A lot of you may know Mitch Albom by his bestsellers "Tuesdays With Morrie" and "The Five People You Meet In Heaven." I first came across his work as a sports columnist for the Dee-troit Free Press (aka Da Freep)... and more specifically his writing on and about the Beloved Wings. It's interesting (to me, if no one else) that Albom and I hit the Motor City in the same year (1985)... I left Dee-troit in '96 but Albom's still there. And I still read him... most especially during the playoffs. Here's an excerpt from his column on Sunday's Wings debacle:
The Wings are one of the great franchises in sports, a perennial playoff team and an occupant of the past two Stanley Cup finals. But teams like that -- talented, savvy, experienced teams -- don't let young teams off the mat. They don't let upstarts embarrass them in their own building -- especially when a victory would have sent those kids home.
[...]
Let's be blunt. Dance time is over. If the Red Wings want to prove that they are still, when it counts, the Red Wings, if they want to prove that being a five seed was just a number, not an evaluation, they will have to pluck some new strings out in the desert Tuesday night.
Because they are suddenly out of tune.
And soon to be out of time.
The above is just part of Albom's introduction. He goes on to dissect... accurately and succinctly... exactly what went wrong yesterday and who the passengers were on Sunday's broken down playoff bus. The column is classic Albom and worth a read if you're a hockey fan. Hell, it's worth the read even if you're not. The man is simply one of the best writers in the bid'niz... whatever the subject matter might be.
Image credit: Kirthmon F. Dozier/Detroit Free Press
Let me guess. You are a hockey fan :)
ReplyDeleteNah. I just didn't have anything else to talk about today. ;-)
ReplyDeleteBuck,
ReplyDeleteI'm over here from Andy's place mainly because of the Mohammed cartoon stuff. I scrolled down and read some of your posts... I liked the Carlin video and knew about it earlier since a friend sent it to me on Mama Earth day...I'm sexually attracted to Ms. Zuzuki, but realize she's already hooked up. I'm married, soon to be 50 years, but I do have a mistress, a tenderly used 2000 XK8 I saved up for many years...I'm not much of a hockey guy but I do pull for the Predators. If they win the next two games against the Blackhawks they'll make history--it'll be the first time they made it out of the first round. Since I'm a Cubs fan, I expect the worst from them tonight...I'll be stopping in again.
Well,Buck,"Our" Wings were lackluster, to say the least, but *MY* Blackhawks are still alive! :) I was afraid that my man was going to be suspended for that check/push into the boards, but the BH luck held. Was expecting the worst--everyone on ESPN, etc., was calling for suspension. the shove didn't "look" hard, but the effect was sure nasty.
ReplyDeleteBesides "Our" Wings, and, of course, *MY* BHs, who do you think is favored to take it all at this stage?
Ah, Dan. You're a man of taste! I'd be proud to have an XK8 in my garage... if I still had a garage, LOL!
ReplyDeleteSo... Versus just switched over to the Preds - Hawks and your guys are giving the Hawks a good run, even if the Hawks just took the lead with 30 seconds left in the first. This will be interesting. ;-)
Virgil: You're asking the tough question, ain'tcha? But before I go there... Hossa SHOULD have been suspended. The Ovechkin/Hossa comparisons everyone and their Mom are bringing up are most appropriate. What's good for the goose, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Who's gonna win it all? Good question. The odds might have favored the Caps, before tonight. It's pretty sad for Washington... but GREAT for the Habs... that the Caps could put 54 shots on goal and only score once. I think Game Seven is anybody's in that series. As a matter of fact, I think winning the entire East is anybody's to take, at this point. Pittsburgh is prolly the favorite, but Fleury has been less than stellar. Goal tending is ALL at this point, no? That said, the Bees are getting great goal tending, but I wonder if they have enough scoring. And Philadelphia might take it all too, but they've got some key injuries. Who knows?
Out West the Sharks have that playoff curse to overcome, and the Avs nearly ate their lunch. Nabokov is the wink link there... that and heart. Vancouver is all about Looo, but the Sedin twins and Samuelsson definitely provide enough offense to make the opposition worry. A lot. You said "aside from our teams," so I won't go there. I think both the Hawks AND the Wings' series remain in doubt, but you're closer tonight than we are. We shall see what happens tonight in Nashville but I would worry, were I you. Just as I shall worry tomorrow.
Have you seen the Simpsons' episode " Thursdays with Abie"? It's currently available for free on Hulu.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hulu.com/watch/115921/the-simpsons-thursdays-with-abie
Although you try to keep a nice balance of posts - one day a post with video showing flowers, trees, music, etc - the next day a post about hockey, cigars, beer, etc - still, sometimes I feel like I have gone into the Man Cave.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link, Phil... I'll check that out!
ReplyDeleteLou: Ah, well... it's that time o' year! Hockey blogging MIGHT come to an abrupt end after tonite, but we hope not.
For you, Buck, I hope not either.
ReplyDelete