H O C K E Y D I N O

Trading frenzy in the NHL....25 deals go down. With all the bad things about the NHL..the one
thing every year you can count on, besides a good playoff is trading deadline day. No other
sport comes close (except for NFL draft day).

Guerin to the Sharks will really help them. The West with Forsberg in it and Bertuzzi...will beat up on each other. Should be a very interesting playoff run.

Bertuzzi to the Wings. I like it alot. I think it will give them what they need, some protection, and more space for the smaller twirps to make something happen. Another Holmstrom, only biggger. If he is healthy...game on!

I am very surprised that the Oilers moved Ryan Smith to the Islanders. I think Gary Roberts and LaRock will help protect the youngsters in Pitt as well. Nice move for them.

Yanic Perrault back to the Leafs...is there room there?

The Wings getting Calder I think will really help them as well. I dont know how Holland does it, but he is good with trading. I cant stand to listen to him talk, but the man does come through.

The Sabres get Zubrus...as if they needed more scoring.

What trades did you like?

Are you kidding me???

The Lions made a good trade. The Lions made a good trade. The Lions made a good trade.
There's no place like home. We arent in Kansas anymore kids. They traded Dre Bly for
Tatum Bell, George Foster and a 5th round pick to the Broncos. Wow..not bad considering they
were going to get rid of Bly anyways.

Now what? Do they skip on Adrian Peterson because they have 2 backs, or is KJ's injury so bad
they go with AP and Bell? You can't draft Joe Thomas...too risky wasting that kind of money on
an Oline that early. JeMarcus Russel is a freak! Can't take a QB that early or can you?

Or maybe you take what you got, and use it to trade down, and get more players. So essentially
you move Bell, you get Peterson, and you get another pick or two in the draft - all defense.

Possibly you trade with the Falcons so they can get Johnson at WR, then we get Shaub. But then they love Kitna. Alot of speculation as to what is next and what can be done? Then again Millen could take friggin Brady Quinn and ruin everything. I wouldnt be surprised. I dont think
he has the balls to get after Johnson to get another WR.

Word on the street is, they will be signing Kevin Curtis...so that Rams North can continue to be built. Hey, Eric Moulds and Joe Horn are available. I'd take them over Curtis. Well maybe not Moulds...but I always have liked tall WRs.

What will the Raiders do? They could use a QB...then they want to trade Moss, so they could get Johnson...then will the Lions take Russell? And have Kitna groom him ala Carson Palmer? I may be able to live with that.

Are you kidding me?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2739323

So the masterminds that run the NHL decide to go to MIT and come up with 100 variations of new NHL jersey...that's aerodynamic, and provides less drag. Oh for the love of Pete..what the hell is this garbage?

Hey NHL..I can't watch your All Star Game because I dont have friggin Verses. Can your MIT guys figure it out that the game may be faster with the new uniforms...but no one will be watching!
Oh and this just in, the NHL has decided to not fix the schedules for at least another year. Give the game back to Canada...we ruined a good thing.

Dear Canada,
I'm Sorry!

My what a tangeled Weber we weave

TIME OUT!
So Chris Weber is now a Piston. My My My. Ok so he's probably still good..and he'll probably
help them offensively. Yada Yada Yada. Alas have we forgotten something? How about
lying to the Grand Jury? Is this ok with everyone? Or is it just past stuff. Attentions spans are
short...memories are gone, and people don't care.

Look Chris...you did what you did, just admit it. Credibility is key. Own up to your mistakes. You were young, naive and stupid. Happens to the best of us. But when we make mistakes, we don't put an entire basketball progam on probation...we don't let scholarships get away, and we don't ruin the dreams of many athelets and fans.

Own up to it and you could own this town, it is very simple. Detroit expects integrity and hard work. Anything short of that and its a quick bus ticket out of town. The bar IS high.

And to all you Detroit reporters who threw softballs at the press conference today...SAD. It had to take the short guy from Philly who actually profited off of them with a book way back when to ask a tough question. No one followed up. The local sports media in this town are afraid to ask tough questions, they throw softballs, they are slappys. They all have favorites, they all even clap when a press conference is over. HOW SAD IS THAT?

Learning the Hardaway
"You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known," Hardaway said. "I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States." Tim Hardaway former NBA player.

Are you freaking kidding me? What a moron. Am I just as guilty for hating how stupid his comments are? Just when you think tolerance is starting to prevail, you get some jughead jock to open his trap.

Yeah yeah yeah...we know he has a right to say and feel whatever he wants, but what a joke. It's too bad he has to open his mouth at all, let alone the moron can actually vote. I wonder how many gay people thats he hates have bought tickets to support his salary over the years? I wonder how many gay people have bought Hardaway jerseys?

The NBA in their infinite wisdom has banned him from NBA events.
Yeah like that will make him a better person. Today I listened to sports radion as countless
people actually agreed with him. What a friggin shame. If an athlete is gay, so what! I have
more of an issue if you are a bandwagon jumper!

I try and I try, I can't get no...no satisfaction.

Ok so watched the NBA skills and slam dunk festivities. It was boring, boring, and boring. The NBA has lost its luster, and I don't know how to fix it. The slam dunk competition is a joke.
With the NHL I can pin point the problems...it is very easy. With the NBA...I dont know what it
is. Is it the hypocrite David Stern? Is it punks like Hardaway? It is the glitz of Shaq? Is it the
anti-Detroit sentinment around the league? I'm sure it is probably a little of all of those.

Too bad too...I love the game of basketball, and I'm looking forward to March Madness. The
NBA I could care less about.

I did get a kick out of watching old footage of Dr. J. Was there a more exciting player than he
during his time? David Thompson was pretty close.

How can the NBA be fixed? Tell me!

It's not baseball season...but I have the fever. I wish it was spring darn it. Anyways this the first of hopefull many installments of Where are they now, regarding Detroit athletes. Mark The Bird Fidrych.

Born August 14, 1954 in Worcester, Massachusetts was a Major League Baseball player for the Detroit Tigers. Fidrych's nickname was hung on him by a teammate in Bristol of the Appalachian League when the teammates noticed his resemblance to the character Big Bird on Sesame Street.

At age 21 the rookie, who came out of nowhere, ended up winning 19 games, losing just 9, he led the league with a 2.34 ERA while creating a sensation around the league. He threw a two-hitter in his first major league start, started the All Star game for the American League and was named The Sporting News Rookie of the Year!

During spring training in 1977, he tore cartilage in his knee and went on the disabled list until May 24. Legend has it that his knee was torn up by a few thugs in a bar over a woman. Then in July he tore something in his shoulder because he had altered his pitching motion. Before you really got to know The Bird, his career was over. A flash.

Fidrych lives with his wife Ann, whom he married in 1986, and their teenage daughter Jessica on a 107-acre farm in Northboro, MASS. A licensed commercial trucker, he works as a contractor hauling gravel and asphalt in a large ten wheeler.

The summer of 76 saw the Tigers turn it around after a disasterous 1975 season. The Bird along
with Rusy Staub, and Ron LeFlore pushed the Tigers to a decent season. I was just a kid,
and that whole summer we talked to the ball everyday on the sandlot. We loved The Bird!

With the Colts finally winning, can we put an end to the love affair of the Mannings, or now ill the
pressure be switched to Eli? Aside from the Madden/Favre trist, this is the second most talked
about non-football drama in the league.

Did Peyton deserve to be MVP? Yeah by default as no one really stood out. I thought Dominic
Rhodes played his heart out with the second efforts. Which also makes me wonder why the
Bears didnt run the ball more? Thomas Jones seemed like he could run at will...so it could be a
case of Dungy outcoaching Smith.

The weather sure did play a factor and made the game more watchable at times. All those turn-
overs were fun.

Griese would have made the Bears so much better this season.

Imagine if the Lions had a kick off returner like Hestor. We used to have one in the name of
Mel Gray...who always gave the team great field position. Why did we let him go?

The commericals sucked and were a waste of time. Halftime show was boring, even though
I think Prince is pretty darn good. Do we need these lame halftime shows anymore? And what
is with the contrived crowd at every show rushing the stage?

Hey the Pro Bowl is this weekend! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz