119 Predictions Revisited - Part I

The Institution is back!

Let me get this out of the way now and let it be known that I am not leaving the fine Gentlemen over Winging it in Motown.  I will still be doing some writing over there this summer and over the course of next season.  Unless they fire me for writing here instead of over there...which if that's the case...screw you Casey, Graham, and J.J.  I never you liked you guys that much anyway.  Then again, if they don't fire me, ignore everything I just wrote.  Except Casey.  Screw him either way.  

So by now everyone must be wondering why I'm back posting here.  Truth is, I felt like I needed to get back to my blogging roots and fulfill the world's needs of more Brendan Smith love.  This blog has a rich history dating all the way back to July 9, 2010 and the legacy that is the BSI must continue to grow.  

Last offseason, I presented the world with 119 predictions for the 2010-2011 season.  I'll admit right now, I'm just as shocked as you that I didn't get all 119 predictions correct.  Over the course of the summer, I plan to look back on my 119 predictions and reflect and wonder what the hell I was thinking when I made these.  Today is the first installment of this blockbuster summer series.  There is no schedule for when these time capsules of awesomeness will be released.  I will post them when I feel like it throughout the summer.  

Let's get down to business.  Today I look back at the first 14 predictions for the 2010-11 season.

1. Jimmy Howard will not have a sophomore slump.
This one is debatable, but because this is my blog and I make the rules.   His regular season numbers (2.79 GAA, .908 SV%) weren't spectacular, but his 37 wins were second in the league.  Plus, his postseason was outstanding.  I dare you to tell me that this team cannot win a Stanley Cup with Jimmy in net.  He proved his postseason doubters this year.  Jimmy, Pavel, and Nick were easily the three best players in the postseason.

2. Brendan Smith will play at least one game this season.
Sadly, this prediction did not come true.  I did get a chance to see Smith play in Grand Rapids this year though (a 4-3 win over the Marlies.  Smith registered an assist).  I have a feeling this AHL All-Star will be making the big club sooner rather than later i.e. next season.  Thanks Brian!

3. The biggest losing streak the Wings will have all season is three games.
The Wings lost 3-straight games twice this season  Both times at least one of the three losses went to OT/SO.  So the team never went pointless.  Their longest losing streak was 4-straight games (@ANA, @SJ, @PHX, vs LA).  The loss to the Ducks occurred in OT and the loss in Phoenix was in a shootout.

4. Detroit will have four all-stars this season.Nope.  Just one...Captain Nick.  The Perfect Human led Team Lidstrom (second best team name in all of sports behind Red Wings) to a 11-10 victory over Team Staal.  Lidstrom registered an assists in the game and was a plus-7.  Let me say that again...PLUS-7...in a freakin' all-star game where no one plays defense...not even the goalies.  Perfect numbers from TPH.

5. Nick Lidstrom will be a Norris trophy finalist. 
Nailed it.  Lidstrom was 2nd in scoring among all defenseman.  He was third in assists and tied for fourth in goals.      Lidstrom's 62 points was the 6th highest point total in his career.  I personally expect a 7th Norris trophy.  

6. <----- the number of overtime losses for the Wings.
I was off by 4.  The Wings had 10 overtime/shootout losses this season.

7. No playoff series involving Detroit will go seven games.
Yup.  Missed this one too.  I'm glad though, getting this prediction correct would mean that the Wings didn't fight back against the Sharks.  I'll take being wrong here.

8. Abby will win a fight.
Abby won more than one fight...I'm pretty sure.

9. GUEST PREDICTION: Jesse Liebman from Last Call Sports and The Good Old Hockey Show - "Mike Modano will put up 35+ points." 
15 points in 40 games for Modano.  If he doesn't get hurt, I say he hits the 35 point mark.  

10. <----- the number of games the Lions will win......just kidding! I prediction six wins.
Six wins for the Lions...crushed this prediction.  Ladies and gentlemen, expect 9 wins this upcoming season (if no games are missed due to the lockout).

11. I honestly have no idea which Danny Cleary we will see this season, but I hope it's the healthy one that can put up 20 goals. 
68 games?  That's relatively healthy for Buckets.  26 goals?  A career high. Nailed this one.

12. The Wings will win every home opener that they are involved in.
Wings lost 4-1 in the Stars' home opener.  I blame Modano.  Also, just retire Mike.  Don't come back again.  Skate off into the sunset with Willa.  This offseason, I'm Nodano...more like NO-NO-NO-HELL NODANO.

13. Detroit will win the first ever game at the Consol Energy Center.
Wings lost 5-1 and Brooks Orpik can suck it.

14. Hank will continue to shut down Crosby.
He didn't have to because David Steckel took care of Sid for everyone.

So by my count, through 14 predictions, I have a mean record of 4-8-2 (Correct-Incorrect-Push).  Not the best record in the world, but I'm just a slow starter.  I always finish strong.  

14 down.  105 to go.

Let's Go Red Wings.

This isn't goodbye, it's see you later

This is a bit overdue, but the Brendan Smithsonian Institution is now temporarily closed for the season.  It's been great ride writing here since July and I truly appreciate everyone who read my blog.  No worries though, as you all probably know by now, I will be writing over at Winging it in Motown for the foreseeable future.  In my humble opinion, WIIM is one of the premier Red Wings blogs on the internet and it's honor to be able to write for them.  For those of you still hoping to get your Brendan Smith fix, don't worry, Casey interviewed him yesterday and the post is now up at the new digs.  I still plan to follow his season down in Grand Rapids and will have updates at WIIM.  Once again, thank you to everyone who helped me get this blog started.  The playoffs are right around the corner...Cup number 12 is in our sights.

Winging it in Motown

Let's Go Red Wings.

Hey! Look what I can do!

I was checking out A2Y the other day and lo and behold, Malik had posted a bunch of highlight videos from various websites. I noticed the NESN video, decided to take a look, and realized, hey! I edited those highlights and created those fonts! So yeah...check out my work above if you haven't already. I didn't do the editing for the whole video, just the actual game highlights, but I did create the score font and the name fonts for the Naoko and the player sound at the end. I also created the full page graphic at the end entitled "Swept Away."  It was one hell of a enjoyable weekend watching the Wings crush the Bruins and demoralize their fan base.  They might be better at baseball, basketball, and football, but we still own Beantown in hockey.

We're taking on Team Stevie on Thursday.

Brad Stuart days until H2H2 (and he may return Thursday or Friday too).

Get pumped.


UPDATE:

At the pregame meet up in Boston for Red Wings fans, I was interviewed by the Red Wings official Hockeytown Blog about my blog, all blogs, social media and more.  Figured I might as well post this and share in case you haven't seen it.




Let's Go Red Wings.

Round two

Photo by Stuart Cahill

THE GAME

Boston Bruins (31-17-7) @ Detroit Red Wings (33-16-6)

I'm headed into work early today to cut the highlight of this game for our nightly 10p ET show.  It's going to be a nice long 10-12 hours day (Overtime! And I don't mean the Versus show).  What is there to say about this rematch?  The Red Wings absolutely destroyed the Bruins (...and their fanbase) on Friday night.  Nothing like watching the fair weather B's fans  collectively jump off the bandwagon as quick as they jumped on after the brawl-filled Montreal game last week.  The die-hards are still there though and Friday was just one game.  I fully expect Boston to want some revenge and they'll play much better than they showed last game.  Babcock calling out the Wings means absolutely nothing if the team only shows up for one game and then reverts back their old habits.  Let's hope it's just like February of 2008 when the Wings went on a 1-8-2 stretch from February 7-29.  After that they finished the year 12-3-1 and went on to win Lord Stanley's Cup.

THE EXPECTED LINE-UP

Johan Franzen - Henrik Zetterberg - Todd Bertuzzi
Jiri Hudler - Pavel Datsyuk - Danny Cleary
Kris Draper - Darren Helm - Patrick Eaves
Drew Miller - Justin Abdelkader - Tomas Holmstrom

Nicklas Lidstrom - Niklas Kronwall
Johnathon Ericsson - Brian Rafalski
Jakub Kindl - Ruslan Salei

Jimmy Howard (starting)
Joey MacDonald

Injured: Valtteri Filppula (knee), Chris Osgood (groin), Brad Stuart (jaw), Mike Modano (wrist)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• Tim Thomas gets the start in net in his home state.  My guess is that it will take the Wings more than two shots to score two goals...or maybe not?
• According to NOHS, we might be seeing some Winter Classic sweater action tonight.  I'm a fan of the Wings' classic sweaters and the B's yellow classic sweaters.  I love the fact that Detroit doesn't have a third jersey, but I welcome this once a season. 
• It's the second game of the H2H2 pledge drive.  I've already pledged $26 thanks to Hudler's first goal of the season and $11 for Friday's game.  Today I'm pledging a $1 for every Red Wings goal, $5 for a win, an additional $5 for a shutout, and $15 if Rig fights Chara. 
• Speaking of H2H2, we're Darren McCarty days from the big event.
• And finally, living in a city full of homer Bawhston fans, it was great to watch them shut up and have absolutely no comeback for anything.  It's always, Pats are the best this, or KG is the man that, or Red Sox will win the World Series, well, it was good to see them humbled after a pure ass kicking in their own building.  My Lions might never win, the Pistons are in ownership turmoil, and the Tigers could be good or flounder again this season, but at the end of the day, the Red Wings are the model organ-i-zation in hockey and all of sports.  That's one thing I've always had over Boston fans...and I'd like to keep it that way. 

BRENDAN SMITH

The Griffins lost 2-1 in a shootout to the Lake Erie Monsters.  Smith had two shots on the night and that was it on the score sheet.  He's got 8 goals, 14 assists, and a +5 rating in 41 games played so far this season.

Let's Go Red Wings.

Welcome back, Red Wings hockey

What a night.

Such an awesome feeling watching my team come into the city I live in and absolutely dominate the hell out of the Boston Bruins.

The night started at local bar near the Garden.  The Red Wings hosted a pre-game party on the road and it was without a doubt a success.  At least 90 people showed up throughout the evening and the top floor of the bar was filled with nothing but Red Wings' fans.  Hopefully, the Wings will do this again on more road trips.

I had the chance to go to the game with work.  At 6:30p ET, I knocked on the door of the Red Wings' broadcast booth and had to get Larry Murphy so we could head down to the suite where we broadcast the Bruins' pre/int/post game shows.  He was doing a guest segment for us.  Our producer spent some time producing the Wings' pre/post game shows in the early 2000s when the were based out of Seattle with Mickey York and Angie Arlotti.  He had worked with Murph when he first started out and also worked with John Keating too.

When I got Murph, Ken Daniels was not in the room.  So I unfortunately did not get a chance to meet him.  There were also no hot dogs in the booth.  Murphy was a lot bigger than I expected.  He was extremely nice.  We had to go from the 9th floor to the 5th floor.  He had a huge pile of notes that his eyes were buried in.  There was some small talk, yada yada yada, and all that, but ultimately, I didn't want to bother him too much while he prepared for the game.  He crushed his segment for NESN and I took him back to the elevator and back up to the 9th floor.  Thanks him again and that was that. 

I should mention that I road in the elevator twice with Khan and once with Cam Neely.

The actual game was awesome.  By now you've read recaps over at other blogs, so I won't do a straight up recap.  I spent the game in the suite watching the game with our producer, Barry Pederson, and Mike Milbury.  We picked out specific plays and goals to breakdown during intermission and to use for replays.  It was a really cool experience.  Pederson was a nice guy.  Milbury didn't really talk to anyone but Pederson, Tappen (the show's host), and the producer.  At one point during a Datsyuk shift and yelled over to our producer, "He's amazing!" and had awe inspiring smile on his face. 

It was pretty somber in the suite once the second period hit.  I heard many comments from Bruins' fans like "They're just so good at passing the puck through people and keeping control," and I heard comments like, "They never fight.  This sucks."  There were more comments about how good the Wings were than how much "they sucked" though.  Late in the third a lot of Bruins fans hit the exits and the red took over.  A few "Let's Go Red Wings" chants.  Not sure if it was heard on TV or not.  I received an email from a former producer from where I interned, he said, "If the B's and Wings played in a 7 game series...the Wings would win in 3."  That pretty much summed up the night.  I'm just glad the Wings of old showed up and dismantled the Bruins and put them back in their place.  If the Wings go on a roll here and do end up winning the Cup in June.  I think we can look back on this game as a turning pointing in the season.  I can't wait to go into work today with my Shirtuzzi, '08 Cup hat, and maybe my Yzerman sweater. 

Let's Go Red Wings

Win. This. Game.

Photo credit: The Triple Deke via TPL (Check out the ugly jerseys)

THE GAME

Detroit Red Wings (32-16-6) @ Boston Bruins (31-16-7)

This is a big game (to me at least).  It's MY team against the team that owns 20% of the company I work for and we cover on a nightly basis.  This really is a MUST WIN and it is in no way going to be easy.  The Wings have been flat and awful lately.  You might be able to argue that they haven't been THAT bad, but guess what?  It's the Red Wings and I'm a die hard Red Wings fan.  I have very high expectations for this team and losing 3 out of 4 and turning in performances like they did on Wednesday is...well..."unacceptable."  It doesn't help the Bruins are playing well right now either.  They had their mini brawl against the Stars last week, their all out brawl with the Habs two nights ago, and have won 4 of their last 5.  They're saying all the right things about these two upcoming games, saying that no matter how the Wings are playing that they're still an elite team and one of the best.  There is no doubt in my mind this game is a measuring stick to them.  Let's knock them down a couple notches.

THE EXPECTED LINE-UP

Johan Franzen - Henrik Zetterberg - Todd Bertuzzi
Jiri Hudler - Pavel Datsyuk - Danny Cleary
Kris Draper - Darren Helm - Patrick Eaves
Drew Miller - Justin Abdelkader - Tomas Holmstrom

Nicklas Lidstrom - Niklas Kronwall
Johnathon Ericsson - Brian Rafalski
Jakub Kindl - Ruslan Salei

Jimmy Howard (starting)
Joey MacDonald

Injured: Chris Osgood (groin), Brad Stuart (jaw), Mike Modano (wrist)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• Former Plymouth Whaler and current Boston Bruin Tyler Seguin will once again be a healthy scratch tonight.  Seguin has just flat out not played very well this season.  Also, keep an eye out for Brad Marchand.  He's a real, good young player.  Works hard every night. 
• Still no Filppula tonight, but we get Holmstrom back for a second game.  I would really like to see him do some damage on the power play against Timmy Thomas tonight.  
• You think it was tough scoring against Nashville and Columbus with our lackluster effort? Boston leads to league in goals against.  Crash the net and crash it hard.  Solid puck movement.  Forecheck.  Shoot.  Shoot.  Shoot.  It's got to be all about effort tonight in the offensive zone.  Boston's D is good...but it's not unbeatable. 
• Tonight!  It's the first game of the H2H2 pledge drive.  I've already pledged $26 thanks to Hudler's first goal of the season.  For the next two games against the Bruins, I'm pledging a $1 for every Red Wings goal, $5 for a win, an additional $5 for a shutout, and $15 if Rig fights Chara.
• I don't hate the Bruins, but I hate them tonight and Sunday.  I will be in an EXTREMELY foul mood if the Wings do not show up tonight.  Pre-game meet-up with Red Wings fans in Boston from 4-7 tonight.  I'll be making a brief appearance and then heading into the game with work.  I'm "helping out" with pre/post/intermission production tonight and will have to watch the game from the suite where we broadcast from.  I'm not sure exactly how everything will all work out, but stay tuned.  Could be a fun, interesting post coming late tonight or tomorrow.

BRENDAN SMITH

Not to forget the namesake...He's ready to return after missing eight games with an injured shoulder. 

Let's Go Red Wings.

Blogs Rule

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today, February 6, 2011, the day of Super Bowl XLV (whoopdee doooo), I have just turned 23 years old at the turn of the clock at midnight tonight (today?).  I think it's time to reflect.

First off, I need to thank @JillianRM for being the greatest girlfriend ever and taking me out to dinner/to the bar at 11pm when I got off work and surprising me with all my friends (and for ordering me an H2H2 shirt as a gift.  Seriously, what an f'n awesome gift).

I've been writing my here at BSI since July, but I've been lurking around all the Red Wings' blogs for the last few years.  I still rarely comment, but I can assure you...I'm reading.  The first Wings' blog I stumbled upon was The Triple Deke.  I don't think I ever stopped laughing.  Shortly after, I found my way to Snipe Snipe, Dangle Dangle.  From there I ventured my way to Winging it in Motown (NOTE: If Casey, Graham (loved Hole in the Door), or J.J. are reading this, seriously, if any of you stop writing at that site or need someone to fill in or want to add another writer, let me know.  I'm shamelessly throwing myself out there.  I've always dreamed/really wanted to write for WIIM).  And from there I found myself reading Nightmare on Helm Street and their awesome movie posters and shared hate for the Chicago Blackhawks.  Of course, there was/is Babcock's Death Stare.  Seriously, someone link me to a better blogger who covers the Wings' prospects and future.  I dare you.  Kyle owns that territory imo.  I hope he comes back soon.  I still can't thank him enough for his efforts in helping me get an interview with Brendan Smith.  I hope he's still kicking major ass with the Griffins. 

Then there is the one and only, The Production Line.  What can I say? Those guys are the be all, end all when it comes to Red Wings' blogs.  Whether it was their game previews, the loss candy, Shetuzzi, posts written by drunk Disch about midgets, I could go on and on.  And then of course, Disch and Petrella decide to add Hollis to the mix.  Their like the New York Yankees Detroit Red Wings of blogging teams.  They have THEE greatest Red Wings blog on the entire planet...ever...in the history hockey blogs.  Don't forget their Red Wing podcasts either.  Name me a better Red Wings' podcast...that's right...you can't.  Suck it to those who tried.  It's impossible.  And with all of that said, other than Andy (from Fight Night at the Joe.  Awesome blog), I can't wait to actually meet Michael Petrella at H2H2.  I owe him a ton for welcoming me into the Red Wings' blogosphere.  When I had questions...he answered them.  When I thought about starting my own blog...he encouraged me.  Hell, when I had random ass questions about the real world and applying for a job after college...he was there to help me out and motivate me to go fucking get it (and thank you, I absolutely fucking love my job at NESN.  I can honestly say I've never been happier...well that is until I become the producer of Detroit Red Wings games on FSD.  It will happen.  Just give me 5-10 years).  It just goes to show you the true character of Red Wings' fans. 

And to those I haven't mentioned yet, you're all included in this post.  My twitter friends/followers...@mserven (I still owe you that beer at H2H2 for the hockey socks!), @inhyung, @thetinnishflash, @lolabythebay, @lizzlefoshizzle, @whoabot, @baroque97, @jennyquarx , etc, etc, etc.  You guys all make every Wings' season that much more enjoyable.  And there is Matt at On The Wings and George formally of MLive and now posting at A2Y (okay...okay...TPL might be the best blog, but you can't argue that Malik is the best out there.  Even TPL will agree).  I know there are so many others I failed to mention, but I promise.  I read you all. 

I know I have been AWOL, but I promise to get back to blogging on a regular basis.  I've finally gotten adjusted to the new job and working late hours.  And on top of it all, I'm oh so very tempted to come up with a pitch/idea for the NESN.com website to write for them.  They have plenty of Bruins' coverage, but I'm thinking of trying to come up with a Western Conference view type blog for their site.  They're open to employees writing for their site.  If you have any ideas, please, don't hesitate to send them my way (bsiblog2@gmail.com). 

Oh yeah, we've lost two in a row...shutout in both games.  It's a slump.  They'll be okay.  I'll make sure of it on Friday when I'm at the game (with press credentials...I'll keep you posted).

Let's Go Red Wings. 

Hey February...Bring It On

I can't wait to see that smiling face on Wednesday

I would like to use this post to send a special thank you to the sports television industry for making me nocturnal. 

It's the middle of the night and I'm wide awake.  I couldn't sleep with the TV on.  I couldn't sleep to the noise of drunk college kids running up and down the stairs of the apartment building.  And sadly, I couldn't fall asleep with the sweet, sweet sound of Mr. Chris Hollis' voice in my ears on the latest edition of TP:60. 

So what is one to do? 

Well, crack open a nice Boston lager in the middle of the night and write a much needed post for my sad, oh so very sad looking, dormant blog.

I have to get something off my chest.  I feel like I'm stealing money at my new job.  There is no way in hell I should get paid for what I do.  Is it really considered a job if you look forward to going into work everyday?  I hang out with other sports fans, talk about sports, and help produce a sports show.  But who cares about me.  This isn't the Jeffsonian Institution.   It's the Brendan Smithsonian Institution.  It's a damn Red Wings blog. 

These days I watch the games on DVR when I get home from work between 11:30p ET and 1a ET.  The downside of working for the the network that broadcasts the Bruins is that we cover hockey and it's very hard to avoid the score of out-of-town games.  So I generally know the outcomes of the games before I watch them.  What can we say about this team?  Since Datsyuk went down on Dec. 22 against the Canucks (I hate you Mikael Samuelsson), they went 9-5-2.  Of course, I always want this team to go 16-0-0 every 16 games, but that's not possible.  When you throw in the fact that the Wings also lost Cleary, Stuart, and Holmstrom for most of that stretch...and Filp, Jimmy, and Eaves at times, I'll sure as hell take 9-5-2 and 2nd place in the West at the All-Star break.

But let's not forget what we enjoyed during that 16 game stretch.   We saw Darren 'Danger' Helm take his game to another level.  We were all witnesses to Hank carrying this team on his back at times.  Patty Eaves scored a hat trick.  We saw a glimpse of what the kids (Tatar, Mursak, Emmerton) down on the farm are made of.  And speaking of farms, we saw the next great WWE tag team champions, the Mac Attack (MacDonald, McCullom)...alright so maybe we didn't enjoy those few days, but at least that led to us raising some money for the children (Thanks Evgeni!).

And now it's time to turn the page on that calendar.  My favorite month of the year, February, is almost upon us.  In a few days some of the wounded will be back and here's what we have to look forward to:

@ Ottawa - A game this team should win.

vs Columbus - Another game this team should win.  Time to put the little, little, little, little brother to bed.

@ Nashville - The biggest threat for the division?  Should be a good game. 

vs NY Rangers - Original 6 match-up against a team that I personally believe could be a dark horse going forward in the East.

vs Nashville - Another game against the Preds.  A potential 8 point swing with two victories.

@ Boston
vs Boston - A home-and-home against the team from the city I live in?  These two are MUST WINS on my list.  The Wings better show up in both of these games with two 60 minute efforts.  This Boston team has potential.  They're going to be up for these games to prove themselves.  I want...nay...I need Detroit to show up and dominate the hell out of the B's.  I currently don't have tickets (they're crazy expensive) and I am scheduled to work the night of the game in Boston, but have no fear.  I'll be there one way or another.  I'm in the process of switching days with a co-worker to get that night off and, thankfully, I work for the network that airs the local games and is partially owned by the Bruins.  I'm working on getting a credential for the game.  Stay tuned.  ALSO, I don't want to forget, the Red Wings are having a pregame meet-up in Boston before the game on Friday, Feb 11.  If you're in the city and you're a Wings fan...be there.  You don't need a ticket to the game to attend.

@ Tampa Bay - Hockeytown South.  This will be a fun game.

@ Florida - Yawn.  Win.

@ Minnesota - Yawn (because they're boring).  Should be a win.

vs San Jose - Let's beat the Sharks and make sure they miss the playoffs...and then laugh.

vs Dallas - Top 3 teams in the West.  Should be a good contest.

@ Buffalo - This team is not very good, but has been playing better lately.  Should be a win.

@ Los Angeles - Not sure how this team is tied for 10th in the West.  LA is always tough.  (PLUS! This is the NHL trade deadline)

So enjoy Team Lidstrom destroying Team Staal tomorrow today (Team TPL FTW), go create your ugly third jerseys, and enjoy some Red Wings hockey.  It's almost February, which means it's almost March, and April is right around the corner, and before we know it the playoffs will be here.

Let's Go Red Wings.

An update from out east

It has been extremely slow here at BSI the last few weeks.  In fact, this is my first post in about two weeks.  I just wanted give everyone an update about what is going on with the blog and what to expect in the future.

Around the beginning of November, I applied for a job at New England Sports Network and went through a series of interviews with the company throughout the rest of the year.  On December 16th, I completed my degree in broadcast journalism at Emerson College.  A week and a half later on December 28th, I received a call from NESN offering me a position with the company (I happily accepted).  On the 29th, I bought a car.  On the 31st, I went to the Red Wings game.  On the night of January 1st, I drove back out east to Boston.  It was a crazy two weeks at home in Michigan.

I started at NESN on Monday and will be going through some training the rest of the month.  I'm a production assistant so I will be doing a ton of editing highlights, VOs (voice-over), SOTs (sound on tape) and more.  I'll also get to work on graphics and updating The Edge, which is the ticker that runs across the bottom of the screen with stories and score updates.  I'll be doing a lot of my work for NESN Daily, the Bruins' pre- and post game shows, and the Red Sox pre- and post when their season arrives.

As of right now, I plan to essentially put the blog on hiatus while I adjust to the new job and being a real adult.  I will try to post as often as I can, but my top priority right now needs to be my work at NESN.  I'm really excited and, so far, my first two days have been great.  It's going to be a stress-filled, busy, crazy-hours-of the day, awesome job.  But I'm happy as hell right now.  It's like fulfilling part of a life long dream...I can truly say that I get paid to watch sports. 

I appreciate everyone who has read BSI since it's debut last July.  This isn't a goodbye...It's just a see you next time.  I'll still be around on Twitter as much as possible and will probably comment much more over at The Production Line, Winging It In Motown, etc. when I can.  And last but not least, the good people over at TPL have invited me to join them for the next edition of TP:60.  Hopefully we can make it the best episode yet.

Let's Go Red Wings.

It's going to be a Grand night

Photo by John Kosak

THE GAME

Toronto Marlies (16-12-0-4) @ Grand Rapids Griffins (13-14-1-4)

Yup, you read that correctly.  This isn't a preview of the Red Wings' game.  It's a Griffins' preview.  Why you might ask?  Well, I'll tell you why.  I'm home in Michigan and I'm making the trip to the west side of the state to see the namesake himself (and his teammates of course).  The Griffins find themselves in last place of the North Division.  They take on a Marlies team that is in second place in the division, but only five points ahead.  The Griffs would surely like to make up some ground in the standings before Christmas. 

THE EXPECTED LINE-UP BASED ON LAST GAME'S LINES (thanks to Griffinscentral.com)

Tomas Tatar -- Ilari 'Larry' Filppula -- Jan Mursak

Jamie Tardif -- Jamie Johnson -- Frances Pare
Jordan Owens -- Joakim Andersson -- Chris Minard
Pare/Minard -- Brent Raedeke -- Brandon Straub

Brendan Smith -- Derek Meech
Doug Janik/Greg Amadio -- Jakub Kindl
Sergei Kolosov -- Logan Pyett

Joey McDonald
Thomas McCollum
(Who know's who is starting tonight)

In the press box: Brian Lashoff, Willie Coatzee

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• Everything.  I'm jacked up to go to my first Griffins' game.
• Hopefully friend of TP:60 Ilari Filppula and Tomas Tatar can keep up their friendly scoring race against each other.
• I have no idea at the moment which goalie is starting, but I'd personally like to see McCollum in net
• This is schedule to be the last game of Jakub Kindl's conditioning stint in Grand Rapids.  Enjoy it, Jakub.  Sadly, he's probably headed back to the Leino Lounge when he gets to Detroit.
• Francis Pare needs just one more goal to become the 14th player to score 50 during his Griffins career.

BRENDAN SMITH

Of course, I can't forget the namesake.  I'm looking forward to watching him play for the first time in person.  Smith's 19 points (7g, 12a) tie him for 10th among AHL rookies and 11th among defensemen.  His seven goals tie for third among all blueliners (credit: Griffinshockey.com for the stats).  Brendan, if you're reading this or someone you know is reading this, score a goal tonight while I'm in attendance!

MLive.com posted a video recently in their "Getting to know the Griffins" series.  Their latest interview?  Brendan Smith.  Check it out.

Let's Go Griffins.

My night on press row...diary style

My press credential

Thanks to my good friends at my internship, I was given the opportunity to have full press credentials for the Capitals vs. Bruins game.  It was a great experience overall.  And I decided to write a running diary of my night.  Enjoy!

6:10 p.m. ET: Walked up to the TD Garden like I owned the place and said, "Jeff Hancock, WHDH Sports."  Of course, I get a response saying, "you're not on the list."  So I whipped out my WHDH 7Sports I.D. card and BAM! The guy writes me a credential (NOTE: my internship is now officially over, but I still have my I.D. card.  I could totally take advantage of this situation).

6:15: Headed to the press room.  I didn't recognize anyone.  Just a bunch of old guys with gray hair wearing some sweet NHL blazers.  They look important.  I'd love to have one of those blazers. 

6:20: Arrived at my seat on press row.  Seat number N4-2.  I'm sitting so high that I'm above all the banners.  The Garden is beginning to fill up.

Free food

6:27: I'm consider press tonight.  You know what that means?  Free food.  I head over to grab some popcorn and soda pop (That's right New England...I said pop, not soda.  Deal with it).  As I'm walking past the NESN broadcast booth, I run into Andy Brickley.  Not literally though.  No sign of Jack Edwards.

6:45: Both teams have been warming up for awhile.  No signs of HBO cameras.  Some players will be mic'd up though.  No sign of Gary Bettman either.  Although, I doubt he's here.  Probably in Pittsburgh.  I'm really looking forward to watching Ovechkin live.  As I write this, he's taking one timers off passes from Backstrom.  Ovie, Carlson, and Green are the last guys off the ice.

6:50: I decided to go to the bathroom before the game begins.  There are two urinals in the bathroom.  Guess who's using one of them?  Jack Edwards.  I literally took a leak standing next to Jack Edwards (and no, he does not laugh like a mad man while he pees).  After I washed my hands, he sticks his hands under the water and looks at me and says, "GEEZE! This water is ice cold! You think they'd warm this up! It's like they ran it through a refrigerator!  It's colder than what comes out of the ground!"  We had a very, very brief exchange about the game after that.  The man might be crazy, but he's a nice guy.

7:00: Bruins pre-game video montage with Trans-Siberian Orchestra music and crazy Jack Edwards calls.  Awesome mix.  Nicely done, Boston.

7:08: The puck is dropped.

My view from press row.

7:14: All B's early on.  A quick Caps' turnover...Wheeler to Bergeron.  Bam.  It's 1-0 Bruins.  After watching 24/7 on HBO, this doesn't look good early on for Washington.  I can only imagine the F bombs from Boudreau and the blank stares in response from his players.

7:20: Ference shot is blocked.  Comes right back to him.  It's 2-0 Bruins.  Timeout for the Caps.  They're in trouble.  Garden is loud.

7:22: Right off the faceoff, McQuaid and Bradley got a full 12 rounds.  Real good fight.  McQuaid wins.  Garden is even louder.

7:25: Ovie with a great chance right in front.  Thomas stoned him.  Just announced that it was Ference's first goal in 99 games.

7:30: TV timeout...more free pop and popcorn for me.

7:34: Ovie getting huge boos every time he touches the puck.  Silly Bruins' fans.  They must think he's Crosby.

7:38: Wheeler scores and it's 3-0 Boston.  The Caps look horrible.  Can you fire a coach during a game?  Ove's line was on the ice for the goal.  Backstrom snapped his stick in half over his knee in frustration.

8:01: Second period is underway.  More Ovie booing.  Green just got smacked into the boards face first by Chara.  He went down.  Play was stopped.  Skated off and went to the dressing room (he would return).

8:04: Seguin stoned on a breakaway.  Caps go the other way and score.  Bradley gets it.  It's 3-1 and the Caps are showing signs of life.

8:09: Caps go on the first PP of the game.  Ovie hits the post.  If you ever get a chance to see him live, just watch his movement on the ice with or without the puck for an entire shift.  It's fascinating. 

8:28: Much better period for the Caps, but how 'bout a goal to make things interesting?

8:33: Colin's kid with a nice chance.  Good save by Neuvirth.  He was hurt on the play.  You could almost hear is groin tearing from press row.  Surprisingly he's okay.

Tons of stats given to me before the game and after each period.

8:54: Third period is a go.

9:03: Great Caps' pressure all period so far.  Ovie and Backstrom two chances point blank in front of the net and Thomas stops them both.  Need a goal soon to stay in this.

9:10: The Bruins' do an extremely nice job of blocking shots.

9:18: We have ourselves a ballgame!  Alzner scores from the point.  It's 3-2 with 5:28 to go.

9:19: Two fans literally just climbed over the glass and ran on the ice!  Unreal.  I've never seen that before at a hockey game.  They didn't get to far though.  Running on ice isn't the easiest thing to do.  Refs grabbed them pretty quickly. 

9:24: Headed down from press row on the 9th floor to the dressing room area on the 3rd floor.  As I got off the elevator, the two clowns who jumped the glass were in handcuffs and getting in the elevator.

9:26: Met up with my photog Myron.  Looks like he's right off the old crappy Islanders' sweater.  He's a real life Gorton's fisherman.

9:30: (watching game on TV in press room now) Ovie somehow goes in all alone! Stoned by Thomas with 10 seconds left.

9:32: Bruins win 3-2.

9:35ish: Headed inside the B's dressing room.  Collected sound from McQuaid, Bergeron, Thomas, and Wheeler.  I took crappy video on my cell phone, while the photog got the quality video for the station (My crappy video is below.  You probably can't even hear what the players are saying.  The arm with the stripped shirt?  Yeah, that's me.)

McQuaid

Bergeron

Thomas

9:54: Had the opportunity to speak with Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe.  Made sure to thank him for doing an interview for my hockey show that I did for my class.  He's a ridiculously nice guy.

9:57: Press conference with Claude Julian.

10:05: Grabbed the tape from Myron and literally ran back to the station.  My producer needed the tape fast to get the sound edited in time for the sports hit in the 10 p.m. newscast.  My cross-country background helped out here.

10:15: Sat down and went over the sound.  Helping pick out the good bites for the newscast.

Afterward, I stuck around to observe the 10 and 11 o'clock sports segments from the control room and finally headed home around 11:40.  A great last day at my internship and a great experience.   

VOTE SMITH

Red Wing fans have power.

We've brought Herm 2 Hockeytown.

We've gained attention in our Lidstrom for Hart campaign.

We've helped our friends at The Production Line in getting our curly fries back.

...And we're not done yet, Wings' fans.

It's time to vote Brendan Smith into the AHL All-Star game.

Voting for the AHL All-Star game begins tomorrow at noon.  You can vote on the AHL's website or on the Official American Hockey League Fan Page on Facebook.  Much like the old NHL all-star voting, fans vote for the starting line-up of the Eastern and Western Conference teams.  A committee of AHL coaches will select the remaining All-Stars.  All 30 AHL team will be represented.

Smith has six goals and nine assists in in 25 games.  His 15 points is good for a tie of 9th overall in AHL scoring among defensemen.  Smith is in 4th place in scoring among defensemen in the Western Conference.  The three players ahead of him are all tied with 16 points.  He's only a point away from being the top scoring defenseman in the AHL's Western Conference.

Let's do it, Red Wings' fans.

It's time to vote Brendan Smith into the starting line-up of 2011 AHL All Star game in Hershey, PA.


Let's Go Griffins.

I want it all...and I want it now

I watched both these games into the wee hours of the morning on the DVR.  On Friday night, I was in Providence, RI covering an AHL game between the P-Bruins and the Connecticut Whale.  The Whale won 3-1.  Former Griffins Kris Newbury (2 assists) and Jeremy Williams (goal) had solid nights.  I had a chance to speak with Williams after the game.  Nice guy.  You'll be able to watch the highlights in my hockey show.  I'll post the link here when it's completed.  On Saturday night, I was out shooting another package for a different show....but enough with my personal life that no one here cares about...let's talk some Red Wings.

I hate the Ducks.  It's always great to beat them and even better to shut them out.  Jimmah was absolutely fantastic.   I can't say enough about the defense either.  Petrella over at TPL nailed it. 

There’s a lot of talk about how poorly the defense is playing, and I respectfully disagree. This will be familiar if you read the Spaceballs pre-game, so apologies for that, but there’s a difference between playing weak defense and playing efficient defense. No one should expect to have their goaltender face fewer than twenty shots in any given game. If that happens — and it does — it’s a combination of exceptional circumstances, and probably says more about the horrid offense of the opposition than the stellar defense of your squad. Allowing 41 shots sounds like a lot, but Howard saw each and every one of them clearly, and was able to play them well. When there was a rebound or a scrum, his defense was there to mop up. I’d happily take 40 unobstructed low-percentage shots over 15 quality opportunities every night of the week.

And while we're on the topic of defense...can we talk about the pairings?  Uncle Mike's decision to shuffle the pairings at the beginning of the year has been pure genius.  Obviously,  Lidstrom and Stuart are your top pairing, but there really isn't a 2nd or 3rd pairing.  It's pair 2a and 2b.  Is there a better 2nd/3rd D pair in the league than Kronwall/Salei?  Or Rafalski/Ericsson?  Big Rig has been better than anyone could have predicted before the season started.  I don't know what it was, but something must have just clicked for him while he was out with his back injury.  I love how you can make the case that each pairing has skill type defenseman and a physical type defenseman -- Nick (skill)/Stuart (physcial),  Kronner (skill)/Salei (physical), and Rafalski (skill)/Ericsson (physical).  These combos have just flat out worked so far.  The solid play from the defense is making Jimmah look better out there and Jimmah's excellent play is, likewise, doing the same for the D.  They're a solid, in-sync unit right now.

I hated the overtime goal in last night against the Kings.  I keep wondering if maybe that goal doesn't happen if Franzen doesn't stuttered before beginning to back check.  Maybe he gets back in time to help of the D and picks up the late man.  I thought at times the Wings were running around in their own zone, not connecting with clean passes, and it just looked like the last game of a western road trip and the second game in two nights.  With that said though, they still played well enough to get a win.   That's what is great about this team this year.  Even when they're not on top of their game they can still pull out a W. 

Speaking of Ws...can this team get to 63?  Last night, Ken Daniels mentioned that the Wings were 30-5-4 in their last 39 regular season games.  That record now stands at 30-5-5 in their last 40.  That is an insane pace.  If you take the Wings record this season (17-4-3) they're on pace to go 58-14-10 for 126 points.  If everyone stays relatively healthy, there is no question that the Wings have enough depth and talent on this team to make a run at it.   At the end of the day though, the team will not be judged on regular season record or success, but whether they're raising Lord Stanley's Cup on the last day of the post season.

I want it all though.  I want the records.  I want the trophies (Lidstrom for Hart).  I want the Cup.


Let's Go Red Wings.

Game #23: Disney and the Ducks

This picture is for you, Hollis.

THE GAME

Detroit Red Wings (16-4-2) @ Anaheim Ducks (13-11-3)

It's only fitting that after the genuinely awesome and ridiculous conversation on the latest episode of TP:60 that the Wings are facing a team that used to be owned by Disney.  The Ducks have a little streak going. They've won three straight and Bobby Ryan has six goals in his last six games.  However, Detroit has also won three straight, but the Wings are only 3-8-1-1 in their last 13 games in Anaheim.   What does this all mean?  I have no freakin' clue...but I think we can all agree that Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf suck.

THE EXPECTED LINE-UP

Pavel Datsyuk - Henrik Zetterberg - Tomas Holmstrom

Todd Bertuzzi - Valtteri Filppula - Johan Franzen

Jiri Hudler - Justin Abdelkader - Danny Cleary

Drew Miller - Darren Helm - Patrick Eaves

Nicklas Lidstrom - Brad Stuart

Niklas Kronwall - Ruslan Salei

Johnathon Ericsson - Brian Rafalski

Jimmy Howard (starting)

Chris Osgood (charting face-offs)

In the press box: Jakub Kindl (healthy scratch)

Injured: Kris Draper (groin), Mike Modano (wrist)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• Randy Carlyle will whine about something.
• Teemu Selanne is a game time decision...I suggest he sits out.  Kronwall will be playing and, last I checked, he's a "dangerous player."
• Fighting.  There will probably be a fight at some point tonight.  Keep your gloves on, Pavel.  I'd like to see Abby rip the mustache off Parros' face though.
• Yesterday, I bought a carton of milk at the grocery store.  Jiri Hudler's picture was on it.
• I hate the Ducks. 

Let's Go Red Wings.

Midterm Evaluation

No, this isn't a post giving each Red Wings' player a grade for their play so far in the season...but Mikael Samuelsson gets a F because I still hate him.  I don't care if he's not on this team.  I don't like him.  In fact, if you do a Google image search of "Mikael Samuelsson sucks" the first picture that comes up is me giving him a thumbs down at the 2008 Stanley Cup championship parade.    It's not quite Sports Illustrated...but I'll take it (Also, mad props to TPL!)

This post is about the Brendan Smithsonian Institution.  It's has almost been six months since I started this blog and I'm always looking for ways to make it better.  I get some comments every now and then, but I'm really looking for some feedback from my readers.  What do you like?  What do you dislike?  What can I do better?  Is there anything you want to see more or less of? 

I also want to use this post to let everyone know that things will probably be a little slow around here the next week or so.  I have two weeks left of my college career and my work load is pretty stacked.  For my final journalism class I have to produce my very own news program.  I'm doing a 30 minute sports show called "New England Hockey."  I've got a lot of stuff about the Boston Bruins for the show.  Thanks to my internship at the sports department of a local news station here, I was able to get a lot of great footage of the Bruins' practice and locker room sound.  One of my reporters is doing a package on Marc Savard's return from injury.  My anchors will also have a phone interview with Kevin Paul Dupont from the Boston Globe.  There will also be some AHL stores.  I've had a Manchester Monarchs vs. Worcester Sharks game covered and will be going to cover the Providence Bruins vs. the Connecticut Whale this Friday.  I'm hoping everything turns out awesome.  I've got a lot of writing and editing to do in the coming days. 

I'm going to do my best to get some game previews up, but I don't know how much time I'll have to write the post game wrap-ups and other stories.  With that said, our good friends over at The Production Line, Fight Night at the Joe (Hey Andy!), and Winging it in Motown will have excellent recaps to fulfill your needs while I'm busy. 

My New England Hockey show tapes on the 9th and I have to have my editing complete by the 16th.  My internship is giving me full media credentials for the Bruins/Capitals game on the the 18th.  I plan to do a post around that.  I may do a live blog and updated as the night goes on or maybe a live chat. I'm flying home to Michigan on the 19th and plan to have some great upcoming posts while I'm home on Christmas break (Although is it a break if I've graduated?  Isn't that just called unemployment?).

So leave your comments and thoughts about the BSI and don't be shy.  I like constructive criticism.  Don't hold back.

Let's Go Red Wings.
Lidstrom for Hart 2011.

Game #20: Blue (Jacket) Friday

THE GAME

Detroit Red Wings (13-4-2) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (14-6-0)

How 'bout them BJs?  They've won five straight games and are tied with the Wings atop the Central Division and the Western Conference.  The Wings have not played their best hockey in the last week or so and the 5-1 thrashing from Atlanta on Wednesday was the culmination of some bad play.  Hopefully the team isn't too full on turkey from Draper's house to play a good game of hockey tonight (especially Hudler). 

THE EXPECTED LINE-UP

Pavel Datsyuk - Henrik Zetterberg - Tomas Holmstrom

Jiri Hudler - Valtteri Filppula - Johan Franzen

Todd Bertuzzi - Mike Modano - Danny Cleary

Justin Abdelkader - Darren Helm - Patrick Eaves

Nicklas Lidstrom - Brad Stuart

Niklas Kronwall - Ruslan Salei

Johnathon Ericsson - Brian Rafalski

Jimmy Howard (starting)

Joey MacDonald 

In the press box: Drew Miller (healthy scratch), Jakub Kindl (healthy scratch) and Chris Osgood (groin)

On LTIR: Kris Draper (groin)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• Hudler is back in the line-up.  Happy needs to show up tonight....
• ...actually the entire team needs to show up tonight.  That Atlanta game was garbage.  Hopefully the Wings got a wake up call and are jacked up and ready to go against red hot team trying to challenge for the division.  Put the BJs where they belong (the bottom of the division).
• Jimmah is 5-0-1 with a 1.31 goals against average in six starts against Columbus.
• The PK has dropped to 16th in the league.  Unacceptable.
• The Blue Jackets will be wearing their brand new third jerseys tonight.  Try not to confuse them with every other team in the league that wears a jersey with the same exact colors and essentially the same circle logo design. 

Let's Go Red Wings.

Game #19: Our little half brother

THE GAME

Detroit Red Wings (13-3-2) @ Atlanta Thrashers (9-9-3)

The Wings head to Atlanta for their only game of the season against the Thrashers.  We'll see a few familiar faces down in the ATL.  Thanks to Chicago's cap mismanagement last year they banished many of their players to the Thrashawks.  The Chicago cast-offs have played well.  Andrew Ladd is now the team's captain and Dustin Bufflin Byfuglien is a full time defenseman and is only one point behind Lidstrom in defensemen scoring.  Hopefully the Wings show up earlier in the tonight's game than they did against the Flames.  It's Detroit's first game against the Leastern Conference.  Go out and take care of business. 

THE EXPECTED LINE-UP

Pavel Datsyuk - Henrik Zetterberg - Tomas Holmstrom

Justin Abdelkader - Valtteri Filppula - Johan Franzen

Todd Bertuzzi - Mike Modano - Danny Cleary

Drew Miller - Darren Helm - Patrick Eaves

Nicklas Lidstrom - Brad Stuart

Niklas Kronwall - Ruslan Salei

Johnathon Ericsson - Brian Rafalski

Jimmy Howard (starting)

Joey MacDonald 

In the press box: Jiri Hudler (healthy scratch), Jakub Kindl (healthy scratch) and Chris Osgood (groin)

On LTIR: Kris Draper (groin)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• Danny Cleary will play tonight.  He left last game early with an undisclosed injury, but it turned out to be a precautionary measure.  This is good news.  Cleary finally got healthy this season and his high level of play showed that.  It would be a shame to see him get hurt again.
• Hudler is a healthy scratch.  Happy hasn't been playing so well.  He had a few good games when the pressure was on, but it seems like since he scored that fluke goal from behind the net he has only been decent out there.  As long as his spot in the Leino Lounge doesn't become permanent, I'm okay with this.  He has to be held accountable due to the team's embarrassment of riches in the line-up.  Miller and Eaves deserve the chance.  They've played very well when they've been in.  Look for a very good PK tonight.
• Absolutely love that Abby is playing with Filp and Mule.  The Gator gets a chance to move up and play on a scoring line thanks to Miller and Eaves playing.  When he's been asked to take a more offensive type roll, he's succeeded.  I don't see why that would change.  He'll score a goal tonight.
• Will Hank, Pav, Nick, and Raf all continue their high level of play?  Raf was the NHL's third star of the week and the Euro Twins and TPH seem to keep on rolling.  Lidstrom for Hart 2011.

THANKSGIVING

I've left my tiny apartment in Boston and I am currently in Bethlehem, PA spending Thanksgiving with my girlfriend's family.  The good news?  I'm going to eat very well the rest of this week.  The bad news? No Center Ice and I'll probably be busy doing family stuff and won't get to watch the games (so there probably won't be a game recap tomorrow or Saturday).   I hope all my readers, fellow bloggers, and Wings fans all over the world have a great Thanksgiving (even you Andy). 

Let's Go Red Wings.