Not So Different

It's no stretch to say that parallels could be drawn between Favre and Jeter

For those of you who don't know, former Packers and Jets quarterback Brett Favre has recently expressed his interest in joining the Minnesota Vikings.

If you didn't know.

Of course, it would pretty hard for you not to know, given the way that the media (particularly ESPN) has built up every recent comment by Vikings coach Brad Childress. It looks like we might be in for another crazy summer, folks. Ever since Brett Favre first announced his retirement, it's been chaotic. Recently, while brainstorming on the matter, I ended up asking myself, Is this what it'll be like when Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter "retires"?

I know that may sound a bit random, but given Jeter's track record, I wouldn't be surprised. Many people may not know this, but Brett Favre and Derek Jeter are two very similar athlete. To start, both are very good, wholesome characters both on and off the field. Favre is a great guy who has always been loved for his good character and sportsmanship. So is Jeter. Even in a juiced-up era for baseball, most fans highly doubt that Jeter was guilty of performance-enhancing drugs.

But there are two other similarities between these two that likely will have a larger impact. The first is their constant love of the games that they play. It doesn't take a sports expert to tell you that Brett Favre and Derek Jeter both have a lot of fun. Just look at Sunday night, when Angels' pitcher Francisco Rodriguez walked Mariano Rivera with the bases loaded, resulting in an ear-to-ear grin from the Yankees' shortstop, who cracked a similar smile during the previous at-bat, when he was intentionally walked. And if you think that Brett Favre doesn't have a lot of fun, tell that to the guy who made the Wrangler commercial.

The other similarity is one that neither Jeter nor Favre can do anything to change, and that is that both are loved and overhyped by the media. If you disagree, look me in the eye and tell me that devoting more than half of SportsCenter to Brett Favre's reinstatement isn't overhype. As for Jeter, the media seems to spend more time covering him than any other player in baseball, not counting steroid coverage.

Do not mistake me. I am not picking on Jeter or Favre. If Favre wants to play another year, and the Vikings want him, then let him play. Same goes for Jeter, should he go down the same road.

Still the question remains, will Jeter do the same as Favre? It's hard to tell, but judging from what we know, it shouldn't come as a total surprise if he does.

But enough about this, I sound worse than the media for overhype.

Crosby's conduct inexcusable

Shortly after an oh-so-close fall to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom lined up to shake hands with Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby.

Except Crosby wasn't there. He was too busy celebrating his Stanley Cup victory. The length of his celebration made Alex Ovechkin look like Pavel Datsyuk (I hope you're reading this, Don Cherry). Kris Draper was among those who agreed that the Pens' captain messed up

Enough about the argument of Crosby being caught up in the moment. This is the NHL, a league where being respectful has a much higher value than in any other. Yes, he did shake hands later, but leaving Lidstrom waiting was just flat out wrong. If Sid the Kid wants to act like that, then let him pick up a basketball.

Also note that, as a captain, it was Crosby's job to set an example for his fellow teammates. If I were the Penguins' coach, I'd probably take away the C and demote him at least to assistant (then again, if I were coach, Crosby probably wouldn't be captain in the first place, but I digress).

Yes, Lebron was a lot worse, but no, that doesn't mean that Crosby's off the hook. The fact remains that what he did was both disrespectful and wrong.

Mind your manners, Mr. Crosby, because when it comes to the NHL, it's a very important category.

Stripes to blame?
Several Red Wings fans are angered by the refereeing in the Stanley Cup Finals. One such ticked-off fan writes "This will go down as the first Stanley Cup Final to have a winner predetermined. Congratulations to having a friend higher up, Pittsburgh." I don't like to criticize officials, but I sort of agree with the guy. The Penguins first goal in game 7 should have been an icing call. Had the men in stripes called it right, the game could have changed completely.
But even though the refs were pretty bad, I still have to admit that the Wings could have won it anyway.

From basher to supporter
Former Red Wings basher Berry Melrose seems to have mellowed a bit since being fired as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Heading into the playoffs, he predicted that the Red Wings would face the Capitals in the final. After the Wings fell to Pittsburgh, Melrose basically said that the Wings were the better team and that they should have won the series.

Awards
Alex Ovechkin won the Hart Trophy (league MVP) for the second year in a row as well as the Lester B. Pearson Award (MVP chosen by players) and the Maurice Richard Trophy for most goals. Pavel Datsyuk finished third in Hart Trophy voting and was able to once again claim the the Selke (best defensive forward) and Lady Byng (sportsmanship and gentlemanly play) trophies. The Vezina Trophy for best goalie was won by the Bruins' Tim Thomas, while the Norris (best defensman) went to Zdeno Chara. Evegeni Malkin received the Art Ross Trophy for most points, and Steve Mason recieved the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year. Finally, Bruins coach Claude Julien won coach of the year.

Wings need to wake up

Sloppy. That's what it was. No ifs, ands, or buts. No question about it. The Wings played flat out terrible in game 4.

Now the series is tied 2-2. These aren't the same Penguins that were lining up to get the Wings's autographs las year. They are capable of taking this series. To prevent that, the Wings must pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and go back to playing good hockey. Two other things would also be crucial.

Utilize Datsyuk

Enough of this confusion. If he's healthy, then play him. The Wings need Pav. In games 1, 2, and arguably 3, Henrik Zetterberg was able to fill in well. But by now he's spent; Datsyuk needs to give him a breather.

We all miss the skilled, humorous Russian. Throughout the season, Pavel has been the heart and soul of the squad.

Crosby and Datsyuk have been killing us. If it isn't one, it's the other. The problem the Wings have had is not being able to shadow them both. Well, now they can. Should Datsyuk return, he could shadow one while Zetterberg takes care of the other.

Give Draper more minutes

Come on, Mike Babcock. Can't you tell that the man's been playing his heart out? The Wings were mostly sloppy in game 4, but Kris Draper actually looked pretty good. Draper is extremely good at winning face-offs. Possession was a problem in game 4. Possession is often gained by winning face-offs. Am I noticing a pattern there?

Draper can play defense. In game 4, odd-man rushes did the Wings in. Odd-man rushes result from sloppy defense. Wow, there's another pattern. Go figure.

And Draper can skate. In game 4, the Wings seemed to be playing at half the speed that Pittsburgh was playing.

Patterns, patterns, patterns.

One thing is for sure. The Wings sure could use a good one.

Wings fall short in game 3

But the important thing is that they weren't slaughtered

Thank God that game 3 is out of the way. Yes, the Wings lost, but come on, were you really expecting a sweep? We all knew game 3 was going to be the hardest game for the Wings, so what happened Tuesday was what I would actually consider to be a good sign.

Are you scratching your head? If so, let me clear up the haze. My point is this: the Wings lost, but it wasn't by much, which is good. Remember that they have already taken the first two games. Heading into Pittsburgh, the Wings looked in control. The Pens' best chance of winning the series was to blow past the Wings in game 3, thus swinging momentum back in their direction.

But instead of that happening, the Wings kept it close. They hung in there for the majority of the game. If the Wings had lost, say, 5-0, the Pens would be in a good position. But the Wings played well and were able to send a message to the Penguins: Even on our bad days, we barely lose.

If the Wings can take game 4 (which I think they can), they will take a commanding 3-1 lead right before their return to Joe Louis Arena. If they lose game 4, well that's another story.

Are you starting to see what I'm getting at? Game 3 was not, by any means, a must-win for the Wings. The more important game is Thursday's. The only way that game 3 could have been devastating would have been if the Wings were blown out because that could have an effect on how they perform in game 4. A loss Thursday could change things quite a bit.

The important thing about game 3 is that it is over, and it ended without torture. The Wings can now shift their focus to game 4 which will, more than likely, have a much bigger effect on the direction of the series.

Forcast for Stanley Cup Final

Going into this selection I have an eight-pick winning streak going. Now it's time for Dr. Sports to come out of hiding and make another selection.

A lot of times when I'm making selections I think: What's the best messenger for who to pick: what you think in your head? Your heart?

In the past I've learned not to allow my wants to interfere with my picks, I've also learned that a lot of times reasoning doesn't work. It's often best to go with your gut instinct and take that team. If you don't have a gut instinct, that's when you start using the reasoning.

If I plug either method into this selection, I'll get the same result. Same goes if I try the heart. It's all the same this time. No arguing.

They all tell me that the Red Wings are going to win.

I am going with the deeper, more experienced squad. The Wings will repeat, once again proving that a European-dominated team CAN go all the way.
Go Wings!

Wings roll past Hawks

Thanks to an overtime goal by Darren Helm, the Detroit Red Wings were able to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in a rematch of 2008. They did this despite the fact that they were without Pavel Datsyuk, Niklas Lidstrom, and Kris Draper. Pretty impressive.

We needed to beat Chicago. They called Kronwall gutless. They said that our goaltending was suspect. They said that our coach hated one of our defensemen.

Chris Osgood proved the second myth wrong by saving 30 of 31 shots on Wednesday night. He was solid. Even the biggest of Osgood's critics were silenced. The man stood on his head. Although the rest of the team played well, none of them, with the exception of Darren Helm, brought their A-game the way Osgood did.

Speaking of Helm, how 'bout that young center? The future Kris Draper killed about half a minute of a penalty, practically all by himself. Fighting off Blackhawk after Blackhawk, he was even able to get a shot off. Play-by-play announcer Mike Emrick called it the best single man penalty kill he had seen since Zetterberg's famous works in last year's Stanley Cup Final.

Helm continued to play like a beast, and was eventually rewarded when he scored the game-winning goal in overtime.

Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Draper out for game 5

Once again, the Red Wings will have to play without some of their top players. Kris Draper, shortly after returning from an "upper body" injury, missed game 4 against the Blackhawks and will also miss tonight's game due to a pulled groin. On the plus side, Draper said that the injury was not nearly as bad as the injury that kept him sidelined until game 7 against the Ducks.

Niklas Lidstrom's lower body was injured and Pavel Datsyuk hurt his foot. Both missed game 4 as well, and were also ruled out for tonight, although they were first listed as questionable.

Draper is a big loss due to his face-off ability, unbelievable speed, and effective backchecking. It's no thrill to lose a defending Norris Trophy Champion and a Hart Trophy Finalist as well. Strangely, however, in game 4 the Wings seemed to be perfectly fine, slaughtering the Blackhawks 6-1.

Tomas Kopecky will miss the rest of the playoffs due to a broken orbital bone. It is unclear when or if Andreas Lilja will return after missing all of the playoff games so far due to a concussion. Chris Osgood, who sat the third period in game 4 due to dehydration, is expected to start game 5.