Detroit

The Dirt As expected there are no lineup changes for the Wings. The comments coming from the Wings is that they know Chicago's going to be playing desperate hockey and is going to come at them with everything they have. They know they have to stay focused and that it's not going to be an easy win. Quenneville has one last desperate attempt to change his lineup and try to win. If the practice lines hole true in the game he'll try to load up his top line and reunite Sharp, Toews, and Kane, while Bolland gets bumped down to fourth line center. Quenneville's practice lines weren't the lines he went with in game 4. Maybe he'll do it in a last ditch effort to get some scoring, or maybe he's trying to fool Babcock (hahaha). Bickell, Handzus, Hossa is no slouch of a line either though, and it sounds like Babcock is assuming that Datsyuk will go against one of those lines, and Zetterberg the other. Babcock on Zetterberg/Datsyuk matchups: "I assume Toews has to play against one of them, and I assume Handzus has to play against another."— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) May 25, 2013 Babcock: "I don't know how they can be any more desperate or scared than we are. A little fear is a wonderful thing." Blackhawks">#Blackhawks #PawsUp— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) May 25, 2013 Comments coming from the Hawks players are full of desperation and frustration. According to Chuck Pleiness, Patrick Kane wants to get into Jimmy Howard's head a little bit. "I would be nice to play with the lead, we haven't done that the last couple of games," Kane said. "It would be nice to do that. Maybe get in (Jimmy) Howard’s head at least a little bit, he's playing great right now, but they’ve gotten some big breaks as far as hitting posts, but he's made some great saves for them too. We want to control the tempo of the game and get that first one." "Everyone is frustrated a little bit right now," Kane added. "We just have to forget what happened in the past and try and play a hockey game and try and play it one game at a time. It's easy to say, but just worry about one game." Since we can expect the Hawks to start the game pushing hard, I wonder if Babcock will choose to start with Datsyuk's line, or if he'll go with Andersson's line and look to create some energy and pressure of our own. Hey, it worked in game 7 against Anaheim. Hold on to your butts fellow Wingnuts, the shit is about to hit the fan. The Hawks are going to be desperate, play like there's no tomorrow, and I fully expect things to get rough. The ref's may call more penalties early int he game in an attempt to send a message and keep things under control, but I think they're going to have their hands full. If we have a several goal lead, I hope Babcock puts the big boys out there because Chicago will lose their shit, come fully unglued, and I don't want our players getting injured. Lineup Forwards Johan Franzen Pavel Datsyuk Justin Abdelkader Valtteri Filppula Henrik Zetterberg Daniel Cleary Gustav Nyquist Joakim Andersson Damien Brunner Drew Miller Cory Emmerton Patrick Eaves Defense Niklas Kronwall Jonathan Ericsson Kyle Quincey Brendan Smith Jakub Kindl Carlo Colaiacovo Goalies Jimmy Howard Jonas Gustavsson Jordan Pearce Healthy Scratches Todd Bertuzzi Jordin Tootoo Ian White Injured Danny DeKeyser (Broken Thumb) Darren Helm (Back)- Out for the season Mikael Samuelsson (sore boob) Blackhawks Lineup Forwards Patrick Sharp Jonathan Toews Patrick Kane Bryan Bickell Michal Handzus Marian Hossa Brandon Saad Andrew Shaw Viktor Stalberg Marcus Kruger Dave Bolland

Pesticides are good Baseball with Dad (or Mom) is good Imitating Hawk is Bad. And prolly some other stuff to get me to enough words to do this. Damn I need more words More words More words More words And lots of words would go here if I need them. Seventy five words is a lot of words. Damn I still need more words. I could tell you about my childhood on the farm with my favorite sheep..oh look I have enough Pesticides are good Baseball with Dad (or Mom) is good Imitating Hawk is Bad. And prolly some other stuff to get me to enough words to do this. Damn I need more words More words More words More words And lots of words would go here if I need them. Seventy five words is a lot of words. Damn I still need more words. I could tell you about my childhood on the farm with my favorite sheep..oh look I have enough

"A bird in hand is better than two in the bush." This proverb rings especially true for the NBA draft, although the proportion is a bit more dramatic. General managers, scouts, media personalities and fans often overvalue draft prospects when compared to existing NBA talent, and the 2013 NBA Draft is no different. Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press recently joined the club by suggesting that a draft selection of Cody Zeller could make Detroit's Greg Monroe expendable, and that the latter should be traded in turn: Zeller would have a higher upside than Monroe at a much cheaper price. Zeller already has the midrange offensive game Monroe still lacks. Pairing Zeller with Drummond would improve floor spacing and create potential matchup difficulties because Zeller’s midrange shooting ability would force an opposing big away from the basket. While Sharp's sentiment is fair, he's broken a fair amount of logic to make these assumptions. First, he's comparing the upside of a proven NBA player to an unproven, not-yet-drafted college prospect. Second, he's operating on poor information about Zeller's ability. Third, he's ignoring Monroe's superior college showing, his potential for range and the spacing value of high-post passing. Finally, he has implied that the Detroit Pistons should make both of these moves for an improved fit with a guy who has only started 10 NBA games to date. There's also the ill-conceived assumption that Greg Monroe has reached his peak, and the implication that Detroit can find the right return in a trade with his rookie-scale contract. "Zeller would have a higher upside than Monroe at a much cheaper price." Too chez: Darko Milicic would have a higher upside than Ben Wallace at a much cheaper price. Forgive my hyperbolic analogy for a moment and consider the point it illustrates. Sharp has compared a player who has not even played a minute of summer league to a guy who joined Tim Duncan, David Lee and Dwight Howard in a group of five elite offensive big men that averaged 16 and 10 or more at Greg's efficiency level last season. Greg is the youngest in that group by 5 years. By comparison, Sharp is not even talking about a top draft prospect, he's suggesting this late lottery pick has greater potential. Without playing a single second in the NBA, isn't it a bit risky (and unfair to Greg Monroe) to pencil in Cody Zeller in a group where everyone other than Greg is a multiple All Star in the worst case or a multiple MVP in the best case? Who knows, there might be a second round pick in this draft that ultimately has a higher career arc than Greg Monroe. With that, Sharp may not be wrong. But to compare the two players now, and to declare Cody Zeller the higher upside player is not only foolish and presumptive, it's also quite dismissive of the accomplishments of Greg Monroe. "Zeller already has the midrange offensive game Monroe still lacks." As I mentioned above, Sharp is operating on poor information to make this statement. In his sophomore season, Cody Zeller only attempted 24 jump shots in 36 games. That's less than one per game on average, and a tiny shred of a sample even if we assume Zeller made every single jumper. To suggest this is a defined competency that Zeller will bring to the NBA is either untruthful or just ignorant of the hard numbers. 24 shots is about as many as Cody Zeller might attempt in pre-game shoot-around, it is far from conclusive evidence of ability. In fact, if we're making declarative statements about tiny amounts of data, let's take the last 30 three-to-fifteen foot jumpers Greg Monroe shot in 2012-13. His 42% shooting over those last 30 is above the league average for power forwards, but I doubt I'll hear anyone rushing to his defense on such a tiny sample. Doing so would be inconclusive and pointless-- just as inconclusive and pointless as making assertions about Cody Zeller's midrange jumper. "Zeller ... would improve floor spacing a

Kid Rock says ticket prices for his summer tour are so low, he’s taking desperate measures — scalping. The 42-year-old Grammy winner said he’s been scalping about 1,000 tickets from each show to make a little extra scratch. “I’m in the scalping business, but you know what? We told everyone. A lot of artists have been doing this for years behind fans’ backs, taking all these backdoor deals,” Kid Rock said about the low ticket prices. “We look at StubHub and other places and see what they’re selling them for and we just undercut them.” It’s not like fans are getting a bad deal out of it. Prices for his Best Night Ever Tour are $20 each. Kid Rock isn’t the only one coping with ticket prices by scalping. Ticket sales on the secondary market have grown considerably thanks to sites like Stub Hub, something other artists have taken advantage of. “If I see a scalper, I’ll scalp him,” the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards said. But Richards isn’t offering cheap shows like Kid Rock. Tickets for the Rolling Stones’ 50 & Counting average $355.14. Richards said he’d make it up to fans if he could. The Stones have done something of the sort, playing a secret concert in Los Angeles for fans who won a lottery. Tickets for that show were $20. “I’d do some free shows. I’d work my butt off, and I don’t care how much. But these are set up above my head, man,” Richards said in a recent interview. “You’re kind of locked in a thing here whether you like it or not. I wish it was five bucks a ticket.” Kid Rock had slammed ticket prices before. Back in April on CNN’s Piers Morgan Live he criticized the “Legends of the Summer” tour of Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake. Ticket prices topped $250 in cities like Detroit and New York City. “It’s garbage. It’s highway robbery,” Kid Rock said of the ticket prices. “I don’t care who you are. I would consider both of them in the circle of friends in the business, but I don’t agree with it.” [Image via U.S. Air Force photo by: TSgt Sean Mateo White] Kid Rock: Ticket Prices So Low I’ve Resorting To Scalping is a post from: The Inquisitr

Chicago Blackhawks (5-4) vs Detroit Red Wings (7-4) DET leads series 3-1 7pm United Center - Chicago, IL TV: NBC Radio: 720 AM WGN Series Schedule Date Score W. Goal May 29 '13 May 27 '13 May 25 '13 May 23 '13 CHI 0 at DET 2 J. Kindl May 20 '13 CHI 1 at DET 3 D. Miller May 18 '13 DET 4 at CHI 1 B. Smith May 15 '13 DET 1 at CHI 4 J. Oduya So here we are, the Blackhawks have painted themselves in a corner and unless they start a three game winning streak tonight, their season will come to a disappointing end. So instead of dancing with the girl you brought, Q is shuffling his lines once again. To me this reeks of desperation, but we shall see. It appears we might getting Patrick Sharp with Daydream Nation on the top line. We've seen great things out of this combination in the past and we will need a big encore from them tonight. Just because Q used the lines below in practice this morning doesn't mean we will see them tonight. The lines he used in practice on Thursday were not the same lines he used in Game 3, so we will just have to wait and see. It doesn't matter what the lines are, the Hawks need goals. The stars need to produce and our captain needs to show the hockey world why he should have been considered for the Hart Trophy. Probable Blackhawks Lineup: Forwards Patrick Sharp - Jonathan Toews - Patrick KaneBryan Bickell - Michal Handzus - Marian Hossa Brandon Saad - Andrew Shaw - Viktor StalbergMarcus Kruger - Dave Bolland - Michael Frolik Defensive PairingsDuncan Keith - Niklas Hjalmarsson Brent Seabrook - Nick Leddy Johnny Oduya - Michal Rozsivala Goaltender Corey Crawford 5-4 1.73 GAA, .935 save %, 1 SO Leading Scorers Player GP G A P +/- PIM PP GW P. Sharp 9 6 4 10 4 0 1 2 P. Kane 9 2 6 8 2 4 0 0 M. Hossa 9 4 3 7 1 0 2 0 D. Keith 9 1 5 6 3 4 0 0 B. Bickell 9 3 1 4 -2 8 0 1 Probable Red Wings Lineup: Forwards Johan Franzen - Pavel Datsyuk - Justin AbdelkaderValtteri Filppula - Henrik Zetterberg - Daniel ClearyGustav Nyquist - Joakim Andersson - Damien BrunnerPatrick Eaves - Cory Emmerton - Drew Miller Defensive Pairings Niklas Kronwall - Jonathan EricssonBrendan Smith - Kyle QuinceyCarlo Colaiacovo - Jakub Kindl Goaltender Jimmy Howard 7-4 2.22 GAA, .922 save %, 1 SO Leading Scorers Player GP G A P +/- PIM PP GW H. Zetterberg 11 3 7 10 5 6 1 1 D. Brunner 11 4 4 8 0 4 0 1 P. Datsyuk 11 3 5 8 2 2 0 0 D. Cleary 11 3 4 7 0 2 1 0 J. Franzen 11 4 2 6 -6 6 3 0 Playoff Stats WINGS STATS HAWKS 11 GP 9 7 W 5 4 L 4 1 OT 1 0 P 0 0.636 P% 0.556 2.54 G/G 2.56 2.46 GA/G 1.89 17.5 PP% 12 78.4 PK% 96.9 29.6 S/G 33.2 32.3 SA/G 27.4 52.6 FO% 48.3 Chicago Blackhawks Tickets

This will be quick. It's May 25th in Michigan, which means the weather should be simply stunning. Judging by the jackets at last night's Tiger game, that may not be the case. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters. Go about your day. Frolic. Bounce and swim. Grill. Develop and teach your children (well). Because when all that's over?Continue reading "A Throat Is Perfect Place To Put A Skate, Especially Near A Big Bonfire"

4-3, 3-2,1-4, 4-1, 3-1, 2-0; DET's record in the past six games (5 wins, 1 loss), Un-freaking-believable. 17 GF, 11 GA. The Wings lose TPH, and Disco Stu, and manage to win with defense? STFU. Jimmy "brickwall" Howard: 0.50, .985 in last 2 GPI. From the Peloton of Suck to the doorstep of the WCF - - skate to throat, bitches. Continue reading "GDT - WCSF Game 5: Red Wings (3-1) host Hawks (1-3) 8:00"

Washington Nationals' manager Davey Johnson told reporters before Friday night's game with the Philadelphia Phillies that the team had received some bad news about second baseman Danny Espinosa's wrist. Espinosa originally injured the wrist when he was hit by a pitch from Atlanta Braves' lefty Paul Maholm in a mid-April game in the nation's capital. When pain in the wrist continued to bother the switch-hitting infielder, the 26-year-old Espinosa saw a specialist in the Baltimore area who diagnosed a small fracture in the wrist and located a bone chip that was causing irritation. "About 25% of our lineup has really been struggling, along with some other guys at times, so seeing Lombo come in there and get three hits and drive in some runs, that was huge." - Davey Johnson on Nats' offensive woes "I looked at the films," Johnson told reporters, "and [Espinosa] has a little chip floating around in his wrist. The report I got from the trainers is if he can stand the pain it shouldn't get any worse." The plan is to let Espinosa rest and see if the discomfort goes away. The '08 3rd Round pick is already dealing with a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder. Since he figured to be out for at least a few days, Johnson explained, the Nationals had to make a move. "We're going to make a roster change," Johnson announced after the Nats' 5-2 win over the Phillies. "[Assistant GM Bryan Minniti] isn't here, but I think we're doing something with [Yunesky] Maya and [we're] calling up [Jeff] Kobernus. We're already one player short with just four men on the bench. I like to have at least five and with Espinosa down for a number of days, we can't go with three." Kobernus, 24, has moved up a level in the Nats' system in each of the five seasons since the Nationals selected him with the first pick of the second round of the 2009 Draft. Last season at Double-A Harrisburg, the San Leandro, California-born, Cal State Berkeley-educated right-handed hitting and throwing infielder/outfielder had a .282/.325/.333 line over 82 games and 366 plate appearances in which he hit ten doubles, two triples and a home run while dealing with a thumb injury. The Detroit Tigers were impressed enough with Kobernus that they selected him in this past winter's Rule 5 Draft, but returned him to the Nationals when he didn't make their Opening Day roster. In 43 games and 193 PAs with the Nationals' top affiliate this season before he was called up last night, Kobernus had a .333/.378/.420 with eight doubles, two triples and one home run. Can he help out the Nats' offense? They could use the help. The Nationals' offense produced 10 hits and five runs last night in the nation's capital, but that was a rare offensive display for a team that's been at the bottom in team average, on base percentage and slugging in the National League early this season. Steve Lombardozzi, filling in at second for Espinosa, was 3 for 4 with a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth last night. Tyler Moore got a start in left and went 1 for 3 in the win. Davey Johnson talked about his team's offensive issues with reporters after last night's game. "We haven't been getting -- early on, we got, we scored on passed ball, ground balls, or short fly balls," Johnson said. "We haven't been getting base hits. We got the first base hit I think in San Francisco with a runner on second and two outs, we drove a guy in, [Ian] Desmond did, but to see us do that... the big hit of course, Lombo, but we haven't seen much of that all year." "Our offense has really been down," Johnson continued, "About 25% of our lineup has really been struggling, along with some other guys at times, so seeing Lombo come in there and get three hits and drive in some runs, that was huge." "We just haven't been the kind of offensive club I know we're capable of being," Johnson said, "And today was a big day with Espinosa out for Lombo to do what he did and us to score five runs, we've been kind of stuck on none

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is putting stars Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp on the same line for Game 5 tonight.

There’s currently an international battle for donut supremacy being waged. And all of must take a side. This donut war is being waged right in front of our eyes; every time we watch hockey. Pay attention tonight when the Chicago Blackhawks are possibly eliminated by the Detroit Red Wings. The battlefield for these donut wars covers more territory than just this old Norris division rivalry. Every time you turn on NBC Sports to watch a hockey playoff game, take notice of the Tim Horton’s billboard in the corner of the rink. Then look closer to center ice to see the Dunkin’ Donuts ad. Yes, for the first time since the War of 1812, the United States and Canada are at each other’s throats. And as the South Park full length feature film taught us, the idea of a war between Canada and the U.S. is kind of hilarious. As long as it’s being waged via donut sales; not military might. Tim Horton’s advertises for all Chicago Blackhawks games; even though there are no Tim Hortons in Chicago. Or anywhere in Illinois for that matter. These Tim Horton’s ads are strictly for the television audience. And with the Canadian dominance of Tim Hortons, and hockey being Canada’s national game, this makes perfect sense. Today, in addition to over 3,000 locations in Canada, there are over 556 Tim Hortons donut shops in the United States, and they can be found in Michigan, Ohio, New York, Maine, Pennsylvania, and other American states, mainly in the Northeast and the Great Lakes region. There was also a Tim Hortons on the Kandahar Canadian Military base in Afghanistan until late 2011. There are also a number of Tim Hortons in the UK and Ireland. In November 2011, Tim Hortons set up shop in the UAE, in Abu Dhabi at Mushrif Mall. Miles Gilbert “Tim” Horton was a Canadian defenceman (yes, spelled in Canadian English intentionally)- playing 24 seasons in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Buffalo Sabres. He obviously founded the Tim Hortons donut empire. He died in an automobile crash while being chased by police in St. Catharines, Ontario, in 1974 at the age of 44. My readers know all about Dunkin Donuts; therefore I didn’t feel the need to give them equal time here. Look out Dunkin Donuts; Canada and Tim Hortons are coming for you! Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net. He’s also an author who also contributes regularly to MSN, Fox Sports , Chicago Now, Walter Football.com and Yardbarker Banks has appeared on the History Channel, as well as Clear Channel, ESPN and CBS radio all over the world. President Barack Obama follows him on Twitter (@PaulMBanks), like him on Facebook The post Stanley Cup Playoffs: backdrop for International Donut Wars appeared first on The Sports Bank.Net.