DMac is back!

Ok, I know I know...enough of the Adirondack Wings love but come on, DMac's back, how can I not be super psyched about that? A lot of fans may disagree with me but I think he's a great team player and he adds a lot to the team atmosphere. I think he's got some good hockey left in him and, until he proves otherwise, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Lilja's also back in the line-up tonight and I've got somewhat mixed feelings about that. I'd be lying if I said he doesn't scare the crap out of me every time he's on the ice. It's not that he's necessarily a bad player overall but he's definitely inconsistent and bad things to seem to happen quite often when he's out there. I think I'd be happier if he could just figure out some what to keep his stick in his hand during 5 on 3 penalty kills - honestly that's a huge part of it. But then there's also the odd bounces, the untimely falls, ect. But then again, maybe that was all fixed with the appendectomy (however the hell you spell it). One can only hope.

Osgood seems to be having a rough start this year too. He's been victim to a bunch of really strange bounces too. I hate to say it but so far this season, I've been a little scared with him in net than usual. And I really do hate saying that, 'cause Ozzie's the man in my book. But then again, quite a bit of it has to do with unlucky shiz and poor defensive play.

Speaking of poor defensive play, what the crap is going on this year? I went total homer and picked Detroit players for 90% of my fantasy team and so far it's not working out all that great. Who would have thought that I'd be 9th of 10 in + /- with this lineup:

Franzen
Datsyuk
Holmstrom
Lidstrom
Rafalski
Kronwall
Filppula
Stuart
Hudler

Non wings:
Stillman -FLA
Elias - NJ
Erat - NSH
Staal - PITT
MacArthur - BUF

and I just dropped Drury for Draper cause I need to boost my Faceoff Wins.

Dats and Lids should be enough to carry my whole team as far as plus/minus! After three weeks I'm at a total -9 but this week I picked up a +20 so that should push me up the ranks a few places.

This is the first time I've ever done the fantasy hockey team and it's definitely interesting. I realize I shouldn't have picked so many players from the same team but I'm a wings fan and I have been without cable for five years and I have pretty much lost touch with the rest of the NHL so I decided to stick with what I know. I picked each of the guys for a specific role (see I'm sticking to the wings' mentality even in the fantasy leagues). The craziest thing is, I don't have Z or Hossa and that's not because they got drafted ahead of my picks, it's because I didn't choose them. I ranked Dats #1, Lids #2, and Ozzie #3. Yeah I know some (most) would think I'm crazy for passing on Zetterburg AND Hossa but I love Dats...

So my team is doing pretty crappy so far, I'm in last place...but Dats scored his first goal of the season and I'm sure that things are really gonna heat up now. It's just taking a little time for things to gel as well as they should. And they're getting there, it's all gravy baby!

Saved By The Groin

While surfing the net last night I ended up here:




I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when I read that Darren McCarty had been placed on the injured reserve list. Everyone seems to think he'll be staying with the team when he comes off, but I'm still a bit nervous - could be that Holland is just buying himself some more time to figure it all out. But Downey went to wavers and it looks like Quincey might be offered up for trade so I'm pretty psyched. I know a lot of people think that he's past his prime but they're probably the same people who still refuse to give Ozzie the credit he deserves. As DMac himself says:



Seriously, how could you not love this guy?

I'm Gonna Be A Hockey Star - Blades of Steel

If I ever figure out how to snag this song I'm totally putting it on my iPod :) Apparently the entries for the new Hockey Night in Canada are for the most part pretty lame but I like this one. Of course, being that I don't live in Canada, I have no idea what the original theme song was but I know lots of fans are pissed that they won't shell out the money to keep the right to it.

In The Beginning There Were The Adirondack Red Wings

I became a Wings fan during the first game I went to. It was a Calder Cup playoff game in Glens Falls, NY and ADK was down 3 games to none against the Hershey Bears in a best of seven series. It seemed highly unlikely that the wings would be able to come back to win the series but they won an exciting game four and a fan for life! During the next 10 years I watched players like Kris Draper, Keith Primeau, Randy McKay, Darren McCarty, Chris Osgood and many more pass through Glens Falls on their way to Detroit and it's thrilling to see some of those guys still wearing the winged wheel.

So now that you know I'm a wings fan you're probably wondering why I would choose a picture of Hossa, in a Pens uniform, sitting against the boards, sagging in defeat after the Stanley Cup Finals. Well, the answer is simple, while watching the finals I was not only impressed with Hossa's play but I was also impressed with his reaction to losing. I remember seeing that photo and thinking, wow that is an amazing photo, it totally captures the moment(pain) for him. And I genuinely felt for the guy. And then, of course there was all the talk of him sifting through offers and I hoped that he would end up in the red and white - but you can't imagine how excited I was when I saw the headline! I know there are wings fans (and others) who think that he's only coming to Detroit for a season, to get his cup, and then head for the bank, but I think they are wrong. Once he gets a taste of what it feels like to hold that cup over his head he won't be leaving Hockeytown - my bet is he stays for the rest of his career. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am :)


Now I just have to figure out how to customize this blog thingy :)