Showing posts with label Detroit Red Wings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Detroit Red Wings. Show all posts
 |
| Photo: Curbed Detroit |
Bedrock has officially confirmed they have commissioned the identical twin brother team How & Nosm to erect the world's largest mural on the First National Building's eastern facade.
A geometric design from Detroit artist Alvin Loving Jr was in the same spot from the 1970's until 1989. The new design will have elements of what was originally there.
According to the DEGC, the new development has the potential to create 8,300 jobs and have a statewide impact of $1.8B.
John Hahn - Senior Director of Communications
Detroit Red Wings
Led by Red Wings vice president Steve Yzerman, the Red Wings are teaming up with Fifth Third Bank to encourage Southeast Michigan high school students to volunteer in the community. The new S.H.O.T.S. program (Students Helping Others Through Service) is an initiative designed to encourage high school students to volunteer their time and efforts while creating a competition among the student groups with monthly and overall winners taking home several great prizes.
“This is a great opportunity for high school kids to make a positive impact in the community and have fun in a spirited competition,” Yzerman said. “Whether you volunteer at a local soup kitchen or clean up a street or park, there are dozens of ways for everyone to get involved and make our neighborhoods better for everyone.”
Individual student groups of four to six students, or their teachers, can register their team by CLICKING HERE and keep the judges updated on their progress. The selection committee includes several local celebrities including Yzerman, Steve Grunwald from 99.5 WYCD Detroit’s Best Country, Pat Caputo from 97.1 and the Oakland Press, Dr. Darrius from 97.9 WJLB, Spike from the Mojo in the Morning Show on Channel 955 and Trevor Thompson from FOX Sports Detroit.
“The S.H.O.T.S. program encourages a culture of community service in our next generation, which has a far greater reach than if the bank had just performed the activity ourselves,” stated Jack Riley, senior vice president, marketing director at Fifth Third Bank. “We are really pleased to be working with our partner Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings' organization in such a worthwhile program.”
One winning team from the three-month contest will receive laptops for all team members and be honored on the ice at a Red Wings' home game in March. Monthly winners from December, January and February will win tickets to a Red Wings' home game, a pizza party for their team and goody bags filled with great Fifth Third Bank and Red Wings gear. And teachers and students both win by getting in the game early as the first 100 teachers to submit their student groups’ projects will receive a $50 Kroger gift card to purchase educational supplies for their classroom.
For more information and to register your team, CLICK HERE or call Sara Percoulis at 313-394-1997.
Join the Red Wings in honoring the Hockey Hall of Fame’s newest member Steve Yzerman Thursday, Nov. 12 at Joe Louis Arena as the Red Wings take on the Vancouver Canucks beginning at 7:30 p.m. EST (FOX Sports Detroit & 97.1 The Ticket).
Fans are encouraged to arrive early as ‘The Captain’ will take part in a ceremonial puck-drop. All fans in attendance at Thursday’s game will receive a Steve Yzerman commemorative plaque, courtesy of Fifth Third Bank.
Red Wings vice president Steve Yzerman will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto Monday, Nov. 9, along with Red Wings alumni Luc Robitaille and Brett Hull and hockey greats Brian Leetch and Lou Lamoriello.
Single-game tickets for the entire 2009-10 season are available at the Joe Louis Arena box office, all TicketMaster locations including, Hockeytown Café, Hockeytown Authentics in Troy, Mich., or charge by phone at 800-745-3000. Fans also can purchase tickets by logging on to DetroitRedWings.com.
By John Hahn
The Red Wings will welcome back their fans the weekend of September 6-7 with two fun-filled days that celebrate the Wings’ 2008 Stanley Cup championship and drop the puck on Detroit’s defense of the Cup in 2008-09.
The party begins with a private “Puck Drop Party” on Sept. 6 exclusively for Red Wings' season-ticket holders. The Stanley Cup will be on display along with a brand new Hockey Hall of Fame memorabilia exhibit. Season-ticket holders can meet Red Wings alumni, play interactive hockey games, become a Red Wings TV announcer by calling the final moments of Game 6 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and listen to players and coaches recap the 2008 championship run.
On Sunday, Sept. 7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., all fans are welcome to attend the Red Wings FanFest at Joe Louis Arena. Fans can ask questions of Red Wings Vice President Steve Yzerman, Wings players and alumni, take the mic as the Red Wings play-by-play announcer, play inflatable and interactive hockey games and take a behind-the-scenes tour of Joe Louis Arena. In addition to many more exciting activities for kids and adults, fans can win several great prizes including Red Wings autographed jerseys and merchandise.
Tickets for Sunday’s FanFest are only $5 and available at the Joe Louis Arena box office, all TicketMaster locations, including Hockeytown Café, Hockeytown Authentics in Troy, or charge by phone at 248-645-6666. Fans also can purchase tickets by clicking here. For more information, call the Red Wings at 313-396-7575.
FANFEST Event Schedule
Saturday, Sept. 6 (season ticket holders ONLY)
Main Stage
10-10:30 a.m. – Recap the Cup with Steve Yzerman, Jim Nill and coach Mike Babcock
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. – Fan Feud
12:15 - 12:45 p.m. – Fan Forum moderated by Ken Daniels
3-3:30 p.m. – Recap the Cup with Steve Yzerman and Jim Nill
4-5 p.m. – Wing It Trivia
5:15 - 5:45 p.m. – Fan Forum with Tomas Holmstrom
Alumni Autograph Session
10 a.m. - 12 p.m. –- Dino Ciccarelli and Ted Lindsay
11:30 - 3:30 p.m. –- Joe Kocur and Bob Probert
3-5 p.m. – Nick Libett and Johnny Wilson
Sunday, Sept. 7
Main Stage
10-10:45 a.m. – Recap the Cup with Steve Yzerman and Jim Nill
10:45 - 11:30 a.m. – Wing It Trivia
11:30 - 12:30 p.m. – Living Legends with Steve Yzerman and Alex Delvecchio
1-2 p.m. – Fan Feud
2:30 - 3:30 p.m. – Fan Forum with Kris Draper
Alumni Autograph Session
10 a.m. - 12 p.m. –- Dennis Hextall, Lee Norwood, Mike Krushelnyski and Budd Lynch
2-4 p.m. –- Brent Fedyk, John Ogrodnick and Johnny Wilson
Micheline Maynard
The New York Times
In 1968, when I was young, Detroit was in shambles. Its soul had been wrenched open the summer before by riots that pitted angry black residents against a mostly white police force. The city’s newspapers were on strike. Auto industry leaders were beginning to worry about a threat posed by the Japanese.
Only one thing kept the city together, or so it seemed: the Tigers.
On the beaches of its metropolitan parks and in the kitchens and backyards of homes across Michigan, like the one where I grew up, we heard the voices of Ernie Harwell and Ray Lane broadcasting the play-by-play on WJR-AM and its sister stations.
When the Tigers beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, we were all united in more than just delight. The community, young and old, needed the success for spiritual reasons as much as for the sheer pleasure of seeing a sports team prevail.
Lately, I’ve felt a similar bond, only on a much grander scale and across many playing fields. As so many people around the world have lost their jobs, and seen their homes deflate in value and their countries become unsettled, sports have stepped in to distract us.
It is almost as if athletes everywhere have sensed an extra responsibility in 2009 and are rising to the occasion. They have good reason to do so. Even before the recession that has gripped the world, fans were increasingly fed up with doping scandals and violence and disappointments involving their sports heroes.
But athletic performance makes a difference now, far more than in a prosperous year.
Here in Detroit, where the Tigers have a tenuous grip on first place in the American League Central, two special events have gripped the city’s attention this year.
In April, it was the N.C.A.A. Final Four, in which the Michigan State men’s basketball team ultimately lost to North Carolina. Granted, it was a stretch to classify the East Lansing-based Spartans as a local team, but the 100-mile distance was happily overlooked, given the boost that M.S.U. gave to the local mood.
Two months later, the city was alternately jubilant and depressed, not to mention sleep deprived, thanks to the Red Wings. They tussled with the Pittsburgh Penguins before conceding the Stanley Cup in Game 7. That final buzzer at Joe Louis Arena ushered in a remarkable few months.
This summer has brought to mind not only my 1968 Tigers, but also the United States’ hockey victory over the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympics and France’s victory over Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final, which sent a million people surging onto the Champs-Élysées in celebration.
In rapid succession, fans around the world have been riveted by events that almost no one could have predicted.
In June, the United States men’s soccer team stunned top-ranked Spain in the Confederations Cup and led a shocked Brazilian team in the tournament’s final. There was no Miracle on Turf, however, and the Americans wound up losing the game but gaining respect.
Then came Roger Federer’s record-setting match against Andy Roddick at Wimbledon, an agonizing, exhilarating nail-biter whose final set lasted 30 games. The session went on long past the usual breakfast at Wimbledon and well into lunch before Federer finally claimed his 15th Grand Slam singles title.
It seemed only a blink of an eye before the 59-year-old Tom Watson was in the spotlight, falling a good putt short of winning the British Open but reassuring every golfer around the world that age was second to skill.
Layered over those individual performances was the three-week Tour de France, with so much drama it was hard to know which story was the most intriguing.
The Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador, whose eyes have the same intensity as Federer’s, emerged as the best in his sport. But Lance Armstrong’s third-place finish at 37, after three and a half years away from racing, was clearly what many Americans cared about most.
Then comes fall and the World Series, when maybe, just maybe, my Tigers can recreate their magic once more.
Ansar KhanMLive
It's official: Former Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman has been named to the Hockey Hall of Fame's class of 2009. Jim Gregory, co-chairman of the board for the Hockey Hall of Fame just made the announcement on a conference call.
Two of Yzerman's former teammates, Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille, as well as former New York Rangers defenseman Brian Leetch, also were named to this year's class in the player category.
New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello was named in the builders category. The induction ceremony will be on Nov. 9 in Toronto.
http://redwings.nhl.com
During the Red Wings' Stanley Cup run, fans raised $17,335 for the Detroit Red Wings Foundation during the 2009 Red Wings Beard-a-thon. In all, a total of 591 Red Wings' fans decided to “grow one for the team” and over 517 fans donated to the cause.
Patrick Maly was the top fund-raiser among Red Wings' fans. Maly raised $2,220 and for his beard heroics, he will be awarded a Red Wings' Winter Classic jersey. Rounding out the top five beard growers were local radio DJ Mike Bradley ($2,003); 30 Seconds From Mars guitarist Tomo Millcevic ($940); Todd Wills ($743.25) from Addison, Texas; and Kirk Reed ($655) from Arvada, Colorado.
“Hockeytown, once again, demonstrated their passion for the team and the sport of hockey," said Steve Violetta, senior vice president of business affairs for the Red Wings. "I would like to thank all of our beard growers and pledgers. While it may not have been pretty, the dollars raised through this promotion will make a positive impact in our community.”
The Red Wings Beard-a-thon was an opportunity for fans to grow their own playoff beard and raise money for charity. Additionally, fans could pledge a Red Wings' player, or build a virtual beard for themselves on the Web site.
About the Playoff Beard: A playoff beard is the superstitious practice of a National Hockey League player not shaving his beard during the Stanley Cup playoffs. The player stops shaving when his team enters the playoffs and does not shave until his team is eliminated or wins the Stanley Cup. It is believed that the tradition was started in the 1980s by the four-time Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders. In recent years, other sports have claimed the playoff beard tradition, but it is, and always will be, a hockey tradition.
About the Detroit Red Wings Foundation: The Detroit Red Wings Foundation, an affiliate of Ilitch Charities, provides funds and resources to worthy causes that help grow the sport of hockey.
Established in 2005, the foundation supports several initiatives and organizations, including the development of inner city youth hockey, the fight against cancer, a wide array of children’s health, educational and recreational activities and other needs of the community through the sport of hockey.
Through the Toast of Hockeytown, player appearances and other team-sponsored events, the Red Wings help raise over $1 million annually for various organizations in our community.
Adam RoseLos Angeles Times
Lance Armstrong and John Kruk have earned a lot of respect from their fellow men for overcoming the loss of a testicle during their careers as pro athletes.
But do either of them match the fortitude of Red Wing defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom?
Lidstrom acknowledged that he missed Game 4 in the NHL semifinals because he was undergoing surgery on a testicle that had been "speared" a couple of days before. He even managed to practice between his injury and surgery.
Less than a week after being operated on, Lidstrom was back on the ice. That takes, well ... guts.
A Detroit Free Press headline read, "Lidstrom Admits Having Surgery During Playoffs," but given the circumstances, most guys would be bragging about that sort of perseverance. To nobody's surprise, he called it the most painful injury he has had.
Although Detroit eventually fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup, Lidstrom's consolation prize may be the undying respect of every man, everywhere, forever.
http://www.electro-mech.com/The top 10 Stanley Cup comebacks include some that are amazing and historical Stanley Cup comebacks only include two three to zero comebacks in NHL history.
The top Stanley Cup comebacks all were considered astonishing upsets:
1. 1942 Final Toronto Versus Detroit
What is still considered the biggest comeback in the history of hockey, or any sport for that matter, is the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals. In an amazing comeback, Toronto won the championship after being behind, with the score three to zero at the start of the fourth game. This is the only time in the history of all sports that a team has come from behind this far and won a championship series.
2. 1962 Semifinal Detroit Versus Chicago
In the 1962 semifinals, Detroit was behind by two games, and made an amazing comeback to win the series, with a score of four to two. Many fans and commentators alike believed that after the loss of the first two games the Detroit did not stand a chance, but they pulled off an astounding comeback to move on to the finals.
3. 1975 Quarterfinal New York Versus Pittsburgh
This is only the second time in the history of hockey that a team has made a three to zero comeback in a seven game series. At the start of the fourth game, New York was behind with a score of three games to zero. The Islanders came back to win all four of the last games, and the championship.
4. 1987 Division Final Detroit Versus Toronto
In 1987, at the division finals, Detroit made an amazing comeback to win the series after starting out behind. In the beginning Toronto held the lead, but by the fourth game Detroit was making it clear that they would not go quietly. This comeback was unexpected, which made it even more astonishing.
5. 1999 Colorado Versus Detroit
With Detroit ahead by two at the start of this series, it looked like Colorado did not stand a shot. Starting with the third game in the series, there was a whole new perspective when Colorado came from behind with a sweeping comeback and won, with a final score of Colorado four and Detroit two.
6. 2001 Los Angeles Versus Detroit
In this game, Los Angeles was behind with the score two to zero. Los Angeles came back to win, with a final score of four to two, in part thanks to Chris Osgood losing four goals in a row for Detroit. This comeback ended Osgood’s first stint as a member of the Red Wings.
7. 2002 Detroit Versus Vancouver
In this series, it looked like Detroit was going to lose going into the third game because Vancouver was ahead two to zero. Instead, Detroit made a stunning comeback and won the series four to two. The Canucks lost all four of the last games, handing the win to the Red Wings.
8. 1998 Western Conference Quarterfinal Edmonton Versus Colorado
In this seven game series leading up to the Stanley Cup, Edmonton made a terrific comeback and went on to win. At the start of the fifth game the score was three to one against Edmonton, but the team proceeded to win the remaining three games to come out the victor. This comeback was one of the ten most amazing in the history of the NHL.
9. 1994 Western Conference Quarterfinal Vancouver Versus Calgary
During this series, Vancouver made a great three to one comeback. The team was behind by two at the start of the fifth game, but Vancouver overtook the lead that Calgary had and went on to win the series in a comeback that rocked the fans and players both.
10. 2003 Western Conference Quarterfinal Minnesota Versus Colorado
In this stunning three to one comeback, Minnesota was behind significantly. That did not stop this team from moving forward and winning the last three games of the series to move on. The final score was Minnesota four and Colorado three.
Larry Lage
Associated Press
Jonathan Ericsson will have a pretty good tale to tell his grandkids someday.
Ericsson scored for the Detroit Red Wings in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals, helping them beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 to take a 2-0 lead, and got the best of superstar Evgeni Malkin three times on the same shift.
Not bad for a defenseman who played just four days after having his appendix removed.
"We've got really good team doctors here, so they take care of that so I can get out there," Ericsson said. "It doesn't bother me at all right now."
After Ericsson's goal made it 1-1 early in the second, he sure did bother Malkin on a shift later in the period.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Swede stood up Malkin to thwart his rush with about 12 minutes left in the period, then used his big body to get the MVP finalist off the puck again.
Malkin reacted by interfering with Ericsson, putting Detroit on the power play.
The Red Wings scored just after the penalty was killed, generating enough pressure that Valtteri Filppula's backhander gave them a 2-1 lead.
Ericsson is one of the young players performing for the defending Stanley Cup champions after being forced to develop in the minor leagues.
Detroit general manager Ken Holland likes his prospects "overripe" before they get a chance to play in the NHL.
The 25-year-old Ericsson was buried at Grand Rapids in the AHL until getting called up in March because defenseman Andreas Lilja was sidelined with a concussion.
Ericsson played 19 times in the regular season, scoring once and adding three assists.
In 17 playoff games, he has three goals — including on in his playoff debut in the first round against Columbus — and six points. Ericsson missed only one game after abdominal pain the morning of Game 5 in the Western Conference finals sent him to the hospital.
"He's a real good player," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "He's got the long reach. He's got the ability to get his hands out and get you on his back and make that good pass to get you going with speed.
"He's a guy who is going to be, I think, an elite player in the league for a long time."
Plenty of teams had a shot at drafting him because he lasted until the 291st — and final — selection in the 2002 NHL draft.
Steve KowalskiMirror Staff Writer
With the Detroit Red Wings advancing to the final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, fans are eager to get their hands on tickets.
At Superior Fish Company in Royal Oak, owner Kevin Dean is just as interested in landing the biggest octopus.
The sea creature is the traditional mascot of Red Wings playoff runs, its eight tentacles signifying the number of wins it once took to win a Stanley Cup.
Each time the Wings reach the finals, Dean fills the Superior showcase with the biggest octopus available on order.
Its biggest on record, weighing 52 pounds, with a height of 7 feet, 2 inches and wingspan of more than 12 feet, was aptly named “Octo-zilla,” Dean said. Also dropping by have been “Octo-Al,” named after the octopus swinging Zamboni driver Al Sobotka, and “Oscar the Octopus,” according to Dean.
The name for this year's import?
“We're toying with the idea of calling it ‘Octo-dad,'” Dean said.
Superior Fish, at 309 E. 11 Mile Road in downtown Royal Oak, has gained notoriety over the years as the place to go for octopi.
Dean said the National Hockey League called in advance to find out Superior's plans to hype the Stanley Cup finals. In the past, the octopus/Wings connection has led to televised spots locally, nationally and internationally, he said.
Throwing octopi onto the ice at Wings games is a tradition rarely observed anymore, though one landed in Wednesday's Game 5 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, clinching the NHL's Western Conference championship.
Dean prefers Wings' fans eat their octopi. An Octopus Taste Fest was planned before Game 1 of Saturday's final round at Superior, he said.
By John HahnThe Red Wings have joined forces with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 38 and the Blue Star Mothers of America in creating care packages for U.S. troops in Iraq.
On Saturday, the eve of the Western Conference finals opener at Joe Louis Arena, the Wings' players autograph Red Wings lunchboxes, which will be filled with goods by the Blue Star Mothers, an organization of mothers who now have, or have had, children honorably serving in the military.
The cost of shipping the care packages is being picked up by the Local 38 stagehands who work out of Joe Louis Arena.
On Saturday, the eve of the Western Conference finals opener at Joe Louis Arena, the Wings' players autograph Red Wings lunchboxes, which will be filled with goods by the Blue Star Mothers, an organization of mothers who now have, or have had, children honorably serving in the military.
The cost of shipping the care packages is being picked up by the Local 38 stagehands who work out of Joe Louis Arena.
by Joe O'Connor The Wings brand is so powerful and the organization so impeccably run that players who could sign anywhere, for almost any price (think: Marian Hossa), take a pay cut just to play in Detroit. Among the many perks, is a fan base with a magic touch.
After Wings forward Johan Franzen scored a hat trick in last year’s Western Conference finals, he arrived home to find his driveway covered in hats.
"I still have them in my garage," the 29-year-old Swede stated. "It's a good healthy relationship between us and the fans."
Last year, during a television interview, goaltender Chris Osgood told the Free Press he had not had a beer in months. Twenty cases of beer miraculously appeared on his front step thereafter. Even head coach Mike Babcock is capable of eliciting kind and creative gestures from the team's supporters.
"I have one fan that sends me country songs all the time,” Babcock said. “He puts the tune it's to and then writes lyrics about the Red Wings. So that keeps me entertained. I read those. I have them piled up on my desk.”
Steve KeatingReuters Canada
The Detroit Red Wings will give Motor City spirits another boost when they launch the defense of their Stanley Cup crown this week against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Red Wings march to the Stanley Cup last year provided one of the best feel good moments for Detroit and another championship parade would no doubt bring the same to Detroiters in 2009.
The long Stanley Cup grind begins on Wednesday with 16-teams trying to become the last one standing at the end of four punishing best-of-seven series that will carry into June.
A Stanley Cup run is something Red Wings fans have come to expect with Detroit in the playoffs for an 18th consecutive year.
But it will be a new experience for first round opponents the Blue Jackets, who will be making their first playoff appearance since joining the league nine years ago.
In the last 40 years, only two teams have reached the Stanley Cup finals in their first trip to the post-season and if the Blue Jackets are to join them it will largely depend on the play of brilliant rookie netminder Steve Mason, who led the league with 10 shutouts.
"We know what's in front of us, Columbus captain Rick Nash told reporters during a conference call. "They know what it takes to win the Stanley Cup and we will have our hands full."
The San Jose Sharks finished the regular season as the NHL's top team but must shed their reputation as playoff under-achievers after exiting in the Western conference semi-finals the last three seasons.
The Sharks open against Anaheim and will have to be wary of the eighth seeded and in-form Ducks.
In other Western conference matchups, the Chicago Blackhawks take on the Calgary Flames while the St. Louis Blues, the NHL's hottest team in the second half going 25-9-7 to clinch their first playoff spot in five years, face-off against the Vancouver Canucks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)