Top Shelf: Ho-Hum, Red Wings Roll
NHL May 9th. 2008, 11:45am
Lee Diekemper, who now rocks a Barry Melrose mullet and flashier gear than Don Cherry, recaps the night in the NHL.
Detroit 4, Dallas 1: Marty Turco’s Detroit nightmare continues. The Stars goalie hasn’t won a game in Joe Louis Arena since his college days at Michigan. The Stars never could recover from the Wings 4-0 lead, but it’s not like the rowdy crowd was a factor. Really, empty seats at a Wings playoff game in the city formerly known as Hockeytown? Too many turnovers and penalties killed the Stars. Detroit leads series 1-0.
16 Responses to “Top Shelf: Ho-Hum, Red Wings Roll”
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May 9th, 2008 at 11:48 AM
People in Detroit can afford seats. It’s not that hard to figure out…The recession hit D-Town 20 years ago.
May 9th, 2008 at 11:53 AM
Detroit is undefeated at home in the playoffs.
May 9th, 2008 at 11:55 AM
They really need to turn off icing and off-sides.
May 9th, 2008 at 11:58 AM
The game was sold out last night, the empty seats were either from brokers who purchased tickets and were trying to scalp them for ridiculously high prices (making them unaffordable for most people in the area), or from season ticket holders who decided not to attend.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:07 PM
So people in Detroit don’t care about the Red Wings. Lion Fever!!!
May 9th, 2008 at 12:08 PM
Gonzo – I assume you’ll show up to peruse this post at some point today. After
no thought whatsoevera great deal of thought, I’m proposing that the loser of our little wager has to change their avatar for the remainder of the playoffs. What do you think?May 9th, 2008 at 12:09 PM
Can’t believe a season ticket holder wouldn’t attend a playoff game. As an NHL season ticket holder, the playoffs are the sole reason why you put up with spending exhorbitant sums of money to see your team play Atlanta or some other bullshit team you don’t care about on a random Tuesday night.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:21 PM
@john – I don’t live in Detroit, so I don’t really understand the full scope of the way the recession has hit that town, but I do know prices for upper level seats were going for $100 a ticket. Also, the Joe is in the middle of downtown, about 30-40 minutes from the burbs where fans live. With gas being $4 a gallon, that’s an extra $20 just to get to and from the game. Obviously, if you’re a season ticket holder with seats in the lower level, you can afford the gas and the parking cost to make it to a playoff hockey game. The fact that those people didn’t show up sickens me as a Red Wings fan.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:23 PM
I’m with John on this one. There’s no reason to miss a playoff game, let alone a WCF game.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:25 PM
People in Detroit hold grudges. Before the salary cap, Ilitch said ticket prices were high, because payroll was high. Since the salary cap has been implemented, he hasn’t lowered ticket prices accordingly.
And, back in the mid-late 90’s the Wings didn’t have much local competition in the Spring/Summer. Now people are going to Pistons & Tigers games. It’s not so much Hockeytown anymore.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:27 PM
@rockstar – read some of the comments on Albom’s article, I think you’ll be able to see how many fans truly can’t afford playoff tickets.
The game was sold out last night. If a broker is trying to make a profit off the tickets, he won’t be getting any takers in that town.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:30 PM
Thanks for linking to a Mitch Albom column, Lee. He has become the master of hyperbole in D-town. Mitch has so much money, he has lost touch with why people might not be in attendance.
As sportsgal mentioned, the game was an official sell-out.
Didn’t help that the Tigers were playing the Red Sox just down the road. Detroit fans have actually been known to travel back and forth to the games.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:35 PM
@Sportsgal – That’s fine if they can’t afford tickets (which I originally stated), but if instead they are going to regular season Tigers games then it really can’t be Hockeytown.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:58 PM
people going to tigers/red sox in may over wings/stars western conf. final? doubt it.
May 9th, 2008 at 1:26 PM
412, thanks for writing that note. I’ve been so bogged down here at work I haven’t had much time to post on here. That’s a good bet. Also, we must change our nickname to something silly. When the Flyers win, I’ll think of something good, most likely about Mike Richards. Hit me up on email pbr999@gmail.com so we can do some trash talking.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:36 PM
According to TSN.ca, the Avalanche and Joel Quenneville are parting ways. The early rumors have Pat Burns head the Denver to be the next Avalanche coach.