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.

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.

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.   

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.

10 items of excitment

Hey it's only July, but that doesn't mean it's too early to start looking ahead to the upcoming season. Before we know it the playoffs will be starting and the quest for Cup number 12 will have begun. In my anticipation for the 10/11 season (and for the lack of other news and things to write about this summer), I've put together a top 10 list of things I am personally excited for the most this year.  Let's begin...


#10 - Training Camp

I love training camp. It's like the first day of school when you get to see all your friends that you haven't seen all summer. Now, I am not personally going to training camp in Traverse City, but I know that a lot of people are. This is my first camp while being involved in the whole Wings' blogosphere, so I am highly anticipating the coverage of the event. The longer offseason means that (hopefully) everyone will be fully healthy entering camp and ready to go better than ever when the season rolls around.


#9 - Brendan Smith

What? Did you really expect me to leave of the namesake of this blog off the list? Whether he makes the team or not at camp, I can't wait to follow his first professional season. Even if he's in Grand Rapids, I'm going to keep a close eye on how he performs down there and plan to update the blog regularly with his progress. Hopefully he makes the big club and I can purchase my Smith jersey come Christmas time.


#8 - The Rest of the Kids

This goes for the kids in Grand Rapids, Detroit, and the prospects too. I want to see how Tomas Tatar and Thomas McCullom do with the Griffins. I want to see how 1st round draft pick Riley Sheahan does in his second season at Notre Dame. And of course, I want to see Abby, Helmer, and Ericsson take the next step in Detroit and I want to see just how well Jakub Kindl can handle potentially being the 6th defenseman on this team.


#7 - Opening Week

The Wings open with the hated Ducks on a Friday night. I can tell you right now that I will be glued to my TV watching Ken and Mickey on Center Ice that night. It's still July and it has been far too long since I've seen a Red Wings game. But ya know what's even better? After the Wings beat the Ducks, they get to fly to Chicago to play the Blackhawks. What could be better than watching the Hawks' 4 or 5 returning players raise their banner and then destroying the living hell out of them on their home ice. Let them raise their banner and then send an early message but crushing them, let's say, 6-0? Sounds about right to me. We're taking the Cup back. Enjoy it while it lasts, Chicago.


#6 - Jimmah Howard

Jimmy was the surprise of the season last year. He saved the Wings on many occasions and without him, they may not have even made the playoffs. And, he did it all as a rookie. This season is going to be big for Jimmy. We've all seen and heard about the sophomore slump (see: Steve Mason, CBJ) and I think deep in the back of all our minds we have that little doubt or a question asking if Jimmy can do it again this year. I hope he can. I think he can. I believe Jimmy will have a solid follow up campaign. I mention Mason, but the big difference in Howard's case is that he's playing behind the Detroit Red Wings, not the Columbus Blue Jackets. Having guys like Datsyuk and Lidstrom on your side will do wonders for one's confidence. Plus, I don't expect Jimmy to play as many games as he did last year. Let's hope Ozzie has gotten his act together and plays well enough to split the season's starts about 60/40?


#5 - New Years' Eve

I'm going to my first ever New Years' Eve Red Wings' game.  It's going to be a family affair too.  I'll be there with my uncle Leon (huge fan), aunt Amy, my parents, possibly some cousins, and most importantly, my girlfriend Jillian. I've mentioned her on Twitter before (@JillianRM, follow if you want, but she never tweets haha).  The biggest reason I'm excited for this game is that it will be her first Red Wings game and first time inside Joe Louis Arena.  She's from the Lehigh Valley area of eastern Pennsylvania and really didn't know anything about hockey when we first met two years ago.  Over the past two years she's basically watched every single Wings game with me, learned the rules of the game of hockey, listened to my tin foil hat stories, and put up with all my nonsense.  Well, in all this time she became a fan herself.  She knows all the players, the rivals (present and historic) and learned all about the Wings' history too.  I'm also pretty sure she'd leave me for Pavel Datsyuk if she could too.  Bottom line, I can't wait for her to experience her first Red Wings game at the Joe.  Ladies and gentlemen of Hockeytown, add one new member to our population.



#4 - The Mule

I don't know about you, but I missed watching Frazen last season.  I'm pretty sure his teammates missed him too.  The Mule was supposed to be The Man last year.  The 09/10 season was his time time to shine.  Every Wings' fan knew that Franzen was going to be counted on heavily with the departure of Hossa, Hudler, and Samuelsson (hate him).  Instead, Mule was gone in the third game of the year and missed a great deal of the season.  If you ask me, if Franzen is healthy, then Pavel and/or Hank would have had at least 10-20 more assists to add to their resume.  But The Mule is back.  He had an excellent playoff run putting up 18 points in only 12 games.  I, for one, cannot wait to watch him this upcoming season.  I'm honestly expecting him to net 40-50 goals and battle for the league lead.  He has the ability.  Everyone get ready to jump on the Mule and go for a ride.


#3 - Detroit vs. Boston

The Red Wings are coming to Boston this year.  I'm probably the happiest hockey fan in the entire city.  I've never been to a Red Wings game in an opposing building and I can say that I am absolutely thrilled to be doing so this season.  Boston is a decent hockey city.  Living here the past two years, I'd say they have a solid fan base.  I've met a lot of Bruins' fans that are hardcore about their team and you can have a great hockey conversation with them.  However, with Boston having so many championships this past decade (none by the Bruins), the B's kind of get the short end of the stick when it comes to sports in this city.  I like to see the Bruins do well.  I don't mind seeing them win, that is, unless they are playing the Red Wings.  And I cannot wait to see the Wings play a home-and-home series with Boston and sweep the floor clean with them.  When you're watching the game, look for the loud Wings' fan wearing a Yzerman (or Smith) jersey.  That will be me.  If there is one thing Detroit's sports teams have over Boston, it's hockey.  I want to make sure it stays that way.


#2 - Nicklas Lidstrom

I personally believe this is the last season Lidstrom will spend with the Wings before he retires.  I'm looking forward to watching the last games of his amazing career.  When I was younger, it was easy to overlook the impact he had on this team.  The more I grew up in general and as a Wings fan, the more I was able to understand and appreciate what an unbelievable player Nick Lidstrom is.  He is arguably the best defenseman of all time.  Without a doubt, the best European born player (of any position), the best Red Wings' defenseman, and possibly the best player of the last 15 years or so.  He plays the game so disciplined and at the highest level.  He rarely makes mistakes, he always knows where to be on the ice, and he makes it all look so effortless.  I don't remember who said it or where I read it, but it's crazy to think that Nick has never won the Hart Trophy...let alone be nominated!  But that says something about his game.  He's so good at doing the right things that you don't notice him out there.  A lot of the times, the best defensemen are the ones you never notice.  He isn't super flashy.  He doesn't take dumb penalties or take runs at guys.  There's always talk of "who can replace Lidstrom?"  Well, no one can.  You can't replace him.  There is no other player like him.  He's Nick Lidstrom.  He's just one of a kind and I can't wait to watch him end his career with his 5th Stanley Cup championship.


#1 - H2H2

Of course H2H2 is number one!  This is going to be the party of the year.  I couldn't be more excited for this.  Everyone that has ever told me anything about the original H2H as had nothing but great things to say.  Most every said it was one of the best weekends of their lives.  I graduate from college in December and plan to come back to Boston in the spring until Jill finishes school in May, but there is no way in hell I'm missing this party.  It might be hard to top the H2H, but we sure as hell will try.  Anyone who has ever tweeted me or read this blog or commented...I want to meet you.  I think I'm going to make a list of all the names of the people I need to meet and won't stop until every name is crossed off.  I plan to go to the game on the 9th and will be there on the 11th with Gannon, my Uncle Leon and cousin Robbie (his birthday is the 12th).  We're all going to be ready to party.  So when H2H2 comes along and you're in Detroit, if you see the guy in the Brendan Smith jersey, that will be me.  Pretty sure if they make Smith jerseys by then, I might be the only one who owns one!  Come say hello and we'll raise our glasses to the best organ-i-zation in the history of sports!

Lets Go Red Wings

Iron Chefs, Double Dare, and the Detroit Red Wings

This post isn't so much about hockey or the Red Wings really, but since this is my very own blog I figured I can write about whatever I want, right? Plus, if you're reading this anyway, it means you clicked the link on Twitter (@RedWingsFeed is awesome, if you're not following yet, do it) or some of the other awesome Wings' blogs out there added me to their blog roll or you like the Brendan Smithsonian Institution so much that it's now bookmarked on your web browser. Regardless, thank you for reading.

So today the Food Network of all people decided to drop by good old Emerson College here in Boston...

(NOTE: Emerson is the most dangerous school in America according to this website. But no worries Wings fans, your favorite new blogger is in no real danger. Emerson is in the heart of Boston across the street from the Common and around the corner from Chinatown. Thus, every single crime reported in those two areas must officially be counted by Emerson in statistical data because it's considered "our campus." This really isn't relevant to this post, I just like to share the fact with people because they're like "wow. oh my god. really?!??" Boston is a really cool place. Come visit. I'll give you a tour. We'll go to Fenway Pahk.) 

...okay back to the post.

The Food Network came to my school to tape a segment for one of their new shoes this fall called 'Food Feuds.'  I found out about this on Twitter.  The crew was looking for like 10 students to eat some pizza and meet Iron Chef Michael Symon.  I figured what the heck, it's free pizza, I'm in. And that was that.

The show takes two local food establishments in a select city and pits them against each other.  Symon told us he toured both pizza places and went into the kitchen for some behind the scenes goodness and they filmed some other stuff too.  But at Emerson, it was our job to blindly taste each pizza and pick the best slice. Because, you know, who knows pizza better than college kids, right?

I was told to wear 'normal attire' so I decided to wear my Red Wings shirt to the taping.  Figured I'd represent some Hockeytown: No Limits.  I should send a thanks to Petrella for the heads up after he tweeted (after I had already left and was on the subway headed to school so I couldn't change) that they'd blur out the shirt as it's deemed a corporation of sorts or something.  So I get there and I'm sitting in the student lounge as the crew arrived to begin and who else walks into the room than Marc Summers, the former host of one of my favorite childhood shows, Nickelodeon's Double Dare.  Summers says hello to everyone, looks at me and says, "Guy in the Red Wings shirt, nice, but we need you to turn that inside out, please."  So maybe Marc Summers is a Red Wings fan? Who knows? He's from Indiana and they don't have an NHL team last I checked (Let's get on that Gary. It's almost a sunbelt state. Maybe? No? Okay never mind.)

The Iron Chef Michael Symon is awesome.  He was such a nice, cool, down-to-Earth type of guy.  He seemed just genuinely happy to be there and talking to us. He seemed like the kind of guy you'd like to go grab a beer with.  They asked everyone where we were from and most were from Boston.  He asked me, I said, "Michigan."  He responded with "MICHIGAN?!?!??? Really?  Nice. We're good old Midwestern boys together then."  Throughout the taping, on camera, he continued to just refer to me as 'Michigan' during the segments..."Hey Michigan! Which pizza did you like better and why?"  Between takes he was cracking on me for being a Lions fan.  I asked him where he was from, he said Cleveland.  All I could do was apologize and tell him I was sorry.  I hate Cleveland and the rest of Ohio as much as the next Michigander (Michiganian? Michiganite?), but I didn't have the heart to rag on him for LeBron leaving.  I actually feel a bit bad for that city.  LeBron was a huge part of that economy too.  Man, can you imagine Stevie leaving pre-1997 on live TV and going to play with like Joe Sakic and Jeremy Roenick down in Phoenix? That would suck.

Nonetheless, the taping was awesome. I continued to get ragged on by Summers and Symon for have my shirt on inside out.  The show will be on in October and, no worries, I will certainly be informing everyone of the exact air date and time.  You could still kind of see the backwards Winged Wheel and SGNIW DER YEKCOH. It just looked like one of the purposely faded 'vintage' shirts.  So it's all good Hockeytown!  The Red Wings will be very well represented on the Food Network come this fall!

Lets Go Red Wings

These are a few of my favorite things...

As a life long Red Wings fan (albeit a short life so far), I've compiled a lot of great memories following the Wings.  Since this is a new blog for me and I may be new to some of my readers, I figured I'd take the opportunity to use this as a platform to share some of my finest memories as a Red Wings fans and just some plain old good things I love about the Winged Wheel.

(Note: these are in no particular order of favorite to most favorite.  I'm just adding items as I go and as I remember them. Also, obvious awesome moments like anytime Stevie or Nick raised the Cup are not included in this list...but no worries, they are without a doubt four of the greatest memories I have as a Wings' fan)

The Grind Line:

I absolutely loved the Grind Line when I was young. I loved when Scotty would throw them out on the ice to start a game against the oppositions best line. Mac, Drapes, and Malts could cycle the puck like no other and muck it up in the corners with the best of them.  Loving them for the grinding ability though brings me to the moments I still vividly remember to this day. And ironically, it's the big goals from these guys that I remember the most (except for Maltby...sorry Kirk!).

Jumping back to the 1997 Stanley Cup finals. I don't think anyone can argue that Darren McCarty's Cup clinching goal was a thing of beauty. I'm pretty sure every Wings fan remembers this one



And of course, sticking with Mac, I'll always remember his hat trick in game one of the 2002 Western Conference finals against Colorado.



Good Old Kris Draper deserves mention here as well. His OT goal in game 2 of the 1998 Stanley Cup finals against the Capitals was a moment to remember. Especially after the Wings made a brilliant comeback in that game. I remember being terrified of Olaf Kolzig that entire series.



Sticking with the grinding type player...

Joey Kocur:

I love anything and everything Joey Kocur.  He lived in the neighborhood where I grew up (still does).  I remember always seeing him at the Looney Bakery with his kids getting a doughnut for breakfast on the weekends, but I never wanted to both him and his time with his kids.  He would come into Colasanti's Market (I worked at the butcher shoppe there) and I would help him with his meat orders (Dave Lewis is a frequent visitor too).

Anyway, I loved Kocur the player and the person. Extremely nice guy every time I spoke with him.  I remember when he was playing in the beer leagues at my old rink, Lakeland Ice Arena, before he joined the Wings for the second time.  He was scheduled to play in the championship game against my neighbor and old assistant hockey coach, Mr. Snook, but he missed the game because the Wings picked him up.

Everybody should love Joey Kocur.

Doug Brown:

I always liked Dougie Brown. No true real reason why that I can precisely pinpoint. I just liked the guy.


Mickeyisms:

My two favorite: "Bingo bango" and, of course, "This ain't no place for nervous person."

Sergei Fedorov:

Man, I looooovved Sergei as a kid. I was too young to fully understand the entire holdout contract situation back in the day, but man, I just wanted him to stay so bad.  I loved watching him play.  I was almost crushed when I thought he was going to Carolina and I was still extremely upset when he left for Anaheim.

His jersey was the first I ever bought.  I loved the fact that he played defense for a period of time too.  I thought it reeked of awesomeness that he was talented enough to play both positions.

I really had hoped that Sergei would've come back last year or the year before at the trade deadline. One last run with the Winged Wheel on his sweater to redeem himself for the way he left that left a lot of people with a sour taste in their mouths.  It's a shame too.  #91 probably had a great shot to hang in the rafters one day, not so much anymore.

The Statue of Liberty:

I'm just going to let the video do all the talking here.



The first time I ever say Pavel Datsyuk in person:

May 2, 2002  - Game 1 of the conference semi-finals against the St. Louis Blues.

My Uncle Leon took me to the game.  We sat in the corner of the upper bowl probably about half the way up.  It was the first period and in the corner right where I was sitting, Brett Hull passed Pavel the puck and he did one of those Datsyukian Deke moves that you can't really describe in words but everyone just kind of nods and knows what you're talking about because we all know about Pavs ridiculous hands.  Well, he undressed the Blue that was covering him and ripped a shot top shelf past Brent Johnson. It was just pure freakin' Datsyuk awesomeness.

And of course, any Pavel interview deserves to be part of my favorite things. This video is by far my favorite:



I'll wrap these these next few up pretty quickly since they are much more recent favorite things.

Helm's PK:

Stuff of legends



Hating Mikeal Samuelsson:

I hate Mikeal Samuelsson.  These is no true real reason for this.  I've just never liked the guy.  No, I do not miss him since he left for Vancouver and exploded offensively.  I loved to hate Samuelsson

Jimmah vs. Sid:

I think all Red Wings fans found a new deep love for Jimmah on this night.




I hope everyone enjoyed some of my favorite Red Wings moments and memories.  This post ended up being way longer than I originally thought it would be, but it's all good.  Always great to remember good times.  Hopefully, I'll be able to add some Brendan Smith moments to this list in the upcoming season.

Lets Go Red Wings.