Counter-Punch

(Photo courtesy of Julian H. Gonzalez/DFP)

Well, after the Game 1 tirade, things turned around on the nightcap and the Tigers held on to a 6-5 win with a kung-fu grip. In true Tiger fashion, this one wasn’t in the bag until the last fly ball landed in Raburn’s glove, but a win is a motherf****n win and I don’t care how we get them at this point.

Hat tip to Miggy (solo homer), Maggs (2 RBI), Inge (2 RBI), Grandy (Solo homer, even though he gave the run back on a badly played fly to center) and Fernando (clutch save).

A BIG “We’re not worthy” to Verlander, who ended up pitching eight innings deep to the tune of something like 398,271 pitches.

The only number that matters now is FOUR.

Hunker down, Tigers. Stay hungry.

The Good Stuff.

Yes, I get it. I’ve been a little quiet over the past couple of weeks. I didn’t get on here and tell you how excited I was that we beat Notre Dame. I didn’t get on here to complain about the Tigers looking like they might have run out of gas on their playoff run. I didn’t get on here and go crazy because the Red Wings are in the middle of preseason hockey.

But just because I didn’t write about it doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying it.

Folks, let me tell you something: right now is the most exciting time in the world to be a fan of Detroit/Michigan sports. There is so much going on that it’s almost unreasonable to expect to keep up with it on a regular basis. But this is our reward, this is our prize at the end of the rainbow. It’s funny that the summer, a time of relaxation, enjoyment and just general “feeling good” is for the most part a blank slate of sports. Summer, one of the most popular times of the year, doesn’t share the same enthusiasm for sports as the rest of us fanatics. Summer is our Sahara Desert. Summer is our barren landscape.

But now we have hit the tropical oasis. We have found the magical spring to quench our sports thirst. Drink up friends. The water is cool and refreshing.

The sweetest taste (for me) is obviously the rebound of Michigan football from last year’s mess of a season. With the right pieces in place, the Wolverines have already matched last season’s win total, scored as many points in three games as they did in six last year and have knocked off major foe Notre Dame. Now, the Maize and Blue head into the real deal: the Big Ten season. Every week will be a battle and there will be NO gimmie games. Have the Wolverines truly bounced back from the depths of despair, or is it just a mirage in a desert of uncertainty? I can’t wait to find out.

The Tigers, one season after finishing last in the division, are back in the thick of a division and playoff race. What a roller coaster ride they have been. Sometimes they offer the sweet taste of victory and the next night the bitter taste of defeat. But again, the ride is amazing. There’s nothing like the chase for the playoffs to stir the deepest echoes of fandom, and that’s exactly what the Motown kitties are doing for us right now. Can they deliver? Will they falter? I’m caught up in the anticipation and I’m letting it sweep me away.

And then there are our beloved Red Wings. Yes, they are only at the beginning of a journey that will hopefully last until June, but this campaign brings with it the need to justify their elite status to all those who have so quickly dismissed them. There’s nothing more fun than proving the doubters wrong and then laughing in their face afterwards, which is exactly what we have planned for this season. I can’t wait.

So sit back and enjoy my friends. This is an exciting time for all of us. One that is sure to be filled with ups and downs, trials and tribulations. But it’s not the destination, it’s the journey and I’m just happy to be walking down that road again.

Eaves inks a one year deal with Wings

TOTALLY late to the party, but the Red Wings finally got off the sidelines and landed a free agent when they signed forward Patrick Eaves to a one year deal yesterday. Mad props to George Malik over at MLive’s Snapshots who basically called this one on July 25th:

I look at someone like the player the B’s are buying out in Patrick Eaves, a 25-year-old who made $1.4 million last season and will receive a buyout of $933,333.34 spread out over the next four seasons (he had two years remaining on his contract), as someone that the Red Wings might take a stab at if he’s willing to play for a highly discounted rate. The 5’11," 190-lb. winger came into the league as a highly-heralded prospect for the Ottawa Senators, but he topped out at 20 goals during his first season and 34 points in his second, with his speed, skill, and forechecking producing very little since his trade to Carolina.

The Patrick Eaveses and Taylor Pyatts of the hockey world offer the kind of, "We’ll sign you to an entry-level deal if you do well in camp, and then we’ll see what you can do" punch that the Wings are looking for, with Dan Cleary serving as the best example of a player counted down and out of the NHL delivering on his promise, and Brent Sopel’s decision to turn down a contract from the Wings to head to Chicago and fade into the background as a non-playing millstone as the worst result.

Nicely done sir. However, since I never miss a chance to toot my own horn, I had a similar prediction over at WIM two days afterwards, albeit buried deep in the article.

I’d prefer to turn my attention to someone like Patrick Eaves or Taylor Pyatt, who both need to really prove that they belong at this level and would be willing to work through camp to land an entry level type deal, a la Dan Cleary.

Final move: Land Pyatt or Eaves to an entry-level deal worth between $500K and 750K.

Anyways, to the winner go the spoils and GJM upped me by two days. No hard feelings though, as I think all of us agree that this was the right move for the Wings. Here’s to hoping that Eaves pans out and gets it done next season.

Centennial Celebration.

So I’ve been MIA for the past few days trying to find the right way to commemorate the 100th post for SIM. I’ve kicked around a ton of ideas. I thought about pulling in some friends to comment on the miserable predictions I’ve made over the last 99 posts. I debated tossing out some more ridiculous predictions that will fail miserably and only serve to further damage my sports writing credibility. I even thought about using the 100th post to call it quits and spare each and every one of you from the endless drivel of Michigan sports that (of late, rarely) graces this site.

But then I started thinking about all of the times we have had together. Yes, things got off to a rough start as Michigan football bumbled their way to the worst record in school history. Michigan hockey looked to carry the banner for the maize and blue, but a disappointing NCAA loss to Air Force ended the season on an incredibly sour note. You hung with me as I divorced that joke of a team that marauded as the Pistons. And you bravely hung with me as I watched my beloved Red Wings come within a game of raising their 12th Stanley Cup, only to be denied on home ice.

Yes, it wasn’t pretty at times. But let’s not forget that, despite some rough patches, there were also quite a few highs. For the first time in over a decade, Michigan basketball made it back to the NCAA tournament, even giving us a first round win. The Tigers, a middle-of-the-pack pick by most experts at the start of the season, currently lead the AL Central. Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson, Curtis Granderson and Brandon Inge all made it to the All Star game. And, despite not bringing home the Cup, the Wings gave us a heck of a fun run through the Stanley Cup playoffs.

We’ve had our good and we’ve had our bad. And while it’s true that no championships have come home to Michigan since the inception of this blog, that doesn’t mean we won’t see any in the future. Winning a championship is an incredible feat and it never comes easy. If anything, the losses and shortcomings make you cherish those championship moments even more. They will come. And we will celebrate.

But in the meantime, I’m committed to enjoying the ride with all of you. These writings have forged new friendships and facilitated endless discussions. They have opened the doors to new opportunities and helped me embrace the passion of sports fans outside of the state of Michigan. But mostly, they have given me the chance to share something that I strongly believe in with a group of folks that share the same ideology: that sport can unite us, bring us together and provide us with incredible experiences and memories.

To each and every one of you that read this: Thank you. For all of those who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting through SIM and Winging It: Thank you. And for those of you that have passed my little corner of the blogosphere along to others: a HUGE thank you. The first 100 posts have been great and have led to wonderful experiences. Here’s hoping to even better over the next 100.

OK. Enough of the sappy shit. Let’s celebrate!

**Apparently, the Chicago Blackhawks couldn’t wait to give us our first present! According to Wyshynski over at “Puck Daddy”, our good friend Marian Hossa could be out until December with a shoulder injury. Which they knew about when they signed him. So basically, the ‘Hawks drop an injury risk in Martin Havlat to sign damaged goods in Hossa, all while shelling out more cash for him in the process.

*Slow Clap*

He’s the gift that just keeps on giving, ‘Hawks fans. Until you get to the playoffs, that is. ENJOY!

Curry Canned

Multiple local and national outlets have confirmed that the Pistons fired Michael Curry today, ending a tumultuous one season run that culminated in the ‘Stones going 39-43 and getting swept by the rival Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs.

Good riddance.

Curry was one of the big reasons I gave up on the Pistons this year. He always looked lost, his game plans were boring and he had ZERO respect from his players. In March, I pretty much gave up the ghost, when I wrote:

He has pretty much the same talent that his predecessors had (if not better), and the Pistons have floundered around the bottom half of the East for most of the season.

Quite simply, Curry sucked. I’m glad he’s gone. But please, Joe, don’t go out and hire Bill Laimbeer. If you do, I’ll be off the wagon just as fast as I jumped back on.

Series Wrap-Ups: Cubs, Astros – A day late…actually, a few days late.

42-33, 1st in AL Central (4.0 GU on MIN)

(Photo courtesy of David J. Phillip/AP)

I’ve pried myself away from the NHL free agency proceedings long enough to force myself to put my hands on the keyboard and type something other than “Marian Hossa”, “free agency” (whoops, wrote it above) and “salary cap.” So sit down, act like you care, and read these words (it will be short).

Well, the series against the Cubs went about as well as we could have hoped. The boys from the Windy City rolled in following our three game sweep of the Brewers, and proceeded to get swept right out of Comerica Park and back to Chicago. Honestly, this was a huge series for Detroit. It was an emotional series against a regional rival (city) and the Tigers delivered. What made it even more impressive is that they delivered in the face of adversity. None of the games were pretty and we had to claw back into two of them, but that’s the whole point: the Tigers fought through the adversity and dug out three wins at home. Frickin’ awesome. I’ll admit, I was finally starting to feel good about this squad after that series, but I tried to temper my enthusiasm, knowing we were about to embark on a road trip.

It’s a good thing I did, because once we took the field in Houston, everything went downhill. Pitching feel apart. Walks piled up. Rookie Alfredo Figaro basically threw batting practice in game two of the series. It was ugly. But, the Tigers were able to grind out a win in the final game and avoid the sweep, which is a solid moral victory for this team. Now I’m sure you are probably snickering and thinking I’m a sissy for dropping “moral victory” into a post, but guess what, I did. And I think it’s appropriate. This team has struggled with chemistry for much of the season, and they could have easily just folded up shop and hopped on the plane to Oakland as losers of three straight. But they didn’t. And that’s a victory in my mind. These are the character building games right now. It’s the final push to the All Star break, and the Tigers are still competing in the close games and finding ways to win. That’s a good thing. But I still want to see the Tigers put together a solid road trip. Hopefully, they can get it going with a trip to the struggling A’s.

*As I type this, we are currently down 6-1 in Game 1 of the series. Ugh.

On Deck: Oakland Athletics

• Record: 31-43 (4th in AL West, 11.0 GB of LAOCAASNC or LA Angels)

*Alyssa: I forgive you for wearing this shirt. I’ve put a Tigers one in the mail to you.

Monday, June 29

• Tigers – Rick Porcello (8-4, 3.55 ERA, 44 SO)
• Athletics – Brett Anderson (3-7, 5.74 ERA, 45 SO)

Tuesday, June 30

• Tigers – Armando Galarraga (4-7, 5.65 ERA, 50 SO)
• Athletics – Gio Gonzalez (0-1, 8.03 ERA, 13 SO)

Wednesday, July 1

• Tigers – Justin Verlander (8-3, 3.40 ERA, 124 SO)
• Athletics – Dallas Braden (5-7, 3.26 ERA, 64 SO)

Series Wrap-Up: Brewers – This Brew Goes Down Smooth.

38-31, 1st in AL Central (4.0 GU on MIN)

(Picture courtesy of Kirthmon F. Dozier/Detroit Free Press)

Well then! Apparently all it takes is a little ranting from yours truly, and all of a sudden the wins start piling up and the brooms get dusted off. Obviously, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but sweeping a division leader is something that is never easy. But the Tigers held fast, surviving a couple of rain delays on Friday, a rookie on the mound Saturday, and an old fashioned pitching duel on Sunday to get the sweep of the Brew Crew and get back on track in the standings.

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, though. Literally. Friday night’s game got underway with the threat of rain looming, and Armando Galarraga pitched like he was afraid of getting hit by a lightning bolt on the mound. The “Sick Cat” pitched the Tigers into an early hole, giving up a three run shot on a miserable changeup to Prince Fielder. Honesty, Galarraga just doesn’t have it right now and it’s really starting to show. Seriously, when he’s on the mound, does ANYONE feel like the Tigers have a chance to win? I sure as hell don’t.

Anyways, despite Galarraga’s best attempts to fail, the Tigers’ bats came alive and the baseball gods offered up a rain delay after the boys clawed back for a lead, mercifully ending Galarraga’s night. Marcus Thames popped a pair of home runs, and Miguel Cabrera and Curtis Granderson added their own, fueling the Tigers to a 10-4 win.

Coming into Saturday’s affair, all of the talk was around 24 year old starter Alfredo Figaro, making his major league debut. However, the storyline quickly shifted to the re-energized Tigers’ bats, led by Thames and Cabrera, who both went 3 for 5 on the day. Add to that rookie Don Kelly adding three hits, and the Tigers offense was officially back in the swing of things (no pun intended.) This is not to take anything away from Figaro, though, who performed very well in his first start, going five innings while giving up two runs on eight hits and striking out seven.

With a sweep on the line, both squads trotted out their aces on Sunday, as Justin Verlander squared off against Yovani Gallardo. Neither pitcher disappointed, as they both threw late into the game and struck out eight each. But it would be Brandon Inge’s sixth inning home run that would be the difference in this one, giving the Tigers a 3-2 win and a series sweep to boot.

Like I said earlier, this was a big sweep for the Tigers. Not only did it give them a four game winning streak *knock on wood*, but it was a real confidence booster for a team that has struggled to sustain any sort of momentum throughout this season. That said, any momentum earned over the last four games will be put to the test when the Cubs come calling, and the Tigers will need to play to their full potential to win what is all but guaranteed to be a fun and entertaining series over the next few days.

Roster movin’: The Tigers will recall right-hander Freddy Dolsi before tonight’s game. Dolsi appeared in 42 games for the Tigers last year, and had a 3.97 ERA. (I also gave him many shouts of Budweiser infused encouragement last year during a warm-up session in the Safeco Field bullpen. Not that this has any bearing on his call-up. Just thought it was worth a mention.)

Also worth noting, Jim Leyland has said that he will move Alfredo Figaro in between Verlander and Edwin Jackson in an attempt to provide the bullpen with more regularity when it comes to their appearances.

And just because I forgot to mention it this weekend, Skippah’ Jimmay signed himself a two-year extension, ensuring that that ever-present cloud of Marlboro smoke in the dugout tunnel isn’t going anywhere.

On Deck: Chicago Cubs

• Record: 34-32 (3rd in NL Central, 2.5 GB of St. Louis)

Tuesday, June 23

• Tigers – Edwin Jackson (6-4, 2.39 ERA, 72 SO)
• Cubs – Carlos Zambrano (4-2, 3.44 ERA, 59 SO)

Wednesday, June 24

• Tigers – Rick Porcello (8-4, 3.54 ERA, 41 SO)
• Cubs – Rich Harden (4-3, 5.27 ERA, 64 SO)

Thursday, June 25

• Tigers – Armando Galarraga (3-7, 5.62 ERA, 45 SO)
• Cubs – Ted Lilly (7-4, 3.04 ERA, 75 SO)

Series Wrap-Up: White Sox – Grind and Survive.

33-27, 1st in AL Central (4.0 GU on MIN)

(Photo courtesy of Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)

I hate when the Tigers go on the road to Chicago. Nothing against the city whatsoever, but it’s always a brawl when we head into US Cellular field for a series against the White Sox. And more times than not, we come out on the wrong end.

This time around, things went a bit differently. Despite playing five games in the Windy City in order to make up a rain-out from earlier this season, the Tigers slogged and fought their way to a series win, taking three of five from the Sox. But it wasn’t pretty, and the Tigers have some decisions to make about their roster and who is going to be a contributing member of it.

First and foremost, Jeremy Bonderman is nowhere close to being ready to return to the starting rotation, let alone the big club’s roster. Bondo pitched the second game of a doubleheader on Monday and got shelled. He was only able to go four innings, throwing 85 pitches, and gave up six runs on eight hits. The problem? Three of those runs were home runs. Bondo also struggled with his control and velocity, only topping out at 90 MPH and leaving pitches up in the strike zone.

The obvious question is “now what?” Well, it looked like the initial plan was to put Bonderman in the bullpen until he was actually ready to return to the rotation, but that looks like it might be off the table. After being optioned to Toledo on Monday, Ryan Perry looks set to re-join the team when they arrive in Pittsburgh. Since he didn’t complete his 10 day stint with Toledo, that can only mean that someone from the current roster is headed to the DL. I have to believe it’s Bonderman, given that his ineffectiveness would keep him out of the rotation, and because he has never really worked in a bullpen role. We’ll know more when the team gets to Pittsburgh, but my money is on a quick trip to the DL for Jeremy.

As far as the rest of the series goes, it wasn’t EXACTLY business as usual, but it worked. Armando Galarraga had a decent outing in a “no decision”, Justin Verlander threw a complete game win, Dontrelle Willis was his usual roller coaster ride and Edwin Jackson cooled off a bit.

Offensively, it was Adam Everett (Adam Everett?!?!?) who had the big weekend, going 5 for 9 and driving in four runs, including a solo home run, which was only his second of the season. Brandon Inge also showed some flashes of his early season brilliance, and hopefully it’s a sign of things to come as the season keeps chugging along. But it wasn’t all peaches and cream for the Tigers, as Clete Thomas was sent back down to Toledo again. Jim Leyland said it was to work on his bat speed, as Thomas’ recent power surge has been supplemented by a surge in strikeouts as well. Replacing him is youngster Don Kelly, who has been a hitting machine for the Mud Hens, batting .339 with three home runs and 22 RBI’s. He will get the start in left field tomorrow.

On Deck: Pittsburgh Pirates

• Record: 28-32 (5th in NL Central, 5.0 GB of Milwaukee)

Oh goodie. More sports against Pittsburgh.

Friday, June 12

• Tigers – Rick Porcello (6-4, 3.98 ERA, 36 SO)
• Pirates – Ian Snell (1-6, 5.54 ERA, 45 SO)

Saturday, June 13

• Tigers – Armando Galarraga (3-6, 5.19 ERA, 44 SO)
• Pirates – Zach Duke (6-4, 3.07 ERA, 44 SO)

Sunday, June 14

• Tigers – Dontrelle Willis (1-3, 6.60 ERA, 16 SO)
• Pirates – TBD

Series Wrap-Up: LA Angels – Punch ‘em right in the mouth.

31-25, 1st in AL Central (4.0 GU on MIN)

(Photo courtesy of Duane Burleson/AP)

**FYI: Record has been updated to reflect the Tigers beating the White Sox in Game 1 of their doubleheader today. WOO!!!

So the last time we checked in with the Tigers, they had just been swept by the Red Sox, Jim Leyland got himself tossed from a game, the doubters were out in full force and the Los Angeles Orange County Angels of Anaheim and Surrounding Neighborhoods and Communities were on their way into town before the Tigers embarked on a week-and-a-half long road trip.

The Tigers needed to bounce back strongly and get some wins.

The answer started with Justin Verlander, who pitched another fantastic game in the opener, but got let down AGAIN by sub-par hitting from a mashed up lineup due to Miguel Cabrera’s hamstring injury. Verlander’s work was good enough to keep the team in the game, but Fernando Rodney came in and gave up a run, and with the sub-par hitting, that was enough for LAOCAASNC to escape with a 2-1 win.

Knocked down again.

But what do you do when you get knocked down? You get back up and punch that dude right in his mouth.

Detroit’s counter-punch? Edwin Jackson. The KO punch? Clete Thomas. (Clete Thomas?!?!)

Despite suffering from the same lack of run support that plagued Verlander, Jackson put the team on his back and just took over on Saturday night (and Rodney didn’t blow this one.) And on Sunday, Clete cleared the bases with a grand slam as the Tigers started to locate the offense.

KO delivered. Tigers take the series.

Look, the series win was important for the Tigers, despite being less than aesthetically appealing. The Tigers are in an interesting position where two to three games a week, they are going to get good/great pitching and then to to three games a week they will put up solid batting numbers. When those two line up, the Tigers win ball games. But the rest of it is a crapshoot.

I know Leyland is making an attempt to generate some offense by moving Curtis Granderson back up to the leadoff spot and adding in the newly rehabilitated Marcus Thames for some additional power. But I don’t think that is going to cure the inconsistencies of this team. The real trick for Jim is to find a way to start small with this team. This is NEVER going to happen, but they need to focus more on hitting for singles and sacrifices, and maybe even *GULP* the occasional bunt or two. Sacrilege, I know. Yes, the Tigers will always have power and yes, that power is a great thing, but yes, that power disappears from game to game and yes, if we stick to the power game for the entire season, we might finish somewhere around .500.

Anyways, it’s a thought. Maybe try it out one night when Verlander or Jackson is on the mound since nine games out of 10 you are going to get a top notch performance from them. I’m just sayin…

One last thing before we go: Jeremy Bonderman returns to the bump tonight finally. This could be interesting, as most of the folks that regularly cover the Tigers say that Bondo doesn’t have that “umph” back in his velocity, which means he should be less overpowering and more crafty.

Kenny Rogers, anyone?

On Deck: Chicago White Sox

• Record: 26-31 (3rd in AL Central, 5.5 GB of DET)

Monday, June 8 (DH)

Game 1

• Tigers – Armando Galarraga (3-6, 5.31 ERA, 41 SO)
• White Sox – Clayton Richard (2-1, 3.97 ERA, 34 SO) **Yes, THAT Clayton Richard. As in the Clayton Richard that used to be a backup on the Michigan football team. Whoa.

**Since the game is over and I already updated the records, here are the resulting lines for each guy. Joel Zumaya got the win for the Tigers, BTW. Rodney, the save.

• Galarraga: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO, No decision
• Richard: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 4 SO, No decision

Game 2

• Tigers – Jeremy Bonderman (0-0, –.—ERA, – SO)
• White Sox – Jose Contreras (0-5, 8.19 ERA, 17 SO)

Tuesday, June 9

• Tigers – Dontrelle Willis (1-3, 6.84 ERA, 13 SO)
• White Sox – Mark Buehrle (6-2, 2.91 ERA, 46 SO)

Wednesday, June 10

• Tigers – Justin Verlander (6-2, 3.26 ERA, 97 SO)
• White Sox – John Danks (4-4, 5.10 ERA, 54 SO)

Thursday, June 11

• Tigers – Edwin Jackson (6-3, 2.16 ERA, 62 SO)
• White Sox – Gavin Floyd (4-5, 5.35 ERA, 66 SO)

We’re Back In The Finals (and to daily blogging!)

(Photo courtesy of Carlos Osorio/AP)

I’m back from an excellent vacation and feel rested and ready to go. What does this mean for you, the reader? Probably not much, but I like to fool myself into thinking that my writing will be miraculously better after some R&R. Anyways…

In case you’ve been living under a rock or been religiously tuned in to prime time television on a major network, the Red Wings defeated those pesky Chicago Blackhawks last night to win the Western Conference and head back to the Stanley Cup Finals against our old friend Cindy Crosby and his Pittsburgh Penguins.

First, a tip of the hat to the Wings for getting it done without Nick Lidstrom, Kris Draper, Pavel Datsyuk and Jonathan Ericsson. That said, HURRY UP AND GET BETTER! With the Finals starting on Saturday, and Game 2 the next day (Thanks Uncle Gary!), the depth of the Wings will need to be exactly that: DEEP. It’s no secret that Crosby and his trusty sidekick Evgeni Malkin will probably cause some problems with their speed and playmaking abilities, but the depth of the Wings remains their greatest asset and will be crucial in leveling the playing field against the Pens.

Which brings us to the big question: Who will be lugging the Cup around the ice when it’s all said and done?

If you believe the media, go ahead and give it to the Pens right now. Krista Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press has already pulled together a formidable plethora of opinions, and the common belief is that the Wings are too banged up, too tired and just generally too overwhelmed by the superpowers of Crosby and Malkin. Apparently, it’s also destiny that the Pens win, as evidenced by the incessant references to the Oilers knocking off the Islanders dynasty in the Mid 80’s. And lest we forget, poetic justice MUST be served to Marian Hossa, who left the Pens after last season to come to Detroit to pursue his goal of winning a Cup.

My turn.

Yes, the injuries are worrisome. And while many folks will point to the shorthanded efforts put forth in Games 4 and 5 against the Blackhawks, it’s realistic to believe that the Wings will struggle to sustain and win enough games to clinch the Cup while rolling four main defensemen. But, all signs point to Nick Lidstrom being back in the lineup on Saturday, and Jon Ericsson is shooting to skate with the team on Friday, with his return coming, at the latest, on Tuesday for Game 3. Offensively, Datsyuk appears to be getting better each day, and is just waiting to get his step back before suiting up. I expect to see him by Game 2 at the latest. I honestly doubt we will see Kris Draper again in these playoffs, but Justin Abdelkader and Ville Leino have done a solid job filling in for him.

Next.

Oh yes, the “timing” issue. Due to Uncle Gary being under the thumb of NBC, the only way the NHL was getting network coverage was if the games were played this weekend. While it’s not an ideal situation for a tired team, this isn’t the death knell that some are making it out to be. Both teams have played back-to-back games before. Both teams will be tired after Game 1. There’s nothing we can do about it. Suck it up, Wings. Adjust your game plan to control the puck, slow down the pace of the game and stay away from dumb penalties.

Next.

“It’s destiny that the Pens end the Wings dynasty. Just like the Oilers did to the Islanders.” For the love of all things hockey, PUH-LEEZ. If the Pens win this series, it has nothing to do with some sort of “hockey destiny.” The past is the past, and let’s leave it at that. However, recent history for teams looking to repeat as Cup Champions isn’t quite as favorable. Both Dallas and New Jersey lost the Cup in the Finals after winning it the previous year (Dallas: ‘99-‘00, NJ: ‘00-‘01). Fine. But let’s not forget that this year’s Wings squad has bucked seven years of history by clinching two series at home when they hadn’t done that since the ‘02 Finals. Point? You can make history say anything you want. Someone will write history in this series and his has nothing to do with what happened in the past.

Next.

Marian Hossa didn’t get along with Michel Therrien’s system. He left. It happens all the time in this league. Yet everyone still wants to make this all about Hossa vs. the Pens. Get over it. The Pens have. They realized that he wasn’t working well with Therrien, and he decided to make a move that was good for him. It just worked out that Therrien got the boot and the Pens made it back to the Finals. Hossa’s there too, and he’s not complaining or making a big deal out of it. Neither should you.

OK, that’s that. I’ve addressed all of the story lines that are permeating the Interwebs today. Now, you probably want a prediction.

I’ll say this: The Canes, Caps and Flyers are most definitely NOT the Jackets (ok, maybe), the Ducks and the Blackhawks. Has Pittsburgh been tested? In their mind, sure. In mine, eh. Yes, they are good enough to beat the Wings. Yes, the Wings are good enough to beat the Pens.

So what happens?

I’ll letcha know…