Greetings, everyone, as we write to you for the very first time on our brand-new DSBA blog!

This is a place where DSBA members can share their thoughts.  We hope it will be a place where all of us can learn something, not just about the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association, but about sports itself.

Let’s get started!

First off, a hat-tip and a “thank you very much!” to Red WIngs Vice President and General Manager Ken Holland and Wings Vice President Steve Yzerman for joining us this Tuesday past for what might have been, in spite of some shaky moments from the presiding officer, yours truly, the best Red Wings Playoff Preview Day ever at the DSBA.  Both Holland and Yzerman, as they always are, terrific; answering all questions, providing the insight and perspective you can only get from those who are inside the game, and sticking around after the luncheon to pose for pics and sign autographs.

I going to repeat what I said in introducing Ken Holland because I think it represents just about everything you need to know about the job he’s done down at the Joe Louis Arena.  In ten seasons as WIngs GM, Holland has iced teams which have racked up 100+ points nine times, have won the NHL Central Division 8 times, have won the Western Conference title 5 times, have won the Presidents Trophy 4 times, and have won the Stanley Cup two times.  His career winning percentage as Wings GM is .672.  By comparison, the Wings teams which set an NHL record which still stands by finishing first in the regular season standings seven straight years between 1948-49 and 1954-55 posted a winning percentage of .664 during that unprecedented run.  So those clubs, those great clubs of the 1950’s, were almost as good as the teams assembled by Holland these past ten seasons.

Thanks to Ann Marie and John Han from the Red Wings Public Relations Department for making it all happen, and for lugging the hardware over to the Hockeytown Cafe.  The hardware being, in this case, the freshly-won-by-the-Wings Presidents Trophy.  I don’t know about you, but I thought it was pretty cool getting a chance to hang around with the second-most important trophy in the National Hockey League and I thought having it in the room with us added to the excitement of the occasion. 

Speaking of that, of adding excitement to the occasion, how about The Dynamics?  Did they get everybody fired up, or what?  The guys did a great job coming up with that new theme song for the Wings: Get REDy!, and they did a great job singing it on stage.  But what would you expect?  They’re only Motown legends, is all.  In addition to a #1chart-topper in the ’60’s, The Dynamics had three Gold Records in the 1960’s and they don’t just hand those things out.  A Gold Record is Just like the Presidents Trophy, you have to earn it!  

Thanks also to  John McCandless and our good friends at Toyota for providing the beautiful Toyota Matrix which was on display outside and which, along with another brand-new Toyota, will be driven by a couple of lucky DSBA members for a week, free of charge.  Budd Lynch was one of the winners drawn at the end of the luncheon.  Take it easy out there, okay Budd?  We know it’s fast and we know it’s Red Wings red, but take her easy.

Here are a couple of notes about the Wings/Predators match up which begins here in Detroit tonight, courtesy of NHL Public Relations:

• There have been, since 1994 when San Jose upset Detroit in seven games, eight occasions in the Stanley Cup playoffs where the #8 seed defeated the #1 seed.  The most recent occurrence came in 2006 when Edmonton shocked Detroit with a first-round upset.  How many times has the 8 beaten the 1 in the NBA playoffs?  Twice, isn’t it?  If you know the answer, post it up here on the blog.  If you know why it happens way more in the NHL than it does in the NBA, I think we’d all like to know that, too!
• There are seven Predators still on the Nashville club who were with the team in 2004, when, in the first playoff appearance in franchise history, Detroit ko’d ‘em in six.  There are ten Red Wings on the current roster who appeared in that series four years ago.
• Of 271 NHL playoff series in the past twenty years, this is only the sixth in which each team boasts a goalie who appeared in at least 45% of his teams games during the regular season.
• Adam Hall’s goal 16 seconds into Game 1 against Detroit in 2004, in the Predators first-ever playoff game, is the quickest ever surrendered by Detroit in a post-season game.  For the record, the Wings record for fastest goal from the start of a playoff game was set by some guy named Gordie Howe, who scored :09 after the puck was dropped against Toronto on April 1, 1954 against former Detroit goalie Harry Lumley.

While the Wings are starting the playoffs tonight at home, the Tigers are hoping to start a winning streak on the road.  You could call last night’s 7-2 Fenway Park victory over the Red Sox, “The Seven Million Dollar Win” and here’s why.  With a 2008 payroll, according to Associated Press, of 138.7 million dollars, it costs Detroit about $856,000 in salary every time they play a game.  Detroit’s played 8 games now, so they’ve paid out 6.8 million dollars in salary.  Round it up and that makes the cost of last night’s win — Detroit’s only win this season, of course — roughly seven million dollars.

Your thoughts and comments, as well as your own blog posts are welcome and encouraged and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

Rich Kincaide/DSBA President

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