MacDonald, Wings Shutdown The Blue Jackets In Columbus

The Red Wings 2-0 win tonight in Columbus stretched their win streak to 4 straight. Joey MacDonald played great for his team stopping all 37 shots he faced tonight for a well deserved shutout. Filppula made it two goals in as many games scoring on the power play tonight and Drew Miller scored in his return to the line up. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for the Wings tonight though. Pavel Datsyuk and Brian Rafalski both left the game with apparent injuries. Datsyuk seemed to avoid the brunt of Rick Nash's attempted hit, but still left the game after skating off the ice. Brian Rafalski was hit awkwardly by Antoine Vermette who slide right into Rafalski's right knee. Rafi immediately grabbed for his knee and was obviously limping off the ice. The early report out of the locker room is that Rafalski looks to be ok but Pavel might have picked up a lower body injury. Here is hoping that the team wont have to go without one of their star forwards for an extended period of time considering this is the time teams should be gearing up for the start of the playoffs which is rapidly approaching. Congratulations are in order for Mike Babcock who won his 300th game with the Wings tonight becoming one of three coaches including Scotty Bowman to win 300 games in their first 6 years with their team. The Red Wings will remain on the road for their next game when they take on the Preds Saturday night in Nashville.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and Happy St. Patty's Day Go Green!! Erin Go Bragh.

Drew in the D

Wings Get The Best Of Ovechkin, Capitals

I was lucky enough to be at tonights game between the Red Wings and the Capitals. It was a very competitive game between the two teams and very entertaining to watch as a fan of the game. Washington came into the Joe tonight riding a 9-game win streak looking to extend it and send a message that they are for real this year. To be honest i was almost more excited to the see The Great 8 in action than my team (almost). I had an opportunity to see Ovechkin live a few years ago but he ended up not playing due to an injury which was disappointing to say the least. I underestimated just how great he is as a player and the fact that he is playing more of a two way game these days makes him that much better in my opinion and it makes his team better which is probably more telling. Ovechkin's goal came on a one on one play where as soon as he got the puck and started skating up the ice against Stuart i said "uh oh" and no sooner had i said that the puck was in the net to tie the game at 2, wow is all i could say. Not to be outdone Henrick Zetterberg netted two goals in the game including the game winner on a vintage Zetterberg back hander over Michal Neuvirth's shoulder during a powerplay for the Wings in the 3rd period. In ending the Capitals win streak the Red Wings are now on a 3 game streak of their own and will try to keep it going tomorrow night n Columbus.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and welcome back Brian Rafalski with 3 assists and a +2 rating in tonights game. (hey i never knew colonel sanders was a wings fan.)

Drew in the D

The Nerazzuri Move To The Quaterfinals Of The Champions League In Style

The return leg of the Champions League between FC Internazionale Milano and Bayern Munich is why i love football so much. It was a pedal to the floor non-stop action match for both sides from the start. Samuel Eto'o brought the aggregate score level by putting in his teams first away goal amidst some controversy of whether he was offside or not in the 3rd minute of the match. Bayern answered and looked to be taking control of the game and on their way to the quarterfinals. That's when the defending European champs showed their class. Wesley Sneijder gave the Nerazzuri hope by scoring with plenty of time to find an equalizer that would put Inter through to the next stage, and Macedonian international Goran Pandev played the part of the hero scoring at the death to do just that on the away goal rule. This game was a pulse-pounding, attack minded affair between two teams that needed a win in it to help validate their current season. With Eto'os early goal the spot in the quarterfinals was up for grabs the entire 90+ and even after Pandev's top shelf strike in the 88th minute Bayern had a handful of decent chances to find their own winner, but came up short in the end. Inter's season has had its fair share of ups and downs this year, what with the change of managers early on and the injuries to key players they have had to battle through. But of late new manager Leonardo has the Nerazzuri playing as well as anyone in serie A and now his team looks to be regaining some of the magic they had last year in European competition just in time. 

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and get well soon Eric Abidal football/soccer fans around the world are praying for a safe and speedy recover for you.

Drew in the D

Pavel "Magic Man" Datsyuk Gets The GWG In Two Straight For The Wings

Can the Wing's #13 be any better? Pavel Datsyuk was at his best the past 2 games for his team, netting the game winning goal in both. Last night against Edmonton Pavel was shut down for most of the game getting double and even triple teamed at times by Oiler defense men. But as usual he finds a way through the defense of the opposition, as he took a pass in overtime and toe dragged around a sprawling Oiler player and snapped a shot into the back of the net for the GWG. Pavel was at it again tonight against the Blues with the game tied 3-3 in the 3rd period Pavel received the puck from Holmstrom along the boards and made two Blues hit each other as he slide in between them. Then he triple or quadruple deked by another Blue and beat Halak high blocker side for what would end up being the GWG. I mean this guy is just amazing he defies logic with some of the moves he makes and time seems to slow down or stop while he is working his magic. He is the magic man, the intellectual one, the greatest hockey player under the heavens. He is Pavel Datsyuk and he wears the Red and White #13 jersey for the Detroit Red WIngs.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world

Drew in the D

Not The Greatest Way To End A Road Trip-Liverpools Win Is A Win For Arsenal

It was a banner day for Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt today in his teams match against league leaders Manchester United. The Dutch international netted all three of The Reds goals today for his first hat trick  with the team and his first in any league since 2005. Liverpool had United on the back heel all day constantly attacking them at the back and putting pressure on their patch work defensive pairings. Even though Liverpool is still out of the top 4 of the league their defeat of United had huge significance on the EPL title race. By keeping the Red Devils from gaining any points from the match it opens the door for Arsenal to make up some points on United with the Gunners now only 3 points back. With 42 points and now being in the top 6 there is still hope for Liverpool of maybe somehow getting into the top 4 of the League and getting one of those coveted spots in the Champions League for next season.

Losing the last two games of a road trip including giving up a 3 goal lead in the 3rd period of last nights game in Phoenix isn't how the Wings wanted it to go. The San Jose game was a grinder with the Wings looking like a team that had just played the night before and the Sharks looking like a team that was waiting for that team. The Phoenix game started well enough with the Red Wings building a 4-1 lead though two periods, but something happened in the 3rd where they turned off and the Coyotes turned on. It started with another bone head play from Jakub Kindl when he decided it would be a good idea to give Helm a hospital pass in front of their own net while his goalie was behind the net. Needless to say the puck bounced over Helm's stick and right onto a forechecking Coyote for a gift tap in to an empty net. It wasn't the play that lost them the game, but when you have a team by the throat like the Wings did you dont give them anything especially a free goal like Kindl did. The team returns home to take on the Kings for the last time for the regular season on Wednesday night.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world

Drew in the D

Spartans Send Senior's Out In Style-Ducks Win It On A Dive

The Red Wings pick up a point in the overtime lose to the Ducks tonight. Jim Howard was great tonight stopping all but 2 shots in the game. Pavel Datsyuk scored once again tonight, banking in a shot off of Ducks tender Dan Ellis to take a 2nd period lead. Jason Blake would tie up the game early in the 3rd when he snapped the puck past Howard. The Wings had a great opportunity to win the game at the end of the 3rd period and in overtime on a powerplay but just couldn't get anything going and ended up losing the game on a penalty shot. Yes Bobby Ryan beat Howie fair and square but how about calling the dive stripes. I mean yes Salei flailed at Ryan but thats exactly what it was, he barely made contact with his stick on his arm which pushed him off balance and he acted like he got a two hander to the back of his knee. Call it sour grapes call it what you want to but thats kind of ridiculous when not only does the ref allow the player to embellish on the call but then the ref embellishes his penalty shot call. Seriously did you have to skate in front of the net and then wind up before you pointed to center ice? I think not. Oh and i dont know if you got the message Anaheim but if you are going to have a professional hockey team you might want to figure out how to maintain a professional level ice surface, get it together that shit is disgraceful. 

It definitely hasn't been the senior season that Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers were hoping for. But they ended their careers at the Breslin Center in winning fashion. The Spartans were able to get a little pay back on Iowa tonight who had beaten them in Iowa City when the Spartans were still ranked, by beating them 85-66. This game wasn't just about the fact that the team needed the win to help solidify their spot in the NCAA tournament. But rather showing the appreciation every Spartan player, fan, and alumni had for what this senior class helped the basketball team achieve in the past few seasons. 2 straight final four appearances and a Big Ten championship among the accomplishments that this graduating class helped bring to Spartan Nation. I for one have had a great time watching this team play together and help each other develop as players along the way to the accolades that they have earned. While Kalin and Durrell's future in the NBA is less than assured i hope that they can always look back with pride on the four years they spent here in Michigan, in East Lansing, as college basketball players, but most importantly as Spartans.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and congratulations to Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, and Mike Kebler on a great college career at Michigan State

Drew in the D

Wings Dethrone The Kings In LA In First Of 4 West Coast Games

After a 3 game stretch of not starting very well in games, the Wings got off to a great start in LA against the Kings. They conceded an early power play goal but quickly took back control of the game by scoring two quick goals and three over all in the 1st. I do have to say that i really like how the Kings are playing this season. They Play fast and hard and are fairly organized at the back playing a very strong defensive brand of hockey. But the Red Wings were a little to much for them on this night, after Pavel Datsyuk scored the Wings 4th goal the writing was on the wall, and it was all Detroit for the remainder of the game. The Wings had 6 goal scorers in total including Drew Miller who netted two in the game to help his team to a 7-4 win. There were three highlight reel plays that stuck out in my mind during the game tonight; one was Pavel "The Assassin" Datsyuk absolutely sniping his goal over Jonathan Quicks left shoulder on the power play, another was Darren "The Manitoba Missile" Helm's break away short hander that beat Quick five hole, and newly extended Jim Howards triple right pad save during a Kings power play in the second period. Speaking of Howies new contract, he gets extended for two years for $2.25 million a year to be Detroit's #1 goalie for the foreseeable future. The Red Wings will continue on this west coast swing now taking the short trip down to Anaheim to play the Ducks on Wednesday night.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and congratulations to Johan and Cecilia on the birth of their first child

Drew in the D

Liverpool Goes Down On The Road To West Ham United

Hammer fans had plenty of reasons for blowing bubbles today as their team took out EPL giants Liverpool 3-1 today. It seemed like the Reds had a bit of a cup hangover from their Europa League match earlier this week that saw them get off to a slow start sunday on the road. But give full marks to the Hammers for taking advantage of this a making Liverpool pay for their lack luster play by scoring mid way through the first half. West Ham would score again right before half time putting their opponents in a deep hole to try and climb out of in the second half. Liverpool was able to get one past Robert Green amidst cheers of USA from the Liverpool supporters behind the West Ham goal tender. But all hope for a draw was smashed when Hammers striker Carlton Cole scored his teams 3rd goal in the 89th minute to seal the win for West Ham moving his team out of the drop zone for the time being and all but dashing Liverpools Champions League hopes for next season. Liverpools next match is this coming sunday when they take on EPL leader and rival Manchester United at home.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and congratulations to Carling Cup winner Birmingham City

Drew in the D

Road Warrior Wings Win Another Away From The Joe-Manchester United Continue To Cruise Towards An EPL Title Beating Wigan On The Road

While the Red Wings haven't been as good at home as they would like to be they more than make up for it with their performances on the road this season. It was another frustrating beginning to the game for the Wings giving the Sabres an early 2-0 lead. The Wings played much better in the second period carrying the play to Buffalo for most of the period and Pavel "Magic Man" Datsyuk got them on the board, scoring on a power play. The Wings continued to play well throughout the rest of the game and really came on in the final 10 minutes of the 3rd period and "Happy" Hudler found a juicy rebound in front of the net and banged it home coming off the bench as the extra attacker to tie the game at 2. Both teams had chances to win it in the overtime period but both goalies made big stops for their teams and the game would be decided in a shoot out. The Sabres were undefeated in shoot outs this season with a record of 5-0 in them, but that just meant they were due. After Joey MacDonald saved Drew Stafford's shot on the Sabres first attempt Datsyuk had the first shot for the Wings and was absolute magic on his attempt going forehand backhand and lifting the puck over Miller's left shoulder. Joey MacDonald made it 2 for 2 on saves in the shoot out stopping Tomas Vanek and giving Jiri Hudler the chance to win it for his team, and win it he did. Following Pavel Datsyuk's lead Huds went forehand backhand adding a little motorcycle kick to his move and banking the puck of the post, off Millers back and into the net for the game winner giving his team a much needed 3-2 win, starting their road trip off on a good note. The Red Wings will hop on Red Wing 1 and pick up Brian Rafalski and drop off Johan Franzen on their way out west for the next 4 games starting in LA on Monday night.

It was all Red Devils today against Wigan with Man U winning 4-0 on the road. Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez opened up the scoring for United in the 17th minute of the match. Wigan had some bright spots but in the end they could never trouble Edwin Van der sar to much who kept a clean sheet through the game. Chicharito would add another goal to his total for the game and Wayne Rooney and Fabio would round out the scoring for the Red Devils. This was Manchester United's tune up match before taking on  Chelsea and Liverpool on the road this up coming week, where wins in both games would pretty much put them out of reach of any team trying to catch them in the race for the league title this year.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and welcome back Mike Madono its great to see you back out on the ice in the red and white.

Drew in the D

Wings Lose To Dallas Making it 2 In A Row At Home-Dirk Kuyt Lifts Liverpool Past Sparta Praha In The UEFA Europa League

It was another very frustrating night for the Wings and their fans with them losing 4-1 to the Dallas Stars. The lose tonight makes it 2 in a row at home and it adds to the teams home woes of late. Give full marks to Stars net minder Kari Lehtonen who was great in goal tonight for his team stopping all but one shot by Tomas Holmstrom late in the game on a power play. While there is still a lot of hockey to be played until the playoffs come around, the Wings need to nip this in the butt now and start making it hard for teams to get a result from playing at the Joe. The Wings will make a quick trip out to the east coast to play Buffalo, which will also be Mike Madono's first game since his wrist injury. Then they get to go on another Gary Bettman road trip out west to take on two of the conferences hottest teams LA and San Jose. While i expect the team to play well on the road as they usually do i will be paying special attention to their return game, which i might very well be going to, March 9th against the afore mentioned Kings.

Liverpool manager Kenny Daglish haasn't lost at home in any competition since taking over the position earlier this year and after todays 1-0 Europa league win he still hasn't. Todays return leg at Anfield between Liverpool and Sparta Praha was very evenly matched with both teams carrying the play to the other throughout the 90 minutes. With extra time and penalties looming large with the game still tied late Dirk Kuyt made sure there would be none of that drama by heading in a well taken corner to give his team the 1-0 win which sends them through to the round of 16 in the Europa League. The Europa League is Liverpools last chance at winning some hard wear this season considering they are out of the Champions League and 18 points back of Premier League leaders Manchester United.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and thats gotta sting still Michigan

Drew in the D

Bayern Munich Snatches A Crucial Away Goal And Win In The San Siro Today

It looked for all the world like the first leg of the Champions League knock out round between FC Bayern Munich and FC Internazionale Milano would end in a scoreless draw. That is, until German striker Mario Gomez picked up a loose ball in the box and slotted it home behind Inter goalie Julio Cesar in the 90th minute. It was an entertaining game and Inter had plenty of chances to get a goal of their own but just couldn't find a way to put the ball on target. Argentine international, Esteban Cambiasso had Inter's best chance when a deflected ball fell to his feet inside the box but he put it over the crossbar, missing a wide open net. Inter will now have to look for some big away goals of their own in the return leg, when they travel to the Futball Arena Munchen in Munich down 1-0 to Bayern. I wouldn't be surprised to see Diego Milito get a starting spot in Inter's line-up for that match if he is healthy by then considering he is a big target up front for the team.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world

Drew in the D

Wings Drop Yet Another Return Game Against the Sharks-Spartans Get Big Tournament Resume Win On The Road In Minnesota

The first game back in the Joe from a road trip has been a problem for the Wings all season and it was again tonight against the Sharks. After a very productive 3 game road trip on which the Wings were able to take all 6 of the available points they returned home for a short 2 game home stand starting with tonights game against the sharks. Tonights game started out well enough with the Wings putting 9 shots on the Sharks goaltender Niemi, but 4 Shark power plays including a full 2 minute 5 on 3 wiped out that advantage by the end of the 1st period and saw the Sharks take a 1 goal lead into the break. Dan Cleary gave his team a big lift in the 2nd netting his 20th and career high 21st goal of the season which also gave him 3 straight seasons of 20+ goals which is also a first in his career. The 2nd period would end tied 2-2 setting up a hard fought 3rd period between the two teams. The Wings carried the majority of the play in the period, Datsyuk and Stuart both banged shots off of the goal post, coming that close to giving their team the lead in the game but just as it usually happens in a hockey game scoring chances missed at one end end up being scored on the other and the Sharks would take a 4-2 lead shortly after. Z made it close scoring on a late power play with about 2 minutes left in the game, the Wings had a few chances late but just couldn't find a way to put in the equalizer. A side-note to this game was Patrick Eaves going down with an apparent lower body injury in the 2nd period, hopefully its nothing serious because the speed he has brings an extra element to the teams offensive attack.

When the Spartans entered the season ranked #2 in the nation no one thought that they would be looking for key wins at this point just to get into the tournament next month, i certainly didn't. But that's exactly the situation that the team is finds itself in right now, on the outside looking in for the tournament. Tom Izzo has his team playing better of late with 3 straight wins in conference including a big-time road win against Minnesota tonight. It's nice to see the team being able to string together a couple of wins in a row which shows that they can perform more consistently than they had been pretty much up to this point. But it's still strange to me that it seems like some of the players, and the senior players at that, are having trouble fitting in to a role out on the floor for this team. I have to admit that i have been less than impressed with Durrell Summers play this season, now there have been rumors that he is dealing with certain things internally that he is struggling with which i can understand being a college student myself. But im sure even he was expecting a lot more out of himself this season, if anything he just wanted to do the best he could to help his team get over that final hurdle to a national championship. The Spartans win over the Gophers in Minnesota will definitely help their cause but they are not out of the woods yet, they still have a big game coming up against top ten Purdue at home on Sunday along with a their final home game against Iowa and the rivalry game on the road against Michigan to end the regular season. In my opinion a win against Purdue would guarantee the Spartans a spot in the dance but in failing that i think 19-20 wins will see them through.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world

Drew in the D

So Yea Its Been Awhile....My Bad

So its been probably a month or even a little longer since i have posted, but i plan on starting up again now that im getting back into the grove with school and everything. It's been a great week for the Wings who are now on a 5 game win streak and are looking very solid in all phases of the game once again. My Spartans are slowly but surely coming out of their season long funk picking up two crucial wins this past week including one over a ranked Illinois team. I am going to try and mix in some European football posts along with the Detroit teams since i am a huge footie fan and have been watching as many matches as i can lately, so be on the look out for that as well. That's about it for tonight (or should i say this morning) i'll be posting after the next Wings game on Tuesday along with the Spartans game on that day and you can catch my comments on Inter Milans first leg Champions League match against Bayern Munich on Thursday.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and congratulations to Todd Bertuzzi on game #1000

Drew in the D

Spartans Make It Two In A Row In OT At Home-Wings Split Home And Home With Columbus

Instead of writing about each game individually of the Detroit-Columbus home and home series i thought i could talk about them after the series wrapped up tonight in Detroit, i had know idea they would be so similar. Friday night was another game when the Wings didn't start "on-time", as head coach Mike Babcock likes to say, and the Blue Jackets took an early 2-0 lead. The Wings just can't get out of the way of this injury bug lately and it came up to bite them again last night when Jim Howard went down with an apparent knee injury (Howard is day to day with a sore knee) and net front presence Tomas Holmstrom left the game with a broken hand (Holmstrom is out for 3-4 weeks with the injury). The Wings kept battling and found a way to tie it up and send the game into overtime. Both teams would trade scoring chances in the overtime period and the game would be decided in a shootout which was the Wings 3rd shootout in 5 games. Joey McDonald came on in relief for the injured Jim Howard and didn't allow a goal until Antoine Vermette won it for the Blue Jackets.

Tonight was another game that the Wings didn't start "on-time as head coach Mike Babcock like to say with the Blue Jackets jumping out to an early 2-0 win (sound familiar?). This time though the Red Wings would tie it up before the end of the 1st period on goals from Valtteri Filppula and Drew Miller. The teams would trade leads and ties for the rest of the game Jonathan Ericsson, Brian Rafalski, and Kris Draper would add goals for their team to put them up 5-4 in the 3rd period. The most underrated player in the league and the one player that scares me the most as a fan Rick Nash scored with the goalie pulled to send this game into overtime (i feel like i've seen this before). But this time Johan Franzen would make sure that his team wouldn't go to another shootout when he scored on an absolute snipe shot off of a great feed by Zetterberg to win it for the Wings by a final of 6-5. The Red Wings head back out on the road on Tuesday when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Pen's in their new arena. The injury report update for both teams are that Jim Howard is thinking that he will be ready to go on Tuesday night and Sydney Crosby is still unknown with post-concussion symptoms.

The Spartans hoops squad had to come back and win in overtime in their last two games at home. First it was a gritty comeback win against Wisconsin on Thursday night with Draymond Green leading the way with another one of his double-doubles this season. This afternoon was no different, Northwestern gave the Spartans all they could handle in a game that saw over 10 lead changes. Draymond Green tied the game again on two big free-throws with under a minute to play before fouling out in the overtime period. Freshman and Senior guards Keith Appling and Kalin Lucas filled up the scoring column for their team today scoring 19 and 18 points respectively, the 19 points Appling scored setting his career high. Turnovers reared their ugly head for the spartans again today with the team turning the ball over 16 times, which gave the Wildcats way to many opportunities to stay in the game. The Spartans will try to carry the momentum they gained from these two overtime wins with them when they play Illinois on Tuesday night at Illinois.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and please beat the Jets tomorrow Patriots i can't stand Rex or any of his players.

Drew in the D

Wings Try To Make It 3 Comebacks In A Row Against Colorado, Come Up Just Short

The Wings made it interesting in the 3rd pulling to with in one but they couldn't find away to get the equalizer and lost to the Av's by a score of 5-4. Tonights game was another one where the Wings found themselves playing from behind giving up a 4-1 lead to Colorado in the 1st period. But they found away to claw their way back into the game scoring at the end of the 1st period to make it 4-2 and then scoring on a 3rd period powerplay to bring it back to a 1 goal game at 5-4. It just wasn't enough tonight though as they weren't able to find that last goal to tie it up and ended up losing their first road game in the last 7 games. The team has been hit by the injury bug with key players going down for lengthy periods, but Henrik Zetterberg hasn't seemed to be effected by this very negatively. Hank has been on a 11 game point streak since his Euro Twin Datsyuk went down with a broken hand, and had 2 points tonight to help his team try and get back in the game. The Wings will wrap up this long roadie with a home and home series with the Columbus Blue Jackets starting in Columbus Friday than in Detroit on Saturday.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and congratulations to the National Champion Auburn Tigers.

Drew in the D

Howard Makes Save Of The Year In Wings OT Win Over Vancouver

It was another gutsy win for the Wings Saturday night in Vancouver, when they beat the NHL's top team in overtime. Jim Howard had what could possibly be the save of the year when you robbed Daniel Sedin on a breakaway, snatching the puck out of mid-air just before it crossed the goal line while laying on his back. It was a hard fought game that ended 1-1 going into overtime. Franzen scored in regulation to tie the game up for his team and Jiri Hudler netted the game winner in overtime and give the Wings the extra point. Once again though it was Jim Howard that kept his team in the game and gave them the opportunity to win it for him by not only making the amazing save on Daniel in the 1st, but also making another great glove save on the other Sedin brother, Henrik. Its nice to see the Red Wings playing well and finding ways to win despite the major injuries to some key players they have to deal with right now, but i can't help but wonder how close these games really would have been if Modano, Filppula, and Datsyuk were in the line up.

Wings Douse The Flames In OT

Wings win 2 straight games in Alberta, beating Calgary 5-4 in overtime. A night before the Red Wings face off against the best team in the Western Conference in Vancouver they had to grind out a big win against the flames. For most of the game Calgary outplayed the Wings and the score showed that, until the 3rd period when Brian Rafalski tied it up on his 2nd goal of the season and the game. Howie was a little shaky in the first 2 periods but he picked it up and held strong between the pipe during a big 4-3 penalty kill in overtime to send it to a shoot out where he wouldn't allow a goal to help his team to 2 points. It wasn't all good news for the Wings tonight, yet again another key player went down with a serious injury. Brad Stuart's jaw was broken on a very dirty hit by Tom Kostopoulos in the 2nd period. The hit is probably (should) bring on a suspension for Kostopoulos but i couldn't believe that he was only assessed a 2 minute minor, what no 4 minute double or maybe a 5 minute major for that asinine hit on Stuart. Hopefully the Wings can stay healthy until some of their players get healthy and get back on the ice with the team. The team will take the short trip out to Vancouver to take on the 1st place Canucks at 10 pm.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and how about those Spartans beating #8 Michigan in OT.

Drew in the D

Wings Start Long Road Trip With A Win In Edmonton

After dropping two straight games at home the Red Wings were looking to get back on a winning track tonight in Edmonton. That is exactly what they did beating the Oilers 5-3 in the first of 5 road games the Wings have in their up coming schedule. The Wings opened up the scoring tonight when Henrik Zetterberg scored in the first period to give his team the early lead. The Red Wings would build up a 3-1 lead through the 2nd period only to give up 2 3rd period goals to allow the Oilers back in the game. The Wings has to of been thinking about losing their last two game at home and how bad of a taste that left in their mouth because they turned it on in the last 5 minutes of the game and took it to Edmonton. Bertuzzi and Helm would score about 30 seconds apart from each other to give their team a 5-3 lead with less than 3 minutes left in the game. Bertuzzi and Helm came up huge in the game both recording multi point game with 2 goals and 1 goal and 1 assist respectively. The teams win also gave Chris Osgood his 401st win of his career which now puts him just 2 wins behind his childhood idol Grant Fuhr in the all-time wins list. The Wings continue their second Canadian road trip on Friday when they skate with the Flames in Calgary.

I would be remiss if i didn't offer my opinion on how both of my Football teams finished on the season this past weekend. First the Spartans, what can i say it hurt to see my team get dragged through the turf up and down the field b a faster and more physical Alabama team, but i can't nuke the whole season just because how they performed in a post season "money" bowl. Yes i wanted them to win and yes i probably was jaded in thinking that they might actually have a chance against a team that is light years ahead of them in talent but Michigan State athletics is and will always be with the Red Wings my first loves in sports. 

Now as for the Lions, can we please get this new collective bargaining deal done NFL PLEASE!!! I need, we need...No Detroit needs this next season more than any sports team in any city in the world has needed a season. The way this team has come together and has been coached and guided in these past few weeks has been everything that i have asked for from this organization as a whole and that i have never gotten, until now.  There is a feeling within the Honolulu Blue Nation that there is a new day dawning in downtown Detroit at Ford Field the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel coming this off-season and in the 2011-2012 season. Our two best players have been our two best players all year, and to be honest they were the two best players at there position in the entire league this year. Calvin Johnson 77 catches for 1,120 yards and 12 Td's with three different quarterbacks and Ndamukong Suh with 66 tackles 10 sacks an interception and a fumble recovery for a touchdown in his rookie year as a defensive tackle. I know all the old guard fans will say oh its just meaningless wins that don't effect the outcome of this season. Well you know what FUCK YOU then if you can't get excited about winning after winning only 2 games in the past 2 seasons than you don't deserve to feel the joy and pride i feel for my team today. This team has started on a path to redemption this season, they didn't start out pretty but i think we can all agree even in those early season loses there was something different about this team than the past few, a mentality that they could not just play with every team but actually beat them and we saw that in the Philadelphia game and the Jets game. Yes we lost both games but there needs to be some perspective with a team that set the water mark for being bad in sports. Martin Mayhew and the management did a great job this off season of not only getting talented players here but finding players that would work in this kind of system and environment and even thrive in it. Jim Schwartz would probably admit this off-season that he made some rookie coaching mistakes this year that ended up costing a game or two for his team, but i don't think anyone can argue that he had his team running at top gear for every game this year especially in the last 4 that they won. In the first time in a long time i am excited yes even giddy to see what kind of moves Mayhew and Schwartz make in the free-agent market and the Draft this off-season to improve this teams chances of being even better this up coming season, so again i beg of you Roger Goodell and NFL owners PLEASE PLEASE!!! Get this deal done not just for Detroits sake but for all the NFL fans.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and thanks for a fun and entertaining football season Michigan State and Lions.

Drew in the D

Spartans Get Back On Track, Winning Their Big Ten Opener-Islanders Give Wings An UnHappy New Year

Losing in overtime to a now 11 win team isn't the way the Red Wings nor their fans wanted to ring in the New Year. But that exactly what happened tonight down at the Joe with the Isle's winning 4-3 on a powerplay goal in overtime. The Islanders goalie Dwayne Roloson helped his team carry a 3-2 lead into the 3rd period by coming up with big stops in the first 2 periods. Valtteri Filppula gave his team some much needed momentum going into the 2nd intermission when he scored with 8 seconds left to bring the Wings back to within one goal. In the 3rd period the Islanders were in full defensive mode trying to hold onto their slim 3-2 lead and Tomas Tatar made them pay by scoring his first ever NHL goal. The game would go to overtime tied at 3 and after the Islanders killed off about 1:30 of a Red Wing powerplay Henrik Zetterberg took a bad holding penalty to give the Isles their own powerplay which they would score on to end the game. The Red Wings seemed to have broken head coach Mike Babcock's cardinal rule of always starting on time by not getting going offensively until midway through the 2nd period and allowing the visiting team to build a 3-1 lead. It was fun to see the Wings mount a 3rd period come-back but im sure all the fans wanted to see a win tonight just like i did for New Years. The Wings will welcome in one of the best teams not only in the Eastern Conference but in the entire league and also one of their former players on Sunday when Ville Leino and the Philadelphia Flyers come to town.

The Spartans opened up their Big Ten title defense with a come from behind win against Minnesota today. It didn't start out the way the Spartans had hoped it would with them being down 28-22 at the half but they found their mark in the 2nd half. Michigan State outscored Minnesota 49-34 in the 2nd thanks in part to Durrell Summers leading the way in scoring for the Spartans with 19 pts. Draymond Green also had a nice game scoring 14 pts with 6 rebounds and 4 helpers to help his team to a win. Some positives that the team can take from this gritty win were getting 24 assists on 28 baskets and only turning the ball over 8 times, which had been a problem for the Spartans in the non-conference games. The team will enjoy this win on New Years day and get back to work on Monday when they travel to Evanston to take on Northwestern in the Spartans first Big Ten road test of the season.

Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! and good luck to the Michigan State football team tomorrow when they take on Alabama in the Capital One Bowl