Will be away...

But you still will have Zak here, and new writers Redsoxfan45 (Nick, or patriotfan45 we call him on the forum) and Chris (Detroit Fan).

I just wanted to touch on the 2009 Winter Classic that was confirmed yesterday.

It will be between the defending Stanley Cup Champions Detroit Red Wings and their Original 6 rivals the Chicago Blackhawks. The game will be played on New Year's Day and televised on NBC, like last year.

Now, last year I had a problem with the timing of this. Putting it right on New Year's Day (as you know) interferes with the rest of America's college football viewing. It could even interfere with mine. But what am I saying, there no way Michigan is going to reach a game on that day.

Anyway, last year's game did get very high ratings by NHL standards. And with this year it being the most known team in the NHL, and an up and coming Blackhawks team (not to mention their both from the Original 6), I think that this game could get even higher ratings than last year's game.

As for the venue, Wrigley Field, I would rather prefer it be at Comerica Park because that's only an hour away from me, but you can't always get what you want. I think Wrigley could be a nice place to have the game. Certainly it will be cold enough in Chicago during January with Lake Michigan right there, so I don't think that will be a problem. I think that Soldier Field would be better, but there could be scheduling conflicts with the Bears (assuming they make the playoffs), and in America, the NFL > NHL.

This should be a great game to watch. Hopefully it will have the same drama as last years, only this time I'll be able to see my favorite team (and the defending Cup Champions!) in it.

If you know how to get tickets, let me know.

Blackhawks, Red Wings meet in the great outdoors [NHL.com]

Sundin in Florida?

Aside from the Stanley Cup Final, the NHL is now entering my favorite part of the year: free agency. Perhaps the craziest day in hockey is July 1, when free agents can start signing with teams.

Last year brought many big signings. New York got Chris Drury and Scott Gomez. Philadelphia nabbed Daniel Briere, while Detroit bolstered its defense by signing Brian Rafalski.

This years bundle also has some big names like Marian Hossa, Kristian Huselius, Brad Stuart, Sean Avery, and Ryan Malone. But this years big kahuna is center Mats Sundin.

Many teams are in contention to sign the 37-year-old star, most notably the Montreal Canadiens. I have also read that the Florida Panthers may be a dark horse in the race, with some courting by former teammate Wade Belak.

Montreal GM Bob Gainey is supposedly heading to Sweden to meet with Sundin and try and get him to go to Montreal. Sure, why pass up the sun and beaches of Miami and live in Montreal? OK, that was stupid, I'd rather play in Montreal.

I'll have more on this later hopefully, I just wanted to get something up here after getting home.

Couple of things

The plane from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport takes off at 5, and I have to be out of here in half an hour, so I'm using my time to make this post.

* Three big league managers were fired this week: Willie Randolph (New York Mets), John McLaren (Seattle Mariners), and most recently, John Gibbons (Toronto Blue Jays). For each of those skippers, er, former skippers, playoff aspirations were within reach. Didn't happen. Each of these were understandable because to put it bluntly they did not do their job.



I do have a problem (as many people do) with the Randolph firing. The way they did it was classless and gutless. I'm sure by now you know what happened and I don't need to reiterate it, but it bugs me how Omar Minaya did it in that fashion. Jerry Manuel is the interim manager. I do not think that the Mets will make the playoffs this season, the Phillies offense will carry them to the division title and the other teams in the National League (Cardinals, Brewers, even the Marlins) will have a better chance to compete for the Wild Card position. Unless Manuel can restore order in that clubhouse, I don't see it happening.

John McLaren's team has been the most disappointing for me (next to the Tigers). As of now they own the worst record in the big leagues (26-47) and had some big expectations at the beginning of the season. I picked them to win the American League West. Now the Erik Bedard trade looks like the Orioles got the better of it and the pitching staff is one of the worst in the league, sporting a 4.65 ERA. Jim Riggleman takes over for the Mariners. Honestly, I have no idea who that is so I know nothing about this replacement. Good luck.

Cito Gaston takes over for the Blue Jays. He led the Blue Jays to two World Series wins back in 1992 and 1993, so this has potential. The Jays are 10 1/2 behind the AL East leading Red Sox. The Tampa Bay Rays are ahead of them. As with the Mets and Mariners, this team had big expectations for this year and so far have failed to live up to them, digging deeper and deeper with every game. The pitching staff is phenomenal, it's the offense that needs work. They are 10th in the AL with a .257 batting average, next to last in home runs, and last in slugging. The only thing I can get of is beg and plead Bud Selig to get them out of the East, but I don't see that happening.

* The NHL Entry Draft was last night in Ottawa, and Tampa Bay bolstered their offense by taking forward Steven Stamkos with the number one overall pick out of Sarnia. Stamkos will play alongside former number one pick Vincent Lecavalier, forming a 1-2 punch that should be deadly for years to come. Here's how the Top 10 rounded out:

1. Tampa Bay -- Steven Stamkos, c, Sarnia (OHL)
2. Los Angeles -- Drew Doughty, d, Guelph (OHL)
3. Atlanta -- Zach Bogosian, d, Peterborough (OHL)
4. St. Louis -- Alex Pietrangelo, d, Niagara (OHL)
5. Toronto (from NY Islanders) -- Luke Schenn, D, Kelowna (WHL)
6. Columbus -- Nikita Filatov, lw, CSKA 2 (Russia)
7. Nashville (from NY Islanders via Toronto) -- Colin Wilson, c, Boston University (Hockey East)
8. Phoenix -- Mikkel Boedker, lw, Kitchener (OHL)
9. NY Islanders (from Nashville via Florida) -- Josh Bailey, c, Windsor (OHL)
10. Vancouver -- Cody Hodgson, c, Brampton (OHL)

Obviously I like the Stamkos pick, but some other picks I liked were Toronto's pick of Luke Schenn and Boedker of Phoenix. My Red Wings took Thomas McCollum, a goalie, with the 30th pick. Looks like our goalie of the future is this guy, or Jimmy Howard.

There were many trades too. Ollie Jokinen went to Phoenix for two defensemen, which further makes me love what Phoenix did yesterday. The Flames made some moves, trading away center Alex Tanguay to the Montreal Canadiens, then basically filled Tanguay's spot by picking up Michael Cammalleri from the Kings in a three-team trade.

* Curt Schilling's career may be over. He announced that he is having season ending surgery that might force him to hang up the cleats. Should have listened to the doc, eh? Anywho, like most people, I will remember the bloody sock and his amazing playoff performances, and I think he deserves a shrine in Cooperstown.

* The EURO 2008 tournament has been a great one. Turkey has had some excellent come from behind victories and will face Germany in the semifinals. The other semifinal match will be determined today, as Holland takes on Russia and Spain will play Italy.

I think Turkey's run ends as Germany will take them down off a Ballack goal (he's been on a tear). The Dutch will defeat Russia today and Italy will take down Spain. That will set up a rematch of the "Group of Death" game and I think the Netherlands momentum will carry them to the title game to play Germany.

I can't pick against the Dutch right now, so I am going to say the Netherlands will win it all after a 3-2 win.

EDIT: As soon as I get home tonight, I learn the Dutch lose. I was wrong. Screw it.

What if the NHL misspelled Lidstrom on a jersey?

Oh wait, they did.

I'm sorry, but this is an issue that I feel needs to be addressed.

Thanks to Melt Your Face Off, we present to you another Gary Bettman and National Hockey League screw up.

Now, I'm not big on names. But can we please get this checked out?

The correct name spelling of 6-time Norris Trophy winner is Nicklas Lidstrom.

What you see on the screen here is Lindstrom. Yes, you use the NHL Award ceremony, one of the unique opportunities the NHL hops on (I mean, how many other sports played on ice have an Official Tire?) to showcase this crap.

Should we also mention that Versus misspelled the name of the Lady Byng trophy? (If you care, they spelled it Lady Bing.)

Maybe I'm overreacting here. It may seem like it. To me this is a blend of embarrassment (you could throw pathetic in there) and at the same time I laugh at their stupidity. I would call it, 60/40. Maybe 65/35.

Just a thought before I leave for the friendly confines of Busch Stadium, where the Cards are currently getting shellacked 20-2 by the Phillies. I can't wait.

Breaking News: Lidstrom wins. Again.

Nicklas Lidstrom is amazing. He just won his sixth Norris Memorial Trophy. Make that sixth in seven years. Add that onto a Stanley Cup championship, actually four championships, he could retire right now and be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

In addition to Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk won two awards for the Lady Byng and Selke. The first time up he started with "hi" and pulled out his notecard or whatever for his speech. It ended with something I couldn't understand. Apparently he is still working on his English. The second time up he began with "hi." It didn't get much better. He forgot his second notecard.

The scary thing is is, Patrick Kane won the Calder Trophy, and he looks younger than me. I'm 14.

Brodeur won another Vezina. Bruce Boudreau won Coach of the Year, and Ovechkin won the Hart. Oh yeah, like we didn't already know that.

That's all I got for now.