Soccer Day In America

Saturday December 1st, is the MLS Cup final, along with a U.S. Women's victory tour match. With this in mind, I suggest that we declare Saturday Soccer Day In America. I have tweeted this suggested on twitter, and you can tweet this to #SoccerDayInAmerica. 

BREAKING NEWS:BECKHAM LEAVING GALAXY

The 2012 MLS Cup final between the Houston Dynamo and the Los Angeles Galaxy a week from Saturday will be David Beckham's last, as he today announced he will be leaving the team after the match.

Michigan's Six Proposals

In Michigan, we have six proposals on the ballot:


1: Emergency financial manager law, where distressed municipalities can have elected governments replaced by EFMs

2: Collective bargaining intitiative: an attempt to stop a Scott Walker-style Collective batgaining limit law

3: Establish a standard for renewable energy.

4: Home Care registry

5: Tax Limitation. It would require a 2/3 vote of the legislature to raise state taxes

6: THE BRIDGE. Ambassador Bridge Owner Matty Maroun proposed this amendment to try to stop competition for his bridge monopoly, and is spending big money to try to make this happen. The "No" side has actually done something unusual: produced an entetaining political ad! Go to youtube, and look up "This Land Starring Matty Maroun". It's Hilarious.

ROLLING STONES PLAY WARM-UP GIG

The Rolling Stones played a warm-up show in Paris Thursday/ Here is CNN's report:

CNN) -- The Rolling Stones performed an impromptu, warm-up gig at a small Paris club on Thursday night.




The band tweeted about the secret show just hours before they took the stage at La Trabendo, writing that 350 tickets were up for grabs at €15 a pop.



According to a press release, 600 fans were in attendance to see Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood.



The Stones kicked off the intimate show with "Route 66," before launching into "It's Only Rock and Roll."



The young band pose for a portrait in a boat, 1964. From left to right are: Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Brian Jones, Keith Richards and Bill Wyman. Bassist Wyman joined the Stones in 1962 before leaving in 1993. Brian Jones performs at Alexandra Palace, London, in 1964. One of the founding members of the band, Jones was found dead in his pool at Cotchford Farm, Sussex, on July 2, 1969. He was 27. Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts joined the band in 1963, earning a reputation as the more staid member. He married Shirley Ann Shepherd in 1964, remaining with her to this day. Lead singer Mick Jagger is remanded in custody after being found guilty of possesion of drugs in 1967. He appeared before court in West Sussex after a police raid at fellow band member Keith Richards' house. Keith Richards with girlfriend Anita Pallenberg and their two children at the Cannes Film Festival in 1971. Italian model Anita orginally dated Brian Jones before becoming Keith's partner from 1967 to 1979. Mick Jagger and Nicaraguan girlfriend Bianca Perez Moreno De Macias marry in a small fisherman's church in St. Tropez, France, in 1971. Among the guests pictured are film director Roger Vadim, actress Nathalie Delon, photographer Patrick Lichfield, Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg. Ronnie Wood, pictured in Brussels, Belgium, in 1976. The guitarist joined the band the previous year, though he continued to collaborate with artists including Rod Stewart, Bob Dylan, Prince and Eric Clapton. Guitarist Keith Richards performs at the Aragone Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois, in 1987. The songwriter collaborated with Mick Jagger on their first international number 1 hit "(I can't get no) Satisfaction" in 1965. 50 years of the Rolling Stones50 years of the Rolling Stones50 years of the Rolling Stones50 years of the Rolling Stones50 years of the Rolling Stones50 years of the Rolling Stones50 years of the Rolling Stones50 years of the Rolling StonesHIDE CAPTION<<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >>>

50 years of the Rolling Stones "I can't believe we're all still standing up, you'd think by now one or two of us would be sitting down, but we're not," Jagger told the crowd.



Mixed in with the classics was the recently released "Doom and Gloom," the band's first new song together in seven years. They recorded the track in Paris and shot a video with Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, Jagger tweeted Wednesday.



Closing their set with "Midnight Rambler," they returned for an encore playing both "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Brown Sugar."



The Rolling Stones are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year with four arena shows; they'll perform at London's O2 arena on November 25 and 29 before taking the stage at the Newark Prudential Center on December 13 and 15.



Here's the complete set list:



"Route 66" "It's Only Rock and Roll" "Shattered" "When The Whip Comes Down" "Champagne and Reefer" "Doom and Gloom" "Miss You" "Tumbling Dice" "Start Me Up" "Midnight Rambler" "Jumping Jack Flash" "Brown Sugar"



Click here to see a short clip of the Stones' live at La Trabendo.



Rolling Stones : Never-before-seen photos

Tigers Play Giants in World Series

The San Fransisco Giants have won the National League pennant with an  9-0 victory over last year's world champion St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 of the NLCS. They will host the A.L. Champion Tigers in the World Series Wednesday night.

Farm Aid webcast was terrible

I watched the webcast of Farm Aid last night. The quality was terrible, as the feed (on Farm Aid's own website, no less) kept cutting out in the middle of songs, and taking long commercial breaks, the only problem, there were no commercials! You were left with a blank screen for up to several minutes at a time, until they apparently decided it was time to resume the webcast.

A Giant Among Men

Neil Armstrong died today. For a generation of men my age, it is a passing of a giant among men. There was a little boy in Detroit, who watched those black-and-white images, and believed it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. I was that little boy, and it still is. One small step, 200,000 miles away, placed the name of Neil Aldrich Armstrong among history's greatest explorers.

The man who would accomplish arguably the greatest technological achievement of the 20th century, was not a man who was comfortable with his celebrity. He was offered millions for potential endorsements. He turned almost all of them down, the one notable exception being a Chrysler ad he did in appreciation of their technical expertise, and an opportunity to help them, as they went through financial difficulties. He preferred being a professor at Ohio State, as well as a businessman. That was enough for him.R.I.P. Neil Armstrong, You have now completed your ultimate flight.

Lions game 3 broadcasts

Here is the listing of stations carrying tonight's Lion pre-season game in Oakland:

WTOL 11 (CBS; Toledo)

WNEM 5 (CBS; Saginaw)

WSYM 47 (FOX; Lansing)

WXMI 17 (FOX; Grand Rapids)

WFQX 32 (FOX; Traverse City)

WJMN 3 (CBS; Marquette)

WXYZ 7 (ABC; Detroit) delayed broadcast 11 AM Sunday. 

London 2012:THESE ARE (supposedly) THE WORLD'S GREATEST ATHLETES

London 2012 Day  13

These are (supposedly) the WORLD'S GREATEST ATHLETES. Well, even the BEST IN THE WORLD can look like hopeless clods, as you will see here:

http://olympics.yardbarker.com/blog/olympics/article/german_stephan_feck_had_the_worst_dive_of_the_olympics/11402845

http://sports.yahoo.com/video/mckayla-maroneys-shocking-fall-213015808.html

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=Awrj4kD7kCJQTE4ArThhxrF_?p=gabby+douglas+falls+off+beam&fr=ush-sports&origin=sports.yahoo.com&pqstr=Gabby+Douglas%22+fall

Any Questions?

London 2012, Days 8-11-CLASSIC!

London 2012 Days 8-11

The 2nd weekend of the London games began with the American legend Michael Phelps doing his thing for the last time, as he ended up with a record 22 medals, 18 of which were gold. The 18 golds represented as many golds as anyone else has medals.

Today, the US and Canadian women played a women's football semifinal for the ages, with a backdrop of Old Trafford(think Wrigley Field or Fenway Park for Americans), with penalties looming,  Alex Morgan scored in the 122nd minute, to help the Yanks overcome a three-goal hat trick by Christine Sinclair, win 4-3, and get the much-desired World Cup rematch with Japan Thursday at Wembley (think Yankee Stadium, Yanks).

While Phelps and the U.S. Women represented the good in the Olympics, Several badminton players represented the bad in the Olympics, by putting the bad in badminton, when they attempted to throw a match in order to get an easier opponent, Thankfully, they were sent home, and hopefully won't be invited back, this type of thing is absolutely disgusting, and unacceptable.

From the bad to the ridiculous, U.S. Judo competitor Nicholas Delpopolo was sent home after he tested positive for marijuana, blaming tainted baked goods! Nick, REALLY? People have been eating marijuana-laced baked goods for decades! Olympic athletes should know better than to eat brownies any time within months of the competition!

London 2012 Days 6 and 7-The show rolls on

As the London games near the end of their first week, Michael Phelps has done his thing again, winning his 20th medal, and like his 19th, doing it in style, as he beat Ryan Lochte, in the final of the Men's 200 IM for the16th Gold of his incredible career.He still has two more races to go in his career 

BTW, the Japanese gymnastics coach who filed an appeal, did in fact pay for it with a U.S. $100 bill, Considering that he won the appeal, it was probably the best $100 he has ever spent.

As Day 8 dawns, tomorrow will be a big day on the football pitch, as the Women's quarterfinals are played, Track and Field begins, and it is the next-to last day in the pool.

London Days 4 and 5-The Good And The Questionable

London 2012-The Good And The Questionable...

The Good...
Michael Phelps made history by getting his 19th medal, breaking a nearly 50-year old record, and he did it in style, getting Gold in the first relay he had ever anchored. Phelps really is the greatest Olympian of all time, Case Closed.

The Good...
Was This the best $20 that Japanese coach ever spent?

I don't know about you, but the money the Japanese coach spent for his successful protest in the men's gymnastic final sure looked like a U.S. $20 bill!

Things that make you go hmmm...

There is controversy going back to Saturday's women's 400 IM, when 16-year-old Ye Shiwen of China not only obliterated both her personal best by FIVE SECONDS and the world record, but beat Ryan Lochte's MEN'S winning time in the same event. Very suspicious, to say the least.

Day 2 and 3: American favorites go by the wayside

London 2012 Day 2 and 3

Perhaps the biggest surprises of the first two days of full competition are the failures of Michael Phelps and Jordyn Wieber in their respective competitions. Phelps was the two-time gold medalist in the 400 free, a race he had said after Beijing that he would never do again. Perhaps he should have listened to his won advice, as he flopped badly to a 4th-place finish, and was off the podium for the first time since Sydney, 12 years ago.

Dewitt-native Wieber came into the games as perhaps the most-hyped competitor of the entire games (the women's gymnastic team was on the cover of the SI Olympic preview issue), and pehaps the SI cover jinx struck again, as she finished third...only two per team qualify for the team finals. BTW, am I the only person who believes that the "Women's" Gymnastics competition should be split into two divisions, using age 20 as the split? This way the teen-agers could do their thing, which would allow the Wiebers, etc... to compete  and win, but also allow the Nastia Liukins, 27-year-old British favorite Elizabeth Tweddle,etc... to continue to compete and actually have a chance to win. This would be a win-win for everybody: NBC would get more gymnastics with their high TV ratings, the teen-agers could do their stunts, and actual women could have a chance. Makes too much sense to me.

Opening Ceremony-WOW!

London 2012-day 1

The XXX Olympiad began with an incredible opening ceremony with 50 years of Brit pop music, and a staged entrance of the Queen with James Bond! Then came the parade of nations, which includes over 200 nations, most of whom have no chance of winning a medal, but for those who do, this is absolutely awesome. Then it was time for 1980 and 1984 gold medalist Sebastian Coe to start the formal part of the ceremony, The Queen to declare the games open, and in a surprise, 7 young British athletes lit the cauldron, and Sir Paul McCartney to close the show. As the saying goes "NO ONE follows Paul McCartney on stage, except maybe the Queen".

Some Of The Strangest Covers Of Songs Ever

Over the years, some very unlikely singers have covered songs that no one would have expected. Get a load of some of these:

William Shatner (yes, Captain Kirk!) did maybe one the worst covers of all time, when he butchered Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man".

The Rolling Stones' much-covered "Jumpin' Jack Flash" has been covered by The Beach Boys (onstage, though never released), 70's teen idol Leif Garrett (ditto), and Motorhead (and you thought Mick was hard to understand, imagine Lemmy!).

Deep Purple covered Neil Diamond's "Kentucky Woman", The Beatles covered Meredith Wilson's "Til There Was You" and some of the other unusual covers include:

Paul Anka-Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
Rolf (Tie Me Knagaroo) Harris-"Stairway To Heaven"
Children Of Bodom (A heavy metal band from Finland)-Britney Spears'-"Oops I Did It Again"
Alien Ant Farm had a minor hit with Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal"
Pat Boone did an entire album of heavy metal covers (I'M NOT KIDDING)
and...Sid Vicious did Paul Anka's "My Way" (best known for Frank Sinatra and Elvis).

Just A Woman Who Wanted To Go The Movies

Jessica Ghawi was a sportscaster and blogger who went by the name Jessica Redfield. She was from Texas, and had moved to Colorado to pursue her dream of covering NHL teams. She had gone on vacation to Toronto last month, when the Toronto Mall Massacre began. She was able to get out safely. That time. She was not so lucky last night, when she decided to go to the midnight showing of "The Dark Night Rises" at the mall in Aurora, Colorado.

There was a scene during a shootout. At this point, a Medical school dropout named James Holmes threw tear gas bombs, and opened fire with an AK-47, killing 12, and wounding 59 others. Ghawi was one of the 12 who was killed. Her friend tried to help her, but had to run from the theatre, and call her mother, when he realized his efforts would be futile, and Holmes was still shooting.

Ghawi was a blogger just like I am, and what really bothers me are these things:

A) Military personnel were injured in this attack
B) Ghawi survived the Toronto Mall Shootings, until to be killed here.
C) A Republican congressmansaid the scene reminded him of scenes he had seen as when he served in Iraq.
And, most of all,
D) The fact that someone who just wanted to go to the movies, can be mowed down like sheep, just because some nut job wants to.

THE BEST OF JON LORD
Deep Purple's Jon Lord passed away this week at age 71. Here are some of his most memorable tracks. The band's most iconinc tune "Smoke On The Water", is not included because that song was more lead guitarist Richie Blackmore's tune.

Burn-The title song from their 1974 album may have been Lord's finest moment, as Lord had a classically-influenced keyboard break, that just knocks your socks off. An added bonus was that track was the first time many people ever heard the voice of a  very young David Coverdale, 13 years before Tawny Kitaen straddled herself on his car in the Whitesnake video for "Here I Go Again".

Hush-The early years with Rod Evans on vocals, as Purple covered a Joe South tune for their first hit.

Highway Star-A fantastic keyboard break in the middle helps build the excitement, as the songs builds toward it's climax.

Perfect Strangers-The title track on the group's 1984 reunion album, showed the band had lost none of it's power. Lord drives the riff, that drives this song.

Spacetruckin'-The final track on "Machine Head", Lord helps bring the song (and the album) to a close with this gem.

The amazing thing about "Machine Head" is that it was written and recorded in just 15 days, so the band could go home for Christrmas.

50 YEARS AGO TONIGHT

On this night 50 years ago, Alexis Koerner's Blues Incorporated was offered a spot on a BBC radio program, so they offerred their usual Thursday night spot at the Marquee Club to a new blues band that was calling itself "The ROLLIN' Stones", who were playing their first show.  As we know, the rest would be history, as the G on the name, Andrew Loog Oldham, Billy Wyman, and Charlie Watts would come within a year, and the Rolling Stones would be on their way to becoming the "Greatest Rock And Roll Band In The World".

Hope Solo gets warning after positive drug test

U.S. Goalkeeper and "Dancing With The Stars" contestant Hope Solo has been officially warned after testing psitive for Canrenone, a banned stimulant. She had better watch herself, as a second test would mean expulsion from the XXX Olympiad in London, and possibly U.S forfeiture of any matches she would participate in if she were to fail a subsequent test during the games.

Game 6-Kings Are Kings

Steve Bernier is the biggest goat in hockey right now, as his first period boarding major made the Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup Champions, as they scored 3 goals on the ensuing powerplay, and went on to beat New Jersey  6-1 . 

L.A. goals were scored by Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter (2), and Trevor Lewis with a three-goal hat trick. Adam Henrique scored for New Jersey.

Game 5-See Ya In L.A.

This is the 13th Stanley Cup Final that I have covered in one form or another, and they all have their own rhythms. This one has been, in one way, just what I expected, low-scoring, defensive hockey, after all, that is what got the Devils and Kings here in the first place. But at the same time, this final is developing a streaky nature that is very unusual, with the Kings winning the first three, two in OT, and now the Devils winning the last two, sending the series back to L.A. for game six Monday Night.

Zach Parise led off the scoring for New Jersey at 12:45 of the first, when he slammed the puck into the net on a power-play goal. The only other scoring occurred into the second when Justin Williams tied the score, then Bryce Savador put the Devils ahead to stay, when he scored at 9:05 from Alexi Ponikarovsky and Travis Zajac. There was no further scoring, and one wonders: this is the 70th anniversary of the Red Wing collapse of 1942, could history repeat itself? 

Game 4-See Ya Saturday

Hockey Night In Canada's Andi Petrillo tweeted that the Devils have never been swept in the playoffs. That has not changed, as the Devils defeated the Kings 3-1 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, as Adam Henrique and Patrik Elias blew open a 1-1 tie. As far as the run of play goes, nothing has changed, as these teams continue to play as tight-checking a style as I expected. Game 5 is Saturday in Newark.

Game 3-The Devils seem to have no answer

At the beginning of this series, a common question was: Could the Devils handle the aggressive style of the Kings? It seems apparent that they cannot. The Kings had 50 hits tonight, and the Devils seem to have no answer for that, and they had better find one in the next 48 hours, or there will be a parade in Hollywood thursday or friday. Grapes said that a save by Quick when the game was scoreless changed everything. Brodeur will undoubtedly complain about the first goal, that he believed should not have counted, since he felt he had the puck. Iliya Kovalchuk looks absolutely lost out there, and has to get going, or the Devils will be done Wednesday.

Game 2-Game 1 Redux

I basically could re-write my blog report from Game 1, and many readers would not know the difference, as the Los Angeles Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils by the same 2-1 score in game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals, as they did in game 1, on a goal by Jeff Carter at 13:42 of OT. These games have basically been the same tight-checking hockey that I expected going into this series, and I don't expect anything to change as the series moves to LA for games 3 and 4 Monday and Wednesday. If the Devils don't do anything to change this series, it might be over before the weekend. Then again, the way the Kings have played much better on the road, than at home, the Devils might have the Kings right where they want them.

BREAKING NEWS: TIM THOMAS TO TAKE SABBTICAL

Bruins' goalie Tim Thomas announced on his facebook page as this report was going to press, that he is taking the 2012-13 season off for a "sabbatical", in order to spend time with his family. He denies that the sabbatical is a prelude to retirement, or a political run (Thomas is a conservative Republican, who skipped the team's white house visit to President Obama in protest of his policies) , but with Thomas being 38, and possible labor trouble in the NHL this fall, who knows?

Finals Game One-Exactly What I Expected

The 2012 Stanley Cup Finals began May 30th in Newark, and it was exactly as tight checking as I expected. The Los Angeles KIngs, on a goal by Anze Kopitar with 11:47 to go, defeated  The New Jersey Devils 2-1 in Overtime. I expect the rest of the series to be just as tight.

A Day Red Wing fans have been dreading...

Red Wing fans have been dreading this: the expected retirement of Nicklas Lidstrom tomorrow. He is easily one of the five greatest Red Wings of all time, along with Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Alex Delvecchio, and Ted Lindsay. While Henrik Zetterberg will undoubtedly be the new captain, the question is: who will be on the backline? THAT is what we are dreading here in Detroit.

As far as the Stanley Cup Finals, go, I'm going with Jersey in six, if it happens, former Wing Adam Oates will finally get his cup ring.

THANK YOU!

At this point, I want to give a shout-out, and a heart-felt "Thank You" to my followers, who made my SNL season finale review, my most-read blog post ever! THANK YOU!

USA-SCOTLAND: NOT BAD FOR A GUY WHOSE PASSION "HAD FADED"

Landon Donovan has lately been complaining that his passion for Soccer "has faded" at times. The 44 438 fans who attended the USA-Scotland match at Everbank Stadium in Jacksonville, had to be thinking "if his passion for football has faded, I've got to see him when his passion is full on", as he scored a hat trick, that led the USA to a 5-1 blowout win in the first of five matches between now and June 12, the last two of which are the beginning of 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

Donovan wasted no time striking quickly, as he scored his first of the match only 3 minutes in from his own rebound then scored off a pass from Jermaine Jones in the 60th, and Michael Bradley in the 65th. In addition to that, he easily could have had a 4th, when he hit the goal post. Now, I admit the Scots are not that great, as they failed to qualify for Euro 2012, but they still are a respectable side, and this is easily the best performance under Jurgen Klinsmann to date.

The Mickster on SNL

Those of you who know me know I am a HUGE Rolling Stones fan, so when Mick Jagger was hosting AND being the musical guest on SNL, I made sure to watch. Mick has appeared in many skits tonight, and is quite funny in some of them, including one where he played a closeted gay actor in a 1964 "Password" style game show, one where he played a geeky insurance adjuster at a karaoke bar, who had too much stage fright to perform! While Fred Armisen did a sensational karaoke take on "Start Me Up", and one where he played Steven Tyler on a parody of FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance".

Of course, when Mick Jagger is on TV, you want to see him perform, and that he did, with first Arcade Fire , then The Foo Fighters backing him. With Arcade Fire, he sang the 1965 classic "The Last Time", then with The Foo Fighters, he sang another '65 classic "19th Nervous Breakdown and the 1974 anthem "It's Only Rock And Roll" which had an arrangement that was quite similar to T. Rex's 1971 classic "Get It On (Bang A Gong)", which is one of my favorite guilty pleasure songs! Even at nearly 69 years old, Mick is still an amazing performer.  He then did a new blues song with Jeff Beck that he wrote about the upcoming Presidential election.

After an inconsequential soap opera parody, the show ended with Mick playing a principal at a high school graduation, that doubled as a tribute to rumored departing cast member Kristen Wiig, as a band played "She's A Rainbow" and "Ruby Tuesday", while Mick, SNL Head Honcho Lorne Michaels, and other cast members danced with her, and she began to shed a tear. Judging from her reaction to the tribute, I must believe the rumors are true. All I can say, is what a way to end a season!

BREAKING NEWS: PHIL PHILLIPS TO HAVE KIDNEY SURGERY AFTER "IDOL" FINAL

"American Idol" finalist Phil "P2" Phillips has something else on what will already be a very busy plate after he faces Jessica Sanchez in Tuesday-Wednesday's final-Kidney Surgery. According to TMZ, His kidney problems, which have kept him out of the Ford video shoots, and have affected his ability to sing, have worsened, and now will require surgery, so he can go on tour later this summer.

Round 3

Round 3 picks...

Rangers over Devils in 7. 6th games is scheduled for 18th anniversary of Mark Messier's guarantee. 7th game is scheduled for the 18th anniversary of Matteau! Matteau! Matteau!

Kings become 2nd 8th seed to reach final, as they beat the Coyotes in 6.

Round 2 Picks

I wish to open by thanking the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils for giving me a not great3-5 record in the first round, as opposed to an absolutely disastrous 1-7. Undaunted, here we go with round 2...

WESTERN CONFERENCE

NASHVILLE AT PHOENIX-Mike Smith Vs, Pekka Rinne will be the storyline in this series, that will probably be little seen in much of the country. That being said, the Preds seem to be on a roll, and the better team-PREDS IN SIX.

LOS ANGELES AT ST. LOUIS-This seems to be the Blues' year to make a big noise in at least the Western rounds of the playoffs. The Blues should win this, depending on their goaltending, and how Jonathan Quick does for the Kings-BLUES IN SIX

EASTERN CONFERENCE

WASHINGTON AT NEW YORK RANGERS-Both teams got pushed to seven games in their first round series and got through. That being said, the Blueshirts are the better team, and should get through. NBC execs will be very happy-RANGERS IN SIX

NEW JERSEY AT PHILADELPHIA-This could be Martin Brodeur's last hurrah, but the Flyers had an easier than expected time with their cross-state rival Penguins, and could be set up for a long playoff run. As I said about the Rangers, NBC execs could be very happy with what could be a classic Eastern Final-FLYERS IN SIX

Too many defensive breakdowns=Early Summer

It's over. The Red Wings, during this entire series broke down way too many times, and hung out Jimmy Howard to dry over and over again . The result, The Wings are either playing in the World Championships in a couple of weeks, or heading to the golf course. As the summer goes on, questions will have to be answered about Nick Lidstrom and Thomas Holmstrom, will they return? The final breakdown, 13 SECONDS IN to the third...ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE.

Game 4: Hung out to dry again

In game 4 of the Wings-Preds series, Jimmy Howard was hung out to dry again. The Wings have had way too many defensive breakdowns, and they are paying for it. Friday night is game 5, and if they do not correct this Tout De Suite, they'll be playing golf, or in the World Championships next week.

A POTENTIAL NIGHTMARE FOR THE NHL

These playoffs are becoming a potential ratings nightmare for the NHL, as it is now quite likely that the Wings, Canucks, and Pens will be out of the playoffs by the weekend. Stanley Cup Playoffs featuring San Jose, Nashville, Phoenix, and Florida or New Jersey may well be a horrible draw TV-wise.

Game 3: What a difference 00.2 makes

The Nashville Predators defeated the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 at Joe Louis Arena in game 3 this afternoon. Perhaps the biggest moment of the game occurred at the end of the 2nd period, when Pavel Datsyuk held the puck perhaps 2 tenths of a second too long, which meant Johann Franzen was too late with what would have been a game-tying goal. The Wings were then not able to get the second goal until under a minute to go, which was after the Preds had increased their lead to 3-1, which meant this game was out of reach. The Wings had better win game 4 Tuesday night, or it will be a long summer around here.


PITTSBURGH-PHILADELPHIA-What had looked like the best series of the first round is turning into anything but. A series I thought would be tight and at least six games-see Boston-Washington, where it looks like the entire series has been played in Overtime-is looking like a sweep, or five games at best. The Flyers are baiting the Pens into playing their game, as opposed to what works for Pittsburgh. They managed to get Crosby into two fights in game 3, and they have blown out the Pens in the last two games.

Game 2: Had To Win, Got It Done

Going into Game 2, the Red Wings needed this game to give their NHL-best 31-7-2 home ice record a chance to work, and they got it. Todd Bertuzzi set the tone, when he made Shea Webber answer for his uncalled-for hit on Henrik Zetterberg at the end of Game 1. Ian White scored to put the Wings up 1-0, then rookie Cory Emmerton made it 2-0. After Nashville made it 2-1, Johann "The Mule" Franzen scored what would be the game-winner. That put the Wings up 3-1, and then they held on for a 3-2 victory. The series is now tied 1-1 with Game 3 at High Noon on Sunday at Joe Louis Arena.

Pens go from bad to worse-Pittsburgh and Philadelphia played game 2 of their series in the Steel City tonight. The Pens blew game 1 after leading 3-0, and taking the feet off the gas. That was not the case tonight, as the Flyers beat the Pens 8-5, in a game that had BOTH teams keeping their feet on the gas. The series now moves to Philly for games 3 and 4.

Game 1-Howard hung out to dry twice, Pens learn about taking your foot off the gas

Night one of the playoffs...
Red Wing goalie Jimmy Howard was hung out ot dry on the last two goals. You're not going to beat a good Nashville team very often doing that, since goals will be at a premium in this series. Darren Helm left the game with a cut forearm, and underwent surgery at a Nashville hospital tonight. Mike Babcock was not sure if Helm cut any tendons in the arm.

Pittsurgh learned a tough lesson about taking their feet off the gas when you have a team down 3-0, as they blew the lead, then blew the game in OT.

DROP THE PUCK!!!! 2012

It's time the playoffs are here....

EASTERN CONFERENCE

OTTAWA AT NEW YORK RANGERS-The Sens won the season series 3-1, but they are reeling going into the playoffs. That stat notwithstanding, the Rangers are the better team, and this will play out in the series-RANGERS IN SIX

WASHINGTON AT BOSTON-This one may be the easiest series of the first round to call. The Caps have not been playing well recently, and the defending champion Bruins are simply the better team-BRUINS IN FIVE

NEW JERSEY AT FLORIDA-The Panthers are returning to the playoffs for the first time since the 2004-05 lockout (only the Leafs remain among those who have not made it). Martin Brodeur makes their stay a short one (Sorry to my relatives in the Miami are), as he is the difference-DEVILS IN SIX

PHILADELPHIA AT PITTSBURGH-The best series of the first round. These teams despise each other, and put the "battle" in the Battle Of Pennsylvania. The Pens, though, have the better players, and will win-PENS IN SEVEN

WESTERN CONFERENCE

LOS ANGELES AT VANCOUVER-The Kings have dropped from the 3rd to the 8th seed in a week's time, so now they have to play the Canucks, and will keep dropping, as they drop right out of the playoffs in five games-CANUCKS IN FIVE

SAN JOSE AT ST. LOUIS-The Blues have a history of underachieving in the playoffs. Not this time. This is a bad matchup for the Sharks, and the Blues advance in six-BLUES IN SIX

CHICAGO AT PHOENIX-This may be a surpisingly good series, as these teams are evenly matched. The Hawks may well end up being the final opponnents in the history of the 'Yotes, as they end up in Quebec next season-HAWKS IN SIX

DETROIT AT NASHVILLE-This is a very difficult series to call, as, like the Hawks-'Yotes series, these are two evenly matched teams. If the Wings are going to win this series, they probably need to win one of the first two games, since they were 31-7-2 at home this season. The Wings cannot afford this series to get back to Music City for a seventh game-WINGS IN SIX, OR PREDS IF IT GETS TO SEVEN

Who The AI Top 8 Remind Me Of

As we get farther into the American Idol finals, the top 8 are starting to develop their personas, and this is who they remind me of:

De Andre Brackensick: Name Your Boy Band Singer
Elise Testone: Stevie Nicks
Phillip Phillips:Dave Matthews
Joshua Ledet: Any Number of 70's Soul Singers
Jessica Sanchez: Whitney Houston
Hollie Cavanagh: Christina Aguilera
Colton Dixon: Get back to me on that
Skylar Laine: Reba Mcentire

KISS has been in some strange places lately...

The rock group KISS has been in some strange places lately... Sunday night, the band, in full makeup, were presenters of an award on the Academy Of COUNTRY Music awards, and next Monday they will be leading off the show on "Dancing With The Stars". Not exactly VH1 Classic, to be sure.

The Rolling Stones will be premiering a documentary film about their incredible career at the band's golden anniversary celebration in September, although a full-scale 50th anniversary tour is not likely until 2013. They are not the only rock legends celebrating 50 years this year. The Beach Boys are doing a full-scale tour with the surviving original members this summer, Life magazine did a tribute to Bob Dylan, and Newsweek has released a Beatles tribute issue.

10 Days To Go...

After taking much of March off, I am back as we now enter April. We are just 10 days away from my favorite time of year. The weather gets good, my birthday is at the end of the month, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin...

First of all, I want to give a belated birthday shout-out to Gordie Howe, who turned 84 yesterday. Second, I've been asked for my take on the firing of Montreal G.M. Pierre Gauthier, which happened Thursday. I don't believe Les Canadiens are that far away from being back in the playoffs next year, especially when you consider that they were only a goal away from a long playoff run last year. Had they scored the winner in Game Seven against the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Bruins, last year, who knows? Serge Savard, who is helping Jeff Molson in the search for a new G.M., pointed out that the candidates for coach and G.M. MUST be fluently billingual. In other words, it will not be enough to be strictly Anglophone, OR sricytly Francophone. Montreal is unique, in that the politics get involved in a way that does not happen anywhere else in the NHL, though that may be about to change...

I say that may about to change, because the speculation is swirling around the Phoenix Coyotes franchise, and that speculation is saying that a move to Quebec City may well be in the offing, in which case the Dogs would become Les Nouveau Nordiques.

With 6 days to go in the regular season, Philadelphia beat Pittsburgh 6-4, in a game that ended in a wild brawl, that even Flyers Coach Peter Laviolette wanted to get into. He succeded in getting both one of his assistant coaches and himself ejected. You don't see coaches get ejected from a game very often. The Red Wings beat Florida 2-1 in a shootout, to get a much-needed extra point that put them ahead of Nashville for fourth seedd in the upcoming playoffs.

BREAKING NEWS AS WE GO TO PRESS-New York Cosmos legend Giorgio Chinaglia has died at age 65. He was a star with Lazio of Italian Serie A before he joined Pele and Franz Beckenbauer with the Cosmos of the Old North American Soccer League in 1976. He was the all-time leading goal scorer in NASL history.

"John Carter" to lose $200 Million

The ads call "John Carter" a "global phenomenon". It is instead a flop of global proportions. The movie made a respectable $180 million, but cost an unbelieveable $380 million to make. That is a $200 million dollar loss. If this movie were not made by Disney, that studio might have been bankrupted by this bomb, but yet, fans of this bomb actually want Disney to make a sequel! What are they gonna call it: "John Carter and Ishtar meet at Heaven's Gate"? Get Real.

Are These People Serious?

I cannot believe the idea the mental giants at the Gettysburg Battlefield gift shop thought would be good. These genuises thought that selling a John Wilkes Booth bobblehead doll would be a good idea! While they are at it, why don't they sell a Leon Czolgolz, Charles Guiteau, and a Lee Harvey Oswald to complete your Presidential Asassins collection! Thankfully, somebody realized the incredible amount of bad taste involved, and the store has stopped selling the doll. A spokesman claimed that the doll was intended as a "gag gift". Not surprisingly, Nobody laughed.

If the season ended today...

According to the NHL, these would be the first-round playoff matchups if the season had ended after last night's games...(numbers by teams denote seeding)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

8 Capitals At 1 Rangers
7 Senators At 2 Bruins
6 Devils At 3 Panthers
5 Flyers At 4 Penguins

WESTERN CONFERENCE

8 Sharks At 1 Blues
7 Coyotes At 2 Canucks
6 Blackhawks At 3 Stars
5 Predators At 4 Red Wings, so tonight's game in Music City between these two teams could be a first-round playoff preview.

USA SHOCKS ITALY

The USA Men's National Team this afternoon pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent international soccer history, as they shocked the Italians 1-0, on Cliff Dempsey's 55th minute goal. This is both the first time the Yanks have beaten Italy, and the first time the Azzuri have ever lost a football match in Genoa.

Aston Villa Lost $85 Million Dollars Last Year`

Premiership club Aston Villa lost a record $85 MILLION DOLLARS last year. I realize that running a premiership club is expensive, and Villa made a big free agent signing, but HOW ON EARTH DOES MAJOR LEAGUE PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAM LOSE $85 MILLION DOLLARS IN ONE YEAR? Especially given the fact that Barclay's Premiership, like the NFL in this country, is a virtual license to print money. If a MLB, NBA, or NHL team lost that kind of money in one year, they would be filing Chapter 11, or even end up contracted, considering the Dodgers lost nowhere near that kind of money last year, and ended up under an Emergency Financial Manager, much like a distressed municipality or school system. All I can figure, is that that organization is grossly incompetent, or worse.

Trades, Trades, and More Trades 2012

February 16: Dallas trades Nicklas Grossman to Philadelphia in exchange for a 2nd-round pick in 2012 and a 3rd-round pick in 2013.

Tampa Bay trades center Dominic Moore and a seventh-round draft pick this year to San Jose for a 2012 second-round pick.

February 17: Montreal Trades Hal Gill and a conditional 2013 fifth-round draft pick to Nashville for a 2012 second-round pick, prospect Robert Slaney and Blake Geoffrion, the 24-year-old grandson of Hall of Famer Bernard (Boom Boom) Geoffrion. Nice pickup for the Preds on the backline. Habs are selling this year.

February 18: Tampa Bay Lightning trades Pavel Kubina to Philadelphia for Jon Kalinski, a second-round and fifth-round draft pick. Needless to say, a nice pickup for the Flyers

February 21: Colorado trades Kyle Quincey to Tampa Bay Lightning for Steve Downie. They promptly trade Quincey to Detroit for a 1st round pick & prospect Sebastien Piche. Old friend Stevie Y. comes to the rescue by trading Quincey to The Wings, which saves the Wings of the distasteful exercise of trading directly with the Avalanche, and the Bolts get a number one in the deal, which never would have happened had the Wings been trying to trade with the Avs. You can say what you want about rivals, but, as Brian Burke once said in a USA Today article some years ago about the trading deadline, rivalries are real, and you seldom see trades made between Wings-Hawks, Wings-Avs, Ducks-Kings, Habs-Bruins, etc...

February 22: Columbus Blue Jackets trade forward Antoine Vermette to the Phoenix Coyotes for a second round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft (via Ottawa), a conditional fifth round selection in the 2013 Draft and minor-league goaltender Curtis McElhinney. No big deal, I suppose a nice little pickup for the Dogs, while the Jacks are sellers building for the future.

February 23: Columbus Blue Jackets trade forward Jeff Carter to the Los Angeles Kings for defenceman Jack Johnson and a first-round draft pick in either 2012 or 2013. Kings needed a goal-scorer badly, with Carter, they got it.

February 24: New Jersey Devils trade forwards Nick Palmieri and Stephane Veilleux, defenseman Kurtis Foster, a second round pick in 2013 and a conditional third round pick in 2013 to Minnesota Wild for defenseman Marek Zidlicky. Jersey obviously wanted Zidlicky badly to give up this high a price for him.

February 25: New York Rangers trade forward Wojtek Wolski to the Florida Panthers in return for defenseman Michael Vernace and a third-round draft pick in 2013. Panthers show they mean business by aquiring some scoring punch. Rangers, who believe they are close to a cup run, add a defenseman, and shed salary in advance of perhaps a big move(which did not happen).

February 26: St. Louis trades goalie Ben Bishop to Ottawa for a second-round pick.

TRADE DEADLINE DAY, February 27:

Montreal trades Andrei Kostistyn to Nashville for a 2013 second-round pick, and the conditional 2013 pick they had traded to the Preds in the Hal Gill deal. The Kostitsyn brothers are reunited, and it feels so good.

Detroit trades Mike Commodore to Tampa Bay for a conditional seventh-round pick. The Wings unload salary, so that they can bring up Brendan Smith and Jakob Kindl.

Edmonton trades Nick Schultz to Minnesota for Tom Gilbert.

Toronto trades Matt Gilroy to Ottawa for Brian Lee. A rarity. The Leafs and Sens actually make a trade.

Columbus trades Sammy Pahlsson to Vancouver for two fourth-round picks. Canucks wanted some more grit. Jax looking to sell.

Winnipeg trades Johnny Oduya to Chicago for a second and third-round pick next year. Hawks add a little help on the blueline.

Islanders trade Brain Rolston and Mike Mottau to Boston for Yannick Riendea and Marc Cantin. B's turn to an old friend in Rolston.

Chicago trades John Scott to Rangers for a fifth-round pick.

Minnesota trades Steve Kampfer top Boston for Greg Zanon.

Buffalo trades Paul Gaustad and a fourth-round pick to Nashville for a first-round pick. A good deadline period for the Preds.

Buffalo Marc-Andre Gragnani and Zack Kassian to Vancouver for Cody Hodgson and Alexander Sulzer.

Toronto trades Marc Fraser to Anaheim for Dale Mitchell. Just like the Wings with Stevie Y., Brian Burke trades with old friends in Anaheim.

Anaheim trades Sebastian Erixon to Vancouver for Andrew Gordon. A good deadline day for the Canucks.

Amazing Race Producer Found Dead

Sometime "Amazing Race" producer Jeff Rice has been found dead in his Ugandan hotel room, due to a suspected drug overdose. He was found with fellow producer Kathryn Fuller, who was found unconscious on the floor. Police are waiting for her to recover before they interview her.

Red Wings Record Streak Ends

Alex Burrows scored in a shootout to give the Vancouver Canucks a 4-3 victory over the Red Wings, which ended the NHL-record home winning streak at 23. The Wings will be very upset about the fact they led this game with 15 seconds left, when the Canucks tied it. The Wings can try to start a new streak on Saturday night against the Colorado Avalanche

Red Wings Extend NHL record

The Red Wings broke the NHL record for longest home winning streak Tuesday night against Dallas, and extended it last night at home versus Nashville, as Pavel Datsuk scored with five seconds left. The record is now at 22, with San Jose Sunday afternoon at 12:30 on NBC.

Red Wings Tie 82 year old record

Red Wings win 20th in a row on home ice, tying a record that has stood for 82 years. They can break the record on Tuesday-Valentine's Day night against Dallas. The original record was set by the 1930 Boston Bruins, and Tied by the 1976 Philadelphia Flyers.

Oh By The Way, There IS A Football Game Tomorrow, Gordie Howe Diagnosed With Dementia

Oh by the way, there IS a football game tomorrow...

Lets see, tomorrow, there are...

Six to twelve hours of pregame shows...

Three hours of commercials...

Performances by "The Voice"s Blake Shelton with wife Miranda Lambert, Former "American Idol" Kelly Clarkson, and Madonna...

And between all that, the Patriots and Giants will manage to play the game, which is the reason we have all this hype in the first place! As far as the game itself, an EA Sports sim has the Giants winning, while Anastasia The Balloon Popping Dog, on "The Tonight Show" last night, had the Patriots winning. Me? We dogs stick together. I have the Patriots winning Super Bowl XLVI, XXIV-XIII(I used Roman Numerals since it IS the Super Bowl, after all, and that translates to 24-13). If I got it right, you heard it here first. If I got it wrong, you DIDN'T hear it here first!

GORDIE HOWE DIAGNOSED WITH DEMENTIA

Thursday, a story broke that Gordie Howe has been suffering with a mild form of dementia for at least the last few years. The family has been reluctant to link his dementia to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, which The Late Bob Probert, among others, was found to have had during the autopsy conducted after his sudden death in 2010. I, however, would not be surprised to find out after Gordie's death, that he does have this (unfortunately, diagnoses of CTE at this point in medical science, are not possible until after the person's death, as the player's brain is examined at that time). He suffered a near-fatal head injury against the Leafs in 1950 which left him with a permanent facial tick, and no one will ever know how many concussions he sustained during his legendary career. Just sayin'.

They're singing "At Last" at the gates of Heaven

Legendary blues singer Etta James, who made "At Last", "The Wallflower", "Something's Got A Hold Of Me" and other songs blues standards, passed away today at the age of 73. James, whose real name was Jamesetta Hawkins ("Jamesetta", she reversed her real first name!)was the product of a single mother, and, according to her claim, the legendary pool hustler Minnesota Fats. She overcame these humble beginnings to amass an incredible career, and a million-dollar fortune. Without further ado, I give you the Late, Great Etta James:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioQQ0nQ43HY

Mike Cammaleri Traded To Calgary

One day after criticizing the Montreal Canadiens organization for what he percieved as a lack of committment to winning, and his own lack of ice time, Mike Cammalleri was pulled from tonight's game against the Boston Bruins. He was sent back to the team's hotel; later, he was traded along with goalie Karri Ramo and a 5th pick in 2012 to the Calgary Flames — the team he left in 2009 to sign a free-agent deal in Montreal — for forwards Rene Bourque, Patrick Holland and a 2nd pick in 2013. Bourque tweeted that he "doesn't speak French, even though he has the most French name on the team". This is turning into a bizzare season in Montreal, with this trade, the firing of Francophone coach Jacques Martin at 7 A.M on a Saturday, and his replacement by Randy Cunneyworth, a unilingual coach who does NOT speak French, with accompanying protests from the fans.

Ron Caron Dies, Freestyle Skiing Tragedy

RON CARON DIES

Former St. Louis Blues GM Ron "The Old Professor" Caron has died in Montreal at age 82. His family reported. Before his years in St. Louis, he was an assistant GM of the Montreal Canadiens, and was actively involved with Sam Pollock in building the team that won 6 Stanley Cups in the 1970's.

FREESTYLE SKIING TRAGEDY

Four-time Winter X games freestyle skiing champion Sarah Burke is in a coma after a crash in Salt Lake City today. The Canadian skiier, who is 29, and was a favorite to win gold in 2014 in Sochi, "whiplashed" over onto her side after completing a trick on the Salt Lake halfpipe, according to a witness to the accident, that was reported on the website powder.com Her husband, Rory Bushfield tweeted that he is looking for a private jet to take him and his mother-in-law to the Salt Lake City hospital where Burke is staying.

Happy New Year, She's B-A-A-A-A-C-K, and more

Now that the holidays are over-The Ice Dog Blog is back!

Happy New Year! May 2012 be better than 2011 was!

She's B-A-A-A-A-C-K

But did we ask her to be? Casey Anthony just released a video diary, as if we wanted one.

Lions in the playoffs

The Lions have to play Drew Brees in New Orleans. I don't have much hope for them winning, though I expect an extremely high-scoring game, and the Lions to put up a heck of a fight. If you're betting on the game, take the over.

From The "Hell Hath No Fury" department...

Tiger Woods' ex-Elin Nordgren had their $12,000,000 mansion that she got in the divorce settlement torn down, so she can build a better on. How much will this one cost?

The Doors to release first new song in 40 years:

An unreleased Doors tune "She Smells So Nice" is being released on an expanded 40th anniversary version of the "L.A. Woman" album that is being released Monday.

Beach Boys to do some dates for their 50th anniversary:

The surviving Original Beach Boys-Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, Al Jardine, and David Marks, who was briefly a member of the band in 1962, are re-uniting to celebrate the band's 50th anniversary. They will play the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival in April, and two dates in Germany in August. Stay tuned for possible additional dates. Who knows: perhaps the band will represent the U.S.A. at the London Olympics or the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations?