I’m as happy as a pig in his own excrement right now. What a day. First off, the Red Wings took game one of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, 3-1. The youngster from Michigan State and Muskegon, Michigan, Justin Abdelkader, got a big goal in the third period to give Chris Osgood some cushion. Osgood was stellar again between the pipes, making 31 saves including stopping Evgeni Malkin on a breakaway, which is no small feat.
And in playing in game one, defenseman Jonathon Ericsson confirmed one common notion while dispelling another. Ericsson had his appendix removed on Wednesday. He experienced abdominal pain during the morning skate, was taken to the emergency room, and shortly thereafter had the aforementioned organ-you-can-live-without resected. What’s amazing is that he left the hospital hours later and went to JLA to watch the Wings close out the Blackhawks in the Conference Finals. Then three days later was is in the lineup to play against Pittsburgh. Thus confirming that hockey players are by far the toughest sons of bitches in sports, hands down. You think Lebron James or Kobe Bryant, Manny Ramirez or Alex Rodriguez, or Brian Urlacher or Peyton Manning would have played three days after an appendectomy? There’s a better chance of Keanu Reeves winning an Oscar, my friend. In suiting up tonight, Ericsson simultaneously dispelled Don Cherry’s theory that Europeans, particularly Swedes, are wimps. I’m sure Mr. Cherry saw Swede Niklas Kronwall’s hit on Marty Havlat and had doubts about his opinion that Europeans are as soft and mushy as Oprah’s back-fat rolls, but this clinches its lack of validity. Game 2 is tomorrow night at Joe Louis Arena. Oh, we managed to get a paparazzi shot of Ericsson’s appendix by the way, if you want to check it out:
The Tigers also got a win tonight in Baltimore, 6-3. Justin Verlander had another solid outing, giving up 3 runs in 6 innings of work, and Perry, Seay, Zumaya and Rodney were lights out coming out of the bullpen. Clete Thomas ordered up two jacks, and Granderson, Raburn and Inge also had 2 hits apiece. Edwin Jackson takes the bump tomorrow to try to salvage a series split with the O’s before the Tigers start a 6 game homestand Tuesday against the Red Sox and Angels. The Tigers are 27-21 on the year and are 4 games up on the White Sox, who have won 7 of 10 and took over sole possession of second place in the A.L. Central today.
In underrated news, the Lions signed Jon Jansen to a one year contract. This is another great move by Martin Mayhew and the gang. Jansen played at the University of Michigan, where he was a two-time captain and leader on the team that won a national championship in 1997. He was drafted by the Redskins and had several tremendous seasons for them as a starting tackle, although he suffered through some horrifying injuries the last few years- a ruptured achilles, a torn calf muscle, a torn hamstring and this broken ankle:
But this sum’ bitch is tough, mountain tough. He played one season with casts on matching broken thumbs, leading the ‘Skins to the playoffs. If anyone can come back from the litany of injuries he’s had, it’s him. And of course he’s tough. He’s from the northern suburbs of Detroit. He played at Clawson High, leading them to the state quarterfinals his senior year. I won’t say who beat them in that quarterfinal game, because then Bob will call me a hypocrite for calling him Al Bundy the other night for bringing up the “glory years”, but I will say that it was a team close to John Mapplethorpe’s heart. I will also say that Jansen almost had BOTH of his ankles broken that game by Detroit4lyfe loyalist Michael Versaci, who took him out on the sideline short of the first down marker on a big fourth down play. But I digress. The point is, this guy is a warrior, and he’s pumped about coming home. He has called Michigan his home while playing for Washington, and along with fellow Wolverine and free agent signing Larry Foote, he is excited about leading the resurgance of this organization.
Finally, I would like to ask the question, “Is the city of Cleveland ever going to win another championship?” I mean, at this point it’s just kind of sad and I would like them to get one. Although I hope it’s a team that does NOT have Lebron James on it, because I think this guy is an arrogant ass. First billionaire athlete? Take that crap back to Akron, jerk-off.
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