair to call Lidstrom “The Perfect Human.” Nobody’s perfect, not even him. And sometimes his spotless performance and quiet personality worked against him. He was too often taken for granted because there were no downs to illustrate the ups. He was never beloved quite like his predecessor as captain, Steve Yzerman, who transformed himself from a slick scorer into a gritty leader. Who can relate to perfection? How can you celebrate a triumph over adversity when there isn’t any?
Still, Lidstrom lived up to the label somehow. If he lacked any love or attention, he never seemed to mind. He was never rude. He always had time for everyone.He was as close to perfect as a player and person could be, the definition of consistency and class, the ultimate high-performance, low-maintenance superstar. Actually, Holland called him “no-maintenance. ”
He retires as the best defenseman of his generation and one of the three best in the history of hockey. Bobby Orr won the Norris eight times. Doug Harvey won it seven times, like Lidstrom did. Though Orr could have won it more had his knees not given out, Lidstrom could have won it more, too. He was underappreciated early in his career, a three-time Norris runner-up, and the 2004-05 lockout erased a season of his prime. … Read More
(via Yahoo! Sports)
Brace yourselves, listeners. ALDLAND’s latest podcast features a very special guest. I don’t want to spoil anything, so fire up the podcast and find out for yourself who it is.
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Bdoyk asked me during the game whether I felt any split allegiances. I certainly have a love of Nashville that probably comes through in some of my posts on this site, but the Red Wings are an erstwhile pillar of my comprehensive sports worldview, and I can’t imagine anything that would ever change that.
That said, Shea Weber erased any doubts that may have lingered with his move on Henrik Zetterberg at the end of Game 1 last night.
The Predators shrugged off the move after the game, while the Wings appear to be letting it stew internally. Detroit fans can only hope that this is the sort of thing that will energize their team into the juggernaut of yore, allowing them to steal Game 2 on the road before returning to the much friendlier confines of Joe Louis Arena.
This time of the year is a bit of a lull in the sports calendar, though college basketball continues its upward march toward March, and both Michigan State and Vanderbilt— two teams that have traveled in different directions a bit, mostly by virtue of their original positions this year– appear to be pulling it together when it counts.
After the Red Wings’ record-setting win on Valentine’s Day, they have extended their home winning streak to 23, now besting all such streaks (and not merely those within a single season).
Out East, the Linsanity rolls on. Out West, a rolling avalanche killed three skiiers, including the head judge of the Freeskiing World Tour, in Washington. (These, of course, are not the season’s first skiing deaths.)
Coming attractions here this week include my overdue report on the Kentucky-Vanderbilt game, bdoyk’s nod to Tim Wakefield, and a preview of the 2012 NASCAR season. Thanks to Jalen Rose and all the rest of you for dropping by.
ALDLAND 