I'm Still the Smart One, Right?

So, I'm out on the ice with the boys Thursday tending the 6x4 and we are all of us every one giving it our all out there and when the game is over, I can't get the tape on my ankle and my ankle brace undone and I don't have knife to cut it off which means I can't get my hockey underwear off (think either long johns or lightweight sweat pants) which means I have to put my jeans on over them and they are soaking wet as I have, as mentioned, just finished giving my all out there and sweat and lots of it is the byproduct.  Because they are wet, they are cold and they are nasty, too.  I'm thinking I'm going to get some sort of rash before I can finish the drive home.  Or catch my death en route, one or the other.  When I do get home, my poor daughter has to cut the tape off so I can hit the shower which, although she said nothing (such a sweet child) has to gross her out to the maximum.  I mention all of this to Jeannie yesterday and she asks why I didn't ask somebody in another locker room if they had a knife and I tell her I didn't think of it and she asks me why I didn't go to the office to see if they had some scissors and I tell her I didn't think of that, either and I say, "So what you are saying is that anytime a little problem like this crops up (and they have, you know.  We're eighteen years into our marriage, after all.) I can just call you and you will give me all sorts of potential solutions?" And she says, "Of course," and I say, "Okay, but I still get to be the smart one, right?"

You gotta work to make your marriage work, boys.  Keep it in mind!

We are at the Joe Louis here tonight for the Wings and the Kings and it is not going well at all for one of the teams whose name ends in "ings" and I can tell you for sure that it is not the local hockeyists as they led 2-0 at the 2-minute mark and 3-0 eight-and-a-half in.  And that is where we are now.  I was planning a quick getaway tonight but as soon as I got here they asked if I could pick tonight's Three Stars of the Game which means A). I have to pay attention and, B). I cannot leave early as it is difficult to pay attention to something one is not actually at, you know?  But, what the hey.  The crowd is having a good time and the we can spread out in the pressbox as it is not crowded, so let's enjoy...  3:02 left, 1st Period: Detroit 3, LA 0.


One is done and the Wings dominate with a 4-1 lead at the first intermission.  8 (8!) different Wings record at least one point in the period.  Incredibly, LA outshoots Detroit 10-9 in the period, proving once and for all, we suspect, that "Shots on Goal" is the weakest stat in the history of athletic competition.  1st Intermission: Det 4, LA 1.


Okay, two periods complete here and it is still Detroit by four, 6-2. 12 different Wings have recorded a point here, which is remarkable.  As is the fact that the LA club leads in shots 19-16.  I didn't check in with you because not a lot was going on here.  Detroit appeared to get a little bored midway through the period, analogous to a cat tiring of playing the with mouse he's caught, I thought, and the Kings made 'em pay and the game was 4-2.  Then it got a little chippy and there was some shoving and cruel taunts and hurt feelings.  The Wings got two goals late: Henrik Zetterberg roofing a backhand under the bar although there clearly was no open spot for him to hit and Pavel Datsyuk was in alone in the last minute and he did what he does when he is in alone, netting his 10th of the year.   Detroit is 12-2-1 (.833) at home this year.  In another half an hour or so, they will be 13-2-1 (.843) and you can book that.  2nd Intermission: Detroit 6, LA 2.  


I am going to shut this thing down now as I will have to hustle in the 3rd to get away once the 3 Stars are turned in to Budd Lynch--the legendary PA announcer here.

It turns out Dec. 15 was the 32nd anniversary of the last game ever played at Olympia Stadium.  I was there.  Detroit fell behind 4-0, but came back to tie Quebec 4-4.  A few nights later, they played the first game in this building, and I was here for that one, too.  I cannot believe I have been coming to games in this place for 32 years....