Bummer.  You know what would be neat?  Wait, no, nevermind, Holland shot that down pretty quick. 

From reading the article and comments here you’d think the intention was to replace Marian Hossa with Brad May.  I’ve got news for you Avalanche fans, Brad May’s replacing Aaron Downey, who spent all of last year in Grand Rapids.  Marian Hossa/Jiri Hudler/Dallas Drake/(insert decent player’s name here) he’s not.  He’ll probably fill Downey’s shoes just fine though.

Don’t be.  We’re two games into the season.  Lookit - Edmonton and Vancouver are looking pretty stressed out too.  Does that make you feel better?  No?  Well, I tried.  Give it time, I’m not even going to speculate about options down the line if we struggle in goal - they’re there, but we’re not there yet.  At least if we struggle with goaltending we’re not locked into anything for the rest of the millennium like Vancouver or the Islanders.  Yes, call me a homer but I’d rather have Osgood/Howard for a year than be locked into Luongo for the next 12 at $6.75 million per year

Why is the NHL opening its season in Europe every year?  The fans are in North America.  I can see how it looks kinda neat on paper, but I can think of a hojillion at least three reasons why this is a bad idea:

1.  The atmosphere of the games isn’t very exciting, the crowds just aren’t that into it. 
2.  Flying the players across the Atlantic a few times in early october has to be brutal on them, especially the Wings, who’s average age is what?  75?  You’d think so anyway if you only read rival teams’ blogs
3.  It takes away from the home fans who can only watch the first game of the season by either flying to Sweden or taking a day off of work to sit down and watch a 3pm Friday afternoon game.

Maybe (probably not) I would have a different attitude if Detroit had actually won a game in Stockholm instead of blowing 2 goal leads (twice!) and getting it handed to them.  I’m looking forward to them leaving the losing streak in Europe.  I will, however, miss the swedish dudes doing the play-by-play

Dan Cloutier. I sat by silently when the wings signed Jason Williams and Todd Bertuzzi.  But Dan Cloutier?  Dan Cloutier?!!?!?  Now, word on the street is that Dan requested a spot at the Wings training cap.  Knowing that the wings didn’t necessarily seek him out makes me feel a little better… but DAN CLOUTIER?  Hey, I know, let’s invite… let’s invite… shit, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather not have wearing read and white than Dan Cloutier.  If Jimmy Howard can’t beat out Dan for a backup spot next year… we’re so screwed.

Yes, this is a red wings blog, but we feel great scheudenfraude in seeing the Sharks get eliminated in the first round.  This week we have a very special guest blogger - Chris Crocker - aka “the leave britney alone guy” to express his dismay at some of the negative press that Joe Thornton has been getting in the blogosphere lately.

How fucking dare anyone out there make fun of Joe after all he has been through!

He has a groin injury and the ducks were really fuckin tough

His teammates turned out to be not much help and nabokov was never a very good goalie.  All you people care about is… readers and making money off of him.

HE’S A HUMAN! (ah! ooh!) What you don’t realize is that Joe is making you all this money and all you do is write a bunch of crap about him.

LEAVE HIM ALONE! You are lucky he even performed for you BASTARDS!
LEAVE JOE ALONE!!!  Please.

Brian Engblom talked about professionalism and said if Joe was a professional she would’ve pulled it off no matter what.

Speaking of professionalism, when is it professional to publicly bash someone who is going through a hard time.

Leave Joe Alone Please…. !
Leave Joe Thornton alone!  right now!  I mean it!

Anyone that has a problem with him you deal with me, because he is not well right now.

LEAVE HIM ALONE!

Because I noticed Nick’s comment from a week ago, because I love Super Bowl prop bets, and because today I’m not working on that project that stops me from posting here from work (ha!, as if I would post from home, that’s my free time)...the mighty return of

The Ro-Pick System!!!!

According to my calculations, the Ro-Pick System is up $500 Ro-Dollars for the year after a pretty brutal finish...so here’s where we make it all up...on retarded Super Bowl Proposition Bets!!...and a few legit ones…

The Game…
ARI +7

46.5--OVER--

PIT -3 in the 2nd half

4th Quarter OVER 13

Springsteen plays “Born in the USA” at the half--2/1

Coin flip--HEADS

1K Ro-Dollars on each...all winners...all the time…

The Ro-Pick System!!

After a week on vacation (St. Barts) the Ro-Pick is back for some more eeeeeeasy money!

Not so great in week 12, 1-5, Jose’s girlfriend put a cruse on my computer, so that’s that.

The Ro-Bank is now up 1.5k Ro-Dollars for the year...here we go:

MIN -10
ATL +3
CLE +15
MIA v BUF over 42
KC +9.5
SF +4

/crosses fingers

Our winning ways continue here at the number two sports handicapping service in my house! (Number one is the Daisy-Pick System)

The Ro-Pick System went 3-2-1 last week bringing our winnings for this year up to 3.5k Ro-Dollars.

These are #%%^ing results you can’t argue with!!!

Stop trying to argue with them.  I guarantee you won’t win the arguement.  Ro-Pick -6.5 at Your Aruguement!!!!!!!!

teh pixxors…

The greatest rivalrty in the history of November!!

THE University of Michigan +21

...and the pros

BAL even
PHI at BAL under 39.5
TB at DET under 42
STL +9
NYJ at TEN over 40

There it is...like a gift card from your aunt to Applebee’s...free money!!

The Greatest Sports Handicapping System of all times is back!!

After going 4-2 last week (despite the haters!!), the Ro-Pick System is now up a fantastically Gi-Normus 3K Ro-Dollars!!

If you bet a million dollars on every piece of advice I gave, you’d be up 6 million dollars!!!!

But you’re not, ‘cause you didn’t, ‘cause you’re an idiot!!!

Basketball--Tonight!
Pistons +10

Fussball--Sunday
DET at CAR Over 39
GB -3.5
KC +5.5
MIA -10
BAL vs NYG Over 40

Can you smell what the Ro-Pick System is cooking?!!!!

Stir-Fry and $crilla!!

The wicked awesome blog Fire Joe Morgan, where “Bad Sports Journalism Comes To Die”, is closing its doors. This really does sadden me.  This is one of just a few blogs I read with regularity.  The fellas over there got it done with out the sex and scat and sensational things some of the other guys use (not that I’m not entertained by that too).  All they did was tear apart brutally bad baseball journalism with a quick wit and a Bill Jamesian philosophy.  Their site was one of the reasons I thought it would be cool to do SODS.  I even bought the tshirt. So goodbye FJM, you’ll definetely be missed.

What the hell was that?  How are you going to blow a 5-2 lead like that?  I was seriously thinking until about halfway through the third period:

“They’re not playing too bad, this is more like what I’m expecting out of this team”

Let’s talk about the first 80% of the game.  Detroit didn’t look too bad.  They had a little bit of secondary scoring out of McCarty.  Franzen netted one from Hudler and Samuelsson.  Osgood looked alright

And then, the shit.

Datsyuk falls apart, forgets that there’s 12 minutes of hockey left - whoops, make that 17.  Even lidstrom looked shaky during the end there.  Penalties, traffic in front of the net.  Horrible.  Simply horrible.

Alright, so I’m not sure how to solve these defensive problems we’ve been having, but they’ve been across the board.  You wouldn’t know it from the record but this is ugly.

A few immediate concerns:

1. I gave Dan Cleary a hard time but he did have blurry vision in one eye a litle while back and it clearly hasn’t gotten better since he’s scratched with an “eye infection.” In order for the team to do well, they need reasonable production out of guys like Cleary, Filpulla, Samuellson, and Hudler.  it’s just not happening consistently enough.
2. Zetterburg’s talent is being wasted.  He needs some time rotated onto the first line.  He need some time with either Datsyuk or Hossa.  Franzen is fine if you want to keep him next to Henrik, but rotate Datsyuk or Hossa into the spot occupied by Cleary/Filuplla/Hudler/Samuellson once in a while.  Just try it.  Jeez.  Switch up Homer and Franzen.  Juggle up that first line, do something, Henrik is getting the shaft

Did anyone else notice Kirk Maltby getting time on the second line during that last game vs. New Jersey?  Does that speak about how well he’s playing or how relatively unimpressive Dan Cleary and Mikael Samuelsson have been?

And how about Brett Lebda getting scratched again?  Well, that’s probably not as much in the mass hysteria category.  I wonder how much he was shopped around at the beginning of the year.  There’s a lot of teams that he could be a second liner on, but Detroit?  Not so much.

Quick recap of the rest of the Wings/Devis game:

1. 20 minute fight
2. Hossa is awesome
3. Stick save osgood
4. Hossa is awesome

Coming off another HUGE week!!  The Ro-Pick System was 4-2 including the correct prediction of the President Elect!!

The Ro-Bank is now up 2k Ro-Dollars!!  HUGE hUgE huge!!!!

Do you like money?  Yes?  Then go sell these paintings/cologne with cold calls.

...or…

Invest in the number one sports handicapping system in Southeastern Ferndale!!  The Ro-Pick System!!

TEN -2.5
DET +7...and the over (43.5)
GB +2.5
STL @ NYJ...over (44)
OAK +10

The Ro-Pick System does it again!!

The number 4 sports handicapping system in the universe is back!!

And we’re up 1k Ro-Dollars due to last week’s make-up picks...congrats to the Phightin’ Phils on their championship, and my ca$h money made upon their success.

This week’s winners:

DET at CHI o/u 43.5....over
BAL +3
OAK +3
NE +6.5
DEN -3
Obama -700 (3.5k to win 500)

The Ro-Pick System does it again!!