Rich Kincaide Is Watching MLB.TV Again

I did tonight what I do most nights: I watch baseball on MLB.tv--where I have access to every game, except the game involving the team in my home market, Detroit.  I have a new blog on MLBLOGS.com and I thought I'd try it out.  Technical glitches aplenty, though, so I don't really know for sure whether these 3155 words written in real time between around 9pm (EDT) and 1:30am this morning actually made the net or not.  But I reproduce them for you now, at this time, in this place:
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I'm going to watch the Tigers-Red Sox game tonight on the computer and since I live in the Detroit market, I will have to wait until 90 minutes after the game is over to see it.  So, no spoilers, okay?

UPDATE: OKAY, I SAW A TWEET AND I KNOW THE TIGERS LOST 1-0.  GEE, THEY HAD THE TYING RUN AT THIRD IN THE 9TH.


The reason I'm waiting is so that I can utilize the crowd noise overlay feature and watch the game not in silence as would be the case were I to simply mute the audio, but with that crowd noise in the background: the same way it would be were I covering the game in person like I do at Comerica Park.  I don't like having my opinions and judgements colored by what an announcer or a color guy might say.  You know?

And, truth be told, I am not a fan of the Tigers broadcasters.  There are a lot of crews I don't care for.  Rick Manning sounds like he's really sold on himself in Cleveland and I hate Ken Harrelson so much--(as a broadcaster because he's such a homer; I'm sure he's a fine person)--that I sometimes bring him up when the White Sox are getting hammered just to listen to him whine to name but two. 

But some I like.  Michael Kay on the YES Network is outstanding.  I enjoy listening to Dick Enberg in San Diego, he goes on and on, and, speaking of which, Vin Scully, maybe the best of all time, continues to turn in the best broadcast in The Show today out of Los Angeles.  Vin skips the odd road trip now, but when he's behind the mike, I'm watching the game on MLB.TV.  I love the guy.  I make sure I tune in (of course on computer that should read, "I navigate over") at broadcast time every night I can just to hear him open his broadcast with these simple words; "It's time for Dodger baseball!" 

One thing about Scully.  He works alone.  And, as I say, he's the best in the business.  You'd think somebody would pick up on this and gas their color guy with all of his inside baseball bullcrap and let a guy work alone but none has, so far.  I watch a lot of games, and I mean A LOT OF GAMES on MLB-TV.  Right now I have the Orioles-Yankees game on as well as the White Sox-Indians.  I have to watch the Indians because they lead the Tigers by 5 in the AL Central--besides, you have to watch the other teams in your division--and the game in Baltimore happens to be the most attractive of the other early games tonight.  Plus, it, unlike most of the other non-west coast games tonight, is competitive with the Yanks leading at Camden Yards 1-0 in the 9th. Their run was unearned.  The game in Chicago's good, too.  Jake Peavy is shutting out the Indians 1-0 in the bottom of the 6th.  We have a full slate of west coasters tonight (Sculley's going to be calling the LA-San Fransisco game from Dodger Stadium, for example), so I'll up late with you.

I see we have a rain delay in Boston, so who knows when we'll get to see that Tigers game tonight.  They kept us waiting for a full two hours last night before they called the game in Detroit.  I started telling whomever would listen after the delay and lasted for an hour that we wouldn't be playing last night but they didn't believe me.  I dunno.  I went, as I note at the top of this blog, to my first Tigers game in 1963.  That should buy me some cred in these matters, but no...

Meanwhile, it's raining in Baltimore and Mariano Rivera has blown the save.  Two singles and a sac fly by Vlad Guerrero plated the run that tied it at 1 and they are going to extras.  And Peavy has thrown only 65 pitches and has allowed only 2 hits as the Indians (try to) bat against him with a man down in the 7th.  Peavy could be as big as story as there is in the Bigs this year.

I watched Peavy make his debut in Los Angeles (okay, Anaheim) last week.  He was trailing when he left, but I the White Sox won in extras, the go-ahead run scoring when LA's Jepson threw a wild pitch while trying to issue an intentional walk.  You don't see that every night.  He sailed it 10 feet over his catchers head.  In Chicago, Lillibridge just made an amazing sliding catch on the warning track in center to get the first out of the 8th,  Peavy still in there.  But back to that game last week against the Angels.  It ended with what I think will go down as the best play in the majors this season.  Let's test my blogging skills and see if we can find the play and insert it for your enjoyment.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jspmlb

Well, there's the link to it, anyway. (Click it, it's worth it.)  WordPress wants $60 (ok, $59.97) for a feature which would allow me to embed the video, but I don't have that kind of cash and even if I did, I doubt I'd blow it on that.

I just heard Scully say, "It's time for Dodger baseball"; Peavy gets the game to the 9th allowing only 3 hits; the O's and Yankees have gone to the 11th; and the rain delay is over in Boston.  The night continues...
Peavy came out for the 9th, a bit of  surprise for a guy making his second start after surgery which could have, perhaps should have, finished him off for good, but instead he finishes the game and logs a 3-hit shutout with 8K and 0W.  Wow.  The O's have 'em loaded with  1 out in the 11th, oops, make it 2 out as Luke Scott fans when pretty much all he had to do was put a ball in play to beat the Yankees.  Weiters flies out and that, as Scully always says, is that.  On to the 12th in Baltimore as the Orioles let a great chance go by.

The Yanks let the O's off the hook in the 12th, returning the favor when Jeter hits a 40-foot  ground out to 3rd with two in scoring position and two out in the inning.

Trevor Plouffe, shortstop for the Twins, has just overthrown first base by about 15 feet to give the A's an extra out in the 2nd.  The Twins lead 1-0 in the second with two out and, thanks to the miscue, the A's have men on second and third in when they should be grabbing their mitts and heading out to play the field.  A Kevin Kouzmanoff single scores both runners and the Twins, 13.5 games out in the Central and the most disappointing team in baseball by far so far, trail in Oakland 2-1 when they should have been out of the inning ahead 1-0.

The Tigers lost.  I know this because, even with the scores blacked out, I see Boston did not have to bat in the bottom of the 9th at Fenway.  This is not a good sign as I doubt that the Bostons would have declined their At bats had they been, in fact, trailing.  Besides that, the Tigers haven't Tweeted much all night.  I don't know how it is for your team, but the Tigers only Tweet when something good happens and they have been largely silent on Twitter on this night. 

Baltimore has runners and 2nd and 3rd with two out in the 13th.  (See, there's a lot going on out there.)  Again the Orioles fail and the Yanks get their lead-off man on in the 13th.  NY loads 'em up and A-Rod takes a called third and bitches about it.  Accardo is the Baltimore pitcher and I don't know much about him.

Plouffe made up for the error that wound up costing the Twins  2 runs in the second by singling in 2 runs in the third and Minnesota leads again, 3-2.  Dickerson strikes out in Baltimore (this is the first I've heard of a Yankee named Dickerson) and the bases remain loaded for NY, now with 2 out in the 13th.  Gardner grounds out to first and for the umpteenth time, a team blows an extra-inning scoring chance in Baltimore tonight.  The bottom of the 13th is coming up.

At Dodger Stadium, Scully's not bumming even if the Giants lead 2-0 in the second and have the bases loaded with none out because Scully never bums.  You can't ever tell by listening to him if LA is up or down.  What a pro!  (But the Dodgers are in trouble tonight.)

We are "down" now to 7 in progress games around the Majors.  Should we just type on until the night is done?

We may have to write all night.  The Yankees, again bidding to win that game in Baltimore, have a man at second with nobody out in the 14th.  And the Dodgers go down 1-2-3 in LA where Matt Cain has retired 12 in a row.

Cain begins the 5th at Dodger Stadium and another Matt, LA's Kemp, ruins the perfect game and all the rest of it with a homer.  It's the first homer he's ever hit off Cain, says Scully.  The lead-off man does not reach in the bottom of the 14th in Baltimore which might be the first time in the extra innings that the lead-off man has been retired.  Felix Pie (they say P-ay, I say PIE) has his potential gamer caught on the track up against the wall by that guy Dickerson of NY.

Texas and KC are in extras, too.  That game is in the 11th and I haven't had time to click over and see what's up at The K tonight.  I should be able to log onto that Tigers game in about half an hour.  The O's are out in order in the 14th, so it's on to the 15th inning at Camden Yards!

For the fourth straight inning in extra innings, and for the tenth time in the game, New York gets the leadoff man on in the 15th.  The Dodgers, trailing 4-0 when the 5th began, follow the leadoff homer by Kemp by loading the bases with none out.  Two out now and the bases still loaded in Chavez Ravine.  The Orioles, with two on and none out, bring in the last relief pitcher they have left in the bullpen.  The Dodgers fail to get a run out of that bases-loaded none out situation.

After 13 singles and 15 innings, Robinson Cano gets the first extra base hit of the night for New York and it scores two.  Dickerson then takes a pitch to the head from Gonzalez, and he's down in a heap.  Gonzales is ejected and Dickerson staggers to his feet.  Guthrie, slated to start for Baltimore tomorrow, may have to come in to pitch now.

Guthrie is indeed in for the Orioles with the Yankees ahead 5-3 and none down in the 15th.  Texas scored two in the top of the 11th and KC is now batting in the bottom of the inning with one down and none on.  A sac fly in Baltimore is the first out of the inning for NY and ups their lead to 4-1.

Baltimore, down 3, gets the first two men on in the bottom of the 15th.

Game over in KC, 5-4 Texas in 11. The Royals had 1st and 3rd with 1 out in 10th, but Arthur Rhodes, featured this week in Sports Illustrated as a LOOG (Left Handed One Out Guy) induces an infield popup and gets out of the jam.  Six games still going.  We're going to Oakland next as the A's have tied the Twins 3-3, with that game now in the 8th.

Incredible in Balt.  An apparent single that would have loaded the bases for the Orioles with one out, hits baseruner Snyder instead and so it's two on and two out instead and the next batter makes an out and the game is over: Yankees 4, Orioles 1 (15).  Gary Thorne, tacitly noting that the game ended at 12:05am, says, "We'll see you tonight for game two of the series."

5 games still going on around the majors.  Still tied in Oakland, now top 9 with one out.  (Can you believe I pretty much do this every night?  I watch baseball.  It's what I do.)

I hate to say it, but Atlanta is tied 3-3 in Arizona.  More extras?  The A's and Twins are tied 3-3 in the 9th, also.  Joe Nathan is coming in for the Twins with one out and none on.  He's lost his closers job this year and there's a reason for that.,  We'll see if he can get the Twins to the 10th.

I don't know if he will.  Kurt Suzuki rips the fourth pitch Nathan throws and there's a man in scoring position for the A's with one out.

We've clicked over to Arizona where the Diamondbacks have the winning run at second with one down in the bottom of the 9th in a 3-3 game.

Justin Upton flies to the Warning Track.  5 more feet and it would have been a walk-off homer for the D-Backs.  Two out there.  Two out in Oakland, too.  Mark Ellis struck out and was struck by what he thought was the unfairness of the last two strikes, both called.  A strikeout ends the 9th in Arizona and that game is now in extra innings.  Nathan gets out of the jam as pinch-hitter Jackson (is that Conner?) grounds into a force and that game is now in extra innings.  Also.

It was Conner Jackson batting for Oakland in the 9th...and it wasn't.  He spells it "Coner", not Conner.  I did not know that.  Based on the length of the 15-inning game in Baltimore--about 5 hours--if any of these late games go 15, we will be watching baseball (it's what we do, you know) until 3 am.

J.J. Putz makes a bare-hand stab to get a putout in 'Zona while in Oak the Twins get a two-base sac bunt when, following a leadoff single, Daric Barton sails his throw of an Alexi Casilla bunt to second into centerfield and it's two in scoring position for Minnesota with none out.

Trevor Plouffe, whose throwing error gave Oakland two runs way back in the 2nd, gives the Twins the lead 4-3 with a sac fly. He's knocked in 3 tonight.  Just checked in at Seattle, perhaps the prettiest ballpark anywhere, and the Mariners lead the Angels 3-0 in the 8th.  Vargas went 7 innings and allowed 3 hits and no runs.  Jamey Wright came out to start the 8th for the M's and LA threatens with 2 on and 2 out.

Matt Capps in to close in Oakland.  He get's the first two hitters.  Wright's troubles continue in Seattle.  Bases loaded, 2 out, Hank Conger up for LA.  Still a 3-0 Seattle lead, but the tying runs are aboard. Conger gets frozen on a full-count curve which breaks over the plate for strike three to end the inning.  Sims, the Seattle play-by-play man, is amped and all impressed by this turn of events. Barton blasts a full-count Capps fastball to the track but it stays in the yard for the final out.  The fence says 367.  Barton hit it 365.  Twins 4, A's 3 (10).  Four games still going.

Atlanta has taken a 4-3 lead in the 11th in Arizona.  I do not know how, but I will try to find out.  Diory Hernandez (never heard of him) singled in the go-ahead run for the Braves.  Now in the bottom of the 11th at Chase Field.  That's where the D-Backs play, isn't it?  Chase Field?

Craig Kimbrel on to nail down the save for Atlanta.  We've checking in in Los Angeles for the first time in a long time right now as the Dodgers, down 5-2 to the Giants in the 8th now, have two on with two out.  That guy with the beard, Brian Wilson, is on to get a four-out save.  Juan Uribe greets him with a two-run double and now it's 5-4, SF.  Scully says this is the first time Wilson's been in a game in a week.  He's the third pitcher of the inning for SF as Cain took the game into the 8th.  Now Troy Loney hits a roller into right to score Uribe and tie the game, 5-5!  I'm more excited than Scully.  And the Diamondbacks have just won with two runs in the bottom of the 11th to offset the run the Braves got in the top of the inning.  I believe they got four singles to score two runs and win.  I went to Gameday and checked because I couldn't watch that game (I was listening) and the Dodgers comeback and write it all down at the same time and it turns out that former Brave Kelly Johnson tied it with a single and Justin Upton won it with another.  And, as another old announcer used to say, "How about that!?"  Seattle has completed their 3-0 win over LA.  Brandon League the save.  Just like that, we are down to 2 games going in the Majors and wouldn't you know, one of them--the game at Dodger Stadium--is all tied up.

Scully just reminded me of something we wrote about earlier.  Yes, the Dodgers scored 3 in the 8th to tie the game 5-5 and deny Cain (7.1 IP, 3 H) a decision, but remember the 5th when LA had the bases loaded with none out and failed to score.

Cody Ross has just hit a 3-run homer barely fair down the left field line with 2 out in the 9th and the Giants undue that 3-run LA comeback in the bottom of the 8th with 3 of their own in the top of the 9th.  They now lead 8-5.  What a ballgame.  Haven't most of them been great?  This is why we watch.  Scully: "[Lance] Cormier, stung to the heart on that one." It's over in SD where the Padres get the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the 9th but lose to Milwaukee, 5-2.  1 game still going in the Majors.  And, by the way, if Wilson can get the Dodgers out in the 9th, he will have a blown save and a win in the same game.  Pitchers call that "chiseling" a win.  But will he?  The Dodgers get a leadoff single in the 9th.

Wilson, after giving up that single,  is throwing warm-up pitches from the Dodger Stadium mound and I'm not sure why.  The trainer came out, but Wilson says he's okay and he'll continue.  Jamie Carroll bounced to the mound and Wilson gets the out but even that wasn't easy.  Wilson knocked it down and scrambled to pick up the ball and get the throw to first in time.

It's over in LA.  Ross's homer in the 9th wins it for SF 8-5.  Scully signs off with his usual, "Stay tuned for Dodgers live, coming up next.  Good night, everybody!"  That says it all, pretty much.  It is 1:30 in the morning.  There are no games still being played in the Majors.  And I still haven't watched that Tigers-Boston game.

May 16, 2011: Blue Jays (at) Tigers

It occurs to us that even though we've been at just about all the games, we have yet to live-blog a Tigers game so, what the heck, we're here....

Baseball is the only game we cover where it is expected that one will actually do work while the game is in progress.  One keeps score at the ballgame.  At all other games, one merely sits and watches and waits for statistics--halftime starts, first period summary, etc.--to be handed out.  I have no earthly idea why this is.  I've never, for example, seen a reporter take a scorecard down into the locker room in case he might need to refer to it to check on something which may or may not have happened, so I'm not sure why we keep score, but we do.  And while I was writing this, Juan Rivera of the Blue Jays made an out and I don't know how because I wasn't watching.  Used to be you'd have to ask and somebody else would have to look at their card and tell you.  Now, I can check on-line and nobody knows I wasn't paying attention.  We do live in the best of times.  We really do.  (Rivera was an f8 by the way, and by the way, if you hit the shift button after you hit the "f" when you are trying to type "8", it looks like you are writing a dirty word instead.  So, by way of a Pro Tip, don't do that.)

We are in the bottom of the 2nd inning here at Comerica Park and the main thing we can tell you is that it is cold.    44 degrees at game time.  In the middle of May?  The Tigers lead 1-0 and should lead by more.  They had the bases loaded with nobody out in the first with Miguel (.309, 7, 27) Cabrera up and wound up scoring only once off Kyle Drabek, the Toronto starter and the son of the former Cy Young Award winner.  Cabrera hit a sac fly and Victor Martinez, hitting .459 in May, grounded weakly up the middle and it was a 6, 6-3 DP.  (You may want to learn how to score a game yourself if you want to follow along.  What I just wrote is a double play in which the ball is fielded by the shortstop who steps on second base for the first out and throws to first base for the second.  It's easy when you know how.)  We'll check back in with you as events warrant.

Andy Dirks is making his Major League debut here tonight and a few moments ago he collected his first major league hit, singling to left.  The culmination of a life's dreams, wouldn't you say?  Two or three pitches later, he got picked off first.  It's hard to feel much worse than you feel when you get picked off, especially with people watching.  Which, incidentally is what we have here, sort of.  The crowd is small, probably as small an audience as we have seen this season.  We're in the fifth now and the Tigers continue to hang on to that 1-0 lead.  And I almost forgot: Max Scherzer is bidding to go to 7-0 this season.  The last Tigers pitcher to get off to such a good start was Jeremy Bonderman who went 8-0 to start the 2007 season.  BOTTOM OF THE 5TH: DETROIT 1, TORONTO 0.

The Tigers just got out of the biggest jam of the night, so far.  Corey Patterson and Juan Batista singled to open the 6th, but Scherzer escaped by getting Edwin Encarnacion to pop to the catcher, Aaron Hill to look at a called 3rd and Juan River to ground into a third-to-second force.  Nice work by Max.  Is it the key to the ballgame?  We'll know in a little while.  Cabrera has just walked with one down in the Detroit 6th--his 34th base on balls, second in the American League--and as such has no at bats tonight with a sac fly and two walks.  Victor Martinez, (did I mention he was hitting .459 in May heading into tonight's game?) bounced back the pitcher and Jhonny Peralta lined out to left and that, as Vin Scully would say, was that.  ON TO THE 7TH: DETROIT 1, TORONTO 0.


The Blue Jays have tied it up.  For the second inning in a row, the first two Jays singled but this time, a successful bunt and a sac fly produced a run for Toronto.  Cabrera was charged with an error for failing to catch a foul pop, rendering the run unearned.  Although it still counts as a run so, into the bottom of the 7th the teams have traded sacrifice flys in a 1-1 tie.  BOTTOM OF THE 7TH: DETROIT 1, TORONTO 1.


We are in the top of the 8th, Scherzer is out and Joaquin Benoit is in and for the third consecutive innings, the first two Blue Jays have singled.  So the Tigers are in a spot of trouble.  They are in a spot of trouble on offense, too.  The Tigers have 3 singles in this game.  Three.

Toronto makes them pay, again.  A double by Aaron Hill is the third straight hit allowed by Benoit and it scores a run and it means that when Benoit finally gets an out, it comes on a sacrifice fly and costs him and the Tigers another run.  And since Hill moved from second to third on that same fly ball, when J.P. Arencibia hits a fly to deep left, it's yet another sac fly and yet another run for the Blue Jays.  It's not like Toronto hasn't earned it, they've outhit the Tigers 12-3 in this one.  TWO OUTS, TOP OF THE EIGHTH: DETROIT 1, TORONTO 4.


That was quite an inning for Benoit and the Tigers.  Three runs--earned--on 4 hits in only 14 pitches as he ERA goes up to 7.98, which is a hair on the high side.  BOTTOM OF THE 8TH: DETROIT 1, TORONTO 4.

Game 6: Life on the Knife Edge

Pre-Game Skate:  Have you ever noticed that the only time the word "staved" ever get's used is when some team in some sports wins in a game which, had they lost, would have knocked them out of the race for a playoff spot or out of the playoffs themselves?  We gather tonight to see if the Detroit Red Wings can stave.  The Wings, down three games to none in this best-of-seven as of six days ago, now trail three games to two.

A few nights ago I discussed how much I dislike elimination games on account of nervousness.  This is that, 3x.  Tonight marks the third straight game in which Detroit has faced elimination.  The locals stayed alive in Game 4 here last Friday night on a goal by Darren Helm which broke a 3-3 tie with about a minute and half to go after San Jose had rallied from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game.  Sunday, in Game 5, the Wings were done.  Dead.  (How dead?  Think Robert De Niro in "Casino" talking about his wife's boyfriend.  That dead.)  The Wings were smoked like a trout.  They trailed, on the road, 3-1 in the third period.  Thanks for playing and here are some lovely parting gifts, right?  Then, the Red Wings found a way to score 3 goals on Antti Niemi on 6 final period shots and now trail this Western Conference semi-final three games to two.  Johan Franzen will not dress tonight.  He didn't play at all in the final 37 minutes Sunday.  His spot in the lineup will be taken by...we don't know yet, for certain.  It will be either Mike Modano or Jiri Hudler.  Both are taking warm up.  My guess: Modano.  I think if there's a loose puck near the Sharks net you'd rather it be on his stick than Hudler's, but it's not my call.  Ryan Clowe is injured or has the flu or something and is out of the San Jose lineup.  He's been good for the Sharks in this series.  I think that's all we have for you right now.  Boy, am I nervous.  Did I mention that?
8:00pm:  It's Modano.  He's not only dressed for tonight's game, he's starting on a line with Pavel Datsyuk (I still can't get over the play he made on the game-winner Sunday in San Jose) and Tomas Holmstrom.  Kris Draper's a healthy scratch--if the Wings lose his career will end like that, as a healthy scratch--which means Drew Miller gets to play tonight.
8:15pm:  We are underway.  One shot on goal in the first minute, a long one by Logan Couture and an easy save for Detroit's Jimmy Howard.  You like the first one to be an easy one.
8:18pm:  Danny Cleary just got run from behind as San Jose takes the body in a big way to start the game.  Incredibly, no call even though Cledary went head-first into the boards.  But moments later they Sharks Dan Boyle goes off for holding at 3:59.  Detroit is 4-18 (22.2%) on the power play in the series.
8:22pm:  The Wings are crashing the net and have outshot the Sharks 7-1 in the first 7 minutes but there is no score.  Detroit came oh-so-close on that power play when Cleary failed to tuck the rebound of a Modano blast from the line.  Yes, Modano is on the Detroit power play tonight.  13:01 left, 1ST PERIOD: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 0.
8:30pm:  We are halfway through the first and the Wings have an 11-2 edge in shots on goal.  Still even on the big board, though.  9:49 left, 1st PERIOD, DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 0.
8:34pm:  Sharks power play at 14:19.  This their first of the night, they are 4-21 (19%) in the series.  Jimmy Howard just made a great save with his left skate on a drive from the line with about seven minutes left in the period.  Phil Myre, the former goalie for the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers called it an old fashion kick save, the kind you don't see very often anymore.  "Kick save and a beauty," I said.  Old time hockey, eh?  Speaking of which, old-time hockey, that is, did I mention I saw Gordie Howe before the game tonight.  Because I did. Oh, and Devin Setoguchi just got called for hooking, negating the San Jose power play.  5:09 left, 1st PERIOD: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 0.
8:49pm:  The period--dominated by Detroit as they outshot the San Jose 18-6, ends scoreless.  I'll tell you, if you play all night the way the Red Wings played in the first, you win.  Unless the Hockey Gods have it in for you, that is.  END OF THE FIRST PERIOD: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 0.
9:06pm:  Second period underway.
9:10pm:  Drew Miller just missed the best scoring chance so far.  He had a rebound ten feet out in front with Niemi down and out and he slid it wide.  No second period shots for the Sharks yet: 21-6, Detroit at this point.  The Sharks are going on the power play as Datsyuk--a finalist for the Lady Bing which goes to "Most Gentlemanly Player" gets called for roughing.  Of all people.  Of all infractions.  15:50 left, 2nd PERIOD: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 0.  
9:17pm:  I pride myself on not cheering in the pressbox but I just screamed, "Oh, oh, oh!" as Cleary who had been in the box serving the extra penalty given to Datsyuk in his exchange with Torrey Mitchell, took a pass, was in alone, pulled Niemi to create and open net and hit the post as dead-on as you can ever hit one.  You worry about the "not meant to be" factor at this point.  I mean, that was a certain goal for Cleary and he didn't score it... 11:35 left, 2nd PERIOD; DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 0.
9:25pm:  Detroit power play as Modano gets face-firsted into the boards in front of the Detroit bench by Patrick Marleau at 11:39. It's boarding for Marleau who is tonight the unwitting victim of controversy as being called "gutless" by Jeremy Roenick on the NHL Network.  And the Wings take a make-even call as Holmstrom is whistled for goalie interference at 11:32.  8:28 left, 2nd PERIOD: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 0.
9:30pm:  Pavel Datsyuk just had a shot blocked.  Had it gotten through it would have been his first shot on goal in the game.  There is some suspicion that he's not shooting nor taking faceoffs because he's playing with a broken wrist.  That was the press room talk before the game at any rate.  6:27 left, 2nd PERIOD: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 0.
9:38pm:  We've got just over a minute to go in the period and the Wings have held the Sharks to 7 shots in the period and 13 for the game.  And still, incredibly, the game remains scoreless.  1:15 left, 2nd PERIOD: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 0.
9:40pm:  Todd Bertuzzi is tripped behind the Sharks net, fairly obvious call as the guy who did the tripping, San Jose's Douglas Murray, had his stick go flying high in the air on the play.  The call comes with only :20 left in the period.  But, the Wings will start the 3rd with a man advantage.  The Wings missed another golden one as Niemi robbed Holmstrom from the low rim of the left circle with a couple seconds left on the clock.  Detroit outshot the Sharks 14-7 in the period, have outshot them 32-13 in the game.  It's an amazing game.  Amazing that San Jose is still in this thing, I mean.  But, they are and I've seen that turn out to be not such a good thing.  SECOND INTERMISSION: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 0.  
9:59pm:  The 3rd period begins...
10:05pm:  The puck slides between Howards knee and barely, just barely, crosses the goal line before the Detroit netminder can cover.  It was a goal close enough to review.  The whole puck has to cross the whole line and this one did by about a 16th of an inch.  The goal comes on the Sharks 16th shot of the night (Detroit has 34), at 3:54 of the third period.  I think Logan Couture scored it.  He's the guy who scored that huge goal for San Jose in Game 3 here in Detroit last year when Detroit coughed up a 3-1 lead in the third period and with it, their chance to beat the Sharks in the series.  Assist to Dany Heatley.  15:57 left, 3rd PERIOD: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 1.
10:10pm:  Still a lot of time left but I don't have a good feeling about this.  Maybe it's just the fan in me being pessimistic like a fan would be (you can supress being a fan but you can't eliminate it) but this one feels like it's    going to be the ultimate hard-luck loss.  13:53 left, 3rd PERIOD: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 1.
10:16pm:  Niemi just made the save of the century.  He was down and out,4 reduced to making snow angels--helpless in a word--and he lifted his left leg straight up in the air to deny Henrik Zetterberg who looked to have the entire upper half of the net there for the taking from 15 feet away.  As good a save as I have ever seen.  Except Phil Myre says he didn't make it, that the shot went high.  And Phil Myre is usally right.  9:45 left, 3rd PERIOD: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 1.
10:19pm:  And we are--just like that--tied.  Zetterberg tips a right-circle wrist shot fired by Kronwall and something FINALLY got by Niemi.  The goal at 10:38.  Filppula also assists.  The building is alive again.  The Red Wings are alive again.  9:12 left, 3rd PERIOD: DETROIT 1, SAN JOSE 1.
10:25pm:  THE RED WINGS LEAD.  DATSYUK (WHO ELSE?) MADE THE PLAY ACROSS TO FILPPULA AND HE BURIED IT INTO AN EMPTY NET.  SAN JOSE D-MAN JASON DEMERS TRIED TO BLOCK IT IN THE CREASE BUT HE HAD HIS BACK TURNED AND HAD NO CHANCE.  I DIDN'T GET THE TIME (12:32 AS IT TURNS OUT) BUT WE'VE GOT A LITTLE UNDER 7 TO GO NOW.  Penalty to Abdelkader at 13:14.  WHAT A GAME.  3RD PERIOD: DETROIT 2, SAN JOSE 1.
10:34pm:  We are standing on the bench again, in order to see.  The Wings killed the penalty.  They still lead by a goal.  This is one of the greatest games I have ever seen.  2:30 left, 3rd PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 1.
10:33pm:  EMPTY NET GOAL! EMPTY GOAL BY HELM!  THE WINGS WILL WIN.  THEY LEAD 3-1 WITH 1:05 TO GO.  I HAVE TO TO THE DRESSING ROOM NOW.  BEEN GREAT SHARING THIS ONE WITH YOU.  :40 LEFT, 3RD PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 1.  

9 Lives

8:11pm:  We are live-blogging tonight not from the HP Pavillion in San Jose, but from our office where we watch Game 5 between the Wings and Sharks on-line (Canadian feed from TSN) and on TV (US broadcast on Versus).  This will adversely impact our ability to both observe and comment on the action, but it's the best we can do.  You just don't see everything on TV that you do in person.  You can't.  You are at the mercy of the director.  We see only that which he chooses to show us.  And they miss a lot, usually because of their love of the close-up.  For example, when I'm at the arena and there's an apparent goal, the first thing I look for is the red light.  Has it come on?  Is it really a goal?  I'll bet you could watch a years worth of hockey on TV without even realizing that a red light is turned on whenever a goal is scored.  Watch tonight and you'll see what I mean.  They never show the red light.  The always cut in close so you can see the facial expression of the player who just scored.  Or they'll show some fans in the stands.  I don't care about either.  I assume the player is happy and overjoyed and all, and I assume the fans are jumping up and down in glee so why waste my time showing either?  Don't get more started about sports on TV...
We do enjoy the same access to the Official Game Notes and real-time scoring that we get when we are in person, so there is that.  The question for me tonight is whether I'll see another live game this season.  If San Jose wins, the series will be over and the answer will be no.  The Wings are attempting tonight to do something they have never do before:  force a series in which they trailed 0-3 to a Game 6.  The Wings are--as we mentioned the night before last from the Joe Louis Arena--0-10 all-time in series in which they trailed three games to none.  Nine of the ten times they've been swept out in four games, the lone exception being last years' series against the Sharks when Detroit won Game 4 to extend the series, only to lose it in five.  The big story at the outset tonight is that both Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen are in the lineup.  I saw a report a little over an hour before game time that neither would not play due to injury, a development which made me think that this Game 5 was over before it began and with it, the series.  I don't think Detroit wins without those two.  We are underway and San Jose is on the power play.  We'll keep you up to date.  FIRST PERIOD: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 0.
8:27pm:  We have played one half of one period:  edge, San Jose.  They've had more scoring chances--that will happen when you outshoot a team 9-2 which is what the Sharks have done so far--and what we have here is what we expected we would have, what any road team expects; you have to weather a storm.  Usually early.  Usually right out of the gate, in fact.  So far, though the Wings have hung on.  San Jose is 0-1 on the power play tonight, 4-18 in the series (18.2%).  Niklas Lidstrom has just been called for tripping at 11:28 and its power play number 2 in the first period for San Jose.  FIRST PERIOD: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 0.
8:42pm:  At 17:18, San Jose scores on a long shot from the line which is tipped past Jimmy Howard.  Devon Setoguchi, who scored three goals in Game 3 including the overtime game-winner, gets the even-strength goal on assists from Dan Boyle and Joe Thornton.  It was Boyle's blue line wrist shot which was tipped in.  These three guys have killed Detroit in this series.  The period winds down and with the teams at four-on-four in the waning moments due to offsetting penalties at 17:43, it ends.  Detroit is outshot 15-7 (San Jose held an 11-2 edge at one point in the period) and they are down a goal in this do-or-die game.  END OF FIRST PERIOD; DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 1.
8:52pm:  If the Wings lose, you can replay in your mind over and over the save San Jose's Antti Niemi made on Jonathan Ericsson on the first shot he face in the game.  Ericsson has the whole upper half of the net to hit from inside twenty feet, and Niemi made as good a glove save as it is possible to make to stop him.  Both Franzen and Datsyuk played as much in the period as any other Detroit forwards, pretty much.  Both had 9 shifts.  Only Darren Helm had more, and he had ten.  FIRST INTERMISSION: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 1.
9:04pm:  The second period begins.
9:09pm:  Another San Jose power play at 2:46.  Datsyuk goes off for holding and Detroit is short for the third time tonight.  Reminds you, in reverse, of Game 4 when the Wings had the first four power play chances in the game.  Howard makes two amazing saves on Boyle to keep it a one-goal game as the Sharks power play continues.  Detroit has been outshot 21-9, now.  16:30 LEFT IN SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 1.
9:12pm:  Detroit back to full strength.  
9:15pm:  One thing you notice on the TSN broadcast is their use of the "Hockey Night in Canada" theme song.  I do, at least.  That's because I grew up in Detroit and as such got the Canadian Broadcasting Company's (might be "Corporation, I'm not 100% on that) Channel 9 from Windsor, Ontario which meant I got to watch HNIC every Saturday night.  Probably a better-known piece of music in Canada than their own national anthem, "O Canada", the copyright on the HNIC theme music expired a few years ago and TSN bid a million bucks to get it away from the CBC--Canada's taxpayer funded network.  It was crummy thing for TSN to do as that music really stood for the CBC.  A poll was held and Canadian citizens opted not to use tax money to outbid TSN for the music.  And do now TSN has it.  They also have the awful former CBS sportscaster Chris Cuthbert (owner of one of the most annoying voices in all of broadcasting) calling the game tonight.  Detroit is about to go on the power play. Joe Thonton goes off for hooking.  Detroit is 4-16 (25.0%) on the pp in this series.  9:55 LEFT, SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 1.
9:28pm:  The Wings spend the power play trying--and usually failing--to gain the San Jose line.  Detroit fails to get a shot in goal with the man advantage.  The teams are back to full strength.  6:30 LEFT, SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 1.
9:34PM:  This is bad.  This is very bad.  At 15:32 Joe Pavelski converts at feed from Ryane Clowe, tipping it high into the net to make it 2-0.  BUT THE WINGS ANSWER!  At 16:25, Niklas Kronwall takes a feed from Datsyuk and whips a hard shot home, beating Niemi short side.  Brad Stewart also assists.  3:00 LEFT, SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 1, SAN JOSE 2.
9:42pm:  The second period ends.  Each team gets a goal and the Wings are outshot 13-9.  San Jose holds the advantage in shots on goal through two periods, 30-16.  There is one period to play, perhaps in the season.  Detroit is down a goal...  END OF SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 1, SAN JOSE 2.
9:58pm:  Detroit is 8-24-4 (.222) this season when trailing after two periods.  That includes their 0-1-0 record in the playoffs this year.  (Detroit led Game 3 in this series after two periods, but lost in overtime.)  The third period begins...
10:00pm:  Continuing to track ice time, Datsyuk had 10 shifts in the second period, up from the nine he had in the first.  Franzen though had half the ice time in the second as compared to the first.  And now Logan Couture, the guy who scored the key game-tying goal from the corner against Howard in the 3rd period of Game 3 last year when the Wings coughed up a 3-1 lead and lost in OT to go down 0-3 in the series, has just scored at :54 to restore a two-goal lead for the Sharks.  Some say Couture will be the rookie of the year this year in the NHL.  Couture scored on a breakaway, finish with a nifty toe-drag to get Howard moving from post to post to created the opening into which he tucked the puck.  The Wings go on the power play.  17:10 LEFT, THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 1, SAN JOSE 3.
10:05pm:  The Wings don't score on the PP, but moments after it ends, ERICSSON SCORES! Datsyuk gets his second assist and Henrik Zetterberg also gets a helper as Ericsson winds up all alone out in front to make it, again, a one-goal game with at 3:43 of the third.  15:00 LEFT, THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 2, SAN JOSE 3.
10:08pm:  THE WINGS TIE IT!  A goal mouth scramble and from the side, standing behind the goal line, Dan Cleary managed to punch it in.  The time is 5:29 and it's two goals for Detroit in 1:46!  It's Cleary from Kronwall and Todd Bertuzzi and we are back to even.  New game, etc....12:45 LEFT, THIRD PERIOD, DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 3.
10:14pm:  Just a note but as we are now a little past the halfway point of the third, Franzen has yet to play a single second in the period.  8:30 LEFT, THIRD PERIOD, DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 3.
10:20pm:  THEY SCORE!!!  DATSYUK MAKES AN UNREAL SPIN MOVE AND DROPS IT BACK TO LIDSTROM AND THE CAPTAIN BURIES IT HIGH!  At 13:52, Lidstrom, with his third goal in the last 2 games, puts Detroit ahead!  Check it--the official game sheet gives the goal to Tomas Holmstrom from Lidstrom and Datsyuk--so the ruling must be that Holmstrom deflected it.  And now the Sharks go on the power play.  God, this is exciting, isn't it?  Justin Abdelkader is off for elbowing at 14:55.  What a time to go off.  A stupid penalty to take at the worst possible time. Hanging in the balance is one of the best periods in Wings history, not to mention the game, the series and the season.  4:45 LEFT, THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 4, SAN JOSE 3.
10:28pm:  The Wings kill the penalty and Abdelkader can breathe again.  The rest of us can't, though.  We are at 1:00 to go and the Sharks pull their goalie.
10:31pm:  Time out, Detroit with 14.3 to go.  Face off coming up in the Detroit zone.  14 seconds between Detroit and Game 6 in Detroit Tuesday night.  Wow.
10:33pm:  THE WINGS WIN! No....icing with 2.4 to go and that face off comes right back into the Detroit zone.  This is tough to take.  Sharks are trying to get more time on the clock.  They call time out.  Now 2.9 left as the clock is adjusted.
10:35pm:  The puck goes into the corner and the clock runs out and the Wings are back in the series, trailing 3 games to two.  Oh. My. God.  They were down 3-1 in the third period.  They were done, smoked like a trout and they scored 3 goals in 12:58 to win!  See you at the Joe on Tuesday night everybody.  What a game.  What a result!
FINAL SCORE: DETROIT 4, SAN JOSE 3.
10:43pm:  Just a quick note at the finish.  The Wings were outshot tonight 42-22 and had only six shots on goal in the third period.  They scored on half of those six shots.  One of the announcers said the Wings have never won a Game 5 on the road when trailing 3 games to 1, until tonight.  Also, Franzen's final shift of the game ended with a little under 7 minutes to go in the second period.  He did not play at all after that, including therefore, the entire third period when the game was on the line.  It makes you wonder if he will be able to play the night after next, which leaves Juri Hudler or Mike Modano as possible replacements.  Wouldn't that be something if Modano got the shot and reached back to the glory days and played a key role?  Well, we'll see.  Hell of a game and a hell of night tonight.

The End of the Line?

6:45pm:  Welcome to the Joe Louis Sports Arena where it's win or go home one for the Wings and the Sharks.  If San Jose takes tonight's Game 4 of the Western Conference Semi-Final, they go home and get ready for the Conference Final--the NHL version of the Final Four.  If the Wings lose tonight, their season be over and they will go home, their season having tome to a conclusion shocking in the speed with which it occurred.  It was just 8 days ago that this series began.  Tonight it could be all over.  Back with the opening faceoff in a moment....
7:04pm:  The house lights are down, the light show is in full effect, etc. I'm nervous.  I'm always nervous in elimination games.  This time, I have good reason to be.  The Detroit Red Wings have been down 0-3 in a best-of-7 series ten times in their history.  They are 0-10 in such series.  They have been swept in 9 of those ten series, the exception being one year ago when the Wings trailed these very Sharks 0-3 and won Game 4 to force a Game 5.  They lost Game 5 and the series was over.  Game 4 last year, somewhat ironically, was one of the best playoff games the Wings have ever played.  It really was.  Detroit beat San Jose 7-1.  It was a hell of a game.  I remember that Johan Franzen scored 4 goals to tie a Wings playoff record except that he didn't.  He had for a while, but the scoring was changed late in the game and one of the Franzen goals was credited to one of his teammates.  So now the question: Can the Wings repeat that performance?  We are about to find out.
7:17pm: Kris Draper almost scored.  The key word is, of course, almost.  He had a lose puck just off the post to the right of Sharks goalie Antti Niemi but couldn't tuck it in as he was behind the icing line and reach as he might, he couldn't quite get leverage.  Moments later, Draper was in the goalmouth again, banging away, but again Niemi stopped him, sprawling this time to block and cover.  We have 15:06 left in the first.  It has been intense, so far.  I expect it will be all night.
7:19pm:  TODD BERTUZZI SCORES!  The time is 6:22 of the first and the story is the move Bertuzzi made, a 360-degree spin in the right wing circle with two Sharks on him.  It gave Bertuzzi just enough space go get a backhand off, and the 20-footer beat Niemi high glove, which is to say over his left shoulder, just under the crossbar.  The assists to Henrik Zetterberg and Danny Cleary.  Moments later, Valtteri Filppula almost made it 2-0, but his shot from in close went just wide to the left of Niemi.  FIRST PERIOD: DETROIT 1, SAN JOSE 0.
7:31pm:  2-0, DETROIT!  Nicklas Lidstrom fires in a blast from the left wing circle off a tasty Niemi rebound.  The Sharks tender made a big save on Cleary who was sent in on a nice pass from Bertuzzi, but allowed a rebound which came a good 25 feet off his pads right out in front and Lidstrom had plenty of time to wind up and blast away.  As is so often the case, (more on that  in a moment) he made no mistake.  Cleary and Bertuzzi get the assist on Lidstrom's 3rd goal of the 2011 playoffs at 11:09.  The Wings are outshooting San Jose 13-6, a number which reflects the degree to which Detroit has dominated this game so far.  FIRST PERIOD:  DETROIT 2, SAN JOSE 0.
7:43pm:  Power Play, Detroit.  Ian White goes off for Interference at 16:05.  Detroit's 3/12 (25.0%) with a man advantage in this series.
7:46pm:  LIDSTROM SCORES AGAIN!  The Wings make White and the Sharks pay the penalty.  Lidstrom collected a pass from Zettterberg by stopping it with his leg and batting at it while it was still in mid-air.  His shot actually bounced on its way towards the net and skipped high over Niemi.  Lidstrom who tied the record earlier in the period, is now the NHL's all-time leader in Playoff Power Play Goals by a Defenseman (30).  (While we were writing this, Logan Couture scored an unassisted goal to make it a 3-1 game).  The period has now ended with Detroit recording 17 shots to 12 for the Sharks.  END OF FIRST PERIOD:  DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 1.  
7:55pm:  It was one year ago today that the Wings beat the Sharks 7-1 in Game 4 of the second round.  For the record, the Wings led that game 5-0 after one.  Still, a 3-1 lead after one is nothing at which to be sneezed.  
8:08pm:  The second period begins.  An assist has been added during the intermission on the Sharks goal by Couture. Those of you scoring at home, add a helper to Ryane (I believe that's still pronounced Ryan but I can't be sure) Clowe.  
8:11pm:  There's one thing I can't/don't get.  Remember I noted that Couture had scored while I was writing my account of the Lidstrom goal.  There was no crowd reaction to the San Jose goal, none.  I never even looked up, that's how much noise the crowd didn't make.  I didn't see the goal and I still haven't.  The only way I knew they had scored was that there was a stoppage in play and that the score on the scoreboard had changed from 3-0 to 3-1.  Pretty good reporting, wouldn't you say?  For the record, since I failed to note it earlier, the San Jose goal came :15 after the Lidstrom goal gave the Wings a 3-0 lead.  Howard has had to be sharp here early in the second and I'll tell you what, if the Sharks get the next goal, this is going to be a long night for Detroit so the boys had best watch themselves.  15:32 LEFT, SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 1.
8:17pm:  Another Detroit power play.  Joe Thornton for stick-holding which is a definite no-no.  The Wings are 1-2 on the PP so far.  The call at 5:47.
8:27pm: Another Detroit PP.  Torrey Mitchell is off for holding Justin Abdelkader at 10:58.
8:31pm: No joy on the power play for Detroit.  They are 1-3 in the game, now.  4-16 in the series.
8:34pm:  San Jose has just scored and we got trouble here in (Detroit) River city.  Dan Boyle--who got the game-winner in overtime here the night before last--took a great cross-ice feed in the attack zone from Kyle Wellwood and buried it high over a sprawling Howard.  There wasn't much the Wings goalie could do.  It was a perfect feed and a perfect shot at 13:44.  At 14:29, Dany Heatley gives the Wings their fourth power play of the night (the Sharks have had none) when he's whistled down for tripping.  5:31 LEFT, SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 2.
8:41pm: The Wings not only do not score on the power play, the fail to generate chances.  It appears to me that right now, the Sharks have a bit more jump.  They are getting to the loose pucks.  The Wings look a little tired to me.  2:49 left, SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 2.
8:47pm:  The second period ends.  As I mentioned, I thought Detroit, especially from the mid-point of the period on, was sort of hanging on.  Sort of hanging on for dear life.  And keep this in mind as we go to the third period.  San Jose has yet to have a power play.  All 4 minors called in this game have gone in favor of Detroit.  I'll bet you a doughnut that before this game is over, San Jose will get a power play or two, at least.  The Wings outshot the Sharks 10-7 in the period and have outshot them 27-19 in the game.  San Jose as you have probably heard, has won 7 of the last 8 playoff games against Detroit with each and every one of those 7 wins coming in a 1-goal-game, 3 of them in overtime.  The only non 1-goal game was that 7-1 Wings win here one year ago tonight that we talked about earlier.  And guess what?  With 20 minutes of regulation time remaining here tonight, we have ourselves a 1-goal game.  END OF SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 2. 
9:05pm:  The third period is underway.
9:07pm:  That didn't take long.  SAN JOSE TIED THE GAME 3-3.  Just as I was noting that the Sharks were--as they had been through the latter stages of the second period--beating Detroit to loose pucks, Clowe beat Niklas Kronwall to one of those loose pucks behind the Detroit net and fed it to Heatley who was as all alone as you can reasonably expect to be at the NHL level and from between the rings, at the hashmarks, he fired high blocker side and the puck was in and the light was on and the game was tied.  You get a guy that wide open and with that much time and chances are, in the National Hockey League, he is going to score and Heatley, a sniper, did.  The goal at 1:14 of the period and now the Sharks are buzzing again. And now Bertuzzi is called and the Sharks are on the power play at 4:12 of the third.  San Jose is 4-15 ( 26.7%) on the power play in this series. 15:00 LEFT, THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 3.  
9:22pm:  We are just past the halfway point of the period.  The Wings maintain a 10-shot edge in shots on goal but, as you know, we are tied in a game in which Detroit held a 3-0 lead.  I guarantee you for for sure that the number of 3-goal leads the Wings have blown this season can be tallied up on one hand, but this is one of them.  Welcome, once again, to nail-biting time. I myself am predicting overtime, again.  9:31 left, THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 3.
9:25pm:  San Jose goes on the power play for the second time in the game/period at 11:35 as Abdelkader is off for a cross check.  The fans didn't like it, natch, but I thought it the correct call.
8:18 left, THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 3 SAN JOSE 3.
9:30pm:  The Wings get a kill which is huge, obviously.  5:45 left, THIRD PERIOD.  DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 3.
9:33  DARREN HELM SCORES!  THE WINGS LEAD 4-3 WITH 1:27 LEFT. It was a beauty feed to Helm cutting into the left circle and he buried it off the setup by Brian Rafalski and it looks for all the word like we are heading back to San Jose.  Still :45 to go, though.
9:44pm;  THE WINGS WIN 4-3.  THEY ARE NOT YET BACK IN THE SERIES, BUT THEY ARE NOT YET DEAD, EITHER.  Off to the dressing rooms for the react.  Back with you soon...
FINAL SCORE: DETROIT 4, SAN JOSE 3.

Do Or (Pretty Much) Die

 Pre-Game Skate:  Welcome back to the NHL playoffs where tonight the (your) Detroit Red Wings are in pretty much the same boat--make that exactly--the same boat in which they were in one year ago:  down two games to none to the San Jose Sharks heading into game 3 of the Western Conference semi-finals.  We were talking about this last night at Comerica Park (where the Tigers finally snapped their 7-game losing streak, yay, I guess) and it was there that I learned that my memory had failed me.  I thought the Wings had won game 3 then lost a 3-1 third period lead to lose game 4 which meant they were down 3-1 to the Sharks going back to San Jose, where Detroit was eliminated in game 5.  That's not the way it went down.  Yes, the Wings did lose a two-goal lead at home and wound u losing in overtime, but it was in game 3, not game 4.  The Wings thus faced the toughest situation you can face in playoff hockey, trying to come back from 3 games to none down.  Detroit did win game four 7-1 (as I recall Johann Franzen scored 4 goals but we've already demonstrated the limits of my memory haven't we?) but that was their only win in the series.  The Wings have now lost six of their last seven playoff games against the Sharks and the thing is, each of those six losses have come by one goal.  Mike Babcock, the coach of the Red Wings, promises line-up changes tonight and as soon as they let us in the Auxiliary Press Box know what they are, we will pass them along.  The building is filling, it was be, with apologies to the United Center, a madhouse here tonight.  The Auxiliary Press Box is, just for your information, the last row of the stadium seats covered by a table top.  In other words, I am right in the middle of the crowd tonight.  We'll do our best.  And, for now, we'll see you face-off, set for 8:15 pm Eastern Daylight.
8:02:  Pre-Game Hoopla.  Indoor fireworks, loud music and you know the drill.  I spent my time pouring over the Red Wings record book and learned that this is the 22nd time Detroit has been down 0-2 in a best-of-seven.  They are 5-16 in the previous 21 series matching that criteria.  Still ten minutes to face....
8:15pm:  This sitting in the crowd thing is just primitive."  We didn't even get the scratches and starting line-ups and such.  I'll check NHL.com in a moment and get the information.  Pavel Datsyuk is out there on a line with Johann Franzen and Danny Cleary.  Justin Abdelkader is joined by Valtteri Filppula and Jiri Hudler, while Todd Bertuzzi is on a line with Henrik Zetterberg and, again, Cleary.  The crowd just roared for a big hit in the corner.  If I were the crowd, I wouldn't cheer until the Wings put one in the net.  San Jose goalie Antti Niemi--the guy who won the Cup for Chicago last year--has a goals-against of 0.95 in the series.  Anytime a goals-against starts with a "0", it's a hell of a number.  Unbeatable, really.
8:21pm:  Here are the scratches for Detroit tonight (I told you I'd go to NHL.com as quickly as I could): M. Modano, D. Janik, D. Meech, D. Miller, J. Kindl, C. Emmerton, J. Mursak, B. Smith, T. Tatar.
8:27pm:  The Wings fail to score in the first power play of the game are are now 1-9 (11.1%) in the series.  Niemi made a GREAT power play glove save on Abdelkader to keep the game scoreless.
8:32pm:  Niklas Kronwall just leveled Dany Heatley and Heatley was a little, (okay, he was a lot) slow in getting up.  No penalty but Kronwell left his skates to hit him and that always calls for a penalty so its safe to say the ref missed it.  Bad blood between the teams and the crowd is in full-throated blood lust right now.  They are really irritated when, mere moments after the Heatley hit, the Wings are called for a penalty which is most assuredly I assure you to make up for the call they just missed on Kronwall.  San Jose is 2-11 (18.2%) on the PP v. Detroit in the series.  Darren Helm goes for high-sticking on the "mascara" call (make up, duh.)
8:33 Devin Setoguchi just made the make up job look grotesque and cheap, giving San Jose a 1-0 lead on the power play.  He collected the rebound off a shot from the slot which went high and bounced right out in front of Jimmy Howard's net off the lively Joe Louis Arena end boards and glass and tucked it in.  Assists to Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau at 12:57.  ED NOTE:  AT THE END OF THE PERIOD, THEY TOOK THE ASSIST AWAY FROM MARLEAU AND AWARDED IT TO JOE PAVELSKI WHICH IS HOW I THOUGHT THE PLAY HAD GONE.  I THOUGHT PAVELSKI FIRED THE SHOT FROM OUT IN FRONT THE REBOUNDED OFF THE GLASS OUT IN FRONT BUT THEY ORIGINALLY SCORED IT DIFFERENTLY.  NO BIG DEAL, EXCEPT THAT IT'S NICE TO KNOW YOU CAN BELIEVE YOUR OWN EYES.  It is the first goal of the series for Setoguchi and the first point in the series for Marleau. FIRST PERIOD: DETROIT 0, SAN JOSE 1.
8:51pm:  With 19.3 left in the period Nicklas Lidstom ties it on the power play.  His shot was in and out of the net so fast it took them a couple of seconds to whistle the play dead.  Zetterberg was all alone off to the side and it looked like he'd fire away, but he instead spun the dished to Lidstrom between the hashmarks and the Captain fired it home at 19:38.  The replay showed the puck hit the camera suspended from the roof of the net and came right back out.  The referee made the call instantly though and the replay was clear so there is no controversy.  The goal means Niemi's goals-against in the series goes up to 1.23 from 0.95.  So, it's a 1-1 tie after one with Detroit holding a 12-11 edge in shots on goal.  The other assist on Lidstroms second goal of the playoffs and of this series went to Tomas Holmstrom.  All in all, it was a period about which playoff hockey is all about.  END OF FIRST PERIOD: DETROIT 1, SAN JOSE 1.
9:20pm:  Just a quick note to let you know we are into the second period and is same old same old which in this case means the action has been tremendous.  Datsyuk just had a great chance, the kind he normally buries, but it glanced off the Niemi's arm and stayed out while seconds later at the other end Howard made a game-saving glove save.  I read somewhere where they timed the glove speed of an NHL goalie and it was something like 120mph and after that save by Howard, I believe it.  This is a great, great hockey game.  The guy sitting next to me is talking about soccer and all I can say is, "If you could watch hockey, why would you ever watch soccer? SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 1, SAN JOSE 1.
9:30pm:  We are slightly better than halfway through the period, the Wings have outshot 'em 10-5 in the middle twenty, and the Wings have nothing to show for it, save some excellent chances which all become excellent saves by Mr. Niemi.  So, bottom line, this one remains too close to call.  6:50 left in the second...  SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 1, SAN JOSE 1.
9:34PM:  6:01 left in the period now, and Detroit has taken a 2-1 lead on the 3rd goal of the playoffs by Patrick Eaves.  Darren Helm had it out in front and he waited and waited and waited and at first I thought Eaves had slammed in the rebound of his shot, but Helms never shot it.  The replay showed he flipped a little backhand pass across to Eaves who was low in the circle to the right of Niemi and Eaves got just enough of it (or Niemi didn't get quite enough of it, your call) to slide it over the goal line.  Kris Draper--a playoff hero in this town for about a decade and a half now--got the other assist.  It's his first point of this years' post-season.  The time of the goal was 13:59.  SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 2, SAN JOSE 1.
9:40pm:  It took San Jose :50 to tie the score.  Brian Rafalski was called for interference at 14:16 and at 14:49 the Sharks were on the board again, and again it was Setoguchi who got it.  He sort of fanned on the shot from the left wing circle and I think it was the shots lack of speed that fooled Howard as it hit the post the the left of the Detroit goalie and bounced in, and just like that we are back to even; back to too close to call.  SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 2, SAN JOSE 2.
9:44pm:  Pavel Datsyuk just pulled off a tremendously accurate and hard shot from the high slot over the shoulder of Niemi to put the Wings back on top by a goal with a little over a minute left in the period.  It was a spin-o-rama pass by Zetterberg that set Datsyuk up for his third goal of the playoffs, and the Wings have now scored as many goals in this second period tonight (2), as they did in the first two games of the series in San Jose.  The time of the goal was 18:17 and the second assist went to Lidstrom who started the play out of the Detroit end.  The Wings outshot the Sharks 16-8 in the period and have outshot them now 26-19 in the game.  END OF THE SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 2.
9:57pm:  Just a note to let you know I will probably have to leave you early tonight.  It is going to take several minutes to get to the locker rooms tonight (sorry, this is hockey.  I mean dressing rooms) so I will most likely begin the long trip from the last row of the upper bowl to ice level on the far side of the building with a few minutes left in the game.  I hate to do it, but I have to get tape on this one tonight. 
10:07pm:  The 3rd period begins.  Meanwhile, in the game would couldn't attend tonight because we are at this one, the Tigers made it two wins in a row over the Yankees, 5-0.  I'm pretty sure it's the first shutout of the year for the Tigers.  I asked the guy next to me if it were but all I got was a snotty "I have no idea" response.  I think he's still pissed off that I think hockey is way, way more exciting than soccer.  THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 2.
10:10pm:  Well, duh.  The Tigers, the weekend before last, not only got a shutout, they got back-to-back shutouts and what makes it embarrassing for me is that it wasn't like I just read about them somewhere, I was there.  For both of them.  So the answer to the question, "Was this the first shutout of the season for the Tigers tonight," would be, uh, nooooo.  Here, San Jose is going on the power play as Hudler goes for hooking at 6:22.  It's nail-biting time....THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 2.
10:18pm:  Okay, here's the thing, it's 3-2 Detroit as we approach the halfway mark of the third and I have to go lest I be late to the postgame interviews.  It's been a blast. I'll type up a quick wrap-up after I'm done in the room.  And wish me luck.  It's been a little while since I interviewed your professional athlete types.  Not the firs time though, not by a long shot.  10:00 left in Regulation Time.  See 'ya!  THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 2.
10:47pm:  We're headed for overtime and I'm down in the Press Room beneath the stands which during the regular season is the press dining room and is empty at this time of day.  Right now it is packed with reporters ready to head down the hall in a massive herd as soon as the game ends.  San Jose tied it with 4:08 left on the clock and other than the fact that Dan Boyle scored it, there's not too much else I can tell you as I was either in a stairwell or actually outside the building when it happened (I took a wrong turn and wound up outside.)  I did get to see Kid Rock, though.  He was outside by the TV trucks smoking a cigar.  At least I think it was a cigar.  So, cool.  Now I, with many, many others, sit and wait for overtime to begin.  The entire season for Detroit hangs in the balance, that's all.  And I'm watching it on TV, just like you.  END OF THE THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 3.
10:55pm:  Overtime is underway.
11:07pm:  Overtime continues.  The Wings had a power play but they were unable to generate a shot on goal.  Moments after the penalty ended, Zetterberg had a great chance in close, but Niemi, well, you know the story.  There are 11 minutes left in OT.  
IN OVERTIME: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 3.
11:09pm  At 10:39, Setugucho completes his hat trick and wins it.  FINAL SCORE: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 4 (OT).
11:27pm:  Just back from the Red Wings dressing room where Goalie Jimmy Howard says, in answer to my question, "Can you still win this series>? said, "Yes, I think we can."  He says the game-winner (loser) "knuckled" on him.  We are waiting now for Red Wings coach Mike Babcock to address the media here in the press room.  Firsst, San Jose coach Todd McLelllan.
11:47pm:  Press conferences over.  I asked the last question of the Wings' Babcock which was simply, "Can you still win this series?"  He said, "I'm not even going to think about that.  All I can think about is winning Thursday night.  All I can think about is winning one game."  Moments later he added, "It can be done, 3 teams have done it including Philly last year.  But it's not easy."  And with that we will call it a live-blog.  I've got tape to edit.  Night all and thanks for reading...

Do Or (Pretty Much) Die

Pre-Game Skate:  Welcome back to the NHL playoffs where tonight the (your) Detroit Red Wings are in pretty much the same boat--make that exactly--the same boat in which they were in one year ago:  down two games to none to the San Jose Sharks heading into game 3 of the Western Conference semi-finals.  We were talking about this last night at Comerica Park (where the Tigers finally snapped their 7-game losing streak, yay, I guess) and it was there that I learned that my memory had failed me.  I thought the Wings had won game 3 then lost a 3-1 third period lead to lose game 4 which meant they were down 3-1 to the Sharks going back to San Jose, where Detroit was eliminated in game 5.  That's not the way it went down.  Yes, the Wings did lose a two-goal lead at home and wound u losing in overtime, but it was in game 3, not game 4.  The Wings thus faced the toughest situation you can face in playoff hockey, trying to come back from 3 games to none down.  Detroit did win game four 7-1 (as I recall Johann Franzen scored 4 goals but we've already demonstrated the limits of my memory haven't we?) but that was their only win in the series.  The Wings have now lost six of their last seven playoff games against the Sharks and the thing is, each of those six losses have come by one goal.  Mike Babcock, the coach of the Red Wings, promises line-up changes tonight and as soon as they let us in the Auxiliary Press Box know what they are, we will pass them along.  The building is filling, it was be, with apologies to the United Center, a madhouse here tonight.  The Auxiliary Press Box is, just for your information, the last row of the stadium seats covered by a table top.  In other words, I am right in the middle of the crowd tonight.  We'll do our best.  And, for now, we'll see you face-off, set for 8:15 pm Eastern Daylight.